Page 97 of A Broody Mate for the Human

“And the cute landlady loves Sugar. She told me she’d love to dogsit him if we want to do something.”

“Is there something to do here?” Raffy chuckles.

Once again I notice how much more talkative he is when it’s just the both of us. As soon as someone else is with us he returns to being his broody, grumbly self. It’s kind of cute.

“No.” I smile. “But isn’t it nice for a change? We can have a late breakfast here and then go for a walk. Just enjoy nature a bit.”

“I didn’t peg you for the type of guy who likes the quietness of nature,” Raffy muses. “I thought you’d rather be a city-person.”

“I didn’t know I’d like it either,” I admit. “But people change, it seems.”

Raffy stays quiet for a while before he looks at me earnestly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’m not sure,” I say.

“We always talk about me,” Raffy points out. “I just want you to know that when you’re ready, you can tell me what’s been on your mind.” He pauses, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. “And what hurt you so much that you literally ran away from it.”

I contemplate his offer for a long while. “I’m not sure if I’m ready,” I admit.

“You don’t need to talk about anything,” Raffy says softly. “But the offer stands. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.”

“Thank you,” I say and really mean it. When the time’s right, I might just take him up on the offer. For now, though, I just want to get some more sleep, and fortunately, Raffy seems to think the same. I can soon hear his breathing getting more even. His hand is still on my waist, and apparently once more the contact with another person’s warmth helps him to sleep more peacefully.

I soon find myself dozing off, too, falling into a deep, relaxing sleep, only waking up much later when the heavenly scent of scrambled eggs reaches my nostrils. “Hm,” I hum, opening my eyes. “Eggs.”

Next to me, Raffy snorts, making me glare at him and hit his chest with my elbow, which makes him laugh even more. “And they say us wolves are always hungry.”

“Are you seriously trying to get between me and my breakfast?” I huff, realizing I’m getting really hangry.

Raffy’s hand is back on my waist, and his thumb rubs over my exposed skin there. “I’d never,” he says.

I can feel my cheeks heating up. If his hand slips any further downwards, he might move past the waistband of my pajamas, and then…

YES, DAVE, it’s time to get up and eat scrambled eggs! I scurry to my legs, ignoring Raffy’s slightly confused look. “Food,” I breathe out and hurry to the bathroom, before I might think of any other things Raffy could do to me.

At least the awesome breakfast truly distracts me. The cute landlady even managed to make me a spring veggie omelet, while Raffy gets his with a huge amount of bacon. We both devour our plates without even exchanging a word.

“I assume you like it?” She beams.

“It’s fantastic,” I say.

Raffy is back to being his grumbly self. “Yes,” he mutters.

I turn to the landlady, winking a bit. “He is just shy,” I whisper in a very low voice, well aware that Raffy’s wolf senses will hear it anyway. I can almost feel his glare at my back while the landlady nods knowingly and pats my shoulder.

After breakfast we head outside to go for a walk. I want to take Sugar with us, but my big boy is just sleeping in a corner and completely ignoring me. I can’t even bribe him with food. Well, I will have to take him for a walk later then. For now, it’s just Raffy and me.

Raffy is still sulking, stomping after me. “Is this a hobby of yours?” he grumbles. “To make fun of me?”

I flash him a dazzling smile. “Just put it on the list,” I say with a wink.

Raffy’s eyes go wide, and there is a hint of a flush on his cheeks. Then, however, his lips curl in a smirk. “One day, you’ll regret saying that.”

“Words.” I make a dismissive gesture with my hand. “So, let’s walk the path to the woods?”

“After the comment you just made, you want to lead me to a forest?” Raffy deadpans.

I feel my cheeks heat up. Me and my mouth… it’s going to get me in trouble one day.