Wrestling With Werewolves: A Small Town Age Gap Protector Romance (Haven Ever After Book 5) by Hazel Mack

Author:Hazel Mack [Mack, Hazel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-14T00:00:00+00:00

Fifteen minutes later, I worry I’m making a mistake. My hand is lifted to knock at Richard’s door. I’ve been standing here for at least five minutes, heart racing, mouth dry as a desert, staring at the chunky wooden surface. The guitar across my back that I brought for emotional support is making me sweat.

I move my hand and slap my cheek, muttering to myself, “C’mon, Lola. You’ve got this, girl.”

No sooner have I said the words, the door swings open, and Richard appears in the doorway with a smile. He’s got a kitchen towel in one hand, but he throws it over his shoulder and leans into the doorframe, one big arm reaching up to grip the top of the frame. He cocks his head to the side and grins at me, fangs peeking out from his beautiful lips.

I kissed those lips. Almost. And they did not kiss me back.

“You gonna keep standing on my stoop talking to yourself? Or would you like to come in?”

Fucking moons. Of course if he was home he’d have heard me standing out here. I call on literal decades of princess power to plaster a smile on my face and stride under his arm, into the giant open space.

He’s at my back, a quiet, dominant presence as I walk to the kitchen. The countertop is littered with ingredients. He was cooking. Moons, I’ve interrupted dinner. Maybe he was cooking for someone. Shit, maybe he’s got a fucking date. Oh gods. I resist the urge to run. Instead, I sit on one of the industrial metal stools and clear my throat.

He rounds the island and grabs a handful of prepared tamales from the countertop. The familiar scent of corn masa takes me right home to Santa Alaya. I can almost hear music echoing over the bay as I sit on the boardwalk and share a meal with my guards.

Richard glances at me as he stands the tamales upright in a steamer on his stovetop. “I’m cooking pork tamales. I was planning to bring them to you. Lucky that you came to me first.”

Oh goddess. How does everything he say manage to sound so sexual?

I clear my throat a second time. “That’s thoughtful, thank you. I wanted to apologize for last night and making things awkward. I’m missing home and Papá and Lupe and Leo and…I got carried away.” I glance up at him. “I’ve known you my whole life, and I crossed a line. I’m sorry.”

It feels wrong to apologize for something that felt so right in the moment. But it was one-sided, even if I didn’t think it was. Maybe the intense pull I’ve been feeling this entire time is really just admiration for someone I’ve known forever.

Richard remains quiet until the tamale steamer is full. His dark brows furrow in the middle when he puts the lid on the pot and looks over at me. “You have nothing to apologize for, Lola.”

“I do,” I press. “You didn’t ask for me to⁠—”

“I was on top of you, naked,” he reminds me with a lift of one dark brow.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.