by Maddy Barone
Chapter 11
For the second day in a row Rose got up late. She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower and then hurried downstairs to the dining room. “Sorry I’m late again.”
Sky stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “Good morning, love.”
“Uh.” Even his most casual touch made her heart jump. “What are your plans for today?”
He glanced at the dozen other people at the table, all of whom, Rose noticed, were watching them avidly, before smiling down at her again. It was a nice smile, small but white, and his dimple flared. That dimple got her every time. “I have a lot of paperwork to catch up with this morning, but after lunch let’s go for a walk. Just me and you.”
Her heart jumped. “Okay.”
He brushed another kiss over her lips and led her to the foot of the table. “Eat, love.”
Rose ate. The food was as good here as at the den, but the company wasn’t as nice. Not all of it at least. Ms. Mary sat at her right hand and Paint at her left, but she couldn’t help but watch Sky. They were too far apart to chat, but Rose noticed the two girls on either side of him were chatting up a storm, and he chatted right back. Refusing to scowl, she shrugged her shoulders, and went back to her eggs.
“Pay them no attention,” Ms. Mary told her. “Tanya and Zoe were both sure Sky was in love with them. I can’t tell you how many times Zoe tried to get Sky to kiss her.”
“Really.” Rose darted a glance at Sky at the opposite end of the table. He must have heard every word, although he acted like he hadn’t, concentrating on buttering his toast. “Which one is Zoe?”
“The skinny redhead with no boobs.”
Rose threw a startled grin at Ms. Mary, who threw a surprisingly youthful grin back.
“You don’t need to worry about Zoe stealing your man,” she told Rose. “Sky has been up front from the first day he came here. Everyone knew he had a fiancée at home. Those girls just can’t take a hint.”
Rose sniffed in exaggerated prissiness. “Sky would never be unfaithful to me.”
His wolf wouldn’t let him. She remembered that day at the den while they weeded the pumpkin patch. He had told her then his wolf wouldn’t accept anyone else, and she was the only one he wanted. She looked down the table and their gazes met. He was thinking of it too, she was sure.
He laid his napkin on the table and stood up, smiling at her. “I’ll see you at lunch, my dear.”
Rose didn’t watch him leave and ignored her flicker of anticipation to turn to Stone. “Are you going to see Sara this morning? Would you like me to come with you?”
He shook his head and swallowed potatoes. “I’m going later, around supper. She should be home then.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Ms. Mary wished her a good morning and left the table.
Paint watched her leave with a small frown. “Ms. Mary means well, but I think you should sit closer to Sky. Are you jealous of those girls?”
“Of course not,” Rose said with a sniff.
“Good. You don’t need to be. Tomorrow get to breakfast earlier, and sit next to your mate.”
“Maybe I will.” She didn’t want to look too eager. On the other hand, the redhead with no boobs had to back off. Rose felt uncomfortably territorial when it came to Sky.
Rose finished her breakfast and gathered her dishes to carry to the kitchen. It was a busy place. Under Kim’s direction, she made breakfast trays for the businesswomen and was about to help carry them upstairs, but the cook, horrified, said Sky’s wife wasn’t a serving girl.
Rose shrugged. Her life at the den might not be very exciting, but she had a routine, and the people there appreciated what she did. What did she have to do here? Nothing. At least not until Cayla woke up and they could go to the library. She wanted to keep busy, so she joined Katelyn, Susan, and Rita in the kitchen clean up. Susan liked to talk, and she gladly answered Rose’s questions about everyone at The Limit. After an hour, Rose hung up her damp dishtowel with a shake of her head. Sky was a major employer. He had forty-four employees who depended on him for their jobs. It surprised her, although perhaps it shouldn’t have. He was an alpha, and an alpha needed a Pack. He hired as many women as he could afford in order to spare them from having to sell their bodies.
She followed Katelyn to the reception rooms, carrying a dust rag. Katelyn mumbled an introduction to the two women already working on dusting and sweeping. Karen and Heather appeared friendly, and if they thought it was strange that the boss’s wife helped clean, they didn’t say so. They took one of the double reception rooms and left Rose and Katelyn to dust the other. Rose looked up at the huge chandelier two stories above.
“I bet you don’t dust that very often,” she remarked to Katelyn, who just smiled and shook her head.
There were plenty of other things within easy reach though, so while Katelyn dusted the little knick knacks on the mantel, Rose started on the gorgeous piano. She was humming something from the Times Before when Sky strode in. His hair stood up in tufts, as if he had tugged on it. Rose stared at the set expression on his flushed face.
“Sky? What’s wrong?”
She watched Sky’s perfectly manicured hands curl into fists at his sides. A low growling sound raised her fascinated gaze to the muscle bunching along his jaw as he clenched it. He certainly was handsome when he was enraged. She couldn’t help smiling.
Probably because they had an audience only a few yards away, his voice was soft. “I won’t stand for this.”
She stared. He had been so nice this morning, and now he was angry with her? “What’s got your panties in a twist?”
For a moment she thought he wouldn’t answer. “That damn cat of yours. He shed on my office chair. You put him on there on purpose.”
Her mouth dropped open, and then snapped shut. “No, I didn’t. Maybe she just likes your office. I bet it’s sunny and warm.” Rose noticed Katelyn edge toward the door while Karen and Heather came closer. Sky’s next words made her forget the other women.
“If you don’t keep it out of my office, I’m going to kill it.”
Rose swirled into protective fury. “You lay one finger on Mitzi and I’ll neuter you. What has she ever done to you?”
“Besides shred my hands, pee on my rug, and destroy my house? This!”
He turned and flipped the hem of his suit coat up to show her his rear end. It was a fine rear end, and Rose admired the way the tropical weight wool trousers clung to the hard curve of his ass until she noticed the wool was liberally festooned with brown and black cat hair. The little needle of guilt turned into a dagger, but she wouldn’t show it.
“You have a very nice ass,” she told him, “but do you need to show it off like that?”
He whirled back, eyes dark with fury. His hand clenched on her wrist with enough force to be almost painful. She glared pointedly at her wrist. He released her at once. Mollified, she said, “I really am sorry. She’s still nervous over the move, so she’s shedding a lot right now.”
He brushed futilely at his rear end. She lifted her rag, imagining rubbing the cotton over the tight muscles under the trousers. Her mouth went dry. “Should I clean it off?”
He stepped back. “No. Just keep that damn cat off my chair.”
“How can I do that?”
“I don’t care, just do it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe you should keep your office door closed.”
“Then it cries until I let it in. I knew bringing that cat was a mistake.”
She squeezed the rag in one hand and imagined it was Sky’s throat. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”
Sky stepped so close she could feel his breath on her face. His scent flooded her nostrils in a knee-melting rush. “What do I want from you?” he murmured in a very different tone, as if he’d never been angry. His scent almost made her forget he’d threatened her pet. “Many things, most of which would make you blush for a
week, mate.”
Rose was pretty sure the others could hear every word. The heat of a blush—without even hearing exactly what he wanted from her—surged over her face. “Besides that,” she snapped. “Seriously? One minute you’re going to kill my cat, and the next you’re…” She waved her hands, rag flapping, and drew a calming breath. “Look, Sky, I’m sorry about Mitzi. Are you sure she peed on your rug?”
“I can smell it.” He drew a breath too, looking almost pained. “I’m sorry, too. Let’s not fight. We’ll talk about it this afternoon.” He brushed a finger over her cheek. “Really, I’m sorry.”
She sighed. How could she stay angry when his face looked genuinely remorseful? “Okay.”
After he left, with his butt still tweedy with Mitzi’s hair, the other women came forward. Heather giggled. “My. He was pissed.”
Katelyn didn’t say anything, just looked terrified. Karen fanned herself. “That man has the finest ass in town. I wouldn’t mind licking the cat hair off h—” She broke off with a guilty look at Rose. “Sorry.”
“No problem. I know exactly what you mean.”
All of them giggled then, even Katelyn, who still looked a little scared. Rose put a hand on her arm. “Katelyn, don’t be nervous. Sky might get mad, but he’d never hurt you. He’d never let anyone else hurt you either. And Paint wants to be your friend.”
Katelyn seemed to have trouble meeting her gaze. She stared at her mouth instead of meeting her eyes. “Okay,” she mumbled and went back to the mantel to dust.
When they finished with the reception rooms, Rose climbed the elegant staircase to the second floor and walked slowly around, reading the name plates on the doors. The door marked Cayla opened, and the tall businesswoman stepped out.
“Oh, hi, Rose. What are you doing up here?”
Rose shrugged. “Just looking around. I don’t have anything to do.”
Cayla laughed. “You can help me change my bed.”
Rose shrugged again. “Sure.”
But instead of going back into her room, Cayla walked along the railing that guarded against a fall to the reception rooms below to the closet in the corner. She pulled out two thin mattresses and gave one to Rose to carry.
Rose took it and followed her back to her room. At nearly six feet tall Cayla had no trouble carrying it. Rose, five inches shorter, had to be careful not to let the bottom edge drag. “What are these?”
“Mattress toppers.” Cayla dropped hers on the unmade bed, and took Rose’s and put it behind a partition. “Do you think I’m going to sleep on the same mattress I do business on? Yuck.”
Rose tried to pretend she wasn’t uncomfortable. “You have two?”
Cayla nodded and bent over the bed to straighten the topper. “One for each appointment. I change them and the sheets between appointments. Then at the end of the night I put them in the dirty linen closet for Patty and Debbie to wash.”
“They wash the toppers too?”
“Uh-huh. Hand me that sheet.”
Rose looked around and found a pile of cotton draped over a vanity chair. “That must make for a lot of laundry.”
“Yeah, those girls in the laundry room downstairs earn their pay, that’s for sure.” Cayla deftly tucked in the sheet and waited for Rose to finish her hospital fold. “Heck, I’d pay them myself if I had to. It would be worth it to sleep on clean sheets every night. I don’t know how you married people do it.”
Rose stiffened while handing the second sheet over. “Do what?”
“Sleep on wet sheets. Sex is messy. Does Sky make you sleep on the wet spot, or does he…” She trailed off, staring. “My God, your face looks like you’ve got the worst sunburn I’ve ever seen. Did I say something to embarrass you? You’re newlyweds, but at your age you couldn’t have been a virgin?”
Rose coughed, trying to force her blush to subside. “Well, um, actually, Sky and I were, um, engaged since I was sixteen and he was seventeen. So I never, uh…”
Cayla dropped the edge of the sheet to stare. “Never?”
Rose tried to imagine finding the place and opportunity to lose her virginity while living at the den. Nope, not possible. “Never.”
“Oh, my God.” Cayla finished tucking in the top sheet and, to Rose’s infinite relief, changed the subject. “Did you start that book yet?”
“I stayed up late last night and finished it.”
“Really? Groovy. Would you like to borrow another one?”
After they finished making the bed, Cayla led her behind the partition to a bookcase that held at least fifty books. In this day and age, it was practically a library. After some scanning, Rose selected a romance, thanked Cayla and carried it downstairs, through the kitchen and mudroom and up to her room. She placed it on her bedside table and heard a noise out in the hall.
Sky stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame with his suit coat hanging over his shoulder from the hook of his thumb. Rose became acutely conscious of two things: he was sex in a suit, and her unmade bed looked like they’d spent the night rolling around in it.
Geez, why did just looking at him make her think of sex?
“Hi.” She coughed to clear the husky note from her voice. “I guess I was in too much of a hurry this morning to make my bed.”
His gaze was a caress she could almost feel. He looked from her to the rumpled bed and his lids fell to half mast as he inhaled. Rose froze. She’d seen Taye do that exact same thing and then he and Carla would disappear into their room for an hour. Her mouth seemed suddenly dry and she resisted the urge to lick her lips.
“It must be time for lunch, right?” The words came out almost normally. She took a step toward the door, but he didn’t move. “Sky?”
“Yeah.” It cheered her to hear that his voice was a little hoarse. He stood up from his lean against the door. “After you.”
“No, I can’t see anything in the dark, so you go first.”
He stopped. “You can’t see the steps,” he said slowly, his eyes losing their sexy, smoldering look and focusing on her. “You could trip and hurt yourself.” His brows drew together in thought. “Wiring the backstairs and the passages for electric light would be too expensive. I’ll get you a closed lamp. That’s what Ms. Mary used. Sorry I forgot about that.”
He swung into his suit coat. Smoothing the lapels into place, he turned to the stairs. “Stay close behind me, love.”
She decided she liked him calling her “love” far more than “princess” or “my dear.” She would tell him so this afternoon while they strolled at the park and talked. She followed him to the steps. Before the darkness cut off her sight, she noticed the seat of his pants was clean of cat hair. She would have to try to find a way to keep Mitzi out of his office.
The dining room table had been extended for lunch and nearly all twenty seats were filled. Sky held her hand and introduced the business women. She knew Cayla and Tasha, but Cheri, Michelle, Berniece, Aimee, Camille, and Tamar were new faces to her. He introduced Jocelyn, who played piano for the evening entertainment, and Dana, the bartender. Rose was sure she’d never remember which name went with which face, so she just smiled and said appropriately polite things.
Lunch was simple and filling, potato soup thickened with corn and chunks of ham, with sliced apples and cheese. At the foot of the table, Rose made conversation with Ms. Mary and Tasha while sneaking peeks at Sky at the far end of the table. Every now and then their eyes would meet, and heat would bloom in her. He was so good-looking. Would he sneak a kiss during their walk? Maybe he would, but why should she wait for him? She could steal a kiss from him first. There was discussion of who would go in the carriage this afternoon. Ms. Mary explained that twice a week Sam Hudd, their driver, would drive the carriage around Omaha with four of the businesswomen dressed in their best clothes as a sort of living advertisement for The Limit. Today it would be Camille, Berniece, Cayla, and Aimee. As they ate, the four laughed and discussed what they would wear as if they were going to be waving f
rom a float in a parade. Rose only half-listened, focusing instead on spooning up soup. It seemed like the girls here liked what they did for a living, and Rose just couldn’t understand that.
Joe came to the table and leaned over to whisper in Sky’s ear. Sky nodded, face showing nothing, and looked down the long table at her. He nodded again, and Joe nodded back before going to stand at the door. Rose watched while Sky wiped his mouth with his napkin and then left his place to come to her.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I have to postpone our afternoon.”
“Oh.” A surprising amount of disappointment surged in Rose. No kiss stealing this afternoon. She smiled up at him. “Something came up?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
He bent to kiss her cheek and Rose allowed it. His kisses at the table were cool pecks, but she couldn’t help remembering the hot kiss he’d given her in the mayor’s car. Remembering and wondering. If only a kiss like that wouldn’t end up with them mated.
Oh well, at least she had a book to read this afternoon, and tomorrow she would go to the library. How much more excitement could a girl ask for?
Chapter 12
At five o’clock, Stone looked into the kitchen. It was full of chattering women working to prepare the hors d’oeuvres for this evening’s guests. Rose was among them, seemingly comfortable and content. When she looked up and saw him, he gave her a quick smile.
“Stone, you are going to be late,” she exclaimed. “I thought you were supposed to be at Sara’s house by now.”
He raised a hand. “I’m leaving. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“I want a report.”
He grunted. “Maybe.”
He loved Rose, but she wanted to manage everything for him. Too many people fussed over him, just because he didn’t make them laugh all the time anymore. They needed to realize he had grown up.
As he walked to the lower side of town where his mate lived, he reflected on Rose. He didn’t think she and Sky had spent very much time together. She seemed to spend more of her time reading and cleaning than anything else. He wondered how she felt about that. Sky was supposed to be courting her, but the City Council vote ate up his time. Poor Rose.
