Obsession (15 page)

“Do not attempt this by yourself, Jessica. It’s too dangerous. If you try to hack into the system, you could get badly hurt.” He rubbed his chin. “In fact, I don’t want you touching another computer.”

Anger filled her. “You can’t boss me around, Raphael.”

“This is J.J.’s ranch and I am his business manager. The rules I set down are followed. I’m terminating all your internet access and access to the database.” He towered over her, reminding her of his superior weight and strength.

What arrogance!

Time to switch strategies. “Then what about borrowing one of your other computers?”

Flicking his gaze to the ruins upon his desk, he raised a dark brow.

Not answering, he strode over to a credenza behind his desk, unlocked a cabinet and fished through it. Raphael removed a small black laptop, closed and locked the cabinet and then handed her the computer.

“Fully charged.”

She sat on the sofa and powered up the computer. Dismay filled her. “This is a child’s computer!”

“No internet access. But it’s loaded with games and will keep you occupied all afternoon.”

Jessica slid her index finger over the mouse-pad. “Right. Cuddles with Wolves? That’s the game you want me to play?”

“Alexa’s little brothers and sisters would love it if you played with them.”

Babysitting.
Holy goddess, she’d escaped the playpen in Michigan only to come here and be enlisted as free labor. “Lupo the Lupine’s adventures while lost in the forest? NOT how I planned to spend my vacation.”

He consulted his watch again. “After dinner, we could get lost in the forest and play a different game.”

One that would involve her getting naked. Jessica scowled and slammed the laptop shut. “No thanks.”

He stood quietly watching her. She hugged the laptop to her chest. “Fine. You want to turn me into a babysitter like my family, fine. Thanks for your help. Not. I’ll walk back to the house.”

“It’s a long way back.”

“Good. It’ll give me time to cool down.”

She stormed down the stairs, not waiting to hear his answer.

He left her alone the rest of the afternoon. She didn’t see him again even at breakfast the following day, nor at lunch. Instead, she spent the day playing computer games with Alexa’s siblings while the others prepared for the rodeo. Raphael and J.J. were overseeing placement of the trailers on the ranch grounds.

Daniel hovered in the doorway, watching, with a wistful expression. Jessica jumped up and took his hand. “Come on. We’re playing Wolf Cuddle.”

He scowled. “That sounds like a baby game.”

“It teaches you to be a hunter.” She stopped and pretended to examine him from head to toe. “You look like a future hunter. I bet you could learn to be a great Lupine hunter, if you tried.”

He looked with such longing at the other children on their computers that Jessica’s heart turned over. How well she remembered feeling the same…standing on the outside, looking in, wishing someone would invite her to participate.

But no one wanted her to join their reindeer—ah, wolf—games.

Jessica tugged at his hand. “I have a spare laptop, just for you. I bet you’ll catch on quickly and you can show the younger ones all the tricks and shortcuts. C’mon.”

Hope lit up his eyes, followed by a bored shrug. Jessica noticed, and silently vowed to work hard with the boy.

Much later, Raphael finally showed up. The children squealed and jumped on him, playing “attack.” Raphael staggered backward, and pretended to fall as the children pounced on him, growling.

Daniel watched them play with a forlorn look, as if he longed to join them. Then he got up, snapping his laptop shut and picked up the computer. “I’m going to my room to play a real game.”

“Space Wolves?” she asked.

He nodded.

After Daniel left, she watched Raphael with the other children.

He was good with kids. A pang of regret flicked through her. He’d make an excellent father. As he rolled and mock tussled with the children, his cell phone came out of his pocket. Then Louise, the four-year-old, banged her hand against the table and cried out.

“Ow!”

Immediately, Raphael stopped. He examined Louise’s hand. “It’s a tiny cut, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it.”

“No stingy stuff,” she wailed.

“No, not that. You won’t hurt a bit.” He scooped Louise into his arms. “Please watch them,” he told Jessica, “while I clean her cut.”

As he headed for the bathroom and she calmed the other children down by encouraging them to return to the video game, Jessica eyed Raphael’s cell phone on the carpet.

She picked it up. And smiled.

* * *

Dinner was ready a few minutes later. Because of the rodeo preparations, the meal was served buffet style.

She helped herself to the dishes on the sideboard, watching out of the corner of her eye as Raphael sat at the polished table. Jessica dished out green bean salad. And the fried chicken looked amazing as well.

A soft chime rang as she took her seat. Raphael picked up his phone. “Excuse me, I have an important text I must answer.”

Jessica bit her lip.

He typed and stared at the screen. “What the…”

A giggle rose in her throat. Desperate, she tried to stifle it as he typed again. Then Raphael frowned, pressed a button and held the phone to his ear. “Hello, Aiden. No, I’m not playing games,” he glanced at Jessica. “However, someone else is. Yes, the trailers are rented and already parked on the grounds. Everything is set for you and your people to arrive tomorrow. I will call you later tonight.”

After hanging up, his mouth narrowed to a thin slash. Raphael gave a tight smile to the group, then grabbed her wrist. “Excuse us.”

He practically pulled her out of the dining room and into the living room. He showed her the phone’s screen. “Did you do this?”

Pasting an innocent expression on her face, Jessica looked at the cell phone. “Oh my. I didn’t realize you had a problem.”

For every time Raphael texted “Yes,” the word came out as “I love you.”

For “No,” she’d substituted, “Screw you.”

For “phone,” she’d substituted “dick.” For “new phone” she’d programmed his keyboard to spit out “new dick.”

A text read from Aiden Mitchell:
All set 4 tomorrow and trailers for my guys?

Raphael:
I love you.

Aiden Mitchell:
What? What’s the deal, Raphael? You messing with me?

Raphael:
Screw you. Something’s wrong with my dick. This dick is worthless. I need a new dick.

“You’re trouble, Jessica Tyrell, and should be taught manners. You should be put over someone’s knee and soundly spanked,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.

“I dare you to try.”

His eyes darkened. “Do not tempt me, little Red. Because if we go there, it won’t only be your ass that’s sore.”

Lifting her chin, she locked gazes with him. “I’m not afraid of being sore. And I’m not afraid of you.”

“Good,” he said softly. “I will challenge you on that much later, when we run as wolves.”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are. As long as you stay here, you obey the alpha’s rules and J.J. has said we all run with the moon tonight.” His smile widened. “To get out our wild side before the rodeo. He has asked me personally to run with you, as you don’t know the terrain. You’ll be with me every moment.”

For the first time, Jessica felt at a loss. Raphael had her cornered. A harmless prank, well, perhaps not so harmless, had turned the tables.

Clutching the phone, he drew near, his smile predatory, as if his wolf emerged. “We’ll have to get naked together before we shift, little Red. I will very much enjoy watching you get naked and seeing your lovely, plump and spankable ass.”

“You get anywhere near my ass, Raphael Amador,” her voice dropped, “I’ll show you much more. My fangs.”

He lifted a dark brow. “Do you bite?”

Jessica growled low.

“Excellent. I shall look forward to it. I bite as well, little Red.” His smile widened. “And I’ll make you enjoy each moment.”

As she whirled on her sneakered heels to return to the dinner table, she felt a light swat upon her butt. Jessica gasped and looked over her shoulder.

Raphael stood there, tapping the cell phone against his bearded chin, a promise in his eyes.

A promise she feared he would not forget.

But more than that, she feared her own reaction…for she wanted him badly to remember.

Chapter 10

After dinner, as Alexa and her mother tucked the younger children into bed (Jane, the housekeeper, would babysit), she headed for the great room to await the others. Gods, she hated running with others.

Hoping to be alone to gather her composure, she found Daniel sitting on the sofa, staring at the laptops on the coffee table. Misery etched his expression as he looked up.

“I asked J.J. to be excused from the pack run. But he said I need to start acting as a Lupine again.”

She sat beside him. Sometimes it was best to only listen.

“I feel like a freak. I can’t remember how to shift, I can’t remember most stuff other Lupines do. Will I ever be normal like them?”

The kid had been dealt enough crap. “No, you won’t. I won’t lie. Your people will always regard you as different, because you are. They’ll stare at you, maybe even whisper behind your back.”

Her fingers curled around his thin shoulders. He was just a kid, who’d learned to shift before the gnome had possessed him. Just a young kid.

“It will hurt like hell, but you never show them it hurts. And there’s special magick you have that no one else will ever have. A magick that would make other young envious. A magick that will make you stronger inside, here,” she tapped his scrawny chest, “where it counts. Adversity makes you tougher and more of a leader.”

Daniel looked so hopeful that her throat tightened. “Really?”

She nodded. “Have faith. You have a terrific family who loves you, a cousin who will do anything for you, and Alexa, who’s a great auntie. And you know what else? You’ve got a good friend: me.”

He beamed at her, and she ruffled his hair.

“I guess this means I should run with the moon tonight,” he said.

“Yes. And I have a secret, too.” She sighed. “I’m not such a terrific shifter myself. I’ve always had trouble. So you won’t be alone.”

Daniel gave her a solemn look. “Thanks Jessica. I really like you. You’re cool.”

He gave her a quick hug, then darted off toward the kitchen. Jessica stood, her throat still tight. Hearing a noise, she glanced up.

J.J. stood in the doorway between the great room and the living room. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank you for that.”

Giving a modest shrug, she watched him walk into the room and study the assorted laptops scattered around the room.

“There’s nothing to thank me for. I just have a little experience with kids. But he needs
you
.”

He threw her a quick, startled look. “I don’t think so. And I’m just his cousin. He doesn’t even remember me.”

“He needs a male role model. He needs to connect with you.”

The powerful billionaire alpha of the Double B Ranch looked helpless. “I don’t know how to do it.”

“It’s not hard. Just remember your past, what you shared. The love you had for him, the fun you had. You’ve been a responsible adult for so long, why not try being a kid again?”

“A kid?”

“You know. Jumping in piles of leaves you just raked. Exploring the woods and building forts. Playing video games, stickball, running for the hell of it. Letting go instead of being so obsessed with the pack, the business, everything else. Just have fun for a change.”

He nodded. “I had planned to lead the pack tonight in the run. Perhaps I should run with Daniel.”

Jessica nodded. “I’m sure he’d appreciate the attention. Be patient.”

J.J. gave a rueful smile. “I’ve learned to be patient, being mated to your best friend.”

He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. “Thank you again, Jessica. Alexa was right. You are a very special Lupine.”

As he walked away, she glanced up and saw Raphael at the doorway, a small smile on his face. Jessica tensed. “You’re too damn quiet, wolf.”

His smile widened and then he turned around and walked away, as quietly as he’d entered.

Shortly after dinner, when the moon hung as a silver nickel in the dark sky, they ran as wolves deep into the forest. Jessica thrilled at the chase, at the wind ruffling her fur, her senses pounding with the taste, sight and smells of the night.

J.J. led the pack, Alexa at his side, and Daniel between them. J.J. delayed the run, taking time to talk with Daniel and encourage him as the boy shifted into wolf. When Daniel did, Alexa and J.J. shifted and then the three wolves raced into the forest, up the mountain.