Lacey's Luhpynes(7)

"You're not," Zhubin told her quietly touching her hand. Sighing he  stood up. "Come on, Lacey. You're in no shape to be alone. You can take  one of the guest rooms and even keep the mutts with you if you'd like.  But you have a concussion and shouldn't be alone at all right now. Plus  I'll feel better knowing you're somewhere he can't get to without being  killed."

"How did you know about the break-ins?" As soon as she asked the  question she realized that he didn't know about them. "Fuck," she  grumbled. "You didn't know about them." She rubbed the back of her neck  and stood after several minutes. "I think that I would like to have the  wolves with me, if you don't mind letting me have them for a night?"  They weren't the wolves she wanted, but that was all well good and fine.                       
       
           



       

Nodding, he whistled, nails scrambling on wood sounded a moment later.  Both wolves came to a stop at the alert. "Stand down boys," he said to  them. They turned back into the slobbering pups and began to hop around.  "You sure you want them?" he asked, looking at her. At her nod he shook  his head. "They are bed hogs, just so you know. Upstairs, boys," he  ordered them and walked out ahead of her toward the stairs.

Pulling her weapon from its holster she unchambered the round and  ejected the cartridge. "Do you have a weapons safe you place your guns  in?" She didn't like keeping a weapon out, ever, it was simply too  dangerous. "If not do you have a drawer that I can put it in?" She was a  sleepwalker and sometimes she had grabbed her weapon, so she had  learned that it was best to simply keep it in a weapon safe.

Nodding, he held out a hand for it. "I'll put it in the safe in my  room." Leading her along the hall he pushed open a door and turned on  the lights. "Bathroom's there." He pointed. "Fresh towels are on the  shelf, there should be extra toothbrushes and paste in one of the  drawers of the vanity. If you need more pillows or blankets, there are  extras in the closet there." Again, he pointed. "Demon, Devil, guard  her," he said, looking to each wolf and rubbed their ears. "And don't  smother her in her sleep if you would, please."

Sighing, she looked at the wolves. "Yes, smothering me would just  seriously suck. It really and truly is not a good thing. I think that I  want to be able to live life, to have a life after this." She passed her  weapon off to Zhubin and asked, "You are certain you don't mind having  me here? You sure that you are okay with me being in this room in your  home?"

"I'd prefer you in my bed but this will do, I suppose," he told her with  a shrug. "I'll grab you a shirt you can use to sleep in. If you drop  your clothes outside the door I'll throw them in the wash and dryer  before I go to bed. At least they'll be blood-free and clean to wear  tomorrow as we figure out our next move on the case and with this  mongrel."

She wondered what he would think if she told him that was what she  wanted as well. Instead she nodded. "I will put them just outside the  door. A shirt will be wonderful, thank you." She sighed and rubbed her  forehead. "My head is splitting. I really and truly think that maybe I  will feel better after a nice long nap," she hoped.

"I'll come and check on you in a couple hours, just to make sure you're  not lying comatose. The wolves won't growl at me or Ansell. So if they  do growl, assume the worst. Though anything that comes into the room  will end up with a huge surprise from these two pussycats." Stepping out  of the room he disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a tee.  "Here you go." He handed it to her.

"Fair enough," she said and took the tee from him. "How are we going to  work our way past this? The two of you are the best partners that I've  ever had, I like to think friends as well. How are we going to get past  this?" she asked softly.

Stepping in he touched her cheek. "We're not going to do anything  tonight. We're tired, been banged around from an explosion and you have a  headache. We'll talk in the morning," he said softly, stroking his  fingers down her cheek. Dropping his hand, he tipped his head. "If you  need something more for your head later there should be some generic  stuff in the drawer with the toothbrushes. I'll come check on you in a  couple hours. Sleep well, Lacey," he murmured, stepping back with a  small bow.

"Thanks," she said and moved back from him. Closing the door, she peeled  out of her clothes and shot a look to the wolves on her bed. "Oh quit  watching, you perverts," she teased and walked buck-assed naked to the  bathroom so that she could finish getting ready for bed. Walking back to  her pile of clothes, she bent to pick them up, sighing, and said, "Fuck  me that hurts," scooping them up and folding them before placing them  outside the door. Dimming the lights she walked to the bed and climbed  up and into the already warmed bed with the two massive wolves. "You  boys are warm, that's a total plus on your sides," she whispered and was  sound asleep before she could have another thought.





Chapter Six




Turning, he looked to her. "Good morning," he said as he returned his  attention to the stove. "Coffee is on, pancakes are nearly done. There  are eggs and bacon on the table if you want to get started. Do not feed  the wolves anything no matter how much they whine and how big their eyes  get. They hunt for their food, they do not get table scraps." Shooting  her another look, he frowned. "You doing okay this morning?"                       
       
           



       

"Yeah, I'm okay. How are you doing?" Lacey asked and looked up at him  after walking to the coffee pot and pouring herself a nice big cup.  "Thank you by the way, for cleaning my clothes for me. That was very  sweet of you." It had touched her that he had not only washed and dried  her clothes, but took the time to hang them up and bring them to her  room. It was very lovely indeed. "What do we have planned for today?"

"Eating first, and then we're going to sit and figure out this entire  mess of an investigation. We also have a meeting with the AEDA top brass  about the explosion. Apparently they get twitchy when one of their  humans is targeted." He rolled his eyes. "Took him over twenty minutes  of me reassuring him you were alive and well before he even got to other  business. I won't even mention how long it took him to ask if I was  still functional."

She shook her head. "Because he knows that you guys are next to  indestructible, whereas I'm just a human and I break easily," she said  with a shrug. "Besides, you were pretty much healing the moment he  pulled the shrapnel from you." She paused and stepped forward, "How are  you feeling? Can I have a look to make sure you are okay?"

"Besides that they all think I'm a shield for you? I'm fine," he said,  sliding the pancakes onto a plate. Pouring more batter into the pan, he  shrugged at her. "If you want you can. There's no need, Ansell took a  look before he headed for the office and said I was almost healed.  Demon, if you climb on that chair I will neuter you right here and now,"  he called to the wolf without even turning around.

"Well, I would feel better if I were to look and make sure that you were  okay, please." She put her cup down and walked toward him. "If you  would please pull your shirt up? I want to make sure that my shield is  all good." She teased, her lips turning up in a grin as she did so.

Snorting at that, he set the spatula aside. "I don't mind being your  shield, Lacey, I just hate them assuming I will be." Reaching over his  head he grabbed the back of the shirt and tugged it up and off. Looking  over his shoulder he lifted a brow. "See, all healed up."

She reached out and touched the slightly less tanned flesh on his back  and stroked her fingers over it. "It has healed nicely," she said with a  grin. "Why are you not wearing the gold bands?" she asked when she  stepped back. "Around your wrist, the gold band is gone and the lacey  rose is showing. Why?" She needed his answer likely far more than he  would ever know she did.

"I never wear the cuff at home. I wear it out on the job because it  denotes my position in the hierarchy of Luhpynes," he said softly. "Plus  you know what lies beneath it now so it's not like I have to hide it  from you. When we leave I'll put it back on." Turning, he looked down at  her. "The mating marks are private among Luhpynes, Lace, we only show  them off during the mating dance when we are among our people. To  outsiders they are covered and kept private."