“Remus,” Maddie growled.
He groaned softly. There was no way he was going to get out of telling her something. If he kept quiet, it would upset her, and she didn’t need that in her condition. Maybe it would be better if she did know about the new threat. At least then he could count on her to be more careful, and maybe she would be willing to follow his orders without question. He nearly choked on his own thoughts. My Maddie, following instructions without questioning them? That is so not going to happen. Resigned to telling her everything, he laid his hand across their child in a comforting gesture. “I needed to talk to Latan and Ethan about—” His words cut off as a strange feeling shot up his arm.
“Oh, my God, Remus, did you feel that?” Maddie asked. Her hand joined his on the bump that signified her pregnancy.
“Was that what I think it was?” Remus asked in wonderment.
Maddie’s eyes filled with tears. “The baby moved. It actually moved.”
They stayed quiet, with their hands on Maddie’s abdomen, for several minutes. “Do you think he’s gonna move again?” Remus whispered. As if in answer to his question, Remus felt a soft, rolling quiver underneath his palm. From the look in Maddie’s eyes, she felt the same thing. Suddenly, a horrifying thought froze Remus in place. “Maddie, are you all right? What have I done?”
“I’m fine, Remus,” she said with a puzzled look. “It’s just the baby moving around. Honey, that’s not gonna hurt me.”
“You should’ve warned me.” Intellectually, Remus knew that the baby stayed well protected in his mother’s womb, but visions of his dick pumping in and out toward his son, terrorizing him, while his weight pushed Maddie into the mattress, filled him with fear. “We could have squished him,” he cried.
Maddie laid her head back on the pillow and laughed. “Oh, Remus, you’re too much.” She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.
Remus groaned and shook his head sadly. He just knew he wasn’t going to be able to make love to his mate until after she gave birth. At least he could be happy that, in her excitement over the baby, Maddie appeared to have forgotten about him keeping secrets from her.
* * * *
Tania finished combing her hair and at the last minute decided to pull it back into a ponytail. She frowned as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She’d always hated the color of her hair, not that it wasn’t pretty, but it made it difficult for her to blend in with other people. There were times when it paid to be invisible in a crowd. She laughed as she tied the ribbon around the reddish-brown strands. Despite the fact it made her easily recognizable, she couldn’t bring herself to cut, or color, it. Her bright green eyes gazed from the mirror. Guess that makes me one extremely vain woman! She turned toward the cabin door when she heard a faint knock and then turned back to her reflection. “Okay, Tania, this is it. Tonight’s just for you. It’s time to have a little fun and relieve a little stress with the good-time brothers.” She laughed and then went to greet her dinner dates.
Tania threw open the door and had to bite her lip to keep from groaning out loud. Every time she saw these men, she had an overwhelming urge to strip them naked and lick them from head to toe. Both of them stood nearly six and a half feet tall, with brown hair and eyes. Broad shoulders and powerfully built chests topped their trim waists and curved butts. Thick, muscular legs were showcased in denim jeans so tight she could clearly see the outline of their erections. Tania swallowed hard and raised her eyes to meet the amusement in theirs. “Hey, guys, you’re right on time.” The eyes were the main difference between the two brothers. Latan had a serious, no-nonsense look in his, while Ethan’s appeared to be full of mischief. “Would you like to come in for a minute?” she asked as she stepped back to allow them to enter.
“Thanks,” Ethan replied.
“You look beautiful,” Latan added as both brothers walked into the small cabin.
Tania smiled and then frowned when she began to pick up strange feelings coming from them. “Uh, thanks, guys.” She pointed to the small couch that sat in front of the fireplace. “Please, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
Ethan grinned at her. “No thanks, we’re fine.” He glanced around the room, and then at Latan, before returning his gaze to Tania. “Hey, where’s your cat?”
“Why would you want to know where my cat is?” Tania asked, puzzled and beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.
Ethan laughed, looking a little embarrassed. “I saw him in the window the day we brought you the wedding cake.” He shrugged. “I just thought he was cute, and I really like cats.”
She glanced over at Latan. “What about you? Do you like cats?”
Latan stared over at his brother, and then ran his eyes around the room. “Yeah, sure, I like cats.”
Tania cringed as she sensed the first outright lie of the evening. She almost choked when she felt the absolute loathing coming from Latan. There was no doubt in her mind. The man couldn’t stand cats! She briefly wondered what it would take to change his mind. “Well, my cat’s not here right now. She’s out playing in the woods.”
“She? Your cat’s a girl?” Ethan asked.
“Don’t you realize it’s not safe for her to be outside around all these wolves?” Latan’s voice clearly said he didn’t really care if something happened to her beloved pet. As she watched, he walked over to her desk and raked his eyes over her exposed papers before sitting down in front of the computer.
“Yes, Kit’s a girl, and she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself when she’s outside. We’ve lived around wolves all our lives.” Tania crossed to her desk and shut off her monitor. Glaring at Latan, she picked up her paperwork and shoved it in the desk drawer. “Sorry, this is a little personal. It’s just some letters I’m writing to friends back in California.”
“California, huh? Is that where your family is? Is that where you grew up?” Latan’s face and tone of voice made his questions seem innocent, but there was something in the feelings he projected that she didn’t like.
“Latan!” Ethan cried.
Understanding hit Tania, causing a pain to form around her heart. They don’t trust me now. I can sense a little bit of desire, but it’s nearly overshadowed by their doubt. What the hell happened since this morning to make them feel this way? Tania sighed, not really understanding why she felt hurt by the thought of them not trusting her. All of her relationships ended this way because she kept so many secrets, but she’d never had it happen so fast. Feeling resigned to a brief, unpleasant evening, she sent Ethan a smile she didn’t feel. “You guys ready to go? I’m starving.”
She didn’t wait for their answer before she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Her sigh of relief, when they got up to follow, seemed loud in the small room. Get over it, Tania. It just wasn’t meant to be. We’ll just get through this dinner as quickly as possible, and then I can say goodbye. I can concentrate on getting this job done quickly, and then I’m out of here, and I won’t ever have to lay eyes on them again. For some unknown reason, the thoughts running through her mind failed to bring comfort.
* * * *
Mali felt Melissa tremble when he put his hand on her waist to guide her through the restaurant to one of the empty booths for dinner. His wolf prowled close to the surface, wanting to claim their mate right then and there. He struggled to keep the beast under control. He smiled and took her hand as she scooted into the booth, and then watched her eyes widen when he slid in behind her, forcing her to the back corner.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable sitting across from me? You would have plenty of room to stretch out then.” Melissa tugged on her hand, looking uncomfortable, as a dull, red flush crept up her neck.
Mali had started to change seats to ease her embarrassment when he caught a whiff of arousal coming from his mate. His cock hardened painfully against the zipper of his jeans. He tightened his hold on her hand and leaned closer so he could gaze into her eyes. “No, it’ll be better
this way. This place gets pretty noisy during dinner, and this will make it easier to talk and look over those paint samples I brought with me.”
Confusion clouded her eyes. “But you left them in the car.”
He chuckled. “That insured us a pleasant dinner and time to get to know one another. I’ll go get them when it’s time for dessert.”
“Why would you want to get to know me better?” she asked, still tugging lightly at her hand.
Mali frowned, not liking the uncertainty he heard in her voice. “Why wouldn’t I, Melissa? You’re beautiful, single, and fun to be around.” Following her incredulous look, he moved closer and brought her hand to his lips, where he placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. “Woman, believe it or not, when I’m with you, I feel like sunshine is filling my soul. You make me want things I never thought I could have. I wanna be close to you. I wanna know everything there is to know about you.” He kissed her hand again. “Do you feel anything for me, anything at all?” He watched as her eyes sparkled and felt her fingers tighten against his own.
“Well, as I live and breathe, it’s my good friend, Mali. Where’ve you been hiding yourself, honey? I haven’t seen you around for a while.”
Mali looked up at the young woman who’d been a waitress at the diner for the past few years and tried to control the anger he felt at her interruption. “I’ve been around, just don’t eat out much.”
She looked Melissa up and down with a smirk on her face. “Who’s your friend?”
He felt Melissa tense and then watched as she shrank farther back into the corner of the booth before lowering her eyes to the table. A small growl escaped before he could contain it, causing Melissa to raise her eyes to his. She looked shocked. Mali threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against his body before he looked up at the annoying waitress. He didn’t like the way she was looking at Melissa, and nobody was going to get away with making his mate feel uncomfortable. “This is Melissa Rogers, a very special friend of mine.” To make his meaning clear, Mali tightened his arm and leaned over to place a light kiss on her lips. He smiled when he heard the waitress gasp. “Melissa, this is Linda.” He glanced up at the young woman. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your last name.” He wanted to make sure Melissa understood he only knew this woman in passing, and not very well.
“Mavers, Linda Mavers is my name,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Mavers,” Melissa said politely.
Linda dropped two menus in front of Mali. “I’ll be back in a minute to get your orders.” Shaking her head, she quickly walked away.
“Okay, that was fun.” Melissa looked up at Mali. “Not!”
Pleased to see her more relaxed, with her sense of humor restored, Mali ran his hand up and down her arm. “Are you okay, Sunshine?”
Melissa snorted. “Sunshine, right! Yeah, I’m just a ray of sunshine destined to bring happiness to everybody. I sure managed to brighten her day. What is she, your past coming back to bite you in the butt?”
Mali grimaced. “I swear, Sunshine, I’ve never dated her. Hell, I’ve never even seen her outside this diner.”
She gave him a shrewd look. “She tried to get you outside this diner, didn’t she?”
He could feel his ears beginning to burn. This evening wasn’t going anything like he’d planned. “Not just me. She pretty much goes after everybody.”
“Huh, I must not be everybody, or maybe I’m losing my touch. She didn’t invite me outside for a little rendezvous.”
Mali threw back his head and laughed. “I don’t think you have the right equipment to interest her, Sunshine.” His hand came up to caress her cheek. “I swear I never took her up on her invitations.”
Melissa grinned. “So, what’s good in this fine eating establishment?”
Unable to stop himself, Mali leaned forward and covered her lips with his own. His arm tightened around her when she tried to pull away, a small growl coming up from his chest. He let his tongue trace across her bottom lip before he took it between his teeth and nipped. When she opened her mouth to protest, he slipped inside, taking her taste and scent inside him. He felt like shouting his pleasure when he felt her tongue glide into his mouth. His hand was just beginning to slide toward her breast when he heard the clearing of a throat. He raised his head and glanced over his shoulder.
“Hey, guys, fancy seeing you here,” Ethan teased.
Mali glanced back down at Melissa and sighed. If the poor woman got any redder, she might just explode. “Did you want something, Ethan, or were just trying to ruin our evening?” He didn’t care if he sounded rude.
Ethan laughed. “We’re just here to ruin your evening, Mali.” He smiled at Melissa. “I’m sorry if we ruined yours as well, pretty lady.”
“That’s okay, Ethan,” she replied. “Just keep in mind that payback can be a real bitch.” Everyone laughed.
“Come on, guys, let’s give them some privacy.” Tania looked over at Melissa. “Sorry!”
“No problem, have a nice evening,” Melissa responded. She watched as her three new friends walked over to a table and sat down, then turned her attention back to Mali.
He leaned down close and whispered. “Now, where were we?” He was just about to join their lips when the grating sound of the waitress’s voice abraded his ears.
“Have you decided what you want yet?”
Mali growled, and Melissa giggled. He smiled and gazed into her fiery eyes. “Yeah, I know exactly what I want.” He watched as color flooded her cheeks, and then turned to the impatient woman who’d interrupted them. “Just bring us both the special, and make it quick.” He shook his head as she sauntered off. It was going to be a long, long evening.
* * * *
Tania sighed as Latan held her chair for her to sit. She’d been pleased to see Melissa having a romantic moment with a handsome man. The unhappiness had rolled off her in waves during the time they’d spent together. It made her happy to think that somebody’s love life was working out, since her own definitely left a lot to be desired.
Ethan smiled at her. “We know you’re from California, Tania. Are you from a large city or a small town?”
She laughed. “You couldn’t get much smaller than my hometown. I’m from a little place called Sudden Falls.”
“Never heard of it. What’s it close to?” asked Latan.
Tania felt uncomfortable and wondered if this was the beginning of an interrogation. The feelings pouring off the two men proved they didn’t trust her. “It’s about as far south as you can get without speaking Spanish,” she joked. She glanced down at her hands. “I would’ve thought that Alpha Remus would tell you that I grew up in one of the National Council’s homes for orphans.” She peeked at them through heavy lashes to gauge their reaction and knew immediately that Remus hadn’t said anything to them.
“God, I’m so sorry, Tania. We’d no idea you had no family.” Ethan couldn’t hide the pity in his voice.
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” she replied sharply. “I don’t need or want anyone’s sympathy. My life hasn’t been so bad, and it’s just the way I want it now.” She wondered if her statement sounded as false as it felt, but she couldn’t stand it when people felt sorry for her.
Latan reached over and covered her hand with his. “It’s not sympathy. It’s sadness. We’ve always had our family and couldn’t imagine life without each other to lean on.”
Before Tania could respond, a glass of water slammed down on the table in front of her, causing her to jump.
“Hello, Linda,” Ethan said before glancing over at Latan. “It’s nice to see you again. How’ve you been?”
The young woman deposited a glass of water in front of each of the men and then began to hand out the menus. “I’m surprised you remember my name, considering how long it has been since you called me.” She threw the menu down in front of Tania, hitting the small glass of water and knocking it toward her lap. Quick reflexes, and a desire n
ot to ruin her new skirt, inspired her to propel backwards with her chair, allowing the water to run off in the floor.
“Oh, gee, I’m so sorry,” the waitress said, sounding almost gleeful.
“Linda, that’ll be quite enough,” Latan growled. The tone of his voice should have stopped her cold, but Linda just smirked and ambled off toward the kitchen.
Both men grabbed napkins from the table dispenser and began mopping up the spilled water. They glanced at each other a couple of times, a grim look on their faces.
Tania scooted her chair back up to the table and sighed. She thought for a minute in silence and then shook her head and laughed. Both brothers looked at her a little strangely. She grinned at them. “Friend of yours?” she asked. She watched in amusement as both men flushed a slight rose color.
“Friend might be a strong word,” Latan responded.
“Look, Tania, we’re sorry for this.” Ethan gave Latan a look she couldn’t decipher. “I guess we should’ve considered what her reaction would be if we came in here with a woman, especially one she didn’t know.”
“It’s not like we had a relationship with her or anything serious,” Latan added. “We’ve spent some time with her, but we always made it clear up front that it was just fooling around, nothing serious.” He looked at Tania like he wanted her forgiveness.
“It’s okay, guys, I understand.” Tania wondered if the human waitress knew her former lovers were wolves. Great, I’m out with the local playboy heartbreakers. It doesn’t matter anyway. I already know this will be the only date the three of us will ever have together. She didn’t understand why that thought hurt so much. She felt a connection to these two wolves she couldn’t explain.
“Ethan and I are gonna have steak and baked potatoes. If that’s all right with you, I’ll go up and put in our order myself so she doesn’t have to come back to the table.” Latan smiled and looked at her expectantly.
She grinned back and handed him her menu. ‘Sure, steak is great. I like mine as rare as they’ll serve it, with butter and sour cream on my potato. Oh, and can I get a glass of iced tea?”
Martine, Missy - Changing Their Wolfen Heritage [A Wolfen Heritage 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 6