Secret of the Wolf(27)

Rand seemed unusually quiet. He hadn't asked about the rift device since that day in her bedroom. She didn't know for certain if he'd looked for it again, though she thought he might have searched her closet. A couple of her shoes were askew on the shoe rack, shoes she hadn't worn in several weeks and didn't remember touching. She kept the incident to herself because she didn't want to draw attention to the device at all. She started thinking again that maybe Dante was right-she needed to get it out of the house. She just wasn't sure where to put it, and she hated to admit she couldn't keep it out of Rand's grasp. It hurt her to think that she was unable to trust her own brother. As soon as she got the chance, she'd talk to Dante about it. It seemed like his gun safe might be the best place for it after all, but she couldn't help but think about Lily. She would be in danger just by virtue of the fact that the device was in Dante's home.

At least as werewolves, Tori and Rand had a fighting chance against anyone who might come for the device. Lily would be helpless.

Unsure of a good hiding place, fes heown she took it out of the flour canister and put it in her fanny pack. She always wore it to work, anyway, so no one would think anything of it. Despite the new location, she still carried the damn thing everywhere she went, even into the bathroom, where she stashed it in her box of tampons while she showered.

As she took off her clothes, she thought about the meeting at headquarters, which she really wasn't looking forward to. The new prets didn't like being put on display under the auspices of introductions to the council and its liaisons. Tori supposed it was a necessary evil. This way, when the newcomers got themselves into trouble-which most of them invariably did to one degree or another-Tori and her colleagues knew with whom they were dealing.

After her shower, she dressed in a flowing sky-blue skirt, a two-toned silk tank top, and a bright pink short-sleeved jacket with high-heeled sandals to match. She fitted the fanny pack in place, grimacing at how it ruined the look of her outfit, and made sure the jacket wasn't caught under the straps. She left a note for Rand, letting him know she'd see him at the meeting, and drove to Dante's.

As she drove up the winding driveway, she admired the natural landscaping of prickly pear and saguaro cacti, mesquite, and palo verde trees. When she pulled up in front of the house, she put the car in park and turned off the ignition, sitting for a few minutes to look the place over. It was a one-story adobe ranch house with a long front porch and roofed with Spanish tiles. Potted flowering plants lined the walkway leading to the front door. She couldn't see Dante taking the time to plant flowers, so no doubt they were Lily's handiwork.

A separate barn sat about twenty-five yards away from the house on the south side, complete with a corral that, at the moment, was empty. His horses must be in the barn.

She got out of her car and slammed the door, hitting the button on the remote to lock it. She drew in a breath and smelled various scents-the flowering bougainvillea and oleanders, horses, hay, and the pungent odor of manure. The sound of hooves stomping, low nickers, and the aroma of fear wafted to her from the horses. They smelled her, and they were afraid. She pressed her lips together. Sometimes she regretted what she was, and this was one of those times. She'd love to be able to get close enough to the horses to really appreciate their beauty, but she'd probably never be able to.

She headed toward the house. As she reached the front door it swung open and Dante stood there, a wide smile on his face. "You made it. Any trouble finding the place?"

"Nope, none." She entered the house. "Nice," she commented, seeing how it reflected his masculinity from the oversized leather recliner and matching sofa in the living room to the décor in various shades of browns and greens. There were a couple of pillows on the sofa that had splashes of red in them and a few decorative pots on the hearth of the beehive fireplace in the corner that suggested a woman's touch. Again probably due to Lily.

"Thanks," he said. "I can give you the tour a little later, if you'd like."

She followed him through to a large country-style eat-in kitchen, complete with a distressed pine table that seated six. There was also a formal dining room off to the left of the kitchen with another large table, this one a darker wood.

"I know I said I'd fix dinner," Dante said. "But since you can't stay long, I figured we should spend most of the time working on the device instead of eating. So … " The doorbell rang and he held up one finger. "I ordered pizza. Have a seat," he said, motioning toward the kitchen table. "I'll be right back."

Tori went over to it and pulled out a chair, admiring the Southwest pattern on the padded seat. Dante came k. Dp back in with a couple of boxes in his hands. The smell of pepperoni and pizza sauce wafted her way, as well as the spicy aroma of barbecue.

"Got some wings, too." Dante flipped open the boxes and grabbed a couple of plates from a cabinet. He placed one in front of her and handed her a paper towel. "You want beer? Soda?"

"Soda's fine," she said. "Since I have to drive."

"Okay. Soda it is." He grabbed two cans from the fridge and handed one to her. Taking his place in the chair across from her, he said, "Dig in."

She took two slices and put them on her plate.

"Get some wings, too," he urged.

"In a minute," she said around a mouthful of food.

Once she'd scarfed down her pizza, she started on some wings. After a few minutes, Dante reached over and swiped his thumb across the corner of her mouth, letting it linger on her lip. "You had some barbecue sauce there," he said, his voice husky.

In reflex, she swept out her tongue, the tip sliding over the pad of his thumb. His indrawn breath flared his nostrils. He rubbed across her bottom lip and leaned closer. "God, you've got the most beautiful mouth." He bent his head, his lips closing over hers.

He tasted like pizza sauce and pepperoni with an underlying tang of heated desire. He ate at her mouth like a starving man and she was just as voracious. When they pulled away for air, they both breathed heavily. Dante's eyes were heavy-lidded, the brown of his irises almost black with passion.

As much as she wanted to say to hell with the rift device, she had limited time to work on the thing, and they needed to get results. She stroked her fingers down his cheek, thrilling to the catch of his breath, the flare of his eyes. He must have read the intent on her face, because he husked, "Why don't I clear the table and we can take a look at that device?"

She cleared her throat. "All right." As he put the leftover pizza and wings in the fridge, she gathered up the plates and used napkins and set them on the counter. Then she unsnapped her fanny pack and took it off, pulling out the rift device and placing it on the table.

"We have to figure out how to check this thing out without alerting that guy who keeps asking for a password." Tori blew out a sigh.

"Did you bring the schematics with you?" Dante asked, standing next to her to look down at the small device.

"Yeah." She pulled the paper out of her fanny pack and handed it to him.

"Ah, excellent." Dante unfolded the document and spread it out on the desk. He bent over it, studying it in silence.

Tori got closer to him to look it over as well. She was able to pick out the various parts that made up the radio component, but anything more than that left her confused. She drew in a breath, struck by how good he smelled-like soap and hot, virile male. Holding it in a moment, she trapped his scent in her lungs. After a few seconds she exhaled. If only they had more time … for now she'd keep things directed toward the job at hand. "We make a good team," she murmured. "You know computers and I know radio communications."

"Mmm."

His focus was so intent on the schematics she doubted he'd really heard what she'd said. Pursing her lips, she decided to put it to the test. "My brains to your brawn. Your ability to bullshit with my unwavering search for the truth." Only it wasn't so unwavering these days, was it? There was still that small matter of finding out if her brother was involved with the werewolf attacks. She pushed that aside for the moment. "You look good in pink while I tend to stick to more muted colors."

"Right."

A slight smile curved her li kcurim ps and she shook her head. Typical male. Able to focus on only one thing at a time. While in bed, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; outside of it could be damned frustrating. For now, though, she was having too good a time to be irritated with his one-track mind.

"All right, so we determined last time that this doohickey is the processor running the works. And if I'm reading these schematics right … " He picked up the device and turned one of the small dials on the top. Another dial, the one that Tori had been using to turn the device on, he twisted to the right.

Slight static came across the speaker. Dante fiddled with one of the antennae and the static faded.

Tori carefully sat down, trying not to make any noise, and waited for the guy on the other side to ask for a password. After a minute or so of silence, she glanced up at Dante. "Well, this is new," she whispered.

The speaker crackled. She tensed and bit her lip, shooting a chagrined look at him. He shook his head, finger to lips, but humor danced at the corners of his eyes.