by Maddy Barone
His eyes flicked down, then up, the briefest flash of some sharp emotion showing before his face went smooth again. Shame? “Okay, no more kissing until you ask me to kiss you.”
“You won’t grab me in my sleep?”
His lip worked as if suppressing a smile. “Not intentionally. I can’t be responsible for what I do in my sleep, but I won’t touch you unless you ask.”
Rose thought about it, weighing the chance to get to know him better and spending time with him against her fear that sleeping beside him would push her into making a decision before she was ready. She compared the lovely pink room behind them to his stark masculine one on the other side of the hall. In her room she had privacy and a pretty bed to herself. Could she sleep next to him without escalating their relationship? She slanted a glance at Sky’s waiting face. Was he a blanket hog? She blew out a long breath. She would find out.
“Okay, we’ll try it. But the first time you do something I don’t like, I’m moving back across the hall.”
“Good,” he said. “I’ll go clean out a few dresser drawers and you can bring your things into my room.”
It didn’t take many trips for Rose to empty her dresser and closet. She stood in Sky’s room looking at her blouses hanging next to his dress shirts. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she wasn’t used to seeing men’s dress shirts since none of the men at the den wore shirts at all, or if it was the intimacy of seeing her clothing hanging next to Sky’s, but it gave her a strange thrill. Sky stood beside her practically oozing male satisfaction as he looked at the closet, too.
“I need to go back downstairs and mingle with our guests,” he said, reluctance plain on his face.
She nodded briskly. “I guess I’ll read for a little bit. That’s what I usually do before bed. What time do you think you’ll be up?”
When he turned to her there was a hint of honest happiness in his expression. “About three hours,” he said softly. Happiness was joined by tenderness. “You don’t need to wait up for me. I’ll wake you if you’re asleep so we can talk for a bit tonight.” He leaned toward her as if to kiss her, but he must have remembered his promise because he straightened, gave her a smile, and walked to the door. “Good night for now.”
Rose looked from the closed door to sweep her gaze around the room. Her stomach quivered. She was in Sky’s room. This was his personal space and she felt like an invader. No, she wasn’t an invader. She was an invited guest. Or maybe something more than a guest. Her hands twisted around each other as she looked at the bed. It wasn’t as wide as the one in the pink room, but two people would fit in it.
What would they talk about? She still hadn’t thanked him for the lamp, and she should tell him about what the mayor had said that afternoon. Did he know that Paint was drawn to Katelyn? He should tell her how his efforts for the vote were going.
Feeling horribly like a nervous bride on her wedding night, she pulled a clean nightgown out of the dresser drawer and carried it across the hall to the bathroom. She needed a shower to get rid of the scent of smoke and booze from the reception rooms that saturated her hair. Then she would plump up a pillow and start one of the books she’d picked up that morning at the library. That would keep her awake until Sky returned. She didn’t want him to find her asleep and vulnerable.
*
It was nearly four hours later when Sky went upstairs to join his mate. Instead of the usual weary frustration dragging his feet when he climbed the stairs, tonight he bounced up the steps, eager to see his mate in his bed. Her scent would be on his sheets and pillows. She would be there to welcome him. He would inhale the scent of her hair and savor the warmth of her body beside his.
A thin line of light showed under the closed door. He took a deep breath and turned the knob. When he stepped inside his bedroom he looked immediately at the bed. The glow of the lamp made Rose’s blonde hair look more yellow. She was curled on her side, propped up by pillows in pink cases which she must have brought from the other room. Her head was bent over an open book and it took him a moment to realize she had fallen asleep while reading.
“Rose,” he whispered.
She didn’t stir. He approached the bed and put light fingers on her hair. The book slid out of her limp grasp and fluttered shut on the bed beside her, but she didn’t waken. Some of his excitement ebbed away, but seeing her sleeping so soundly in his bed gave him a sense of satisfaction. He could shake her awake, but he didn’t want to. She was so beautiful, so infinitely precious, that the heat of tears stung his eyes. He blinked them back, drinking in the lovely sight of her in his bed. He wished he could make her understand how much he wanted her. Not just sexually, although the sight of her in his bed was doing interesting things to his body. No, just having her close made his wolf happy. And it made him happy, too.
He picked up the book and put it on the bedside table. With careful hands he removed some of her pillows and tossed them on the floor before arranging her on one side of the bed. He waited for her to wake up, but aside from humming a little and opening and closing her mouth like a fish a few times, she slumbered peacefully on. He cursed himself when he caught sight of her long pale legs under the hem of her night shirt. The fit of his pants was already uncomfortable; looking at his mate seemed to make them shrink. He pulled the blanket up to her chin out of self preservation.
He turned off the light before getting undressed. She didn’t want him to kiss her without her invitation, so he doubted she would appreciate the sight of his cock standing straight. He even considered wearing something to bed, but he had nothing that would work as pajamas. So he went commando as usual when he lifted the blankets and slid in beside her.
A quiet joy rose in him when he breathed in her scent and felt the warmth of her breath on his shoulder. Eight years of dreaming and longing were forgotten in a moment.
She shifted an inch closer to him and gave a low, lady-like grunt.
“Rose?”
“Thank you for the lamp,” she mumbled.
At least, he thought that was what she said. He leaned up on one elbow to look at her. She appeared to be still sleeping. “You’re welcome.”
“The mayor doesn’t like you. Said he shoulda gotten rid of you a long time ago.”
“I know,” he responded, staring down at her closed eyes and relaxed face. “Rose? Are you awake?”
“Mmm,” she said, flopping a heavy hand onto his breast.
He froze. His erection, which had begun to subside, roared back to life. She was soundly asleep, but even asleep her touch affected him. For a second, he regretted insisting she share his bed. No, he didn’t regret it. It might drive him half crazy, but sleeping beside her was worth it. He would tempt her and tease her and show her how much he valued her, until she accepted his mate claim. Then they would do more than just slee—
A tiny sound jerked his head toward the door, his body tensing for an attack.
Low to the floor, two green orbs glimmered. A sniff confirmed what Sky suspected. That damn cat jumped up to the bed, glared at him for a long challenging minute, then sauntered over to Rose’s ankles before turning in a circle three times. Mitzi plopped her overfed self down, shot one leg up in the air and began to thoroughly wash her lady parts. She paused to sneer at Sky, and then, supremely blasé, went back to her bath.
Sky laid his head back on the pillow, swearing to firmly shut the door tomorrow night. Hell, he’d damned well lock it. Then, to calm himself, he took in a deep breath tinged with his mate’s scent, and fell asleep.
Chapter 15
Something woke Rose. Was it the bed shifting? Or did something touch her forehead? She dragged herself out of the depths of slumber and opened her eyes just in time to see Sky’s bare back disappearing into the bathroom across the hall. Her eyes popped wide. She stared at the closed bathroom door for a long moment while her brain tried to process what she had just seen.
She heard the shower come on, and her mind caught up with her eyes. Not only had his b
ack been bare, but all of him had been bare. The high round curve of his butt was all she could see now. It was imprinted on her retinas. Every time she blinked, she saw it again. Good grief, she said to herself. It’s not the first bare behind you’ve ever seen. The men at the den wore clothing because Carla ordered it, but they were casual about nudity. Every day she had seen one or more of the men naked as they changed from wolf to man or from man to wolf. It wasn’t a lack of modesty on their part, they just didn’t consider nudity to be shameful.
She shook off the memory of tight muscles rolling in his butt as he walked. A pile of clothing had been draped over his arm. He would be dressing in the bathroom. Did she have time to dress before he came back? She flung the covers off and sat up but she heard the shower turn off. How long would it take him to get dressed? Not very long, she guessed. She pulled the covers back up and lay down waiting to see the bathroom door open.
Last night…She had slept in his bed last night. She was supposed to stay up so they could talk. She must’ve fallen asleep waiting for him, and he hadn’t woken her. She didn’t remember him coming in. Darn it, she had slept with him and couldn’t remember a minute of it.
It was only a few minutes later that Sky came back, a towel around his neck and his pants pulled up and zipped but not buttoned. His hair gleamed with moisture. Rose stared, riveted, at the bead of water that rolled down over the taut curve of his pectoral muscle until he blotted it with the end of his towel. She jerked her eyes back up to his face when he spoke.
“You’re awake,” he said with smile. “I’ve never seen anyone sleep so soundly.”
The sheet was wadded in her hand. “I’m sorry. I meant to stay awake until you came up. I guess I fell asleep.”
There was something in his smile, something teasing but also tender. “That’s all right. You must’ve needed your sleep.” He dropped the towel on the back of the wooden chair as he strolled to the closet. “I liked watching you sleep,” he said over his shoulder as he grabbed the shirt.
“You watched me?” Rose felt oddly naked even though she wore her nightgown and was covered by a sheet and a blanket. “Did you do anything else?”
Standing with his back toward her, he slipped the shirt on and buttoned it before opening his pants and tucking in the tails. “Like what?” The buckle of his narrow belt jingled faintly as he zipped and buttoned his pants. With a few movements he cinched the belt closed around his narrow waist. He turned and came back to the bed with one eyebrow raised. “Like kissing you? No, I didn’t do anything except watch you sleep. Well, this morning I did touch your forehead. Your hair was hanging in your face so I moved it.”
Rose watched him as he sat in the chair to pull socks on and step into leather dress shoes. He deftly knotted a tie around his neck and adjusted the collar before returning to the closet to shrug into a coat. It occurred to her that she had never watched a man dress. She didn’t count the men at the den who stepped into sweat pants or shorts in front of her from time to time. Laying here in Sky’s bed and watching him transform from a half-naked sex god into a well-dressed businessman gave her a feeling of ownership. This was Sky. She had the right to watch him dress. He was her husband. Sort of.
Fully dressed, he went to the door and smiled at her. “I’ll leave you so you can get dressed. I’ll see you downstairs at breakfast.”
As soon as she was sure he had gone down the steps, she got out of bed and tiptoed across the hall to the bathroom. It was still steamy from his shower, and the smell of his soap lingered in the air. The sense of possession inside her grew stronger. She brushed her teeth quickly and went back to his bedroom…no, their bedroom, to dress. She couldn’t remember which drawer held her clothes so she opened one at random.
She stared, struck by a sense of recognition, at the colorful hand-knit wool socks in the drawer. She had knit those socks. She lifted a pair and examined them. There was no sign of wear on them. Had he ever worn them? Each year she spent hours knitting him a pair of socks, and sent them to him for Christmas. She always sent a letter with them, telling him about people in the Pack and what everyone had been up to that year. And he had folded those socks up and put them in his drawer without ever wearing them?
Under the socks was paper. No, envelopes. She pulled one out and recognized her own handwriting. She looked in the drawer again and saw that there were dozens of letters, all from her. Unlike the socks, the edges of the envelopes were worn almost fuzzy.
She put the envelope and the socks back in the drawer and closed it. It appeared he read her letters. He didn’t wear the socks she made for him, but he read her letters. The hurt that crept in at the sight of the pristine socks eased a little when she touched the worn out edge of one envelope. Maybe he read them a lot.
She fumbled through the drawers until she found her clothing and dressed in jeans and a sweater.
The kitchen was as busy as usual when Rose passed through. Katelyn was bent over a frying pan in the sink, scrubbing vigorously. Rose called out, “Good morning, Katelyn!” But the other woman didn’t seem to hear her, so Rose took the platter of sausages and carried it with her into the dining room.
Sky sat at the head of the table with Zoe on his right and Tanya on his left. Tanya was leaning so close to him she was all but in his lap. Rose’s foot faltered for a split second as she fought the urge to decorate Tanya’s hair with greasy sausages, but she continued on to the buffet and added the sausages to the display. She shoveled oatmeal grimly into a bowl and turned to survey the dining room table. The chair at the foot of the table was empty. Ms. Mary leaned back in the chair on the right, sipping coffee. Stone, Snow, and Paint were on the left near the foot of the table. The seat beside Zoe was empty. Okay, she’d take that one. She was two feet from the chair when she stopped dead. Incredulity soared as she watched Zoe try to offer Sky a bite of her bacon. And her disgustingly bare cleavage seemed to be part of the offer too.
That was enough. Sky was hers, not that sluttish little twit’s. Rose walked to Ms. Mary’s place, picked up her plate and put it at the foot of the table. “Ms. Mary, I know that you want to be polite to me, but this is your place. You’ve run this house for years. You should sit here.”
Ms. Mary’s mouth curved into a small smile. “Thank you, dear.”
As Rose carried her bowl of oatmeal to the head of the table she heard Paint murmur, “Uh-oh.”
She took Zoe’s plate and shoved it two seats down the table. She replaced it with her bowl of oatmeal. The crockery hit the table with the solid satisfying thump. “You.” She jerked a thumb at Zoe, and then glared at Tanya. “From now on, you’ll be sitting at the other end of the table by Ms. Mary.”
Tanya’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly. “What? Why?”
“I don’t think you need to be sitting quite so close to my husband. In fact, I don’t think you should be sitting close to him at all. Move.”
Zoe made the mistake of sneering at Rose. “This is my seat. It’s always been my seat. I’m not going to move just because—”
Rose took hold of the girl’s ear. “Move it or lose it,” she barked.
An angry red flush rose to Zoe’s cheeks. “I don’t think—”
“Obviously. I’ll make it simple for you.” Still gripping the ear, she pointed at Sky. “Mine.” She pointed at the chair Zoe was still sitting in. “Mine,” she said again. “Move it. Or I’ll find out just how easy it is to tear your earlobe when I jerk this earring out of it.”
Tanya stood up, outraged. “You can’t do that.”
Rose rolled her eyes and caught the small smirk Sky tried to hide behind the Omaha Herald. “Look, you don’t know me, and I’ve been pretty careful not to rock the boat since I’ve come here. That was a mistake, because it looks like you think you can get away with these games. But I’m telling you now, I don’t like seeing other women crawling over my husband. Do it again and I’ll hurt you.”
“Ha.” Zoe swatted at Rose’s hand, trying to get her to let go of
her ear. “As if you could.”
Rose had a lot of suppressed resentment boiling to get out, and this stupid little twit had just lifted the lid. She had no idea that Rose had spent eight years being trained to fight by a pack of wolf shifters. A sharp twist of her wrist bent Zoe’s ear. The girl half rose from her chair, shrieking with pain, and Rose ruined her oatmeal by slamming the girl’s face into the bowl.
Rose leaned down to put her mouth close to Zoe’s ear. “Shut up. Go to your dorm room and wash your face. The next time you come into this dining room, you sit by Ms. Mary.” She glared across the table at Tanya’s shocked face. “You go with her.”
Tanya’s eyes were almost perfect circles. “But…I haven’t finished eating.”
“I don’t care. Get out.”
Rose felt tremendous satisfaction watching them scurry out. She went back to the buffet, filled a plate, and took it back to her new seat on Sky’s right. He continued eating and reading the paper as if nothing had happened, but she saw traces of his smirk lingering around his mouth. Her eyes narrowed. That jerk was enjoying this.
“Oh, dear,” said Ms. Mary mildly. “I hope you didn’t blacken her eye. We want our girls to look their best for our guests.”
Sky leisurely turned a page in his paper. “I don’t think any lasting damage was done. Zoe knows how to make up her face to hide any bruising.”
Paint lifted his coffee cup in Rose’s direction. “What are the Lupa’s plans today?”
Rose cut into a fluffy pancake. “I’d like to meet Sara. Stone, are you going to see her today?”
Stone nodded. “I’m going to meet her at the hospital for lunch. Do you want to come?”
Good. That would give her a chance to talk to Katelyn about Paint this morning. Rose nodded. “Yes, I would.”
After a few minutes, Sky tilted his newspaper down to raise one eyebrow at her. His smile made her stare. It wasn’t a smirk. It wasn’t condescending or sarcastic or even teasing. It was…approving. Proud? She smiled back and applied herself to the rest of her plate. Breakfast never tasted so good.
