His stare at her was more direct as he tossed her the keys. Tell me about it.
He made her watch while he started her car and scraped ice off the windows, but she refused to wait inside. She couldnt let him always tell her what to do.
Plus, he hadnt bothered to put on a coat, and she liked the way his butt looked in his close-fitted jeans, bending over her hood.
Fingers wrapped around her coffee, she tucked her nose down in the buttoned-up neck of the flannel-lined denim jacket hed loaned her. Hed ignored his box of visitor clothing and pulled the jacket and a pair of sweatpants from his own closet to replace her ridiculous summer dress, so the cozy warmth smelled of rich cedar, an overlay of malt, and him.
And a hint of sex since theyd indulged one last time before theyd stumbled out of bed.
She let out a breath that fogged in the cold air. She shouldnt get used to this; she might get lazy and spoiled on good beer.
For all the icy chill, the predawn sky was a Technicolor meld of pink and blue, promising lovely weather later. Just the sort of day one wanted to spend smelting iron bullets, marshalling the pack and preparing for a preternatural war.
Beck opened the driver door for her and she slipped in. She looked up at him. Im sending our young down here today.
He nodded. I think its a good day for a field trip. Ill have the bus ready and a contingent to go with them. Ill be up with the rest of my people later.
The cars heaters were blasting, but the warmth that went through her had nothing to do with that. The phae are threatening my territory. Its not your fight.
His jaw clenched, and his gold eyes darkened. He leaned down so fast, she thought he would snap at her, but instead he kissed her once, hard and possessive. He glared at her from that intimate distance.
Havent you gotten the message yet? I will always fight for you.
Without waiting for her response, he stepped back and slammed the door. He slapped the roof for good measure and pointed up valley, as if she might have forgotten the way.
She hesitated, wanting to jump out and...and what? Make him take it back?
Or make him say it again?
She gunned the car and sped away.
She arrived at the lakeside parking lot as her pack was gathering. Just a couple dozen families and singletons, healthy and sturdy from the mountain air and a satisfying life her great-grandmother had started for those who were just a bit unusual, even for werelings. She had been tasked with continuing that way of life, and instead this menace had found them.
Maybe there was only so much running away even a wolf-kind could do.
Keisha and Peter leaned shoulder to shoulder, looking tired but resolute, their arms wound around each other. The cougar-kind sculptor had loaded his trailer with all the quickly manufactured iron weapons, and now helped disperse the spears, clubs, flails and darts to the small crowd.
Merrilee brought them up to speed, with the finding of the rogue phae stronghold, the extra iron pipes in her trunk, the last-minute field trip for the children. She selected a handful of the young mothers and two older werelings to make the trek down valley, all of whom bristled at the exile for their own safety. This is our place, someone protested, but they all inclined their heads when Merrilee swept them with a glare.
The phae will return this evening, and I want only our strongest to face them. She refused to think how shed raced away from her fiercest ally. Lets hope it doesnt come to a battle, but if it does, lets be ready.
Keisha dispensed a color-coded flow chart of how their forcessuch as they werewould be positioned, and the pack went to stockpile their new weapons, looking unaccountable perky.
They were all apex predators within, she reminded herself. Perhaps they had been living the good life too long. Maybe Beck was right when hed said she should have given them more opportunity to display their own power.
She just wished the chance hadnt come under such dire circumstances.
As shed expected, the day quickly warmed, and as she oversaw the conversion of Babettes pipes to sharp iron daggers, she stopped by her cottage to change into something lighter. She tossed Becks hand-me-downs across her bed in the A-frames loft. For an instant, she imagined him naked in her shower, having left these clothes behind. As a trail for her to follow. As a marking of his territory.
She shivered at the thought, wanting his touch even now.
Resolutely, she pulled on a gorgeous strapless maxi dress shed found on her last visit to New York. It would not fail to impress the glamorous phae and yet offered no impediment to shifting. She ran her hands over the ombre silk that was dyed from icy white around her breasts to an elegant gold to a fiery red speckled with white stars at her ankles. Shed thought it captured the spirit of the verita luna.
Now she would make it her armor as she pretended to be a queen.
The day seemed to go by too slowly, despite all she had to do. Keisha had taken a call earlier from Orson who had made contact with Josh Reimer, but had nothing to report about their meeting with Vaile. Though the bright sunlight ensured the phae would be reluctant to show themselves, Merrilee found she had one ear cocked for anything unusual.
Then she realized she was listening for the distinctive thunder of a Harley.
Which made her curse and stomp on her hem as she whirled away, almost yanking the dress off her breasts.
Which of course made her think of Beck even more.
She almost hoped the Lord of the Hunt did want war, because she certainly felt like attacking something.
So she ate, made sure all her people did the same, insisted they take turns getting some restwolf-kind had a special affinity for napping in the suntried herself to relax and instead tossed restlessly on her bed next to the cedar-scented jacket, thinking of the night before. She touched the metal rivets down the front, imagining Becks flat, hard nipples.
Its called snuggling, she grumbled softly.
An answering growl from far away made her jump out of bed. She went to the loft window that overlooked the lake, the parking lot and the road that wound down the valley.
A caravan was on its way, the rumbling Harley at the fore. She went to make coffee.
There would be no rest for the wicked.
Chapter 10
Beck took the neatly typed battle plan from Keisha, studied the layout and dispersed his people to the thin spots and a few other strategic locations. For a pack that specialized in pretty pictures, theyd organized themselves well. Not that hed say that aloud to the packs leader, who undoubtedly would find a way to take it as an insult.
The Alpha whom he hadnt seen yet even though the sun was heading toward the backside of the mountains.
He stalked up the hill toward her cottage and grabbed Peter as he hustled by. Wheres Merrilee?
Peter lifted his head, seeking that inherent feel all pack members had for their Alpha. Down at the lake. His wife called his name and he abandoned Beck without a backward glance.
Damn it, the lake covered a lot of water.
Beck glanced at the shimmering blue reflecting the darkening sky. No wonder the view inspired her creative werelings. He took a step that would angle him directly to the parking lot.
But paused. His head swiveled seemingly of its own accord toward a spot closer to the water.
There. He couldnt see her, but she was there.
His hackles prickled. She was not his Alpha! And yet his feet, apparently turned traitor along with his head, carried him down the hill and through the willows that edged the lake. Where the willows turned to reeds, he found her.
She stood with her dress hiked up to her thighs, shin-deep in the lake. With the bright hot colors of the dress on the darkening blue, she looked like a flame dancing on the water.
He paused, still stunned by his awareness of her, and leaned against a willow, striving for casual though really he wondered if his knees would hold him up. Finally he found his drawl. Gone fishin?
She stood with her dress hiked up to her thighs, shin-deep in the lake. With the bright hot colors of the dress on the darkening blue, she looked like a flame dancing on the water.
He paused, still stunned by his awareness of her, and leaned against a willow, striving for casual though really he wondered if his knees would hold him up. Finally he found his drawl. Gone fishin?
She glanced over her shoulder. Cooling my heels.
You always were impatient.
Scared, mostly.
He straightened. Mer, I wont let the phae
Not scared of them. She slogged out of the lake without further clarification, shaking water vines off her bare ankles. I saw the reinforcements you brought. Thank you. I would have missed that opening in our perimeter. Youre good at this.
Her blunt compliment made him blink in surprise. Those years in the army were worth something.
Im grateful youre here. She stopped in front of him and pushed herself up onto her tiptoes to kiss him.
Her lips yielded against his. He wanted to pull her close, but he was still unnerved by the feeling that had pulled him to her. You would do the same for me.
She quirked her lips, but the expression was more wry than amused. If the Sun-Down Tavern ever needs a new logo, Im your girl. But youll never change that, will you?
He tilted his head, wary of the undercurrents still swirling around her even though she wasnt standing in the water anymore. Was she saying she wanted to be his girl? A zing went through him, but he wasnt sure if it was excitement or fear.
I brought Nally and the spores with me, he told her. Could be dangerous, even with him wrapped in iron and four-leaf clovers, but I wanted every option available.
She nodded. I talked to him earlier. Hes still feeling guilty. I told him he is not to sacrifice himself.
Beck tilted his head at the way she said the word. No one is going to sacrifice for those creatures. They have their own world, as we do. Theyll just have to live with what they have.
She studied him. Didnt you say thats not enough for you anymore? Just living?
As if the lake waters were rising to drown him, he felt himself paddling to stay afloat on the strange mood ebbing between them. That was different.
Right. Too different.
Mer
We should get back.
Considering she was the one whod left, this seemed like a blatant dismissal, but he followed her to the parking lot.