Secret of the Wolf(38)

She smiled and slipped it over her head. The seams on the shoulders went halfway down her upper arms, and the bottom hem reached her midthigh. "You must buy extra long," she mused.

"I do." He looked at her, eyes black with desire. He glanced down, drawing her gaze to his groin where the towel had begun to rise over a growing bump. "Damn. I'm like a teenager around you." His grin was a white flash against tanned cheeks. "Not complainin', mind you."

Breakfast consisted of cereal and coffee. Though Dante offered to cook something, Tori declined. She hadn't had any raw meat in a few days, and her wolf was snarling its displeasure. She didn't think Dante was quite ready to see her scarfing down uncooked hamburger meat just yet, so she'd wait until she got home.

By the time she was dressed and ready to leave, Dante had also gotten dressed in blue jeans and the T-shirt she'd discarded. His big feet were encased in cowboy boots.

"That's kind of casual for work, isn't it?" she asked. "Not that I'm complaining. I like cowboys."

He grinned. "I've gotta take care of the horses before I go in. The more I do, the less there is for Lily to do. She needs her rest."

Tori gave him a hug. "You're such a good man," she whispered, leaning up to press a kiss to his lean cheek.

She knew he'd shrug off her compliment, which he did with a scowl and muttered, "It's nothing."

She shook her head and pulled away. Hefting her fanny pack in one hand, she looked at him. "What do we do with this?"

"You finally ready to admit it's not safe at your house?"

"I admitted that to myself a while ago," she said with a frown. "That would be why I'm wearing it twenty-four seven."

"Hmm." Dante held out his hand, and she gave him the pack. He slid open the zipper and pulled out the rift device. "I'll put this in my gun safe. You keep the schematics-I think it's a good idea that we keep them separate."

"That way if someone gets one of these, we still have the other one. Hopefully." She took the bag from him and fitted it around her waist. "And you're confident Lily won't be in any danger?"

"Your brother doesn'tthe lea know I have it, right? Hopefully he has no idea what it is." He put the device in the gun safe and made sure it was secure. "I think Lily will be fine." He opened the top drawer of his dresser and pulled out a thin, flat cell phone. He held it out to her.

"What's this?" she asked, taking it from his hand.

"It's an old cell phone I haven't gotten around to recycling. Put that in your little pack there," he answered, motioning toward her back. "It might fool someone since it's the same size and shape as the device."

"Good thinking." She put the phone inside her fanny pack.

He took her hand and walked with her outside to her car, giving her a searing kiss before letting her go. "Call me when you get a minute," he whispered against her lips.

"You got it." Tori glanced toward the house and then back at him. "Please tell Lily I said good-bye, and thank her again for a lovely dinner."

He nodded. "Drive safe."

"I will." She went on tiptoe and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. "God, you are too tempting," she said as she held those sexy lips against her own. Taking a breath, she whispered, "I'll talk to you later." She got in the car and started the engine.

As she made her way down the drive, she saw Dante lift a hand in farewell before he headed toward the stable.

Pulling into her driveway ten minutes later, she let herself into the house and listened for Rand. When she didn't hear anything, Tori headed down the hallway, pausing at his bedroom, before rapping softly on the door. When there was no response, she pushed it open, but he wasn't there. She glanced at his bedside clock. It was just before 7:00 A.M.

Where the hell was he?

It wasn't like he had to get her permission to stay out all night but she couldn't help but worry about him. She'd fallen asleep at Dante's and hadn't called to let him know she wouldn't be home. Checking her phone and finding no messages, he apparently hadn't been too worried about her well-being, which saddened her.

She went back into the kitchen and tamed her inner wolf with a couple handfuls of raw hamburger meat. Just as she was rinsing the last bite down with a glass of water, her cell rang. She set the glass on the counter and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Tori." Tobias's voice came clear and strong through the receiver. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Uh, no. I've been up awhile," she said. But it couldn't be good that he was calling her so early in the morning. "What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you could swing by the house for a few minutes. I'd like to get an update."

"I need to change clothes first, but I should be able to be there in about fifteen minutes."

"See you then." He ended the call.

Tori went into her bedroom and tossed her phone on the bed. She took off her clothes and redressed, this time in a T-shirt and jeans. She fastened the fanny pack around her waist and shrugged into a denim-colored blouse, leaving it hanging open like a jacket. She slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. After she put on her shoes and strapped on her gun, she stopped in the kitchen to jot down a quick note for her brother. Using a Snoopy magnet, she stuck the note to the fridge, then headed out to her car again.

Tobias opened his front door before she even pulled her car to a stop. As she approached, he put a finger to his lips. "Let's try and keep it down, all right? Nix is still asleep."

"No, I'm not." Nix appeared at his side, complete with rumpled penguin pajamas and bed head. Her eyes were Her cell rbloodshot and a hint of fangs peeped over her bottom lip. "Hey, Tori."

"Hey." Tori went into the house and followed Tobias and Nix into the kitchen.

"Can I pour you some coffee?" Nix asked as she reached for the pot.

"No, thanks." Tori watched as the other woman poured herself a cup. "Um, you're still drinking coffee?" Tori asked.

"I am half demon." Nix shrugged. "I like coffee."

Tori gave a nod.

"Can I get you some breakfast?" Tobias asked. "Since I got you out here so early?"

"I already had breakfast, thanks." She glanced at the two vampires standing in front of her. "But, uh, if you need to … "

Tobias shook his head. "I already fed."

"I haven't," Nix muttered.

Her gaze fixed on Tori so long that Tori started to get a little anxious. Perhaps Nix was wondering if a little werewolf would go down smooth and hot this morning.

"Oh, stop looking so nervous," Nix said. "I don't eat friends."

"I wouldn't let her, anyway." Tobias arched a brow at his wife.

"Like you could stop me if I really wanted to go after her." She paused and then thrust out her lower lip. "Never mind. You could wipe the floor with me with just your pinkie."

Tori laughed. When they both looked at her, she said, "I just remembered a bumper sticker I saw a few weeks ago. ‘Friends don't let friends eat friends.'" When neither of them smiled, she muttered, "I guess you had to be there."

At that Nix grinned. She started to say something and then stopped, lifting her face and sniffing. "What's that smell … " More sniffs. Her gaze shot to Tori. "You were with Dante last night. Or this morning." A sly look crossed her face. "Maybe both?"

Tori only stared at her.

"I recognize the scent of his shower gel."

Tobias scowled.

Nix patted him on the shoulder. "I recognize the scent, fang boy. That's all."

"Let's go in the living room," Tobias said. When they were all seated, he and Nix on the plump sofa and Tori in an armchair across from them, he crossed his legs and looked at Tori. "So, where are we with the rift device?"

She told him that she and Dante had decided the device would be safer locked up at his place, and that she had the schematics. She also filled him in on their suspicions. "On its own, this is used for communications through an artificially created rift. An infinitesimal tear between the two dimensions, one big enough for radio waves to travel through. Dante thinks, and I agree, that this thing could be built on a larger scale." She looked from Tobias to Nix. "That would be bad."

Nix frowned. "I'm not a radio expert or a computer geek, so you'll need to explain the bad."

"The rift that opens with the comet either could be made larger or could be held open longer than normal." A thought struck her cold. "Maybe … "

After a few seconds Tobias said, "You do realize you didn't finish that sentence out loud?"

"If on a small scale, the device can form a tear between the dimensions without a comet in sight, what if on a larger scale … " She couldn't finish the thought.

Nix had no such problem. "A larger device could open a rift all on its own." Her eyes were wide. "This is worse than I thought."

Tobias drummed his fingers on his knee. "I've been asking around, discreetly, trying to find out who on the council is aware of the device. So far I haven't had any luck." His stormy gaze met Tori's. "We need to find Natchook and put a stop to this."