Dreaming of the Wolf (Heart of the Wolf #8)(91)

“What are you thinking about?” Jake asked as he held her close and she snuggled against him in the middle seat of the SUV.

“How nice Sherry ended up being. I mean, she loathed me, but she really was very good at her job. Of course, I think she was trying to catch Tom’s eye and probably didn’t think she’d stand a chance if she didn’t try her best to get me out of hot water.”

“She had to or face the consequences. No newly turned wolf could be incarcerated without causing dire consequences for all of us,” Jake reminded her, rubbing her shoulder in a loving way.

“Hmm.” She turned her attention to Tom and asked, “What did you think of her, Tom? Possibilities?”

He shook his head. “She’s just like Jake said. All business through and through. I doubt she has a seductive bone in her body.”

“Sometimes all a woman needs is the right man.” Alicia ran her hand over Jake’s thigh.

He slipped his hand beneath her blouse and stroked a bra-covered breast, enjoying the way her nipple strained against the silky fabric with his touch. If they’d had more privacy, he would have taken her cue and had his way with her. Stopping at a hotel on the way was an idea, too. But he couldn’t inconvenience everyone with his insatiable need to have her.

Tom said, “Darien told me everyone in the pack is coming to the wedding. It’ll be a feast to end all feasts.”

“Lelandi said it would be in the clearing in the woods out back,” Alicia said. “Is it big enough?”

“Yeah,” Tom said. “We have pack games and other pack gatherings there.” He turned to give Jake an annoyed look. “You realize that after this wedding is over, Lelandi’s going to be on my case even more about finding a mate, don’t you?”

Jake shook his head. “Her babies are coming soon. She’ll be wrapped up in that. So you’re off the hook for a little while.”

Alicia was melting into Jake’s lap, and he was getting damned hard as he continued to massage one of her breasts. “Tell Peter to drive faster,” she whispered to Jake.

Tom shook his head, probably having overheard Alicia’s words spoken in private to Jake. “Hell, I’ve got to get me a mate,” Tom said.

***

Of all the damned things, Mario thought as he circled in his wolf form around the house that the artist lover-boy owned. Wolves lived in this area. Were they wolf-wolves or werewolves? He couldn’t tell the difference. But never having met any other werewolf types except the bastard he’d killed and the ones he’d made, although only one still lived, he hadn’t thought many more existed. They probably were regular wolves.

He sniffed the area and listened. No one was here. The place was quiet, and no one was guarding it. He figured that when Jake Silver returned with Alicia, he’d most likely have that bodyguard force with him. Mario was going to have to enlist the help of the one other man he’d turned if they had to fight a couple of wolves. Danny and a couple of others would have to be the firepower to serve as a distraction so he could grab Alicia and leave. Things were getting too hot for Mario in Colorado. A warrant had been issued for Danny’s arrest, and he was a dead man once Mario got his hands on Alicia.

Not only was that damned police chief in Breckenridge breathing down Mario’s neck, but the Denver police somehow had linked his name to Ferdinand Massaro’s death. And the Feds were looking into Tony Thomas’s death, somehow linking him to someone named Antonio Frasero.

Mario was thinking of going someplace else. Somewhere in Minnesota, maybe. Up nearer to the Canadian border where he could slip away if need be. He’d heard there were real wolves in those parts. That meant he could blend in.

All his trouble had started with that damned Tony. If he hadn’t been looking into Mario’s business dealings, and then if Missy Greiston hadn’t gotten involved, everything would have gone along like it always had. Their deaths had gotten Missy’s daughter involved, and she had created even more trouble for Mario. One little woman. Wolf now. He’d show Alicia what it meant to mess with him.

He turned and loped off to his car hidden in the woods. Time to get reinforcements.

***

After dinner at Darien’s and a much more relaxed atmosphere, except for Lelandi bringing up the wedding plans again, Alicia had had a wonderful time with the family and already felt as though she’d known them forever. When she and Jake returned to his home, guards were again posted outside. She hated that men had to stand guard detail all night, although Jake assured her no one minded doing what they needed to when they had to keep pack members safe. Even so, she did feel much safer knowing they were there.

Jake made her sit on the couch and watch the orange flames shoot up toward the chimney as he heated cups of hot chocolate. She could envision a winter-filled landscape out the big picture windows when the first snowfall began and how beautiful the woods would be. Just like her favorite poem by Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”

“A penny for your thoughts,” Jake said, stalking back into the living room with two cups of steaming hot chocolate for them to drink.

“Did I tell you how much I love you? You’ve rescued me more times than I can count. Been my knight, my protector, never condemned me for having so many husbands when your kind never divorce.” She took a deep breath, then sipped her hot chocolate, the rich velvety flavor tantalizing her tongue and the aroma making her take another deep breath of it.