Page 19

Kaiah Nez was just plain worn out after dealing with all the emotions of the day.

That was the trouble with being a seer, she picked up on everyone else’s turmoil, including the sexy older wolf who she couldn’t stop thinking about.

That man had more angst than any other person she ever felt before.

Sure, she had agreed to stay out of his head as he liked to point out, but how could she? Gray wasn’t much of a sharer and when she thought he was going to let her in, he’d push her further away.

It was getting to the point that she was thinking about admitting defeat and running back to her grandmother’s house in New Mexico.

But that wasn’t who she was.

Every time she took a peek into Gray’s head she could see all his desires and need for her, but she also saw the terror in his eyes every time she pushed him to let her in.

She knew what had happened to his wife and kids just over five years ago.

She had heard the rumors floating around Tito’s, but she could also see the day he lost his family play through his memories, and the sight was enough to about break her.

The hunters had caught up with Gray’s wife and kids at their home.

Gray was out hunting when it happened and by the time he shifted and got back home, the cops were waiting at his house to keep him from going inside.

It was never proven that hunters were responsible, but she knew from reading his thoughts that Gray believed it to be true.

She saw it all and God, it broke her heart knowing that happened to Gray because whether he liked it or not, she was starting to care about him.

could also see the way he’d look at her when he thought she wasn’t paying attention.

The way Gray looked her body over and stifled his moan every time she walked into the same room as him wearing close to nothing, turned her completely on.

Her new favorite outfit to wear around his house was a tank top and the skimpiest cut-off shorts she could find.

He looked damn near ready to swallow his tongue when she’d saunter past him under the pretense of “just needing something from the refrigerator.” had an excuse for every damn room in his house and if she had to bend over to retrieve whatever it was she needed—well, that was a bonus.

She loved to read every one of his dirty thoughts when he checked out her ass.

What Gray didn’t know was that she’d do every single elicit thing he wanted from her and so much more.

The more pushed him to take what he wanted from her, the more he shoved her back out of his life.

Hell, he even started calling her “Kid,” and she fucking hated that.

Every time he pointed out their age difference she wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter to her.

She knew he wasn’t her father but a part of her wanted him to be her daddy in every other sense of the word.

She loved the fact that he was older than she was and probably more experienced than she was.

got married at such a young age that she never got to “sew her wild oats,” as her grandmother liked to say.

She had a rebound fling after her divorce papers were submitted, with a local in town, but she knew that staying in that small, time-warped city wasn’t what she needed.

She needed to spread her wings and fly as far away from there as she possibly could.

Her sister, Aylen, and both of her cousins, Remi and Nena, had found happiness in NOLA, and why the hell wouldn’t that be true for her?

She could tell the moment Gray pulled up outside of his house.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, they had some strange connection.

She had only felt like this with her immediate family members but never a stranger.

Something drew her to Gray and walking away from him now wasn’t an option for her.

That’s why when Aylen insisted that she leave town with her and Rios, told her no.

She made up some bullshit story about not wanting to run from the hunters who were after them but that wasn’t the whole truth.

Hell, if Gray had asked her to take off with him, she would have in a heartbeat.

The truth was, she was terrified of what the hunters might do to her and her family knowing that she was half shifter and half seer.

Her father was a shifter, and her mother came from a long line of seers.

had never shifted before and as far as she knew, that wasn’t a possibility for her, but her sister could do both.

Gray pushed his way through the front door and could tell just by reading his muddled thoughts that he had too much to drink.

Tequila if she wasn’t mistaken.

“Hey,” he breathed when he found her standing in the middle of the living room wearing nothing but a skimpy t-shirt and her panties.

He looked her body up and down and she could tell that he wasn’t drunk enough to not want her.

Judging from the erection he was sporting, his night out drinking was a giant waste of time.

“You went out drinking to forget me?” she asked, reading his thoughts. Yeah—that bit of information hurt like hell.

“Stay the fuck out of my head, kid,” he shouted at her. raised her chin defiantly and stared him down. She wasn’t about to take orders from him or any man for that matter. If Gray didn’t want to make her his then she was free to do what she wanted and right now, she wanted to go to her room and cry herself to sleep.

“Fine,” she whispered. “I won’t be snooping through your mind anymore, Gray.”

“Liar,” he countered. He was right, she was lying. She just couldn’t take any more fighting with him. Every time he shouted at her felt like a physical assault. She had been with a man who enjoyed telling her how things were going to be. Her ex loved to yell at her and call her a “Giant fucking waste of his time.” When someone you loved said things to you like that, it was hard not to believe them.

“I’m just tired, Gray. I’m tired of fighting with you and I’m tired of you pushing me away. I thought you were supposed to be watching me,” she said. Sure, she gleaned that little piece of information from snooping around his brain after Aylen and Rios took off and she kept it to herself. She knew that Gray was the one following her around town. She could feel him with her at every turn, watching her and had to admit, that made her feel safe.

“And, how the fuck would you know that kid?” he asked.

shrugged, not wanting to admit that she was snooping around his mind again. She knew that it was an invasion of privacy, but Gray never talked to her, never opened up and it was the only way she was able to reach him. Well, that and in their shared dreams. Gray probably believed that he was just dreaming about her instead of with her and that was also something she’d keep to herself.

“You need to stop looking at me like that, kid,” Gray almost whispered.

“Like what, Gray?” she taunted. knew how she looked at him—like she wanted to eat him up.

“You know exactly how you’re looking at me . God, why do you have to make this so much harder than it needs to be?” he grumbled, slumping into the big black leather sofa that took up most of his living room. saw her opening and knew she’d be a fool not to take it. She sauntered over to the sofa and stood over his big body, not giving him a chance to protest. She slipped onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he smelled so good.

“You want me to stop looking at you like this, Gray?” she asked, boldly staring him down. She inched closer to his parted lips and smiled at his lack of response. “How about like this,” she moaned, rubbing her pussy against his jean-clad erection.

“Fuck,” Gray groaned, still not stopping her from doing what she wanted with him. If she was reading him right, he wasn’t going to stop her either. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, kid,” he whispered against her lips. She smiled and let her lips lightly brush his.

“I think I have some idea,” she promised. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her down to seal his lips over hers. By the time he let her up for air, she was panting, and her panties were soaked with her desire for the silver wolf that she wanted to claim her.

“Now’s the time to run, ,” he murmured against her swollen lips. “This is your chance to get as far away from me as possible with your heart still intact.”

“Too late,” she whispered back to him. “My heart already belongs to you, Gray.” A growl ripped from his chest and knew that she was finally going to get everything she had ever wanted from him. She was going to be his and he would be her daddy wolf—finally.