Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(20)

He poured some cream onto his hands and warmed it between them before he began to massage her back.

“Hmm, Darien, you’ve said many times how beautiful I am, although I feel like a beached whale.” She sighed. “What is Jake really doing? Hmm, oh, that feels so good, honey. A little lower if you don’t mind. Yes, to the right… wait, to the left… yes, there.”

He massaged her lower back and felt the tension ease in her muscles as she continued to purr.

“He was with a woman, I venture to guess.”

Her eyes wide, Lelandi looked over her shoulder at Darien. “A woman? Are you sure?”

He chuckled. “Well, the shower was running, and he wasn’t in it. The fact he’s sightseeing when he never does sure sounds to me like he’s holed up in a hotel room with a woman.”

Lelandi turned her head back to the pillow and didn’t say anything as Darien continued to massage her back. Finally she said, “He never sees a woman socially beyond a strictly mutual sexual encounter because of what we are. If he’s sightseeing with her, does it mean she’s one of us?”

“We won’t know until he’s ready to tell us. But if she’s not one of us, I’m sure he just intends to stay with her tonight and return after that.” He had no intention of second-guessing the situation.

Lelandi was quiet. Darien knew her matchmaking mind was at it again.

“What about that woman… the one you said called here looking for Jake, but he hadn’t given her his number. Would it be her, do you think?”

“Sherry Slate, the lawyer? Jake told me if he had wanted her to have his number, he would have given her his private one. She must have done some research to come up with my name and number in an attempt to get hold of him. He told me she was a nice woman but not his type.”

“So who was she then?”

He rubbed Lelandi’s shoulders. “She’s a partner in a law firm in Denver. She met Jake at that art gallery in Denver where he dropped off some of his photographs. If you remember, he was late coming home that time, too.”

“No one told me that was the reason. I assumed he got hung up in Denver traffic or something.”

Darien shrugged. “There was nothing to it, so no need to discuss it with anyone. She was a frequent purchaser at the art gallery. Modern art, though. Not the kind of work Jake does.”

“Hmm,” Lelandi said with speculation.

“I really doubt it’s the lawyer. It may be just a fling with a human, Lelandi. I wouldn’t make anything of it.” He began rubbing her shoulders, kneading out the tension.

“He hasn’t been with a woman in a very long time, you told me. And he never stays with one overnight. It sounds to me that she might be a lupus garou.” Lelandi smiled and snuggled tighter against her pillow. “If he’s found his mate, then I only have to work on Tom.”

Smiling, Darien shook his head. “Tom’s bound and determined to wait for his dream mate. After I found you, he said he wanted to find a woman like that.”

“Well, if he doesn’t find one that way, I’ll have to help him along. Is Jake bringing the woman he’s with home to us soon?”

“I don’t know anything more than I’ve told you. And even that’s circumstantial. He might have just been getting ready to take his own shower.”

She frowned at Darien, looking as though she was annoyed he’d ruin her hopeful news. “But…?”

“Why would he be staying at a hotel in the first place? When I asked him about the shower running, he acknowledged it was but wouldn’t say anything further. If he’d been getting ready to take a shower, he would have hurried to end the conversation. But he wasn’t. As if he was waiting for someone to get out first.”

He massaged some more as Lelandi took a deep breath. “Why wasn’t he in the shower with her then?”

Darien chuckled. “How would I know?”

“Hmm, well, it sounds to me as if he’s working his way up to things… which makes it sound like she’s a lupus garou. If she were human, he’d just get on with business and be out of there.”

“Maybe,” Darien said.

She ignored him. “He didn’t even want to go to Breckenridge. Guess he’s changed his mind now. I wonder who she is.”

Poor Jake. If Lelandi had anything to do with it, she’d have him mated to the woman before he knew what hit him.

***

The shower curtain slid aside and Jake’s attention remained focused on the closed bathroom door. He envisioned Alicia’s silky skin covered in water droplets and licking every one of them off.

Before he could give much more thought to the matter, she opened the door to the bathroom, letting the steam out. Dressed only in a skimpy bath towel, she stood in the doorway for a moment looking at him and seeming a little hesitant.

“Is something the matter?” he asked, frowning.

She twisted her mouth a little and shook her head. “I forgot to get a change of clothes.” Her brows elevated a bit when his eyes shifted from her body to her face. But still she didn’t move.

Wrapped in the towel, she was beautiful. Her dark hair was dry except for the ends that were dripping wet. The towel was so short that it was more like a big hand towel than a bath towel, unless it was for kid-sized individuals. The fabric had little body, and even less when it was damp.