Doe and the Wolf (Furry United Coalition, #5) (8 page)

She fought an inner battle against these alien sensations, a battle that made her wonder if she wasn’t better off turning herself in at times. What if she did end up hurting someone?
And, worse, what if I enjoy it?

As they sat around the dinner table, she could see Tom eyeing the bowl and platter set in the middle of it. She sighed.

“Oh for Pete’s sake. I didn’t poison it. Here. Watch.” She spooned a large portion of the rice with stir-fried vegetables onto her plate and dumped some of the teriyaki style chicken on top of it. She dug in, each forkful a heavenly bite after eating out of a can for so long. It wasn’t entirely for Tom’s benefit she moaned. It tasted damned good.

Apparently, she passed the dubious sloth’s test. He helped himself and dug in with gusto, his only concession to her culinary skills was the occasional grunt. As for Everett, he’d not hesitated and scarfed down his repast and his second helping before they’d even finished their first.

At the end of their meal, he leaned back in his chair and patted his belly. He also belched, more than once.

“Excuse me,” she said with a pointed glare in his direction.

“Excuse you for what?”

“Not me, you. Or did your mother not teach you any table manners?”

“Sure she did. Don’t chew with your mouth open. No throwing food. Oh, and if you don’t like what’s on your plate, starve.”

“He’s not serious, is he?” she asked, turning to Tom who couldn’t hide a smile.

“Oh, he’s very serious. Trust me, burping is one of the more polite things he could have done.”

“You mean there’s worse?”

“Hey,” the wolf in question protested. “Where I come from, burping is considered a compliment to the chef.”

“Next time I’d prefer you use words,” she admonished, grabbing the empty plates and carrying them to the sink.

“It was lovely,” he stated in a mocking tone.

“It was the best home-cooked meal we’ve both had in a while,” Tom grudgingly admitted.

Dawn beamed. “Really? In that case then, I guess you both deserve some of the apple pie I baked.”

This time they made sure to copiously compliment her once they polished it off. Tom might have started out doubting her culinary motives, but once he got over his fear of choking to death, he made up for it in lip-smacking enthusiasm. It almost brought a tear to her eye when they battled over the final piece.

The boys watched a football game on television and she hummed as she washed the dishes, the normality of it soothing. How easy to imagine the horror of the past few months as nothing more than a mirage. How easy to pretend this was her life, a simple housewife cooking and cleaning for her wolf before retiring for the night and...

Whoa. She reined in her fantasy. She needed to remind herself that this wasn’t real. She and the wolf weren’t a couple. The situation was temporary at best. For the moment, she might find herself safe, but one wrong move and she didn’t doubt they’d turn her in and collect their reward. The reminder sobered her.

When she’d cleaned everything, and delayed as long as possible, she dithered, wondering what to do. Should she go to bed? Join them in the living room? Escape while they were relaxed and not paying attention?

“Penny for your thoughts.”

She screamed at the whispered words and jabbed an elbow back in reflex. Everett oomphed as she hit him square in the diaphragm. “Oops. Sorry. You startled me.”

“I’ll say,” he gasped. “Lucky me, you didn’t aim lower.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have snuck up on me like that.”

“Sure, blame the victim.”

“Suck it up, puppy,” Tom yelled from the living room.

Everett rolled his eyes. “Thanks for your sympathy.”

Tom laughed, and Dawn couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you going to join us in the living room?”

“I think I should go to bed. I’m kind of tired.”

“Want some company?”

She’d love some company. Him, her, the bed, and no clothes. Just one teensy tiny problem. She knew it was a bad, very bad, idea. Thank goodness for Tom. At least he had the good sense to realize it, and his presence made it easy for her to shake her head. She ignored the disappointment in Everett’s eyes as she fled. He’d get over it. A man like him probably wasn’t used to hearing the word no.
He’d better get used to it because no way am I becoming another notch on his belt, no matter what my wet panties think.

Why the wolf attracted her so strongly, she couldn’t say. Was it because of the changes within her? Did his dangerous side attract the predator in her?
It could be because he’s so darned good looking.

Whatever the reason, getting involved definitely wasn’t part of her plan.

She sighed. A shame though. Being a part of something, even something as dysfunctional as this situation, was better than being alone. She’d forgotten the enjoyment of conversing with others. Of the pleasure that came with cooking for an appreciative audience. She’d especially missed companionship of the male kind, the flirting, tummy-tingling feeling that came about when an attractive male sniffed around and made his interest known.

If only they’d met in a different time and place. If only she had somewhere else to go, somewhere she wouldn’t have to deal with all the confusion mounting in her mind.

For some reason, her thoughts turned to her family. After her initial rescue from Mastermind’s clutches, she’d contacted her parents to let them know she was safe. She downplayed the danger, especially once she realized they’d heard little to nothing about Mastermind. What was the point in worrying them? She’d escaped relatively unscathed. They didn’t need to know the gory details.

When she escaped a second time, this time from FUC, she’d made one collect call, only to have her mother demand to know where she was and why the authorities were looking for her. Her dad wanted her to do the right thing and turn herself in. Her mother blamed her troubles on her lack of morals since she’d gone to the big city. And as for Grandma... Grandma told her to run and not look back.

So she did. But what Grandma didn’t tell her, and Dawn quickly discovered, was running took a lot of energy. Not just that, but it was lonely. Used to living in a herd, she found the solitary life hard to adjust to. Probably the reason why she didn’t fight the wolf for long when he insisted on keeping her close. Even associating with the big bad wolf appealed more than listening to the crickets every night.

The door to the bedroom opened on silent hinges, but the light from the hall illuminated the room for a moment, and she saw Everett slip in.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“I can’t sleep out there.”

“Why ever not?”

He held open the bedroom door again, and she opened her mouth to query again when she heard it. A wet, rolling rumble followed by a whistle.

“What is that?”

“Tom.”

“Good grief. That’s noisy.”

“Hence my request to sleep in here. I promise I’ll behave.”

“Ha. Like I’ll believe that.”

“Okay, how about I won’t do anything you don’t want?”

Not much better since she wanted so many things from him, hot and sweaty naked things she couldn’t have. “Isn’t there anywhere else you can go?”

“I guess I could sleep in the bathroom tub.”

Picturing him lolling in the tub, long limbs dangling over the side brought a snicker to her lips.

“Not funny,” he grumbled. “I’m going to need my sleep if we’re going hunting for the giant gecko tomorrow.”

“If I do agree, do you promise to stick to your side of the bed?”

“Scout’s honor.”

She couldn’t hold back a snort. “You were never a scout.”

“No, but I scared quite a few in my heyday.”

Before she could change her mind, he’d slipped into bed. She turned her back to him with a mumbled goodnight and clamped her eyes tight. The bed wiggled and wobbled as he squirmed on his side until finally she said, “Would you stop that?”

“Sorry. I should have gotten undressed before climbing in.”

What? She rolled over and ogled him. “I said no hanky-panky.”

“I know.”

“So why are you stripping?”

“To get comfortable of course.” His tone eloquently said “Duh!”

She should have left it at that, but suddenly, all she could think of was the fact Everett didn’t wear underwear, which meant he was...

“You’re naked?”

“It’s how I sleep.”

“Couldn’t you make an exception given we have to share the bed?”

“But then I wouldn’t be comfortable.”

She could almost see his pout. “Am I supposed to care?”

“Aw, come on, little doe. What’s the big deal? I mean it’s not like you’re planning to take advantage of me, are you?” He sounded almost hopeful.

“You wish.”

“What a shame. I was totally willing to let you ravish me.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“But sexy, right?”

Sexy didn’t even come close. He was the ultimate temptation.
One I intend to resist.
She inched as close as she could to her edge of the mattress. “Stay on your side.”

“No worries here, little doe. I am a wolf of my word. But are you sure you’re capable of keeping your hands off me? As I recall, last time we shared a bed, I woke to you fondling me.”

She rolled over to glare at him. “I was not fondling you.”

“Sure you weren’t.” His placating tone only agitated her further.

With a muttered expletive about “horny wolves in need of muzzles and castration,” she turned her back to him and tried to go to sleep.

She remained much too aware of him.

She tried counting sheep. She got to twelve before a naked Everett on all fours appeared chasing them.

Blanking her mind of all thought also failed. His mocking grin kept drifting up from the depths of her subconscious.

Agitated and in a heightened state of awareness, she punched her pillow and yanked the covers to cocoon herself more tightly.

“Something wrong, little doe? You seem awfully restless.”

“I’m fine,” she muttered. Just aroused. And she wasn’t about to go back on her stance and have him fix that.

“I can’t sleep either. Wanna talk?”

“About?”

“You.”

“I’m not very interesting.”

“Then we’ll talk about me because I am super awesome.”

She wouldn’t have labeled him as such, but he sure was entertaining. As she listened to him recount tales of his life growing up in a family of wolves, a pack with five boys and one wooden spoon-wielding mother, she found herself opening up. When he told her of the time he’d singed the fur off his tail because his brother tied firecrackers to it for the Fourth of July, she found herself recounting the time she’d painted stripes on her brother so he could be a zebra for Halloween—with acrylic, not water-based paint.

The soothing cadence of Everett’s voice eased her, and next thing she knew, her eyes fluttered shut and she slipped into the sleep that previously eluded her.

And, this time, when she woke atop the wolf to him nibbling on her neck, she didn’t scream or maim him in any way. But when he suggested they celebrate the dawn with a quickie, she did twist his nipple until with a howl he agreed to fetch her some Starbucks.

For those who wondered, no, she didn’t look away when he rolled out of bed and strutted naked to his dresser, his taut buttocks flexing. Like a beautiful sunset, some things were meant to be admired.

W
hat a view, and Everett didn’t mean the leaves that garnished boughs in a rainbow of color. He also didn’t refer to the distant mountain range, their peaks bathed in a wispy fog. Nope. What he enjoyed was smack dab in front of him, clad in snug jeans with a plaid shirt—his, he might add. With the shirt tails tucked in to her snug jeans, he got a clear view of Dawn’s sweet ass as it wiggled this way and that. It made a man want to go on a nature hike more often. What a shame this one wasn’t leading to a sunny, grass-filled glade with a blanket but instead to a murderous gecko’s lair.

If ever they came out this way again, for pleasure instead of work, he really should try and get her to wear a skirt, a short and loose one, with a thong. Mmm. He practically panted at the visual image.

A slap across the back of his head snapped him from his pleasant reverie.

“Pay attention,” Tom growled.

“I am.” He memorized every inch.

“To something other than her butt, you idiot.”

“I am.”

Tom harrumphed.

How dare he doubt me!
Despite what Tom thought, Everett actually was keeping an eye and ear out. Hot buttocks or not, Everett was well aware they strode into danger. The occasional twinge of his not completely healed injuries made sure of that. He proved it to Tom. “Squirrels nest at four o’clock. Fox tracks at nine, only a few hours old. There’s water to the east, and a thicket of overripe raspberries to the north. Oh, and you need better deodorant.”

Tom clamped his lips shut, and Everett smirked. Dawn didn’t deign to even turn her head. Nor did she slow down or take any precautions, despite the fact they encountered more and more signs of something large having passed numerous times this way. Then again, perhaps like him, she smelled the fact that none of the gecko tracks were more recent than a day or two. That combined with the fresher scents of forest animals crisscrossing the place without fear was enough to make his guard lower. But he still kept one hand on the butt of the gun slung around his hips. As for Tom, he carried a rifle in two hands, head swiveling to and fro, ready to take aim at the slightest provocation.

And people thought sloths were too lazy to hunt.

According to research, geckos liked a place to hide. Many chose to make their habitats in holes or crevices. In this case, their monstrous neighborhood gecko had taken over an abandoned cave as its own. That or he’d eaten the previous occupant. The maw into darkness oozed a fetid stench, and the three of them stood staring at the opening, nobody eager to be the first to set foot inside.

As alpha of the group, the task fell to him to set the example. Sometimes it sucked being the lead tracker. It meant he got to go into the funkiest places. Everett blew out a breath at the stench. “Damn. And I thought my place was a mess.”