Rebecca’s Wolves(42)

“And then there’s the tires,” Rebecca added. She shivered in Miles’ arms. “What the hell?”

“I don’t know, love, but I think we need to pay my grandmother a visit.”

•●•

Rebecca wasn’t super stoked about trekking to grandma’s house and facing the crazy woman’s wrath again today, but Miles seemed to think it was the only option they had.

“How far is it to your grandmother’s?”

“About five minutes. She lives on this same side of Sojourn. We’re west of the center of town.”

“I’ve never been there.” She’d been in Cambridge two years, and she’d heard about Sojourn. There was a hotel and casino there. She knew people who liked to go for a weekend.

“You’ll like it. We’ll go into town one of these days. It’s larger than Cambridge,” Miles said as he turned the truck around. Sure enough, in about five minutes he pulled off the road again and up to the front of another small ranch house similar to his own. It might have been older. Or perhaps it just hadn’t been updated in the last fifty years. That option seemed most likely.

The woman was not standing on the porch this time, which almost shocked Rebecca. However, when Miles opened the front door without knocking, she called out from somewhere in the back of the house. “’Bout time you got here.”

Rebecca smiled. Of course.

Wearing another equally stifling dress for the summer weather, the tiny little woman emerged from what was probably the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. “Lunch is almost ready. What took you so long?”

Rebecca glanced up in time to catch Miles rolling his eyes.

“Well, come on back and have a seat. Chicken just needs another minute or two.”

Shock at how strange things were every time she was in this old woman’s presence made Rebecca speechless. There weren’t enough hours in the day for her to ask the questions piling up in her mind.

Apparently the woman really did have some sixth sense. When the three of them rounded the corner to the kitchen, the table was already set and steaming bowls of food were piled high all over the surface.

The smells were amazing. Several vegetables, a salad, mashed potatoes, and warm bread already adorned the table.

“Sit,” the woman repeated, nodding toward the table.

Rebecca was stunned. She glanced at her watch. It was eleven fifty-five. Uncanny. Was the woman truly psychic? Or had Miles called her earlier without Rebecca knowing? That made her even more uncomfortable, as though he were setting her up, trying to scare her for some reason.

She flinched and jerked her hand free of his.

“Rebecca, look at me,” Miles commanded into her head.

She lifted her gaze, confusion wearing on her. Aggravation also, for not keeping her thoughts to herself.

“I swear on my life you aren’t being set up. Why would I go to all this trouble?”

“I don’t know, to keep me from leaving?” she communicated intentionally for the first time. She didn’t want to argue in front of his grandmother any more than he did.

He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. “Love, you’re a sure thing. Trust me. I won’t need to tie you to my bed to keep you from leaving. The claiming is done.”

“You are by far the cockiest bastard alive.” She twisted to glance at Griffen. “With one possible exception.”

“Rebecca, I’m not trying to sound cocky. I’m just stating the facts. We’re extremely connected now. I know you’re fighting it, but at the same time, you can’t deny your heart is pounding, your panties are soaked, and your breasts are uncomfortably swollen with the need to be touched.”

“Jesus. How the hell could you possibly know that?” He was right. Fuck him.

Luckily, he didn’t smile. If he had, she might have spun around, stomped out the door, and not looked back. To hell with him.

“I can hear your heart and feel the beat every time I touch you. I can smell the arousal between your legs. And you haven’t stopped adjusting your bra since you put it on. It’s abrading against your sensitive nipples and making you crazy.”

“Bastard.”

Now he grinned. “I’ve been called worse.”

“Stop yapping at each other and take a seat for the love of all that is holy,” his grandma said.

Rebecca nearly jumped. That woman was eerie.

Griffen pulled out a chair and reached for her hand. “Baby, sit. Please.” His voice was gentle and out loud.

She followed, only because she couldn’t think of another alternative. And besides, the food smelled divine.

Miles sat at the end of the table, catty corner from her. Griffen sat next to her. There were two more place settings.