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them on
their way. Driving them to town and treating them to a good dinner
was just good manners. He didn't want them here but it wasn't their
fault they were here. It was all that goddamn Damien's fault!
    But he was getting attached
to them. He'd spent just one day with them, and he wanted to...take
care of them. What the hell! What the hell had gotten into him?
Did he pity them?
    Well, yes, he did. He hated
to see the longing and resignation in the little boy's eyes when he
walked past the display windows. The boy knew that he could never
have all those nice things the other kids had. But he didn't
complain or grumble. Reid hadn't heard a single word of complaint
from the boy since he came. In fact, he seemed immeasurably grateful
for every little thing Reid did for them.
    Reid grimaced. What he saw
as little things were big things to them. The boy kept stroking the
hard cover of his dinosaur book as he clutched it to his chest. He
turned the pages reverently, admiring the pictures of the dinosaurs
and running his fingers over the glossy pages. He'd never owned a
book before. All his books were borrowed from the library.
    And Lauren. She shared a
room with Eddie and slept on the hard floor, on a thin, broken
mattress every night. She insisted the boy sleep on the bed while
she curled up on the floor.
    Reid snapped the water off
and grabbed the towel. Lauren would never sleep on the floor again.
    She would sleep in his bed
tonight. Every night.
    How long has it been since
she's had a man?
    Did she have any
boyfriends since Eddie's dad passed away?
    What did she like or
dislike?
    Reid
growled as his mind reeled with questions. He wanted to know
everything about this beautiful, strong, guarded stranger who had
just dropped into his life with her little boy.
    He wanted to touch her. But
more than that, he wanted to be close to her. The realization
stunned him.
    When they were browsing in
the shops, he had stood close to Lauren, or as close to her as
possible without touching her. He hadn't realized that he was
snarling at every male who glanced her way until he bumped into
Marcus Beck and Nick Sullivan. Marcus and Nick were the bosses of
Beck's Builders. Beck's Builders contracted quite a bit of their
plumbing works to him, and he knew Marcus and Nick pretty well. They
were also Damien's bosses. Those two men were good guys, happily
mated and they took care of their crew.
    Nick and Marcus had called
out to Reid and threw curious glances at Lauren and Eddie. When the
two men started walking towards them, smiling affably at Lauren, Reid
had bared his fangs at them and snarled.
    Nick and Marcus had stopped
in their tracks and widened their eyes. Their eyes darted back and
forth between Lauren and him. Then they grinned and turned away. As
they left, Nick glanced over his shoulder and bared his fangs,
imitating Reid's snarl. It was just good-natured teasing.
Chuckling, Nick winked at Eddie before following Marcus out of the
store.
    Reid had retracted his fangs
instantly. He hadn't even realized his fangs were out until Nick
mirrored him.
    Shaking his head hard to
clear it, Reid wrapped the towel around his waist and came out of the
bathroom. Maybe Damien was right. And he hated that his busybody
cousin was right.
    It had been too long since
he'd had a woman, and it wasn't healthy. It was making his bear
cranky, and twisting his thoughts in unnatural directions.
    He guessed that as a single
mother, Lauren didn't have much time and energy for dates and
one-night stands either. And if she slept in her son's room, it
would be difficult for her to bring men home.
    If, like him, she hadn't had
sex in a long while, then perhaps they would both get their needs met
tonight. It would just be sex, hot, sweaty, growly sex.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

    Lauren kissed her nephew on
the forehead and whispered, “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
There was a smile on the boy's lips as he murmured something about
dinosaurs in his sleep.
    She closed his room door