Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  “Pizza. I'd be happy with simple pizza. We can have it delivered to the room.”

  “I like the way you think.” He started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. I must have drifted off, because when I opened my eyes we were parked in the lot of a mid-level chain hotel and I was alone. Before I started to worry that Zane had forgotten me, I saw him jogging back toward the truck. He opened my door. “Grab your stuff, sweetheart. I've got us a room.”

  I grabbed my convenience store bag that held my new toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush, and a bag that held my new pajamas and followed him into the hotel.

  I'd only stayed in a hotel once before on the only vacation I'd been on with my parents, a trip to a lake in a town I couldn't even remember the name of, but I remembered the hotel. I remembered how happy we'd all been, my parents so in love, not yet angry or bitter. One four-night stay had been enough for me to develop an unfettered love affair with hotels. I loved the smell of hotels, the friendly, welcoming atmosphere, the whir of the elevator, but most of all, I loved the amenities that made me feel like a princess with a staff at my disposal.

  I breathed in deep in the lobby, lavender with a faint undertone of bleach, mm-mm paradise. “What room are we in?” I asked Zane. It hadn't occurred to me to ask him to get us separate rooms. Most hotel rooms had two beds, so I figured it wouldn't matter.

  “Room 304.”

  I bounced on my toes. “Can I push the elevator button?” Okay, yes, I was acting like a five-year-old, but riding on elevators wasn't something I got to do often.

  He patted my head. “Yes, Abby-gabby, you can push the elevator button.”

  I ignored his patronizing tone and skipped to the elevator. I pushed the button and watched the floor numbers light up above us. Finally, the doors opened and we stepped on. The doors closed and—

  “I'm getting that you—”

  “Shh,” I said. “Just listen.”

  He shut up, but amusement was dancing in his eyes and his lips were twitching. I didn't care. I listened to the nearly silent whir of the gears as the elevator rose. The car bumped to a stop and the doors opened. I sighed, my middle sinking back to where it belonged. “I love that feeling.”

  We stepped off the elevator and I turned to face him. “I know I've gotten to push all the buttons so far, but do you think I could have the key? I love opening hotel room doors.”

  He handed over the key and I followed the helpful arrows on the wall to our room. One quick in and out slide of the key, the green light flashed, and I opened the door. For just a moment, I paused in the entryway. The room was cool and dark and I breathed in the scent of fabric softener with that faint underlying hint of bleach. I couldn't contain my smile.

  I flicked on the light and raced for the nearest bed. I threw myself on it and bounced on the heavenly, fluffy, clean-smelling—

  “You know, they don't wash—”

  “Shut it,” I said. “No one has ever died from hotel germs. Just let me enjoy this.”

  I spread-eagled myself on the bed and sighed.

  He sat on the edge of the other bed and watched me. “I take it you like hotels.”

  “I love hotels. I caught a whiff of chlorine on the way in, is there a pool here?” The hotel pool on my family vacation had been almost as much fun as the lake we'd been there to visit.

  “Wishful thinking. No pool. I thought you were tired?”

  “We don't check out until ten, right? Time for a swim in the morning.” I huffed, annoyed at the lack of a pool. “I can use the hotel fitness room.”

  He dipped his head to the right, looking at me like a confused dog would. “Do you work out every morning?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I dance for a living. I don't work out.” Okay, I used to dance for a living. I probably should have some sort of exercise routine, but I never had the time and it was so deadly boring.

  His head dropped so far to the side his ear touched his shoulder. “So, why are you planning to go to the gym?”

  “Because I can,” I said, speaking slow so he'd understand, since he seemed to be having trouble understanding English.

  “Right.” His head popped up to his normal upright posture and he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “I'm going to order pizza. I'm assuming you want the vegetarian.”

  I screwed up my face. “Ugh, no. I'm not a big fan of vegetables.”

  He stared again, like he didn't understand me. “You're a vegetarian.”

  “Which means I don't eat meat. No one said I had to eat vegetables to be a vegetarian.”

  “So, what do you eat?”

  I shrugged, snuggling down farther into the comfy bed, feeling sleepy. “Lots of cheese, organic of course. Beans and bread stuff. You know, rice, pasta, bread, mostly pasta and bread.”

  “So, you want a plain old cheese pizza?”

  “Perfect,” I said with a sigh. “You call it in, I'm going to get into my pajamas.”

  I grabbed my bag and headed to the bathroom. I loved the tiny soaps and shampoo bottles. The shampoo smelled a bit like wet dog, but I didn't care because it was free. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and got into my snuggly pajamas, because I wanted to be ready to fall asleep whenever I felt like it. Comfy and warm, I hurried back out to my heavenly bed.

  Except Zane was in my heavenly bed. He was snuggled down under the comforter and he had the T.V. remote in his hand. I stopped and drew in several deep breaths and counted to ten in my head. He didn't know the rules. I couldn't attack him for not knowing the rules.

  “You okay?” he asked, looking over at me.

  “I claimed that bed.”

  He grinned. “I know. I like to cuddle while I watch free hotel cable.”

  “I don't cuddle in hotels. I like to spread out and cuddling sounds like a relationship sort of thing to do and I already told you—”

  “We can't have a relationship,” he said, his grin slipping only the tiniest bit. “I'm not forgetful. Just come over here and give it a try. If you don't like it, I'll go back to my own bed.”

  I already knew I'd hate it, and I was just about to tell him that when there was a knock at the door. I spun and opened it to see a pizza delivery guy there with a carry-out box in his hand. “Wow,” I said. “That was ridiculously fast.”

  “Slow night,” the guy said. “Plus, we're right next door.”

  I did remember seeing an Italian place near the hotel. Zane was by my side before I could reach for my wallet and he paid the teenager. I took the pizza and Zane shut the door.

  “I could have paid for it,” I said. “I know money's tight for the pack.”

  “It's fine,” he said, but his tone was curt and his shoulders were tense.

  “What's the story there anyway? With the reality show and—”

  “Let's not ruin our one night in paradise with talk about the pack's financial issues.”

  I wasn't going to argue with that. “So, should we sit at the desk or eat in bed like barbarians?”

  “I was raised by wolves.” He leapt and landed on the bed with a bounce. I joined him.

  I set the pizza box between us and Zane grabbed a slice and stuffed in a big bite. I stared at the cheese pizza. “You could have gotten half meat-lovers.”

  “Pretty sure that would contaminate your half,” he said around a mouthful of pizza. “It's fine. I like cheese.”

  I stared for another moment. I don't know why it was getting to me so much, but his gesture was undeniably sweet. I couldn't remember the last time someone had done something so generous for me. Did that say something about my friends? Or about Zane? Grabbing my own slice, I took a bite. It wasn't the best pizza I'd ever tasted, but I was hungry enough that it was close. “Yum,” I said. “I was starving. Thank you for dinner.”

  He grabbed the remote without acknowledging my thank you. “What do you want to watch?”

  “Something funny.”

  He flicked on the T.V. with one hand while he stuffed pizza into his mouth with
the other. He opened the guide and flipped through the options. “Road Rally?”

  “That doesn't sound like a comedy. Seriously, I don't want to watch anything with the potential for blood, death, or violence.”

  “Even comedies can have blood, death, and violence.”

  “Not romantic comedies.”

  He lowered his pizza hand and looked at me, eyes round, jaw low. “You want me to watch a romantic comedy? We haven't even slept together, yet.”

  “You want sex in exchange for watching a romantic comedy?” For a millisecond, I'd felt bad about my suggestion, especially after he'd ordered the pizza I'd wanted, but his reaction squelched any guilt.

  His nose crinkled. “What? No. I won't be able to have sex ever again if I watch a romantic comedy. I'll have to turn in my dude card, I'll grow a vagina. I'll be emasculated.”

  He looked so sincere and so worried. I laughed. Really hard. I laughed so hard, I almost choked on my pizza. Once I'd calmed down, I discovered him glaring at me. “I'm glad you find the loss of my manhood so amusing.”

  “You're an idiot.” I grabbed the remote and flipped through the guide. “Do you know how many dick flicks I've watched? I haven't grown a penis. You'll be fine.”

  He huffed. “I'm going to need a lot of cuddling while we watch to make up for this outrage.”

  I patted the top of his head. “Whatever you need, sweetie.”

  I found one of my favorite escape-from-reality-and-make-me-laugh movies and clicked on it. It had already started, but I muted it and got Zane all caught up. He moaned and whined, but he shut up, ate his pizza, and watched the movie.

  When we'd both finished eating, I set the empty pizza box on the floor and kept my promise by cuddling with him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer, until my cheek was on his chest, one of my legs bent over his legs. I snuggled in and breathed in the scent of him. I was wrong before, the hotel bed was good, but this, lying on Zane, his arm around me, an adorably hilarious movie playing, this was heaven.

  “What an idiot,” Zane said as the credits rolled. “I mean, he had this amazing, brilliant, gorgeous girl and he didn't lock it down immediately? Are all the men in chick flicks that dumb?”

  “She wasn't exactly a saint,” I said. “She sent mixed signals and she—”

  He gripped my chin and looked me in the eyes. “You find a girl like that, the right girl, you don't pussyfoot around or make excuses, you lock that shit down.”

  “Life is never that simple,” I said, but my voice was breathy, because laying on him, having his face that close to mine, was making it hard to breathe.

  “It should be. It fucking should be.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and looked at me like he wanted to do more, but he tweaked my nose and turned back to the T.V. “What next?”

  “We should call the front desk and arrange our wake-up call.” I snuggled deeper into his arms, wishing I could stay there forever. “I'm getting sleepy.”

  He rubbed my back. “Why do we need a wake-up call? Are we in a hurry to get out of here in the morning?”

  I looked up at him. “No, but I do want to hit the gym before we leave and… It's just nice, to wake up to the sound of a friendly voice and a gentle good wish for the day.”

  He grinned, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Of course, it is. What time do you want your wake-up?”

  I told him and let him make the call down to the front desk, because I was way too comfortable to move and my arms felt way too heavy for such an onerous task.

  “Now what?” he asked. “If you're serious about using every amenity, we should check out the porn on offer.”

  “Porn's not free.” I didn't even have the energy to roll my eyes, and I yawned halfway through the sentence. Even as tired as I was, the mention of porn had me envisioning naughty, naked things that had parts of me perking up with decided interest. If I watched porn with Zane, lying on his chest, my body wrapped around his, I would give in to every one of my lustful thoughts about him and I'd ruin this amazing friendship we were building. I'd break his heart, and I never wanted to hurt him. “No porn.”

  He gave a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. I'm fully emasculated now so I won't argue about whatever movie you pick.”

  I could have shown him mercy, but Pride and Prejudice was on and I couldn't resist. He rolled his eyes and moaned, but he shut up and watched it. I fell asleep before Elizabeth met Darcy.

  ***

  “This is your wake-up call,” a refined, male voice whispered into my ear. “I hope you have a fantastic day.” I startled and sat straight up to see Zane, phone receiver in his hand, amused grin on his face.

  “Some wake-up call,” he said. “You didn't even hear the phone ring.”

  “Did you whisper in my ear?”

  His grin widened. “No, I put the phone to your ear.” He put the receiver back on the cradle and leaned into me. “If I whispered a wake-up call in your ear it would be…” He pressed his lips to the shell of my ear and kissed it. “You're the sexiest woman I've ever seen. Or, now that I've had you in my bed, no other woman will ever compare. Or, Zane is an amazing guy, you should lock that shit down.”

  I jerked away from him, because my hands had started to wander, I'd started thinking sex might be a nice way to wake up, but then he'd reminded me that we wanted very different things. “I should get dressed. I want to hit the gym.”

  I leapt out of that bed like it was on fire and locked myself in the bathroom. Even with the door shut, I could still hear his laughter, could still hear his sweet whispers. My resolve was dissolving. I wanted to give into him, to let him touch me, but I couldn't do that, I wouldn't.

  I pulled on a comfy pair of sweats and a t-shirt and realized I hadn't bought myself sneakers. I'd bought shoes, pretty boots and snow boots, but nothing I could work out in. “Do you think I can work out in bare feet?” I stepped into the room as I asked the question, eyes on my feet.

  Zane didn't answer, so I looked up and saw he was still in bed, the blankets thrown off. He was wearing only boxers and his eyes were closed, his face slack in sleep. I couldn't stop staring at him. The man was an artist's canvas of hard lines and planes, his arms flung out to the sides, his chest rising and falling with each breath, his boxer briefs tight and outlining every inch. I couldn't breathe. He was erect and I couldn't get a breath, because I wanted, more than I'd ever wanted anything before, to lay myself over him and feel his skin against mine, to pull down his boxers and wrap my lips around him.

  “Enjoying the view?”

  My gaze flew to his face. His eyes were open, his grin wide.

  “You can get a lot more exercise in bed with me than you can in that silly hotel gym.”

  I considered it. I took a step toward him, every bone in my body and every drop of blood in my veins urging me toward him and that warm bed. Except, I still couldn't catch my breath and I knew jumping into that bed with him would be more than sex, it would be everything. It would be the weight around my neck that kept me in Mule Creek when I should go to Denver. He would become the man I resented for his small life and his small dreams.

  I retreated and his grin widened, like my retreat was what he wanted. “You're scared.”

  “I'm pissed that I forgot to buy sneakers.”

  He sat up, his muscles rippling and flowing as he moved. “You're scared of what will happen if you stop denying that you want me and get into this bed with me.”

  “Right,” I said. “I'm scared you'll get attached, and I'll break your heart.”

  His expression softened. “I'm already attached, Abby. I'm already going to miss you when you leave. That fear in your eyes, it isn't for me, it's for you. You're scared you won't be able to walk away, and that means it's about more than sex. You care about me. You're attached to me.”

  “You're a cocky a-hole,” I said, surprised by my own anger. I was mad because he was right and, even as I could admit that in some rational part of my brain, I couldn't stop being angry.
“I'm going to the gym.”

  I stomped out of the room. I was halfway to the gym when my lungs started working normally again. I wasn't afraid of anything, darn it. Okay, fine, I was a little afraid of Leopold, but that was rational. It was irrational to be afraid of some yogi werewolf with terrible taste in movies. I marched into the tiny hotel gym and sighed. It had exactly one treadmill, one elliptical machine, and an exercise ball. I needed a punching bag, I needed something heavy to throw around. I needed to remember how tough I was and that no one would scare me, or hurt me, or stand in the way of my dreams.

  I hopped on the treadmill and I ran, bare footed, until I'd remembered who I was. Until I remembered that I'd been orphaned as a teenager and I'd walked into that strip club and I'd gotten a job. I'd taken care of myself, I'd fended off handsy customers and angry customers and aggressive customers. I'd made sure I had food to eat and that the bills were paid. I was strong, and I was fine alone.

  I ran until my legs were shaking and my breath was coming hard, which didn't take nearly as long as it should have. An exercise routine was in my future. To make full use of the facilities, I worked out on the elliptical machine and did crunches on the exercise ball. Once there was nothing left to do in the tiny room, I followed the smell of eggs and burnt toast to the lobby and the small dining area where the free continental breakfast was being offered.

  I walked over to the buffet and filled my plate with eggs and silver dollar pancakes. “Walking around barefoot is a good way to get—”

  I spun to find Zane closer than I'd expected, so close that I had to tilt my head back and look up to see his face. “What did I say about mentioning hotel germs?”

  He held his hands up and took a step back, but his eyes were laughing. “The waffles are better.”

  “You've already eaten?” Why did I feel disappointed about that?

  He nodded. “My first course. I'm just coming back for seconds.” He held up an empty plate and I was shocked by the relief flooding me. What the heck was wrong with me? Was this some sort of delayed anxiety attack caused by Leopold?