Leader of the Pack (12 page)

“I thank you and my cock thanks
you.”

Yohana
laughed. She should hang up now, but she liked being
connected to
Per
even as tenuously as via her cell.

“What is it,
älskling
.
” His
voice was soft. Gentle.
Yohana
found herself falling
into it.

“I miss you,” she whispered. As the
words left her mouth, she winced. Damn, what was she doing giving him that kind
of power over her? But before she could do anything to draw the words back or
lessen their impact,
Per
spoke.

“I miss you too.”

“I’ve even had dreams about you.” Oh
damn, why say that? Did she sound pathetic?

“I know. I’ve dreamed about you
too.” He chuckled. “I thought my days of wet dreams were long over but I dream
of making love to you and wake up but you’re not there.”

“You too?”

“Oh yes, my
sweet.
Are you ready to admit it yet?”

True Mates.
He was talking about them being True Mates. It just wasn’t
possible. It couldn’t be. How could Serena have matched her with the needle in
the haystack?

“We can’t be.”

“Still
adjusting then.
It will filter through eventually.”
He sounded amused and she wanted to slug him.

“The odds are against it.
Logically.”

“True Mates aren’t logical.”

“Why would you even want a True
Mate?”

“It isn’t about wanting,
Yohana
. It’s about what is.”

“So you don’t want a True Mate?” And
unaccountably, irrationally she felt hurt.

He shook his head. “You twisted my
words and that’s not what I meant. I didn’t
plan
for a True Mate. I
didn’t think I wanted one. I’m a driven doctor. Ambitious.”

“I know. So am I.”

He chuckled. “You’re more about duty
and service than ambition.”

“And you’re not?”

“Maybe we’re a little alike.”

“Just a
little?”
Yohana
laughed.

“Maybe a lot.
My point is that we’ve met.
Or were
introduced.
And I want you in my life.” She could almost see him
shrugging.
“To deny a True Mate relationship simply because
we don’t feel ready or because we aren’t sure how much attention we can give to
each other.
Well, that would be wrong.”

“What the gods hath joined together
let no one put asunder?”

“If you want to use the human
conventions, then yes. We’ve been blessed.”

“Or cursed.”

“Is that how you feel? I’m a curse?”

She could hear the hurt in his voice
and immediately she was ashamed.
“No, Per.
You could
never be a curse. But I don’t know how to deal with this. It’s overwhelming.”

“For me too.
I’m trying to make partner in a practice in Denver. That
means we’ll be apart like this for years. I’m not sure I can bear that.”

“Me either,” she admitted. “But I
can’t leave my pack.”

“I know.” His words were quiet.
Thoughtful.

“I’m not asking you to give up your
ambitions,
Per
. I want you to know that. We can manage
this.”

He groaned. “Are you sure?
Me coming home to you only on the weekends?
Missing you in my bed.
Missing the daily life of my pups?”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Neither had I. Not until now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is. If you hadn’t met me…”

“Don’t finish that thought.” She
heard a banging in the background of his phone call. “Shit, that’s one of my
residents.”

“Why didn’t they just page you?”

“God knows. I’ve got to go. We’ll
talk more this weekend,
älskling
.”

“Okay, Per. I’ll see you tomorrow
night.”

“I’ll be fantasizing about it.”

“Keep your mind on your patients.”

“I will, but I don’t think about
them twenty-four hours a day.”

“No?”

“No. I have a life and now you’re a
big part of it.”

“Bye, Per.”

“Goodbye,
Yohana
.
See you.”

“Six thirty.”

“Yes. Six thirty.” He paused for a
moment, then whispered, “
Jag
älskar
dig
.”

He hung up and she stared at the
phone. What had he said? She wasn’t sure she knew what it meant, but she was
afraid she could guess. It was starting between them. The connections were
growing between them like thick vines.
Tying them together.
Inexorably.
One mind.
One heart.
One body.
God help them
both.

Yohana
parked in front of Lady
Cyn
Designs, a boutique specializing in original designs for plus-size women.
Serena pulled up in her car within moments. Maybe calling Serena hadn’t been a
good idea, but she didn’t want to shop alone. She climbed out of her car and
walked over to Serena, who held out her hand.
Yo
raised her eyebrows.

“What?”

“Help me out.”

“You can’t get out on your own?” she
asked, helping Serena to her feet.

“It’s more challenging than I
thought it would be. I’m happy about the pregnancy and all, but my body feels
strange all the time.”

“It’s the changes.”

“That’s what Mom says. She assures
me it will get easier.”

“Maybe with future pregnancies, but
I doubt it will be easier with this one.”

“Yeah, I know.” She slammed her car
door shut. “Well, let’s go get you dressed up. I called
Cyn
so we could be sure she’d be here today.”

“Her staff is fine.”

“I know that, but it’s nice to have
Cyn’s
personal attention.” Serena tugged her toward the
door then glanced across the parking lot. “Maybe we should slip over to
Excitations after we’re done clothes shopping.”

“What do I need there?”

“You can never have too many sex
toys and I think Miki has a new book out.”

Yohana
laughed. “I’ll be happy just to get a nice dress and some
sexy lingerie for tonight.”

“This is the hospital fundraiser,
isn’t it?”

“Yes, what
about it?”

Serena pulled open the door. “Damien
had an invite, so we decided to go.”
Yo
groaned,
following Serena inside. “Relax. It will be fun.”

“Sure it will. It’s going to be
challenging enough dealing with
Per’s
colleagues, but I don’t need an audience.”

“I’m not an audience. I’m a
cheerleader.”

“Sure you are.”

Cynthia
Redwolf
,
the owner and designer for Lady
Cyn
Designs, heard
them enter and joined them.

“Serena, is this the desperate
friend?”

“I am not
desperate
,” she
growled under her breath but Serena just laughed. “Damn you’re lucky you’re
pregnant or I’d body slam you.”

Serena nudged her in the ribs,
then
grabbed her, dragging her toward
Cyn
.
“
Yohana
needs elegant but sexy for a hospital fundraiser
tonight.”

“It needs to go over a black
bustier, and I need one of those too,”
Yohana
added,
then wished she’d spoken a bit quieter when a few heads turned in their
direction.

Cyn
raised her flame-red brows and
Yo
stood taller. Why did she always run into Alpha females? She wasn’t in the mood
for a challenge today—she was too close to full-blown heat—but
Cyn
smiled suddenly.

“Made a promise to your Mate?”

“He has a thing for hot lingerie.”
Yohana
shrugged, fighting to hide the blush she felt
heating her face.

“What male with a pulse doesn’t?”
Cyn
took out a tape measure and quickly measured
Yo
before she could do anything to stop it.
Cyn
nodded once. “Good news. I have something made that
should fit you. Follow me.”

Cyn
crossed the elegant store to the lingerie area and flipped
through the racks before pulling something out with a cry of triumph. She held
it up against
Yohana
. It actually looked like it
would
fit her
and
hold up her double Ds.

Yohana
took the bustier. “Does it have matching panties?”

Cyn
winked at her. “He likes the
matchy
,
matchy
thing does he?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he
cares about panties much.”

“Typical
male.
They’d have us walking around
commando all the time if they thought we’d go for it,” Serena commented
cynically while she looked through the cocktail dresses.

“Serena, those are maternity
dresses. I don’t think
Yohana
needs maternity yet.”

“I’m shopping for me,
Cyn
. Damien’s dragging me to this thing too so he owes me a
new dress.”

Yohana
laughed. “I bet he’s going to love that.”

“He will because I intend to buy
some lingerie too. He loves what pregnancy has done to my boobs.” She held a
green dress against herself and glanced into a mirror then shook her head.

Yohana
groaned, thinking about getting pregnant as a result of
going into heat. “If mine get any bigger I won’t be able to walk.”

“I wish I was as well-endowed as
you. Damien ogles you every time he sees you.”

“He does
not
.”

“Yes, he does. Oh, he
hides
it. But he stares at
those
ta-
tas
just like every other male with eyes.”

“I think a black cocktail dress
would work best over the bustier,”
Cyn
suggested as
she approached some nearby racks of dresses.

“Isn’t that kind of boring? I have
to deal with one of
Per’s
exes tonight.”

Cyn
glanced at her. “Serena’s right. With that stunning bosom
no other woman could compete.”

Yohana
looked down. “They’re kind of big.”

“Do you know how many women would
kill for a pair like that?”
Cyn
asked.

“Well, yeah. I suppose so, but I’m
no beauty either.”

Cyn
studied her.
“Classic beauty, no.
But you have a strong face and
an elegance
to your
features. You’ll be one of the lucky ones who grow more beautiful with age.”

“What makes you think that?”

“I used to be a model. Back when I
starved myself. Before I learned that it’s better to be who you are than
who
others expect you to be.”
Cyn
shook her head. “You’ve got a Meryl Streep kind of face and I know models
who’d
kill for those angles.” With a quick decisiveness,
Cyn
pulled a black dress down and handed it and the bustier
to
Yo
. “Go try these on and then come out. I want to
see them on
you,
I might need to do some alterations.”

“You do alterations?”

“It’s my dress you’re wearing and I
want it to look good. Plus, if the customer wants or needs alterations, I do
them.” She waved
Yo
to the dressing rooms. “Go on.
And be sure to wear the bustier under the dress.”

Yo
obeyed in something of a daze. She was amazed when the
bustier hugged her curves as if it had been made for her. Per was going to
drool when he saw her in this. Then she pulled the dress on. It fit perfectly
and it made her look like a goddess. She fought with the zipper, but couldn’t
get the dress zipped.

“Are you dressed yet?”
Cyn
asked.

Yo
took a deep breath and walked out of the dressing room. “I
can’t get it zipped.”

“Turn around.”
Yohana
obeyed and
Cyn
took care of the zipper issue. “Let’s
see you.”