by E A Price
We could persuade her to be ours.
No.
Susie did not belong to him, but he would enjoy his time with her and then they would say their goodbyes.
He should probably start by pushing her away, not spending the night cuddling with her. Yep, that is what he should do. Barlow watched the rise and fall of her chest. Except, if he moved her now, she’d probably wake up. Best he leave her be - just for this night. But this was the only time they would cuddle – after this night, no more cuddling whatsoever.
Chapter Fifteen
Susie let out a long yawn. Candace and Jules caught the motion and smirked while giving her the thumbs up. She blushed and continued piling her plate high from the breakfast buffet.
Yep, they knew what she’d been up to last night. Given the looks of disapproval she was getting, most of the hotel knew. She should have been quieter. The third time they had sex she had tried to hush herself by biting his shoulder, but that just made Barlow louder – so it didn’t really help anything. Plus, they had been pretty noisy in the shower that morning.
Barlow hadn’t seemed like quite his usual, funny self that morning. He seemed more withdrawn and uneasy, though that hadn’t affected their lovemaking. She asked him if anything was wrong, but he denied it. She would not push him – if anything was upsetting him, he would tell her if he wanted to.
“Suzanne, right?”
Susie looked up as Roxanne appeared at her elbow. “Susie,” she corrected.
“Umm hmm.” Roxanne looked like she could care less. “How are you this morning? How’s Barlow?”
“Fine,” murmured Susie, moving onto the muffin tray.
She would say this about the lodge, they served a tremendous breakfast buffet. In fact, she couldn’t fault the hotel on any count – only that the place was too pricey for her usual budget. But the breakfast was stupendous. There was bacon, turkey bacon, six types of sausage, four types of eggs, five different flavors of waffles, seven – count them, seven! – different flavors of pancakes, five different muffins, fresh fruit of every kind, yogurts and cereals and pretty much anything you could want for breakfast! There was even an omelet bar and a French toast bar where the chefs would make you whatever you wanted. After her eggs, bacon, and toast, Susie was planning on some pumpkin spice French toast smothered in maple syrup – the most delicious French toast in the world.
She was going to stuff herself silly, and not just because she needed to keep her energy up for Barlow. No, she had been to the lodge twice with Allen before, but he didn’t like her eating a lot – he thought it wasn’t ladylike and to appease him, Susie never went back for second helpings, and nor did she pile her plate sky high. But now, she could enjoy as much as she wanted, and never mind second helpings - she was going back for thirds.
She selected a boysenberry muffin and was dismayed to note that Roxanne was still hovering next to her. Susie waited to see if Roxanne wanted to say anything. She didn’t – she was just smiling coldly. Susie gave her a brief smile and found herself a two-person table. Hopefully, Barlow would show up soon – she had already debriefed him on the breakfast buffet, and he was adamant he would not miss it. He just wanted to take a run as his wolf first.
Regrettably, before Barlow could show up, Roxanne sat down opposite her, dropping her tray with a slight clatter.
“Oh, ah, aren’t you eating with your fiancé?” asked Susie hopefully.
Roxanne’s smile turned even chillier. “He’s still in bed. Humans have trouble keeping up with wolves – but then, I’m sure you’ve already worked that out.”
“Can’t say I have,” replied Susie ignoring the look of derision on the she-wolf’s face.
She knew she was right to dislike Roxanne on sight. The female was vicious and cold and ruthless – she came from the Helen school of she-wolves.
Roxanne’s eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “Really? After last night, I’m surprised you can even walk.”
Unbidden a blush started creeping over Susie’s face, and Roxanne sneered. “Yes, the walls here aren’t that thick, and of course I know the sounds Barlow makes during sex. We were together for a long time.”
Roxanne caught her eye, staring at her, trying to force her to look away – to show her dominance.
“Barlow said he dumped you for cheating on him,” replied Susie sweetly.
Yeah, she wasn’t a wolf, but she grew up around them – she would not look away from this she-wolf even for a second.
Roxanne’s smile dropped. “That’s not why we broke up,” she hissed.
“He seems to think it is.”
“We broke up because we were getting serious, and Barlow doesn’t get serious with women. He has issues because his mommy croaked when he was a kid – he’s afraid to mate.”
Susie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Roxanne was purposefully acting like a bitch, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t right about that. Susie had sensed his unhappiness when he spoke about his mother.
“That’s probably why he’s with you.” Roxanne pointed her finger at Susie. “He knows he won’t fall for you. He knows he can walk away from you. I mean, look at you, he can do so much better.”
He can walk away thought Susie glumly, but that was what she was determined she wanted, so she had no right to be upset about that.
“I’m sure that’s why he was with you, too,” said Susie in a neutral voice.
Roxanne immediately bared her fangs, and Susie recalled Barlow’s warning that she stay away from her. She probably should have listened to him, though Roxanne was the one who sat down at her table.
“You stupid human, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her claws flexed. “I ought to…”
“Roxanne,” snapped Allen.
Susie found herself experiencing something she hadn’t in a long time – joy at seeing Allen.
Roxanne growled and flicked her eyes between Allen and Susie – her desire to claw Susie almost outweighed her need to submit. Almost, thankfully it didn’t.
Roxanne wasn’t a member of Allen’s pack, but she was related to Gregg – Jules’ fiancé. According to Jules, she was the daughter of Gregg’s aunt who had run off to mate a wolf in Alaska thirty years ago – Jules said that side of the family was very miserable and they didn’t really get along with anybody. But, they were invited to the wedding, and as they were guests, they would be expected to get in line along with the rest of the pack. If Roxanne did anything, she would risk the punishment of the alpha.
“Run along,” rumbled Allen to Roxanne.
She flushed with anger but did as she was told. Susie was about to say thank you to Allen when he slipped into Roxanne’s vacated seat. Great. Another breakfast companion – just what she needed.
“Susie, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded hotly.
She glanced down at her half-eaten breakfast. “What? I’m hungry.”
“I mean with the buffoon you’ve brought here!” he hissed.
Allen looked around to make sure no one was watching them. He was pissed, but he was being careful not to draw attention – he hated being embarrassed in public.
“Everyone could hear what you were up to last night.” He looked at her in disgust.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” She was – no one needed to hear those noises! “But I’m not going to apologize for sleeping with Barlow. Why on earth should I?”
Allen gave her a hard look. “If you’re trying to make me jealous enough to leave Helen, it won’t work.”
“I’m not trying to get you to do anything of the sort!” she denied angrily.
“I have no choice but to be with Helen…”
“Whoa, buddy! You had a choice – and you chose to sleep with her, and now you must suffer the consequences. But you know what, as upset as I was when I first found out, I’m now starting to realize what a huge favor you did me. If you don’t like seeing me with other guys, then look away. If you don’t like hearing it, then get ea
rplugs!”
“Susie,” he whined.
“No, seriously, Allen, go to your mate and your pup and leave me alone.”
“But Susie, I love you. If you loved me, you’d forgive me.”
Susie shook her head and shoveled some eggs into her mouth, swallowed and then grimaced.
“Great, now my eggs are cold.”
Susie pushed up from the table and immediately ran into Helen who snarled at her. She immediately blushed, as if she had been doing something wrong. Oh, the irony – Helen thought she was doing the same thing Helen had done to her in the first place.
“Allen, darling, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said Helen, though her furious amber eyes never left Susie.
“Helen, I am busy right now,” he grumbled.
“Too busy for your mate and pup?!” snapped Helen.
“Not now!”
Helen’s nostrils flared. “Too busy doing what?”
“Hey, Susie.”
Oh, thank you, universe! Susie almost cried with relief as Barlow - big and beautiful Barlow - bounded towards her. She found herself in the middle of an argument she had no business being near with a ten-foot pole and she was glad of the interruption. Did Allen honestly believe that the three of them could form a mating pact together? Jeez, it would be a toss-up as to who murdered whom first.
Susie practically threw herself into Barlow’s arms.
“Where’ve you been?” she asked urgently.
He cocked an eyebrow; his usual perkiness had obviously returned. “Been missing me, little darling?”
“You have no idea.”
*
The look of gratitude on Susie’s face was a sight to behold. Barlow glared at Allen, and his wolf growled for good measure, until the idiot took off, dragging his irritated mate with him.
“He been bothering you?” asked Barlow, bristling with the urge to unleash his wolf and challenge Allen to a death match.
His wolf was all for it, practically frothing at the mouth in fact.
“He thinks I’m using you to make him jealous,” sighed Susie.
Barlow slanted a look at her. “Are you?”
Perhaps it would make it easier for him if she were. If she did still love Allen – as incredible as the thought that someone as wonderful as Susie would – it might be better for Barlow.
“Of course not. He’s an idiot.”
No, of course not. She might have cared for him, but she wouldn’t go back to him after the way he treated her. She couldn’t be with someone who hurt her like that. His beast preened. His little Susie wouldn’t do that. Not his Susie he snapped at his wolf. Wasn’t this why he had gone for an extra long run that morning? To exhaust his wolf so much that the animal wouldn’t howl at him about wanting to keep Susie forever? He thought he had actually made some headway with the beast, right up until he saw Susie again. Not just that – seeing her upset was like a punch to the gut. He wanted to protect her so much it made him ache.
“Let’s just forget about Allen and focus on the breakfast buffet,” said Susie. She gestured to the buffet as if she was pointing at the prize of a car on a game show. “I mean, come on, have you ever seen anything more beautiful?”
The sight of Susie, lying naked on their bed, pliant and trembling with expectation flashed before his eyes. “Maybe once or twice.”
He needed to take a longer run.
Chapter Sixteen
The wedding was due to take place the following day – the wedding would happen in the morning, and then there would be a huge lunch, then a party, then dinner and more partying. It would take all day. Then the day after that, there would be the post-wedding breakfast, a few more activities with the word ‘wedding’ in front of them and then home.
Barlow grinned, and Susie smiled in return as Jules bustled through the crowd of wolves amassed and waiting for the wedding scavenger hunt to start.
At first what had seemed like an interminably long weekend, was now starting to seem unbearably short. She shouldn’t have said just the weekend to him, but she was scared. Having Allen cheat on her was hard, how could she face it if Barlow did the same? But she didn’t really want their time to end.
Barlow huffed. “Scavenger hunt?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Susie was planning on saying no to this activity, but Jules had batted those eyelashes, and she was a goner. Jules had put a lot of effort into these activities, and Susie wasn’t about to let her down. It was also a relief to note that Helen, Allen nor Roxanne was taking part. So the scavenger hunt was a good place to be.
He looked at the list of items they had to find. “Why does it say ‘part one’ up here?”
“That usually means there’s a part two.”
“Okay wolves,” shouted Jules, “and non-wolves,” she added with a wink to Susie. “Everyone has their maps. Now, I want everyone to work in teams of two...”
Lila sprang out of nowhere. “Do you need a partner, Barlow?”
“The teams I’ve assigned,” yelled Jules, scowling at Lila.
“You’re with me,” said Candace, walking up and elbowing Lila.
“You have five things to find, and you will each have a snowmobile to get you around. Now, just to spice things up and keep you on your toes – I’m pleased to say that the winners of part one and part two will get two first-class airplane tickets to Hawaii!”
There was a chorus of ‘oohs.’
“Is she kidding?” murmured Barlow.
“No, her dad’s an airline pilot. They get good deals on flights.”
“A vacation in Hawaii? That puts a different spin on things – I wouldn’t mind a trip to Hawaii. Come on, little darling, what are we waiting for?”
*
The scavenger hunt went well – Barlow and Susie managed to find all their items. A feather – which Barlow had plucked directly from a very un-obliging bird who proceeded to peck his head. A twig shaped like a Y. A heart-shaped rock - that one was not an easy one, although Barlow tried his hardest to smash a rock into a heart shape but only ended up smashing dozens of rocks to smithereens. A picture of both team mates climbing a tree – it took a while to find a tree that could support Barlow’s larger frame. Some berries – which Barlow knew for definite - in spite of Susie’s protestations that he not eat them - were not poisonous.
Post-scavenger hunt, Barlow, and Susie were enjoying some hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire. Buoyed by their success, they were celebrating, and Barlow’s fingers were tracing patterns on her thigh.
Lila and Candace were disqualified from the hunt for cheating. They were required to build a snowman and take a photo of it – but, instead, they downloaded a photo from the internet and tried to pass it off as their own. Jules saw through them straight away – the snowman was far too impressive for either of them to have made it.
“Mmmm,” murmured Susie. “I’m a little achy after riding on that snowmobile. I think I’m going to use the hotel sauna. You want to join me?”
Barlow rumbled at the thought of Susie wearing nothing but a towel, her skin glistening as she made that contented little noise he knew so well over and over.
“I’m going for a run,” he blurted loudly.
Susie shrugged. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
She smiled and patted his shoulder as she left. His eyes followed her every move. Barlow shuddered, willing his arousal to go away.
Having Susie pressed up against his back for hours hadn’t exactly settled his beast. He considered that if he told her he was horny, she would happily agree to run up to their room and enjoy some naked time, but – and a part of him couldn’t believe he was daring to think this – he was trying to limit how many times they had sex.
The more time they spent together, the less easy it got. The more time he spent surrounded by her scent, listening to her laugh, watching her nose scrunch when she was thinking – the more he wanted her. She wasn’t like any other female – he wanted her as he had no other a
nd he couldn’t explain why. There was just something deep down inside him that felt whole when she was around. And he needed to squash that feeling and quickly.
Mine snarled the beast.
Barlow ground his teeth. Maybe running until he could barely breathe was the way to go.
Chapter Seventeen
Barlow growled as he sensed the approach of another wolf. He slowed his pace and waited until he caught a flash of brown fur and a whiff of a familiar scent. Roxanne.
He bared his fangs as she pranced onto the path in front of him. The smaller wolf padded towards him, and he held still, waiting to see what she would do. He would never underestimate this she-wolf.
The wolf stopped a few steps away and bared her neck. He let out a grunt, to show he acknowledged her submission.
The she-wolf panted and took the last few steps towards him. She started licking him, and he butted her away, but she tried it again and again.
Barlow pushed the shift and slapped her muzzle. “Enough, Roxanne,” he yelled.
The wolf peered up at him until she too flickered to her human form.
“Don’t tell me you’re rejecting me for that human you’re following around like a puppy?” she scoffed.
“No.”
“Liar!” she screeched.
Barlow winced at her tone. Well, partly no.
“Roxanne, I’m not interested.”
“We were good together,” she cooed, trying a different tack.
“We had sex – that’s it.”
“We could pick up where we left off,” she continued, undeterred. “I know you left me because of your mother.”
Barlow glared at her. “My mother has nothing to do with this!”
“You’re afraid of taking a mate because you don’t want to lose her – lose me.” She pouted.
Barlow inwardly snorted. He had never considered taking Roxanne as anything.
“But you don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. We can work through your problems together.”
