I was too wired. Too tired. Too everything.
Eventually, I washed my hands and trudged back to the bedroom corner of my apartment, flopping into bed with a groan.
My pillow smelled faintly like the lavender detergent I liked. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and stared at the ceiling.
Rafael’s voice echoed in my head.You shouldn’t have to deal with people like him alone.No one had ever said that to me before. Not like that. Not like they meant it.
It made something ache in my chest. I turned over and closed my eyes, but sleep didn’t come for hours. And when it finally did, I dreamed of Rafael.
Not the overprotective bear, but Rafael leaning down to kiss me, holding me like I was breakable and precious at once. His lips tasted like honey and cinnamon.
His voice, when he whispered my name, was soft and reverent.
I woke up with the taste of him still on my tongue.
* * *
RAFAEL
I didn’t remember the walk home.
My body had moved on autopilot, each step a blur. I got in, locked the door behind me, kicked off my boots, and dropped onto the edge of my bed like my legs had finally given out.
The apartment was dim, only the glow from the streetlamp outside painting soft orange stripes across the floor. My heart was still racing like I hadn’t left that hallway.
Like James was still in front of me, flushed and breathless, like I could still feel the way his lips molded to mine.
Hell. I dragged a hand over my face and leaned back, staring at the ceiling like it might have answers. That kiss…
It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like that.
Not after everything James had been through that night. I should’ve said no, should’ve walked away, should’ve done anything but pin him to a wall with my mouth.
But it had felt good. Right. Dangerous, but right. And when his hips rolled up, grinding against me like he needed more. Like I was the only thing keeping him upright.
It took every ounce of self-control not to take it further. Not to tear the door off its hinges and claim every inch of him right there in the hall.
I’d wanted to. Dang, but I’d wanted to. But I was relieved he pulled away. Relieved he had enough sense for both of us. Still. A part of me hated that he hadn’t invited me in.
No. That wasn’t fair. He wasn’t in the right headspace. He’d just been threatened. Cornered like prey. No one should be making decisions after something like that.
But even so... I couldn't stop reliving the way his voice cracked when he asked me to stay. The way he kissed like he meant it. Like I meant something to him.
I grunted and stood, pacing toward the kitchen. I didn’t bother turning on the lights. My night vision was good enough, and the silence helped me think.
James had said he was fine. But he wasn’t. That wasn’t just some random thug hassling him about a bar tab. That shifter reeked of menace and organized trouble.
Someone sent him. I’ve heard whispers of a low-level predator who sometimes hung around downtown, and who thought himself untouchable.
Guys like that loved to loan money to desperate men and tear them apart when they couldn’t pay fast enough. I’d known plenty like that in Ironfalls.
In Ironfalls, I would’ve ripped his throat out. No questions. No warnings. And no one would’ve blinked, but this wasn’t Ironfalls.
This was Sugarpaw Springs, where shifters played nice and smiled across bakery counters and tried to build something better. And I wanted that too, I left Ironfalls with Beau for that.
So why had I nearly shifted tonight? Why had my bear surged to the surface the second he saw James in danger? My hands curled into fists, and I forced a slow exhale.
That reaction... that wasn’t just adrenaline. It was instinct. My bear knew something before I was ready to admit it. James mattered to him. To me.
