“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rita tried for an innocent look, but failed when a smile spread across her lips.
“Yes, you do. That’s the second man you’ve said was attractive. First Carson and now Wachei.” Carson the dog cocked his head at her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you,” she said. “Though you are handsome for a canine.” She turned her attention back to her aunt. “I still don’t understand why Eryn would name her dog after her brother.”
“That he is. She obviously thinks it’s funny. Let’s take him to the back and get his bath started.”
Laci followed Rita to the back room with Carson walking at her side as she held on to his leash. He seemed to be well trained. Once inside the work area, her aunt motioned her over to a large stainless-steel grooming tub. It had a small door that opened on the side and a short ramp leading up to it, which pleased Laci. She would’ve had a hard time lifting Carson into the tub if it hadn’t been there.
“Here, put this on so you don’t get too wet.” Her aunt handed Laci a waterproof apron.
Laci passed Rita the leash, then took the apron before she put it on. “Okay, now what?” She accepted the leash back from her aunt.
“Now you get him into the tub, then spray him down with warm water.”
She got Carson up the ramp and into the tub. She closed the small door behind him. Next she removed his leash and collar. Laci took hold of the spray nozzle with one hand and turned on the water with the other. She sprayed his back, which caused him to try to jerk out of the way.
Rita gave a little laugh. “Check to make sure the water isn’t too cold or hot.”
Laci sprayed her hand and soon realized it was cold. She would have thought with Carson’s thick fur he really wouldn’t have felt that small amount of water she’d doused him with. She adjusted the temperature until she found it comfortable before proceeding to soak Carson down. He didn’t seem to mind the water now. He stood perfectly still.
She ran her hand through his fur as she used the sprayer. For some reason, she’d expected it to be coarse, but it wasn’t. It was actually quite soft to the touch. Laci reached up and scratched the top of Carson’s head. His mouth opened slightly and she saw how big his teeth were. It was a good thing he wasn’t vicious. With those he’d be able to take a pretty good chunk out of her.
Carson turned his head to look at her. Once again Laci was struck by the intelligence he showed. And for some silly reason his hazel eyes reminded her of the other Carson’s. They looked to be the exact same color.
She shook her head over her musings. She was not going to let her encounter with her ex have her starting to think about him all the time. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to let herself start comparing a dog’s eyes with his. She had to sink pretty low to do that.
Laci finished with the sprayer and reached for the dog shampoo. She squeezed some into her hand, then worked it through Carson’s fur, making him all soapy. She smiled as he leaned toward her. He was turning out to be a good first client for her.
Carson was seriously thinking this had been a bad idea after all. Having his mate’s hands all over him was great, but it was also stirring up his desire for her. And in dire wolf form, it was a little harder to ignore. The wolf part of him wanted to claim Laci right then and there. Animal instincts and all that.
Laci continued to work her fingers through his fur as she shampooed him. Carson bit back the urge to growl in pleasure. He didn’t need to scare her, or make her think he would suddenly turn on her and bite. Though at some point he did want to bite her, but that would have to wait until she agreed to be his mate. No premature biting was allowed.
She finished with his body and moved on to his head and soaped up his fur there. While she worked at that, Carson snuck in a wolfie kiss by licking her arm. Laci giggled and rewarded him with an extra scratch behind his ear. He hoped that wouldn’t be the only kiss he’d be able to give her in the future.
Laci grabbed the sprayer again once she’d thoroughly shampooed him. This time the water was warm, unlike the first time she’d shot him with it. Though he’d probably have to go home after this and take a cold shower to cool down his libido.
He enjoyed having Laci’s hands on him so much Carson almost forgot about the real reason why he’d submitted himself to all this—reading his mate’s mind. As she rinsed him, he did just that. Much to his pleased surprise, he found he was on Laci’s mind. And she wasn’t all that happy that she did think about him. She wanted to keep him at arm’s length, but a small part of her remembered some of the good times they’d had together.
But then she forced herself to think about all the bad times. Carson got to see it all from Laci’s perspective, and how every time he hadn’t taken what she’d said to him to heart it had hurt her. It put a new light on their past, and made him realize he’d been more than responsible for their breakup. Now that she was back, he’d do everything in his power to make new, better memories for her. Ones where he wouldn’t be the immature asshole.
Laci finished rinsing him and turned to look at her aunt. “Okay, he’s clean. Now how do I dry him?”
“Keep him in the tub and rub him with a towel. He’ll shake as well so I suggest you step back when he does. Once you have most of the water out of his fur, you can use the dryer on him.”
As Laci walked over to a stack of towels that sat on a table off to the side, Carson gave himself a good shake. Water sprayed out of his fur. Laci gave a small laugh, then proceeded to rub him down with the towel she held.
His mate let him out of the tub and, holding him by the scruff of his neck, walked him over to a long table. Laci smacked the top of it a few times and told him to jump up. Carson had no problem doing that. It put him at eye level with Laci. He turned his head and gave her another lick, but this time across her lips. She of course wiped it off with the back of her hand with a chuckle.
“That’s enough doggie kisses from you,” she said with humor in her voice.
Carson thought of the kisses he’d stolen from her in the alley the night before. She’d wiped those off too, but she hadn’t found them funny. She’d been too pissed off for that. The next time he put his lips on hers, he wanted her moaning into his mouth with pleasure.
Laci turned on the dryer and dried his fur until it was no longer damp. She then ran a dog brush through it. She took a step back from the table and Carson jumped off.
Once again, Laci spoke to her aunt. “All done.”
“Good job. Don’t forget to put his collar and leash on.”
His mate did that. “There is still some time before Eryn and Wachei come back for him. What should I do with him?”
Carson knew exactly what he wanted Laci to do with him, or should he say do to him. He wanted her to strip him naked and kiss her way down to his… He stopped himself right there before his thoughts got out of hand. He had to remember he was in his dire wolf form. He did not need to get a boner while in it. Laci wouldn’t appreciate it one bit.
“You can put him in the pen, if you want,” Rita replied. “But I don’t think we have to worry about him wandering around, getting under foot. He seems to have taken a shining to you.”
At the mention of the word pen, Carson walked over to Laci’s side and pressed against her leg. Getting locked inside a metal pen was a bit much for him. And it wasn’t as if he’d piss and crap on the floor. He was no dog.
Laci smiled down at him and rubbed behind his ear. “It does look as if he likes me. If he behaves I don’t mind if he sticks with me.”
“Then leave him out. By the way, I never asked, how is it living at your parents’ house once more?”
Carson’s ears perked up. Now this was some information he’d wanted. Now he not only knew where Laci worked, he knew she was living in her childhood home.
Laci shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. But after being on my own for so long it’s hard staying with Mom and Dad. Mom is already fussing over me like a mother hen.”
�
��I think she’s afraid you’ll up and move away from Juneau again.”
“Well, I’m not. As soon as I can find an apartment, I’ll be moving out of the house. Victor will come home in a few days from his oil drilling job. Mom can turn her fussing on to him.”
Carson groaned inside. Victor was Laci’s younger brother, and was also very protective of her. Shortly after the breakup, he and Victor came close to having it out with their fists, which probably would have ended badly for Carson back then. Victor was a tough son of a bitch. Once they’d been friends, but now Victor had nothing to do with him.
Rita laughed. “Don’t worry, she will. With Victor gone for months at a time working on an oil rig, she smothers him when he comes home until he lands another job and leaves again.”
“At least I’m not the only one who gets subjected to it. But I’m still going to find a place of my own as soon as I can.”
“Well, if you want, you can have the apartment above the shop. My last renter moved out a couple of weeks ago. I just had it repainted. You’re welcome to go and take a look at it.”
“I’d love to.”
Rita fished a set of keys out of her pocket and passed them over to Laci. She told her which one unlocked the apartment door. Laci walked toward the back room’s door. Carson went with her.
She looked down at him. “You have to stay here, Carson.”
“Take him with you,” her aunt said. “He might need to be walked. You can see if he goes, then go up to the apartment.”
Laci nodded and picked up the end of his leash. Outside, she walked him over to a tree that was set inside the sidewalk close to the curb. There was no way he was going to lift his leg and piss on it. To show he wasn’t interested, Carson sat on the concrete and stared up at Laci.
“Don’t have to go, huh? All right. Let’s walk up to the apartment.”
His mate unlocked the door next to Pampered Paws and pushed it open. Once they were both inside the short entranceway that had a long flight of stairs leading above, Laci closed them inside.
At the top of the staircase was another door. This one wasn’t locked. Laci turned the doorknob and pushed it open. They stepped into another entranceway. Carson’s nose twitched at the scent of paint in the air.
He followed Laci around as she checked out the living room, kitchen, the single bedroom and bathroom. The apartment was actually pretty nice. It was larger than his one-bedroom. He wouldn’t mind moving in here with Laci at all. This was a place he could call home with his mate.
Laci nodded. “What do you think, Carson? I know I like it. Plus, it’ll be very handy to get to work since it’s only downstairs.” He lifted his head up and down. She chuckled. “I guess that means you like it too. All right, let’s go tell my Aunt Rita I’ll take it. Maybe she’ll even let me move in tomorrow. I haven’t unpacked anything from my move back to Juneau. And I’m sure my dad will be happy to get my furniture out of his garage.”
Another plan formed in Carson’s head, this time for when he was in his human form. He could just “happen” to walk by and see Laci moving in. He’d offer to help do some heavy lifting. It was perfect.
* * * * *
“So did you accomplish everything you wanted with this little ruse of yours?” Eryn asked once they were all inside the cab of her pickup.
Once again Carson sat in between his sister and Wachei, still in dire wolf form. Actually yes. Tomorrow Laci is going to move into the apartment above her aunt’s shop. I’m going to come by and offer to help.
“You have to get Laci to agree to that first.”
It might not be too hard. Victor isn’t supposed to return home from his last oil drilling job for another couple of days. I can’t see Laci finding too many guys to help on such short notice.
“If Victor is going to be home soon, you’ll have to work fast when it comes to Laci. Her brother will try to keep you away from her.”
Wachei laughed. “Hmm, I wonder why that sounds familiar. So Carson will get a taste of his own medicine. You and Noah didn’t exactly make it easy for me when I first found Eryn. Now you know how I felt.”
Carson turned his head and snapped his teeth at his wolf brother. Yeah, laugh. I figured you’d think it was funny. Noah and I only did what we thought was best for Eryn. She’d already had one shit of a boyfriend break her heart. We didn’t want to see her go through that again.
“I hate to say it,” Eryn said. “But Victor is going to feel the same way, especially since you’re the shit of a boyfriend who broke his sister’s heart.”
I haven’t overlooked that fact. I’m just going to have to get Laci to welcome me back into her life before Victor puts in an appearance. It would make such a great impression on my mate if I ended up getting into a fist fight with her brother and then wiping the floor with him.
And as a werewolf, Carson was now much stronger than Victor. Laci would never forgive him if he beat the crap out of her little brother. And there would go Carson’s chance of claiming her as his mate.
Chapter Four
Tanner looked through the old spell book that had once belonged to his ex-maker Andre. It was using one of the spells that had allowed Tanner to gain the powers of a maker and the ability to pull the dark magic out of Andre, thus taking his place as leader of the dark wolves. Even though he had a fair amount of knowledge on how to use his powers, there was one thorn in his side he had yet to rid himself of—Ryder, the shaman to the sentinels.
Tanner had tried his best to break the spell the shaman must have cast to stop him from gaining information about the wolf brothers. Ryder had somehow shielded them, and Tanner had to find a way to break through it. So he was going through the ancient spell book.
The sounds of sex filtered into his room. Tanner didn’t have to look to know who it was. There was only one mated pair amongst the dark wolves—Tad and Lora. They’d been part of the local werewolf pack before Tanner had gotten his hands on them. Even though they were now on the dark side, the pair remained faithfully mated. The only thing that had changed had been their personalities. They could be just as evil as the other members of their pack.
Greg, Tad’s brother, had been responsible for bringing Tad and Lora to Tanner. Greg had wanted Lora as his own. So he and Tanner had stolen her away. It had been fun to lead the sentinels on a merry goose chase. In the end, they hadn’t been able to save Tad nor Lora. As for Greg, Tanner had lost him to the good guys. He had been sent to prove his loyalty by taking out Capac’s still-mortal mate. He’d failed and had been captured, and to this day was being held by Brice, the leader of the local werewolf pack. Since Tanner couldn’t get close to Greg, he hadn’t been able to pull the dark magic out of him and end his life.
Tanner stopped flipping pages and closely studied the spell that had caught his attention. There was a possibility it would work, though it wasn’t going to be easy to execute. He would need blood, but not any old mortal’s. It had to be from a person who was being protected by the shaman’s spell. That meant one of the sentinels since there was no way he could get blood from all seven of them.
And Tanner knew which one he’d target. It had to be Carson, the newest and youngest wolf brother. The others were too old, and probably still had their hunter’s instincts they’d honed during their life in the ice age. Plus, Carson didn’t live near the rest of his pack. He’d be easier to corner alone.
He placed a piece of paper into the book to mark the spell, then closed it. Tanner left his room and headed to where the rest of his small pack usually gathered. He’d send one of his brothers to hunt down Carson. Once they found him, Tanner would do the rest of the work himself. He didn’t want any screw-ups.
A loud moan of pleasure escaped the room next to his as he walked down the long hall. Tanner smiled. At the rate Lora and Tad were going at it, she’d be pregnant sooner rather than later. He actually hoped it happened. It would be very interesting to see how their baby turned out. Instead of having to be bitten to be turned into a dark wo
lf, their child would be born with dark magic already inside it.
* * * * *
Laci wiped the sweat from her brow, then reached for one of the boxes in the back of the cube van she’d managed to rent at the last minute. Thanks to her aunt, she was moving into her very own place. Her mom hadn’t exactly been pleased with the idea of Laci leaving already, but she hadn’t put up too much of a fuss. It wasn’t as if Laci was a young kid anymore. And she was still in Juneau. Her parents were more than welcome to stop by any time they wished.
Her aunt appeared at her side. “I don’t think there’s any way you’re going to be able to help your father take the heavier furniture up to the apartment. It’s too bad your uncle had to work.”
“I helped Dad get everything into the truck. There’s a ramp.”
“Going up a steeper flight of stairs is another story.”
“Did I hear you say you need some extra muscles?”
Laci would recognize that deep voice anywhere. It belonged to Carson. She turned around and was about to tell him no, but her aunt beat her to it.
“Yes, you did,” Rita said. “We’d really appreciate it if you could help Laci’s dad get all the heavy furniture up to her apartment.”
Carson smiled. “That’s no problem.”
“Great. I’ll go upstairs and let Matt know.” Rita left Laci and Carson alone as she walked through the apartment’s entrance.
“What are you doing, Carson?”
He gave her another smile that would have had her toes curling in the past. “Helping you move into your new place.”
“That’s not what I meant. I want to know why you’d offer to do it. Do you think it’ll put you in my good graces?”
“Will it?”
Laci sighed. “Carson, I told you I’m not giving you another chance, whether you help carry my furniture or not.”
Carson’s face grew serious. “I’m not the same man I was four years ago. I’ve changed, and matured. I know it was my actions that drove you away. I won’t let that happen again. Let me prove that to you.”
Love on the Ice: 7 (Werewolf Sentinels) Page 3
