Page 42 of Frank's Felon
Meanwhile, Damien lifted an eyebrow, directed at Tess, the one shifter who strongly objected to swearing.
“Sorry, Delilah’s a bad influence on me,” Tess said.
Frank couldn’t stop the growl that escaped him. To his shock, he had growled at Tess. He’d never hurt or think of hurting her, but he wasn’t himself tonight.
Now Damien was growling at him for growling at Tess. Frank was on very shaky ground with his alpha.
Delilah grabbed Frank by his arm. “It’s fine, Frank,” she said, pulling him toward the door. She was smart, his Delilah. She could read people, knew when and how to react, better than he did evidently. “Tess is right. I have to watch my language. She’s been scolding me about my language for as long as I can remember.”
“You too?” Damien asked, surprised, his tone lighter now, as if he had already forgotten Frank’s growl. “I thought it was just me.”
“Nope, she’s always been the foul-language police. All right, Messie Tessie, I’m out of here.”
“Messie Tessie?” Damien asked with a grin on his face as he focused on Tess once again.
Before Frank could say or do anything to inflame the situation, Delilah pulled him out the door. There he stood, in the middle of the compound, Delilah standing in front of him, bathed in soft moonlight, and he didn’t know what to do next.
Five years.
“What to talk about what happened in there?” she asked.
Frank caressed her left cheek. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said as his fingers found her collar bone and traced back and forth along the delicate skin. All of Delilah was delicate. And she had covered for him. She shouldn’t have had to do that back there, put herself at risk for him. She took too many risks.
“What? Keep your alpha from ripping into you for growling at his mate? Yeah, I did. I kind of like you in one piece. Besides, it was my fault.”
“It had nothing to do with you,” Frank said, now tracing down the length of her arm. The scars were completely gone now. Her skin was so soft and fragile. She grew more beautiful every time he looked at her.
“Of course, it did. I’ve been swearing up a storm all week. Tess only said the truth. I’m a bad influence on her.”
Frank put his hands under her chin and lifted it none-too gently. He needed to ensure she was looking at him straight on. “You’ve done more for her than she knows. She shouldn’t be saying anything negative about you. At. All.”
He smelled fear on her. Fear for him?
“You can’t tell her,” Delilah said, starting to shake.
Hell, he didn’t mean to scare or threaten her. Maybe this is why his pack hadn’t come for him. They’d thought him too callous and dispassionate, not worth the risk.
“I won’t break my promise,” Frank said as he stepped away from her and started walking down the path to. . .He stopped cold in the middle of the woods, unsure of where he was going. He didn’t belong anywhere. The only home he’d had was gone, and his new one remained unfinished, the building crew too busy to complete it.
A delicate hand traveled up his back. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. I know you won’t tell Tess.”
“I don’t like how she treats you.” He kept his growl to himself this time, but he needed to be honest with her. After all, it’s what he had demanded of her, and it’s what she deserved.
“She treats me fine,” Delilah said.
“You’re not a screwup.”
“She knows that.”
“Maybe.” Frank turned suddenly, startling her. “But I have to ask, Del. Do you?”
She started to lower her eyes, as she tended to do when her confidence waned. He put his fingers on her chin, keeping her from avoiding him.
“You’re not a screwup, Del. Say it.”
“I don’t take orders from you.”
“Say it,” he growled.
