Wilder (Birds of a Feather Book 1)

by Lena North

  “Don’t worry about it, Wilder. We’ll share. It’ll be fine,” Mac murmured.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  Then he put the bags down, muttered that he’d be back, and left. I stood there for a while, looking at the bed. After a while, I heard the bike rumble outside and realized that Mac would be back soon. I went into the bathroom, did my business, and started to look through the things Mac had packed. There wasn’t a nightie, so I decided to just use a tee and was rifling through them when he walked in.

  “That’s as far as you got?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I was looking for this,” I said, a little too loudly.

  I felt silly that I’d stood there worrying about sharing the bed with him when it was big enough for at least four to sleep in and, trying to cover up my embarrassment, I yanked hard on the piece of clothing I had in my hands.

  Unfortunately, this was the soft blouse Sloane had given me. When I pulled it out, it got unbundled, and the condoms she had given me flew out in all directions. One of them hit him in the chest, and he caught it with a surprised sound. Then he turned to me with a smirk and eyebrows raised in a silent question.

  Well shit.

  “Babe?” he asked, and I could hear how he struggled to hold back laughter.

  I scrambled around, trying to find the ones he hadn’t caught, and murmured, “Sloane gave them to me, she had a whole bag full.”

  “Sloane had a whole bag full of condoms?” he asked slowly.

  I tossed the condoms I’d picked up in the bag, decided to ignore any I hadn’t found, and snapped at him, “Not a bag exactly. Jeez. She pulled these out, said you were pretty and made me take them.”

  “Right,” he replied and then he started laughing.

  It took a while for him to calm down and I watched him, thinking that he wasn’t laughing often enough.

  “Go to bed, get some sleep. We’ll use your, um… supplies some other time, yeah?” he chuckled finally.

  I got into bed and closed my eyes, mentally trying to find the tired that had been so overwhelming just a little while ago. Hearing the rustle of his clothes as he pulled them off was absolutely not conducive to a rapid descent into dreamland, and when he sat down on the bed to pull his boots off, I couldn’t help myself. I had to peek, just a little.

  Then I stared. His back was covered by a huge falcon, inked in black and gray. The wings spanned over his shoulders and the tail followed his spine to end just above his jeans. The falcon's head twisted to the side, and the eye was a bright yellowish brown. It was stunning, and I almost stretched my hand out to touch it, but then he got up and dropped his jeans. I closed my eyes again, but not until I’d gotten a good look at his backside. Then I smiled to myself because I wanted to stretch out and touch that too.

  “Tired?” he rumbled as he climbed into bed.

  I felt him shifting to the side to turn off the lamp and the room plunged into darkness.

  “Yes,” I whispered, and I was.

  It had been another long and strange day.

  “Come here,” he murmured.

  He was on his back, and when I didn’t move, he pulled me closer until I was on my side, resting my cheek on his shoulder. “Sleep,” he ordered gently.

  “’Kay,” I agreed.

  His body was warm and hard, and as I lay there tucked into his side, I slowly relaxed. He didn’t have a lot of hair on his chest, but the strands tickled a little. I put my arm over his belly and let myself drift off into sleep.

  “Wilder…”

  The voice woke me up, and it took a few moments for me to understand that it was my bird. I started to move, but she stopped me immediately.

  “Don’t move. Listen,” Bird continued.

  Then I heard how the door slowly opened. It made a soft squeaking sound that I knew wouldn’t have woken me up. I tried to breathe slowly as if I slept but when I didn’t hear the door close again, I slowly opened my eyes a crack.

  Paolo stood in the door watching us. He had only opened it a few inches but there was a dim light coming from behind him, so I could see part of his face clearly. His brows were drawn down low, and his mouth was just a thin line, but he didn’t look angry. He looked thoughtful like he had seen something he didn’t expect and was thinking about the implications of it. Maybe he hadn’t believed our lies? What if he suspected why we really were there? My mind raced, and I decided that I had to do something to convince my former father that Mac and I were indeed lovers.

  Mac was still on his back, and I was sprawled over his chest. My hair covered most of my face, and I didn’t think Paolo could see us clearly in the darkness. I moved a little and felt how Mac stiffened.

  “Baby,” I whispered as I scooted up his body and swung my leg over until I straddled him.

  I let my hands move over his chest, and leaned down.

  “Want you,” I murmured, a little louder than necessary to make sure Paolo heard.

  “Again?” Mac rumbled, also kind of loudly.

  I smiled against his lips. He had caught on, or maybe his bird had warned him too. His hands came up to cup my behind, and I leaned down to kiss him, glad that our first kiss hadn’t been this one. He had been right, earlier. I didn’t want the knowledge that Paolo was watching to taint that moment, and it would have.

  We kissed for a long time, and I shuddered slightly as his hands moved up my sides until he buried them in my hair. Then he tugged gently, and I lifted my head.

  “He’s gone, and we need to stop,” he mumbled.

  “What?” I breathed.

  My brain seemed to have thrown out all rational thoughts, and it took a while for me to understand.

  “Unless you want to make use of what Sloane gave you then we need to stop,” he clarified.

  Oh.

  “Okay,” I said, sliding off him, feeling awkward and a little bit embarrassed.

  I got down on my side but this time, I turned my back toward him. He immediately turned to his side and shifted his lean body close to mine, swinging an arm around me.

  “Not now, baby, and absolutely not here,” he murmured softly in my neck.

  “Okay,” I repeated, not knowing what else to say.

  He was right, I knew he was, but I still felt disappointed.

  “Sleep,” he ordered, just as he had before.

  “’Kay,” I mumbled, thinking that I’d never be able to fall back to sleep.

  Then I immediately did, feeling safe and warm. My bird was there to watch over me, and Mac would protect me. We’d protect each other.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A lazy afternoon

  Mac was gone when I woke up, and the room was surprisingly tidy. Our bags were semi-unpacked. Through the open door leading to the bathroom, I could see our toiletries on the edge of the sink, and my clothes were neatly placed on the oversized chair in the corner. He’d said that he’d done enough cleaning in his life, but he’d still sorted out our things without waking me up.

  When I walked into the huge kitchen Mac was there, sitting at the breakfast bar, having coffee with Paolo. They both turned to me, and when I got closer, Mac stretched out an arm and pulled me close to his side.

  “Sleep well, sweetheart?” he mumbled and kissed me just below my ear.

  I looked into his beautiful green eyes and remembered the kiss we’d shared in our bed during the night. My cheeks heated which made his grin widen and become wicked. Paolo was watching us, and I knew we had our roles to act out, so I pursed my lips and tossed my hair cheekily over my shoulder.

  “Oh yeah,” I murmured, letting my fingers trail his cheek. Then I added a husky, “You know I did, baby.”

  Paolo cleared his throat, and I turned to him but didn’t let go of Mac.

  “Good morning, Paolo. I hope you haven’t waited with breakfast?”

  They both started laughing.

  “It’s time for lunch, Wilder,” Paolo said.

  I blink
ed.

  “Yeah, baby,” Mac murmured. “I guess you needed to sleep.”

  “I suppose I did,” I said.

  “I asked my housekeeper to pack a picnic lunch for you,” Paolo said, indicating a bag on the kitchen counter. “I hope that was okay? I thought you might want to walk around in the village, maybe sit by the beach and eat there?”

  “How sweet you are,” I murmured, wondering what the man would get out of this arrangement. “I should probably call Double H and check in with them first, though.”

  “Absolutely not!” Paolo exclaimed immediately, and I raised my brows. “You were exhausted when you got here, my girl, and I’m sure they can handle the cattle without you. You need to turn off your phone and be lazy for a day or two. Maybe even several days.”

  Aha. So he didn’t want me to know what had happened at the ranch.

  “But –” I started to protest, but I didn’t put any strength behind it, and he immediately interrupted me anyway.

  “I insist.”

  “I agree,” Mac added, and continued lazily, “We deserve it, don’t we? Let’s just hang around here for a few days and let everyone else work their asses off.”

  “Yeah, okay. There’s so much work with Double H…” I agreed, trying to sound weak and a little bit stupid.

  “Excellent,” Paolo said. “I have some business to attend to this afternoon, but you can go anywhere in the village. Everyone knows you are my visitors so they won’t mind.”

  His voice was full off glee, and the man actually rubbed his hands. He suddenly reminded me so much of the villains in cartoons I’d watched as a kid that I almost burst out laughing. If he’d had a mustache, I was sure he would have twirled it. I felt Mac’s chest move and nudged him gently. He got to his feet and took my hand.

  “Let’s get our things. I turned both our phones off last night, but we’ll probably need to charge them, would you have cables for that?” he asked Paolo.

  Oh, clever, I thought.

  “Absolutely. Just leave them on the counter when you leave, and I’ll take care of it,” Paolo answered jovially. “Have a great afternoon, and I’ll see you back here later. I’ll have a few guests for dinner, thought it would be good for you to meet some of the people in the village,” he added, sounding fatherly.

  Mac murmured our thanks and pulled me toward our room. I smiled at Paolo but didn’t trust my voice enough to say anything. For so many years I would have done almost anything to have what he suddenly gave me. I’d wondered why he didn’t love me, or even like me, and the one time I’d asked if I could come with them to Marshes he’d merely sneered, “Don’t be ridiculous,” and walked away. I’d been six years old, and I’d cried in secret the whole weekend. And now he acted like a devoted step-father. Did he really think that I was so stupid I’d fall for it?

  “Wilder,” he called after us, and we turned as he continued speaking, “I’m so glad we found a way to be family. So glad you’re here,” he added, and his eyes were warm and happy.

  For a split second, I wondered if I was wrong. Maybe he was sincere. Then I remembered Uncle Andy. A surge of anger swept through me, and I found my voice again.

  “Thank you, Paolo. So am I,” I replied sweetly, and nudged Mac softly to get us moving.

  The village was small, so the walk from Paolo’s house to the beach took only a few minutes. We’d nevertheless said hello to at least ten villagers on the way, and they responded nicely enough although they glanced curiously at Mac’s long dark hair and even more at me. They all seemed to have the same white blond hair as I did, and they were all tall and built, even the women. I couldn’t help drawing the parallel to how the Waterfolk had been described in the stories I’d read. It was clear that the people in Marshes were just as much descendants of Valerian and Adorabella as the people in Norton came from Vilda and Drake.

  We followed the beach until we were some distance away from the houses before settling in on a blanket to have lunch on the beach just as Paolo suggested. The sky was blue and even though it was still winter, the climate by the sea was not as rough as in the mountains, so we weren’t cold. There had been people in the village, but the beach was empty, so we finally dared to talk freely.

  “Have you heard from your bird? Is he here?” I asked.

  “She,” he replied, and of course he had a female bird too. “And no, she isn’t here, she’s with the others at Double H, looking around.” He stared out over the water and added, “Rider is good she says. I don’t get exactly what’s wrong with him, though, but she says hurt wing and chest, so I suppose he’s broken an arm and some ribs, at least. Still in the hospital and they’ll do something to him that she can’t explain. Surgery I guess.”

  I exhaled with relief. I was still angry with Andy and Gwen, but I knew it would pass and I’d never wanted this for them.

  “My bird is here,” I said.

  “Guessed that. She warned you about last night?”

  I squirmed and turned my head away. I had hoped that he wouldn’t bring that up, but he had a way of not leaving things be that was annoying.

  “Babe,” he said calmly. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but we should. And I knew what you were doing, and why. It was fast thinking on your part, and we knew we’d have to do things like that when we came here. Don’t let it weird you out, yeah?”

  “Okay,” I murmured because he was right. I was making it into something bigger than it needed to be. “What else does your bird say? Have they found anything?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Nothing yet. Olly is at Double H to help Mickey, and your girlfriends are there too, to help Gwen so she can be at the hospital.”

  “Olly?” I asked.

  Of course, Jinx and Mary would be at Double H, but why would Olly go there?

  “He’s got a degree in animal husbandry, Wilder. Works at one of the farms outside Twin City,” he replied.

  I was about to ask him more questions when my bird interrupted.

  “Snow,” she said.

  “Huh?” I replied, and I did it silently, which was kind of weird but also something I figured I needed to get better at.

  “Snow,” she repeated and continued, “Good snow, good snow, good snow…”

  “Hello there!” a voice called out, and I jerked.

  A couple came walking along the waterline, and I stared. They were stunning, both of them, and looked somewhat like an opposite version of Mac and me. The girl had long, straight, black hair that reached almost to her waist. She was tall and had the same lanky, long-limbed body that Mac did. The man had longish white blonde hair pulled back in a messy man bun which I usually found a bit silly, but on him, it looked very cool. He was tall and muscular, and his skin had a faint tan even though it was winter. When they got closer, I saw that the girl’s eyes were a sapphire blue so pure it seemed almost as if they were glowing in the sunlight.

  Suddenly my bird’s words made sense. This had to be the girl from Norton.

  “Snow,” Mac murmured, confirming my guess.

  “Falk,” she replied, and I twitched at her casual use of his name.

  “That was a long time ago,” he murmured coolly. “I go by Mac now.”

  “So I heard,” she replied calmly.

  Their eyes held, and something passed between them that I didn’t understand, and didn’t like. Apparently, the blonde man didn’t appreciate their staring either.

  “Hey there,” he said, loudly.

  When neither of them moved he stretched his hand out toward me, saying, “I’m Dante, and you’re Wilder. Welcome to our village.”

  “Thank you, Dante,” I replied and smiled at him.

  “I know this is odd, but I still have to say it. Your eyes are absolutely gorgeous,” he said, grinning hugely.

  I wasn’t sure if he said it because he meant it or if it was to get a reaction from the other two, and either way, he got one. Mac immediately stepped
closer to me and put an arm around my shoulders.

  “Mac,” he rumbled and stretched his hand out.

  Dante grabbed it, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw how they both squeezed as hard as they could, trying to make the other wince or whatever.

  “Jesus,” I barked. “How old are you?”

  Snow started laughing, and I turned to her. Our eyes met, and instantly, it felt like something clicked in place. Like I knew her.

  Her laughter died, but a broad smile remained, and I returned it.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Snow,” I replied.

  In my head, I heard the bird again, “Good Snow, good Snow…” Apparently, my bird liked this girl, and I suddenly wanted to ask Snow if she had one too.

  “Do you want coffee?” she asked calmly, and I blinked because out of all things I thought she’d say this was not on the list.

  It wasn’t unwelcome, though, and when she wiggled a backpack in front of us and raised her brow in question I was quick to motion with my hand toward our blanket.

  “Oh yes. Join us for a while?”

  By then the men had stopped trying to crush each other’s hands and were watching us. Then Dante made a comment about Mac’s bike, and that was apparently the right thing to say because it took less than five minutes for them to bond over mufflers and pipes. When they moved on to engine tuning, I stopped listening because I was pretty straight forward with my own bike and had never been big on accessories.

  From bikes, the talk moved to what music we listened to, then school and work. We had a pleasant time, but it felt like we were skirting around important things. They clearly knew each other well, and I wondered if they were a couple, and if Dante knew about the birds.

  “Feel like going for a swim?” Snow suddenly asked with soft laughter in her voice.

  I turned to her but her eyes were on Dante. He was watching the water, and the look on his face was weirdly familiar. He seemed to have zoned out a little, and his eyes were focused on something far away, or on nothing at all. Then he shrugged and started laughing.

  “You know I love swimming, but the water is a bit too cold, even for me.”