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“9:30. I guess it’s time to admit defeat on this one and put on the jammies.” She unleashed a long, loud sigh, her bare shoulders sagging as she slunk away toward the stairs. “Be right back, buddy.”
She trudged up the stairs and Reardon considered shifting right there in the living room. He desperately wanted to follow her up those stairs, but he’d be no more able to do that in human form than he could in wolf form. His leg really hurt now that he’d fallen off the couch. Shifting to human would intensify that pain at least tenfold. He’d also scare Brandy if he suddenly appeared behind her as a human. A naked human.
So he waited. Right there. On the living room floor.
When Brandy came back downstairs, she had on a pair of purple cotton shorts and a matching tank top. She looked sexy and comfortable at the same time. Reardon couldn’t decide if he preferred this look or the dressy look. Quite possibly he’d like any look on Brandy.
“All righty.” She blew out a breath and gathered her hair in a messy bun. “Now that everyone is more comfortable.” She angled her head at him. “Well, you don’t look as if you’re comfortable, baby.”
Baby?Reardon McAlator had never been calledbaby.Under normal circumstances, he would have been enraged by such a name. But these were not normal circumstances, now were they?
“Are you hungry?” She crouched by him and leaned forward enough that he could see down her tank top. “Because I’m starving. Time to see…” Her words trailed off. “Shit, I never took Mom’s lasagna out of the oven.” She stood and padded on bare feet to the kitchen.
Reardon heard some things banging around and in a few moments, Brandy came back into the living room with a bowl of popcorn, a bottle of beer, and another bowl he couldn’t see into, but could definitely smell.
Meat.
After setting her snacks down on the coffee table, she placed the bowl of meat pieces by his head and he immediately devoured all of it.
“My, you were starving too.” She disappeared again and reappeared with a water bowl, which Reardon sloshed down too, trying his best not to dribble it all over the hardwood floors.
Brandy took the bowl away and when she came back this time, she had a bean bag chair which Reardon knew was from Dylan’s room.
“Let’s get you on your bed and I’ll sit next to you. What do you say, big boy?”
He gave one powerful thump of his tail, and Brandy laughed as she helped him slink onto his bed. The cushiony mattress was comfortable, preferable to the hard floor he’d slept on in her bedroom since Hank Swift had attacked her. He should have dragged the bed into Brandy’s bedroom weeks ago.
“There we are.” Brandy pushed the bean bag chair next to the bed, grabbed the bowl of popcorn and the TV remote. “What do you feel like watching?” She angled her head as if she were listening to a reply.
If only I could reply.
“Yes, you’re right. Definitely nothing mushy.” As her gaze turned to the TV, her jaw muscles tightened, and a hurt look crept into her lovely blue eyes that Reardon desperately wanted to erase, especially because he was responsible for causing that look.
He put his paw on her thigh and she looked down at him.I would have shown up tonight if I could have.
“What, you want something on the National Geographic Channel?” She scratched the back of his jagged ear. “So what happened here anyway?” She leaned closer, fingering the scalloped edge of the ear. “More importantly, what did the other guy look like when you were done with him?”
An excellent question. The other guy had lost his entire arm to the slash of Reardon’s broad sword. Didn’t fix his ear, but it made him feel vindicated all the same. To hear the howl of his opponent as blood gushed from the remaining stump made Reardon not care that his own ear had been sliced like a tomato, the missing piece mixing with the carnage strewn all over the battlefield. Jaemus had been the one to stitch up his ear. Hadn’t done too neat of a job either, but it was the best he could hope for so the fight could continue.
Speaking of fights continuing, where was Jaemus now? They hadn’t parted on the best of terms, his brother mad at him for bringing the curse of the wolf upon the men. Still, he wanted Jaemus to be safe. Had he gotten dumped in a time and place as nice as Reardon had? Had luck been on his side? Or was Jaemus being subjected to a hellish experience?
Would he ever see his brother again?
You will, wolf.Flidae filled the space between his ears. Another reminder that his time with Brandy was not infinite. He shook his head, earning a sideways glance from Brandy.
“Everything okay, buddy?” Her blue eyes zeroed in on his face as if she were truly waiting for him to answer.
He let out a short, quiet bark then nudged her popcorn bowl with his nose.
“Oh, you want some snacks too?” She held the bowl out of reach, but plucked out a handful of popcorn and put her cupped hand in Reardon’s reach.
He crunched the popcorn, liking the salty flavoring, loving the smell of Brandy’s skin. He decided right then and there he wanted to share popcorn with Brandy in human form as soon as possible.
“All right, let’s see what our choices are, shall we?” She used the remote to flick through the guide on the TV, mumbling to herself, sometimes shaking her head.
Words scrolled by so fast, Reardon could hardly read them before Brandy selected a choice and a dark-haired girl and a long-haired Native American boy filled the screen.
“Twilight. I’ve seen it a million times, but keep hoping things will work out in Jacob’s favor.” Brandy settled more into the bean bag chair and took a sip of her beer. “I mean, werewolves are way cooler than vampires, don’t you think, big boy?”
