Page 38 of Can't Help Growling in Love
ASHER
June’s basement is a disaster. When she told me it had flooded, I’d imagined a puddle in the middle of the floor, some wet carpet, maybe, and a few odds and ends to move. What we encounter downstairs is a real problem, one we won’t be able to tackle on our own.
“I’ll need to call someone to deal with this,” June huffs as she wrings out yet another towel full of water into a bucket. “I think the water seeped into the flooring. That can’t be good.”
I pick up the now-full bucket to take it upstairs. “Agreed. If you’d like, I can ask around for a contact. A couple of contractors worked on my house, and they were decent, but Marcos will know who’s currently the best.”
June straightens and bites her lip. “I don’t know if I can afford the best.”
I’d offer her my help with that, but I know she wouldn’t take it. Already, she’s mentioned several times that she didn’t want to ruin my sleep by roping me into this cleaning operation.
“The best for your budget,” I correct myself. “Maybe they offer payment plans?”
“That would work,” June agrees, then crouches again to mop up more water in the corner. “I hope I can figure it out. I might have to sell the house, but that would mean having to move.”
I barely hold myself back from proclaiming that she can come live with me. Permanently. But humans are weird about things like that. When a wolf meets their mate, it’s expected that the newly mated couple will stay together forever, but humans tend to take several steps between meeting and sharing a roof.
June probably expects dating—dinners and movie dates, maybe?—and fucking, too, before she commits fully to me.
I shoot off a text to Marcos to give myself time to think. But no matter how I turn things around, one conclusion is clear: June can’t stay in a house with no heating tonight. Or tomorrow, since whichever contractor she chooses will likely have to fit her into their busy schedule.
I want to give June her space, but it’s getting late. I’ll either have to leave her here and go sleep in my empty house alone, or coax her to join me.
There’s no way I’m leaving without her, so there’s only one thing I can do.
I return to the basement and find June dragging a soggy box of what looks like various shapes and sizes of screwdrivers from the corner toward the stairs. Jumping in, I pick up the box, supporting the damp flaps from below so the tools don’t fall out, and set it aside where June directs me.
Then I catch her by the wrist because she’s already whirling away, a determined expression on her face.
“Hey.”
She stops and gives me a tired smile, but she runs her hand up my arm and squeezes my biceps, her distracted gaze suggesting she’s likely not aware of how she’s touching me. My heart thumps—it’s encouraging that she’s feeling the need to be in contact, too.
But that’s not what I’m here for.
“Listen, I’d like you to pack an overnight bag and come stay with me,” I blurt out. I’m too tired for subtlety, and if we’re going to argue about this, I’d rather do it now so we can get it over with and find a solution.
As expected, June lifts her chin, a stubborn glint in her eyes. “I can’t, I need to stay here and take care of this.”
“You’ve done all you can for today,” I tell her bluntly. “You said yourself that you’ll need to hire a contractor for this. We can come back tomorrow and see what we can do ourselves, but you won’t be able to do that if you’re too tired to see straight.”
“I can’t ask you to—” she starts, glowering at me.
But I lean down to nuzzle her cheek. “You don’t have to ask. I’m offering. Please.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek for a long moment, then finally lets out a resigned sigh. “Okay, yeah. Thank you.” She checks the pipe that had leaked, then turns back to me, considering. “Will it be weird if I’m staying with you and we’re sleeping together?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Why would that be weird?”
“You know, will it make you think I’m only using you for your couch?” She makes an impatient motion with her hand. “If we’d already…you know, taken that last step, it would be different, right?”
“Gods, June, will it make you think I’m only luring you into my home so you’d fuck me?” I stare at her, incredulous. “Where is this coming from?”
Her chin wobbles, and her voice grows small and unsure. “I don’t know. My life is such a disaster right now. I’d understand if you didn’t want to do this.”
I move before I consciously decide to do that. I tug June close, curl myself around her, and hold her, rubbing my cheek on her temple. I don’t know how to comfort her better than this, butas I keep squeezing her, her scent softens by slow increments, going from agitated and sharp back to her sweet tones.
“This isn’t casual for me,” I murmur into her hair. “I won’t dump you because something happened that’s outside of your control, and you have to deal with it for a few days.”
