Rutledge Werewolves 1: Scent of Passion (4 page)

Holding her so close, he couldn’t help but be drowned in her scent. That light, flowery, slightly mossy scent that now would always indicate freedom and passion to him. Her scent drove him wild, made him hard and nearly brought him to his knees. Her scent would always make him feel and remember their burning passion.

Desperately trying to focus his thoughts, he reminded himself that his woman was sick and feeling weak. Jumping her bones and wallowing in her scent was not a good idea. Worry slowly crept into his brain. Was it safe for a pregnant woman to be sick like this?

“Uh, Sophie, are you sure you don’t have a tummy bug? Should I pack you off to a doctor or something?”

Barely even looking at him, she shook her head and continued cleaning her teeth. She didn’t appear worried, but Artemais was concerned now. When she finished rinsing her mouth, he pressed her.

“You sure?”

Sophie sighed.

“Look, I was just fine ‘til I got into that elevator. It’s always been pretty jerky and unstable, it simply upset my stomach. That’s all, I’m just fine.”

Artemais looked closely at her, she looked so pale, so weak. Her short curly blonde hair shone, but her face seemed pale, her gray eyes were a little wary.

“Maybe just to be sure…” he started, but Sophie exploded, cutting him off.

“Look macho man, I was just fine until you and your…bunch of Howlers turned up at that damned bar. Now, thanks to you, I have no job and get to look forwards to
three to six
months of
afternoon
sickness. I’ve been looking after myself for a number of years and will probably manage to scrape through a pregnancy just fine. Please don’t let the door slam you on your way out.”

Artemais grinned. He loved a feisty woman and much preferred this Sophie to the pale and washed out one he had been speaking to a moment earlier.

As Sophie pushed her way past him out of the bathroom, he watched her sweet ass sway. Even angry as she was, he felt his gaze heat up as she bent down to pick up the spilled satchel of books, giving him a perfect view of that rounded ass he had loved so much that one night.

He couldn’t wait for her to settle down into his house. She was certainly feisty enough to fit in with his rowdy brothers. They all lived together for the most part in the main house, but with separate entrances and lots of room, there was more than enough privacy when needed.

As she picked up her satchel and glared at him, commenting, “Well?” He couldn’t help the grin from spreading on his face. She had obviously realized he was staring at her ass.

“Well, what?” he countered. “You have no job, I have a big house. Why don’t you come with me while we work out what you want to do?”

Artemais blinked at the shocked expression on her face.
Not the most tactful of invitations
, his brain mocked. Maybe Dominic was right, maybe he did need his brothers here to help smooth the way a little. They were across the street, probably pacing in the park.

“Are you out of your mind? I have known you for less than forty-eight hours. I have a decent amount in my savings account, I’m sure I’ll manage. I don’t need to be a kept woman, thanks all the same.”

Artemais winced,
Damn, where are those brothers when I need them?

“I didn’t mean to suggest… Look, I just want a part of raising my son. Surely you can’t begrudge me that?”

And in the meanwhile I can woo you and keep you close
, his brain interjected.

Sophie raised an eyebrow mockingly, almost as if she heard the ending his brain tagged on. Instead, she surprised him yet again, picking out the smallest of his comments.

“Son? Who said this child would be a boy? It could just as easily be a girl, you know.”

Artemais shrugged.
He
knew it would be a boy; all the children in his lineage were boys, so would this one be, but there was no reason to shatter her illusions.

“Sure, but I’m warning you, all the children on my side of the family tree have been boys for generations. But that’s beside the point. I want you to come live with me, so we can talk about the future. If you’re determined to stay here I can crash on the couch or something.” Artemais indicated his backpack.

“No way am I simply moving in with you. You could be an axe murderer for all I know.”

Artemais grinned a big, toothy grin. He wasn’t an axe murderer, but he could tell they both still had surprises in store for each other.

“I’m not an axe murderer. You saw no bloodied axe in my apartment, did you?”

Artemais enjoyed the blush that spread across her face at his reference to their night of passion.

“Well, no…”

Artemais cut in on her blushing, stammering response.

“And we already have a little boy growing inside you. I think that lends us a certain level of trust, don’t you?”

Sophie glared at him, refusing to back down.

“I’m not letting you carry me off, he-man style.”

Artemais watched her looking around the small apartment rooms, and he crossed his hands over his chest, letting his body language show he wouldn’t leave without a fight.

He felt his worry lighten as she sighed and stared back up at the implacable expression on his face. He grinned at the grudging, decidedly unfeminine way she gave in, totally without grace.

“I guess you can crash here for a night or two while we talk over matters. I suppose there are some things we need to discuss, like Lamaze classes, names for the baby, and living arrangements. But one wrong move from you, buddy, and you can go back to your own apartment and we can meet in restaurants to chat. Agreed?”

Artemais looked at the firm set of her mouth and jaw. Much as he wanted to lean forward and caress and kiss the stubborn tilt, he knew when to quit his pushing.

“Deal. But if I start to cross the line, you’re to warn me. This is a two-way street here, I’ll try and be accommodating, but I have the feeling we’re going to butt heads on certain issues, so no letting me cross the line then tossing me out without a fair warning, okay?”

He felt a thousand times better as Sophie’s face lit up with a grin. At least they had reached a point where they were both happy, if only for different reasons. Sophie casually bent over and started picking up her satchel of books.

“Deal. Can you cook?”

Artemais smiled.

“Sure can. But can I introduce you to my brothers first? They’re across the road and simply dying to meet you.”

Sophie narrowed her eyes and paused in her gathering of the books. She looked him over slowly, and he wondered what it was she was searching for.

“I don’t mind taking a brief walk over to the park. Then we can come back here and you can cook us up some dinner. As I’m sure you would have noticed, I’ve been shopping and am exhausted.” She nodded over to the grocery bags lying discarded on the coffee table. “Sound okay?”

Artemais swallowed. He certainly hadn’t gotten everything he wanted—but this wasn’t a perfect world. Sophie was prepared to let him stay with her, so he had a shot at convincing her he wanted the whole deal, her, their baby, and a life together, always.

He nodded his head in compliance.

“Sure thing. I can put away what you have as well. Between those groceries and anything I can scavenge around your cupboards when we get back, I’m sure I can whip us up something light for dinner. I don’t want to make anything too heavy that will make you feel any sicker.”

Sophie looked at him once more with that strange look in her eyes. He wished he could tell what she was thinking.

“Artemais, are you sure you want to do this? I swear I’ll keep you in the loop with everything. You really don’t need to—”

Artemais angrily cut her short.

“Yes, Sophie. I do need to do this. I’m sorry it took so long to get in touch with you. It’s a bit complicated. Look, I want to be here, I want to be a part of your life. Of
our baby’s
life. I want to be here—or I’d have merely called you or left a message somewhere. Let’s go meet my brothers before we start our first argument, hmm?”

Sophie searched his face again, obviously noting his determination. Picking up her coat from where she dropped it on the floor in her haste to get to the bathroom, she grabbed her keys and headed towards the door.

Praying for strength and help, Artemais followed the woman he was determined to make his mate, shutting the door firmly behind them.

Chapter Five

Sophie huddled in her coat as the chilly
Montana
wind tried to push her about. She muttered mentally to herself, determined not to cave in to Artemais like some brainless, helpless female. She had no desire at all to raise her baby alone. She was firmly of the opinion that if at all possible children needed a mother and father. Yet neither would she grovel and blindly follow a man she barely knew.

She wasn’t convinced meeting Artemais’ brothers would help her determination to stand firm, yet these men obviously meant a lot to him. If she had close family around, she would also want to introduce Artemais to them.

A part of her still reeled from the whole encounter with Artemais in her bathroom.
He wants me to live with him, make us a family
, she kept reminding herself. Everything seemed to be happening all at once. Forty-eight hours ago she had been working hard to make her way up the corporate ladder. Now, she was jobless and six weeks pregnant, agreeing to let a man she barely knew live with her for an indeterminate period of time.

Sha
king her head, she wondered if she would wake up soon and laugh herself silly over her strange dream.

Sophie mentally went over a list of her objectives. Lists always seemed to help her.

Top of that list was getting to know Artemais better. She didn’t need to make a decision right away, but she needed to know the father of her baby better before she made any conclusions about their future.

When Sophie realized her paces were almost double-time, practically running to keep up with Artemais fast, long-legged pace, she slowed right down to her normal stride.

“Could you please remember not all of us have six feet of legs? I am not meeting your brothers after running to catch up with you and sweating like a pig after a marathon race!”

Artemais stopped and to her total surprise, blushed. Sophie caught her breath and stared. He looked adorable with the faint pink tinge across his cheeks. Thankfully, he slowed his pace right down to match her more sedate steps.

“Sorry,” he grimaced, “I was just thinking of all the catastrophes my brothers might have started in the half hour since I left them.”

Sophie blinked. The three men she vaguely recalled from that drunken night at the bar had been stunningly gorgeous, yes, but not so stunning that she would think that women would lay down at their feet in the middle of a public park!

Yet as they came closer to the gazebo in the middle of the park, she could make out three tall, dark-haired men, with two women who had evidently stopped jogging to chat to them. One seemed to be playing with some sort of micro-sized PDA, another had his hands in his pockets studiously ignoring the two women’s giggling overtures. But the third one had an arm around each lady and was evidently enjoying himself immensely.

“Dominic,” Artemais growled under his breath, surprising her, “I swear I’m going to have to chain that wolf down one of these days.”

Artemais caught himself as Sophie looked at him, an eyebrow raised in query.

“Uh…Dominic is a bit of a ladies’ man, a wolf on the prowl. You know?”

Sophie confused by the half-baked explanation, but too intent on watching the three men they were heading towards, let it slide.

Dominic had been the saxophone player and looked to be the youngest of the brothers. With shoulder-length hair the same dark brown of his siblings and the same dark blue eyes, he could certainly pass as sex personified. At around six foot one, and with his largely muscled body, she could well understand how he and his two brothers could have grabbed the ladies’ attention long enough to deter them from their afternoon jog.

The men, hearing their arrival, stopped their chatting and turned to watch her. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sophie blushed and slowed her steps.

“They won’t bite,” Artemais assured her, “they’re just curious.”

Raising her eyebrow at him, determinedly pretending she hadn’t been concerned in the least Sophie tilted her chin. By meeting his brothers she was simply being polite, it didn’t signify anything permanent—no matter what Artemais thought.

Dominic finally noticed their arrival and withdrew his arms from around the two ladies. Pulling a scrap of paper from his wallet, and scrounging a pen from the brooding brother, and got the ladies’ phone numbers. The two women hastily scribbled, then waved as they resumed their running. Sophie felt a twinge of nerves as three pairs of hot blue eyes turned to face her.

As she and Artemais came to a stop, Dominic smiled and leaned forwards. Brushing a chaste kiss to her cheek, he grinned.

“Welcome to the family. I take it you’re Sophie, the mother-to-be?”

Sophie felt her eyes widen in shock
. How the hell had he known?