“Wait, Toby. You need to wait for your mom,” Rafe said.
But Toby was already out the door and headed for the pool.
“Whoa, no getting in until your mom’s out here,” Edward said.
“But you’re out here.”
“And not dressed to go swimming. Do you know how to swim?” Edward asked.
“Sure. See?” Toby jumped in and so did Edward, just as Rafe ran onto the patio. Toby came up and dog-paddled toward the shallow end.
Fully dressed, Edward swore under his breath as he swam toward the edge of the pool.
Rafe laughed.
“You owe me a new watch and a phone, Boss.” Edward pulled off his watch and set it on the patio. He slipped his phone out of its pouch and set it next to his watch, then swam to the shallow end.
“Toby!” Jade scolded as she ran out to see what had happened. “What have I said about getting in the water at a pool or lake?”
“Not to go in unless I have superbision.”
“Supervision.”
“Yeah.” Toby pointed a finger at Edward. “He’s swimming with me.”
“He wasn’t dressed to go swimming with you. You probably scared him to pieces,” Jade said.
“He did.” Edward climbed up the pool steps, sopping wet. He began pulling off his shirt.
“Are you going to be all right for the moment, Jade?” Rafe asked.
She was wearing a shimmering blue bathing suit, cut low on the bust and with a plunging back, but it was a lot more suitable for a mom who was going to play with her son in the pool than the one he’d seen her in before. Still, she looked just as hot in that swimsuit as she had in the other.
“Yes, we’re fine. Go do your business.” Jade turned to Edward. “I’m so sorry.”
“No problem. Working for Rafe can be…different. I never know what to expect.” Edward winked at her, and he only seemed darkly amused, not angry or annoyed.
Rafe was glad Edward wasn’t mad. After what had happened to Jade and her son with her pack, she needed to feel safe and welcome.
Jade dove into the pool and swam after Toby. She tackled him in the water, and he squealed. Rafe wished she had done that to him.
Rafe moved back into the house and headed for the quiet of his office, talking to Hugh. “Okay, sorry about that. Did Lizzie tell you where Kenneth is?”
“She says she’s innocent. That Kenneth made her do it.”
“What did he have on her that would give him leverage to use against her?”
“Nothing she could tell us. Just that he’d kill her if she didn’t do it. We don’t believe her. She wanted to mate Kenneth, and when he got involved with another she-wolf, Lizzie realized she was going to lose out on everything. She felt used—her words—and thought she could get the money out of Jade, but then was afraid you’d kill her rather than pay for Toby’s release and let her go. So she figured she was better off selling the boy to the couple that Kenneth had contacted and then taking off with the money.”
“If she was innocent, why didn’t she just contact us and turn the boy over?”
“That’s what I asked her. She said she didn’t have a job, and if she had to flee Kenneth’s wrath, which she’d have to do, she’d have to have getaway money. She had Kenneth’s new number, but it’s been disconnected.”
“Great. Where’s Kenneth?”
“She took us to the furnished rental unit, but it’s been vacated. She said she thought he got spooked when she slipped out with the boy. Maybe he saw the whole scene play out in the parking lot, so he took off to cut his losses.”
“Did Lizzie know what Kenneth wanted Aidan for?” Rafe asked.
“To get back their longevity. We know your brother is just trying to find a way to stop us from aging even faster than humans, if that comes to pass. But Kenneth wants to live forever. And he thought Aidan was about to find the cure, make a ton of money on it, and manage the cure. Kenneth thought this cure was a fast way to make a load of money without having to do anything for it.”
“Ironic, isn’t it? He won’t get my brother or his research, but his life expectancy will be cut shorter than he ever imagined.”
“Agreed. What do we do with Lizzie? Kill her? Let her go? Hold on to her?”
“We’ve got to catch Kenneth. I don’t trust that Jade is safe on her own. He might want Lizzie dead for betraying him. So she can be bait. If he comes for her, you can grab him. I’ll deal with him after that.”
“If we have no choice but to kill him?”
“It’s your call. But let me know if you get any leads.”
“Will do.”
After they ended the call, Rafe got ahold of Sebastian. “Hey, listen. We got Jade’s little boy back, and for the next few days, I’d like to hang with Jade and Toby in case Kenneth makes the fatal mistake of trying to grab either one of them. We’ll be going to Disneyland for the day tomorrow and to the San Diego Zoo the next day. If you need me for anything, just call or text.”
“Gotcha. If you need me for anything else, just let me know.”
“I need you managing the business right now. So, thanks for the great job as usual.”
“Are we still on for the charity ball?”
“Yeah.” Which reminded Rafe that he needed to take Jade shopping for an evening gown.
Though the house was well insulated, he could hear Toby’s childlike laughter poolside and realized how foreign that sounded. Adult conversation and laughter, yes, but no one played in the pool except for when he, Aidan, Derek, or Sebastian swam laps. Sometimes they played volleyball. But a child’s laughter seemed so out of place.
“Sounds like someone’s having fun,” Sebastian said, his enhanced wolf hearing picking up sounds humans couldn’t hear.
“Yeah, Toby and his mom are swimming.”
“And Aidan. Edward is catching the ball when it goes out of bounds…when it’s out of the water. How come his pants are soaking wet? He’s gotten rid of his shirt too.”
“Long story.” Rafe assumed Sebastian was at his separate guest house grabbing lunch and was watching all the activity from his kitchen windows.
“Okay, Boss, good show. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks. Out here.” Rafe should have been looking for his next big real-estate deal, but he knew Sebastian would be taking up the slack for him. All he wanted to do was see what was going on at the pool. Well, more than that. He wanted to join in on the fun.
He realized he was usually more serious, more business-oriented, definitely more used to adult kinds of pursuits. He stripped out of his clothes and pulled on a pair of board shorts, then headed out his patio door to the pool.
Sure enough, Sebastian was right. Edward was shoeless and shirtless, his hair and skin wet, his pants still soaking from the earlier swim.
Aidan was now shooting baskets with Toby, giving the tyke a boost so he could reach the basket. Rafe paused to watch as Jade sat in the water on the stairs observing her son and Aidan. Edward pulled off his sopping-wet jeans and hung them over the wall, then spotted Rafe.
In his boxers, Edward grinned at him.
Amused at his bodyguard, Rafe smiled a little and shook his head. Then he walked over and dove into the deep end. If Aidan didn’t mind, Rafe would leave him and another bodyguard here to watch over Toby while Rafe and Edward took Jade to shop for a dress. Rafe wasn’t used to always having a bodyguard with him. He’d enjoyed his free time with Jade before this, but with Kenneth still on the loose, he planned to take every precaution.
Jade was smiling at him as Aidan continued to play basketball with Toby. The boy seemed tireless and unaware Rafe had joined the pool party. Jade swam out to Rafe, and he was glad she did. Not that he wanted an audience, but as soon as she got close, he pulled her into his arms and paddled to keep afloat with her.
“I didn’t know my brother would be good with kids.”
She smiled up at Rafe. “You too. That’s the first time Toby has stayed with an adult male without f
ussing to go with me.”
Rafe shrugged. “I was a kid once. Though it was a very long time ago. Listen, we still need to go shopping for you to buy an evening gown.”
“I really don’t need to go now. I’ll need to keep Toby under wraps. I’ll just stay with him in the bedroom. You have a large-screen TV there, and he’ll love it. You practically bought out the entire collection of toys at the store, and we can play to our hearts’ content.”
“Absolutely not. We can have him at the party for a while, and then someone else can sit with him in the den, play, read him stories, and watch TV with him.”
“Rafe—”
“We’ll make sure he has fun. And if you feel uncomfortable with the crowd, you can slip away. But I want to warn you, I’ve contacted a few specialty children’s clothing shop owners in LA, and they’re excited to meet you.”
“Ohmigod, Rafe, you couldn’t have.”
“Yep.”
“You bribed them?” Jade looked so incredulous that he smiled.
“Not exactly. The notion they could hobnob with the upper echelon and get on my good side?” He shrugged. “Believe me, they were thrilled to be asked, and just as excited to meet with you. I told them you had a toddler of your own, and several said they were shooting new ads for fall and spring and would love to have your son model for them. I sent them the photo you shared with me.”
She laughed. “Wow.”
“I want you to live nearby where I can watch out for you and provide resources so your son can be taken care of when you need to work.”
Jade had tears in her eyes, and he hoped they were happy ones. “No strings attached?” she asked.
“Hell no. There are strings attached. Unless you find some other wolf you fall head over heels for, I want to take you places—Toby too. I want to take you on dates. And that’s why I want someone we both trust to take care of him. I don’t want you leaving my home until we’ve resolved the issue with your brother and your pack though.” Rafe let out his breath, afraid he was rushing through all of what he wanted to say but wanting to get it out while Aidan kept Toby preoccupied. “I don’t want you to feel I’m taking over your life, but I want to be there to support and protect you when you need a friend or help.” He sighed. “How do you feel about this?”
“Rafe…I-I don’t want to be an imposition. I can just hear your hired help complaining to one another about having babysitting duty. Or poor Aidan will never visit you because he’s afraid he’ll be stuck watching Toby.”
“Are you kidding? He’ll probably get him a junior science kit and start teaching him all about science stuff. And I heard him say he’s going to take Toby bike riding out front later today.”
“Still, Aidan doesn’t have to see Toby full time because he’ll be leaving after the ball. Whereas you will when you’re not working while we’re staying here.”
“Let’s just see how it goes,” Rafe said, wishing to take this a hell of a lot further with the hot she-wolf who turned his thermostat up to sizzling. But he wasn’t sure he could deal with the issue of Toby being human. “As for my bodyguards?” He just chuckled. “I’ve never seen Edward so desperate to rescue someone, much less to get in on the act and play with Toby and Aidan while they’re in the water. Don’t worry about it. This has been a nice diversion for them. If they’ve got a beef with me, they’ll let me know about it. They wouldn’t talk behind my back. They know I’m perfectly up-front with them, as they are with me.”
“Hey,” Aidan called to them. “Toby’s hungry, and we’ve decided to have a couple of man-size pizzas. Edward, you want to join us?”
“What about Mommy? And Rafe?” Toby asked, finally realizing they were at the far end of the pool.
“They have some boring things to talk about. We’re going to have fun and see if we can find those Ninja Turtles on TV and have a pizza,” Aidan said.
“We’ll be in later,” Jade said to Toby.
“See you soon,” Rafe added.
Edward was already opening the door, towel wrapped around his waist.
As soon as Aidan got a couple of towels and wrapped Toby in one, he headed inside, carrying the boy over his shoulder.
And Rafe cupped Jade’s cheeks, lifting her face to his, and kissed her.
Chapter 12
The kiss was different between Jade and Rafe this time as they floated in the pool together. Their first kiss on the beach had been hot, but then he’d put on the brakes. In the laundry room, that was another story.
Now, there was quiet desperation. Of wanting to get to know each other better, and yet being unsure about how Rafe felt about her son. She understood that, knew she’d have to deal with Rafe’s feelings toward Toby. She didn’t want to regret having Toby, but she couldn’t deny she loved how Rafe made her feel—loved, desirable, sexy, and needed in his life. She thought the world of Toby and had believed he would be enough to make her whole. She’d thought they didn’t need the rest of the world, and living with her brother and his pack had solidified that notion.
Until she’d met Rafe. She was falling hard for the wolf, and she realized she needed that adult part of her life too.
She kissed him now as if there was no tomorrow, because there very well might not be. Not if Rafe couldn’t deal with a ready-made family, and one that could really cause problems for him. It would be years before Toby was on his own, making a life for himself.
She understood all of that. The perfect life with someone like Rafe was most likely well out of her reach, and she’d best remember that. So why was she kissing him and holding him tight, showing him she needed his kisses and his touch just as much as he seemed to crave having hers?
His eyes were smoky with desire, his kisses full of want. This wasn’t just a need for sex. Though lupus garous definitely had those needs, there was also a type of bonding that showed they wanted to go beyond a courtship. Wolves who accepted each other like this became mates.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and tongued his mouth, knowing she should give it up, but not wanting to. Jade had always had a rebellious streak, and hers was coming straight to the forefront now—when she knew darn well she should rein it in.
Rafe took advantage of the closeness, kissing her as if he had no regrets, but she knew this dream couldn’t last. That reality would come crashing down, and she would be back where she’d been for the last three years. She had no intention of disrupting Rafe’s life, and she knew in the end it would be just her and Toby against the world.
Rafe groaned as he hugged her tight against his chest. “I know,” he said, his voice deep with desire. “I said if you fell head over heels for someone, I’d butt out, but hell, Jade, you can’t do this to me and not expect me to want more.”
She smiled up at him, loving how no matter what, he had a sense of humor. Then she lost the smile and said honestly, “There is the hurdle of what to do about Toby.”
“You know what I think? We need to just take this one day at a time. Not that being with you like this makes that easy.” He kissed her forehead. “Do you want to go in, have some pizza, and then we can go shopping for that dress?”
“Sure.” What she really, really wanted was more of this.
As soon as they left the pool, they threw on robes and walked into the house.
“I’ll have to get a couple of pint-size terry cloth robes for Toby,” Rafe said, and she smiled up at him, thankful he wanted to make sure her son was taken care of. It wasn’t the same as saying he wanted Toby in his life, but she appreciated anyone who treated Toby as though he were important and not a horrible mistake.
The smell of pepperoni pizzas cooking made her mouth water. In the kitchen, Edward, Aidan, and Toby were all topping another couple of pizzas. Edward was cutting up the mushrooms and shredding the cheese, and Aidan and Toby were sprinkling them on the pizza. She wished she’d had her phone on her to capture the moment. They were all so cute. Toby was concentrating hard to do everything just like Aidan, getting cheese o
n the floor, on the counter, and on his shirt as he stood on a stool to reach the pizza.
“Next we add the pepperoni, just like you wanted,” Aidan said, and he showed Toby how to space the slices on the pizza.
Jade smiled, loving Aidan for being so good with Toby. “We’re going to get dressed and join you. Then Rafe wants to take me shopping for a dress.”
“I wanna go,” Toby said, looking up from his work.
“You don’t want to watch the Turtles with me?” Aidan asked, feigning hurt.
She couldn’t imagine him really wanting to watch the animated show with her son.
Toby looked torn—be with Mommy or stay to watch the Turtles.
“We’ll have ice cream too,” Aidan said, attempting to tilt the scale in his favor.
“Okay.” Then Toby went back to helping with the pizzas, won over by an ice-cream cone.
Rafe led Jade away from the kitchen. “What did I tell you? My brother is a natural, and Edward looks to be doing well himself.”
“All right.” She wasn’t certain the fun would last. “But I’ll give them my number, and if Toby starts fussing, we can head back here. Not that he should be allowed to always get his way, but I don’t want Aidan and Edward to have to put up with it if he doesn’t and complains.”
“They’ll be fine.”
She sure hoped so. A three-year-old could change from an angel into a tyrant in the blink of an eye.
* * *
Sebastian stayed outside the formal-wear dress shop to guard the entrance, while Jade and Rafe walked inside. She eyed the beautiful gowns, the whole place screaming, “Too rich for my blood.”
“Maybe we could go to another place that has more of a selection.”
“Let’s look here first,” Rafe said.
“How did you know about this place?” She wondered if he’d bought gowns here for women before. Why else would he know?
“Sebastian looked it up for us.”
“Sebastian. He sure comes in handy.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”