“Forty-nine.”
She rose up on her toes to give Ken a kiss. “I’ll be right back. Little girls’ room.” She glared at Beck, but he held up his hands.
“Don’t worry,” Beck snarked. “He’s safe.”
Her expression softened. “Thank you.” She headed out of the room.
Beck watched her leave. A moment later, Ken heard a door close somewhere past the dining room.
When Beck looked at Ken, he smiled again, this time knowing. “Dude,” he softly said, “if your unasked question is if I banged a minor, no, I didn’t. I held her at arm’s length until she turned eighteen while I took my fair share of cold showers.” He took a sip of coffee. “And she approached me, not the other way around. Before you still think I’m an asshole for doing that, keep in mind a twelve-year-old Prime Alpha wolf is the human equivalent of a twenty year-old human in many ways. An eighteen-year-old is usually ready to start a family. We have a life span of several hundred years or longer, if we don’t get ourselves killed.”
Ken decided to take the high road. “I’m sorry.”
Beck waved him off. “No, it’s okay. She’s right, I should have called first. I flew in early from a job and headed straight here.” He shrugged. “You want the truth? I envy you. But it’s how things are done in our kind. If I’d found my mate before she found you, our positions would have been reversed.” Ken didn’t miss the brief sadness in his eyes. “I guess I always knew it wouldn’t happen if we didn’t feel it that first time. Doesn’t keep a man from wanting it, though.” He studied his coffee mug.
To take the pressure off Beck for a moment more than anything, Ken walked around the counter to get his glasses, where she’d placed them the evening before. When he put them on, the room went blurry.
“Holy shit.”
Dewi, who’d been on her way back, dashed around the corner and into the kitchen, immediately tense, on alert. “What? What’s wrong?”
He laughed and pulled his glasses off, examining them. “No, it’s okay.” He looked around the room and it struck him that for the first time in as long as he could remember, everything appeared crystal clear to him without his glasses.
Glasses on, blurry. Off, clear.
“Damn.” He looked at her. “My eyes are…working.”
“What?”
He nodded and looked around. “I can see without my glasses. I mean, I could see without them before, but everything used to be blurry. I couldn’t even read without them.” He walked over to the canister of coffee still sitting on the counter and read the label without any hesitation. “I’ve worn glasses since grade school. This is incredible.”
She smiled. “Perk of being mated to a Prime Alpha wolf,” she teased.
“You knew this would happen?”
“No, but it’s not unusual for mates to go through some subtle changes.”
“Getting perfect eyesight back isn’t exactly subtle.” He turned to her and started to speak when Badger burst through the door to the garage, plastic bags in his arms.
He’d already started to scream, “Dew—” when he lumbered to a stop and looked at them. “Oh. I see ye already know Beck’s here.”
“Yeah,” she said. “They met.”
Beck stepped over and took some of the groceries from the older man. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt him. Just scared the crap out of him.”
Badger breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know. I’d hate for her to have to kill ye. Someone help me unload the truck and I’ll get breakfast started since yer all standing around uninjured and being lazy and all.”
Beck volunteered, leaving Ken and Dewi alone in the kitchen. She turned and wrapped her arms around him even as she seductively ground her hips against his. “Let’s take our coffee upstairs and get a shower.”
It amazed him how instinctive it felt letting his hands stroke her ass. And he loved the look of her wearing his shirt. “You don’t want to take a shower,” he teased. “You want to nail me in the shower.”
She grinned. “Guilty.” This time, he caught a hint of playful wolf in the expression. “Who says you can’t read my mind yet?”
* * * *
He didn’t bother trying to resist her when she wanted to make love in the shower.
Hell, he didn’t want to resist her.
He took her against the shower wall as steam filled the bathroom. He tried to go slow and take his time, but she felt too damn good and begged him to fuck her hard and fast.
He obliged.
Somehow, he managed to hold his climax back until after he felt her release start. Then he let loose, moaning with her, his cheek pressed against her wet hair as water rained down on them. They stood there under the spray for a moment, motionless.
“You okay?” she asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. I’m okay.” He kissed her, enjoying the way her body seemed to perfectly mold to the shape of his. They stood like that for a few minutes until she reluctantly stepped away after giving him a kiss. She grabbed her razor and gel and started shaving.
Watching her shave her legs fascinated him. She looked amused. “What?”
He knew he wore a goofy grin and didn’t care. “I like watching you.” How did he admit he’d never had this experience before? That he had never showered with a woman before.
Never had a blissful morning after to enjoy before.
Her bashful smile warmed his heart. He knelt, reached out, and stroked her now smooth leg. “I love everything about you. Even watching you do this. Does that sound stupid?”
“No, I think it’s sweet.” She looked at him. “I like it.”
His fingers stroked her smooth flesh, over the rounded, hard bump of her ankle, up her calf. “I still can’t believe you’d choose me over Beck,” he admitted.
She finished her other leg and turned to him, pulled him to his feet, and wrapped her arms around him. “I chose you because you’re the perfect mate for me. It’s not how humans do things, but wolves don’t need to get divorced, either the ones that spend their lives on four feet or the ones on two. We mate for life.” She kissed him. “We mate only when we’ve found the perfect person.”
He couldn’t resist running his hands down her back, over the dip between her hips and over to her shapely ass. “Give me some time to get used to the fact that you really do want me.”
“For the rest of our lives, Heathcliff,” she said with a smile.
“I don’t know. I think Ken’s growing on me.”
She brushed her hand over his chin. “So’s your beard.” She reached out of the shower and grabbed a fresh disposable razor from the medicine cabinet. “Hold still.”
He complied as she lathered his face and carefully shaved him without nicking him once. When she finished, he rinsed his face and she nuzzled her nose against his cheek. “Much better,” she said.
“I could get used to being spoiled like that,” he teased.
“I don’t mind spoiling you like that.” She shut the water off and handed him a towel. After drying off, he had no choice but to wear his clothes from the night before. He reached his shirt first, which had ended up on the end of the bed, where she’d discarded it after returning to the bedroom. It still smelled a little like her even from her brief wearing. When he turned to reach for where his briefs and slacks had been, he saw her standing there, his briefs in her hand.
She grinned. “How about going commando for me?”
He felt his face redden. “I don’t go commando.” He reached for them but she held them behind her back.
“Please?” She pouted, sticking her bottom lip out.
“I’ve never gone commando before. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it.” He hoped he wasn’t whining.
“How about just for today. Please? You’re not at work today.”
“No, I’m not at work, but I have work to do. I’ve got a pile of papers to grade, because someone interrupted me last night.” He reached around her, but she leaned away from him. She was, h
e belatedly realized, still naked. As she leaned back and to the side, her breasts proved too tempting and he bent down to lick her left nipple.
She sighed in pleasure and nearly melted against him.
Despite an effort of will on the part of his cock screaming to fuck her again, he managed to keep his wits about him, reached around her, and snagged his briefs from her hand.
“That’s cheating,” she said, obviously amused by his trickery.
“About the only way I’ll get my way with you, isn’t it?” He kissed her. “I have a feeling I’ll spend most of my time ‘yes dearing’ you. Give me what few battles I can win against you, huh? Spare my pride?”
She kissed him again. “How about after breakfast you let Badger take you to your place so you can grab more clothes, get your bike, and then he’ll bring you back here? I have to sit in on a conference call. Pack business. Otherwise, I’d take you myself. Then I’ll let you use the office and I promise I’ll behave myself so you can grade your papers.”
He had a feeling there was more to her plan than just that. “And?”
“While you’re grading papers, you’ll go commando for me for the rest of the evening. Just around here. Please?”
Who was he trying to kid? He didn’t want to leave. The thought of spending a night without her nearly ripped his heart from his chest. “I have to be at work at eight tomorrow morning.”
She nodded. “I’ll drive you myself. I promise. Every day.”
“You don’t mind driving me to work for the next four weeks?”
“Not in the least.”
“I might have a heart attack the way you drive.”
“Is it a deal?”
He kissed her, plunging his hand into her damp hair. “Of course it is. I have a feeling we won’t get much sleep, though.”
* * * *
By the time they’d returned downstairs, Beck and Badger had brought all the groceries in. Most were put away already, although a few bags of stuff still lay on the counter. From the bloated wad of empty plastic bags hanging on a cabinet knob, it looked like Badger had shopped for an army.
“What the hell did you buy?” she asked.
“I’m not used to feeding a grazer,” Badger griped. “I’m used to feeding wolves. Wolves are easy to satisfy. Meat and coffee. As long as I keep those two things in stock, my throat stays intact. Well, and dark chocolate for ye when yer especially bitchy,” he teased.
She pulled a box out of one bag. “Fa-kin?”
He nodded at Ken. “Fake bacon. For yer mate. If he likes it, I’ll keep it in stock. The woman at the store said they sell a lot of it.”
Ken fought the urge to laugh. He sensed Badger was making an uncharacteristically major effort for his benefit. Dewi caught his eye and winked.
He winked back. Suspicion confirmed. “Thanks, Badger,” he said.
“Though, I can’t blame ye if ye don’t like it. We’ll keep trying until we find something to yer tastes.”
“Pancakes, scrambled eggs, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt—anything like that’s fine with me. But I do appreciate it. I’ll eat pretty much anything you cook except meat.”
Badger hooked a thumb toward the fridge. “Stocked a whole farm’s worth of fruit, veggies, and salad stuff for ye, too. Couple of kinds of salad dressing. Cheese and yogurt.”
Dewi hugged the man. “Thanks, Badger.” She kissed his cheek.
He looked even gruffer, but puffed up just the same. “Gotta keep my girl happy. If yer boy there starves to death, I imagine ye wouldn’t be verra happy.”
Chapter Five
Beck disappeared upstairs to a guest room to unpack. Dewi asked Beck to stay because she had a lot of things she wanted his help to teach Ken. Ken also surmised that Dewi was especially protective of Ken and wanted Beck around to help her keep him safe.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know why she worried about his safety.
Badger started cooking a huge breakfast feast and wouldn’t let Ken help at all. “Naw, first morning in the family, I’ll take it easy on ye,” he said, amused. “But after today, ye pull yer own weight.”
Dewi hovered around Ken, touching him, kissing him, and draping herself over him as he sat on a stool at the counter.
He didn’t mind in the least. His brain had started to surrender to the fact that she really did appear to want him as much as he wanted her.
“Badger, he needs to go get his stuff and pick up his bike from the pub we were at last night. Can you take him after we eat? I’ve got that call. Since Beck’s back, he needs to sit in on it.”
It surprised Ken that he didn’t feel the slightest bit jealous of Beck being alone with her.
Badger nodded from his place by the stove. “Aye. I wondered if ye’d want me to take him.” He glanced at Ken with a teasing expression. “I promise I won’t let him run off.”
Ken stared at Dewi and knew the adoration in her eyes matched his own expression. “No chance of me running off,” he said. “I promise.”
Dewi grinned.
He knew he’d kill to see her grin like that again.
* * * *
After a long, drawn out good-bye kiss where Dewi didn’t want to let Ken go, Badger clucked impatiently. “Come on, girlie. Let him go. I’ll bring him back safe and sound. Yer call begins in five minutes. Ye keep Peyton waiting, he’ll want to rip a strip outta yer hide.”
“He can try,” she growled before nuzzling Ken’s neck again.
He kissed her one last time before she let him gently push her away. “I don’t want you getting in trouble,” he said. “We’ll be back soon. It won’t take long. I promise.”
She looked…well, like a lost puppy. “Hurry back.”
“We will,” Badger insisted. He’d left his truck parked outside and opened the passenger door. “Get in, ye lovestruck man.”
Ken realized the thick stands of pine lining the drive actually comprised a tree farm. As they drove toward the main gate, Badger noticed his reaction. “Lots of privacy out here,” he said. “No neighbors close by, and we’ve got a large place to begin with. Nearly five hundred acres.”
Something still bothered him. “Where are her parents? Do they live in Idaho, too?”
Badger’s expression darkened. “Dead. When she was just a wee, tiny pup, only six months old. Murdered. Bastard nearly killed her, too.” As if anticipating Ken’s next question, he continued. “By a rogue, or maybe. We don’t know for sure. There’s some that thinks what Dewi went through is what triggered her Prime. She was a fighter from the beginning. In the hospital she fought to stay alive despite her injuries.”
“How long have you been with her?”
“I raised her. Peyton and Trent were too busy to do it, what with losing their parents and running the pack. They asked me to step in. Not that they didn’t love her, because they do. She’s their baby sister, after all. But they knew her being a Prime would lead to special problems later.”
“So you are her father.”
“I raised her, if that’s what ye mean. In her heart, perhaps I am her father, but not by blood.” He looked at Ken as he slowed for the gate to open. “Do ye know how long it’s been since we’ve seen her smile, lad?”
Confused, Ken shook his head. She’d smiled a lot in the short time he’d known her.
“Until she met ye, the last time I saw her smile was before her parents were murdered. And she was only six months old when that happened. Like I said, just a wee, tiny pup.” He returned his attention to the road. “I just wanted ye to know that. If ye have any doubts about how she feels about ye—don’t.”
* * * *
Yellow crime scene tape still blocked the entrance to the pub, but they didn’t see any marked police cruisers. There were cars in the lot, the other businesses normally open on Sundays doing trade as usual. Badger stopped the truck at the far end of the parking lot as his shrewd gaze scanned the area.
“I don’t think there’s any cops around. Where is your bike? Let�
�s get this done quick.”
Ken pointed at his bike, the only one chained to the rack three stores down from the pub. Badger pulled up next to it and got out with him, the older man scanning the area.
The pub door opened. A man Ken suspected was a detective walked out and toward them.
Under his breath, Badger uttered a foreign oath Ken thought might be Gaelic.
“Steady, lad,” Badger muttered to Ken.
The detective walked up to them and flashed a badge. “Detective Berringer, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Is this your bike, sir?”
Ken nodded, resisting the urge to swallow nervously.
“Were you here at the pub last night?”
He nodded again, his heart racing.
“Were you alone or with someone?”
“Alone.”
“A man was murdered here last night. Did you see anything?”
Badger reached out and touched Ken’s arm, as if the news shocked him and he needed to hold on to steady himself. Then Ken heard the whisper of Badger’s voice in his head, telling him what to say. “I was already on my way out the door when I heard a loud bang,” Ken said. “I didn’t look back because everyone started running. I figured I’d better start running, too.”
The detective nodded and whipped out a notepad. “What’s your name, sir?”
“Ken.” He winced as he felt Badger’s amusement. “Dr. Heathcliff McKenzie Ethelbert. My…family calls me Ken.” Strangely, he realized that didn’t feel like a lie.
They were his family now.
The cop shook his head, obviously wanting to laugh and only his professional demeanor holding him back. “Why did you leave your bike here, sir?”
More silent nudging from Badger. “I don’t live far. When I heard people talking about it being a shooting, I decided to head home.”
“You didn’t see who shot the man?”
“No. I didn’t know what was going on at first. I heard people behind me screaming about a gun.”
The cop turned his attention to Badger after looking at Ken’s ID and getting his information. “And you are?”
“Badger,” he said with a grin. He released Ken’s arm and offered his hand to shake with the cop. When he made contact, Ken noticed Badger’s grip tightened and the cop’s face went blank.
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