Doe and the Wolf (Furry United Coalition, #5) (6 page)

“Are you doubting my word?”

“Little doe, in my line of work, you doubt everyone.”

Fair enough. “I promised you I’d stay until I could prove myself safe to shifters and humans. I am a woman of my word.”

“I hope so. I’ll be back in a bit. Make yourself at home.”

If she were at home, she’d have a clean spot to sit. And sleep. If she thought the living room was messy, his room appeared as if a tornado had gone through.

First things first, if she intended to sleep in the bed, the sheets had to go, as did the many piles of clothes, which she didn’t bother checking for cleanliness. She assumed they were all dirty and took armfuls to the hall where the washer and dryer hid in a closet. She got a large load going then went hunting for cleaning supplies.

By some stroke of luck, she found a clean set of sheets, still in packaging, in the almost empty linen closet. With the hour approaching midnight and her eyes drooping from fatigue, she quickly made the bed and collapsed in it. Messy house or not, the wolf owned a comfortable mattress, and she fell into an immediate sleep, one rudely interrupted hours later by a very drunk, naked wolf, who crawled into bed and sprawled across it, a heavy leg and arm flung over her.

“Get off me,” she squeaked, pushing at him. Her hands encountered male flesh wherever she touched. Hot, very nude, and oh so tempting male flesh.

One bleary eye opened and peered at her. “Hey, little doe.”

“Don’t you hey me. What are you doing?”

“Trying to sleep.”

“In my bed.”

“Don’t you mean my bed?”

“Which you said I could have.”

“I did?”

“You did.”

“Okay.” He closed his eye and didn’t budge.

“Um, Everett. You need to move.”

“But it’s my bed.”

“And I’m in it.”

“Yes, and I have to say that was a pleasant surprise.” His hand, which rested on her tummy, inched along her ribcage until it cupped a breast. She squirmed to no avail as he brushed a finger over her nipple, which, despite the fabric covering it, perked into a taut peak. As for her girly parts further south? They stirred with interest. She clamped her thighs tight.

This wouldn’t do at all. She tried again. “Everett, wake up. You need to move.”

He nuzzled her instead as he grumbled a bleary, “Why?”

She fought the shiver at his touch and lifted her head out of his reach. “Because you’re supposed to sleep on the couch. Remember?”

“But it’s lumpy.” He opened his eyes and his lower lip jutted into a pout. “Can’t we share?”

Share the bed with a naked, virile wolf who made her body hum with a desire she could ill afford to indulge in?

“No, we can’t share.” Her protest fell on deaf ears as Everett closed his eyes again and snored, not softly either.

Darn it. Now what was she supposed to do? The only option left to her, given he kept her caged with an arm and a leg. Sleep—and dream. Dream naughty things where a predator ate his prey, to her blissful delight.

W
aking with a woman atop him wasn’t new to Everett. Discovering the woman in question was Dawn made his eyes shoot open.
Uh-oh.
How had he ended up wearing her as a blanket in his bed?

His recollection of the previous night was fuzzy at best. Ridiculous amounts of alcohol would do that even to a shifter who could metabolize it faster than a human. In his defense, he’d needed the booze so he could try and forget the doe. Something about her delicate nature, which covered a firm backbone—ending in a sexy tail—drew this lone wolf. Drew and attracted him to the point he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

What was a wolf to do? Seduce her? A usual course of action if he’d not kind of told her he’d give her his bed, without him in it. Stupid honor thing. Why couldn’t he be more like his brothers and break promises faster than he could make them? But Everett, despite his bad-boy image, had morals. If he promised something, he stuck to it, even if it hurt. And, boy, did his promise to leave Dawn alone hurt his poor, raging libido. Worried he’d do something to ruin her timidly given trust—say like drag her into his arms and kiss her breathless—he’d needed to escape.

With a doe on his brain, instead of on his cock, and in need of distraction, he resorted to what many a man did in this situation. He got drunk to forget. He’d done so well he’d forgotten he’d promised her his bed. What surprised him was she hadn’t kicked him out of it.

What else don’t I remember?

Given he found himself naked, and she remained very much clothed, he doubted he’d gotten any nookie, but then again, with her sprawled atop him, trusting and intimate, perhaps he’d forgotten more than just how he got home after the bar closed.

It pleased him to note his trust in her wasn’t misplaced. He’d wondered at first, as he sat in his truck just up the street with a dozen beers he’d snagged from his fridge before leaving, if she’d flee at the first chance. But no. He’d watched her silhouette in the curtained windows as she moved in and out of his bedroom, making several trips, more than likely trying to create a path through the chaos. When the light eventually flicked off, he’d left his truck and crept close for a peek. A gap in the fabric covering his window and the streetlight let him observe her sleeping, peaceful as an angel, hair spread across the pillow, face relaxed, fingers clutching at the sheet—
in my bed, where she belongs
. It took more willpower than he liked not to crawl in alongside her.

Disturbed at the thought, he’d left and gone to his local bar, where he drank. And drank some more until everything faded away, even his need for the doe. He’d forgotten so well he’d ended up in the one place he was trying to avoid—and hornier than an unneutered, three-balled lupine.

Any chance she’d not noticed him crawling into bed last night? Not likely.

Was there any way to extricate himself without waking her? Nope.

And why was he acting like some emasculated excuse of a male?

Grabbing her ass cheeks with two hands and the lobe of her ear with his teeth, in a gruff morning voice, he murmured. “By all the hair on my impressive chest, good morning, little doe. Fancy finding you here.”

The scream he understood, the thrashing as well, but the knee to his groin as she scrambled to get away from him and the gagging? Totally uncalled for.

“Eew!” She fanned her face. “Did something crawl in your mouth and die?”

Well, that shriveled his happy morning erection quicker than a cold shower. “Excuse me for not brushing my teeth yet. Kind of hard with a forest animal using me as a pillow.”

Aw, how cute. She blushed. He still didn’t forgive her for the throbbing in his groin. Not until she offered to kiss it better.

Alas, a kiss for his booboo wasn’t on the agenda.

She went on the attack. “You broke your promise. You said I could have the bed.”

“And you did.”

“Alone.”

“I forgot.”

“Because you were drunk,” she accused, shaking her finger. Talk about an inappropriate time to want to suck on that digit. “I reminded you last night, but you refused to leave.”

Oops. He didn’t remember that part. “I don’t suppose I can say I’m sorry?”

She tossed her hair. “Apology accepted, if you go to Starbuck’s.”

“What?” Her quick forgiveness followed by her imperious demand made his already spinning head wobble on his shoulders, much like the yellow bobblehead minion on the dash of his truck.

“I said, if you want me to accept your apology then I want Starbucks. There is nothing edible in this house.”

She had a point. Still... “Do you know how much they charge for coffee?”

“About as much as they do for one of their breakfast wraps. And I want two. Also, a blueberry scone and a cinnamon bun. Oh, and I like my coffee large, extra sugar, triple cream with a shot of caramel.”

Docile? How had he ever thought that? “Anything else, princess?”

She smiled, and it was brighter than the eye-squinting morning sunlight streaming through his window—and utterly captivating. “As a matter of fact, yes.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask what.”

“I made a list last night. Just a few essentials if I’m going to stay here.” She grabbed a sheet from his cleared nightstand and handed it to him.

Everett perused it, his brows getting higher and higher the more he read. “Tampons! You expect me to go shopping for tampons?”

“And pads. I’m going to need both to prevent spillage.”

Too much information. Especially this early in the morning. “No way.” He thrust the list back at her.

She crossed her arms and refused to take it. “I need those things. You promised to take care of me while I was your guest. Are you breaking your word, again?” A pointed stare at the bed had him gnashing his teeth.

“How about I just give you money and you go shopping for these items yourself?”

“While I appreciate your trust, how am I supposed to do that on foot?”

“I’ll loan you my truck.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he clamped his lips tight. Was he a complete idiot? Offering to give her money and wheels? Hello, she’d just neatly maneuvered him into giving her the perfect escape.

To his surprise, she didn’t jump on his offer. “I don’t want your truck. I can’t drive.”

“You can’t drive?” He ogled her. “Seriously? What are you, like twenty-two, twenty-three?”

“Twenty-four actually, and no, I don’t drive. I freeze in headlights.” Her slim shoulders lifted, and she tossed him a wry smile. “I guess some things are just inherent.”

For some reason, Everett found this immensely funny, and he chuckled and chuckled some more until someone hit him in the face with a clean pair of pants. How novel. He thought he’d run out last week and had planned on hitting Walmart for a new pair.

“Put those on.”

“Why? I’m not cold.”

“You are naked though.”

“Yup. And thank you for noticing.” His dick waved hello, but she missed it, her gaze kept strictly on his face.

“I’d give you some underpants too, but I didn’t find those when I did some laundry last night.”

“That’s ’cause I don’t own any. I like to go commando.”

Most women would blush or giggle at this admission. Dawn just made a face. “Gross.”

“I prefer the term dangerous.”

“And how is that?”

“Zippers aren’t man’s best friend.”

It took her a moment to grasp his meaning, and when she did, her gaze flicked down. His dick pointed up, her cheeks flushed bright red, and she ran faster than a rabbit in front of a hungry wolf.

He almost chased her down because as a red-blooded male, the view of that pert ass wiggling out of sight was a hard temptation to resist. But a promise was a promise. On went the pants. And, as if karma were waiting in the corner to bite him...his zipper caught a few hairs.

Awoo-ouch! His howl of shock almost drowned out her laughter.

D
awn fled to the kitchen, where the cupboards were bare, just like a certain man. It mortified her to no end that she’d woken atop Everett, a blanket for his nakedness. It shocked her even worse to realize she’d quite enjoyed it, until she’d caught a whiff of his beer-laden breath. It, and the position she found herself in, aided her in dispelling the extremely naughty thoughts of what she could do with all that tempting male flesh.

And, boy, did he have a lot of that. Apparently, it didn’t matter she’d seen it before when she’d cared for him at the cabin. It still hit her like a ton of erotic bricks, right between the legs. Predator or not, she wanted to jump on his bone and gnaw until he howled.
He’d probably let me too. Even encourage it.
Everett didn’t disguise the fact he wanted to have sex with her.

But I’m not that type of girl.
Even if she wished otherwise at the moment.

The wolf in question sauntered into the kitchen, upper torso unclad and jeans hanging indecently low on his hips. With his jaw unshaven and sporting a few days’ worth of stubble, he presented a delicious visual treat. Her pussy rumbled, kind of like her tummy. Two hungers, and he was the linchpin to solving them both.

“Are you going out like that?” she asked, keeping his small island between them as he paced the kitchen, his presence dwarfing the space.

“You forgot to give me a shirt.”

So she had. “There’s some on top of the dryer.” She moved left, as he came at her from the right.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to
eat
here?” There was nothing subtle about his hint, not given the way he said it and the smoldering glance he aimed her way.

She pretended to misunderstand, and ignored her treacherous body, which wanted to know why they couldn’t take him up on his offer. “Eat what? The science experiment in the fridge?”

“Damn. Has the food already gone bad? I went shopping the first of the month.”

“And it’s now almost the end of it.”

“Oh.” His sheepish grin was adorable.

“How do you not starve?”

He shrugged as he leaned against the counter. “Restaurants are always happy to feed me, as are some of my friends.”

Lady friends she’d bet with not a little twinge of jealousy. “Well, since you’re such a connoisseur of the local eateries, mind grabbing a shirt and taking me to one? I’m starving.” And not just for food.

“What happened to your Starbuck’s demand?”

“I changed my mind. I need something with a little more substance.”

“I know where you can get some good morning sausage.” He waggled his brows.

She burst out laughing. “That is so not attractive.”

“Aren’t you the slightest bit tempted?”

Yes, but her mother hadn’t raised her to give in to temptation. And Grandma had taught her how to resist it—
“If you ever find yourself tempted by the wrong type of man, picture your daddy in his skimpy Speedos.”
Shudder. “Sorry, but seeing your hairy caterpillar wiggle just makes me think of baby birds feeding.”

Offended, he stalked off, and when he returned, not only did he wear a shirt and socks, but he’d shaved; chin, cheeks and the spot between his eyebrows.