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Jamming his fingers through his hair, he let out a forceful breath. "You're right. Sorry. I'm just...agitated today."
She frowned and tilted her head as if she didn't believe this abrupt change. "I understand. I'm a bit agitated myself."
His agitation was physical. He felt the blood racing through his veins, making him want to shift and take off in a run to pour out some of the adrenaline coursing through him. It was probably because they hadn't made love for two weeks. The anxiety building up within him had nothing to do with this move or with business. It was one hundred percent attributable to the cool brunette standing in front of him. He wanted her, and she wasn't giving him easy access. For a wolf...an alpha wolf...that was damned annoying.
He was just going to have to learn to treat her differently, because his normal alpha tactics weren't going to work on a woman like her. He'd push, and she'd push back. Then she'd distance herself.
No, this way wasn't working at all. Time to regroup and add some finesse to his seduction technique.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. I really appreciate you and your family coming out here to help me today."
Responding with a wary glance, she looked at the moving van coming up the driveway, then nodded. "You're welcome. I'm going inside to help them get started."
Shannon hurried up the porch steps before Max said anything else to her.
She blew a stray hair out of her face and tried to calm her tormented emotions. God, she really didn't want to be here today. He'd bet if she hadn't been browbeaten by her mother, sister and Lissa, she wouldn't have come.
Since the night they'd had dinner and came out here to look the place over, her emotions had been in turmoil.
Hell, she'd purposely picked a fight with him in the car on the way back. And sounded like a bitch royal in the process.
What was wrong with her, anyway? Why couldn't she even be civil with him? He was like itching powder sprinkled all over her body, and he was driving her crazy.
And this damn house didn't help her mental state. She walked through the long hallway in search of her family, once again hit hard with the feeling of home. She'd felt it the minute she'd walked inside that night. It was a beautiful house, but more than that, it seemed to call to her in ways she couldn't fathom.
She pictured her things in this house, her clothes in the closet, her cross-stitched pillows spread across a comfortable sofa. She visualized sitting with Max on a sliding loveseat out on the screened back porch, watching the sun drop down over the lake.
And that made her want to run. Hard, fast and as far away from Max as she could.
When she entered the kitchen, Lissa told her that her mother and Kaitlyn were upstairs getting the bathrooms ready. Lissa was cutting and lining shelf paper in the drawers and cabinets. Shannon worked with her, hoping this day would pass quickly and soon be over.
Max was prominent in her mind. All the time, day and night. Especially night, when he haunted her dreams, a strange mix of man and that crazy wolf she'd seen that one time. Why she continued to dream of the two as one she didn't know, and had given up trying to interpret the images that plagued her.
In her dreams, he made love to her. Savagely, passionately, taking her to heights of earth-shattering ecstasy. She'd wake drenched in sweat, the remnants of a climax shuddering through her.
It had gotten to the point where she was afraid to sleep. In sleep, Max took over and possessed her, and she gave up control to him without batting an eyelash.
"You're quiet today," Lissa whispered, gently laying a hand on her shoulder.
"I've got a lot on my mind." She cut and fit a piece of drawer liner and slid it in place, grateful for any task to keep her mind occupied.
"Something bothering you?"
"No, not at all." She turned and graced Lissa with a smile. "Although I'd rather be out shopping, or at home reading a book."
"I think you'd rather be avoiding Max."
Now Lissa was getting in on the act? "No, I'm not. I see him every day at work. That's enough for me."
Lissa laughed. "I used to feel the same way about Aidan. That man drove me crazy. Still does," she added with a grinning sigh.
"That's because you're in love. And when you're in love, men drive you to the brink of sanity."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she stilled, knowing she shouldn't have said it.
Lissa's eyes widened. "Maybe you're in love, too?"
"With Max?" She laughed and brushed off Lissa's comment, reaching for more shelf paper. "Hardly. We're more antagonistic toward each other than friendly."
"The night of the cocktail party you were anything but antagonistic."
Oh, shit. Did everyone know what happened between them? Not that they couldn't have figured it out after she'd left the balcony. Her hair had been a mess, her lips swollen from Max's passionate kisses. Hell, her face had beard scratches all over it. She'd looked like she'd been well and thoroughly fucked.
Which she had been. An event her traitorous body refused to forget.
"The night of the cocktail party was a fluke. Honestly, I don't know what happened out there. We were arguing and all of a sudden he kissed me."
"Uh huh. Been there, done that. Some men just get to us. Especially the man. The one."
Shannon rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You're spending entirely too much time with Mom."
Lissa laughed. "Maybe. And maybe I just recognize the look now."
"What look?"
"The I'm-falling-in-love-but-don't-want-to look."
If she had that look, then it was a mistake. She wasn't falling in love with Max. Damn her dreams, and damn her interfering family who seemed to think they knew more about how she felt that she did.
How could she be falling in love? She could barely stand him, and obviously he felt the same way since one minute he was nice to her and the next he was yelling at her.
What kind of relationship could they build on something so volatile? They had no foundation. Hell, they didn't even like each other! One push and they'd topple.
No way. She didn't feel anything for Max, and that was that.
Now if she could only stop thinking about him.
*
Max didn't have a chance to speak with Shannon alone for the remainder of the day. After his furniture had been brought in and placed around the house, the Storms dug right in, helping him open boxes and set everything up.
Then they'd barbecued and eaten out on the back porch, talking, laughing and arguing back and forth.
They were amazing. Rather like his family, a close-knit pack where everyone did their share of the work. The house wasn't huge, but large enough for a couple and growing family, even extra space for visitors. He walked from room to room and imagined a houseful of pups, Shannon running after them. Earlier in the day, he'd stood in the doorway to the master bedroom and watched the movers assemble his king-sized bed, his mind visualizing the set-up and hoping everything would fit. Now, his imagination took a different turn entirely.
Tangled sheets, sweat-soaked bodies and the waning light of sunset filtering through the windows filled his mind with an aching desire to completely possess Shannon.
Unfortunately, that would be hard to accomplish unless he planned to resort to kidnapping.
Maybe he shouldn't hang out in the bedroom right now. He started down the stairs, enjoying the feel of the smooth oak banister under his hand. He could hardly believe it, but the sense of home he felt from this place was comforting.
He liked this house. All wood flooring made the heat a bit less oppressive. There were plenty of screened windows that allowed a breeze to sweep through the downstairs. The living room was plenty big, the white-tiled kitchen enormous.
That's where he found all the women, arguing over placement of dishware. He leaned against the doorway and watched, knowing they hadn't seen him.
"Dishes in the cabinet to the left," Kaitlyn said, drawing a stack of plates and slipping them onto the shelf.
Shannon stopped her. "No, I prefer them on the right. Easier to unload the dishwasher. Plates are heaviest anyway. And the cooking utensils go there, in that drawer," she ordered, pointing to a long drawer next to the stove. "Mixing bowls should go in the cabinets above the island counter, since that's where food would be prepared."
By the time she rattled off her extensive list of what went where, Lissa, Angelina and Kaitlyn had stopped and crossed their arms, staring at her. It took her a few minutes to notice.
"What?"
"You're acting as if this is your house, and you're deciding where everything goes," Kaitlyn said.
Angelina nodded. "You feel at home here, ma belle. It's obvious."
Their comments mirrored his thoughts. Shannon had been ordering them around as if she were setting up her own kitchen. Max's heart slammed against his chest at the realization of how much he really wanted her in his home.
Shannon threw up her hands and shook her head. "That's ridiculous. I'm just trying to help out. And I do not feel at home here! I didn't even want to come." She pointed her finger at her mother. "You made me."
Max put his hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter that threatened to spill.
"I don't recall having to twist your arm. Really, Shannon, you're acting like a petulant child. It's obvious to everyone that you have feelings for Max, and you're fighting them."
Now it was getting good. And he had a ringside seat.
