Page 55 of Claiming the Wolf Daddy

“Sure,” he said, grabbing one of the muffins. He took a bite of it, moaning in delight. “Fuck, Marley, that’s good. What is it? Carrot cake?”

“Zucchini. S-similar flavor,” I stammered.

“Thank you for using that restless energy to make me something for my meeting, baby. I appreciate you so much.”

“Can we not pretend that you didn’t just mention super-casually that you were thinking about me as your wife?” I asked, shaking my head to keep my nerves at bay. “I mean, I know you’re teasing me and everything, but—”

“I’m not teasing—” he started, then shook his head. “Okay, I am teasing, but not about that. You don’t think I think about what you might be like as my wife?”

“Honestly, I just assumed that after how things went with your ex, you wouldn’t ever want to be married,” I said. “I know she was kind of flighty, and then there was everything with Noah and how hard you worked to gain sole custody of him and all that. I just figured your view of marriage would be soured.”

“Eh, maybe in the beginning.” He shrugged. “But things ended between me and Olivia almost six years ago now. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always wanted that dream life. Wife, kids, nice house—the whole package.” His expression grew serious. “Then again, I’ve been assuming marriage would be something you want. If not, then that’s okay. We could always—”

“I do! I do want marriage,” I said hurriedly. He looked a little surprised by the sudden intensity of my admission. I shrank into myself a little bit and bit my lower lip. “If—if you want to.”

“I just said I did, silly,” he teased, taking the metal bowl from me and setting it on the counter. He gathered me up in his arms and hugged me tightly, peppering kisses over my face. “Ease up a little. You’re wound up like a spring right now.”

I curled into him, letting my body loosen and release. “Sorry,” I said.

“Nothing to apologize for,” he said as he swayed me back and forth. “Is this about later today? We can always postpone it or cancel, baby.”

“It’s not fear,” I said with absolute certainty. “I’m excited, but I’m nervous since I don’t know what to expect.”

“We’ll be safe and careful, just like we always are.” He kissed the top of my head again. “And just like with everything else, I’m going to take really good care of you when we’re all done.”

“I know you will,” I said, and I really did know that. Cole would never do anything to me without being sure I would be okay. And never without a plan to patch me up if anything went wrong.

“I have to get going, but you remember the plan, right?” he asked.

“You’ll be coming back around three, and I should already be gone by then, right? Getting my head start?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He shot me a devilish grin. “And then we’ll have some fun.”

“Sounds great,” I said a little airily. “Let me get these muffins packed up for you.”

I placed the muffins carefully into a large bowl, snapping the lid on so they wouldn’t tumble out on the drive. I placed a brown sack lunch on top of the bowl, made Cole a haphazard breakfast sandwich, and wrapped it up in a paper towel.

“I guess I won’t have any problem fueling for my exercise today,” Cole said. “You’ve given me enough food for marathon training.”

I blushed and stood on my toes to kiss his cheek. “See you this afternoon,” I said. “Good luck catching me.”

He caught my face with one of his hands, using enough force to keep me on my toes, but not enough to hurt me. His lips crushed mine, and he held me hostage as he claimed my mouth, giving me a taste of what was to come. His tongue crossed the threshold of my lips, conquering mine with brutal efficiency. Just when I thought I was too overwhelmed to think, he changed the angle of his head and deepened the kiss even more.

I heard his lunch drop to the floor, followed by the clang of the mixing bowl and then the sandwich. His other arm pulled me closer, his hand dropping to my backside and grabbing a handful of flesh there. His other hand left my face, only to slide into my robe and grope my breast.

I moaned, melting against him, wanting to climb him like a tree.

Then, as abruptly as he’d started the delicious assault on my mouth and body, he stopped kissing me. He let go of me, straightened his jacket and shirt, then picked up the food he’d dropped.

“See you later,” he said. He smiled, winked, and left the house with the food, abandoning me as I stood there half-naked, entirely lost to a spell of desire so strong that I had to sit down.

As I heard the car start and pull away, I opted for a cold shower.

Cruel tease of a man. That’s what Cole was.

The afternoon rolled around much faster than I’d anticipated. I got dressed in comfortable clothes that weren’t precious to me in case Cole tore them off: an old T-shirt, a pair of spandex leggings, and my old running shoes. I braided my hair in twin braids, just as Cole had done a few days ago. Finally, I put my whistle on a chain around my neck so it would be close if I needed it. On the way out the door, I grabbed a water bottle.

The compound was tucked in the middle of a forested area, but it took me some time to figure out where to enter the forest that wouldn’t require me to scale a gate or something. In the end, I decided I would just go into the forest near the community center—the same entrance that Cole had used when he’d gone on a run with the others. I knew it was well-traveled and I could go a while before potentially getting into a bad spot.

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