by Maddy Barone
“Tell me the truth, Taye, how bad is it?”
He was sitting naked on the closed toilet seat with a hand towel barely covering his nakedness. “Well,” he said in a voice held tight against the pain. “It’s bad, but not so bad that I don’t notice the brush of your hair on my … Never mind. Wolves heal fast. I think three days and I’ll be 100 percent. Thanks for playing along in the dining room. It’s our nature to take advantage of weakness. I don’t really want to fight another challenge. If you don’t mind, we’ll keep it up a few days so I can rest up and heal. The boys will think we’re having our honeymoon.”
“But…” Carla hesitated. “Pete. How did Pete know we hadn’t…”
“He could smell it,” Taye replied matter-of-factly. “Wolves can smell that.”
“Oh.” Carla’s voice was very small. “Then won’t the others know too? That we haven’t, um.”
Taye shook his head tiredly. “We’ll figure it out. Can you help me to the bed?”
Carla obligingly propped her shoulder under his and politely didn’t look as the towel slipped off his hips. She let him ease onto the bed and covered him with the blankets, and stood uncertainly by the bed, squeezing her fingers over and over. She couldn’t look at Taye. “I wonder … maybe … I mean, you know. Maybe we should—” She waved her hand nervously. “—you know.”
Taye’s dark eyes blinked sleepily up at her. “Hm?”
Carla took a breath and blurted it out. “Um. We should have sex. So nobody else will challenge you.”
She finally peeked at him to find him frowning up at her. “Carla, do you want to have sex with me? Really?”
Her hands waved nervously again. “Well…”
He cut her off with a weary shake of his head. “That’s a no. Even if I wasn’t as weak as mauled five-day-old kitten I wouldn’t take you up on that. Not until you’re absolutely sure that you want me. We’ll talk about it again when I’m stronger.”
“Oh. Okay.” Why didn’t she feel more relieved by his refusal? Disappointment was not the right emotion to be feeling right now.
“Your clothes are all bloody,” he murmured, on the edge of sleep. “Go wash up and put on one of my shirts from the drawer there. Then come lie down with me.”
She was glad he was going to be okay. She was really glad Pete hadn’t killed him. And she was glad he had refused her half-hearted offer of sex. Of course she was. Very glad. She stripped off her bloodstained shirt and jeans and washed before putting on a thick white T-shirt that came down to her thighs. It looked like the fabric was a very fine hand-knit. Did they have the machinery to make knit fabric these days? Someone had spent hours knitting this shirt. Careful not to jar him or even touch him, she lay close to the edge of the bed. But he tugged on her braid until she scooted closer to him. Half an hour later Carla drifted into sleep, warm for the first time since she’d gotten out of bed that morning.
Chapter Five
Carla woke feeling almost too warm. Taye was like a human space heater. She looked over her shoulder at him and saw that he was still deeply asleep. Good. He probably needed all the sleep he could get. Maybe she should lie back down too. But the sun was coming thru a little gap in the curtains, and she had a snatch of a melody running through her mind, with a few words. She had learned a long time ago that when an idea for a song poked at her it was best to pay attention. The title for the song was already set in her mind: “Sleeping With The Wolf.” She carefully eased out from under Taye’s arm and tucked the covers back around him.
It was warmer than it had been this morning, but still chilly for wearing only a T-shirt. The blanket Taye had wrapped around her before they went to breakfast was draped over one of the chairs at the table. A really thick robe and big fuzzy slippers would be nice. She picked up the blanket and put it around her shoulders before getting her purse and digging inside for her notebook and pen. It took a while to find what she wanted, since she had just about everything in her bag including her knitting. She paused to wonder where she could get more yarn. Wool socks would be nice to have this winter. She got her notebook and settled down in the chair where the sun was streaming and began to play with the song in her head.
*
Taye woke a while later, feeling the pain of his wounds and the loss of Carla’s warmth. He saw her right away, though, sitting in a beam of sunlight. The room seemed warm to him, but she had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and tucked under her crossed legs. Her hair was loose down her back, soaking up the sun. She was humming softly and writing in a book. She would hum the same thing over and over, then pause to write in her book, then sing a little under her breath.
One bright morning got on a plane,
That’s the day the world ended.
Feels like I’ve gone insane,
My world can’t be mended.
*
The wolf chose me,
But I’m not sleeping with the wolf.
The wolf won me,
But I’m not sleeping with the wolf.
The wolf saved me,
Should I be sleeping with the wolf?
If he loves me,
Then I’ll love him,
And I’ll be sleeping with the wolf.
*
The plane went down in a field,
Of grass and death and dying.
My walk for help my fate sealed,
I was fooled by farmers lying.
Hmmm hmmm…
Taye let her low voice seep through him. It soothed him almost as much as her scent lingering on the pillow beside him. “If he loves me, then I’ll love him…” Would she love him? He loved her. She was his mate. She was the most valuable person in his world. Her sadness and her fear tore him up inside worse than anything Pete’s teeth and claws had done to his body. Alpha wolves were generally domineering even with their mates. Most would have demanded sex last night, or at least coaxed for it. But he simply hadn’t been able to do that to her. He had fallen in love with her at first sight. Had he told her he loved her, would she have believed him? Probably not. His mate was prickly. He had to show her he loved her. Right now she didn’t look sad or frightened. She was focused on something he wasn’t part of. She put down her pen and book and held her hands strangely, still humming, like she was … playing a guitar. Sure, she was making music. He could get her a guitar. Dane Overdahl collected all kinds of stuff from the Times Before. So did Mr. Gray down at the library. Maybe they could make a trade.
A knock sounded on the door. Carla jumped, but Taye knew it was Des. “Let him in,” he said.
Carla’s looked at him questioningly.
“It’s Des.” Taye pulled himself up carefully to sit with his back against the headboard fastened to the wall. The wound on the back of his shoulder protested slightly. “Let him in.”
Carla arranged the blanket so it covered more of her and went to the door. Humans had a positive fetish about covering their bodies. It would be a shock to Carla when she realized that the Pack mostly went naked inside the den. His mother had commanded that they all wear at least some clothing in the den. Would Carla also command that?
Des stepped in, giving Carla a polite head dip before grabbing a chair and putting it by the bed and slouching in it. “Hey, Chief.” He sniffed the air. “You okay? Not up to mating yet?”
Taye watched his mate’s cheeks flush with color. “Doing pretty good, Des, but some things shouldn’t be rushed.”
“Ah.” Des nodded wisely. “Take your word for it. You slept right through lunch. I came by a couple hours ago, and the two of you were dead to the world. Supper’ll be ready in a half hour. You want me to bring you something?”
Taye remembered Carla’s revulsion over the rare meat last night. “Why don’t you walk Carla down to the kitchen? She likes her steak a little more dead than we do. She can fix hers herself and bring supper back for both of us.”
Carla grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to get changed. Taye spoke softly. “Des, my mate
gets real cold. Get that wood stove fixed up in here for her, huh? The one we had for my mother. I think we put it out in the shed. And send a couple boys out to find her a guitar. We got enough hides to trade. Dane Overdahl or Mr. Gray might have something like that. Any signs of trouble in the Pack over the challenge?”
“Nope. Pete’s not much of a loss. Some of the boys don’t understand why you would wait to take your mate. I guess I don’t either. None of my business,” Des hastened to add. “Just seems like being so close to her all the time and not mating her would be hard.”
Taye closed his eyes to inhale Carla’s scent from the bed. “Someday when you find your mate you’ll understand. A woman as precious as your mate deserves special care. A man has to put his mate first. And, Des—” He opened his eyes to fix them on his lieutenant. “—Stick close to her while she’s getting supper ready and walk her back here. I don’t want any of the boys to get the wrong idea about her.”
“Will do.” Des got up from the chair as Carla came out of the bathroom and put the folded blanket on the couch. “Ready, Lupa?”
Taye shook his head. “Wait outside a minute, Des. Carla, come over here, okay?”
Carla waited until the door closed behind Des before moving close to the bed. She looked wary. “What?”
“When you go out there everyone will know we haven’t mated. But I want them to smell me on you.”
Carla’s eyes got big and she backed a step away. “You’re hurt. You said—”
Taye laughed, although her reluctance hurt. “We won’t make love right now, sweetheart. Just a kiss. So they’ll know you’re mine.”
She came back, looking uncertain, but smelling … curious? He wasn’t sure exactly what her scent said, but it wasn’t fear. “Just a kiss?”
“Yeah.” He rearranged the covers over his hips to hide his body’s eagerness. By the way her pulse jumped his efforts weren’t entirely successful.
“Looks like you’re feeling a lot better,” she said pointedly.
Taye wondered if that was an accusation. “Not well enough to do what I’d really like to,” he said honestly, with his best smile. “Sit down so I can kiss you. We shouldn’t keep Des waiting.”
They were both a little awkward trying to turn their bodies to face each other without straining Taye’s wounds. Taye put his large hands on her delicate face to pull her lips against his. She was rigid for a minute, her hands fluttering helplessly before settling lightly on his upper arms. Taye could feel her uncertainty in her stiffness. He delicately probed at the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue and after a hesitation she opened her mouth. Wonder and excitement flooded him when his tongue glided against hers and his kiss turned from tentative to hotly demanding. One of his hands went beneath her hair to cup the back of her neck and pull her harder against him. He felt her hands clench on his biceps and began the torturous task of letting her go. He refused to frighten her off. He would not make her hate him. He stared down at her flushed face and tried to find the words to apologize, but she put her hands around the back of his neck and pulled his face down, and kissed him with as much hunger as he had kissed her. Her scent held traces of feminine desire, and if her hand hadn’t grazed the wound on his back he might have forgotten about Des waiting in the hall, forgotten his empty belly and the fact that he was too weak to mate with her and dragged her under the covers. He let her go, and made himself lean back against the headboard, his eyes closed and his breathing shakier than it had ever been.
“I’m so sorry!” she said in a strangled voice. “I’ll go get supper!”
Then she bolted out of the room, leaving him wondering what she was thinking. Was she sorry she had kissed him? He wasn’t. He was planning to do it a lot more.
*
Carla was so dazed by the kiss she almost ran into the man talking to Des in the hall. “Oh, sorry,” she blurted. She had hurt Taye by grabbing his shoulder. The kiss had made her forget all about his wounds. He had taken his large warm hands away and leaned back practically groaning in pain. Carla cringed inside. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. Of course, she hadn’t meant to kiss him either. Boy, he could kiss. Holy cow, could he kiss!
Des nodded at her. The other man sniffed and smiled. Carla glared uncomfortably. Could they actually smell that she and Taye had kissed? Her panties were wet. Maybe they could smell that? What was wrong with her? Taye was a killer. But … He could have raped her last night instead of giving her space. And he could really kiss … She walked down the hall, immersed in lines for the next verse of her song. “The wolf kissed me…”
Des said a something quietly to the other man before following half a step behind her into the empty dining hall, and directed her into the kitchen with a nod to the open door. The kitchen was pretty good-sized, with an indoor brick trough under a half-open window that was apparently a fire pit, and a row of big metal sinks along another wall. There was a man already there, or actually a boy, since she didn’t think he was older than sixteen or seventeen, laying out dozens of steaks on the metal island. The designated cook for the day? He was young but already tall and muscular, and in a few years he would be as handsome as Taye. He wore a leather apron that covered him from collarbone to knee. His long thick black hair was in a ponytail that ended right over his tailbone. She stared for a moment at his bare backside visible between the edges of the apron. Clothes were apparently optional, but at least he had the good sense to wear an apron in the kitchen.
“Hi,” Carla said brightly. “I’m Carla.”
The young cook watched her blankly with vivid blue eyes as she took a small steak and put it on the grill that was propped over the coals of the fire pit, and selected a second steak, the thickest and largest one on the counter, for Taye. She was sure the cook wanted to say something to her, but he kept his mouth shut, just looking at her sullenly from under thick black brows. Maybe he didn’t like her coming in and taking his steaks? Maybe he didn’t like the fact that she and Taye hadn’t … Carla sniffed at herself. All she could smell was the cooking meat. Her stomach growled.
“What?” she finally said after enduring several minutes under his intense stare.
“Is it true you’re not going to cook for us?”
Des growled, and the teenager tipped his head back in that disturbing gesture of showing his throat. “Watch your mouth and show the Lupa some respect,” Des snarled.
Carla swallowed. “I asked, Des.”
“It’s not his place to question you, Lupa.”
Carla flipped her steak. “Well, maybe I should answer anyway.” She waved the large sharp grilling fork at the young man, making him step smoothly back. He must be one of the wolves. Humans just didn’t move with that kind of feral grace. “I’m willing to take my turn at cooking, but I don’t plan to do it every day. Where I come from we don’t cook over open fires, and just because a person is female doesn’t make her a cook. But,” she added prudently, “that’s up to Taye.” Speaking of whom … She slapped the second steak on the grill. “What’s your name?”
He rattled off a long string of meaningless syllables. At her blank look he translated. “Blue Sky at Midday. Call me Sky.” He glanced at her steak with warning. “Your meat is burnt.”
She pulled it off the fire and smiled with satisfaction. “No, it’s cooked. Just the way I like it.” She couldn’t help but laugh at his horror. “See? You don’t want me cooking your steak.”
She took Taye’s steak off the grill. It was lightly browned on both sides, hopefully just the way he liked it. Sky showed her where the potatoes were baking in the coals at the far end of the fire pit and the pot of carrots hanging above them. She piled a tray with food for the two of them and when she lifted it she let out a grunt at the weight. Des waved a hand at the dining room. A few men were beginning to gather. One of them came over. Like the other men in the dining hall he was stark naked. Carla focused on his face, not letting her eyes go lower. He looked familiar. He had been with them when they walked home from
the Bride Fight. Jay? Jason? He took the tray and carried it for her back to Taye’s room. Des led the way briskly, his too big cotton pants fluttering with his speed, but the closer they came to Taye the more reluctant Carla was. How could she face Taye? She had flung herself so deeply into the kiss she had hurt him. Maybe he thought she had done it for revenge?
The door of room 121 opened before they got there and a couple men came out. They stared at Carla and held the door open for Jay to carry the tray in before going off down the hallway. Jay set the tray down on the table and he and Des left. Carla had to steel herself to look at Taye. But she didn’t see him right away. The room seemed full of men. Her eyes skipped over them, trying to not see their nakedness, and found the old-fashioned pot-bellied stove sitting past the window. Taye was crouched beside it, feeding it small pieces of wood. Tears came to her eyes. She was always cold, and winter hadn’t even started yet. Taye had said something about a stove to help her keep warm, and here it was. Even after she had hurt him he took care of her.
He stood up and turned to face her with a small smile. She let her eyes slide down his bare brown body and sighed with relief when she saw that he was wearing cut-offs. The gouge below his belly button still looked angry and raw, but the gash on his thigh was definitely healing. He held out a hand to her and she went to him. It felt good when he pulled her face to his chest and kissed the top of her head.
“The stove is for you,” he murmured. “I hate to think of you being cold.”
Carla forced the tears back. “Thank you.” She meant it, and she wanted to show her gratitude but wasn’t sure how. Strange. A day ago she would have bitten him rather than let him hug her. She suppressed the impulse to kiss him. There were other men in the room, all looking at them with interest. The urge to run her hands over his muscled chest was so strong she backed out of his embrace and stood before the small fire with her hands spread to the heat.
