Reflections of the Wolf (14 page)

She thought about what Devin had told her regarding Liam’s history. Just the fact that he had been married caused her to see a green haze of jealousy. Even knowing that he had created a child with another woman was painful. How much pain had he experienced when he lost both of them? What would it be like to bury a child? It was painful enough to bury her ex-fiancé.

Trying to ignore that painful line of thinking, she forced herself to move from the nurses’ desk. She focused her mind on her surprise picnic with the sexy fireman.

Chapter 11

Throughout the ballet class, Tina kept thinking about her promise to Caroline to give Liam a real chance. She was going to go out with him tonight, just to see if the strong attraction was a fluke…What’s the worst that could happen? Another night of great sex? She laughed inwardly. The worst that could happen is that she would fall even harder for him, and then she would be shattered when something happened and he left or was taken away. She could already tell that she was risking her heart with him, and it scared the hell out of her.

Slamming her dance locker shut, she adjusted her purse a little higher on her shoulder and headed out into the parking lot. The sun was setting as she drove to the lake. It made the sky a beautiful rainbow of pink and purple and eased her tension more.

As she turned the corner and the lake came into view, her heart thudded into her throat. Liam’s red pickup sat in the gravel parking lot. He was waiting for her, leaning casually against it. Her hands were shaking as she pulled in and parked. She couldn’t help the surge of pleasure that filled her just seeing him waiting for her.

She paused for a moment in her car, just watching him as he unfolded his long, muscular body and stood. He had a freaking amazing body. His broad shoulders tapered into his slim waist, and it was all encased in black again tonight. His skintight T-shirt rippled as his muscles bunched and shifted underneath, and she couldn’t stop her eyes from zeroing in on the bulge under the zipper of his black jeans. She knew how impressively he was built and the pleasure that his body gave her. Her pussy moistened and she shivered just remembering the feel of his touch on her skin. She had to take a ragged breath to steady herself.

She tightened up her mental control to stop herself from running toward him and jumping into his arms before she opened her car door to climb out. As she pulled her purse over her shoulder, it caught on the edge of her sleeve, and she remembered that she was still in her dance wear. A thin, black leotard with a pair of short running shorts pulled hastily over her hips. She glanced down to see that her traitorous nipples were pointing clearly through the stretchy Lycra material, and she groaned softly. She had been in such a hurry to meet him at the lake that she hadn’t slowed down to change her clothes. There was no doubt as to her one-track mind now.

“Hey, Sweet Tina…” He started smiling, and then he stopped. A look of apprehension clouded his eyes, and he shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly and waited for her to make the first move.

“Hey, hotshot. Did you remember to bring dinner?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly, but she managed to return his smile without a stutter.

“Of course. I don’t make promises that I don’t keep,” he said with a wink before reaching for her hand and walking her to the dock. Tina took her sandals off and left them sitting with her purse just behind them so that she could dangle her feet in the water, and she was pleased to see that Liam took off his boots and socks to cuff his pants. Settling shoulder to shoulder with their feet in the cool water, he passed her a deli sandwich and proceeded to pour her a glass of wine from a bottle she hadn’t noticed.

“Wow! A sunset picnic and wine? You really go all out when you decide to be romantic, huh?” she said nervously. This setting was so much more intimate than she had imagined, sitting there in the dimming sunlight listening to the sound of crickets and locusts in the shrubs.

“Only for you. I’ve never come here with another woman, Tina,” he said softly, watching her face for her reaction. She glanced up, catching his gaze, and flushed at the heat that blazed there. Just sitting next to him, feeling his body’s warmth caused her body to tingle with longing.

“Thank you. This is beautiful. The lake is one of my favorite places to go when I need to think. The dance studio is my first choice, but if I don’t have time to dance, or the energy, I end up here. There is a pretty clearing on the other end of the lake that I like to sit in and read a book,” she said while she ate her sandwich and sipped at the deliciously luxurious wine.

“Dance studio? So that’s the class you had? Are you learning?” he said. She looked up at him and smiled at the genuine interest there.

“No. I teach ballet class a couple of evenings a week,” she said.

“Really? I bet some of the girls at the den would enjoy taking classes. Ryley, Cash, and I train some of the younger guys in fighting and self-defense, but there’s really nowhere for the girls to go,” he said thoughtfully.

“That’s a long ways away from the studio. I’m sure not too many parents would want to drive their girls all the way in town,” she said with a soft smile. “That’s great that you make time for the kids in the pack. I think all kids need good role models. Some of the girls that come to the studio don’t have much, so I feel like it’s my way of helping them, to give classes. And it gives me the use of the studio or theatre anytime my heart desires.”

“I should have known you were a real dancer. You have the moves and the body for it. All long, lean limbs and graceful, sexy movements,” he smiled and she melted just a bit at the compliment.

“Not always, but I do love to dance. I’ve been dancing since I was a little girl. I stopped for a few years, and it almost killed me.” She paused as an image of Esteban telling her how much of a waste of time dancing was drifted through her mind. Liam laced his fingers through hers as if sensing her need for comfort. It would be really easy to fall for this man and allow him into her heart. It stunned her how quickly she was filled with joy just being near him. It was like she was surrounded by a warm, comforting blanket because he was there. She had only ever experienced such comfort with her immediate family, so this was going to take some getting used to.

“Why? What made you stop if you love it so much?” he asked.

“My ex-fiancé didn’t like that I danced for the fun of it. He believed that nothing was worth doing if it didn’t earn you profit in the end,” she said sadly.

“What a sad existence he must have,” Liam said.

“Had. He’s dead now,” she explained.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Liam said, tensing, and Tina shook her head at him.

“Don’t be. It’s been almost six years, and I’ve grieved and moved on. I mean, I loved Esteban, but I don’t feel the same way I did. It’s in my past now,” she said and took a big swallow of wine.

“I would like to know what happened when you’re ready to tell me. I’d like to know everything about your past, and maybe then you will consider letting me be part of your future,” Liam said, kissing the back of her hand and then rubbing his lips gently over her knuckles.

“Can I ask you something? You can tell me if it’s too personal,” she said, turning her body to face him.

“You can ask me anything. I’m an open book to you, Sweet Tina,” he said, and the honesty in his expression made her smile.

“Who is Daphne?” she asked.

His sharp intake of breath sounded like pain, and the look of loss that passed over his face made her regret her question instantly.

“I’m sorry, Liam. It’s too personal. I shouldn’t have asked…” she said, pulling away from him.

“No! You need to know. This is just hard for me. I don’t usually talk about her.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Daphne is my daughter. She passed away two years ago in a car accident. She would have been three this Christmas.”

His sadness broke her heart. His eyes had gone to a bleak, shadowy gray-blue, and his jaw was tight with tension. She leaned into him just a bit more, and rested her head against his shoulder. With a heavy sigh, Liam let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her against him. She went easily, sensing his need for comfort.

He slowly began to explain what happened between him and his ex-wife Roxy that contributed to the death of her and their daughter. She sat in stunned silence as he shared his painful tragedy.

* * * *

Liam’s mind flew back to the last woman that told him she didn’t want him. Roxy was only faithful to him for the first three months of their marriage and spent the rest of the time fucking every man she could. He stayed faithful to her even knowing she was sleeping with other men. When he took his marriage vows, he meant them, and for three years he only slept with her. Whatever possessed him to marry a woman he met in a bar and had a fling with, he would never know, but once they exchanged rings, he was committed.

His wolf balked at that claim. He had never shared his whole self with Roxy. He avoided having to explain by limiting his time in wolf form to pack runs on the full moon. He would just claim he had to cover at the firehouse for someone, and it wasn’t like she cared enough to wonder. She never knew about his wolf. When they first met, he told himself that it was to give her more time to get to know him, but as they went on he couldn’t deny the fact that she would have rejected him if she knew the truth. In the end she rejected him anyway, and when he found her with another man, he cracked.

The only good thing that came out of those three years was his precious daughter, Daphne Victoria Gray. Just thinking about her caused a heavy pain in his chest. Losing her had been like losing a piece of his soul, and he didn’t believe that he would ever heal completely. He could still remember Roxy screaming at him as she put Daphne into the car seat to take her away from him.

“Did you really think the judge would give you custody, Liam? How is a child supposed to fend for herself while you are working a twenty-four-hour shift at the firehouse? You’re a joke as a father and husband. I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”

“So you think you’re a better parent? You were passed out with another man in our bed while our daughter screamed for you, Roxy! You chose a quick fuck over your own flesh and blood! It’s not over yet. I will keep fighting for full custody.”

“Ha! You don’t stand a chance, and you have no proof that he was ever in our bed. As the judge said, without proof he won’t take a child away from its mother. Are you really so stupid you didn’t know?”

“Why would I think that my
wife
was sleeping with someone else, Roxy? When we took vows I assumed that you meant them, too.”

“You’re dumber than I thought then. We only knew each other for a few weeks, Liam. It’s not like we had a long engagement, and once we were married, I realized I couldn’t be tied to one man for the rest of my life. I told you I didn’t want you. You were the one that wanted to keep trying.”

“I thought you might want to do what was best for Daphne. She should have had two happy parents. You are the one to blame for this mess.”

“We’re done talking. Say good-bye, Liam. You won’t be seeing her anytime soon.”

“You bitch. Just try to keep me away from my daughter, and you will regret it.”

“Hmmm…threats now? How the mighty have fallen. I thought you were better than me, Liam? I thought you wouldn’t stoop to my level?”

“Being around a lying, cheating whore seems to bring out the worst in me.”

“Good-bye, Liam. Have a nice life.”

His pretty little angel had smiled and waved with her pink pacifier in her mouth and her black curls tied up in pigtail with yellow ribbons. It was a vision that would forever haunt him. He had spent the next hour drowning his pain in whiskey. When the police officer showed up at the front door of the cabin, Ryley had to help him stand to talk with them. They told him there was an accident and that he needed to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

When he stumbled into the emergency room, the doctor patiently explained that Roxy had lost control of the car and rolled it down an embankment. Daphne was killed instantly. His whole world had faded to a gray cloud of nothingness as he was forced to bury his child. The bitch that killed her died on her way to the hospital, or else he probably would have murdered her himself.

The following days it was his family that pulled him through his grief. Whitney went with him to help him plan the service and select the casket. Rafe and Ryley arranged the burial and made sure he didn’t drink himself to death. His mom and dad made sure he ate and got out of bed. That was all he really remembered. He had vague memories of her funeral, of Whitney’s best friend Tawny singing “Amazing Grace” as they lowered her casket. Part of him was relieved that he didn’t remember more.

* * * *

He sighed and shook his head, trying to clear the painful memories before turning to look at Tina, who watched him with silent tears running down her cheeks just listening to him relive his worst nightmare.