“So I’m hoping you have some ideas for dealing with this Henderson pup,” Howard said. “Ideas that don’t involve confronting Leland. I see that as a last resort.”
Aidan took a deep breath. “All right. I need you to contact Roger Claymore and have me assigned to travel with Emma as far as Chicago.”
“I’ll do that. Good plan.”
“If you give the okay, I’ll let her publisher know that the possible stalker is from there. I’ll monitor the Chicago gig and intercept Theo if he should show up. I’ll gently remind him that he’s putting the entire werewolf community at risk and send him back home. I think I’ll be very convincing.”
Howard nodded. “I’m sure you will be.” He stood. “Let me call Roger right now. When does Emma leave on tour?”
“Friday morning. She’ll spend Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night in Chicago. When she leaves there, I’ll have neutralized the threat. I’ll come home, and she can continue on to Denver for the rest of her tour.”
“Excellent. I know you’ll keep this on the down-low, as they say these days. It goes without saying that the less Emma knows about the Henderson-Wallace connection, the better.”
“Right.”
“I feel good knowing you’ll be handling this, son.”
Aidan squashed any feelings of uneasiness. He was the logical person for the assignment, because as the firstborn of the alpha, he carried the authority of the entire Wallace pack. He would be the most effective in shutting down Theo Henderson. Roarke might not approve of this trip, but Aidan could control himself. It was only two days. And two nights.
Chapter 5
“Jenny, it’s ludicrous and unnecessary.” Wearing gray sweats and a black wool sweater, Emma paced the hardwood floor of her loft as she clutched her BlackBerry to her ear. “You’re telling me he’s only nineteen, which means this is probably just a kid with a crush. I don’t need a high-powered security expert like Aidan Wallace to fix this.”
“I’ve lost control of the situation,” Jenny said. “Howard Wallace has convinced Roger that Aidan needs to go. Because of Howard and Roger’s long friendship, Wallace Enterprises is cutting Aidan’s usual fee in half, and you know Roger can’t pass up a bargain.”
“Jenny”—Emma sighed in frustration—“how am I supposed to explain him to the bookstore folks? Won’t they freak out if they think I’m in enough danger to need a bodyguard? Which I’m not, but having Mr. Muscles there will make it seem as if I could be kidnapped at any moment.”
“Mr. Muscles.” Jenny laughed. “That’s good. Anyway, no worries about the explanation. I’ve canceled your media escort for Chicago. Aidan has your itinerary, and he’ll become your escort for the Chicago gig. It’s only two days, Em. You’ll make my life a lot easier if you’ll go along with this.”
But what about my life? Emma couldn’t imagine how she’d make it through two solid days with Aidan in tow. Last night had been embarrassing enough. She’d kissed him, for Christ’s sake. She’d based that impulse on her firm belief that she wouldn’t see him until the next book signing, and by then she’d have a sexy boyfriend to call her own, somebody who would stack up very well against Aidan Wallace, poster boy for Bowflex.
“Please, Em,” Jenny said. “Howard’s put the fear of God into Roger, and he’s acting like a mother hen over here. Next thing you know, he’ll decide to go along and monitor your Chicago appearances.”
Emma closed her eyes in resignation. “Okay.” So she’d have to be humiliated. She could only imagine what Aidan thought about this, being told to keep a grown woman safe from a love-struck teenager.
Damn, she’d made such a fool of herself last night, too. She’d practically begged him to come upstairs with her, and he’d turned her down. Twice. But had she attempted to retain her dignity in the face of his double rejection? Nope. She’d planted one on him, just so he’d know for sure that she craved his body.
Ayiyiyi. How could she face him at JFK on Friday morning? She had only one option—to play the cool professional who considered this whole exercise ridiculous. She did think it was ridiculous, but playing the cool professional in the presence of his hot body would take some doing.
Aidan arrived at the gate early on Friday morning. He hadn’t seen Emma in the line going through security, and she wasn’t in the gate area, either. He hoped to hell she wouldn’t show up at the last minute, or worse yet, miss the plane. She had a tendency to run late, something he knew from those months of watching her.
He bought coffee and sipped it as he paced the gate area and cast frequent glances down the concourse. Nothing. He should have followed his first impulse and insisted on picking her up in the town car to guarantee she’d be on time.
They’d exchanged a couple of brief e-mails in which he’d suggested exactly that, and she’d refused the offer. Not surprising, considering the way he’d rejected her invitation on Wednesday night. She’d want to keep her distance, and that was all for the better, especially considering the plan he’d devised to make sure Theo backed off.
Posing as her media escort wouldn’t be enough. Aidan had decided to present himself as her fiancé, but he had to make sure the masquerade didn’t tempt him to get too chummy with her. If she remained aloof, that would help.
When the gate attendant announced boarding for first-class passengers, he pulled out his BlackBerry and called her. No answer. Damn it, this was not a good way to start out.
He caught her scent before he saw her, but then, there she was, striding toward the gate in three-inch black heels and pulling a wheeled computer case. Her blond hair bounced around her shoulders, and her black trench coat was unbuttoned. It flapped back to reveal a turquoise suit that hugged her curves in a way that made his mouth go dry. She wore a white lace camisole under the jacket, and the shadow of her cleavage was visible through the delicate lace. This would be a very long two days.
“They’re calling for us to board,” he said as she approached. In the thirty-six hours they’d been apart, he’d kidded himself that he’d overreacted to her on Wednesday night. Wrong.
“You switched me to first class!” Her blue eyes flashed with indignation. “I’ve been down at the ticket counter trying to change back to coach, but they’d already sold my original seat.”
She smelled absolutely wonderful. “Jenny didn’t tell you she rebooked?”
“No, she did not, and for good reason. She knows I’d have a fit.”
He had to work hard not to laugh. Leave it to Emma to complain about an upgrade. “What’s wrong with first class?”
“Everything! It’s elitist and overpriced and a waste of resources because fewer people fit in that space.”
Jenny had clearly wimped out and left him to deal with Emma’s objections. So he would. Going first-class was in his blood, and besides, booking at the last minute meant he wouldn’t have been able to sit with her in coach. Instead he would have been squashed into a middle seat in the tail section. Not his idea of fun, and inefficient, to boot. He needed to be right beside her when they deplaned. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he’d made sure Theo Henderson wouldn’t do something stupid. Buying two new tickets had seemed like the way to go. With Wallace Enterprises footing the bill, Jenny had agreed, although she’d mentioned Emma might not be happy about it.
Emma was definitely not happy. She stood in front of him, throwing off sparks of irritation. But unless she wanted to give up on the Chicago part of her tour, she was stuck with him in first class.
“I’m sorry you’re upset about the seats,” he said. “But they can’t be changed at this point.”
“I suppose not. Most people would be grateful, wouldn’t they?”
“I would say so.”
“It just goes against my principles.”
“Sorry. At least we’re taking public transportation.”
She stared at him. “Don’t tell me you considered taking the Wallace corporate jet?”
“Jenny said you’
d never go for it.”
“That’s a colossal understatement.” She shook her head in obvious dismay. “The corporate jet. So you’re actually slumming by taking this flight.”
“Well, I wouldn’t quite put it that way.”
She heaved the sigh of someone whose burdens were too much to bear. “I suppose I’ll have to consider this research. Shall we go?”
He swept a hand toward the gate. “After you.”
She was all smiles for the woman taking tickets, but she remained cool toward Aidan as they made their way down the Jetway to the plane. Because Aidan and Emma hadn’t boarded with the rest of first class, coach passengers were lined up ahead of them waiting to get on. That meant standing together in the Jetway as an awkward silence developed between them.
Aidan decided to break it before it became a solid block of ill will. “You’ll only have to endure this for one leg of your tour,” he said. “When you leave Chicago on Sunday, you’ll be in the seat Jenny reserved in the first place.”
She glanced at him. “I didn’t mean to be a brat about it, but I don’t like having someone manipulate my life without telling me. Jenny should have told me, but she didn’t. I was wrong to take it out on you. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted. And I confess that if I can’t take the corporate jet, I’m all about first class. I don’t fit into the coach seats very well.”
“I guess you wouldn’t. And considering how bogus the whole trip is for you, I can’t expect you to make it crammed into coach, which would only add insult to injury.”
“Who said it was bogus?”
As the line began moving again, he and Emma moved with it.
Looking over her shoulder at him, she rolled her eyes. “Come on, Aidan. Jenny told me he’s nineteen. He read one of my books, and now he’s enjoying a vicarious thrill by sending me e-mails pretending that he has special powers.”
His senses sharpened. “Did you mean to say e-mails, as in more than one?”
“He’s sent a couple more, both early this morning. Now that I know he’s a kid, they don’t worry me. I think your father and my publisher are making way too much of this, and now they’ve included you in the insanity.” She walked toward the doorway of the plane.
“You didn’t delete the e-mails, did you?”
“I thought about it, but no, I haven’t.” She walked onto the plane.
Thank God for small favors. He followed her. “Window or aisle?”
“Window. I love looking out.”
That worked nicely for him. Even in first class, his legs felt cramped if he ended up by the window, so he always chose the aisle.
The flight attendant took Emma’s coat and hung it up. For a moment, Aidan thought Emma would insist on hanging up her own coat, but then she relinquished it, thanked the attendant, and took her seat. She tucked her computer case under the seat in front of her and sat back.
Aidan’s finely tuned hearing picked up a little sigh of pleasure, and he turned away so she wouldn’t hear him chuckle. She might disapprove of first-class seats on principle, but her body loved being cushioned in that comfy leather.
Then he groaned inwardly as his hormone-soaked brain focused on that sensuous little body of hers nestled in the seat next to his. Hours ago, he’d convinced himself he could do this without danger of sprouting fur, and yet the backs of his hands were already starting to prickle.
He handed off his topcoat and tucked his own computer case under the seat in front of them. “Mind if I take a look at those two e-mails?”
“Be my guest.” She called them up and handed her BlackBerry over as the flight attendant came by asking about coffee.
He smiled at the attendant and shook his head before going back to the screen and Theo’s messages.
“Regular with just a tiny bit of cream, please,” Emma said.
He glanced up. She’d been taking two creams for the past three months. “Why only a tiny bit?”
“Because cream is fattening, and I’m cutting back.”
“You’re dieting?”
“I always do after turning in a book. I tend to eat more when I’m on deadline, so this is how I balance it out.” She fastened her seat belt.
He hadn’t meant to watch her do that, but he couldn’t seem to keep himself from observing how the belt rode low and tight over her hips, exactly as the flight attendant would instruct them to fasten them during takeoff.
Emma had terrific hips, in his estimation. She had terrific everything. He’d hate to see even an ounce disappear from that curvy figure. Then he heard himself say, against all good judgment, “But you’re perfect.”
Her eyes rounded. “Excuse me?”
“I ... meant that you’re perfectly okay now. I don’t get the dieting thing.”
“Thank you.” She took a breath. “You confuse the hell out of me, Aidan.”
“I’m not surprised. I confuse myself sometimes.”
“The other night I thought you were interested in me, but then I decided you weren’t. Now you seem interested again. I’m getting whiplash.”
Aidan grabbed the first lifeline he could think of. “You said you had a boyfriend.”
“So that’s why you didn’t come up the other night?”
When he looked into those blue eyes of hers, he had a hard time lying. “No, not really.”
“I didn’t think so.”
He could tell her some of the truth, at least. “The fact is, I tend to have a one-track mind, and I was focused on tracing that e-mail. I knew if I came up to your loft, I’d lose focus.”
“You’re quite the dedicated guy, aren’t you?”
“Guess so.”
“I admire that, Aidan.” She looked past him toward the aisle. “Thank God. My coffee’s here.”
“Your first cup?” He helped the flight attendant pass the steaming cup over to her.
“ ’Fraid so. I was a little rushed this morning.”
He started to say that explained a lot about her quick temper, but stopped himself.
“Ah, manna from heaven.” She closed her eyes and breathed in the vapors before taking a long, slow sip. “I think I’ll live now.”
He couldn’t resist. “In coach they won’t get coffee until we reach altitude and level off.”
“Smart-ass.” She smiled. “I understand the appeal of sitting up here. Maybe I’m afraid I’ll get used to it. You know, get spoiled.”
“Would that be so terrible?”
She studied him. “I think so. The money’s coming in now, but I’m a self-employed writer. There’s no guarantee the money will always be there. At this point, I haven’t made enough to keep me in first-class seats for the rest of my life.”
He stated what she had to be thinking. “Whereas I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.”
“Pretty much.”
He nodded. “I’ll own that. I’m probably spoiled.” He thought about the house where he’d grown up, a ten-bedroom mansion filled with original art. Maids, cooks, chauffeurs. His father was an investment genius, and the family had weathered a couple of recessions without suffering.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she said. “I’ve noticed that the people you employ are treated with respect and consideration. I’ve heard that the Wallace family supports a whole raft of charities. I’m not dissing your situation. But it’s different from mine.”
She had no idea how different.
“My dad abandoned my mom when I was a baby, and she managed to raise me and keep a roof over our heads, but it was never easy.”
“I met your mom at the signing. She seems like an intelligent woman.”
Emma’s eyes lit up. “She is. She mentioned that she’d stopped to say hello. Listen, about Doug, my boyfriend, I—”
The plane’s engines revved up, cutting off the rest of what she’d been about to say. Knowing he’d have to shut down her BlackBerry any second, Aidan quickly glanced over Theo’s two e-mails.
Hear you’re coming to Chi-tow
n, sweet thing. Looking forward to making that special connection, if you know what I mean. I’m still ...
Ready Fur U
Aidan scrolled to the next one.
Hey, there! Weres do it on all fours! Think about it. I’m always ...
Ready Fur U
Aidan ground some enamel off his back molars. Sure, Theo was just a kid, but even a kid could get himself and his fellow Weres into deep trouble. That was Aidan’s intellectual evaluation.
But the e-mails affected him at a deeper level. Emma was not his mate, would never be his mate. And yet any sexual interest from another male aroused every possessive instinct he had. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing for the short term.
Theo might not cower before someone sent as Em-ma’s bodyguard. But he would cringe in fear if Aidan presented himself as Emma’s mate, a Were ready to defend her to the death. Aidan wasn’t certain he could play that role and then abandon it again on Sunday. Doing so could end the problem with Theo, though. He’d have to think about it.
“Sir,” the flight attendant said, “I’ll have to ask you to turn off your phone.”
“Right.” He quickly put his cell number in a vacant speed dial position. Then he powered down the BlackBerry and handed it back to Emma as the attendant went through the seat-belt-and-flotation-device spiel. “You now have me on speed dial, letter z.”
“Oh.” She looked annoyed. “I guess that’s okay.”
“You can change it on Sunday afternoon.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
He settled back in his seat and tried to imagine himself running through the forest. Flying made him uneasy, which was another reason for choosing first class. Wolves weren’t meant to be suspended thirty thousand feet in the air. Flying made his ears hurt and dried out his sinuses. When he flew alone, he drowned out the engine noise by wearing top-grade earphones tuned to a medley of forest sounds, but that wouldn’t be happening today.
A Werewolf in Manhattan Page 6