To the Edge and Back [The Royal Wolves] (Siren Publishing Allure) (17 page)

“Write down razors, please,” he called to her as he searched through his drawers in the bathroom. “I seem to be down to only one,” he frowned. “Not a good thing,” he muttered, coming back out to the bedroom once more and pocketing his wallet before tugging on his jacket. Snagging his keys, he looked to her and smiled. “Ready? I figure we can hit the Pancake Palace or something on the way to the bookshop.”

“Sounds good to me.” She had never been to the Palace. She had been to the greasy spoon near her home, but only twice, so this would be interesting. “Razors are down, anything else?” She snapped her fingers. “Deodorant for me.” Because she would be humiliated if she smelled bad for him, ever.

Grinning at her, he shook his head. “I think I’m good for everything else at least until the Sunday shopping trip,” he told her. “Keep the pen with you. If you think of something else along the way you can write it down. But”—he moved to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind—“I’m hungry,” he said nibbling on her neck. “Your Wolf needs sustenance, sweetheart.”

“All right, let’s go and get you some food,” she said with a grin and a nod. “Sunday’s shopping trip?” she asked as they moved down the hall and toward the front door. “You go on a big shopping trip on Sundays? What for? Is it for groceries or just anything that you happen to need?”

“Groceries,” he told her. Following as she walked, he let his eyes trail over her with a smile. “I always get fresh stuff every week and then every second week is for the buying of the meat. At the beginning of the month I get all the paper goods and any cleaning supplies I need.” Shutting the door behind them, he headed for the car. “Now you know my Sunday routine,” he said with a grin as he held open the door.

“Sounds like a fun time on Sundays,” she teased and climbed into his car. “I can’t see you being able to bring home many groceries in this, however, because it just doesn’t seem large enough.” She grinned at the thought given the small vehicle they were in.

“I have a truck that I use for shopping trips,” he told her as he started the car. “It’s a gas guzzler, so I only use it for shopping and when I have to do fall cleanup and for taking anything to the dump.” Pulling away from the house, he slowed as he approached the gates, letting them slide away before driving through. “This I use the rest of the time because it’s damned sweet on gas after a few tweaks my brother did to it.”

“And which brother is that, love?” she asked with a grin as she buckled in and watched him as he practically caressed the steering wheel. “You really love this car, Janos.” She was learning him, slowly, but she was learning him, and he made her smile with each small thing she learned.

“Yes, yes, I do. Between Kris and me we’ve put in a great many man hours on this.” He grinned at her. “But don’t worry, I love you more, Mina, and at least I can cuddle with you,” he teased. “Kris is a geek. Anything he reads he remembers, a lot like Ben, but Ben’s more fanciful.”

“Well see, at least you have your priorities,” she said, grinning, and nodded. “I think I will like them both a great deal, Janos.” Mostly because they were his brothers, and when he spoke of them she felt the love he had for them. “Fanciful can be really good, Janos, especially living in a world like we do. We need to be able to look for the fairies in the grass instead of seeing the bleak darkness before us.”

Looking over at her, he smiled. “Fairies huh?” he asked with a soft chuckle. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen one, but who knows, could find one any day now.” Turning his attention back to the road, he relaxed back a little more in his seat. “I think you’ll like all my brothers as long as you learn early on to block out the unsolicited advice that they give whenever they are around.”

“They only give it to you because they love you, Janos,” she said with a smile and turned to look at him as they drove. “I wish I had a family like you had growing up. It completely sucks growing up in the system, so while I really am sad that you lost your parents at such a young age, I am thankful you had four older brothers willing to keep and protect you.”

She shrugged. “And I’m glad that you’re mine now and I will get to claim to have four older brothers now, too,” she added with a rosy, cheeky grin.

“You can have them,” Janos said with a grin. “I’ll even sign all rights to them over to you if you’ll only just take them. Please,” he pleaded with her and gave a hopeful look her way. “They do chores”—occasionally—“they are great dancers”—as long as you weren’t the brother playing the girl during the lessons—“and they can all tell reasonably decent jokes.”

“Well, I think I got them as a part of becoming your mate, didn’t I?” she asked, grinning and nodding. “I will take them and I will keep them.” Hopefully they wouldn’t make her cry or scare her too much. She could hope and pray at least. “As long as they don’t try to scare me to death, I think we will be all right with each other.” She hoped.

Janos growled at that and shot her a look. “They do anything to you and I’ll kill them,” he promised her in a deadly tone. “They scare you, make you start for any reason, or make you cry, and I swear, their lives are forfeit.”

“It will be fine. I promise you, love, it will be all right.” She would just have to make sure that she didn’t show fear or cry, because she didn’t want to come between Janos and his brothers, ever.

“We’ll see,” he said with a squinted look at her. “Now”—he pointed ahead to the restaurants—“which would you like to hit up? Your choice, love, pick one, any one,” he told her with a smile.

“I would like to try the Pancake Palace since you mentioned it. I think I could really go for some pancakes if you don’t mind?” She wanted pancakes with strawberries on top of them. She could almost taste the strawberries, not something she had very often, but truly loved.

Grinning at her, he nodded and headed up the street to the Palace and pulled into the lot. Parking near the door, he shut off the car and got out. Moving around, he opened her door for her and held out his hand. “Come on, darling, time for pancakes,” he told her softly.

Her hand moved into his and she grinned. “How many women actually have a man that is willing to be as giving as you are? Are you a rarity, and how did I get lucky enough to be able to claim you as mine?” She squeezed his hand as she stood up from the car and moved close to him. “And I am keeping you forever, so whatever it was that I did, I hope I continue to do it.”

“You were chosen by the fates to be my mate,” he told her. “So in reality, I’m the lucky one, Mina. But,” he drawled as he led her toward the door. “I have to admit, I am one of a kind, so a little loving now and again to show your appreciation for the fact wouldn’t be amiss,” he teased.

“I will pet you like I did your Wolfy pet if you will let me.” She had to admit that now she was very curious as to how he looked in Wolf form. “Would you mind sharing your Wolf side of you with me? I want to know how you look, how you feel, and if you will like me as much in that form as this one.”

Stopping with his hand on the door, he looked at her and nodded. “Absolutely, love,” he told her softly. “We can do that whenever you’re ready,” he said, touching her hair lightly and stroking his fingers through it. “I’ll like you just as much in that form as I do in this one, Mina, so you needn’t worry, I promise.” He smiled. Pulling open the door, he ushered her inside, his hand resting possessively on her lower back as he scanned the interior of the restaurant.

The waitress came up and Mina asked for a booth. She happened to look up as the woman was gathering menus and smiled up at Janos, only half a moment before she looked into the smoking section and saw it filled with men who wore white and red, white and green, green and blue, and as one they turned to face her and Janos.

She stepped in closer to Janos and swallowed. “Maybe we should go?” she asked softly, knowing the men in that room were all “on their side” as Janos had put it, but it was nerve wracking for her, too.

“We’re fine, love,” he said, tipping his head toward the men as he encouraged her to sit on the inside of the bench. Sliding in next to her, Janos took the menus with a thank-you to the waitress and passed one to her. “They won’t bother us, besides,” he told her, leaning closer to kiss her cheek. “I’m the youngest son. A passing nod is the best I can get,” he teased her, nipping her ear gently.

She relaxed at his side and nodded as she opened the menu. “All right, I think it’s just that I suddenly am seeing them where I never would have before.” More than likely these people had been around all the time. She just was seeing them now because she was looking for them. “And you can always have far more than a passing nod from me, my love.”

“Good to know,” he murmured softly in her ear before lifting his head as the waitress returned with coffee. “You ready to order, love, or do you need another minute?” he asked softly, stroking his fingers lightly up and down her side as he surveyed the restaurant again to see if there was anyone else he needed to be aware of in the place.

“I know what I want.” Looking up at the waitress, she asked, “Can I get three pancakes with lots of strawberries and a little whip cream on them? A glass of milk and two slices of bacon?” When the woman told her yes, she grinned and leaned back, her body fitting back into Janos’s with ease and comfort, as if she were born to rest at his side. “Your turn, mister.”

“I’ll get a short stack of pancakes, syrup on the side, and then the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham steak with a side of salsa,” he told the waitress and passed the menu back to her. “And lots of coffee, too, please.” He grinned at her.

When they were once more alone, she shook her head. “I think I am going to have to get used to how much you eat, Janos.” Because what she ordered was more than she normally ate in a day, but she wanted to do it, wanted to try it, eating more than she typically did. “This is nice,” she commented as she leaned against him, face turned toward the sun streaming into the window, and simply took in the moment of peace they had.

“I just burn more calories than you do, darling,” he told her, lifting his hand from her arm to stroke her hair gently. “It’s all part and parcel of being a Wolf. That and all the calories I burned last night as well,” he teased with a smile against her ear before gently nipping at her ear again.

“You know, I think that I might have burned one, maybe two calories last night, too. You certainly weren’t alone in what happened.” God was he never. It was wonderful. “Sure, you did all the work, but I moved with you. Especially when we took our bath.” She had to cross her legs, her desire swelling inside of her and making her ache with need.

“Yes, you did,” he murmured in a satisfied tone. Inhaling slowly, he smiled. “I should mention this now, before I get myself into too much trouble,” he said and then lowered his voice even more. “I can smell your arousal, hot, wet, and so very intense, Mina.”

She went as red as the ketchup that was placed on the table before them and ducked her head against his shoulder. “Oh my, that is bad, isn’t it?” She licked her lips and gulped before looking up at him. “Is it really bad of me to want to go to the car or somewhere private with you and relieve the ache I’m feeling?”

Jolting at her words, Janos let out a soft growl. “You’re playing with fire, sweetheart. We’ve got food heading our way, so we’ll just have to wait to alleviate your ache.” And his, too. Taking her hand, he pressed it to his thigh and then guided it up to the bulge in his jeans. “We’ll fix everything later,” he murmured, letting her hand go just as the waitress arrived with their food.

When their food was placed before them, her hand was still on his thigh, and when the waitress left them, she allowed the hand to move back to his bulge and she shivered as her hand moved over him. “I love you, Janos. I need you and I hope and pray that never ends, because I love this feeling, these feelings, the knowledge that you are mine and I am yours and that we can be together at any moment we want.”

It was a heady sensation, to know he loved and needed her as much as she did him. “As soon as we are at the club, your office and desk, we will take care of our aches and pains.” It wasn’t a question, so much as a tentatively placed demand.

Chuckling, he nodded, hugging her to him and kissing her cheek. “As you wish, my lady,” he teased. “But you should eat now, because I don’t think once will be enough, and you still have to meet with Ben after that. So eat up. I don’t want you fainting on me in the middle of something spectacular between us.”

“Right…food.” She looked at the food before her and shifted slightly to remove her hand from his thigh even if her mind protested the action. “These look so good.” She looked at his plate and asked, “Can I try a bite of your ham steak and salsa?”

Moving his arm, he picked up his knife and fork and looked to her. “Sure,” he said, moving his plate a little closer to her. “If you weren’t my mate I’d take your arm off for even suggesting touching my food. But I love where your arm is, so you are safe,” he teased, sort of.

She hesitated and then shook her head. “It’s all right, I will order that next time.” She wasn’t going to take his food. “Besides, I likely have far more here than I will ever eat.” And she would make sure of it, and pass the remainders off to him. Looking at the syrups along the wall at their table, she selected the strawberry one to go with the strawberries on her pancakes and began to pour it even as she scooted away just a little to have more elbow room for eating.

Frowning, Janos cut a piece of the ham steak and stabbed it with his fork before moving closer to her. “Don’t do that, love,” he said softly, holding it up for her. “I was teasing, just pulling your leg,” he murmured as he ran a light hand over her hair. “You are welcome to anything and everything of mine. If it’s mine to give, you never even have to ask.”

She watched him for several long seconds and then nodded, leaning in closer, her eyes never leaving his. She opened her mouth and took the bite he offered her. Chewing it slowly, she nodded. “Thank you, Janos.” She didn’t like it, at all.

“Thank you for letting me try that. I have never had it before.” Taking a drink of her milk, she continued, “And I have to admit that I don’t care for it. It is far too salty.” But she would never have known if he hadn’t shared, and if she had ordered it, she would have forced herself to eat something she didn’t like simply because she couldn’t waste it.