Page 30 of Can’t Help Growling in Love (Harmony Glen #9)
Chapter
Twenty-One
JUNE
With one last glance at Asher, I crack open the door and escape into the hallway. I don’t want to leave him, but I also can’t ignore the contractor who took the time out of his day to come to my house.
I smooth down my t-shirt and check the hallway mirror to see if I’m visibly mussed, but there’s not much I can do for the crumpled shirt and the flyaway hairs.
I throw the door open to find a tall vulpine man standing on the porch, examining the faded paint with interest.
“Hello,” I greet him. “You must be Mr. Duval. I’m June. Thanks for stopping by.”
“Gabe,” he corrects me, holding out his hand. “Glad to be here.”
I shake his hand and step back to allow him into the house. “My boyfriend will be right here, he’s just, uh, taking a shower. But we can go down into the basement now if that’s okay.”
He nods, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. “Sure thing. Though if you don’t mind me saying, that porch could use a new coat of paint. And the board on the second step is loose, so you might want to put a few nails in it before you trip over it.”
I stifle a sigh, not even offended by his assessment.
“I know. The kitchen’s a mess, too, and don’t get me started on the bathrooms. Both upstairs and downstairs.
The whole place needs a refresh, if not outright reno.
I’m doing what I can, one project at a time.
” I open the basement door and stomp downstairs.
“This one jumped to the number one spot on that list, though. The pipes are shot, so I have no heating. Plus I think the water from the leak got into the floor, so there might be damage there, too.”
The man who seemed so laid-back upstairs focuses completely on the issues in my basement. He moves around the room, checking the wood and the valves, peers under the corner of the carpet, and knocks on the pipes with a small wrench, listening intently.
Asher appears a few minutes later, his footsteps soft on the stairs. He greets the contractor and shakes his hand, then comes to stand next to me, present but not hovering or trying to take over my conversation with Gabe.
I sidle closer to him anyway and nudge his hip gently with mine, just to show him I’m there for him. His shoulders drop a notch, and he lets out a long exhale, as if he’d been holding his breath before.
As if my presence alone is enough to let him relax.
“Well, it’s not great.” Gabe straightens from where he’d been crouched, examining a wall. “But not terrible either. No structural damage that I can see so far. You caught the leak early, right?”
I nod. “I’m not sure how long it was, exactly, but no more than a day. We did what we could to dry out the space, but I’m worried because it still feels damp.”
Asher takes my hand and gives my fingers a quick squeeze before letting go. “Is there anything we can do to help things along?”
Gabe crosses his arms over his chest. “The pipes will need to be replaced. I’d recommend doing the electric, too, if you’re already opening the walls, but I understand if you’d rather wait.
It would make the project more expensive.
” He turns around the space, as if doing mental math.
“If you’re okay with ripping up the carpet, you could do that on your own before I get here.
That’ll save me a few hours of work, and it needs to be done anyway. ”
I take my phone from my pocket and open the notes app. “Okay, the carpet needs to go. What else?”
He gives us a list of things to do and the tools we’ll need. “You can rent that from my shop so you don’t have to buy it,” he finishes. “No use buying a tool that expensive if you’re only going to use it once.”
He takes out his phone and spends the next few minutes doing calculations on the work and materials, then gives me a rough estimate for the repairs.
“I do offer payment plans. There’s a five percent surcharge, but we can split this up into four or even six payments.
Or you can pay everything in a lump sum if you’d like, your call. ”
Some of the tension I’ve been feeling since I first noticed the damaged basement leaks out of me.
This might actually work. Gabe seems to know what he’s talking about, and it’s a huge relief to know that Asher will be here to help me tackle this list of tasks.
I didn’t even have to ask, he just offered, as if that’s the most normal thing for a new boyfriend to do.
And the price, while high, isn’t entirely out of my budget, especially with that payment plan he mentioned.
“I can start work in a few days,” Gabe tells us. “Next week, at the latest. Does that give you enough time to get started?”
I think of the calendar at work and the full moon issues looming closer and closer. Hesitating, I glance up at Asher.
But he nods decisively. “We’ll do what we can.”
The contractor shakes both our hands, and I walk him to the front door. Then I turn and lean my back on it, sighing in relief. For the first time in days, my situation doesn’t seem as dire.
“That went better than expected.” I return to the kitchen, where I left Asher, and add, “I could move back home in a few weeks, depending on how fast the repairs will go.”
Asher jerks his head up from where he’d been leaning over the kitchen table, paging through the book I’d left open. “What?”
I put the other books back in the tote bag to take them with me when we leave. “I said, I could move back home in?—”
“No,” he growls.
I blink. “No?”
He grips the edge of the table, his furry fingers pressing into the scuffed surface. “You-you can stay as long as you need.”
“I know, but I thought…” I hesitate, caught in the intensity of his golden stare. “I thought you’d want your privacy back eventually.”
Instead of answering, Asher takes my book bag from me and guides me toward the front door.
“We’ll start on that list tomorrow. I need—” He stops himself, shakes his head, and pulls his hand away from my back.
“June, I’m not good at this. But I promised you we’d talk.
The thought of you staying away from me is making my wolf very, very upset. ”
“Oh, babe.” I palm his cheek, marveling at the way he leans into my touch immediately. “Tell me what you need. I’ll do anything to help.”
He groans and kisses the soft inside of my palm, sending goose bumps over my skin. At the sight, he takes my elbow and leads me out of the house.
“Not here,” he forces out through gritted teeth. “Too cold for you.”
“Okay.” I lock up quickly and allow him to guide me to his truck. “Want me to drive? You look…wild.”
But he just shakes his head and opens the passenger-side door for me. “Get in the car, June.”
The quiet growl of his command has my nipples pebbling beneath my t-shirt.
It turns out, I love a bossy Asher, so I hustle up and clip myself in before he even rounds the front of the truck.
His focus remains on the road the entirety of the short drive, but he rests his big hand on my thigh, gripping me as if afraid I’ll jump out at an intersection and flee.
To calm him, I palm his thigh in return, drawing soothing circles with my thumb. He lets out a ragged breath, but his grip on me lightens.
My touch calms him, and I love that knowledge. The balance of power between us seems better now I know that—a single kiss can set me on fire, so it only seems fair that he should be affected by me as well, even if it’s in such a small way.
He parks in his driveway and is out of the car before I can so much as lean in for a kiss. The door on my side flies open, and Asher plucks me out, swings me over his shoulder, and carries me to the front door.
I giggle, bracing my hands on his back. “Asher! Put me down.”
His fingers twitch on the backs of my thighs, but he obeys the order. “Don’t-don’t move away from me. Keep touching me.”
The raw need in his voice lights me up. I slide my palms under the hem of his sweatshirt as he unlocks the door, then walks me backward into the dim hallway.
The moment the door shuts between us and the outside alarm is armed, Asher presses me to the wall and kisses me deeply, his tongue teasing mine.
He drops the book bag with a thud. I grab hold of his shoulders, and he takes my waist and lifts me, so I wrap my legs around his waist and hold on, my entire body buzzing.
Every nip of his sharp teeth has me gasping, every lick of his clever tongue takes me higher, until I’m rocking my hips, trying to ride the thick ridge of his erection.
“Bed,” I demand, “or couch. But I need to touch— oh! ”
Asher stomps down the corridor, and with every step, the hardness of his cock nudges right between my legs.
With anyone else, I’d be holding back the sound of my pleasure, but I need Asher to know that I’m just as turned on as he is, so I don’t stifle the moan that works its way out of my throat when I feel the hard bulge of his knot, nor when my nipples drag against his chest.
He pushes into the bedroom but stops at the edge of the bed, frowning down at me. “I need to let you go.”
I snort out a laugh. “Yeah. But only for a moment, so we can get rid of the clothes.”
His fingers twitch on my hips as if even this short interruption is too much.
Then he releases me so I can slide down his body.
He groans but takes a step back to rip his hoodie off and over his head.
The movement leaves his fur sticking up, and I grin at him, then smooth the ruffled strands gently.
“I love your ears.” I run my fingers over the velvet-soft tips, amazed at how they twitch at my touch. “Are they sensitive?”
“Very,” he rumbles. “But there are better parts of my body for you to touch.”
He pushes down his sweats, and he’s naked again, his gorgeous body on full display.
“Oh?” My breath catches in my throat at the sight of his massive cock. “Yeah, I-I can see that.”