Like I almost understand Lance’s urge to fish. It’s not about the catch. It’s about the quiet. Standing at the cold water’s edge and watching it babble by. Listening to the trees.
Why is my wolf so calm?
Sadie, I almost hear him whisper.
I shake my head. I can’t have Sadie. Sadie’s not for keeping.
Lance shoots me a curious look. “You seem… different.”
I don’t answer. I can’t tell him about Sadie because there’s nothing going on. And nothing will go on.
“It’s the teacher, isn’t it?”
I draw in a sharp breath at the mere mention of her.
“She calms the madness,” I finally admit.
“She seems sweet.”
Just hearing him talk about her makes my heart surge up and bounce in my chest. “She is,” I say gruffly. “But it’s not like that. I’m not getting involved.”
“Right.” Lance looks into the river, probably so I don’t have to lie to his face.
“Her ex is bothering her,” I explain. “And she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend to scare him off.”
Now Lance looks over and his brows pop up in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I scrub a hand over my face.
“Fuck, Deke. That sounds like trouble. Does she know you’re likely to put that ex of hers in a body bag?”
A sick feeling stirs in my gut. “That won’t happen,” I say gruffly although I’m not even half sure that’s true.
If that guy laid one fucking hand on her, I would kill him. No question.
But that doesn’t seem to be the nature of her perturbance. The fact that she doesn’t seem too hurt by the guy in general soothes my wolf’s need to exact justice for her. It seems like he’s more of an annoyance than a real threat—to her heart or to her person.
“I don’t know, Deke. The last human female you protected landed you with an assault and battery charge. And you would’ve flat-out killed the guy if we hadn’t been there. I’m not saying you weren’t justified, I just—”
“I know,” I snap. “I lose control. My wolf goes into war-mode in every situation.”
“I would hate for that sweet teacher to ever see that side of you,” Lance says in a gentle voice. “That’s all.”
A low growl rumbles from my chest. I actually think my wolf is growling at the idea of me scaring Sadie. It’s true I would want to punch my own face if that ever happened.
“I won’t touch the ex,” I vow. “But I’m not going to refuse Sadie the favor.”
I couldn’t.
I feel bad I’m leaving for the weekend when the team is trying to discover how we got made in Switzerland, but at the moment it feels like we’re chasing shadows, and Sadie needs me.
“I get it.” Lance snags a fish on his hook and tugs, pulling a flopping rainbow trout out of the water.
I rumble my appreciation. If he catches a few more, we can all have fish for dinner. He gently withdraws the hook and drops the fish in his net in the water. “Just be careful. I like Sadie—”
He breaks off when a ferocious growl erupts from my throat.
“Not in that way,” he says quickly. “Not at all. Dude—that’s what I”m talking about. I don’t know if you can pull this off.”
Shit. He may be right. But backing out now is not an option.
“I’ll pull it off,” I swear. “Sadie will be safe with me.”
Chapter 7
Sadie
My belly is full of butterflies on the day of the wedding trip. I only told my friends about my plus-one to the wedding but not my dad or even Scott, who tried very hard to get me to drive with him. I knew if I told Scott, he’d go running to my dad, and I didn’t want to deal with the mountain of judgement that would crash down on my head over associating myself so closely with what my dad would clearly describe as an unsavory character.
The day dawns bright and beautiful. I take a long shower and shave my legs. I can take my time because I’m not rushing off to school. I left the substitute for my class with full lesson plans, so everything should be fine in there. So long as she or he has experience with younger students.
I consider things, and then I shave a little extra. I packed my good underwear. I tell myself the extra silky thongs are so I don’t show panty lines under the bridesmaid dress. Sure they are. My ovaries aren’t fooled.
For the drive, I’m in a sweater and yoga pants and my cute grey faux fur lined boots that double as hiking boots. The resort has private trails, and I’m sure Deke and I will have time to slip away and hike one of them. I get the feeling he likes nature. I remember how nice it was when he took me to the bridge on his bike.
If we have some time alone, will he cash in on the favor again? Ask for a kiss… or something more?
I’m sure we can work something out.
Maybe I should ask him. Just tell him what I want. I’ll make it clear I have no expectations. That I know it’s not a real date. That he’d be doing me another favor. The resort has a spa and outdoor hot tub. I packed a bikini just in case.
And I won’t let Scott spoil our fun. I’m hoping he’ll see Deke with me and leave me alone the rest of the weekend.
“Don’t you want to play?” crackles a creepy voice in the corner. I jump and whirl at the same time, but it’s only the stupid Jackalope toy in the corner. It’s been malfunctioning, going off at odd moments unprompted, so I brought it home from my classroom. Probably shouldn’t have bought it from a sketchy knockoff toy warehouse online.
A roar of an engine outside gives me a shiver. Deke. I toss the Jackalope into my bedroom closet and grab my suitcase.
Deke’s car is a big, black, boxy-style Mercedes with a suped up engine. Loud and growly, like his bike. He’s already out of the driver’s seat and coming around to meet me. He’s wearing his usual biker man outfit—big boots and faded T, black jeans and bad ass smirk. Of course, he’s not dressing up for the weekend.
Oh my God—I was nuts to ask him to be my date. The entire wedding party will think I’ve lost my mind.
Have I? I may have. My sexy little pink thong’s already wet. I fumble with my keys but by some miracle lock the door and race down to meet him.
“Deke.” I’m so short compared to him, I have to dance up on my toes to greet him. I throw my arms around his neck because I’m absurdly glad to see him. Because I want to thank him for doing this favor for me.
He stiffens for just a moment, and I realize I’ve overstepped. It’s not a real date, of course. I shouldn’t act so friendly. But then he wraps a big hand around the back of my neck, tugs me to tiptoe and kisses me right there in front of my townhouse. In broad daylight, in front of my neighbors—and after a second with my lips pressed to his firm ones, I don’t care. His mouth is warm on mine, dominating but not demanding. His breath is a little minty.
He tilts me backwards, so I’m just the tiniest bit off balance. Without thinking, I drop my suitcase and grab on to his giant biceps to hang on. His cock bulges in his pants, twitching against my belly.
I’d happily call the whole weekend off just so we can stand here and smooch. He breaks the kiss but doesn’t back away. Instead he presses his forehead to mine for a moment.