To the Edge and Back [The Royal Wolves] (Siren Publishing Allure) (12 page)

“Right, I will worry about it later. I will get Maxi on it and have it all taken care of.” She grinned and gave him a look and confidently added, “He will be afraid of me. I have a Wolf that will growl and get after him if he makes me cry or upsets me.”

“Damned straight,” he said with a little growl next to her ear as he pushed open the door to the master suite and hit the pot lights, leaving off the main ones for now. “Welcome to my boudoir,” he told her with a deep chuckle.

The sound sent a shiver of delightful need down her spine. However, when she walked into his bedroom, her mouth fell open. “And you slept in my little not-even-there bed?” His bed was massive. She couldn’t believe actually just how large it was. She looked up at him and said, “We could sleep in this bed with a marching band and no one would ever touch.”

Looking down at her, he chuckled. “Did I mention I really like being able to spread out a bit?” he asked, still laughing slightly. “And I slept there because you were there, my love,” he told her as he eased up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “If you weren’t there you couldn’t pay me enough money in the universe to sleep in that bed.”

She leaned back against him and closed her eyes in a gentle sigh of happiness. “I have to agree, Janos. I think that I am really, really going to like being able to be in that bed with you.” She frowned. “Wait, you said you like to stretch out, does that mean that you won’t be cuddling up close to me when we sleep?”

“Oh honey,” he grinned, leaning his head down to bite her neck gently. “I am going to cuddle with you a lot. But I must stretch before we do anything. I need to be limber. I wouldn’t want to pull anything after all. It would seriously suck to be out with an injury,” he told her softly.

She snickered. “Now I think you are making fun of me.” Turning, she looked up at him and let her fingers move over his stomach, her body aching now for something other than food. “Janos.” The single word of his name fell from her lips with such need that she was sure that it had her very soul wrapped in that one word.

“Yes, love?” he asked her softly, licking his lips with a smile that grew as her scent told him she was needy. “Behave yourself, honey. I need to eat or you really won’t like the results. And since I don’t want to hurt you,” he said as the buzzer went off. “Come on, let’s eat in front of the fire I’ll start and then”—he gave her a heated look—“then you can play more.”

She had no idea what “play more” meant, but his look said all she needed to know. Shivering, she nodded. “That sounds nice, eating in front of a fire.” Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, showing its displeasure at not eating for more than twenty-four hours. “Food sounds really good, Janos. The rest can wait, I promise.”

“Not too long, I promise.” He chuckled, stepping back and taking her hand. “Come on, love, let’s go and grab the pizzas so that we can eat before your stomach gets rude.”

Guiding her from the room, he hit the lights and led her to the kitchen. Moving easily, he pulled the hot plates out and slid the pizzas onto the cutting board. With quick movements he sliced them and then put them onto big plates.

Handing her a pizza, he grabbed a couple plates and napkins, tucking a bottle of water under his arm. “Come on, love,” he said, moving to the living room and sitting before the fireplace. Setting everything safely up on the coffee table, he turned to the fireplace and soon had the fire going.

The heat of the fire had her eyes closing and her melting. “This is something I could get used to, Janos.” Being fed, being warm.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled. “I want you to know that I am not with you because of your money. I want to be with you because of who you are, but I have to admit being able to have full meals every day and not worrying about heat in the winter will be very nice.”

Glancing at her as he passed her a plate with two large slices of meaty pizza, he licked his fingers. “What do you mean, love?” he asked her softly, knowing he wouldn’t be happy with whatever the answer was. Taking a piece of each, he handed her a napkin before settling at her side to eat as he waited.

She shrugged. Now that the words left her mouth she was appalled at herself. “Never mind, I’m rambling for no real good reason at all.” Taking the pizza, she waited until he had his, and when he did, she took the first bite, closing her eyes and moaning in thanks. “Oh, this is good” was said around a mouthful of the meaty goodness.

Letting it go for the time being, he sat beside her and ate his own slices. Every now and again he passed her another piece or took a couple more. Later he’d ask her about her comments, but he’d have to play it carefully so she didn’t get defensive or figure out how to avoid the question again.

It was nearly half an hour later and both pizzas were fully gone when she leaned back against the plush cushions and smiled. “I don’t think I have ever been this full in my life.” She felt all limp and sleepy as she sat there. “I will help you clean up, soon.” Her eyes closed and she moved closer to him, seeking the heat from him.

Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head. “I really hope you’ll tell me one day, Mina,” he murmured softly. He knew she’d know what he was talking about. “I hope you’ll trust me enough to tell me, but I won’t push, sweets, I promise. If and when you are ready, I’ll be here to listen,” he said, pressing a second kiss to her cheek.

“It’s not something that I am proud of,” she whispered and sighed. “There were times I would only have enough money to pay for my rent, bus fare for the month, and a few days’ food.” She shrugged. “And the second winter I lived in my apartment, Mrs. Smith decided that I needed to pay for my own heat, so sometimes I didn’t have any.” She didn’t have anything to hide from him, at least she tried not to.

“I’m sorry, love,” he said softly, rubbing her arm gently even as he fought to not snarl at the injustice. She was a sweet and innocent girl that had been blatantly taken advantage of. Hugging her closer, he shifted and put his back to the couch as he eased her into his lap to hold her close. “But no more, all right? You need anything, just ask me please,” he requested gently. “I don’t want to take away your independence, but I don’t want you worrying about the little things in life because you’re concerned I’ll think you’re taking advantage. You’re not. You’re my mate and you’re entitled to everything I have.”

“I will try,” she said with a sigh. “I will try, Janos, I really will, because I want to be able to come to you. I want to be able to come to you and not have to worry about anything other than being with you. I want a job because I wouldn’t know what to do without one. However, it will be nice to be able to not have to worry about how much I have to spend on groceries in a given week.”

“Then never, ever look at my bills,” he told her honestly. “It would likely give you a heart attack,” he said with a grin. “But you must remember that I’m a Wolf. We crave meat. That’s where most of my bill is in truth. Just don’t look and I’m sure we’ll be fine, and if you ever want or need something, add it to the list on the fridge.” Kissing her gently, he stroked her cheek. “Are you going to be okay with all this?”

“I will be fine with it,” she said simply as she leaned her head to his shoulder before admitting, “I will love you always, Janos, and once you have fattened me up nicely we will finish the rest of it.”

She was scared. She couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t, but he made it better. “When I say that I want forever, Janos, I really do mean that I want forever.”

“We have a long time to talk about forever. There are things about getting that forever that may have you changing your mind, or not,” he said with a smile. “For now, let’s just enjoy the present and we’ll worry about the tomorrows…tomorrow.”

“Fair enough, Janos.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder again and sighed. “All right, I think that maybe we should get up, clean up our mess, and then go for a walk or do something or I will be napping, and I really don’t need to be napping any more than I have been today.”

“I’ll take you for a walk around the property and you can get a feel of it, or what can be lit by the lights.” He’d also have to mention and introduce her to the wild Wolves he had as security on the property. “I’ll introduce you to my ‘pets,’” he added with a grin.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted a pet. What kind do you have? Kittens? Puppies?” He was pretty sure that never in a million years would she dream of it being wild Wolves that he kept as pets, he thought to himself as he listened to her. “All right, I will wash and you can dry, sound fair enough?”

Getting to his feet, he pulled her up carefully so as to not hurt her more fragile human body. “Sounds fair,” he said with a smile, kissing the end of her nose. Stepping back, he gathered the dishes up onto the large plates and carried everything into the kitchen. “Soap’s under the sink with the stoppers,” he told her. “Everything else you might require is under there, too.”

Grabbing the soap, stopper, and sponge, she filled the sink and began to wash the plates and cups first, the silverware and pans last. As she washed, she rinsed and placed everything into the strainer. Her eyes watching out the small window, she suddenly turned. “Oh god, what is that?” There was something massive that moved quickly through the shallow light cast by the window.

Looking up as he picked up a plate, he chuckled. “One of my ‘pets,’” he said softly. “Don’t worry, they are wonderful and very gentle,” he added as he set aside the plate and went to work on the rest.

A few minutes later, he draped the towel for drying over the railing and looked to her as he put everything away. Her eyes were still glued to the window, searching the dark as he stepped up behind her. “Come on, love, grab your jacket and we’ll head out to meet them.”

“Are you sure that that they won’t chew me up and spit me out, Janos?” she asked quietly, and when he touched her, she leaned back into his touch and felt better with that one single touch. His large hand a comfort on her back made her nod. “All right, hopefully they will like me enough to allow me to be a part of your life.” Her teasing grin was all he would need to know that she really was doing just that, teasing him.

Shaking his head, Janos went to the door and waited for her. Eyes glowing in the dark waited patiently for him, for them, to come out and meet them. They knew she was on the property, they even knew who she was, that he was positive of, and they now needed to pass judgment.

When she rejoined him, he took her hand. “Come on, love, just remember, don’t run,” he whispered with a grin and a wink as he opened the door and led her out into the yard after hitting the low-level lights, enough for her to see but not bright enough to ruin the Wolves’ night vision. Leading her to the center of the patio, he pulled out the bench seat to the table there and straddled it before encouraging her to sit before him. Looking to her, he touched her cheek. “Relax, love,” he said before sending out a low whine to the Wolves.

She took the seat in the
V
of his thighs and leaned back against his heat with her eyes closed for a moment before she opened them and looked at the large Wolves coming toward her. “I won’t scream. I won’t run,” she whispered more for her own encouragement than anything else in the world.

“Good girl,” he murmured against her neck as the largest of the Wolves stopped a few steps back from where they were seated. Lowering his head slightly, Janos let out a low growl and the big guy moved closer. He sniffed at Mina slowly before butting his head to her leg once and then a second time more insistently. “He wants you to pet him, love, let him know that you are okay with him.”

“If he bites me, you have to kiss it and make it better, Janos,” she teased, but her hand reached out shakily toward the large Wolf. Her hand touched his fur slightly and she smiled. “He’s so very soft,” she said with a grin as she leaned back into him. “Tell me about them. Do you look like this?” Her face turned to him, sheer joy in her eyes as she stroked the thick pelt of fur and felt the rumble of the Wolf beneath her.

“I’ve had them since I bought the land, well”—he chuckled—“not them, but their pack. These are the great-great-great-grandchildren of the original Wolves I brought onto the land.” Reaching out, he scratched the big guy’s ears and then under his chin when he stuck his nose up in the air.

“Most Wolves are about his size or a bit smaller. Females naturally are smaller than he is. But some of the bloodlines are larger just from being so strong. The purer the bloodline the larger the Wolf. My brothers and I are about his size plus another quarter to half again larger. Our hair color is the same color as our pelts. We’re all fairly dark, but some are a little lighter while Mik is likely the darkest. He’s nearly pure black while Ben is the lightest and sort of a sable brown.”

“What would I look like?” she asked as her nails scraped and scratched under the chin that was lifted for her. She added, “I think he likes me.” The thumping of the tail was a good clue, as was the twitch of his back leg as she scratched and gave him the petting that he seemed to want.

“He’s just a big puppy,” Janos said, watching her with a grin. “Another clue that he loves you is his reaction and the sounds he’s making. You’d be the color of your hair if not a little bit darker and very sleek,” he told her, stroking a hand down her spine. When the Wolf growled at him, Janos growled back. “Mine,” he said to the Wolf and held his gaze until he gave ground, reconfirming Janos’s Alpha status of the pack. Shaking his head when Mina went back to scratching him, Janos rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to claim you, and he’s definitely fallen hard for you, Mina.”

“He can’t have me.” She looked at the Wolf and smiled. “Janos is mine and I am his, mister. I don’t mind petting and scratching you, but you try to growl at him again and I will cut you off, buster.” When he whined, she smiled. “I’m still going to pet you now though. You relented.”

Grinning, Janos kissed her neck gently and nibbled on her skin. “Just a little longer, love, and then we should do a little walk around. And you still need to meet the others if the big guy would let them come over to get your scent. But he’s being rude and hogging you all to himself,” he said, reaching out to ruffle the fur at the large Wolf’s neck.