by Maddy Barone
Taye’s smile fell. “There’s not another room free,” he persisted.
“There is plenty of room,” his wife decreed. “And if not, you and Colby can bunk together, and Colby’s mate and I will share a room.”
Neither Cole nor his dad looked happy about that.
The man called Sky suggested, “She could stay in the women’s dormitory in back.”
“No,” said Cole forcibly. “My mate stays with me!”
“Gentlemen,” said Ms. Mary in a thin shout, “go get dressed!”
Too late. Two teenage girls came into the kitchen, gasped, and broke into red-faced giggles. Taye and the man called Sky hurried past them and disappeared into the house. Ms. Mary took charge.
“Denise, you and Rachel forget you saw anything upsetting and get to work. Make coffee and bring it to my room.”
Gina thought that if the girls were upset by what they saw, no one would know by the big grins on their rosy faces.
“Ladies,” the old woman said to her, Cole’s mom, and Rose, “follow me.”
In a few minutes, Gina was seated in a delicate chair close to the fire in Ms. Mary’s private sitting room, with Ms. Mary in a matching chair a yard away. Rose had stoked the fire in the grate to a nice blaze, and she and Cole’s mom sat on a padded bench between Gina and Ms. Mary. Cole’s mom gave Gina a blinding smile.
“I am Carla Wolfe,” she said. “Colby’s mom. I am so happy to meet you. How did you and Colby meet? Have you known him long? Are you going to accept him?”
Gina resisted the urge to lean away. “I, uh, I don’t know.”
“Carla, give the girl a minute to breathe,” said Rose. “I’m Rose Wolfe. My mate is Sky. He used to run this house a long time ago.”
Gina blinked and nodded. “I’m Gina Summer. I met Cole at the coffeeshop I worked at.” How long ago? Two weeks? Three? It couldn’t have been four weeks ago. Everything was happening so fast she couldn’t keep up. “I never even knew about werewo—I mean, wolf warriors until a week ago.”
Carla smiled warmly. “I know it can be overwhelming. When Taye won me in a Bride Fight I was scared to death, and there were no other women at the Den, so I felt alone. You don’t have to worry about that. All of us will do everything we can to help you. Now, we can share a room. If you don’t want Colby to bother you, I promise he won’t come near you if you’re with me. You don’t even have to see him if you don’t want to. I’ll take care of you as if you were my own daughter. So, shall we share a room? Or would you like Colby for your roommate?”
Without even considering her options, she blurted, “I want Cole.”
From somewhere in the house a triumphant wolf howl rose.
Chapter Seven
The room Rose and Carla showed her to wasn’t large, and the bed dominated the furnishings, but there space on the floor for Cole to sleep on. There was even a thick rug, so he wouldn’t be sleeping on the hard, wooden floor.
“You’re in the guest section of the house,” Rose said breezily. “Stone and the other men from the clan are on either side of you. Taye and Carla are on the third floor, with their daughter, Patia. Sky and I are in a room on the other side of the mezzanine.”
What Gina had seen of the house exceeded her expectations of grandeur. The large kitchen led to a small dining room that opened to grand rooms meant for paying guests. A wide staircase swept up from the ground floor in a magnificent curve of polished wood to a second level where the guestrooms were.
President Todd’s mansion was comparable in grandeur, but not as warm or friendly. Even high-ranking guests didn’t stay in the house. But here, the second floor had six rooms which were normally rented out. The Wolfe family were a different kind of guest; they had all the rights and privileges of family, not paying boarders. Everyone took it for granted that she was included in the Wolfe family. It made her feel funny, in a warm way.
“Do you have any luggage?” Carla asked.
Gina shook her head. “I, uh, that is, I hadn’t planned on, uh…”
“That’s okay. We’ll find you some stuff.” Carla waved that off. “You know I’m dying to hear the whole story about you and Colby, but you must be exhausted. Do you want a shower before you go to bed? That’s fine. I’ll run get one of my sleep shirts for you, and my daughter has extra clothes she can share. You’re about the same size. I’ll be right back.”
Cole’s mom turned toward the door but paused and whirled back around to give Gina a hard hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. Be right back!”
She was back in three minutes with an armful of clothes and a girl with long rumpled hair the color of a walnut shell. Not a girl, Gina realized. In spite of her slender build, she must be eighteen or nineteen, maybe a year or so younger than she was.
“I’m Patia,” she announced ebulliently. “Cole’s sister. Are you really his mate?”
Gina’s mouth fell open.
“Hypatia,” her moth said warningly. “Gina has been walking all night. She needs to rest.”
“I know, I know.” The girl smiled, showing off dimples. “I just had to meet her right away, before…” Her smiled dimmed. “Before I go visit Ray.”
A flash of memory struck Gina like a fist. She had met a handsome young man named Ray at the coffeeshop where she worked. He was on the train the day her stepfather’s men came. Gina clamped her jaw tightly. They had shot him along with every other man on the train.
Patia’s smile bloomed again, a little forced. “We have to talk tonight. I can give you all kinds of ammunition to use against my brother when he does his impression of a dictator. Which, I’m sure you’ll find out, is almost all the time. But really, he’s a sweetheart. You’ll want to kill him just about every day. I do. But the rest of the time will make up for it.”
“Thank you.” Surprised and a little warmed by Patia’s words, Gina smiled. “I think I’ve already found out that I’ll need some ammunition.”
Patia laughed. “So you haven’t accepted him yet?”
All three of the Wolfe women seemed suddenly very interested in the answer.
“Not yet. I barely know him.”
“You will,” Patia said, some of her sunny effervescence back. “Get to know him, I mean. You know, even when I want to strangle him, I love him. I bet you will, too.”
Want to strangle him? Already been there. Not knowing what to say, Gina just smiled.
Mrs. Wolfe ―Gina cut herself off. All these Mrs. Wolfes were confusing. If she accepted Cole she would be another Mrs. Wolfe. There are worse things to be, she reminded herself. For instance, one of many, many Mrs. Allersens. Carla shooed her daughter off to get dressed and laid out the clothes she had brought for Gina. She and Rose pointed out the bathing room at the corner of the mezzanine hall, wished her good sleep, and left.
Not sure of how much hot water was available, Gina showered and dried off in record time, scurried back to her room, changed into a crisp cotton nightgown trimmed in lace, and got into the soft bed. She barely had time to enjoy the soft mattress, the warmth of the quilts, and the sense of safety before she fell blissfully into sleep.
She didn’t know how long she slept before the knowledge that she wasn’t alone in the bed penetrated the waves of sleep that buried her. The thick drapes over the window kept out most of the sun, but not all. When she craned her head to look at the bed behind her she was able to make out Colby’s body curled around her own. Outrage stiffened her back. That just pressed his face tighter against the back of her neck. He must have moved her hair aside at some point, because his cheek was warm against the skin of her neck.
She swallowed. That felt kind of … nice. Cautiously, one centimeter at a time, she turned her head to look at him. He was outside the blankets, bare chested, but wearing the same too big jeans. One of his arms lay heavy over her waist. The muscle under the smooth golden skin fascinated her. She pressed back, barely moving to keep from waking him, trying to feel more of his oddly exciting warmth against her back. Her heart pi
cked up speed.
This was wrong. If he tried to press up against her while she was sleeping she would be angry. Maybe he would be angry if she took advantage of him while he slept?
Oops. He wasn’t asleep any more. His head was raised, those deep, dark eyes open and fixed on her. She swallowed. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
His gravelly voice gave her goosebumps. She swallowed again.
“Did you sleep well?”
Crap. She hadn’t meant to say that. She should have asked him what the heck he was doing on the bed when he should be on the floor. But she didn’t want him on the floor. She wanted him here. She wanted… Without thinking about it, she twisted so she was on her other side, facing him, and put her lips against his.
Anything he might have said in reply to her question –what was her question again?—went unsaid. The arm he’d had over her waist lifted so his hand could frame her face and pull her closer. She forgot everything except the wild thrill of having his lips on hers. The thrill grew when he opened his mouth to lick over her lips. Somehow, and she honestly wasn’t sure how, she found herself on her back with him lying over her. She clutched his hair as he kissed his way from her mouth to her throat and back to her mouth. He buried her in sweet, wet heat that made her breathing hitch and her heart pound.
Even through her nightgown, two quilts and his jeans, she felt his erection pressing against her. Gina had been sheltered and she didn’t have any personal experience with lovemaking, but she wasn’t totally ignorant either. All the heat his kisses had kindled in her rushed to the place between her thighs. She knew what was digging into her. Her own response to his heat and weight was to let her thighs part a little. He followed, settling his erection tightly into the valley between her thighs. It felt amazingly good.
Some of the haze of passion cleared when he tugged the covers down a few inches and cupped his hand around her breast through the nightgown. His mother’s nightgown. Yikes. What was she doing?
“Sweet mate,” he groaned.
She coughed, trying to grab the tattered remains of her sanity. “Hey, Cole.” She blew out a breath. “I only meant to say hi.”
His eyes were heavy-lidded when he raised his head to look at her. “You did say hi,” he purred. “And then you kissed me.”
Her breast seemed perfectly happy to have him caress it. “Yeah. Um. About that.”
His hand stilled. “Do you want me to stop?”
No, I don’t, not one bit. Touch me some more. Take my nightgown off. That is, take your mom’s nightgown off me. But she couldn’t say that. “I think we should. I mean, I don’t want to go too far. I still don’t know if I want to be your wife. Mate. Whatever.” She bent her head so she was staring at his chin instead of into his eyes. “That’s not fair to you.”
He framed her mouth in the V of his thumb and forefinger and lightly stroked down her throat. “Let me decide whether or not it’s fair to me.” His eyes were dark and hot on hers. “I’m willing if you are. I promise to not go too far. Just kissing.”
That place between her legs enthusiastically agreed. She decided to follow her body’s demands. “Okay. Only a little more.”
She told the little voice of reason to shut up. His lips and tongue did wonderful things to her. His hand... Oh, heavens, his hand played with her breast in a way that made her breath shake. Then he put his mouth there, right over the cotton nightgown, and she jerked in a gasp.
Through the pounding of her blood in her ears, she barely heard the tap on the door. Cole did, though, and he lifted his head away from her.
“Dad?” he called.
Gina’s eyes flared wide. His dad was out in the hall? While they were doing this?
“Sorry, son.” Mr. Wolfe’s voice was quiet, barely audible, but Gina thought he sounded truly apologetic. “A man has come from President Todd under a flag of truce. You need to come to McGrath’s office for the parley.”
Gina froze. Embarrassment died under a wave of dread. She should have known her stepfather would lose no time in trying to get her back. “What time is it?” she asked Cole.
“A little after four,” his father replied from behind the closed door.
He could hear that even through a closed door? Embarrassment flared again. Oh, lord, what else had he heard from the hallway?
“What time is the parley?” Cole asked.
“We’re leaving as soon as you’re ready.”
“I’ll be out in two minutes.”
Cole looked down at her for a second before dipping his head for one last quick kiss. “I have to go.”
Just like that his weight was gone and he was off the bed and headed for the door.
“Cole, wait for me.” She scrambled out of the bed and looked around for the clothes his mom and sister had left. “Give me one minute to get dressed and I’ll meet you in the hall.”
He stopped at the door with his hand on the knob. “You don’t need to get dressed. Go back to bed and get some more sleep. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“What?” She snapped around to look at him. The cotton where he’d had his mouth caught wetly on her breast. She ignored it. “I’m going with you.”
His brows twitched together. “No, you stay here where it is safe,” he ordered. “I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”
Her hands settled on her hips. “I’m going. This concerns me.” When his face got darker, she fixed him with an unyielding glare. “You know what we were just doing? If you ever want to do that with me again, you’ll shut up and quit being so bossy.”
A muffled chortle from the hall got fainter as his father walked away. Cole transferred his scowl to the door before turning back to her. “No, Gina. You need to stay here and let me take care of you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You aren’t in charge of me. Even if I accept this mate thing, you don’t get to make decisions for me. ”
His hands fisted, relaxed, and fisted again. “Please trust me. I’ll look out for your best interests. I don’t want you anywhere near anyone from Kansas-Missouri. I need you to be safe.”
He was obviously trying again to rein in his bossiness and be reasonable. It made her step away from indignation and smile. “Thank you, Cole. I think I’ll be safe with you and your dad there, and this meeting is probably at least partly about me. I deserve to be there, don’t you think?”
He scowled again but nodded reluctantly. “Okay. Hurry and get dressed and meet me downstairs in the kitchen.”
After quickly dressing she rushed downstairs. Cole’s dad was in the foyer. He greeted her with a grave smile that gave no indication that he knew what she and Cole had been doing only a few minutes ago. He lifted his head to look at the top of the stairs. Carla hurried down to them.
The older woman gave her husband a kiss. “We should go into the private dining room,” she said. “The Limit opens for dinner in half an hour and we’re just in the way here.”
Gina saw three young men setting up tables and chairs in the large room to their left and two girls arranging tablecloths, floral centerpieces, and places settings on the tables. Mr. Wolfe led them through the room to the narrow corridor that led to a smaller dining room. Cole was already there, with five other men that she didn’t recognize, standing clustered around one end of a wooden table. Only Cole was fully dressed; the others wore only jeans. They were talking in low, angry tones. Gina didn’t think they were angry at each other, though. There was no animosity on their faces.
One of them, whose long black braids were streaked with silver, broke off what he was saying when they came into the room. “Chief,” he said. “Bad news. Miss Nikki from the House Pack and her husband have been killed.”
His words were a punch in Gina’s gut. Her breath whooshed out of her. “What?” Tears pushed out as she looked almost blindly for Cole. “Cole?”
He was there, his arm going around her shoulders to pull her face to his chest. “It’s alright, Gina, it’s alright.”
“No, it’s not.” She let him hold her for a second before she pushed away. “It’s my fault. I know exactly what happened. They helped us, and Todd retaliated by having them killed. I hate this. I hate him!”
Cole pulled her close again and murmured into her hair. “You’re right. Mostly. Yeah, the Kansas-Missouri army found Mr. and Mrs. Clarkson’s place. But it’s not your fault they were killed. That is on your stepfather and his people.”
All the men in the room growled agreement. Gina lifted her tear smeared face to look at them. They didn’t look especially sweet or even civilized with rage setting their features into stone.
“You’re right,” she said fiercely. “It’s not my fault. The Clarksons were good people. They didn’t deserve to die for being good people. It’s him. Gerald Todd. I want him to pay for this.”
The men growled again, with approval this time. Cole stroked her hair. “I promise, he will pay for it. Are you sure you want to go to this meeting? I don’t want you to be upset or show it to whoever comes from Kansas-Missouri.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m going. Don’t worry. I’ll be calm. I’ll be so cool butter won’t melt in my mouth. But I’m going to look the envoy in the eye and smile. I’ll smile because I got away and I have allies now. Let him go back to Gerald Todd and tell him I don’t belong to him anymore.”
Chapter Eight
An hour later she was seated between Cole and his dad at a long table in the mayor’s office in City Hall. Four other men from Cole’s family stood against the wall. She had been introduced to them on the way over. They all had such odd names, like Stone and Sky, and even though they were fully dressed, they seemed somehow feral with their long hair and hard faces. The conference room, with blank white walls, tan carpet, and a large wooden table, was staid. Pens and stacks of blank paper sat on the highly polished table in front of each of the twelve chairs. It was business-like and official. Cole’s family just didn’t seem to fit the boring, civilized furnishings.
A few of the leading men of Omaha were at the table. Mayor McGrath occupied the chair at the head of the table, wearing a neat, plain brown suit, his gray-streaked brown curls neatly combed. Although she’d never officially met the mayor before, she had served him coffee more than once. The first time she’d seen him she’d been surprised by his plain and casual attire. That was not how her stepfather dressed. On top of that, Mayor McGrath was always polite even to a nobody who served him at the coffee shop across the square from City Hall. He always had a friendly word for anyone he came in contact with.