He straightened, and I could see some of the worry fade. “Um, yeah. I’m the handyman.”
“Really?” A handyman who happened to be a werewolf on an island where there happened to be a cheetah guy. Weird fucking place.
“Yes. Well, I mean, I’m one of the founders of Creature Comforts, actually.” His cheeks blushed behind the black scruff as if he wasn’t used to boasting about himself. It was surprisingly endearing.
He was a founder? I had so many questions about that, but given how he seemed so uncomfortable already—which I understood to my core—I decided to let it go for now. “I’m Bowen.”
His eyes glowed for a moment, and I heard a rumble roll out of him. When he spoke, his voice was thick and deep. “I remember.”
It was almost as if the werewolf side was peeking through, and damn, if that didn’t make my dick take notice. He blinked hard, and when his eyes opened, they looked normal again. “Sorry. I’m having a hard time… controlling myself around you.”
I stared at him and bit my lip to stop myself from doing something completely irrational, like throwing myself at this man. There was something about hearinghe couldn’t control himself that made me want to lose control, too. Which was very much not me.
“Okay. So you know my name, do I get to know yours?”
He ran a hand through his hair and nodded slowly. “Yeah, sorry. I’m, um, Rudolph.”
My heart did a little skip, and I felt my lips tug up at the corners. “Rudolph? Like the reindeer?”
His cheeks flushed again, and his hands went to his pockets while he scuffed the ground with his shoe. “It means wolf, actually.”
Damn, if that wasn’t the cutest thing I’d ever seen, especially knowing that this big man could literally change into a beast, and here he was all bashful. “It’s cute, I like it. It’s nice to officially meet you, Rudolph.”
He tilted his head, studying me. Seeing the action allowed me to connect the man before me with the wolf-man I’d seen the night before. It reallywashim. It was somehow impossible to believe and clear as day at the same time.
“Rudy. You can call me Rudy. But yeah, you too. I’m sorry about… earlier. I should, um, probably go before I do something else I might regret.”
“What? Like lick me again?” I smirked.
His eyes went wide. “Ilickedyou?”
His shock surprised me. “You don’t remember?”
He shook his head quickly as his cheeks reddened. “Gods, I’m so sorry.”
Ilaughed it off to try to cover how much I’d been thinking about that moment. “It's fine. It’s not the first time I’ve been licked by a canine.” A growl sounded from the back of his throat, making me bite back a smile at the jealousy in it. “Don’t worry, you’re my first werewolf, though.”
A kaleidoscope of emotions seemed to churn in his eyes, and I wanted to break it all down and learn what each fragment meant. Ultimately, he seemed overwhelmed, and I knew that overwhelmed animals had a tendency to either hide or attack. I wasn’t sure how much animal there was to him, especially when he looked like any other human. Big, but undetectable that he was anything else. At least in his other form, I knew how to handle it.
I sucked on my teeth and decided to take a gamble. Stroking my hand gently over his arm, I used the same gentle, reassuring tone I’d used on the walking path. “It’s okay, Rudy. Everything is okay. You’re safe with me, and I know I'm safe with you, so you don’t have to worry about that. You’re a good… you’re okay.”
My heart jumped into my throat as I realized what I’d almost called him. In his other form was one thing, but I couldn’t call a man who stood a head taller than me agood boy. Rudy’s eyes closed, and I could see the tension leave as he moved his arm to encourage me to continue. Seeing the reaction emboldened me to go one step further. I slid my hand up his arm, over his shoulder, to where hismedium-length hair just brushed against his shoulder. I’d never been this forward before, but this unique person stirred something in me.
When my fingers slid into his hair, he leaned his head fully into my hand, the same way he had when I petted his much-larger wolfish head. Maybe it was unusual that the characteristics I seemed to be drawn to were the ones that weren’t typically human, but damn… watching him melt beneath my touch was captivating.
“There you go. See? We’re all good.” I reluctantly pulled my hand away from him, and he released a heavy sigh.
Slowly, Rudy opened his eyes, which were now clear, and he gave me a half-smile. “That was… nice. Thank you.”
I returned his smile, happy to see the change in him. “You’re welcome.” This had been the longest, most intimate interaction I’d had with another person in awhile, and for the first time ever, I wasn’t ready for it to end. “So… what do we do now?”
Rudy
What now? The only thing I could think of was having his hand in my hair again. I damn near felt my leg twitch with the pleasure of it. Either that or bury myself in his neck to breathe in his scent again. Both options threatened to bring my wolf out. As it was, he was hovering just beneath the surface, making every action, every thought come slower as I tried to keep him down. The power with which he wanted the man in glasses was making it harder for me to find a reason to stop him.
Bowen stood there, being so patient, looking so cute, and smellingsotasty. He was waiting for me to answer. An answer I didn’t have. “I don’t really know. This is all kind of new for me.”
He let out a soft laugh, making his brown eyes sparkle. “You and me both. I have so many questions.”
