I just stared at him for a moment. Of course he’d noticed she was avoiding me. And in typical Jim fashion, he’d taken it upon himself to “fix” the problem. It would have been easier to stay mad at him if he didn’t always deliver a solution, like the key to Michelle’s avoidance. I sighed, completely understanding how he could annoy Winifred so well.
“Where is she, Jim?”
“Bathroom,” he said, nodding toward the door.
I turned and looked across the crowded room. People had gathered in the space between the pool table and bar to dance to country rock. However, they didn’t block my view of the bathroom door as it opened.
Michelle moved into the main room and stood on her toes, looking my way. Our eyes met. She blinked slowly, a slight frown pulling at her dark brows. Before I could motion to her, someone stepped in the way, blocking her view.
Not far from her, a man caught sight of her and smiled. I felt the sharp edge of my teeth. Using a strong hand and empty, politely worded excuses, I pushed my way through the crowd, keeping an eye on Michelle. She made very little progress as she tried to move around the perimeter of the room. I saw the moment she changed directions to try to cut through the dancers. So did the man who’d been watching her.
Not happening. I moved to cut him off. When he saw me shake my head, he held his hands up good-naturedly and went another direction. I turned and came up behind Michelle. Fear and worry were completely absent. Actually, there wasn’t any emotion coloring her natural scent. Man, she smelled so good like that.
I caught her around the waist to stop her progress since talking would be useless. She looked toward Jim before turning to face me.
Even with all the noise, I heard her heart skip a beat when she saw me. This time, she didn’t look away or try to run. Instead, her scent changed slightly. It grew sweeter, more welcoming. Unable to resist, I leaned in and inhaled near her hair.
“Hi,” she whispered.
Encouraged, I wrapped my arms around her and turned her to the rhythm of the music.
“You had me worried,” I said softly.
“My driving’s not that bad,” she said, pulling back slightly.
Driving? That explained the black marks.
I smiled and shook my head. “When you stopped talking to me, I thought you wanted to leave. Then, you did. With Jim.”
“Oh.”
She looked up at me, her baby blues apologetic. Then, she reached up and curled her fingers in my shirt. Her eyes lost all apology. Instead, they were begging.
I couldn’t refuse her anything, but did she really know what she was asking? How much had she had to drink? Pulling her close, I lowered my head, slowly closing the distance. Her pulse leapt, and her natural sweetness intensified, as if trying to cover up the smell of beer. Her lashes fluttered closed, and she lifted her lips to me. I wanted to groan.
“Please stop,” I begged.
Her eyes opened. “What?”
Her exhale brushed my lips. Mere inches separated us. She saw it, too. She pressed against me and started going up on her toes.
Moving quickly, I nudged her head to the side and buried my face in the curve of her neck. My lips skimmed her skin as I inhaled deeply. This time, I did groan.
“Driving me crazy,” I said, answering her question.
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, and I held tight.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“If you’ll let me, I’ll explain in the morning. When you’re more lucid.” Please still want to talk to me tomorrow, I thought.
The song ended, and I reluctantly let her go to lead her back to Jim. She wobbled on her feet a bit, but it gave me a chance to hold her hand to keep her steady.
“You found her,” Jim said with a grin. “Good.”
He handed me the truck keys and held out his hand. I gave over the bike key.
“Not a scratch.”
He continued to grin.
“You two have fun.” He sat back on his stool and began to speak to the woman on his right.
He knew Winifred was upset with him. If he was smart, he’d face the music tonight. But, as he pointed out, he didn’t want to seem too smart.
I shook my head and tugged Michelle toward the exit.
I have her. They were at the bar.
Is Jim with you?
No, ma’am. We’ll be home in a bit.
Is she drunk?
Michelle took that moment to trip on the gravel. I scooped her up into my arms, and she settled with a sigh against my chest.
I believe she might be a little tipsy.
It might be better if you take your time. It wouldn’t do for her brothers to see her like that.
Helping Michelle into the truck, I noticed her sandal-clad feet. Particularly her toes. I never thought of myself as a foot person. Feet or paws got us where we needed to go. But seeing her pink little toes as she smiled dreamily at me stirred something deep. A need I couldn’t exactly pin. I wanted to keep her safe and be part of her life. I wanted to love her until our dying day. I wanted to be the father of her cubs and the man she smiled at every morning. I wanted to be her everything.
Just like she was my everything.
“Thank you, Emmitt,” she said, as I brushed back a stray bit of hair from her cheek.
“Any time.” I reached over her and buckled her in. “Winifred said she’ll put the boys to bed. Would you like to take a drive with me?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been gone too long. I wanted to go home earlier, but Jim wouldn’t let me drive back.”
“All right.”
So I drove slowly.
By the time we reached the house, the lights were out.
“I think the beer’s wearing off,” Michelle said, reaching for the door. I moved fast to get there before she could step out. Good thing, too, because she almost fell out of the door.
“Or maybe not,” she said. “How could Jim drink so much and still be fine? I think I had maybe three beers.”
“Werewolf metabolism,” I said with a smile.
To keep her steady, I wrapped my fingers around hers. She leaned into my arm as we walked toward the house. The stars distracted her, and she stopped for a minute. Her profile, as she looked up, captivated me.
A sigh escaped her, and she turned and caught me studying her.
“They’re pretty,” she said, looking up again. “I wonder how many people actually stop to look at them each night.”
“Not enough,” I said.
“They don’t realize what they’re missing.” She started walking again. I led her up the steps then held the door for her. The house was still humid and warm from the day, so I kept the front door open.
Michelle stood in the entry, staring up at the steps. She had one hand on the wall to keep steady.
“There sure are a lot of stairs,” she said.
“Sure are,” I said, turning to look at them with her. “Want me to car—”
“Piggyback ride.”
That was all the warning I got before she launched herself at me. I turned and caught her, but her momentum brought us to the floor, with me on the bottom. She lay across me with loose limbs and an angel’s smile.
I laughed, and she did too.
“I think it would be wise to see her upstairs,” Winifred said from her open door.
Her look wasn’t playful.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Michelle, your brothers are both sleeping. They weren’t any trouble to watch, but they did wonder where you’d gone. We should talk in the morning.”
Michelle’s scent clouded with guilt as Winifred closed her door. It pissed me off.
Winifred.
What she did was wrong.
You sure about that?
I picked Michelle up and carried her upstairs. She didn’t look at me the whole way up. When I set her on her feet, she moved to go inside.
“Wait,” I said.
She turned to look at me.
“Do you promise you’ll talk to me tomorrow? About whatever you want; just so you talk to me.”
A slight smile lifted her lips.
“I promise.”
****
I was already across the hall when I heard the boys. Not bothering to knock, I opened the door and called to them.
They stuck their heads into the hall, their hair standing up at all angles.
“If you get dressed without waking your sister, you can help me make her a surprise breakfast.”
They both grinned and disappeared again. A minute later, they reappeared in swim trunks and no shirts. That’s about all they’d worn since the heat wave struck.
“She’s still sleeping,” Liam said quietly.
They followed me across the hall where I had paper ready for them.
“I need you two to draw some arrows so she knows to come over here. While you do that, I’ll make you some breakfast.”
They got to work, happily swinging their feet under the stools I’d brought upstairs for them. When they finished, they ran off to place the drawings in the apartment, then came back to eat.
“Is Jim home today?” Aden asked with the hope in his gaze.
“Yeah, but I think Nana Wini’s having breakfast with him first.”
Jim had come home close to three a. m. Winifred hadn’t opened her door, and he’d winked at me on his way past the couch. Despite coming in so late, he’d still woken up at six with a loud yawn, all the warning I’d needed to beat him to the shower. When I’d gotten out, I’d heard Winifred lecturing Jim in her apartment. I doubted she’d be done with him any time soon.
“They’re having a grown-up talk that would make you bored in three seconds.”
“But Jim isn’t bored?” Aden asked.
“Probably to tears.”
“Can we go outside and play when we’re done?”
“You bet. Just stay in the back where it’s mowed.”
They both nodded and hurried to finish.
As soon as they raced out, I cleaned up their mess and started on breakfast for Michelle. My gut was tight with anticipation. She’d been tipsy last night, but not so much that she wouldn’t remember her promise. Would she keep it?