“No interfering bloody parents, either,” Colt added darkly.
“Yeah, all right,” I said. “I’m not saying I’ll stay for the entire weekend, but yeah, having a drink with people who aren’t likely to shove me into the path of a dude just because it looks like he has all his teeth would be a nice change of pace. But we’re not going anywhere until this is done.”
Blake moved forward at that and sat down in the chair, just waiting for me to attend to him.
Chapter 22
“I’m riding with you, Red.”
I had everything bagged up, numbered, and stacked in the fridge, ready for the pathology couriers, when Fen walked up to me.
“And why’s that?” I asked him.
“This was going to be my night.” He moved in closer, so close we were almost touching, but not quite. “We were each supposed to get some one-on-one time to reconnect.”
I didn’t want to burst his bubble, but I needed to connect with him before we could reconnect. I’d always wanted to, always found my eyes straying to him when we were together as a group, but that just made it harder, not easier, to approach him. So I guess the part of me that was still seventeen responded to him like he was asking me out on a date or something.
“OK, but I’m bringing my car to your place. You can give me directions.”
He smirked at that, like he knew there was more to it. There wasn’t. I was determined there wouldn’t be. I went to my office, shut my computer down, and grabbed my bag before saying goodbye to Janet.
“Not coming to drinks tonight?” she asked me, treating the guys to a warm gaze.
“Candy’s gonna be stuck with Crowe for ages, and I’ve…had a week. I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Didn’t wantto tell her what you would really be getting up to?” Fen asked, putting his hand on the small of my back as we walked into the carpark.
“What, that I’m hanging out with some old buddies, catching up over a few drinks?” I said when I got to my car, forcing him to remove his hand. “I guess I didn’t see it as that big a deal.”
He grinned at that, his teeth flashing white against his heavily tanned skin before he nodded and then got into the passenger seat of my car. I put my key in the ignition, but my eyes slid sideways, seeing how he propped his elbow up on the armrest console. The car was just a little hatchback, fine for me, but with him in the car? It was too small, he was too big, too near, too… He watched me shake my head, force myself to turn the car on, and pull out of the carpark.
I couldn’t afford to focus on him. We had to get through peak hour traffic on a Friday night, and that was going to take all my attention. As we wove our way through the darkening streets, past people walking to the bus or train stop, to pubs for a drink, a dense silence fell over the car.
I glanced his way, wondering how the hell he was being so quiet, and caught a glimpse of his catlike smile. This was the stillness of a predator, sitting in wait for its prey, endlessly patient, yet its intent was clear. I let out a frustrated little sigh, flicking on the radio, letting the familiar tunes fill the car. When we got to my place, I was up and out of my car as soon as we stopped, feeling a need to put some distance between us.
I opened the gate, walked down the path at a brisk pace, but there he was at my back. When I unlocked the screen door, when I reached for my keys, he crowded me in, placing a hand on the wall above my head.
“Settle down, Red,” he said in a low growl. “The pheromones, the vibes you’re throwing off right now? They make my wolf antsy, and he’s already on edge around you.”
I spun around at that, being forced to back up as his body hung over mine.
“If you’re struggling with control, maybe coming over isn’t a good—”
I was silenced as his hand covered my mouth, my eyes going wide as a result.
“What we’ve got here is the best I can do,” I was informed, his eyes shining greenish silver in the cool half-light of dusk. “It’s taking all I’ve got to keep him from sneaking into your house, stealing you away, and locking you up in a room until you realise what we know.” He moved closer then, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “That you’re meant to be with us. Now put your key in the lock, open the door, and get us inside like a good little girl, or instead of massaging your arse later, I’ll put you over my knee and spank you.”
I blinked, staring mutinously at him, but he just grinned as he removed his hand, daring me with his eyes to scream, shout, anything. That’s what he wanted—a reaction. So I turned on my heel and did exactly the opposite, strolling into my house without a word, pleased to see the kitchen was spotless. Blake must have put in some time there this morning, because it was the cleanest it’d ever looked.
“There’s a bottle of gin in the pantry,” I said as I walked down to my room, kicking off my heels. “If there’s anything you want, grab that too.”
But of course, he didn’t listen to a word I said. As I grabbed a duffle bag from my wardrobe, he wandered in. I stopped midway through grabbing a few T-shirts, straightening up to stare at him. He made a show of inspecting the room, his nostrils flaring.
“I said grab—” I started to say.
“You said grab what I wanted,” he replied, prowling over to my drawers. He sniffed once, twice, sorting through my belongings until he found what he was looking for. “Mm…” Just a little grunt, and then a pair of green lacy undies and a matching bra was tossed on the bed, then a red pair, followed by a purple pair…
“I’m not wearing those,” I said, grabbing them all and shoving them back into my drawer. “They’re date night underwear. Usually on the weekend, I don’t wear any at all if I can help it.”