Page 24 of The Enforcers: KANE

She just had to make sure she didn’t get too close.

Yeah, not too close. Hah. Monday morning Rachelle found herself trying on about six different outfits before she found the perfect pair of jeans and tank top, with a peach-colored shirt thrown carelessly on top. Not too dressy, because wolf territories were usually more rustic than elegant. But not too sloppy, either.

This might not be a date, but she wanted to look like a woman in Kane’s eyes, not the scrawny little girl he remembered. Even if she was just going to see where his pack lived, meet a few people, learn a little more about him.

Hopefully, she was also going to confirm that he was exactly what he said he was—back with his childhood pack, no longer a slave to Selina’s sick mind games.

All the same, she made sure her pepper spray and her pistol were in her purse. It always paid to be careful. You never knew when bad shit was going to go down.

She was ready early; her years as an operative had taught her not to be late. But when she saw Kane’s truck pull up, she found herself instinctively playing the girl card, waiting inside for him to come to the door.

She didn’t want to seem too eager. Just in case he thought this was a date.

All that went out of her head when she opened the door. He looked amazing. Dark-washed jeans that clung to his slim hips, and a brick-red buttoned shirt that made his eyes look even more chocolatey, and made the rest of him look good enough to eat.

His sleeves were rolled up, showing his muscular forearms. And she could just see that defined line between his pecs at the collar of his shirt. She got the insane urge to kiss it. Or maybe bite it.

Stop it, she told herself. He’s just an old friend, who hopefully isn’t still bonded to his criminal ex-girlfriend. She and Kane had never been on biting terms, and they certainly weren’t now.

She wondered if wolves liked biting.

Then she realized she was just standing there, staring at his chest. “Um, hi,” she said, looking up into his face. “You look good?” she added tentatively, as if in explanation for why she was staring at him like he was a dish of Rocky Road ice cream.

He shook his head a little, like he was just waking up from a dream. “Wow,” he said. “You look good too.”

Then he added hastily, “Not that you don’t always. Look good, I mean. But you’re usually all dressed up in your stage stuff, and it’s not the same. You look better—oh, shit. I’ll shut up now.”

She thought she heard him mutter, “Fucking Rafe.”

She smiled at him, feeling more relaxed now that she knew he was even more nervous than she was. “I think I heard a compliment somewhere in there,” she said. “So, thank you.”

He just snorted and shook his head.

She picked up her purse and keys and walked outside, shutting the door. “So, what did Rafe do?” she asked, curious.

“Rafe has no filter between his brain and his mouth,” Kane said. “I think he’s rubbing off on me. You don’t want that,” he added.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I like a man who’s honest about what he thinks.”

“Oh, I’m honest,” Kane said. “But not like Rafe. Rafe says every stupid thing that comes into his head.”

“So what did you want to say?” she asked.

Kane sighed and started down the front walk. “I don’t get out into civilization much. My social skills aren’t exactly honed to a fine edge.”

He was looking straight ahead, as if it was too hard to look at her while he admitted this.

“Thanks for the warning,” she said. “You could give it a shot, though. I won’t judge.”

Kane blew out a sigh. “I was going to smile at you and say hi like a normal person,” he said. “And then I was going to give you a hug and maybe kiss your cheek, like people do who just met each other after a long time. People who aren’t idiots. And then I was going to tell you how beautiful you look. And that I’m glad you wanted to come today.”

They had made it to his truck by that time. Rachelle noticed it was freshly washed, and polished until it sparkled. It hadn’t looked that good the other night. Despite the fact that this wasn’t a date, she got a little fizz of happiness inside that he’d gone to that much trouble.

And he thought she looked beautiful.

“Well, we could start again,” she said, leaning against the truck. “You know, for the practice. So you’ll know how to do it next time.”

She mimed opening the front door. “Hi, Kane,” she said nonchalantly.