Page 11 of Wolf's Son
“Um, okay, I can meet you there in two hours,” I tell him. Without thinking too much of it, I hang up without waiting for anything else from him.
My only thought was now I needed to get to thegallery rather than starting to get my storage unit which I have filled with art pieces.
Sighing, I gather my stuff up, grab a to-go cup, fill it with coffee, and head for the door. I chance a look next door, just as I’ve done all week. I hadn’t seen my sexy neighbor again since the day he saw me dancing. Every day that I’ve left, I’ve looked in that direction. I’m not sure why other than maybe hoping I won’t embarrass myself in front of him again.
He’d told me that day I should come by and meet his son, but I never did.
Shrugging the thought off, I open the driver’s side door and climb in behind the wheel. My car wasn’t anything fancy. Nothing like what my brother wanted me to drive. It was a simple four-door sedan. I didn’t even know the make or model. I just knew it was small and had great gas mileage.
I start my car and pull out of the driveway, not before noticing a bare-chested, sinfully delicious neighbor step out onto the porch. What clutches at my chest, though, is that he’s got a tiny bundle held to his chest.
Oh. My.
Without missing a beat, I focus my full attention on driving and not looking in his direction again.
The drive to my gallery is only twenty minutes. I park in the lot right in front of the building and headinside. I figured while I waited for the security company to get here, I could do some work on a few other things I wanted to get done. I ordered stands for displays. I can go ahead and situate them in the general areas I want to put them.
I also need to start working on getting the rest of what I need to be able to run my business. I filed the paperwork with the city and got my business license already, but I needed to have other things ready to go, like a payment system. I also started designing my own website.
One beautiful thing about the past years, I’ve gone to school online and earned a degree in not just fine arts but also business and finance, along with a couple other subjects as well.
While I wait, I decide to put together the stands. They’ll take me longer to do, and I don’t want to ask anyone for help.
By the time I get one nearly complete, the door opens, and I look up over my shoulder to greet the security installer, only to stare wide-eyed up at the man. It’s not just that he was the hottest guy I’d ever seen, but he was my neighbor.
What’s more, he was staring down in my direction, dark sunglasses in place, a bandana wrapped around his forehead. I have a feeling his gaze was looking more in the direction of my bottom, considering,well, considering how I was on my knees and all.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt out the question, jumping to my feet in order to face him fully.
“Told you on the phone, I was coming to do your security system,” Wolf answers, a smirk toying at his lip.
“That was you?” I ask, staring at him like he’s got two heads, and they’re both about to attack me.
“Yep, told you as such on the phone,” he says and glances around the building. His face returns, and I can feel those eyes on me, but those sunglasses are still in place, making it so I can’t read his eyes. “Why didn’t you have the door locked? You’re here alone and working.”
“It’s not like someone is going to come in here and rob me.” I huff and roll my eyes. “I’m not even open yet.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he says on the tail end of my words. “You’re a woman, alone in a building. You need to have the door locked unless you’re open for business hours. If you’re not open, you need to have them locked for your safety. Same with when you’re at home.”
“Seriously? It’s not that big of a deal. Nothing happens in this town.”
It really didn’t. I think the worst thing that happened . . .
“I know you’re not naive,” he growls, stepping toward me. The harshness of his words breaking off my thoughts. “You not locking shit up, watchin’ what you’re doing, it leaves you open to being a target.”
“No, it doesn’t. And I’m not naive.” I narrow my gaze to little slits and glare at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Princess, I think I know exactly what I’m talking about. The other day proved my point. I opened the door to your studio, and you didn’t even know I was there. If it’d been someone else, who the fuck knows what would have happened to you.”
“You sound like my brother,” I snap, not liking this conversation at all. I know I’m a free spirit of sorts. I don’t like being locked away, so I don’t lock doors. I even prefer to have my windows open as much as I can.
“Because your brother’s right. You gotta be smart and lock up when you’re alone. Bad shit happens, and he’s not wantin’ you to get hurt.” Wolf grunts and finally takes his sunglasses off.
It wasn’t hard to read his expression. I couldtotally see he was annoyed. Annoyed with me, I might add.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were when you called me?” I ask, changing the subject.
“I did,” he says, cocking a brow.
