Page 40 of The Wolf's Surrogate

He seemed more concerned with righting wrongs.

At least, that was how things appeared whenever he was fighting in my honor. The thought of him coming to my rescue made me flush with desire, and I drifted back to save myself from further embarrassment.

I cleared my throat. “Anyway, thanks. I didn’t mean to fall.”

“That’s usually how it goes.”

“Can we go for a walk? It looks nice outside. I’m getting tired of the back porch.”

He shook his head. “I need to go back to the greenhouse for a little bit. We can grab ice cream later if you want.”

“You mean after the sun sets?”

He scrubbed the back of his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, you only take me somewhereafterit gets dark. Are you embarrassed of me or something?”

That sort of thought hadn’t ever crossed my mind. I just wanted to see what he looked like under pressure.

The slightest tint of red tickled the bridge of his aquiline nose as his brows crunched together with agitation. “I wouldneverbe embarrassed of being seen with a gorgeous woman like you. How dare you say that about yourself, Ani.”

“Sounds like you like me.”

“Join the club with Fred while you’re at it.”

I raised my brows as I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted my weight to my right hip. “Oh? Did he say something similar?”

The red tint bloomed furiously and spread over his cheeks to his ears. “Wait a second, I didn’t saythat…”

“But you’re not denying it either.”

“Well—it’s just—”

He gestured toward me with his hand, waved it in a circle, and then popped it into his pocket when it didn’t seem to help his case.

I smiled triumphantly. “Sounds like a winner.”

“You know what? I think I heard something upstairs. Be right back.”

He fled past me and raced up the steps to his bedroom. Not a noise sounded after his retreat. But I did feel pretty good about making him flustered. It was adorable.

I wanted to do it again.

Memphis waltzed back into the living room, licking his chops. He popped a squat just outside the kitchen doorway and raised his paw, delicately licking between his toes. My stomach gurgled. Shoot, I hadn’t eaten much today since I started thatcrochet project. I touched my stomach gingerly while my head suddenly lightened.

That wasn’t good.

I swung my left arm out as my head rolled back, my knees buckling out from under me. Where I expected to find a cool couch cushion, there was a warm body, a steel chest, the rumble of a gruff voice saying, “Easy, soldier. I’ve got you.”

“Soldier…”

Only military men said stuff like that. And only women like me who were awkward as hell and forgot to eat fainted like this.

My head lolled on his shoulder, causing me to wiggle my arms. They barely moved an inch even as I tried to instruct them on where to go. Liam propped me up in his arms, cradling my head while stroking my hair. It felt nice enough for a nap until I snapped to attention and clutched his shirt to keep from falling backward.

“How many times are you going to do this, Ani?” he teased. “You have to sit down. Come on, girl. Justsit.”

“You’re starting to make me feel like a pet.”

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