“I was going to go to our room, get some fresh clothes, and then go to work. We’re very comfortable with our bodies here. We’re part animal, remember.” He’d saidourroom, she noted with a glow of warmth.
But walking around the house flashing all her bits and pieces? Nuh-uh. “Yeah, that’s one lifestyle change I’m not going to be making.”
He flashed her a smile. “Good. Because if someone looked at you while you were naked, I’ve got to admit, I might accidentally kill them.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” she muttered, watching him as he walked out the door. Good God, that butt. It would have made Greek sculptors weep. So round, so firm, so perfect.
“I saw you look!” he yelled as he shut the door behind him.
“Stuck-up dick,” she said, but with a smile.
She flopped back on the couch. Was she really letting this happen? Was she letting Cliff seduce her, making her forget how mad she was that he was keeping her prisoner here? Was she ready to commit to a lifetime of living as his wife – no, mate – on pack property?
And did she have a choice?
They hadn’t talked about what would happen after she turned. If she even survived the turn. And if she didn’t, how would Cliff explain it to Chantelle and her parents? Also, she didn’t know how much longer she could stall Chantelle, who was sending her increasingly worried text messages, which were passed along to her by Cliff. And she had to answer the text messages with Cliff sitting there watching. Which pissed her off, and which was going to be harder and harder to ignore.
But there was nothing she could do about it right now, so there was no point in stressing out about it.
With a sigh, she started pulling on her clothing. She went back to Cliff’s room and took a long, hot shower. Then she put on a black dress with a pink flower print and zip front, and black sandals, and headed out the front door to walk into town.
Truman and James were lounging around on the front steps. Or it looked like they were lounging, at least. She could tell they were scanning the gardens and the road in front of the house – the entire front perimeter of Cliff’s mansion – while looking as if they were two friends just sitting there and chatting.
“Where you going?” Truman called out as she walked by.
None of your damn business. I’m a grownup; stop stalking me. I didn’t like it when my ex did it, and I don’t like it now.She stifled the flare of annoyance.Deep breaths, deep breaths.
“Going to get a cup of coffee on Main Street.” She said it abruptly and walked off very quickly without waiting for permission or approval.
She heard a clatter of footsteps approaching her, stiffened, and walked faster.
James caught up with her.
“I swear to God,” she snapped, “I’m about to punch a wolf. Just saying.”
“I just wanted to tell you that it’s not always going to be like this,” he said. “The reason we’re being so hyper-vigilant is that Jerrold seems to have targeted you as a way to get at Cliff. And until you turn and can summon your wolf at will, you’re not going to be able to defend yourself against him and his pack. Even when you can turn, you couldn’t go up against Jerrold or his men – they’re stronger than you.”
“All right.” She sighed. “I won’t punch a wolf. Sorry. And I’ll be careful.”
“I have suggested to Cliff that Jerrold might be behind your illegal turning. We all knew how Cliff felt about you, ever since he first laid eyes on you, even if he thought we couldn’t tell. If Jerrold had spies in Cliff’s house, they would have told him.”
“Oh. That’s a thought. A disturbing thought. Although I still don’t see how he could have turned me without biting me.”
James was keeping pace with her. “Do you mind if I walk with you?”
Would he stop if she said no? She doubted it, and he did have a point about her being vulnerable as long as Jerrold and his pack were there. “No, that’s fine. You really want this mating to succeed, don’t you?”
James snorted. “If it doesn’t, Cliff will be so enraged and heartbroken that he’ll make all our lives a living hell. Especially mine. So yes. I am very invested in the success of your relationship.”
Taylor laughed at that.
They walked in silence until they got to the center of town. James went to scout out the area and make sure that Jerrold and company were nowhere in sight, while she bought a coffee.
Afterwards, she took her coffee and strolled to a little garden circle off the main street. There were ornate iron benches set on red brick and arranged in a circle around a fountain. The fountain was thickly ringed with pink and white begonias in fragrant red mulch. Beyond the fountain, a tangle of thick, high rose bushes was roughly trimmed into the shape of a hedge, and beyond that was a park. The werewolves incorporated nature among their buildings and took the natural landscape into account when they were planning the town, Grant had told her. They also liked as much tree cover as possible everywhere, for privacy’s sake.
Grant was sitting on a bench by the fountain, looking at a picture, lost to the world. As he sat there, Austin walked up to him and tried to grab the picture from his hand. Grant glanced up and quickly tried to put the picture away. Austin grabbed at it again.
Grant leaped to his feet, snarling, and the two men lunged at each other. As they fell to the ground, wrestling, the picture flew out of Grant’s hand and landed in the begonias. Taylor walked over and grabbed it.
