By the time Ryker came back, she was feeling considerably warmer towards him.
He flashed a grin at her as she licked barbecue sauce off her fingers. “That’s more like it,” he said. “And as for those stylists, they’re idiots. You know I love your body. I thought you were hot the first night I saw you.”
“My aunt picked out that outfit,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“She has excellent taste. And don’t worry, Walt will never try to pull that crap again. So, what could I do to make this up to you?”
“There’s no need,” she said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“No, no, they made you feel bad on my behalf.” Then his face lit up. “I know what we can do!”
And he reached down and unzipped his jeans.
Chapter Eleven
At her startled look, he threw back his head and laughed, a deep, rich sound rumbling up from his broad chest.
“Not that,” he said. “Although that is on the table any time that you want. I’m going to take you to my favorite place on our pack property. Nobody can feel bad out there.”
He stepped out of his jeans, and Daisy swallowed hard and looked away as she pulled her T-shirt over her head. He was chiseled perfection, with every muscular square of his six-pack standing out in relief. His thick cock jutted straight up at the ceiling, rising proudly from a thatch of brown curls.
He led the way out the door, which was great, because it gave her an excuse to stare at the perfect globes of his ass. They walked outside and shifted, dropping to all fours.
Ryker led the way, tearing through the underbrush and racing around the longleaf pines that dominated the area. The forest floor was covered with a thick mat of pine needles, and running through them smelled like Christmas.
The night sky was cloudless, and a fat yellow moon lit their way with soft golden light. After a few minutes, they burst from the tree line and Ryker led her to a crystal-clear lake with a crescent of sandy beach. By the lakeside, there were several picnic tables and a brick fire pit.
By the side of the lake, they both shifted into human form. A cool breeze whipped through the air and dragged ripples along the black, mirrored surface of the lake.
“This is our watering hole. Been swimming in here since I was a cub,” he said proudly.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, looking around. The stars and moon reflected in the lake, and the only sound was the chirping of crickets.
She glanced at Ryker’s perfect body and turned and scurried into the water, shivering slightly in the chill.
Ryker followed her, laughing. “What’s the hurry?” he asked, splashing through the lake to get closer to her.
“I don’t like to be seen naked,” she admitted.
“Why not? You’ve got a gorgeous body,” he said.
They stood on the sandy bottom of the lake, close but not touching. There was no traffic out here; it felt as if they were hundreds of miles away from civilization. “You are so lucky, growing up with all this,” she said.
He grinned. “It’s true. Even when were just scraping by, we had all of this.” Then a more serious look drifted across his face.
“What is it?” she said.
“We’re pretty much mortgaged to the hilt,” he said. “The company’s kind of on the brink. We could succeed or fail at this point, and if we fail, we lose all of this.”
“Then you won’t fail,” Daisy said with conviction. She’d do whatever it took to help him and his pack.
Ryker nodded, but his face was still somber.
“What do you want to do? What would your dream job be, if you could do anything?” she asked.
He looked surprised. “Nobody’s asked me that before. I guess everybody assumes that running this company is my dream job. I like certain aspects of it…like mentoring kids at the gym. What I really like is being in the stables mucking around with the horses, but that doesn’t pay the bills.”
Then he noticed that she was shivering, and he reached out and pulled her close to him.
“What are you doing?” she asked, but she leaned in to his hard, muscular body. She felt his thick cock pressing into the softness of her stomach, and the bunched muscles in his arms as he held her close.
“Keeping you warm,” he said, pressing up against her.
The warmth of his body spread through her, and she felt tingly from head to toe.
Perfection. He’d called her perfection.
He bent down and kissed her, and the world fell away from her. One arm looped around her waist, firmly pressing her close. His free hand tangled in her hair. His kiss was firm and commanding, his tongue probing hers, swirling…
Then suddenly he jerked away like he’d been stung, tipped his head back, and sniffed at the air. She scented it at the same time – they weren’t alone out here.
“Hey!” he roared. “Who’s out here? Mom, I swear I’m going to kill you!”
“Don’t let me interrupt!” his mother called out from the bushes. “I left you two some dinner on the shore. I’m going home now – you carry on!”
Ryker let out a stream of curses and went barreling out of the water. Daisy saw a small gray wolf running through the bushes, legs churning madly. His mom was high-tailing it out of there.
She scurried out of the water and, feeling chilly, shifted back into wolf form. Ryker followed her, and they jogged back to his house.
They were standing by the bathroom, toweling themselves off, when the phone rang in the kitchen.
“It’s my mother,” Ryker said with a dark scowl. “She’s the only one who calls me on the landline. And she can call all night. I’m going to go get dressed.”
Daisy wrapped the towel around herself and went into the kitchen to answer the phone.
“Harrison residence,” she said.
“Is Ryker there?” Harriet asked, sounding aggrieved.
“Uh, he’s pretty mad right now. He doesn’t want to speak to you.”
“Well, he has some nerve! I’m his mother!” Harriet said indignantly. “All I’m trying to do is make sure he doesn’t mess this up. He shouldn’t have brought you out there without a picnic.”
Daisy bit back a response and didn’t say anything.
After a minute, his mother said, “Did I go too far?”
“In all honesty, yes,” Daisy said. “I know you meant well, but that was pretty much a mood killer.”
“Oh.” Harriet sounded very upset, and Daisy could hear her sniffle on the other end of the phone.
Daisy felt badly, and she debated rushing in and telling her that everything was all right, but she decided not to. Someday, Ryker would be with his real mate, and his mother needed to learn to give him at least a little space.
The thought made her gloomy.
“Did I ruin everything?”
Harriet sounded so miserable that Daisy took pity on her.
“No, it didn’t change anything between us one way or the other,” she reassured her, truthfully. “It’s still early days for us, and we’re still just getting to know each other. Honestly, it’s okay. I should go to bed now, but we’ll get together sometime this week and you can teach me how to bake that apple pie.”
* * * * *
The next morning, Ryker offered to drive Daisy to school and pick her up. “I saw a story about a drive-by shooting in that neighborhood last night,” he said when she tried to argue. “Can you just humor me?”
She couldn’t help but feel touched. He’d cared enough to pay attention to what was going on in her neighborhood, and he was worried about her safety.
When they drove, it wasn’t awkward the way it had been the day before. They talked about Ryker’s mother’s crazy shenanigans and laughed all the way to school.
When they got there and parked, Daisy heard the sound of yelps and howls. She looked out the pickup truck window and saw two of her students, one in wolf form and one in coyote form, fighting on the playground. She ran over to separate them.
> The two of them fell back, barking and yelping at each other, then shifted into human form. They were staring up at her, goggle-eyed.
Ha, she thought. Finally I’m getting some respect around here!
“Are you Ryker Harrison?” one of the kids demanded. Right, of course. They were totally awe-struck – by Ryker.
“Are you cruising to get your butt whipped?” Ryker growled. “Don’t pick on someone half your size.”
“Yes sir,” the boy said, his eyes huge.
Yes sir? Daisy thought with annoyance. The kids barely acknowledged her with a grunt when she talked to them.
“Shake hands and apologize,” Ryker said, and the boys quickly did.
“What were you guys fighting about?” Daisy asked.
“Is Ryker Harrison your boyfriend?” one of the little boys demanded eagerly.
“Answer the lady’s question,” Ryker rumbled.
“He tried to steal my lunch money,” the coyote complained.
“I don’t have any lunch of my own,” the wolf cub mumbled, staring at the ground.
“What are your names?”
“I’m Frankie, and he’s Paolo,” the wolf cub said.
“Ok, Frankie, so, what else could you do to get lunch money instead of stealing from Paolo?” Ryker demanded.
Frankie looked baffled. “Uh…steal it from someone else?”
Daisy stifled a laugh behind her hand, then forced herself to look at him sternly. “No stealing. What about working at Ryker’s stable this weekend to earn your lunch money?” she asked. “We could meet you here and pick you up.”
“Really?” Paolo cried eagerly.
“You can both come, but only if you don’t fight with each other again, all week,” Ryker said to them. “Get permission from your parents. I’ll pick you up in front of the school at eight a.m.”
“I hope that was okay,” Daisy said as he walked her up the front steps.
“Absolutely okay,” Ryker said. “I like that you care about these kids. You could have sent them straight to detention, but instead you came up with a solution for their problem.”
“Working with animals can have a wonderful effect on kids,” Daisy said. “I wish we could have animals at the rec center, actually. I looked into it, and it violates the local zoning laws.”
“I think I see a photographer,” Ryker said. “I should probably kiss you.” He leaned in and planted a lingering kiss on her lips until the kids in the playground started to whoop and holler.
Daisy looked around, slightly dazed. “Where’s the photographer?” she said, puzzled. “I don’t see any photographer.”
Ryker winked at her. “Oops, my bad – I guess it was my imagination,” he said. “I’ll be here at three to pick you up.” And he turned and sauntered back to his pickup truck.
Jasmine was waiting for her inside the front door. As Daisy walked up to her, she held up an amazing painted jacket, with a graffiti scene splashed across the back. It took Daisy a moment to realize it was her jacket that had gone missing yesterday.
“You said you wanted to buy some graffiti art,” Jasmine mumbled, staring at the ground as Daisy took the jacket and held it up admiringly.
“Oh my God, you did that for me?” Daisy stroked the artwork. “It’s gorgeous.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that I am associated with JKat2016 in any way,” Jasmine said, not meeting her gaze. Then she looked up with a cheeky grin. “But I will accept payment for the talented, gorgeous, brilliant artist who produced that masterpiece.”
Daisy dug into her purse and pulled out fifty dollars, which she slipped into Jasmine’s jacket pocket.
“This is so great,” Daisy said as she put the jacket on. “Now I look totally cool.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jasmine said. “Your jacket looks cool.”
Chapter Twelve
“You sure it’s okay for me to come?” Ryker asked Daisy as they pulled into the parking lot of the Thirsty Iguana restaurant.
“Yes, I want them to see that you’re not some crazy kidnapper holding me hostage,” Daisy said. “Jeez, are those news vans? Are they here for you?” She looked at the vans with dismay.
“’Fraid so,” Ryker said with a sigh. “Welcome to my world.”
“How did they know we’d be here?” Daisy asked, scowling as they climbed out of Ryker’s sports car.
“I told Walt that I was taking you out here tonight,” Ryker said with annoyance. “He must have tipped them off. I’m sorry – I hope it doesn’t ruin your evening.”
“Nah, it’s okay, as long as they don’t actually come into the restaurant and take pictures of me shoveling food into my mouth. I know that the news media is part of the package with you. I mean, we are trying to show your investors what a good boy you are these days, right?” Daisy flashed him a teasing grin.
He laughed at that. “Apparently this is getting a lot of positive social media attention. People like the fact that you’re a teacher at an inner city school.”
“Yes, I’m an absolute saint,” Daisy said drolly as they strolled towards the front door of the restaurant.
Reporters shouted questions at them as they walked.
“Hey, Ryker, when you going to make an honest wolf out of her?”
“Ryker, why don’t you put a ring on it?”
And surprisingly, “Daisy, where’d you get that jacket?” several of them yelled at her.
She called back over her shoulder, “It’s a JKat original!”
Then Ryker spun towards the reporters and pulled his trademark move – partially shifted, his head gone full wolf, and snarling at them. That was what he always did when the press started to annoy him. He’d told her that it not only helped him blow off steam, but the press and the public actually ate it up.
Cadence and Larissa, who were standing in the doorway waiting for her, looked less impressed, however. Larissa’s eyes were wide with alarm, and Cadence was openly staring at Ryker as if he might go rabid at any moment.
“Guys, relax!” Daisy said. “It’s all for show!”
As soon as they got inside, Larissa grabbed her by the arm and dragged her aside while Ryker went to order them all drinks.
“All for show? He’s crazy!” Larissa hissed in her ear. “Does he beat you?”
“Are you insane?” Daisy said indignantly. “That is actually offensive. If he raised a paw to me in violence, I’d be out of there so fast I’d leave scorch marks.”
Larissa had never seen Daisy happy with a guy before, and she was acting all kinds of weird about it. Daisy was starting to suspect that since Larissa could never seem to get a guy to stick around, she resented it when anybody else was happy. Or at least specifically when Daisy was happy. Larissa pretty much ignored Cadence and her dating life – maybe because Cadence had flat-out declared that she had no intention of settling down, ever.
They headed for a high-top table and settled in as Ryker returned with a tray of margaritas, chips and salsa.
Cadence deliberately sat across from Larissa. She had a frown pinching her brows together, and she kept shooting Larissa dirty looks. The conversation was awkward and strained. Finally, Daisy grabbed Cadence. Larissa stood up, but Daisy shook her head. “I need to talk to her for a minute,” she said, and left Larissa at the table, pouting.
“Cadence, what’s up?” she asked. “Why are you mad at Larissa?”
“Other than the fact that she’s Larissa?”
“Yes. She’s been Larissa for the entire five months that we’ve lived together. Why are you particularly mad at her now?”
Cadence glanced around. “Well…okay, I didn’t know if I should tell you this or not. The other day I got out of work early. I went to this park on the north side of town to do some sketching, and I saw Larissa there…with Ronald. Your Ronald.”
Ronald was the jerk who’d dated her for several weeks and then told her he wanted to have sex with her because he’d never been with a heavy woman before.
/> “Don’t call him my Ronald,” Daisy said with a shudder. “Wow. Ronald. Are you sure?”
“Totally sure,” Cadence said. “They were standing by a tree, talking to each other. It was getting pretty intense.”
Daisy winced. “Well…I mean, it’s not like I ever wanted to see him again. I guess I can’t be annoyed about the two of them getting together. Nauseated, yes. Annoyed, no.”
“But he was a total douchenozzle to you,” Cadence said indignantly. “She’s being a really suck friend if she’s associating with him.”
“Yeah, I mean…it’s kind of a jerk move on her part. But you guys are basically stuck living together until the lease is up, so I’d hate to see you both be miserable,” Daisy said.
“Don’t worry about me,” Cadence said with a shrug. “I just ignore her. So, what about you and Ryker? Have you decided if you want to make the mating permanent?”
“Permanent?” Daisy said, startled. “I…honestly, I don’t know. Maybe that’s not what he’d want.”
“Stop selling yourself short,” Cadence said. “He’d be lucky to have you.”
“That’s what my aunt says,” Daisy mused.
“She has the wisdoms. Listen to her,” Cadence advised.
She glanced over at the table – to see that Larissa had left and was heading for the door, and Ryker was fending off autograph seekers..
“Well, now the night’s looking up,” Cadence said cheerfully.
* * * * *
“So your idea of a good time is…painting the kitchen walls?” Ryker said doubtfully.
There was a patch of peeling paint on the wall by the refrigerator that had been driving Daisy crazy.
The truth was, however, the real reason that she wanted to paint was to distract herself. She was petrified of making a fool of herself with Ryker. She was mildly tipsy from the margaritas, and the more she got to know Ryker, the more attracted to him she was, but he still had her completely confused.
He hadn’t said anything about wanting her to stay there for good. And she couldn’t forget when they’d been interrupted kissing – and he’d declined to kiss her again afterwards.
The Mating Game: Big Bad Wolf Page 8
