A Bleacke Wind (Bleacke Shifters Book 3)

by Lesli Richardson

  “Rub it all over you while your skin’s still a little damp. Head to toe.”

  “I’m not messing up my hair.” She wiped steam from the mirror and pulled the scarf off, examining her hair. “If you messed up my hair out there in the woods—”

  He laughed, and it was all he could do not to walk over and hug her, which would have completely defeated the purpose. “The rosemary,” he said. “Roll the branches back and forth between your palms to release the scent, and then rub your hands all over yourself. Everywhere. Even before you put on deodorant. And speaking of, use a generous amount of that, too.”

  “Hey!”

  “To help mask your scent and mine, not because you smell bad.” He blew her a kiss and that seemed to mollify her.

  He grabbed his clothes from where they’d ended up on the floor in a pile with hers and started dressing.

  She finally rolled the rosemary between her palms, and the pungent, almost minty aroma of the herb filled the bathroom.

  He let out a sneeze. “Sorry.”

  She frowned. “I won’t be making everyone sneeze at dinner, will I?”

  “No. It’ll have faded some by then. And rub more on your clothes after you get dressed.”

  “What about you?”

  “I have to run, literally, back to Jack and Moraine’s and grab another shower and get dressed in clean clothes. I’ll have the faint scent of you on me from my clothes otherwise.”

  Shock filled her expression. “Dress!” She dropped the rosemary branch and bolted, naked, from the bathroom.

  He followed her into the bedroom where she ripped open a large suitcase and pulled out a garment bag. She unzipped it, heaving a sigh of relief when the dress shook out, apparently none the worse for the trip.

  “Nami would have killed me if I’d let it get wrinkled.” He gave her a wide berth as she carried it over to the closet to hang it up.

  “Uh, uh-oh,” he said, staring at it.

  “What?” She turned, the dress still in her hands.

  “Is that a strapless dress?”

  “Yes. It’s my bridesmaid dress for both Dewi and Nami’s weddings. Why? What’s wrong?”

  Shit.

  He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. “Well, it’ll show your mating mark off nicely.”

  “Huh?” She got the dress hung up and then closed the door, exposing the full-length mirror there. She turned and looked at her shoulder.

  “Oh, my god!” She turned to him. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I hope you weren’t planning on wearing a tank top to dinner.” He sank onto the bed. Keeping this development concealed until after the weddings on Saturday had been a long-shot, and he knew it. As soon as Dewi or any of the other wolves spotted the pinkish mark, clearly visible against Malyah’s gorgeous dark brown skin, the ruse would be exposed.

  She started to walk over to him. Despite how delicious she looked naked he held up a staying hand. “Don’t. Not before dinner. You’ll have to take another shower if you do,” he said.

  Despite that, his cock throbbed in his jeans, wanting inside her.

  Luscious breasts tipped by dark, dusky nipples, the perfect size for him to cup in his hands and—

  He swallowed hard. “I really need to get out of here before someone finds me here,” he said, forcing himself to stand. “Or before I bend you over and fuck you again. Go over your body with the rosemary. Use lots of deodorant. Put it all over yourself. Then get dressed and do your clothes with the rosemary as well. Don’t forget to brush your teeth. And if you brought any perfume or body spray or something like that with you, use that, too.”

  She stepped forward, almost looking hurt. “Can’t I even get a good-bye kiss?”

  He wanted to pull her into his arms and fuck her mouth with his tongue.

  Instead, he kissed the tip of his index finger and touched it to her lips. Before he could pull away, she sucked his finger into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it before letting him loose. All the while, her gaze remained fixed on his.

  Hell, he didn’t want to get loose, but unless he wanted Beck busting in there and killing him, he knew he needed to go.

  His cock didn’t like that idea, either, because now it realized how good that sweet, hot mouth of hers would feel wrapped around it, her tongue swirling around the head.

  “Tonight,” he hoarsely said. “I’ll leave dinner as soon as I can, go to Jack and Moraine’s, and then sneak back here. I’ll tell them I’m going out for an all-night run.”

  “How do we handle brunch tomorrow?” Malyah said. “Nami told me all us women are going into town.”

  He mentally swore. “Same as we are tonight. It’s all we can do. I’ll bring you more rosemary in the morning and I’ll steer clear of the others as much as I can. Wear the same shirt tomorrow morning as you’re going to wear to dinner tonight. That’ll explain my scent a little bit.”

  They both started at a knock on the cottage’s front door.

  “Malyah? You hang that dress up like I told you?”

  “Shit!” Malyah whispered. “That’s Nami. Go!”

  He bolted out the back door, legs pumping, stifling the urge to shift and run like that. For starters, he didn’t have a backpack or something to carry his clothes.

  Now wouldn’t be the worst time to run into a skunk.

  * * * *

  From her suitcase, Malyah grabbed an oversized T-shirt she used as a nightgown and pulled it on before hurrying to let Nami in the front door.

  Her older sister stepped inside. “What were you doin’?”

  “I had a nap and a shower,” she fibbed. “Yes, the dress is hung up and safe and sound, sis.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Nami’s nose wrinkled. “What’s that smell?”

  “Why?” Her pulse raced. “What?”

  “Smells like an herb. Smells good, though.”

  “Rosemary.” Malyah didn’t let go of the door, holding it open. “Anything else?”

  “Why? You in a hurry to get rid of me?”

  “I would like to get dressed, put on my makeup, and fix my hair before dinner. I just got out of the shower and I want to make sure my hair looks good when I meet everyone else. I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

  Nami kept her hair trimmed short and natural despite Malyah and Lu’ana spending years trying to get her to do something different with it. The one time they’d finally convinced her to grow it out, she’d hated it and trimmed it short again, not liking the time or money it took to keep it up.

  Now that Nami didn’t have to drive a bus for a living, and didn’t have to worry about money, maybe they could finally talk her into trying again. Or to at least go for longer, natural curls that would be gorgeous on her and take years off her looks. Perhaps they could talk Beck into sweet-talking their stubborn older sis into trying something new. If anyone could, he could.

  “You girls and your hair,” Nami finally joked, and then Malyah relaxed.

  Nami turned to go.

  “Hey, sis? You lose a little weight?”

  Nami stopped in her tracks. “Why?”

  “Those slacks look looser on you than they did when you bought them.” And Malyah would know, because she’d been the one to convince Nami to buy them, and had been with her when she tried them on.

  Nami looked down. “I don’t know. I don’t step on a scale anymore, you know that.” She smiled. “Beck loves me just the way I am.”

  Not exactly obese, their sister was well-rounded in the right areas. Unfortunately, years spent sitting and driving a county bus hadn’t helped Nami keep the extra pounds off around her midsection. Malyah and Lu’ana were busty with booties to match, but had kept their midsection creep at bay so far.

  Speaking of booties… Oooh, maybe Joaquin and I—

  Focus!

  She felt herself blush, her cheeks heating. The last thing she needed was for Nami to think she was hiding something.

  It was all she could do to keep
herself from reaching up and rubbing at the mating mark on her right shoulder, hidden by her T-shirt. Nami might not be a wolf, but she was damned perceptive.

  Especially when it came to her younger siblings.

  “Don’t be late to dinner,” Nami warned, wagging a finger at her as she once again turned to go. “I think you’ll really like the rest of Dewi’s family. Everyone’s been very nice.”

  “Yeah.” Malyah realized as she said it that it had come out with a little too much pleasure.

  Nami stopped and turned again.

  Oh, crap.

  Nami’s gaze narrowed. “Girl, what is up with you?”

  “I’m just really tired and the time change has me messed up,” she said. And it wasn’t a lie. Her walk and romp with Joaquin had worn her out, on top of everything else. “I can’t wait to get to bed tonight.”

  Again, not even a lie.

  Just not exactly what Nami would think she meant, either.

  Nami’s tone gentled. “You could have brought Steve with you,” she said. “We could still buy him a ticket and fly him out here, if you want.”

  Malyah shook her head. “No, I’m good, sis. Really.” She had to struggle against the nervous laugh that wanted to bark free. “I don’t even know if we’ll ever get serious. We ain’t even slept together yet.”

  Thank goodness.

  Malyah would have been feeling really guilty right about now if that’d been the case.

  And if Nami did fly the man out here, she suspected Joaquin would rip him a new one.

  That thought filled her with sexy heat, that she knew for certain her man would absolutely fight for her.

  Which compounded the heat coursing through her, to think of Joaquin as her man.

  “I thought you were serious about him?” Nami asked.

  “No. Never said I was.” And that was the truth. “You and Lu’ana really like him and have been pushing me to get more serious with him.” Malyah shrugged. “He’s okay. He’s a nice guy.”

  “I still think you should give him a chance.” She turned and headed out, again. “See you at dinner.”

  “See you.”

  Malyah closed the cottage door and leaned against it, her pulse racing, relief filling her.

  Whew!

  If she’d been that rattled dealing with Nami now, alone, how was she supposed to get through dinner with her and…

  Holy. Shit.

  Without Joaquin right in front of her, without anyone in front of her, she had time to reflect on the seismic shift her life had just taken. She slid down the door, sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees as she burst into quiet tears.

  Insanity. This must be what insanity feels like, because how can I be in love with a guy I literally do not know, and believe he and my soon-to-be brother-in-law and his friends and family can turn into fricking wolves?

  Still, her heart couldn’t lie. Thinking about Joaquin again made her want to run out the back door and try to find him.

  Dragging herself up off the floor, she went into the bathroom and picked up her clothes, shoving her nose into her shirt.

  Yes, there was the scent of him, faint but unmistakable. And if she was to smell her panties…

  Okay, I need help.

  No, what she needed was Joaquin.

  Then she remembered his admonishment to her.

  Crap.

  She dropped her dirty clothes back onto the floor, washed her face and hands with soap and water, and then used the rosemary again. Forcing herself back into the bedroom and away from the lingering aroma of him, she dug clean clothes out of her suitcase for dinner and got dressed. She used more of the rosemary and then went to unpack the rest of her clothes, fix her hair, and put on makeup.

  She still had plenty of time to kill.

  She tried setting up her laptop and catching up on Facebook, but even that couldn’t distract her. She found herself wanting to go back into the bathroom to sniff her dirty clothes.

  This is stupid.

  But even though the guest cottage had a small over-under washer and dryer unit, she couldn’t bring herself to wash her clothes and thus eliminate her problem.

  Her whole body ached, and not just in the post-great-sex kind of way, either.

  It ached at a cellular level, at soul level, wanting Joaquin back in her arms.

  I. Just. Met. Him.

  It didn’t matter. Logic had sailed out the window.

  And she damn well knew it.

  Then again, the fuzzy parts of her mind, dreams and nightmares and hazy things she’d learned to not think about, were suddenly clear again. Like the fact that Nami and Beck barely knew each other before they’d announced their engagement, even though for some reason Malyah thought they’d told all of them they’d been dating for a while. And, at the time, she’d even…believed it.

  But not now.

  Snippets of a scene of being abducted from her apartment, taken to a filthy crackhouse, being tied up.

  Being rescued, by Dewi and Beck and others.

  Things that she thought were flashes of nightmares were suddenly solidifying in her mind.

  Dewi and Beck and Martin and Ken rescuing her. Specifically, Dewi coming in and freeing her. Cold-cocking the guy who’d been in the room with her and who kept feeling her up while she’d been tied to the chair. Then, memories of Dewi talking to her before everything went fuzzy again…

  She closed her eyes, fists tightly clenched, fingernails digging into her palms.

  These were all things she’d have to deal with later when she didn’t feel two seconds away from a mental breakdown. Right now, she needed to get her emotions under control.

  And then figure out how to try to fake her way through dinner without giving things away in the process.

  Chapter Twelve

  Joaquin blew through Jack and Moraine’s front door almost at a full run, barely pausing to call out a greeting to them as he ran for the guest room. He had an en suite bath, fortunately, and immediately stripped and got the water going.

  Moraine knocked on his bedroom door. “Peyton called. He said we’re all invited over to dinner tonight. I’m guessing you’ll ride with us?”

  Relief. “Yes, thanks,” he said.

  “You all right?”

  “Just took a little too much time walking around the woods, more than I meant to,” he called back. “I’ll be ready in a few.”

  Technically the truth. He had taken more time walking around than he’d planned.

  He just didn’t say why.

  He buried his clothes in the hamper with his other dirty clothes and resisted the urge to sniff them and smell her scent on them. Then he jumped into the shower and thoroughly scrubbed himself from head to toe, including shampooing his hair twice. When he finished and dried off, he used way more deodorant than he usually did.

  He didn’t know if he could pull this ruse off, but with the focus on Dewi and Beck and their weddings, as well as pack business, maybe he and Malyah could slide under the radar for a few days, at least.

  When he was ready he emerged from his room and met up with Jack and Moraine in their living room.

  Jack, an Alpha, cocked his head. “What’s up with you?”

  Shit. “Just really tired and stressed out,” Joaquin said.

  Again, not a lie. He’d hoped to spend at least one day doing nothing but finding himself a quiet spot in the sun somewhere well away from everyone and curling his wolf self up and going to sleep for about twelve hours straight.

  Not happening now. Not with Malyah as his mate.

  If he curled up somewhere for twelve hours straight, it would be with her in his arms.

  And they probably wouldn’t be sleeping.

  Correction, they definitely wouldn’t be sleeping.

  Every cell in Joaquin’s body cried out to rejoin her. He couldn’t imagine the hell Beck went through trying to locate Nami after letting her get away the first time. Badger had told him that story during their flight from Florid
a. That and other stories, catching him up fully with the latest events.

  Beck’s a better wolf than I am.

  Hell, he couldn’t even wait to claim Malyah despite the circumstances dictating it would be better to wait.

  It’ll serve me right if Beck and Dewi clean my clock over this.

  “Well, you’ve been through a lot,” Moraine said. “You’ve earned a break. When was the last time you had any time off?”

  “I don’t know.” He usually didn’t take time off. He was an Enforcer. Between himself and Ramirez, they had a lot of territory to cover. He was usually on the move. Anytime he got to lie down and sleep a full night without having to answer his phone—although up until now very minor shit, in retrospect—was like a mini-vacation.

  Taking whole days off, much less several in a row, wasn’t something he’d done. Yes, he could have requested someone cover for him while he took time off. Dewi herself had told him that. It was standard practice.

  He didn’t like to do that.

  He felt guilty enough he hadn’t been able to save Felicia Escobar’s life.

  Fifteen fucking years old, and to die like that when she’d been guilty of doing nothing more than walking home.

  Just because some fucking animal wanted to rape her and discard her like garbage.

  Worse than an animal, because most animals didn’t rape and kill for fun.

  He’d never get that image of her out of his mind, of how he’d found her.

  Of the sounds of her mother’s wails when he’d brought her body home to them. The anguished sobs of her father and siblings.

  Of him feeling like he’d completely failed the people he was sworn to protect, no matter how irrational that feeling was, or how he’d been cleared of any responsibility for the events by Dewi and Peyton.

  It didn’t matter.

  Someone had died on his watch. One of his people.

  Yes, he’d plunged in to track the fucker down. In retrospect, he should have waited to take blood in private. But his rage and desire to finish it then, to cause the bastard’s family the kind of agony that Felicia’s family had endured, had overpowered him.