Secret of the Wolf(33)

"You had me at steak." She laughed, a soft trill of sound that went in his ears and shot straight to his groin. "Should I bring anything?" she asked.

"Hell, no. You're my guest." He made a turn onto the street where the station was located. "How does six sound?"

"Six is great. I'll see you then."

"Oh, and I still have the thing, so we can work on it again."

"Okay." Her tone softened as she said, "I'll see you tonight."

That sultry voice did it to him every time. His cock stiffened. He could come up with no other response except a quiet, "See you later."

Mind on the job, MacMillan. Otherwise they'd never make it to the food or the device.

                       
       
           



       Chapter Fourteen

By late afternoon Tori had had enough of lazing around. She puttered around in the yard, making sure the flowers had enough water and pulling a few stray weeds out of the graveled landscaping. Then she went inside to get cleaned up for her evening at Dante's.

It was silly how excited she was about going to his house. She had to leave in an hour, and she felt like a schoolgirl with her very first crush. Her insides trembled, her mind skittered from one thought to another, not allowing her to fully land on anything specific. Even though she had been to his house before, this time seemed more like a date and less like work. Maybe a cold shower would clear her head.

After a couple of seconds of cold water beating down on her, Tori decided cold showers were overrated. She turned the faucet to hot and finished up. As she was cinching her robe around her waist, the smell of Italian spices drew her to the front of the house. She walked past the guest bathroom, and the smell of ammonia made her stop. She peered in and saw the toilet bowl brush resting in the toilet. Hmph. Rand had cleaned? She went into the kitchen, rubbing her wet hair with a towel, and almost ran into her brother. He'd been on his way out when she'd gotten up this morning, stopping briefly to tel ~ widtMacMil her Dante had come by late last night, then he had headed out. He'd gotten back only about half an hour ago.

" 'Ello," he said as he easily sidestepped her, holding a cup of tea. "How'd the yard work go?"

"Fine. It's not like it was hard or anything." She draped the damp towel over one shoulder and stared at him. "You, ah, cleaned the bathroom?"

He stared at her. "I thought I'd do some chores around here. Is that all right?"

"Sure. Yes, absolutely." It was her own damned suspicious nature that made her equate ammonia with the rogue werewolf. "Where were you last night?"

He set his cup on the island and turned toward the stove. Donning a pair of oven mitts, he opened up the oven door. "What do you mean?" His voice gave away nothing of what he was thinking, and she picked up no unusual emotional scents from him, either.

"I mean you weren't at the newcomer meet and greet." Tori drew in a breath and determined not to let him distract her with that absolutely yummy looking pan of lasagna. "It's a requirement for all preternaturals new to a city to attend one of those, not just to meet the council members, but also the local liaisons."

"But I already know the local liaison," Rand said with a small smile.

"Sorry, buddy. That doesn't count." She couldn't resist taking another sniff or two of the lasagna he lifted out of the oven. "You don't want to get me in trouble with my bosses, do you?"

He snorted. "They can't hold you responsible for me. It's not like I'm your kid. Anyway, this stupid meet and greet is only required in the cities where the councils are located. If I lived down in Tucson or over in Yuma I wouldn't have to do this."

"That's because it doesn't make sense to have people travel from all over the surrounding areas to come to their regional council. But it does make sense for the council to get a feel for the prets who live in their town." She stared at him as he put the pan of lasagna on top of the stove and removed a foil bag of garlic bread, then closed the oven door.

He pulled off the mitts and set them on the counter. "Whatever. It's a waste of time."

"That may be true," Tori replied, and God knew she didn't disagree. "But it doesn't make any difference." She took a step closer to him and rested one hand on his forearm. "Since you didn't show up, the council is going to think you're trying to hide something from them."

"Well, I'm not." Her brother slid his arm out from under her grasp. "I'm not going to jump through hoops like a good little doggie simply because they tell me to." His irritation hit her nostrils on a wave of burned rubber.

"Rand-"

"No!" He sighed and briefly touched her shoulder. The scorched smell lessened. "Look, I understand that as one of their liaisons you have a job to do. Just this once, can't you leave the job behind, for me, and just be my sister?"

She bit back a sigh. He was right, though it was hard, distancing herself from work. It was so much a part of who she was now. How could she attest to her brother's whereabouts, when even she had no idea where he'd been? "I'll try," she told him. "I hope you know that if they ask me about where you were, I'm going to have to tell them you chose not to come." She hoped it wouldn't come to that. She didn't want to have to choose between her job and her family. She liked what she did and couldn't imagine not being a liaison.

"That's fine. You do what you have to do."

"So … " She tried to be as nonchalant as possible, but she was afraid she wasn't going to be successful. "What'd you do last night?"

"Not much. I sat around and watched TV mostly." Rand opened a cabinet and pulled out a couple of plates.

Tori watched him closely. "You didn't go out at all?"

"No." He took two forks from the silverware drawer and placed them on the plates. "Let's eat."

She pressed her lips together. Without coming right out and asking him if he had been turning people into werewolves without permission, she had nowhere else to go with this line of questioning. With Rand being so agreeable, she didn't want to spoil the mood, which she was probably about to do, anyway.

"What is it?" He glanced at her as he set the plates on the counter. "You don't like lasagna?"

"I love lasagna. It's just … " She met his eyes. "I'm going over to Dante's for dinner tonight. I need to leave in about forty-five minutes. But, you know what? I'll call him and cancel." She turned and started out of the kitchen. "It'll just be you and me tonight."

"No, don't cancel." Rand slid open the utensil drawer and drew out a spatula. "Go have dinner with your cop friend. I have plans tonight, too."

"Are you sure?" Tori hated the idea of missing an opportunity with her brother, especially when he seemed so open with her. "I'd really like to spend some time with you. I can have dinner with Dante some other time."

He looked up at her. "No, really. It's okay." For the first time since he'd shown up on her doorstep, he seemed calm. Almost serene. "It's not like I'm getting ready to leave town or anything. We'll catch up tomorrow. Go. Have fun."

He seemed to have gotten over his snit about Dante. She was glad, but wondered what had brought about this sudden change of heart. "I thought you didn't like Dante."

"Can I say that I'm happy with the idea of you being with a human? No, I can't." His gaze, candid and open, landed on her. "He seems a decent enough sort. I mean, he's a cop, so he can't be all that bad, right? And he did check up on you last night when you weren't answering your phone, so at least he's looking out for you."

"Right." She lingered a few moments, watching him dish up half the lasagna onto his plate. She halfway expected him to hit her up for some money, he was being so nice. "Okay, then, I guess I'll see you later." She turned and went into her bedroom to get dressed.

She was wrapping a hair band around her still-damp braid when Rand yelled, "I'm leaving now."

"All right. See you later," she called out. She grabbed a thin, short-sleeved blouse and shrugged into it, flipping her braid to the outside, and tugged the jacket down over her fanny pack. Once she was ready, Tori headed out the door.

On the way, she stopped at a store and picked up a bouquet of flowers-some carnations, a few bright daisies, and some babies' breath-for Dante's sister. When she pulled up in front of his house, she glanced toward the corral. A big Appaloosa, a buckskin, and a cute little burro stared at her car, all three with tails swishing, brushing persistent flies from their hindquarters. Tori grabbed the flowers, opened the door, and got out. The horses threw their heads back, their eyes showing white. The burro drew himself up, standing stiff-legged and looking wary. It wasn't unusual for livestock to react this way upon spotting a werewolf.

The front door opened and Dante walked out. His full lips lifted in a smile. "Hey." He walked up to her and leaned over to press a kiss against her cheek. Taking a step back, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. "You look great. You must've needed a day off."