Boundary

by Ebony Olson

  "I paid way too much for this underwear to destroy it in a pool."

  Eyes sparkling, Dale opened the glass doors onto the decking and motioned me to follow. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out onto the dark decking with the most gorgeous guy I'd ever met.

  Chapter 6

  "Do they all live here?" Watching the pack of naked models dive into the pool below, I turned around and studied the house.

  "They all have rooms here, but we all have our own places in the city. I'm home every weekend, or other days it suits me. We have a pack dinner once a month; otherwise, they come home when it suits them."

  "Bob lives here?"

  Dale turned his body to face mine. "He does."

  "But not Jeremy?"

  "During the week, Jeremy lives in the city. When he is here, Jeremy shares a room with his cousin. He was planning on taking the cottage. The house is large, but we have run out of space for the pack members. It's unusual for one of our kind to have many children. The girls share a room, but my son has his own."

  "I could pick Hymn and Alexia as your daughters, which is your son?"

  Shifting his weight, Dale pressed his lips into a firm line before speaking. "He's not here tonight, but you've met before. My lawyer who tracked you down at the hospital to demand you sell the cottage back to me."

  Standing straight, I focused on trying to remember him. "That's why you look familiar. How did you find me?"

  "Adam trained in computer forensics before joining the agency. Most of my pack have many qualifications, and they work for me when they want time out." Assessing me, Dale shifted his weight. "Why did you buy it? You hadn't even seen it."

  "The picture just called to me. That nature surrounds it, and it came furnished was the clincher. It's hard to explain, but I knew it was where I needed to be."

  Where we stood out on the decking Dale's indigo eyes appeared dark, but I saw them brighten at my words. Caressing my cheek, Dale gazed into my eyes. The swarm of butterflies lodging in my stomach since meeting him erupted. "You are exactly where you need to be." His voice was tight; almost a whisper.

  Lost to his caress and eyes for a moment, I caught myself and pulled away, taking several steps to distance us. "I should call it a night. You may want to join your friends?"

  Snickering, Dale raised a brow. "I don't know what it was like where you come from, Vera, but here, a father does not skinny dip with his daughters."

  "Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I totally forgot and..."

  Chuckling, Dale took both my shoulders in his hands. When I flinched but held my ground, Dale sobered. "I know you didn't mean to insult me, relax."

  Moisture welled in my eyes, and I had to concentrate on my breathing to prevent the tears from falling.

  "He would have hit you for something so innocent as that?" I nodded. Gritting his teeth, Dale took a deep breath. His anger pulsed in the air, but it was gone before I could acknowledge I'd felt it. "You said a professional chef taught you to cook?" Stepping back from me, Dale changed the subject.

  "Y..yes."

  Gesturing to his kitchen, Dale cocked a cheeky brow my way. "Care to whip us up an after-dinner snack?"

  Eyeing his beautiful clean kitchen, I relaxed and followed Dale inside. "Anything particular you fancy?"

  Eyes roaming my body, Dale smiled as he met mine. "Surprise me."

  Giving him the biggest grin, I raided his fridge and pantry to find ingredients and see what I could make. Malcolm never let me choose. There was always a set menu or a specific request that I needed to serve. Never was the choice mine. The excitement was overwhelming. "Do you have a sweet tooth?"

  "Very much so." Appraising my body again, Dale licked his lips. It wasn't creepy the way he did it. His gaze was a civilised gentleman with an edge of a tease.

  Turning back around when the heat rushed to my cheeks and chest, I grabbed up what I needed and started mixing. Observing me, Dale sat with a smile on his face while I whipped cream and beat eggs in his kitchen. "Do you know you hum as you cook?"

  Stopping long enough to consider he was right, I shrugged. "I like to have music playing when I cook. I love listening to music."

  "You enjoy cooking for others?"

  After placing the glasses of white chocolate and honeycomb mousse in the fridge, I cleaned up. "I do. Cooking was my first true love."

  "Do you believe in true love, Vera?"

  "Don't you? What about your ex-wife?"

  "She wasn't my true love. I grew to care for her, yes, but had she not fallen pregnant, I would have ended it with her soon enough."

  The happiness I'd felt cooking dropped out of my stomach, leaving me feeling hollow.

  Reading my expression, Dale sighed. "I was young when I met Rebecca. I enjoyed seducing beautiful young women. I'd see them once or twice and then move on."

  Turning my back, I kept cleaning so he couldn't see how unsettled I was by his admission.

  "Rebecca changed that. I kept going back to her for weeks. She was different than the other girls, more confident. So, by the time I was ready to finish it, she was crying her news of being pregnant to me. I wouldn't abandon my children, so I married her, and I was a proper husband until she left me."

  That surprised me, but not as much as when Dale turned me to face him and placed his strong hands on my waist to keep me near. "I was a cad. That stopped a century ago. Rebecca knew, Vera. She was rebellious and naughty to have ever laid beneath me, but she wasn't stupid. It's why Rebecca still sought the love of her life. She found him and died in his arms of old age, a grandmother to the children she bore for him. She was happy, and I could never deny her what she desired."

  Studying his eyes, I found no anger or regret. "You hold no animosity towards her?"

  "Why would I?"

  This was so new to me. Didn't all men behave like suspicious, jealous, maniacs? Dale was so different. "I didn't think." Moving out of his hold, I dodged his approaching lips. "The mousse will need three hours to set. You'll have to enjoy them tomorrow night. I'm going to head home. Thank you for inviting me to dinner." Passive, Dale watched as I headed to the stairs. "Alpha?"

  "Will be waiting for you. Head out, and he'll find you." Sliding his hands into his pockets, Dale relaxed with a sigh. He waited till I was standing on the first step downstairs to talk further. "Vera? Thank you for coming and giving me a chance."

  Unable to resist giving him a semi-smile, I made my way down the stairs and towards the back door. As I changed my shoes, Alpha appeared beside me. Patting his head as we walked home, I kept my hand on his neck, enjoying the way stroking him made me feel light and free. Much the same way touching Dale did.

  "Your owner is going to be a problem for me. I like him." Assessing the depth of that admission, I fell silent for a long moment. "I like him, but I don't trust him. Too many times before has charm, and false sincerity deceived me."

  Alpha rubbed his head against my thigh in comfort. When we reached my yard, Alpha stopped and let me approach the house alone. Bidding him farewell, I went inside and locked the door. Gazing back up the clear path towards the house, I collected my thoughts about the night. "I really like him."

  Strong hands caressed down my waist. A hungry mouth left a wet path down my midsection. Broad shoulders nestled between my thighs and scruff scratched across my tender folds.

  "I'm going to devour you."

  Biting my lip, I clutched my fist in Dale's thick dark hair. Fingers tingling with the contact.

  "I'm going to make you cry my name until you can think of no other man but me."

  My blood was burning up, my body aching for him to take me. When his tongue tasted me, it felt like he'd done so much more. My nerve responses fired like he'd electrocuted me. Arching my back, a cry of pleasure escaped my lips.

  Growling, Dale lapped at my pleasure-center. Moaning, I squirmed beneath him, biting my lip to resist crying out his name until it mattered. A howl echoed through my room, startling me. Looking up, my eyes went wide at t
he big black dog standing over me, tongue hanging out in happiness.

  "What the...?" Sitting up in bed, shocked, I looked around my room. It was dark, and I was alone. "A dream."

  Sitting on the side of my bed, I scrubbed my face. I missed sex. The last fourteen years weren't always hell. When we were intimate was about the only time Malcolm was affectionate. He'd tell me how he loved me and adored me, and how good I made him feel. When you have no choice in the way your life is, you take the good days and make it count. So yes, I missed sex, because, for fourteen years, it was the only pleasure I'd known.

  There was another howl, alerting me to what had intruded on my dream and woken me up. The full moon bathed the backyard in moonlight as I tiptoed through the dark cottage to the back door. It was beautiful. The lights to the manor house were out, and the gardens natural glow in the night was magnificent.

  Unlocking the back door, I stepped out onto the back deck. The wind picked up and was a little chilly, but it didn't detract from the magical aura of the night. The energy of the night buzzed through me, calling me to run through the woods and revel in the goddess's light. Staying on the back patio, I watched the clouds blowing low and heavy through the night sky. At intermittent times, the clouds would block out the moon, and darkness would descend. It was only brief, and when the moon came back, it was worth waiting for.

  Another howl close enough to be right next to me made me jump. Alpha stood inside the trees of the boundary line baying to the moon as if she was his long lost love. It left me awestruck. When he finished his moon song, he lowered his head and looked straight at me. Happiness flooded me that he allowed me to witness what seemed an intimate moment with him and the moon.

  Clouds blew over again, darkness descended, and shadows slipped through the trees. Fear trickled down my spine. It was ridiculous. I knew it was the other dogs from the house, but still, there was something dangerous in the way they moved. Like ghosts chasing their salvation.

  When a stag bounded into my backyard, I stood awed by such a magnificent creature. Then five large dogs descended on it. Stalking forward, the dogs surrounded the stag, and I knew they meant to kill it. The stag, brave even in the face of defeat, lowered its head and prepared to fight.

  "No, don't!" Stepping forward as if I could stop the slaughter, I caught the dogs' attention. Stupid, I know. No one ever said I was a genius.

  All the animals turned at my intrusion. Recovering first, the stag tried to use it to his advantage by rushing the dog in front of him. Realizing in time, the dog shifted but yelped as one of the stag's antlers collected his back leg and flipped him.

  Three of the other dogs charged. One dog took the stag's throat while the others brought it to the ground. Covering my mouth in horror, I averted my gaze from the slaughter. Turning to rush back inside, I stopped wide-eyed and backstepped.

  The fifth dog was on my porch, head, and body low, ready to pounce as it stalked towards me. Whimpering, I backed up. Weighting his paws, the dog who looked more like a wolf at this moment, readied to pounce. Trying to protect myself with my hands as he leaped, I closed my eyes and prayed to the goddess.

  A crash and snarls rippled through the night, like a boulder thrown in the pond. Alpha held my would-be-attacker on the ground. Saliva dripping from his angry jowls as he threatened the other wolf. Because now that I'd seen them hunt, I recognized the breed. Not waiting to see more, I jumped the railing into the backyard, ran around to the steps, and raced up them. Bolting into the house, I slammed the door shut, jamming the locks in place before backing away from the door.

  Trembling and hyperventilating, I was more scared than I'd ever been. Lighting flashed; I jumped. Thunder roared, and, as the rain started pouring, my legs turned to jelly. Falling to the floor, a heap of a spineless, blubbering, messed-up woman, I screamed. The lightning exposing me for the pathetic female I was. "I just wanted a safe, quiet place."

  Another loud snarl followed by a dog's whimper before the thunder shook the cottage. "I just wanted to be safe."

  Chapter 7

  Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. All morning, I'd made myself wait. Avoiding looking out to the ruins of the stag outside, I forced myself to try and eat breakfast - I couldn't. After dressing in my running gear, I ran my driveway and theirs to get to the front door of the manor house.

  When the front door opened, Howard scowled down at me. "What do you want?" The way he looked at me was as if I were dog shit he'd discovered on the bottom of his expensive shoes. Blinking at the aggression of his greeting, I wondered how I offended him. Taking a careful step back out of arms reach, I bit my lip reconsidering coming here.

  "Howard, don't talk to her like that." Coming to the door, Bob opened it wide and looked me over. "Vera, everything okay?"

  Shaking my head, I assessed the two men. They both looked like they didn't sleep last night. "Your wolves chased a deer onto my property last night."

  "Your property?" Howard growled stepping towards me.

  Grabbing his shoulder, Bob hauled Howard back three steps, glaring at him but not saying a word.

  Licking my lips, I nodded. "They came into my yard and surrounded the deer. I panicked and interfered, and one of your animals got hurt."

  Eyes shadowed, Bob looked tired. "We know."

  "I'm so sorry. I just couldn't stand to see the deer hurt. It was stupid, I know, I just wanted to make sure it was okay."

  "The deer is dead you dumb-"

  Grabbing Howard by his shirt, Bob shoved him back inside. "Shut it and piss off, Howard."

  Feeling lower than a dog turd now, I shrank back as I cleared up the confusion. "I meant the wolf. I wanted to make sure your pet was okay."

  Bob sighed; I'd never seen him unsmiling. "He's fine, Vera. He needed a few stitches, that's all."

  Tears building, I nodded. All night, I'd been tossing around a decision, but Howard just made up my mind for me. "Is Dale here?"

  Peering over his shoulder as if checking the coast was clear, Bob returned his eyes to me. "He's with the dog and the vet. I'll get him to walk down to see you later."

  "No, it's fine. Can you let him know I'll cover the vet bill?"

  "That's generous, but not necessary."

  "And let Dale know the cottage is his. I'll sell it to him for the price I paid, plus transfer costs." Having made my decision, I turned to leave.

  "Wait, what?" Stepping forward, Bob caught my shoulder. When I flinched away, he removed his hand while I put space between us.

  "I came here for peace, not to watch animals get slaughtered, or for wolves to attack me every time I walk out my back door." Fourteen years of training to never raise your voice or talk back sticks like glue. "I came here to get away from a pack-house, not to end up in a new one. Dale can have the cottage." Jogging down the stairs, I ran towards the driveway.

  "Shit!" Bob cursed behind me.

  Back home, I showered before sitting down to look for a new place. Since I was now used to the local area, I looked for a small place closer to town. Picking a few worth looking at, I phoned to make appointments to see them. One had an open house this morning, so I grabbed my keys and left.

  When I arrived at the open house, Danny Ready was out the front with his ever-ready smile. "Ms. Cana, are you looking for an investment property?"

  Groaning to myself that I'd put on a summer dress this morning, and now his eyes were all over my legs. "No, a place for me. The cottage isn't working out with the neighbors." Without any further explanation, I stepped by him. The house was a little two-bedroom home on the outskirts of the village.

  The place wasn't as lovely. The neighbors were only spitting distance away, and it would need several renovations. Exhaling, I made my way back outside. Danny was on his phone when I came out. Hanging up when he saw me come back out, Danny moved into my path, his usual smile gone. "What did you think?"

  "Not for me. Do you have anything else in this price range?"

  Danny shrugged all apologetic.
"Afraid not."

  "What about the Hudson road place? I phoned your office and made an appointment to see it tomorrow?"

  Danny rubbed the back of his head. Tilting my face to observe him better when his gestures reminded me of Bob. "Well, yes, they are in the price range, but even worse than this place."

  Inhaling to hold my annoyance, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Beneath Danny's cologne earth and musk hit me. "I see." Anger started to bubble inside me. "Well, I'll take a look for myself. Goodbye, Mr. Ready."

  In my car, I phoned the real estate. "Yes, Ms. Cana, we can confirm your appointment tomorrow."

  "Excellent, Jessica. Do you have a female agent who can show me through?"

  "Ah, yes we do, but Mr. Ready is the property manager."

  "Jessica, is there any chance someone else could show me through? I'm still recovering from a rather violent domestic violence relationship. I don't feel comfortable being alone with a man?" Never did I dream I'd play the hell of my past to my advantage.

  "Oh, of course. Let me check LeeAnn's diary. That shouldn't be a problem. Can I call you back to confirm a time?"

  "That will be fine, thank you, Jessica." Hanging up, I exhaled letting my head thump back against my headrest. My eyes tracked to where Danny was standing out the front of the house. His eyes kept glancing at my car every couple of seconds. Maybe staying local wasn't going to work? The pack was bigger than I thought if at least two members missed dinner last night. Frowning, I realized that the two members not there were those involved in the house sale debacle.

  Danny hadn't been the sale realtor, but that's who had the keys for hand over. Picking up my phone again, I searched google and hit the call button. "Hi, I'm after a locksmith..."

  Finishing dinner, I was sitting on the back step with a glass of wine when Dale came down the path from the manor house. Climbing the steps, he sat next to me without asking. "The dog will be fine. It needed a few stitches, but don't worry about the vet costs. It should never have happened. You have my word; it won't happen again."