by Неизвестный
She glanced over at Cody and discovered him gazing at his own plate with identical longing in his eyes. He flicked a surreptitious glance at her. Their eyes met. Perfect understanding passed between them. Both started laughing. “I’ll take that as a compliment to my cooking,” Willy said.
“Darlin’, that was the best meal I’ve had in a while. Maybe better than Texas barbecue. Don’t get all big-headed, now. I said maybe.” He got up and collected their plates. “Better remove temptation before Emily Post comes pounding on the door.”
“My, aren’t you polite?”
“I’m the way my mama raised me.” More or less. At the sink he snuck a peek back over his shoulder. Willy sipped her cola, eyes closed. Cody gave his plate a quick sweep with his tongue before he ran the dishes through the tap and laid them in the sink. He ambled back to the table, innocent as a pup. “This home’s all yours?”
“I paid for it. Beth pitches in with the bills. Beth…sometimes she just…” Willy shook her head. “I am really, really sorry about that stunt upstairs. I don’t care what anybody says, the girl needs a serious spanking.”
“She’s a young gal feeling her oats. She’ll settle down.”
“She’d better. A few pranks now and then I can put up with, but…” She drowned her building growl under a gulp of soda. “I don’t know what happened. We were fine our whole lives, up until last year. Maybe it’s a sister thing.”
No, Cody figured, it was a power thing. Two alpha females fighting for dominance, with the younger too scared to come at her sister head-on. Ape blood, wolf blood, neither made a difference when the instincts ran that deep. “More like a family thing,” he said carefully. “I grew up with six brothers. We were always tussling over who’d be top dog. Me being the runt of the litter, I didn’t do so well. Comes a time when a man has to strike out on his own, make his own way in the world. A woman, too, I’d imagine. Maybe your sister needs her own space.”
“Maybe,” Willy admitted. “But she’s still so young, and impulsive, and really thoughtless a lot of the time, and her job doesn’t pay all that well, and…”
And you don’t want to give up your pack, Cody thought. Typical alpha. Gotta ride herd over the world. “These things tend to work themselves out. So it’s just the two of you, huh?”
“Is that your subtle way of asking if there’s a man in the picture?”
“And here I thought I was being so cagey. But since you brought it up...”
“No, and I’m not looking for one. And neither is Beth.” She wasn’t quite showing her teeth. “Maybe we’d better move on to step two, and find you a place to stay.”
“That won’t be necessary. You want to recommend a good motel, I’d appreciate it. But you can keep your charity. I told you I got a credit card, and plenty of money set by.”
She lifted a brow over his unclipped hair, his road-worn clothes. “So what am I doing, wandering around, looking like a bum?” he said before she could voice the question. “Adventure. The lure of the open road.” And the freedom to shift as the urge took him, and run and hunt and explore all the fascinating scents he encountered along the way. Hers, for instance. “C’mon, if I’d brought my car, I’d’ve driven right on by your garage and who knows where you’d be right now.”
Okay, she’d concede that one. “What do you do for a living?”
“My brothers and me, we run a game farm. We got maybe forty head of bison, elk, deer, llamas, goats all over creation. Y’know there are people out there who swear by goat milk? Takes all kinds, I guess. Then a couple of us have sidelines. Two of my brothers run a catering business. Me, I’m a sucker for a hot poker game.”
Her nose wrinkled. “So you’re a gambler.”
“I wouldn’t call it gambling.” Not when you had a nose keen enough to literally sniff out a bluff. “More like a lucrative hobby. The point is, I’m not hurting for money. I don’t need to beg off any man or woman. Don’t let the good looks fool you.” Her nose-wrinkling got more pronounced. “Now it’s time for me to return the favor. Soon’s I get some clothes that don’t have three-four states worth of dirt on ‘em, I’d like to take you to dinner.”
“That isn’t necessary, Mr.—”
“Cody.”
Those yellow eyes impaled her and wouldn’t let her go. He must be a rotten poker player, with his intentions that obvious. A scarily huge part of her suddenly wanted to show him the error of his presumption. Drag him down to the floor and let the beast run loose, or at least frolic for awhile. See if he still felt like grinning when her full-moon self was through with him.
She fought back a shudder. She ought to say no. Spare them both the inevitable tragedy. But she couldn’t avoid that grin, and those eyes, and especially his scent. She could gulp Sloppy Joes for a week and it wouldn’t fill her up the way he did.
She sighed, resigned. “You’ll just keep showing up and bugging me until I say yes, won’t you?”
“Darlin’, you can read me like a book.”
“All right, dinner it is. But I choose the restaurant.”
“Fine by me, long as it’s a steakhouse.”
She blinked. Could he read minds? The Sloppy Joes clearly hadn’t satisfied her. She’d just been fantasizing about sinking her teeth into a nice juicy Texan…steak. A juicy Texas steak. “There’s a place in town called Cactus Pete’s. They’re aimed at the beer and burger crowd, but you can get a good rib eye there.”
“Then I’ll pick you up at… What time you get off work?”
“You can pick me up here at seven-thirty.” Good God, what had she just agreed to? A date with a man she’d known less than a day, at a time when her emotions ran like a revved-up engine. But he was new to Coopersburg, and cute. And the cravings this time brought on her included a fierce need for companionship. Why that always hit hardest during full moon fever she didn’t understand, since she didn’t mind solitude the rest of the month. For three days she had to have others around her—Beth, Tony, even an exasperating stranger. Especially the stranger, who smelled so wonderfully right.
Dinner should be safe enough. Just go easy on the beer. Better yet, no beer at all. She didn’t need a violent mood swing into desire with a cute honey of a ready and willing male, and alcohol in her system. Why, they could end up naked in the woods and—
“You okay, darlin’?”
She snapped back to the kitchen table. “I’m fine.”
“You look a little funny. You were panting.”
“I wasn’t.” Was she? “Too much spice in the burger.” Deliberately she downed the remainder of her soda. She set the empty glass aside, and only then noticed the clock. She yelped. “Omigod, I have to get back to work. I can give you a lift to Motel Row, but it’ll have to be quick.”
“This burg’s big enough for a Motel Row?”
“Just barely. We’ve got three budget places on Main Street. We’re too far from the highway for anything better.” She leaped up and grabbed his hand. “But we have to go right now.”
He let her hang onto his hand all the way to the car. She grabbed hold of him like a leg trap, her palm clammy, her skin hot as sin. Poor gal had it bad, and her ape blood wasn’t going to save her. Criminal that her pack should just shut her out like this without a word of warning. This would take most delicate handling, if he didn’t want to get ripped to pieces along with her in the explosion.
She dropped him off in the town square and pointed out the alleged best of Coopersburg’s three motels. He barely had a chance to say adios before she sped off. Cody watched the Mustang’s trunk recede. “See you at dinner,” he said to the street.
* * * *
Crap and a half. Running late. All because Mrs. Dumont couldn’t remember when to put oil in her car. Willy rushed through a shower, cursed her hair, and only hit the essentials with makeup. Slow down, dammit. It’s just dinner with some guy. It’s not like he matters or anything.
“You going to hog the bathroom all night?” Beth demanded from the hall. “M
aybe other people have dates they need to get ready for.”
“It’s not a date.”
“No? Let’s see.” She ticked off the points on her fingers. “The cowboy asked you out. You said yes. You’re going to dinner at a restaurant. You used my blow dryer and the curling iron. That better not be my lipstick.”
“Just because he’s from Texas doesn’t make him a cowboy.”
“Of course not. He’s a rich Texas oilman who likes to dress like a farmer and hitchhike all over the country. Prime guy material, sis.”
“It’s not about that at all.” She tugged at her blouse, her favorite, the ivory scoop neck that went so beautifully with her tightest black slacks. “I’m just saying thank you for—”
“Still? I thought that’s what lunch was about.” Her eyes got sly. “You sure there’s not something more going on? C’mon, tell.”
“Nothing’s going on. He plays poker for a living, for God’s sake.”
“Wow, better and better. You can’t let this one get away. I guess I shouldn’t bother to wait up?”
She raked her hand hopelessly through her hair “We’re just going to dinner.”
“Suuuuure. And after you’ll go down to the playground and sit on the swings and hold hands. I saw the way he looked at you, and the way you looked back.” She waited until Willy had a mouthful of mouthwash before she added, “If he was a bone, you’d be chewing on him. Or will that be later on?”
Willy choked. By the time she spit and turned to the attack, a laughing Beth had danced out of range. “You’re sick and your lipstick’s an ugly color, you—”
The doorbell chimed, and Willy panicked. He couldn’t be here already! Dammit where had she left her watch? There, on the back of the toilet. She snatched it up. Seven thirty-six. Late, was he? Well, he could wait, then. Serve him right.
Except Beth was already galloping down the stairs. Her voice rang with glee. “I’ll get it.”
“You will not! Leave him alone. I’ll—”
Too late. She heard the front door swing open. “Hey, cowboy. You look spiffy. Willy’ll be down in about an hour. Have a seat on the couch.”
No. She wasn’t going to charge down the stairs and rip her sister’s throat out. She would descend the stairs slowly, with dignity, and smile and greet her guest with grace and calm and not even look at Beth. So there.
Such was the plan, and it worked perfectly until she reached the foot of the stairs, and spotted Cody.
The ragged stranger not-so-fresh off the road had vanished. He’d bought new clothes, still casual but clean and pressed, that enhanced much of the body underneath and hinted at the rest. He’d trimmed and semi-tamed his hair. The sandy stubble had been replaced by a smooth-shaven lovely face with its come-hither grin intact. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t used cologne. That mouth-watering aroma belonged to him alone. Hunger that had little to do with dinner flooded her belly, and beyond.
One part of her plan remained intact. She didn’t so much as glance at Beth.
Don’t just stand there like an idiot. Say something. She swallowed and blurted, “You’re late.”
Cody shrugged. “No woman born has ever been ready on time. Figured I had leeway.” His eyes swept her from head to toe. “Time well spent, I see. You ready?”
Cautious, she asked, “For what?”
He chuckled. “Dinner, for starters. Anything after that, well, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Beth headed up the stairs. “Guess it’s me and the TV tonight,” she said brightly. Willy hardly noticed.
“I suppose I’m driving,” Willy said as they stepped outside. “Unless you rented a—”
A stretch limo sat at the curb. Its uniformed driver stood by the door and nodded to her. The rest of Willy’s comment shriveled on her tongue. Finally she managed, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“What’s the problem, darlin’? Wrong color?”
“No, but…to go to a steakhouse? You don’t have to try to impress me.”
“I wasn’t trying. Every lady deserves to be treated like a class act. Told you I had money set by.” He waved off the driver and held the door open for Willy himself. She climbed in. Real leather, plush upholstery, roomy enough to stretch her long legs. Which she did, gratefully. Cody clambered in beside her, and the driver pulled away from the curb.
How wonderful to be off one’s feet after nine hours hunched over an engine block. “Okay,” Willy admitted on a sigh, “you win. I’m impressed.”
“We Grays treat our women right. You might want to remember that for when I ask you to marry me.”
“I knew there was a catch. Let’s redefine our boundaries, shall we? I agreed to have dinner with you, but that’s as far as it goes. I’m not looking for a relationship, casual or otherwise. Certainly not marriage. Not at this point.”
“But some time in the future, right?”
“Look. I don’t know what time warp Texas is living in these days, but here in the twenty-first century, not every woman is looking to snare a husband. A lot of us are happy with our lives the way they are.”
Or at least resigned to them, she thought, and the three days every month when she turned aggressive and practically bloodthirsty. Cody seemed like a nice enough sort, when he wasn’t exasperating and pushy. If she could just keep the animal under wraps, maybe they could still part as friends. “If you’re so eager to find a wife, look around. There are plenty of young women in Coopersburg who’d be happy to rope themselves a fellow of obvious means. You shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“Don’t need to look. I’ve got the one I want.”
He slid his arm around her shoulders, slick as oil. Just as smoothly, Willy slid away. Cody only chuckled. “Why me?” Willy said.
“Truth? Because you smell right.”
She stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
“You know what I’m talking about. The nose always knows.” He tapped his own narrow snout with a cryptic grin, as if it held all the answers. As if it had already told him what his prairie-grass odor did to her. “In my family, the first thing we check out is a lady’s scent. Well,” he conceded, his appreciative gaze traveling up and down the length of her outstretched legs, “maybe not the first thing. But it’s up there in the top three. The minute you hit my nose, I knew you were the gal for me.”
Lucky guess. He couldn’t possibly know. She strove to stay casual. “Got a thing for grease monkeys, do you?”
“Monkeys, no. Women who can resurrect a Mustang that sweet… Forget dinner, let’s go find us a justice of the peace. We can have dinner after.”
She retreated another inch. “You don’t know a thing about me.”
“I know all I need to know.”
He’d backed her up against the door. Nowhere left to run. She felt herself bristling. “No, you don’t. You caught me in a good mood. I have to warn you, there are times I’m not so nice.”
“Really? Lemme take a guess. The blood runs hot when the moon runs full. Makes you just want to race through the woods and sing the stars down out of the sky.” He leaned in another smidgen. “Am I close?”
Her blood wasn’t running anywhere near hot any more. “Not even,” she said, more shakily than she wanted to. “That is so—”
His scent smacked her hard. Too close. So tempting. His lips brushed her neck like a whispered endearment. The tip of his tongue flicked out and stole a taste. She shivered. His nuzzling sparked an instinct to conquer, to dominate. Show this audacious male exactly who was in charge.
Give in, the beast inside her demanded. You know you want him. Take what he offers. It’s yours by right. Then shred him for his presumption. Also your right.
No. She had no rights to anything. Not after what she’d almost done the last time.
She growled a warning. Even she couldn’t mistake the sound she made for anything else. To her surprise he didn’t stare at her, or show any sign of revulsion. He did back off, and lounged against the seat relaxed as you please,
and gazed back at her with a knowing glint in those big yellow eyes. She turned her face to the window and her nose away from the smell of him. “Maybe we should just forget about this.”
“And maybe you’ll feel better with a nice hot dinner in your belly. Couldn’t hurt anything, could it?”
It could get you killed, she started to say, then spotted the yellow and green neons of Cactus Pete’s. The limo swung into the parking lot, and Willy slumped in the corner. It would be unspeakably rude to cancel everything now. And he had backed off. And she was hungry.
Once inside, the smell of meat changed her mind. They were given a table near the kitchen, and its blast of tantalizing smells. The packed dining room sated her need for company, and Cody was funny and charming. Even the crowd seemed less rowdy than usual. This time of night it skewed more toward families, with the annoying guys who usually hit on her confined to the bar in the next room. Somewhat reassured, Willy finally started to relax.
Cody couldn’t relax. There was a wolf in here.
Not anywhere near their table, thank Chaos. Right after they’d ordered, Willy’d got up to powder her nose, and Cody’d taken advantage of the break to visit the little coyotes’ room. The second he pushed open the door the rank stench of he-wolf hit him like a punch to the gut. Reek that strong, had to be at least two, maybe more. Wolves couldn’t even take a piss without the pack around.
Curse him for a careless pup! They’d come for him, no question. Here to scope out that stranger who’d dared to sing in their territory. Think first and act later, Daddy always taught them, only Cody’d never got the hang of it. Now he’d dug himself a hole for sure, and dragged Willy into it with him. The wolves would clean forget about him the second they caught a whiff of her
He couldn’t spot the wolves by sight and the scent petered out away from the restrooms, so he circled cautiously back to their table. Willy’d already returned. She watched him out of puzzled eyes “Are you all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”