Page 10

T he moment Rafe’s lips touched hers, Billie Ann’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart didn’t just flutter, it stuttered, as if unsure whether to race forward or stop entirely. His kiss was gentle, unhurried, but there was something deep beneath it.

Her first instinct was to pull away, but not because she didn’t want it. No, it was because she did .

But then her body leaned in, betraying any hesitation her mind still held. Her fingers gripped the front of his shirt, anchoring herself in the warmth of him. The ache in her chest, the one she’d carried since learning of Davey’s death, eased just enough for her to breathe again.

This shouldn’t be happening.

That was her first clear thought when the kiss broke and Rafe’s forehead rested against hers, his breathing ragged. They’d only just met. It had barely been a few days. But even as that logic echoed in her mind, it couldn’t drown out the memory of Davey’s voice.

“Shifters don’t waste time when they find their person, baby girl.

When it hits, it hits hard and fast—and it’s real.

You’ll know when it’s right. You’ll feel it,” he’d said one night after his third beer, wagging a finger like he was passing down sacred knowledge.

“If some Shifter comes sniffing around you, don’t panic.

They catch feelings fast. Real fast. Like ‘I met you Tuesday, let’s mate for life by Friday’ kind of fast.”

She had rolled her eyes, laughing, thinking it was just another one of Davey’s weird warnings sandwiched between advice on bar fights and how to spot a fake ID.

“I’m serious,” he’d grunted, pushing a handful of peanuts around the counter.

“They don’t mess around. One good whiff and boom.

So, if some rugged, too-handsome-for-his-own-good Shifter comes around all broody and intense…

just, y’know… don’t freak out. Call me first, and if I’m not around, you know where ol’ Clint Blastwood is. ”

At the time, it was funny. Now?

Now it felt like prophecy. Because as she stood there, Rafe’s arms still around her, the heat of that kiss still burning softly on her lips, she wasn’t freaking out. Instead, she felt wanted, and it felt amazing.

“I’m not going to apologize,” Rafe said, his voice low and rough.

“I didn’t ask you to,” Billie Ann replied, her voice soft but steady as their eyes met. His golden gaze held hers like a tether, and for a moment, the world stopped.

Rafe didn’t pull away completely, just enough to look at her. His hand came up, callused fingers gently brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek, the touch so tender it made her breath catch.

“Did Davey ever talk to you about our ways?” he asked, his eyes scanning hers, like the answer meant everything. “The ways of Shifters?”

She nodded, suddenly shy, a flush rising to her cheeks. “Yes. He did.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Rafe’s mouth, but it wasn’t teasing. It was full of something deeper. Something raw. “Then you probably know we don’t tiptoe around things. We don’t take years to decide how we feel. We know. It hits like lightning, and once it does, there’s no going back.”

Her heart beat harder, her mouth going dry as her brain tried to process what was happening.

Rafe leaned in slightly, his forehead nearly brushing hers. “The second I saw you, Billie Ann, I knew. Before you even spoke a word, something inside me said, There she is. My instincts, my soul, my Jaguar recognized you before my brain had a chance to catch up.”

She stared at him, caught in the intensity of his gaze, in the certainty of his voice. Her hands curled slightly against his chest, trying to hold onto something that already felt bigger than both of them.

“I know it’s fast,” he murmured, “and I won’t rush you. I won’t ask for anything you’re not ready to give. But I need you to know this… you’re not just some passing moment to me, Billie Ann. You’re it. ”

“I’m human, Rafe.” The words came out before she could think them through, almost like a warning.

“I know,” he said softly, brushing his thumb across her cheek. “And it doesn’t matter. Not to me. Does it matter to you that I’m a Shifter?”

“No,” Billie Ann said without hesitation, her brows drawn tight. “It doesn’t... but what if you find your Mate?”

“I have,” Rafe replied simply, his golden eyes locked onto hers, unflinching.

She blinked. Once. Twice. Her brain scrambled for understanding, for logic, for something to make this moment make sense, but all she found was him , standing there so sure, so steady, while her world tilted on its axis.

Billie Ann wasn’t a dumb woman. She’d been through enough to sharpen her instincts and her doubts. But this? This was something else entirely. She stared at him, trying to force him to see her point, to grasp the magnitude of what he was saying.

“If you found your Mate,” she started slowly, her voice hushed, still not grasping what he had just exposed, “then it wouldn’t matter how much you liked me. A Mate trumps everything. That’s how it works, right? That’s what Davey taught me. Shifter bonds are forever.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with fear and doubt, but also laced with something softer… something almost hopeful.

And then it hit her like a punch to the chest. Her breath caught as her eyes widened. “ Oh. ”

Rafe’s smile curled, warm and amused, and then he chuckled at her stunned expression. “There it is,” he murmured, clearly pleased with her dawning realization. “I don’t pull punches, Billie Ann. I don’t play games. You’re mine. From the first second I saw you, I knew .”

Her lips parted, breath trembling as she tried to keep up with the avalanche of emotion inside her.

“But,” he continued, his voice lowering, roughening with something tender and raw, “I also know this might be too much for you. If you feel nothing for me, if this is one-sided, I will walk away. I’ll make sure you’re safe, that the bar’s settled, and that you have what you need.

Then I’ll be gone. You’ll never hear from me again. ”

Her heart clenched so hard it hurt. Rafe was giving her a choice. An escape. Even though it was clearly the last thing he wanted to do. She looked up at him, really looked, and saw the storm he was holding back.

Her voice cracked when she spoke. “I do feel something. I’ve felt it since that first night.

I just… didn’t trust it. I didn’t trust myself.

” She pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

“I lost the one person who ever really cared about me, and I didn’t think I’d ever be seen like that again.

Then you walked in. And it terrified me. ”

Rafe stepped closer, his hand wrapping gently around hers. “Does it still?”

“A little,” she whispered. “But not enough to push you away.”

Rafe’s smile returned, slow and warm, the kind of smile that could melt defenses she didn’t even know she had. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Billie Ann narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching. “But you just said you’d leave if I didn’t feel anything.”

“I lied,” he said without an ounce of shame, his grin widening.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

Rafe chuckled and pulled her into his arms without hesitation, wrapping her so tightly against his chest it was as if he could shield her from everything, as well as her past, her grief, and even her doubts.

“Okay, okay... I’m kidding,” he murmured into her hair.

“Sort of. We’ll take this as slow as you need to, Billie Ann.

I’ll follow your pace. But just know this… ”

She tilted her head back to meet his eyes. “Know what?”

“You are mine,” Rafe growled softly, like a vow pulled straight from his soul. Then his mouth came down on hers, claiming her with a kiss that was as intense as it was tender, raw and soul-deep, a little rough around the edges but honest in every way that mattered.

When he finally pulled back, his gaze searched hers for a reaction.

She didn’t speak. Just stared up at him, her breath caught somewhere between wonder and disbelief.

Rafe’s brow furrowed. “Billie Ann, what is it?”

“I just realized…” she whispered, her lips tugging upward slowly. “I didn’t just inherit a bar. I inherited a man too.”

For a beat, he blinked. Then his head dropped back as a deep, roaring laugh burst from his chest. He laughed so hard, it shook them both.

“That you did, sweetheart,” he said, still laughing, eyes shining as he looked down at her like she was the only thing that mattered. “That you definitely did.”

And for the first time since everything had happened, she felt at home in Assjacket.