by E A Price
They drifted out the room.
“Congratulations,” called Susie after them.
They already had two boys, most likely soon to be three – Tanner babies were rarely females.
Susie coughed to get Eric’s attention. “What was that about you Tanner men being good with older women?”
Eric was going to argue, but Susie felt a change in the air, a frisson of electricity that made her shiver. Sure enough, Barlow made his way into the kitchen, swaggering more than a cowboy who just rounded up a thousand cattle.
Barlow grunted at Eric. “Beat it.”
Eric scowled, but he did, after throwing a lovesick look in Susie’s direction.
Slowly, Susie scooted around to the other side of the counter – she felt certain that if there were a great hulking slab of marble between the two of them, she wouldn’t be likely to throw herself at him. Though, it wasn’t impossible to climb over…
“So, Susie,” he drawled in that damnable sexy voice of his.
“Are you following me?” she blurted.
Barlow chuckled. “This is my family’s barbeque.”
“Oh, right.” Technically, she was the interloper.
She watched as he grabbed more beers out of the refrigerator, trying not to look at his butt as he leaned over. Nope, his hotness had not abated in the cold light of day. She wasn’t sure anything could tone down his sex appeal. If his sexiness were a color, it would be a freaking glitter rainbow.
“So ah how are you?” she asked him.
His lips quirked. “Peachy.”
“Look I ah, about what happened…”
She started, but she wasn’t sure where she would go with that. What should she say?
I don’t usually have sex with strangers?
Sorry, I ditched you after our meaningless sex?
She waited for him to say something but he just smiled at her.
“I’m sorry I ran out without saying anything,” she finished. She was sorry, too – that was just bad manners. Her grandmother always told her she should say thank you in person when someone entertained her. Course, her grandmother was talking about a dinner party.
His smile widened slightly.
“Say something,” she grumbled.
“Thank you.”
“Ah…”
“For a wonderful night. I had a great time. You should be really proud of your skills. I know I will never forget them. All the best, Susie.”
Heat rose to her cheeks as she realized it was the thank you note she left him. Again, the thank you note thing had been her grandmother’s teaching, though she doubted her grandmother ever had to write a note to say ‘thank you, stranger, for all the sex.’
“Oh, you memorized it,” she muttered.
“First time I’ve ever been given a thank you note for that.”
Susie pressed her fingers to her cheeks, fully expecting them to light on fire given that her face was flaming in mortification.
“I don’t usually write them.” She didn’t usually have to. Barlow was her one and only fling.
Barlow stepped around the counter. “Glad to hear it,” he crooned.
“What are you doing?” she murmured as he slowly approached her.
“Just wondering.”
“Wondering what?” she whispered as he stood in front of her. She dropped her hands and gaped at him. Faced with this much hard chest, it was difficult to think of anything.
Barlow leaned down; his breath tickled her skin. He smelled mildly of beer, but it wasn’t unpleasant, it mixed with his own delicious taste.
“Night we met you tasted of that fruity cocktail, just wondering how you really taste.”
“Oh, well, I…”
Her words were lost as his lips captured hers. Dear lord, it was so glorious to be kissed. His lips were so soft and perfect, insistent, yet not rough. She liked kissing, but it wasn’t just kissing – she liked kissing Barlow. He was so much better than Allen. That thought shocked her enough to pull away from him. She’d always thought that kissing Allen couldn’t compare to anyone else – not that she had anyone to compare him to – but it surprised her to realize how terrible Allen had been. At least in comparison to the fiery wolf in front of her.
Barlow slowly licked his lips. His eyes blazed to amber. “Delicious,” he rumbled.
Susie fought through the dense fog of lust threatening to derail every logical instinct she had.
“I ah, I have to go.”
Barlow’s upper lip curled. “You sure about that, little darling?”
“Aha, yep, see you around!”
Susie got out of there before she did something crazy like beg Barlow to take her as his mate. Son of a gun! She barely even knew the guy, and she was perilously close to falling head over heels for him. No, no, no, no – no more wolves!
*
Barlow huffed as he walked in to find his dad with his hands up his mate’s sweater.
“You could knock!” snarled Greyson.
The two of them were watching the news, but clearly, it hadn’t been keeping their attention. Violet slapped at Greyson’s hands until reluctantly he removed them.
“It’s his house,” hissed Violet before looking up at Barlow. “Ignore him. You know you don’t have to knock, we just weren’t expecting you. Is everything okay?”
She gave him a nervous smile. Things with his dad were the same as they had been twelve years ago – Greyson tried to tell him what to do, and Barlow resented everything he was told to do. They were gruff and growly and the same as always. The difference was that Violet was trying her hardest to improve things and to make Barlow like her. He didn’t dislike her – just having her around brought up old thoughts about his mom.
“Just came by to get a few things from my old room.”
Barlow took a beer from the refrigerator.
“And a few of my beers,” groused Greyson.
Barlow eyed his father with a sour look.
“The barbeque was nice,” gushed Violet, changing the subject. “I’m sorry it ended with the boys punching each other and being sent to their rooms.”
It usually did end that way. During every barbeque, someone always suggested a friendly football game. Naturally, there was lots of cheating between the boys; then they would start arguing over who was cheating more and then that would devolve to punching.
Barlow wasn’t sorry the barbeque ended early. After Susie left, he and his wolf had been in a funk.
“You know you don’t have to live in Mr. Maguire’s house while you’re working on it,” said Violet, her forehead wrinkling in worry.
She had told him over and over, that, of course, he was welcome back home. But the last thing he wanted was spending his nights listening to his dad getting lucky in the next room. Blurgh.
“Nah, I’d hate to miss the opportunity to piss off Mrs. Martin.”
She almost exploded when he started hammering things at seven-thirty that morning. He wasn’t even working – he was just hammering a piece of wood while he ate his breakfast.
“You take care,” growled Greyson. “She’s an elderly lady.”
Barlow and his wolf snorted. “She’s no lady, and she’ll go on long after we’re gone.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do after you finish the house?” asked Violet.
“Nope.”
“Have you thought about where you’re going to live since you don’t want to stay here?” asked Greyson.
“Nope.”
Greyson grumbled, and Violet elbowed him.
“What? He needs a plan.”
“Give him some breathing space,” whispered Violet. “He’s barely been in town a few days.”
“I’ll just grab my stuff and go,” said Barlow. He really didn’t want to get caught up in any kind of ‘parental’ talk, it would just end in him and Greyson yelling and Violet wringing her hands.
Violet jumped to her feet. “You don’t have to rush away.”
“
I got stuff I want to do tonight.” Then he tempered it with a smile to show he wasn’t annoyed or running off because of her. He wasn’t trying to punish Violet for the crime of mating his dad.
Barlow paused at the bottom of the stairs.
“The woman at the barbeque…” he started, considering how to phrase it.
Violet scrunched her nose. “Susie?”
“Yeah, she mating one of the pack or something?” He and his wolf held his breath.
“No, I don’t believe so. She works with some of the pack, and she’s a close friend of Terri’s, but as far as I know, she’s single. Why?”
He shrugged. “Nothing, just wondered why she was there today.”
Violet nodded. “Terri invited her. Apparently, she had a bad time with her ex-boyfriend, and she needs cheering up.”
Barlow wasn’t sure how one of his family’s barbeques was supposed to remedy that, but his wolf was pretty damn smug about the fact that she was single. No reason they couldn’t have a little more fun together, and if that kiss in the kitchen was anything to go by, he would say she was as keen as him.
Yeah. Maybe she was a little embarrassed about coming to face with her one night stand, but once she got over that, perhaps they could make whatever spark they had last a little longer.
Chapter Eight
“Morning.”
Susie hesitated. “Good morning.”
Barlow was outside the sheriff’s station leaning against the wall, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Sporting stubble and worn jeans, he looked far too gorgeous for his own good, far too perky as well. She bet his night wasn’t invaded by insufferably sexy dreams of a certain male wolf doing all manner of lip-bitingly satisfying things to him!
“Can I help you with something?” she asked.
“Maybe.” He hesitated, almost as if he was debating something internally. “Just wondered if you wanted to get a drink after work?”
She hesitated. She did – Jiminy Cricket she did! Definitely. But she shouldn’t.
“Sorry, I have plans.”
Which was almost true – she needed to decide what to pack for her upcoming nightmare of a wedding weekend.
Barlow’s smile twitched. “Sure, see you around.”
He walked away with a wink.
Susie exhaled. That was disappointingly easy. She kind of hoped he was going to argue with her. Yeah, she was full of mixed signals. After his kiss the day before, she kind of thought that he was desperate to be with her. Yeah, what the heck had she been thinking! As if he was spending his night mooning over someone like her!
She liked Barlow, and hell knows, she enjoyed their evening together, but she didn’t want to get involved with another wolf shifter. Allen told her it was natural for wolf shifters to behave the way he did, to be so overcome with lust on the full moon that he would try and mate with any available female. Nuts to that! She didn’t want another man in her life like that.
She wasn’t sure she was ready for any man in her life, and definitely not a wolf.
*
“Susie-cutie!”
Susie froze, one hand reaching out for her meatloaf sandwich.
Kira, a member of the pack and now the manager of the town Honeypot Diner grinned, showing all fangs.
“Susie-cutie? Oh, I am not going to forget that.”
“You could try,” groaned Susie snatching her sandwich moments before she found herself being thoroughly hugged by Jules.
Kira walked away chuckling.
Served Susie right for putting her original sandwich in the refrigerator at work – Cain always ate anything that went in there unless there was a specific death threat warning him not to, and that didn’t always work either.
“Hey, Jules,” said Susie, forcing a smile on her face. “What are you doing here?”
She loved her friend, she did. It was just that she was absolutely dreading the wedding.
“I wanted to bring you your maid of honor dress – we just got it back this morning.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t have minded collecting it.”
She was going to visit her grandparents that evening anyway – she easily could have swung by to Jules’ house. Jules had changed her mind half a dozen times about what her maid of honor and bridesmaids would be wearing – hence the last minute alterations.
“Actually, we’re going up to the lodge a day earlier so we won’t be at home tonight. You could drive up with us if you like?”
Susie flicked her hand up and down, indicating her uniform. “I’m on duty until seven tonight. I’m planning on driving up tomorrow morning.”
Jules pouted. “Are you sure? Can’t your boss let you go earlier?”
Actually, Jake probably would if she asked, but another night where she would possibly run into Allen over and over? Hard pass on that one.
“Sorry.”
Jules let out a humph. “Well, what time are you arriving tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You are packing your cute green dress, right?”
Susie sensed trouble brewing. “I wasn’t planning on it, why?”
Jules avoided her eyes. “It just suits you, is all.”
“Jules, spill.”
Her best friend sighed. “My cousin can make it to the wedding after all – his game has been postponed. He’s driving up with us today, and I thought that you and him…”
“No.”
“He’s a good guy,” insisted Jules.
Joe was a nice enough guy. Susie had no problem with him or the fact that he obsessively collected vintage train timetables. Or that he lectured people on why showers were killing the environment (his lecture on that still made no sense to Susie, and she’d heard it five times). She could also live with the fact that he spent his Saturdays playing Quidditch – he was in a league, and apparently, they were champions. She just didn’t want to date him. Apart from the fact that he could be mind-numbingly boring, she just wasn’t attracted to him. Something she had told Jules several times now when Jules, in her sweet, bossy way, had tried to set them up after her split with Allen.
“I’m not interested, Jules.”
“But don’t you at least want a date for the wedding? Joe could be your date and if turned into something else…”
Jules gave her a sparkling smile. Her friend would love it if the two of them could become related through a mating. Jules thought that if it happened, it would mean that Susie would have to move back to her town.
It should also be mentioned that the reason Joe didn’t think he would originally be able to make the wedding was because he was expecting to play in the Quidditch world cup – which would be taking place in Canada.
“I really can’t, I…”
Oh no. The frisson again.
She looked up, holding her breath as Barlow made his way into the diner. He was laughing and joking with a couple of other wolves, but he stilled when he saw her and winked. Before she could stop herself, she wet her lips, trying to capture a little of his taste from that incredible kiss. But of course, it was long gone – obliterated by a mixture of toothpaste, coffee and the sugary cereal she ate for breakfast.
Jules frowned and looked around. She let out a surprised growl on spotting Barlow. Apparently, she recognized him from Vegas.
“OMG!” she exclaimed in an excitable whisper. “Your hottie hook-up is here! No wonder you’re not interested in Joe!”
Susie was going to argue that Joe himself was the reason she was not interested in Joe, but decided it wasn’t worth it. Instead, she gave a short nod.
“Wow! No wonder you look tired. I bet he’s been keeping you up all night!” Jules waggled her eyebrows.
Susie frowned and gingerly touched the skin under her eyes. Okay, she was a little puffy but still!
“I can’t believe you’re still seeing him!” gushed Jules.
“Well, I…”
“This is wonderful! I’m so pleased for you. I was beginning to worry you were going
to be alone forever.”
“Allen and I broke up less than a year ago,” protested Susie. Of course, she hadn’t dated at all since then. Vegas was the closest thing she came to that, and what happened in Vegas was definitely not a date. No, it was better cooed an inner voice.
Barlow was making his way to the counter to order, and naturally, in spite of Susie’s protestations that he was busy, Jules had to talk to him.
“Hey, Vegas guy!”
Jules beamed at him, and Barlow returned her smile in a bemused way.
“I usually go by Barlow.”
“Barlow, it is amazing to meet you,” gushed Jules. “I’m Jules; I was also in Vegas though I’m sure you don’t remember me. I expect you were too busy to notice little old me.”
Susie rolled her eyes and willed Barlow to just run out of the diner. He didn’t, of course.
“I saw you,” he admitted.
Susie blinked at him. But apparently hadn’t been interested in introducing himself to her, nor her other she-wolf friends.
“Are you coming to the wedding?” asked Jules.
Barlow raised an eyebrow.
“He can’t,” blurted Susie. “He has a thing…”
Both Barlow and Jules stared at her.
“He’s busy, right?”
Susie elbowed him, and he let out a small rumble.
“I’m renovating a house at the moment. Need it finished in a few weeks.”
“There!” cried Susie in relief. “He’s on a tight schedule. Plus he has the thing…”
Whew! Being trapped in a mountain lodge hotel with Barlow would hardly be good for her. How would she keep her hands off him? It was better she just stay away.
Jules pouted in the way she did whenever she wanted her own way and wasn’t getting it. People usually folded when she did the pout. She hoped Barlow wasn’t one of them.
“But you’re dating, right?” said Jules. “Surely you want to be Susie’s date for the wedding.”
Barlow cast a strange look in Susie’s direction. Oh no. He thought she had told Jules they were dating. He thought she was a big fat, loser liar!
“You said you couldn’t accommodate any more guests,” whispered Susie, furiously.
“I could make room for your boyfriend.”
“We’re not really…”
“I really am busy,” said Barlow.