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At first, all seemed still, but then he sensed something. Or rather his wolf did. He was instantly on high alert. But just as quickly his wolf relaxed. What was going on? After a second, he got it. He spotted a shadow that was out of place in his living room. He thought he knew what it was already, but he had learned to never let down his guard. It just didn’t pay with the kind of enemies they had to bring to justice at the Tribunal on the regular. He crouched down and moved into a deeper shadow. The shape he’d seen had been on the other side of the sofa and it didn’t seem to be moving. He drew his wolf’s eyes to the forefront and focused. It was as he had suspected.Well, she’s got spirit,he thought. There, crouched behind the sofa, was tiny Winona, in a thin tee, mildly slumping and clearly fast asleep. And what was she holding?Is that a rolling pin?Ouch. She means business.
He almost laughed.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. He decided it called for pillows, and stacked up a few in the direction of her slump.Yeah, the rolling pin has to go though.He carefully slid that out of her relaxed grip.He thought about moving her but decided discretion was the better part of valor, after all. After the day he’d had, he wasn’t sure he could handle a pissed off nanny at the moment, and so didn’t want to risk waking her.
He moved silently through the house. He was used to handling all manner of fierce enemies, but found himself strangely at a loss as to what to do with a threat like this.
Make no mistake Rollo, she is a threat.
That rolling pin was no joke.
As he walked toward his room, he checked on the boys. All accounted for and in their beds.
He decided to take a look around the house, all the while maintaining his alert status. Definitely wouldn’t pay to let his guard down with this one. The kitchen was spotless. In fact, it hadn’t been this clean in years. And not a toy to be found on the floor.
Hmmm.
Fine, he decided that on second thought, he couldn’t just leave her curled up in a heap like that on the floor. None of this had been her fault. And more to the point he couldn’t have her roaming free with so many potential weapons all over the place.
Nope, to bed with you.
He had no interest in being brained in his sleep.
Gently, he scooped her up.Please don’t wake up.He carried her upstairs, and peeling back the covers, laid her down in a guest bedroom. She was scarcely as heavy as when he lifted both of his boys. As he laid her out, he felt a surge of adrenalin again, or heat, as he looked down at her prone form. Her top was not low enough to expose the swells of her ample breasts, but it was low enough to tease, and the fabric thin enough that he could make out her hardened nipples poking through as she gently adjusted herself to the soft mattress. His wolf wanted to climb right in with her and hold her close.
Settle, buddy. We’ve been over this.
He pushed the carnal desires down. He’d gotten used to that. He’d sworn he wouldn’t go down that road again. Not until things were handled.
If ever. Ever again that is.
And he didn’t want to subject the boys to that drama. He had made enough of a mess last time. Maybe when the boys were older.Much older.
It had indeed been a long day. It was making him loopy. But yes, this was better. She deserved a bed. He would deal with whatever fallout there might be in the morning. But he needed a good sleep himself. Preferably one that did not include getting knocked in the head by his captive nanny. He backed out the door, locking it from the outside.
He groaned as he hit the bed. But he couldn’t help replay the way she had looked laying there before him, or the way she had felt in his arms. His wolf seemed totally content that she was safely protected away no more than maybe thirty feet from him.What a mess,he thought as he drifted off.What a beautiful, adorably feisty mess.
CHAPTER7
Winona opened her eyes with a start.Where am I?As memory rushed back in, she clutched at the sheets, instinctively looking for the rolling pin she had armed herself with the night before. Wait, what? Just as she realized her weapon was gone, she also became aware that she was no longer where she had laid in wait.Dammit. I must have fallen asleep.As she slowly awoke, more and more of the previous day came back to her in a flood. She was now in one of the upstairs bedrooms. Light was beginning to pour in through a pair of enormous windows. At the far end, an equally enormous fireplace took center place.
Everything here is so damn big.
Man, this bed is comfy, though.She pushed the thought from her mind.Not the time to be blinded by his cushy house!Get up.Right, good idea. She got to her feet and went to test the door. Locked.Fuck.The faces of all the kids flashed through her mind, even as she considered what her next move should be.
She went to the window. Still locked.
But she had been armed with a rolling pin. He must have taken it. Smart man. Fine. She would try the friendly approach. A rolling pin probably would have bounced off his thick skull anyhow.
Who are you kidding? She doubted she would have had the guts to even use it.
She shook herself fully awake, or at least as awake as she could be without coffee. If she had any hope of escaping, it would definitely demand a clear head. She thought over the previous day’s events quickly.Well, the kids are adorable, and he did in fact pay me.That didn’t mean shit, he could easily take it back.Still…She would go with her gut.
“Hey!” she yelled through the locked door. “Hello? Um, I don’t suppose you have room service available here? Coffee maybe?”
When she heard no reply, she added, “Please!” She sat back on the bed. Nothing. What the fuck? What was the plan? Maybe Julie would have called the cops by now, right? She had told her she would call her right after her interview.Probably not. It had only been a day. But maybe?She was just starting to panic when there was a knock at the door.
“Is it okay if I come in?” came the muffled voice of her captor.Seriously?
