Actually, the idea of a werewolf quarterback was kind of scary. Maybe it was a good thing the Starr twins had passed on sports.
Karen turned a noisy, distracted circle around the small bathroom. Diana retreated to use her scrubber in private.
“I don’t know. Maybe they don’t like sports.”
Karen didn’t sound convinced of her statement.
“They’re usually in trouble about one thing or another. That’s why Mr. Weis is in and out of the school office so much. “
Diana peeked around the curtain to see a secret smile hover around Karen’s lips.
Her eyes sparkled.
“Bradley’s in my Chemistry class.”
Chemistry. Oh, joy. This keeps getting better and better. Not Biology, please.
Diana frowned. Bradley, young and hunky, was definitely the focus of her daughter’s fantasies.
Ouch. Diana didn’t even want to go there.
“Mmm-hmmm” Karen leaned back against the door again, oblivious to the robe she dislodged. It fell to the floor in a soft terry pile.
Diana didn’t really want to talk about the boys. She needed to think. And she definitely had reservations about her daughter and a werewolf.
“They seem like nice enough kids.” Diana kept her tone carefully light. “But you know, you don’t really need any trouble.”
“Well, they’re not really bad—and it’s usually just the younger ones. Bradley has the tortured, brooding hero aura mastered.”
Karen wrapped her arms around herself and hugged tight. Her features took on a dreamy faraway stare.
“Got that whole Heathcliff thing going on, huh?” Diana asked.
Karen wrinkled her nose.
“Gah. Literature. Nope, more like Angel.”
Diana glanced up from scrubbing her foot.
“Angel?”
“You know? Tall, pale, and sexy. The vampire detective.”
Vampires? What vampires? There were vampires too?
Diana stared, clueless, sponge poised midair. Karen rolled her eyes.
“David Boreanaz. Jeez, Mom. Someday, you’re going to have to cut loose and watch more TV than just the news. Go out on a date or something.”
“Hey! I get out.” Diana feigned outrage.
“Right. Work, the grocery store, various school functions featuring moi.”
Karen’s chiding tone brightened. Mischief danced in her brown eyes.
“But things are looking up. You spent the night with Mr. Weis.”
“Karen!” Diana poked her head around the shower curtain.
Her daughter sniggered.
“That’s enough, young lady. Besides, I want you to be careful. Those boys aren’t like us. They’re different.”
She pinned her daughter with a significant look, using the scrubber to make her meaning clear.
“Or Mr. Weis either.”
The force of Karen’s shock made Diana flush. Indignation rolled from her daughter. In the cooling water, Diana felt small, petty. Or was it her hot skin that suddenly made the water cooler?
Karen stood with her hand on the door, the picture of an outraged teen. Diana felt smaller still.
“Mother! I can’t believe you said that. Like this house is normal.”
Karen jerked the door open in a huff. Her ponytail swung madly. She stopped.
Her eyes had a familiar vague look. Her voice was cool and distant with the gift of precognition.
“You might want to hurry up, Mom. Grandma Ridley is about to call.”
Karen shut the door behind her and sure enough, the phone rang. Diana finished rinsing off, fortifying herself to talk to her ex-mother-in-law, who would no doubt be calling on Matthew’s behalf, again. Richard’s mother believed that Matthew should be living with his father, going to a university college in a bigger and better town. Not living with his strange mother and sister in a nothing town like Palestine and its community college annex.
Diana dismissed Mrs. Ridley from her thoughts. She’d always be at odds with that woman.
She focused on her newest pack of issues.
Karen was right, and not just with her psychic telephone predictions.
What right did Diana have to judge a household of werewolves, when she, an empath and her psychic daughter had their own weird set of problems?
She was an idiot all right. A paranoid, delusional idiot. That’s what she got for getting what little information she had on supernatural creatures from Jax, the randy gnome and a witch that did magical home security systems. Those two had her jumping at shadows.
Thinking back on this morning, Diana realized that she’d gone off the deep end big time. She owed him and his boys a big apology.
Mr. Weis had played Good Samaritan and saved her a big emergency room bill when all she’d had were a few bruises and scratches. Okay, a lot of scratches. And not getting eaten by coyotes was a big bonus. Was there a such thing as werecoyotes?
So, the boys were werewolves and after she woke up, the monster movie footage had gone straight to comic relief. Boys fight. That was a fact of life. No biggie if one of them had been a wolf at the time? Well a decent sized biggie since there was more room for bloodshed.
Diana covered her face with her hands and sank lower into the water. Adam Weis.
Oh, God. Had she actually kneed him in the … nuts? Water covered her head but she drowned in humiliation.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
———
Monday night Diana checked her watch and pulled into the Kal-Mart Supercenter parking lot for a quick round of after work Dash-Through-the-Store.
She would have had more time if the darned computers at the insurance office hadn’t locked up. Diana didn’t know a server from a modem, but if that thing didn’t start working right, she was going to kick it right in its hard drive!
At least she didn’t hate her job. When she was young, Diana had wanted to go into business for herself, doing something fabulous like opening a small, romantic restaurant. She’d taken a few cooking classes and fancied herself an up-and-coming chef.
But then she’d met and married Richard and her plans took a backseat while he climbed the grocery store company ladder. He was a regional manager now and enjoyed the fruits of his labor.
For Diana, insurance wasn’t a bad way to earn a paycheck. It was an interesting business. She met all kinds of interesting people. It certainly beat the heck out of bagging groceries and flipping hamburgers.
She didn’t rely on anyone, especially her ex, The Dick, for help. He paid his dues for their two children. But sometimes Diana felt like she suffered for every dime he forked over, Karen and Matthew being the only worthwhile things from that union.
Diana wheeled the basket past the snack food aisle. Hers was a healthy household.
Despite her love of old fashioned comfort food, pre-packaged junk foods were on the forbidden list. They were full of preservatives and additives.
She bought exercise equipment periodically with every intention of working out.
After a few weeks, some family crisis blew away all of her plans. After that, she could never muster up the same enthusiasm for exercise. Said equipment slowly got carried out to the garage.
Yet another destructive pattern in her life. At least Richard the Dick was no longer around to heckle her about her lack of will power.
She sighed and tried to push away thoughts of her telephone confrontation with her son. He’d left her to the wolves, literally, in the park then run off to his dad’s without notice. Yes, he’d come home after she called. The apology for his lack of responsibility had been begrudging.
Too often of late, Richard’s expressions flowed from her son. He was eighteen years old. Did she really have to know where he was every second of the day? He was legally a man. And he’d be gone to college soon. Geesh Mom. Get a life.
Diana had exploded and Matthew had driven off in an angry huff back to his dad’s. Later Richard had called with his usual accusations and in
sults.
Was she too controlling?
Diana didn’t know. In her house, she believed that her rules should be respected.
What was overbearing about that?
Should she ignore Matthew’s actions? Write them off as a phase? Let him sow his wild oats?
Matthew should have called back and told her that he’d gotten his car to start the other night. He should have come home at the appointed time instead of staying out.
She didn’t give a flying fig for his wild oats. If he wanted to stay at his dad’s, then fine. She would stay firm even if she felt like Matthew had defected to the enemy and ripped her guts apart. Diana wanted her son back home, but not at the expense of her pride. Richard had taken that away from her once before. She wouldn’t let him use her son to do it again.
———
Adam tossed a box of sugared rice puff cereal in the basket. He considered his choices, then grabbed a couple of boxes of the cocoa puffs too. The fruit crispies were good and the marshmallow kind always went over well with the boys. He remembered that Brandon liked the Apple O’s just as the scent of vanilla, citrus, and woman hit his olfactory and jolted through his body.
He usually ignored the bombardment of odors that came with a trip to the store.
But that particular scent seemed to have burned itself into his sensory memory, waking the wolf. Primal instinct, beast, whatever, that part of him that ran wild rose to shimmer under his skin. The wolf demanded release, demanded a hunt. Adam could no more deny the instinct that gripped him that any other physical necessity.
He tossed two boxes of the Apple O’s into the basket and followed the intriguing scent to its source. Because food was another necessity, the basket was not forgotten in his hunt.
There were all kinds of hunts. The hunt for food. Tracking for the adventure and curiosity. For play. Wolven did not need to kill in order to satisfy the need to hunt.
Hunting was about using their senses, to track and find what was needed at that moment.
At that moment the wolf needed to find the woman. The one who smelled soft and delicious. The female had bested him. That was unacceptable to the wolf. The man found it intriguing. Both parts of him wanted a rematch.
He stopped, cocked his head to one side, and watched her reach for a jar on the top shelf. She was short enough that she had to stand on her toes to reach. Every sense focused, his eyes riveted on the way her pants snuggled tight to her lush ass. Soft, full breasts strained against her blouse as she stretched her limit.
Adam swallowed and tried to take in a breath. The scent of her filled his nose. His body swelled and hardened. Damn, he had to get a grip. She’s just a woman. A human.
Not his kind.
She was a psychic and female. That made her fair game. That she resided in Adam’s territory made her his responsibility.
The wolf didn’t care about politics. The wolf wanted closer.
“Here, let me.” Adam reached up and grabbed a jar. He barely noticed the contents, olives.
She squeaked and bumped into him, giving him a chance to bury his nose in her hair. More soft female scent. Inside, the wolf howled in delight.
She turned, depriving him of her hair, but gracing him with the brush of her body.
He could barely contain the wolf. With his quarry found, the wolf wanted to take her, like before, to his lair.
Remembering vividly what a mistake that had been, Adam stepped back. Inside, the wolf howled with frustration at the loss of her next to his skin. With a tentative smile, Adam held out the olives.
———
“You.”
Diana stared at him, eyes wide. She took a couple of steps back, regaining her personal space. It was him. What were the chances of running into him so soon after her debacle at his house? Pretty darn high considering the size of the town. Her cheeks pinkened.
“Ah … thank you.” She took the jar he held out and gestured helplessly at the shelf. “Thank you. I’m, ah, a little short.”
The intensity in his pale blue eyes was somewhat unnerving. Dear God, Karen was right. The man was absolutely gorgeous. His near white blond hair was longish and pulled back at his neck. Several strands escaped to tease around his high cheekbones. Tall and broadly muscled, he looked like he had stepped from the cover of a Viking romance novel. That much testosterone should both be illegal and go hand in hand with medieval weaponry.
“That’s all right. I’m a little tall.” His hesitant smile broadened a bit, showing a glimpse of white, white teeth. “Makes up for not having a ladder handy.”
Oh. Something warm unfurled in Diana’s belly. She reminded herself that men this good looking did not purposefully flirt with women like her.
She squared her shoulders, gathered her wits, and set the jar in the basket before looking back at him. No, men like him did not have an interest in plump thirty-eight year old divorcees. She didn’t need to make a fool out of herself a second time.
Looking up, Diana met his direct gaze. He seemed to be waiting for something.
She imagined she knew what.
“About the other day.” Diana brushed a nervous hand through her short bangs.
“I’m sorry about all that. The hysterics.”
He cocked his head in that odd way she’d noticed. Like a dog. No, not a dog, he was all wolf. She imagined if he could, he’d have perked his ears forward. Her imagination brought a fresh flush of heat to her face.
“I mean … I don’t know what came over me. I shouldn’t have … ah …”
He closed the distance swiftly, laid a gentle finger over her lips.
“Forgotten.” He hesitated a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was a deep comfortable rumble. “Does what we are bother you?”
“N-no, Mr. Weis.” She said against his finger. His presence mesmerized her. Heat seemed to roll off of him. She wanted to absorb the excess warmth, curl up next to him and stay there.
“Adam.” He moved his finger over her lips, tracing them, his intense eyes memorizing the shape. Every part of her was earthy, womanly, and erotically delicious to his senses.
“Adam.” Diana breathed against the digit. She noticed, with feminine pride, a shudder work its way from his arm to shoulder, and down his back.
Adam stepped back, the man regaining control. Ruthlessly, he pushed the wolf down. He leashed the instinct that pressed him to take the female, to drag her to his lair like a caveman and keep her there. He did not want a woman.
Yes, he did want her. But the wolf wanted more than sex, way more. Sex was all that the man was willing to give. He didn’t want a mate, especially not a human one that would not be strong enough to hold her place in the pack.
Diana blinked away the fantasy and watched Adam distance himself. Oh, well. At least she had plenty of fuel for her dreams, because really, the man was way out of her league. She pasted on a bright smile. “Diana.”
He drew his brows together, momentarily confused, and cocked his head again. He nodded when the proverbial light came on. His smile too, seemed more than it should be. He stepped over to his basket, taking possession of it.
“It has been a pleasure, Diana.”
She nodded in agreement, realizing his hurry to get away. Must be those divorcee cooties. Maybe a neon sign labeled desperate over her head with an arrow pointing down.
“Yes. And again, I’m sorry about last time.”
“Like I said, forgotten.”
He started down the aisle, the frustrated wolf gnawing at his resolve. He focused on leaving the store a civilized creature. He nearly made it to the end of the aisle when she called out to him.
“Adam!”
No, no, no. He needed to get away. He wanted to stay. That part was the wolf.
The wolf wanted to stay long enough to claim the female. Then they’d go to his lair. Oh, the things he would do to her there.
“Adam!”
He turned, his frustration and inner turmoil boiling to the surface.
> “What?”
“You’re leaking.”
“Huh?” Her soft, full breasts bounced as she hurried toward him.
“Your milk is leaking.”
He focused more intently on her full breasts. He would be able to smell her better with his nose buried between them, cushioning his cheeks.
“Milk?”
She brushed past him and leaned over his basket, giving him a better view of her heart-shaped ass. His mouth watered. His cock got harder.
He nearly choked when she reared back up and shoved a gallon of milk under his nose. The scent effectively obscured vanilla and citrus. He leaned away and refocused on the offending container. A small steady stream ran from the top, over the back of her hand, and dripped onto the floor. He had a sudden hankering for milk and woman al dente.
“Grab that box over there.”
Numb with raging hormones, Adam removed the last can of something off of the shelf, he didn’t care what, and handed Diana the box.
“Put it down there on the floor.”
Yeah. The floor was a good place. He could spread her out and lick all that milk off of her sweet skin. She pointed and, finally understanding her intent, Adam set the box down on the floor near the shelf. His reward was another first class view as she bent to set the gallon in the box. Regret when she straightened.
“Ugh.” She shook her hands of excess liquid. “I need to wash.”
Adam could help her clean up. He liked milk. The wolf agreed with a howl. He realized he’d been caught staring again when she sidled away to the end of his basket.
“Interesting choices you have there.”
What was wrong with his food?
Adam glanced at her basket. Mountains of vegetables, frozen and fresh, piled high. Lots of green leafy stuff. Yogurt and granola cereal peeked around various bags.
He looked down at his basket. Packages of steak and hamburger meat, frozen burritos, a dozen frozen pizzas, a case of hot dogs supported his cereal and Little Debbies. He had four different types chips, Gatorade, and about three more gallons of milk.
Did he need more bread? Was four loaves enough? Growing wolven ate a lot, about four or five meals a day. Snacks did not count.
Adam looked at her basket again, then at her expression of…disapproval?
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