by Cara Adams
Ny turned to Forest. “I’d like to find Chloe and speak to her for a moment. I know she’ll be very busy getting everything set up, but to me, things look like they’re well on the way to being organized already. I’d like her to eat with us tonight, or even just to stop and have coffee with us.”
Ny’s dick hardened, and his heart pounded. He wanted so much more than to just speak to her. That one night they’d spent together had been beyond amazing, and it was engraved in his mind and heart as the beginning of what he hoped would be a long-term relationship with her. Since then, his plans had been severely derailed, but he was determined to do his utmost to get their romance back on track again this weekend.
He was sure Forest wanted that as well, but could Forest adjust and act appropriately? That was the question hanging over their heads right now.
Forest cleared his throat. “That would be great. Let’s do that.”
They looked first in the big party tent, where several women were putting tablecloths and paper decorations on the tables that had been set up in half the area. The front of the tent was a stage with a podium for the speaker and then a dance floor. Men, including Hawk and Stone, were still setting chairs around the tables.
Ny did a quick count. Ten chairs per table and twenty tables, so it appeared they were going to get all two hundred members of the pack here this weekend. That said a hell of a lot about how popular Chloe’s idea had been and how strongly the Alpha had supported it.
Forest must have been thinking the same as him. So often they did think exactly alike and appreciate the same things. “I guess everyone is coming then. The pack numbers just under two hundred.”
“That’s how I see it, too. Of course, this is the first get-together in a lot of years.”
“It means everyone thought Chloe was right. I had the opportunity to support and encourage her, and all I saw were the problems and difficulties.”
Ny punched Forest lightly on the shoulder. “The problems and difficulties are important as well. By seeing them and preparing for them, they can be avoided. But maybe next time you need to take a deep breath and check for the positives as well.”
“Yeah. I will.” Forest dug his hands into his pockets.
Ny turned around and said, “Let’s look in the other tents since Chloe isn’t here.”
She wasn’t in either of the other tents, nor could they see her as they were walking around. Finally Forest spotted her coming out of the Alpha’s house, dragging a huge black trash bag. Together they hurried over to help her. Ny almost grinned when Forest said, “If you want to manage the trash all by yourself, I perfectly understand. But Ny and I would be happy to take it to the Dumpster for you if you tell us where the Dumpster is.”
That’s right. Ny hadn’t noticed a Dumpster anywhere yet. But there must be one because there must have been a hell of a lot of trash and packaging material to throw away from all the decorations they’d set up already.
“The Dumpster is in the barn, and there are half a dozen huge trash bins on wheels to set out around the property yet, but this is actually the stuff for the bathrooms. I was just about to set them up. You can carry it and help me if you want.” She smiled at them both impartially, and Ny longed to hug her. Fuck it. He would.
Cautiously, he stepped forward, his arms open wide in the universal request for a hug. With no hesitation, she stepped into his arms, dropping the trash bag, and squeezed him gently. Ny was careful to respond in exactly the same way and then lightly kissed her forehead. When she lifted her head up and smiled, he kissed her lips but only in the sweetest, most appropriate for public display kind of manner.
He stepped back and grabbed the trash bag to give Forest an opportunity to hug her, too.
“I’m sorry I upset you. I’m determined to behave this time. Understand that I will always worry about you and want to protect you because I love you, but I promise not to try to micromanage your life.”
Forest pulled his hand out of his pocket and offered Chloe a roll of duct tape. “If I start speaking out of line, you have my permission to duct tape my mouth shut. I’m serious about not fucking up our chance of forming a relationship this time.”
Chloe hugged Forest. “Forest, I truly understand. You’re exactly the same as my oldest brother, Tekoa. But he’s learned I can look after myself, and I’m sure you can acclimate to that, too.”
A tall man with dirty blond hair came from behind Chloe. “Are you telling stories about me again?” he asked, smiling.
“I’m Ny, and this is Forest.”
“I figured you were a Wishram. You look like all your brothers. Hi, Ny, good to meet you. I’m Tekoa, if you hadn’t already guessed.” Tekoa pointed to the duct tape she was holding. “Do you need something stuck up somewhere?”
Chloe giggled, her brown eyes sparkling brighter than the sunshine. “No. It was a gift from Forest.”
“Huh?” Tekoa just stared at her and then burst out laughing. “Oh, god. Not like that stinking Fantasy Britney Spears for Women perfume you carried around to spritz on Reuben, Gideon, and me whenever you considered we were getting out of line? Hell, Forest, she’s gotten you nailed now, bro.”
“I’d like to hear that story sometime,” said Ny.
“Me, too. Will you join us for supper, please, Chloe?”
“Everyone’s providing their own meal tonight, but likely we’ll all sit around the barbecue pit to eat and just share the food around. I want to get at least one set of lights up out there before dark, and we really need to have the trash bins on wheels put out before dark as well.”
Ny wanted to be with her, but he also wanted to serve her. “Tell me where the trash bins are supposed to go, and I’ll do that.”
“If the lighting is just a matter of stringing cable, I can help whoever is going to do that,” said Forest.
And in no time at all, Ny found himself with a handy little map showing the position of the trashcans with neat little Ts on it and set about wheeling them into place. By the time he’d finished, Tekoa, Forest, and another man were busy with the lighting. He helped them for a while before deciding, since he was the designated family chef, likely he needed to get started cooking. And then he’d be able to spend time with Chloe again. That would be the perfect ending to the day. No, not quite perfect. He couldn’t imagine her three brothers letting him do more than give her a PG kiss, and he longed to do a whole lot more than that. But he could live with just a kiss. For now.
* * * *
Forest had to confess he was genuinely enjoying working with these other wolves, getting to know them, chatting about their lives and their work while they strung what seemed like miles of cable. Also, he was impressed that Chloe had organized the renting of a generator to provide all the extra electricity they’d need for the weekend and an electrician to oversee all the work. They strung the cable around the barbecue and meals area and down to the bathrooms. Each bathroom already had a light that just had to be plugged into their cabling, but he was damn glad they had someone who knew what he was doing on the team. The last thing they needed was getting something wrong and risking electrocuting someone.
But Chloe had thought it all through, or Chloe and her team had, anyway. And he had to admit he might not have been as well prepared as she was. It’d never occurred to him they’d be renting a generator for a start. Clearly he had underestimated her abilities, and that was extremely bad behavior on his part.
Patton Windsor, the electrician, said to him, “You’ve been great to work with, Forest. Are you okay to help me set up the rest of the lighting tomorrow?”
“Sure. I’m glad to be useful. I wasn’t one hundred percent sold on the idea of a masquerade ball, but it’s good to have the opportunity to be together as an entire pack.”
“I felt the same about a ball at first, but Indigo was so excited by it, there was no way I could say no. We live here in Towler, with our parents, but there still isn’t a lot of social activity for young people, really. It’s har
d for her not to see her few female wolf friends very often.”
That’s when Forest remembered Indigo, presumably this man’s sister, was Chloe’s good friend. Still talking, they put everything away and then walked over to the meals area. Patton had switched the lighting on, even though it wasn’t dark yet. The area was well-enough lit that no one would fall or get hurt, but Forest could tell that the extra lighting would be needed once there was a crowd of people and the campground had a lot more tents in it.
He found Chloe and stayed with her until she was ready to sit down, and it was only a few minutes later when everyone was called across to one of the long tables to fill their plates with food.
People talked and mingled, sharing recipes and favorite foods, and Forest was amazed at the sight and sound of perhaps forty people talking all at once. Today was only Wednesday. By Friday it’d be more like two hundred people. He hadn’t been with so large a group since his school days, and that was a hell of a long time ago now. He and his brothers had gone to school in Burton, which was even smaller than Towler, and counting students and staff there might just have been about two hundred people.
The Towler school had a whopping three hundred students last he’d heard, and Wetherby was about the same. Forest snorted. City kids thought nothing of going to a school with a thousand students in it. None of his family had ever seen that many people in one place at one time in their life. They hadn’t seen the ocean either.
He wondered if Chloe would like to travel. To do what Jaz had done for a few months, moving from place to place. Would Chloe like to see a big city or maybe the ocean? To go up north and see snow? Maybe go skiing and tobogganing? The idea of intense cold didn’t appeal to him, but if she wanted to do it, he’d be willing to go with her. As long as she promised to come back to the desert again.
While it was good being with a group of wolves, Forest stayed near Chloe. Every movement she made, every smile, every sigh, made him want to hold her in his arms and make love to her until she was screaming with joy and delight. He couldn’t bear to lose her again. She was more than generous to let him spend time with her despite his mistakes last time, and he desperately wanted to show her that he’d learned his lesson. Nothing on earth would stop him from endlessly worrying about her, and aching to possess her and keep her safe, but never again would he be rude and overbearing toward her.
He’d learned the hard way that he had to temper his dominant tendencies and care for her in a way she’d accept. Not by cramping her style and holding her too tightly, but by simply being there to watch over her and help her when she needed him.
As people started to pack up their things and leave the barbecue area, he asked Chloe, “Where are you camped? May Ny and I walk you to your tent?”
“I’m in the ladies-only area. You can’t come past the boundary.”
Well damn. Or maybe not. If we can’t go past the boundary, neither can anyone else. Although…
“Would you like to come to Ny’s and my tent then? We could sit and talk for a little while?”
He looked across at Ny who had packed their leftover food into a cooler, which was now resting at his feet.
“We’d love to talk to you, at least for a little while,” added Ny.
Forest held his breath.
His brain knew that he was asking far too much of her to spend time alone with them, even though an acknowledged reason for the get-together was so young adults could look for potential mates. He liked Tekoa. He really didn’t want Tekoa to punch him for touching his sister. Forest promised himself he wouldn’t do anything that Chloe hadn’t quite clearly agreed to do. Although sex with her would be perfect, logically the best he could hope for was a slightly more erotic kiss good night than the kiss hello he’d already received.
Chloe gave her big, wide, sparkling, beautiful grin. “All right. But remember I’ve still got that roll of duct tape if you step out of line.”
Ny snorted, and Forest smiled back at her. “That reminds me, what was the story behind Britney Spears? Some perfume or something?”
Chloe giggled, and he and Ny started walking with her toward the camping area.
“Fantasy Britney Spears for Women perfume. It was all the rage in my middle school. Every girl had to have a bottle of it. My brothers thought it was disgusting and far too strong a scent, so any time they tried to stop me doing something that was perfectly normal, like walking to class with a boy, I’d threaten to spray some of it on them. Tekoa had already left school, and he drove to the bus stop to meet me one night and found a boy I liked kissing me.”
“Uh-huh. Who did he attack? The kisser or your brothers for letting him kiss you?” asked Ny.
“He wasn’t very good at kissing, and he was a wimp anyway. He jumped straight back on the bus when he saw Tekoa coming at him. Tekoa started yelling at me, so I sprayed the perfume in his face. He ducked his head, and it got in his hair. He reckoned it took him half a bottle of shampoo to get the smell out.”
Forest laughed, but Ny asked, “What about your other brothers? Did they get sprayed with perfume, too?”
“No, they weren’t there. They were trying out for the school baseball team and had to stay back and catch a special bus afterward. That’s why Tekoa had to pick me up, so the truck would be parked there waiting for them when they got home. We had almost an hour’s drive across the desert to the bus stop, remember. They only ever played that one season. Transport was just too hard, and the commute was way too long. Reuben quit school at the end of that year anyway.”
They finished the walk in companionable silence, but Forest was a ball of tension. He wanted her so very much, but would she allow him to do anything? To hold her hand, to kiss her, to touch her—to fuck her?
Chapter Five
Chloe wasn’t sure whether she was doing a stupid thing or not. She’d been deeply hurt by Forest’s words back at Junctionville, even though she’d known all along he was very like Tekoa. A dominant wolf, likely a Dom. She was no doormat for any man to wipe his dusty boots on, but she was willing to consider being a sub in the bedroom under quite defined circumstances. Just for a bedroom game or scene, though, not for a lifestyle, or even anything that affected her powers of decision-making outside set parameters.
She’d spent a lifetime gaining her independence from three bossy older brothers and wasn’t about to replace them with a Dom and the need to treat Ny equally as well, which would effectively make him as powerful over her life as Forest.
No, she was herself, and that wasn’t changing. But she’d missed them quite terribly. Their conversation, their smiles, Ny’s sweet and generous nature, Forest’s evident deep care for her. And the sex. It’d been out-of-this-world good. So good that she wondered if perhaps she was seeing it through the rose-colored glasses of her imagination and not remembering it exactly as it had been.
Either way, she was prepared to give Forest one last chance. For these few days, she’d watch and listen to him carefully and see if he really could care for her without trying to take over her life and boss her around.
She knew they were used to camping the moment she saw their tent. It was set up exactly right for the desert, and their bedding was as it should be to deter scorpions and other insects, even to the narrow metal tray across the doorway. It was too hot to leave a tent zippered closed in the daytime here.
She stepped over the metal tray, noting there were only two ants in it, but she still picked up the blanket and shook it carefully before laying it down and sitting on it.
“The tent’s been sprayed with insect repellant, so it should be safe,” said Forest.
“Mine has, too. But I always check. And I don’t know anyone who puts their boots on in the morning without giving them a good bang against the ground and tipping them upside down first.”
“City people have such a boring life,” joked Ny.
Chloe frowned. “I don’t know about boring. They have to worry about car-jackings and drive-by shootings and drugs. But m
y heart is in the desert.”
“Have you ever wanted to travel and see snow or the ocean or maybe visit a big city?” asked Forest.
“Our parents took us to Las Vegas one year for a vacation. They pointed out we could pretty much see a replica of just about anything and anywhere in the world right there. We had an amazing time, but I was happy to come home. It was very noisy. So much sound all day and all night. People were everywhere, and there were long lines to see or do anything. What about you and Ny?”
Ny shook his head. “We used to live in Burton, and then my parents retired and moved into Towler, and I’m at Junctionville. I’m happy there and see no need to move anywhere bigger. But I do think a gathering like this is good. I agree it’s important for the pack to meet together from time to time. Once a year might be too big a commitment for people to make, but every two or three years should be viable.”
“That’s what Jaz and I thought. People will still want a regular vacation as well, not just a pack meeting. We expect to plan the next one for two years from now, and then another one three years after that if this first one goes well and people want to do it again.”
Chloe looked at Forest. He’d been the one so adamantly opposed to the idea. She’d been half expecting him not to come. But he was here, and right now, he was smiling at her. “I still think people crossing the desert can be dangerous, but I know most of the wolves have lived there for generations and understand the land and its dangers.”
He sighed, and she knew he still had reservations about what he was going to say next. “I trust my Alpha who said the rogue wolves are no danger to us.”
Ah. He trusts the Alpha but not the wolves themselves. Now, that’s interesting. But she wasn’t going to say again, for perhaps the one hundredth time, that they hadn’t hurt Jaz.
The men sat on the blanket with her and held her hands.
“May we kiss you?” asked Ny.