Racing Home (Dirt Track Dogs Book 3) (Paranormal Wolf-Shifter Romance) (2 page)

“Shit.”

He turned to look at Annie. Her brow was furrowed and she shivered in her blanket.

“It’s bad, isn’t it? I’ve never heard a storm that loud before.”

“It’s a tornado.”

She looked queasy before her eyes fell closed and she lowered her head to rest on her knees. But she only stayed like that for a moment. Lifting her head, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She nodded, her brow going up as she attempted a cheerful grin.

“Well, okay then. A tornado. It’s not
that
bad. That house was built to be sturdy. It’ll be fine.”

Blister stared at her. He wasn’t going to be the one to tell her otherwise.

“You might as well sit. Looks like we’ll be here for a while.”

He looked around. It was cramped quarters. The only place to sit was the bench along one wall. Where she was. They’d be too close. Her scent was already all he could smell in the small space. Being right next to her would be torture.

Breathing deep, he let it soak in. It was like nothing he’d ever smelled before. Apples and lavender and something that didn’t have a name. Or couldn’t be named because it was just
her
. It was both unbearable and irresistible.

Blister sank to a seat on the floor, pulling his knees up and resting his arms there. He made sure to angle the damaged side of his face toward the wall. She’d already seen it, but the less she was reminded of it the better.

“Let’s see… are you hungry? Thirsty?  I’ve packed this place with granola bars and water. Pretty sure there’s a bag of Doritos somewhere too. I’d much rather give my guests a home cooked meal but this is the best I can do without electricity.”

He lifted his gaze to catch her staring at him expectantly. Well, shit. He didn’t want anything from her, but he
was
hungry. When was the last time he’d eaten? And it was kind of her to offer when he’d just barged in here.

“Sure,” he answered.

Her face widened in a grin and she threw off her blanket, standing to rummage through a shelf.

Blister’s mouth went utterly fucking dry and his cock swelled to the point his pants were tight.

She… his angel had no pants on. Zero fucking pants. Her generous ass was barely covered in a pair of pale pink boy shorts. Her short, curvy legs were bare and smooth, and all he could do was envision those thick thighs wrapped around his head.

No
.

He forced his gaze upward, but that sight wasn’t much better. Her threadbare t-shirt gave him too clear an idea of what her breasts looked like. And they were perfect.

“Where the hell are your pants?” Shock and frustration made is voice harsh.

Annie jumped, dropping the bag of chips on the floor. Her face went twelve shades of scarlet and her sweet little mouth opened in surprise. “I… I…” Her panicked gaze traveled the room, never finding what they were looking for.

“The blanket,” he barked. “Cover yourself.”

She glanced down at herself, biting her lip. Sighing, she calmly bent down to pick up the chips, grabbed a bottled water from the shelf and handed them to Blister. Then she picked up the throw and wrapped it around her body, securing it like a towel.

“I forgot,” she said quietly. “I forgot I didn’t have pants on. I ran out of the house in a hurry and…” A shrug finished off her explanation.

Blister uncapped the water and chugged the entire bottle down.

“Sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” she muttered. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

He couldn’t answer her. Not without sounding harsh, and he didn’t want to scare her anymore. The way her scent had changed left him feeling bereft. Her essence had twisted into something foreign, something acrid. Something he’d caused.

“But since you’re here,” she said, her voice forcibly brighter. “Maybe we should get to know each other. I’ll go first. I’m Annie Redmond—but you already know that. I live in that big ‘ol house by myself because my parents are gone and my twin brother is… off in Texas finding himself. Red Cap is the family business, so I have to run it. But I kind of love doing it, because I get to cook. What else, what else… I grew up at the speedway. We were a racing family so you and I have that in common.”

Damn it, he didn’t want to know anything. He knew too much already. And he definitely didn’t want to tell her anything about himself, but if he didn’t, he had the feeling she’d keep talking.

“I’m Blister—but you already know that. I live in a tent in the woods on the back of the club’s property. All of my family is dead.” Damn it, not all of them. He had to quit thinking like that. “Except for Ella. I work in DTD’s shop. I like working on cars okay, but racing is better.” Racing gave him a thrill like nothing else. Reminded him he was alive. That the fire might’ve burnt him but it hadn’t killed him. And the oval was never scared of him no matter how much he ripped into it. No matter if he looked like a monster.

Monsters were welcome at the speedway. The track didn’t care what your face looked like or if you turned into a wolf to forget about your troubles. All that mattered was how you mastered your run, how you worked the crowd into a frenzy, and what place you finished. Get those three things right and they could overlook your scars. Even if they looked as grotesque as his did.

“Why do you live in a tent?” Her tone was genuinely curious. There was no ridicule in her question.

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I like being alone.”

Her features scrunched into a frown. “You do?”

Blister nodded.

She looked away, rubbing her arms as if she had a chill. When her gaze returned to him, it was with a small uneasy smile. “I sure don’t. I’ve never known anyone who liked to be alone.”

“Well now you do.”

Her smile faded. Shit, what did he say? He was trying to speak normally. This was exactly why he didn’t like making conversation.

Brow furrowed, he opened the bag of Doritos and shoved a few into his mouth. If it was full, he wouldn’t be expected to talk.

Thunder boomed and Annie let out a small yelp. His gaze jerked to her.

She stared with wide eyes the color of the sea. Damn it, would he ever get used to how breathtaking she was? Part of him wanted to take those heart shaped lips and press his against them. Tenderly, so he could feel how they contrasted, her softness with his blemish. He’d kiss her so carefully she wouldn’t notice his deformed mouth. Or if she did, she wouldn’t mind it. Maybe he could make her forget about it altogether.

But that was the part of himself he fought. And would keep fighting.

Unexpectedly, she started giggling. Almost as if she knew what he was contemplating, but she couldn’t hear his thoughts.

“I’m not usually so jumpy, I promise,” she said, between rounds of the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. God, her laugh. It was like the sun coming out after an everlasting night.

She took a deep breath and let it out slow. Leveling her gaze on him, she said, “This isn’t how I expected our first meeting to go.” She laughed again. “Sometimes you just have to find the humor in things, ya know?”

He didn’t know, but if she wanted to keep up with the giggling, he wasn’t going to complain.

She sighed and the sound was half sad, half hopeful. Rising from the bench, she came to sit next to him on the floor.

Blister stiffened.
Too close, too close
. He was fucking dying to touch her. Just one tiny brush of his finger against her skin. It would be enough to hold him over until…

Until what? Shit, this was going to be a problem forever. Until one of them moved away or… died. Things looked more hopeless than they had in a long, long time.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured, gesturing to the chip bag. “I’m just hungry. I thought we could share.”

Blister forced his brow to unfurl and pushed the bag toward her. He could do this. He could make it until the storm was over and then he’d go back to his place in the woods where he belonged.

Chapter Three

There’d been worse chemistry in the history of love affairs. Hadn’t there? Surely. She couldn’t think of any at the moment, but that was beside the point.

Annie leaned against the wall of the shelter, chewing a chip that tasted like crunchy styrofoam. Oh, who was she kidding? She and Blister weren’t connecting at all.

He wasn’t easy to talk to, which she’d already suspected. But she had no trouble keeping conversation with strangers. The fact that she couldn’t think of anything else to say was a testament to how bad they were together.

She snuck a peek at him. He looked absolutely miserable. The idea made her heart sink. Sure the storm was unfortunate, and clearly he’d drawn the short straw and had to check on her, but… he lived in a tent. How much worse was a storm shelter? The biggest difference was her. If he couldn’t stand being around her for this little bit of time, then there really wasn’t any hope for them.

The chip went from styrofoam to sawdust.

She’d been so sure if she could get him alone there’d be a connection. She’d misjudged everything.

It’s okay, it’s alright. Everything will be fine
.

She just needed to get out of this dungeon and work. If she had something to do, something to keep her mind busy, things would be easier.

“What is it?” Blister’s harsh voice broke through her sadness.

She glanced at him. His brow was furrowed in confusion. She could only see part of his face for the way he was sitting. He always did that she noticed. Hide the side that was scarred.

“What is what?”

He stared at her lips as she spoke.

“You’re sad. Why?” he demanded.

She shook her head, attempting a smile. “I’m fine. Just worried about my house.”

It wasn’t a lie really. She
was
worried about the storm. But he didn’t look like he believed her.

“It’ll be over soon,” he said, his voice softer.

She nodded and shoved the rest of the chip in her mouth.

Yep, and when they walked out of this shelter that would be the end of her Blister fantasy. She’d close the door on that wish. She wouldn’t be one of those women who pined after a man that didn’t want her. She refused.

Somehow she got the chip down around the lump in her throat.

“You want some water?” he asked.

“No, thank you.”

The roar of the storm had lessened but it still sounded too crazy to attempt to leave the safety of the cellar.

They spent the rest of the wait in silence. Annie was tired and she couldn’t bring herself to push the conversation. Blister sat stiffly beside her as they listened to the rain slow and the thunder become distant.

Just when she thought it was safe to open the door, a boom like one of those government crowd control things rattled the shelter.

“Shit,” Blister muttered. “Looks like there’s more.”

As if on cue, rain began battering the door.

“Why don’t you go ahead and take off. You could probably get back to the club before it gets bad.”

What she’d told him earlier was true. She was a grown-ass woman, as Punk would put it. Just because she didn’t
want
to be alone didn’t mean she was incapable of it.

He didn’t answer right away.

“What will you do?” he asked.

“Sleep,” she said, reaching for the extra blanket folded at the end of the bench. She was exhausted. Too tired to bother moving from the floor.

Using it as a pillow, she curled up right there on the floor. She’d just snooze until the storm was over.

***

Annie awoke to a careful pressure against her shoulder. She ignored it as long as she could, not wanting to face whatever awaited her outside the shelter. But the touch was persistent. And so gentle it gave her butterflies in her tummy.

“Wake up,” a hesitant voice whispered. It was Blister. She’d never heard him speak so softly.

His hand was hot on her shoulder, his thumb sweeping back and forth as if that would be enough to stir her. It was, but she wasn’t ready to be awake yet.

“Hey,” he tried again. “Angel, wake up.”

Angel? Did she hear him right?

She blinked awake, not able to hold back her smile. “Morning,” she murmured, staring up at his face. He was so handsome. His scars made him appear rugged, but she didn’t mind. They were beautiful. A sign that he’d come through some tragedy and made it out alive.

He blinked several times, the expression on his face void of its usual scowl. His mouth hung open ready to answer, but nothing came out.

Annie’s grin widened at the expression on his face. It was so innocent. Like a baby bird seeing the sun rise for the first time. And so out of character for him. Or what she knew of him.

It lasted several precious seconds. Moments in time she would never forget. And it was enough of a connection that she wouldn’t be able to give up on him like she’d planned. Not yet anyway. There was still hope.

Quick as a blink, the moment was over. Blister jerked his hand from her shoulder and tilted his head so his scars were less visible.

Clearing his throat he said, “It’s… morning. I think the storm has passed.”

“Already? I slept the whole night? Here on the…” She sat up. But she wasn’t on the ground anymore. She was on the bench.

Blister stood awkwardly, one hand in the pocket of his jeans.

“I, uh… I didn’t think you’d be comfortable…” He wouldn’t look at her.

“You moved me.”

He nodded, looking like he’d stumbled onto a mound of fire ants. “Don’t worry though, okay. I was careful. And it was very quick. I didn’t… you know… linger or anything. The blanket stayed around you. So.” He shuffled on his feet, looking like he wanted to run.

Annie stood, readjusting the blanket she’d used to cover her pants-less bottom half, and tried to make sense of his words. Why would she be worried that he’d moved her? She knew enough about him and the other dogs to know they wouldn’t take advantage of a sleeping woman. The fact that he’d been concerned about her comfort spoke more to her than anything else. Maybe it meant nothing in the grand scheme of things but right now, it meant the world.

“Thank you, Blister.”

He went still, his brow softening. “You’re welcome.”

She grinned nervously, shoring up her reserves for what lie beyond the door. “Should we see what the twister left us?”

Nodding, he opened the shelter and climbed out. Shoving her feet in her boots, she followed him, purposely not looking around until her feet were firmly on solid ground. Saturated ground. Ground littered with leaves and twigs and occasional branches and… yep, shingles.

Annie took a deep breath and lifted her gaze. The morning sky was still a sick shade of gray leftover from the quarrelsome night. The wind blew hot gusts of air, a reminder of the demon that had twisted its way through their tiny town. Tears pricked her eyes but she didn’t let them fall. Carefully, she stepped around debris, her boots sinking into the mud, and stared, mouth agape at the sight before her.

The house wasn’t a complete loss. In fact, she was pretty darn proud of the thing. It was still standing, when several others around weren’t. But even though it was still there, the roof on the south side had been ripped off. Windows were blown out. A tree had fallen through the back door and wiped out the porch. It… it was a mess.

Annie shook, wrapping her arms around herself.

It was okay. She still had a house. She’d call the insurance company right away, they’d cut her a check and she’d get it fixed. Problem solved.

She’d need to check Red Cap. If the business was gone, she’d have to rebuild fast. Otherwise, she’d eat through her savings in no time.

Blister walked past her, stepping over a mailbox to closer inspect the house. She read the address. It was Mrs. Faulkner’s from two streets over.

Annie squeezed her eyes closed, saying a little prayer that Mrs. Faulkner had made it through the storm safe even if her mailbox didn’t.

A snap caught her attention as Blister jerked on the fallen tree, trying to shove it aside so he could fit through the opening where her door used to be.

“Wait, don’t. It could be dangerous. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

His eyes found hers, his brows dipping low for a moment before he went back to work on the tree. “Don’t worry. I’m just looking. I think maybe the rest of the house is okay. I wanna take a look around.”

“The front door. We can get in through the front.”

She didn’t wait for him to follow. Traipsing through the soggy yard, she avoided looking at the other houses in the neighborhood. She climbed the steps and knelt to retrieve the spare key from underneath the clay flower pot that miraculously hadn’t moved an inch.

She glanced back to find Blister waiting.

“Shh. Don’t tell anyone,” she said.

Standing, she unlocked the door and stepped in.

“Wait,” he barked. “Let me go in first, make sure it’s safe.”

She paused, nodded, and let him squeeze around her.

Annie watched from the doorway as Blister checked the windows in the living room. They all seemed to be intact. He continued through to the kitchen and she lost sight of him. Minutes later he was back.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You can come in.”

She rushed past him to the kitchen to survey the damage. The double window above the sink was gone, but that was an easy enough fix. Everything else looked fine.

She went from room to room checking for damage. The upstairs was leaking from the missing parts of the roof, but otherwise intact. The extra bedroom downstairs and the laundry room were a mess. Limbs stuck every which way through the wall and glass was everywhere.

The good news was she could close those parts of the house off, cover the broken window, throw some buckets under the leaks… and still live there. Until she could find someone to come fix the place.

Standing in the living room, she let out a long sigh. As always, it was going to be okay. It was.

“It can be fixed.” Blister’s voice was quiet but sure. Apparently he’d come to the same conclusion she had.

Annie nodded. “Yeah.” Her eyes darted around the room looking for something to do. “I should go check Red Cap.” She’d spotted both their vehicles out front and they weren’t hit.

“Pants,” Blister murmured. “Pants first.”

She pointed a finger at him, nodding. “Yes. Pants. Thank you.”

As she turned to climb the stairs, she heard her name.

“Annie! Oh god, Annie!” Footsteps thundered up the front porch and then Ella appeared in the open doorway. Relief speared her expression before she ran across the living room, pulling Annie into a fierce hug.

Another set of arms came around her, pushing her back against the stairs, and Punk’s rough voice cut through. “We were so fucking worried about you.” She pulled back to look Annie over. “Where are your fucking pants?”

Annie felt the blood rush to her face and looked up to see who else was witness to her undress. Drake and Beast stood by the door, while Blister was between her and them. His back was to her, but it looked like he was blocking most of the scene from the others.

Thank god.

She wasn’t ashamed of her body most days, but no one wanted to be caught in their underwear.

Crouching, she retrieved the fallen blanket and wrapped it around her waist, tying it tighter this time.

“They’re upstairs,” she muttered. “I’m going to get them so I can go check Red Cap.”

Punk nodded. “I’ll go with you. Not to get pants. To check the bar,” she clarified.

Annie rolled her eyes. “I know, silly. How’s the club?”

Drake spoke up. “Club’s fine. Nothing got hit. Well…” His gaze went to Blister. “Unless you count your tent. Surge found it twisted up in a tree.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Annie’s heart clenched. Blister’s tent was his home. No matter how small or insignificant it seemed to everyone else, she had a feeling it meant more to him. And it was gone.

Racing up the stairs, her mind was working. Where would he stay until he could get a new one? Could he just… grab one from Walmart or was it some specialized outdoor living thing? She slapped her forehead when she realized the solution was simple. He could stay in the big house at DTD. Punk and Beast stayed in the trailer for now so there was an empty room.

She pulled on a bra, a fresh t-shirt, and a pair of jeans, and grabbed some socks out of the drawer.

But wait…

She paused with her hand on the doorknob. Blister told her he lived in the woods because he liked being alone. In the big house, he’d be right in the middle of all the comings and goings of the club. The big house was their hub. Where they ate meals. Where they watched games and NASCAR. Where they socialized. She’d been around when Punk was staying there and it definitely wasn’t a quiet place. Not with it being Surge’s domain.

Blister wouldn’t be comfortable staying there.