The Werewolf Wears Prada (Entangled Covet) (San Francisco Wolf Pack) (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Tuesday afternoon, on the drive from his office to Vision Amore, the stylist’s boutique in Pacific Heights, Hayden mumbled two phrases over and over again.

Melina Rae is your Luminary.

Being with her isn’t an option.

He repeated them to absorb them. So he wouldn’t forget them when he was with her, surrounded by her drugging natural fragrance. Something deep inside him warned it wouldn’t matter how many times he repeated the lines.

He wanted her.

The wolf part of him—the crazed, howling part that instinctively wanted to possess her body and bond with her soul—would simply have to cool it.

The rogues and their threat to her safety were one thing, but beyond that, Hayden had never wanted to find his Luminary. He’d realized early on that it wasn’t in the cards for him.

His parents, Cara and Angus, had been completely, hopelessly in love with one another. They were one—mind, body, and soul—and had completed the Luminary bond young. But after Cara died, Angus had become a recluse. He wouldn’t eat. He’d hide in his office and stare into the space for hours. Leave in the middle of the night. Find an empty park, and shift into wolf form. He’d howl at the moon until daybreak.

He was a ghost of a man without his mate.

Why would anyone jump into that kind of bond, where you’d experience that kind of loss, that kind of soul-tearing pain?

He didn’t want to find out.

All the more reason he needed to keep Melina at a distance and forget all about that kiss they’d shared yesterday.

That kiss…

As the limo pulled up to the curb, Hayden’s mouth still tingled with the delicious taste of her. Distracted beyond belief, he checked the sidewalk. Quaint neighborhood. Locals crossing the street with reusable shopping bags in hand. Women tightening scarves around their necks. A homeless man begging for money in front of the store next door.

“Go ahead and return the limo, Eugene,” Hayden said to the driver. “I’ll get back on my own.”

Glancing through the rearview mirror, Eugene nodded and stepped out.

“No, I got it.” Hayden shoved the rear door open himself. “Thanks, though.”

As he charged onto the sidewalk, he dug through his pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills folded over a stack of business cards. Unfolding the cash, he handed it to the homeless man who smiled in thanks.

“If you’re in the same place later tonight, I’ll send someone back with food,” he said, and then shook the man’s hand.

As he stood, the bitingly-sweet aroma of vanilla and sandalwood wafted from somewhere behind him, overtaking the smell of the dirt on the man in front of him.

Melina.

“What are you doing?” she asked, approaching his side.

“Helping someone who’s down and out.” It was the least he could do after his father had helped him, pulling him off the streets. He opened the door to Vision Amore. “After you.”

With a puzzled frown, Melina swept inside, and then waited for Hayden to enter behind her. The narrow shop had a distinct floral scent that tickled Hayden’s nose. Black-and-white pictures of celebrities lined the walls, along with what appeared to be thank-you letters. A long counter had been placed in the center of the shop, separating it into two parts. Behind that, a curtain blocked their view of the back half of the space. And over the speakers, Jeff Buckley played guitar and moaned lyrics in a slow, painful rhythm.

“Giving money to that man was a front, right?” Melina said as they approached the counter. “Something to help me improve your image for the article?”

“Is that what you think I was doing? Putting on a show?”

“Giving to charity
was
part of the improvement plan we went over,” she said simply. “Maybe you’re a better study than I gave you credit for.”

The way she said
study
made Hayden think of tutors and homework and studying late night over coffee. He would’ve done a hell of a lot better in law school had Melina been his tutor. Great. Now he was picturing Melina dressed as a schoolgirl. White shirt knotted below her breasts. Short plaid skirt. Thigh highs.

“What happened out there had nothing to do with your improvement plan.” He swallowed hard to return the moisture to his mouth. “Dean, Hyde, & Hammer donates millions each year.”

“I’m not talking about your company. I’m talking about you.” She shook her head. “If what I saw just now wasn’t an act, if you are truly that generous, I wouldn’t have been hired to improve your image in the first place. You wouldn’t need it. It had to be a show.”

He rang the bell beside the register. The high-pitched sound echoed through the store and pierced his sensitive ears. Someone shuffled around behind the curtain. Must’ve been Oz.

He snickered inwardly at the thought.

“You can’t believe everything you read about me in the magazines,” he said. “But you work for one of them, so I’m preaching to the choir.”

“Tell me one thing we’ve gotten wrong.”

“Only one?” He tapped his fingers on the counter, suddenly anxious to get today over with. Their banter only amplified their connection. “According to
Celeb Crush
, how many celebrities have I dated?”

“This month?” Melina’s lips twisted into a smile.

He stared, fighting the urge to kiss that smile.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “Celebrities you’ve dated this year? Probably…twenty?”

He rested his elbow on the counter. “Twenty? Really?”

“What’s the real number?” she pressed. “Is it higher?” She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Lower?”

Before he could answer, a woman pushed through the curtain, living up to the name of the shop. She was a vision in white. Bleached white hair. Pale skin. White pantsuit. The only color on the six-foot-tall woman was her bright red lips.

“Good to see you, Melina,” the woman said, shaking Melina’s hand. “Hayden Dean. I’m Ruby.” Her red lips spread wide as she set her sights on him. “Pleasure to meet you. I have to say, right up front, if you’re working with Melina, you’re in great hands.”

Her hands really were great. Delicate and soft.

Melina Rae is your Luminary.

Being with her isn’t an option.

Keep distance. Keep it business.

“What’s the plan for today?” he asked.

Ruby shifted her weight side to side, crossed one leg over the other, and then measured him up and down. “I’m thinking Armani. Black on black. A few inches cut off the top. Maybe a facial.”

“Whoa.” He threw up his hands. “Nobody said anything about a facial.”

Melina belted out a laugh, and then covered her laugh with a cough. “It’s up to you, but Ruby is the best.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“It all boils down to how badly you want the position you’re after,” Melina said. “I bet the mayor of the city gets facials.”
.

Son of a…

He was ready to rule, completely prepared to step into the position of Alpha and bring down the rogues threatening to terrorize his city. Angus wouldn’t have bent to pressure from rogues, and he wouldn’t either. Although they’d threatened to kill turned wolves if he ruled, he refused to live on their terms, fearful of their demands. If the council succumbed now, there’d be no limit to their influence over the pack. What demand would be next? Eliminate all turned wolves from the pack, or else?

It wasn’t too far-fetched to image the slide in logic.

He’d prove he could bring down the rogues before they harmed a single hair on an innocent’s head. If he had to overhaul his wardrobe, cut inches off his hair, and dance like a puppet to somehow demonstrate he was worthy to rule, so be it.

“Fine.” Hayden rubbed his hands together briskly. “Let’s just get this over with.”

…

Two hours later, Hayden was seated in a chair in the corner of Elegance Salon. He went back and forth on the facial and manicure but finally refused. No matter how many times Ruby pressed after he’d made up his mind, he’d declined with a stoic expression on his face. He’d grumbled and cursed under his breath while Melina failed to control her laughter.

Torturing Hayden was turning out to be her favorite form of entertainment.

He squinted and rubbed his nose, as if the chemicals in the salon really bothered him. He looked downright miserable, staring into the mirror as Ricardo—hair stylist extraordinaire—snipped his hair. Ruby stood beside Ricardo, guiding him in his masterpiece. Hayden closed his eyes, scrubbed his hand beneath his nose, and winced.

“How long has it been since you’ve been in a salon like that?” Melina asked, sitting on one end of the bench next to his chair.

“Never.” He sneezed. “The barber comes to me.”

“Seriously? Must be nice when the world revolves around you.”

“It’s not a Prima Donna thing.” He rubbed his nose harder. “The chemicals in here are too strong. They burn my nose.”

Her attention shifted to the pile of magazines on the bench. She tossed a few onto his lap. “Want some reading material to take your mind off it?”

He looked down. Ricardo jerked his head back to level and continued cutting.

Hayden held the magazines in front of his face. As he flipped through, he read aloud, “
Hayden Dean: Womanizer Strikes Again, Hayden Dean’s Night Club Brawl; Two in Hospital, The New Dean Girl Exposes Hayden’s Nitty-Gritty Secrets
.” He tossed the last magazine onto her lap. “Women, fights, secrets. Are you sure your article is going to be able to turn this all around?”

“It has to.” She met his eyes in the mirror. “There’s a lot riding on this.”

Her dream job at
Eclipse
. Hayden’s new position in his father’s company…or whatever he was after.

“I think the only way we can change the public image of you,” she explained, “is if we give readers a completely different version of you to believe in. For that to happen, though, I have to see you in your element so there’s a ring of truth to it. I have to know what makes you tick. I have to know the reasons behind certain things.”

Yeah, like why he kissed her, and then sent her away.

He nodded, and got smacked in the back of the head by the ridge of Ricardo’s comb. Melina bit back a smirk as Hayden growled, and then held his head straightforward and still.

“Six,” he said, giving his nose a rub. “That’s the answer to your question.”

She knew exactly which question he meant.

But that didn’t mean she wanted to miss the opportunity to screw with him.

“Six sexually transmitted diseases you have?” She laughed as Hayden’s eyes went wide, Ricardo dropped his comb, and Ruby backed away from the chair with her arms in the air. “Joking. Joking. Six…inches long is the size of your—”

“Six celebrities I’ve dated this year,” Hayden blurted, laughing. “Jesus, Melina.”

Ricardo waggled his eyebrows. Hayden paled. Ruby shrugged, and glanced at Melina as if waiting for an answer on the true length of his manhood.

Total embarrassment.

“How would I know?” Melina mouthed, cheeks burning.

Although she couldn’t attest to exactly how big Hayden’s
ego
really was, when he’d pressed against her in the doorway and ground his hips into hers, she’d felt something…
impressive.
Her knees weakened and her tummy went fluttery at the memory.

“You probably wouldn’t believe most of those women broke up with me,” he said, “but that’d be the truth. Not that the magazines would report that.”

She’d have to remember to research his past girlfriends for the article. Maybe she could do a small section on his past and the real reasons some of those relationships failed. If he were telling the truth, it’d take some of the womanizing heat off him.

As she puzzled over Hayden’s words, and tried to shift them into place in her mind, Ricardo slicked Hayden’s hair back. He parted it down the side. And before Melina realized it, Hayden had transformed into a total Hemsworth.

“What about you?” he asked.

She met his eyes in the mirror once more. “I’m sorry, what?”

“How many men have you dated in the last year?”

A sudden rush of blood burned her cheeks. “We’re not improving my image with this article.”

“I know that.”

Ricardo and Ruby discussed colors Hayden should wear to accent the dark highlights in his hair as Melina fought to find a way out of the conversation.

Why did it matter how many men she’d dated in the last year? Why did he care?

In truth, there’d only been one date. Well, it hadn’t even really been a date, but the same first-meeting feelings had been there. When she looked into Hayden’s eyes, they were
still
there.

“A few,” she lied. “They were mostly casual dates.”

Casually running into friends here and there, and talking to the guys at the
Celeb Crush
offices.

God
, the truth was pathetic.

A soft humming sound—almost like a growl—came from Hayden’s chest. His shoulders rose toward his ears. His hands clenched around the arm of the chair. He coughed loudly, and then glanced up into the mirror.

What had him so on edge? Must’ve been a buildup of the chemicals in the salon.

“What’s next, Ruby?” he asked, his voice strangely tight.

“Next is the fun part, darling,” she said, running her fingers through Hayden’s shorter hair. “Thursday after you get off work, we go shopping.”

“Thursday?” He exhaled heavily. “Can’t we get this all over with today?”

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, sweetheart.” Ruby put a hand on each shoulder and stared down his reflection in the mirror. “And you’re not my only client. I have a four o’clock on your heels.”

“That actually works better for us,” Melina said, hyperaware of how much she liked the sound of “us.” “We already have an appointment that’ll take up most of tomorrow afternoon.”

Hayden’s lips pressed together in a hard line. “What appointment?”

“Since you’re soaring through Phase One of the improvement plan, I thought we’d move on to Phase Two. We’ll work on improving the inside so it reflects on the outside.”