Red & Wolfe Part 4: An Erotic Fairy Tale by Ella James Read Free Book Online Page A

shoulders. I love how hard he feels. How warm and damp his skin is. He feels so soft. And for the first time ever, I have a forbidden thought. I think: I want him to be mine .
In that very breath, he moves my arms off him and scoots back in the tub. I sink deeper into the water, and it burns the cut on my thigh. I wince, and Race’s eyes widen. A look of panic flits across his face.
“This is my fault, Red. My fault this happened to you. After I clean you up, you have to go .”
I start to cry, because really—after the way this day has gone, what else can I do? Emotion rises in my throat. It’s one I know well: the pain of losing someone. I cover my face with my hands, embarrassed by the force of my feelings for him. “I don’t want to go!”
“Why would you stay?” He sounds incredulous. I peek at him through my hands and find his face twisted in shock. It’s gone in a heartbeat, replaced by something flat and cold. “Do you have a death wish, Red? Is that why you want to stay?”
“Of course not!”
“Then you’re wrong,” he says grimly. “About me. You shouldn’t trust me, Red.”
My heart bumps off its rhythm, dragging out a beat. “But you didn’t do it,” I whisper.
He draws his knees up and rests his arms on them. Lays his head atop his arms.
“You didn’t do it. I know you didn’t.” He can’t have done it. “I won’t believe it.”
He looks up. “You don't know anything about me, Red.”
“Yes I do. I know everything I need to. I know you keep a clean house and you like the woods. You’re an amazing artist, and you’re loyal. You were loyal to Gertrude, and you didn’t have to be. You didn’t. I know you care deeply about things that matter to you, because ‘W.’ donates so much to charity. You’re good with your hands, you’re good with your mouth. I’ve never fucked someone as good as you, but that’s not why I want to stay.” My voice cracks. “I like the way you give me baths. I like the way you lie beside me.”
His face twists, and he’s out of the tub before I can draw another breath.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he says as he stands there, dripping on the bathroom floor.
“So tell me.”
But he’s already gone.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
    RED
     
I jump out of the bath and wrap a towel around myself. The cuts sting, but I rush after him anyway.
I hurry into the bedroom, driven by the need to know what’s going on. Who was that man who tied me in the tree house? He told me his partners had killed Race. Who are his partners, and how did Race escape them? Why were they so sure Race killed his wife? And are there any more bad guys wandering around the island, waiting for us?
As soon as I step into the bedroom, I hear his voice. He’s standing nude in the open space between the bedroom and the kitchen. He’s got his body angled sideways, so I have a left side view of his beautiful, masculine profile. I realize his right hand is raised. He’s holding a phone.
“Bob?” he says.
I watch his shoulders stiffen. “Yes, I’m his brother.” Whatever they’re telling him isn’t good. He’s frozen, unmoving, unbreathing, until he growls, “He what? ...Bullshit! Bob doesn’t even take goddamned Aleve!” He goes even stiffer, as if he’s coiling right before punching someone in the face. “Where is he now?”
He groans a curse, then shouts, “Goddamnit!”
He hurls his cell phone, the movement so swift that for a second I don’t see where he threw it. It bounces to the floor in pieces as he stalks into the kitchen. I find him leaning his arms against the sink, his head hanging down between them. He’s breathing hard.
“Race…” I touch his arm, and he flinches.
“I’m sorry.” I pull my hand back, wrap both arms around myself.
“You think I need your help?” He turns the full force of those black eyes on me, and everything inside of me goes still. “Red, you’re nothing to me. Just a fuck. You need to call your friend. Have her