Shadow of the Wolf(17)

"Good morning, Annabelle. I would love a mug, thank you."

She smiled serenely, ignoring Lana's voice threatening to do more than  just kick Gareth's prized jewels if he ever laid a hand on her again.  "Sugar? Cream?"

Christopher took a seat at the banquette and absently scratched his chest, stifling a yawn. "Yes, please. Do I smell Danishes?"

She put the mug in front of him, her expression merry. "Yes, in fact you do. Lemon, cherry or cheese?"

He picked up his mug and took a sip. "God, that's good. Cheese, please, and thank you."

"You're a polite one. I like that." She brought him a Danish and joined  him at the table. They ate peacefully despite the battle raging on in  the front of the house. He picked up the newspaper that was lying on the  table, opening it to the sports section, settling in for a nice  breakfast.

"Ugh! Your brother is impossible." Lana stomped in and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Yes, dear." Christopher turned to the financial pages, handing Gareth the sports section.

"I am not impossible, you're impossible." Gareth stole Christopher's mug, frowning when he saw it was empty.

"I didn't play grabby with anyone." She bit savagely into a Danish, glaring at Gareth.

"No, you just kicked me in my," he darted a quick look at Annabelle, "man parts."

"You were holding me up in the air and refusing to let go. What was I supposed to do?"

"Not kick me in my man parts? That would have been a good start."

"How about next time you not assume you know what I'm up to?" Lana crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Gareth.

The mug got slammed down on the table. "You die, my brother dies. What  part of this do you not get?" Gareth stood. "I'm going for a walk." He  stomped out of the room. Seconds later they heard the front door slam.



Lana collapsed against the countertop. "He needs to switch to decaf."  She settled onto the bench next to Christopher. "Good morning." She  kissed him on the cheek, her lips sticky from the Danish.

Christopher held still for a moment, shocked. It was the first  affectionate gesture she'd shown towards him on her own, and he was  stunned by it. "Good morning."

"You want more coffee?" She took his mug and stood, pouring him a cup.  She grabbed a second mug and poured one for herself. "Another Danish?"

He looked over at Annabelle. "When did we replace my mate with a Stepford wife?"

"Ha ha." She sat back down next to him. "I have to log in about thirty  …  no, twenty minutes now.

Anything interesting in the paper?"

"Other than the Flyers winning last night, not really." He smiled to  himself when Annabelle winked and left the kitchen. "Now, how about a  proper good morning?" He slid his hand around her waist and pulled her  in closer to him. Her pleased look was distinctly feminine, full of  secrets he was dying to uncover. He gave her a sweet, slow kiss,  exploring her mouth, tasting the flavor of cherry and woman. "Mmm. Good  morning."                       
       
           



       

"Good morning."

"I really need to ask this for obvious reasons. Does kicking a man in the balls always put you in this good a mood?"

She laughed. "No. I just  …  started thinking about what you and Gareth  both said last night." She put her arms around his neck and sighed. "I  need to figure out how to accept this whole mate call thingy you  Becketts do. When my car broke down during that storm? I had the feeling  it was the Lady trying to tell me something. When Cole was in those  woods chasing me, I knew safety was in front of me, and when I saw the  wolf I knew I'd found it. Add in everyone telling me I was the answer to  your prayers and I know I need to try and work through this."

He couldn't help it. He stole another kiss, grateful beyond belief that she was willing to give them a chance. "Thank you."

"Once this whole Cole thing is over we're going on a real date.  Understood? Just because you didn't pay your dollar for the marriage  lottery like everyone else doesn't mean you get out of wining and dining  me, got it?"

He could do that. "Do I get to seduce you too?"

She bit her lip, a slight flush to her cheeks, her eyes full of promise. "Maybe. If you play your cards right."

He leaned in and took one more kiss. He could easily get addicted to the  taste of her mouth. "At least I won't be playing solitaire anymore."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "That was bad, wolfman."

He shrugged. "The caffeine hasn't kicked in yet."

She shook her head and pulled away from him with flattering reluctance. "Time to go to work."

"Bring the laptop into the living room. I'll set mine up there too and  we can work together." He followed her out of the kitchen, enjoying the  sight of her ass swaying lazily in front of him.

"How do you know I'm not on the phone all day long?"

Huh. What does she do for a living? With everything that had happened in the last two days he'd forgotten to ask. "I don't?"

She snorted, heading up the stairs. He followed after pausing for a moment to enjoy the view.

"You're lucky, because I'm not."



"What do you do?"

She looked back at him with a smirk. "I'm an accountant."

He stumbled. Somehow regimented numbers and tax laws didn't really fit in with his vision of her.

"Really?"

She wiggled her fingers at him from the bedroom door. "They say I'm magic with numbers."

"Ouch." He headed for his bedroom and grabbed his laptop case. Gareth  might have stolen his bed but at least he knew better than to touch  Chris's laptop.

"Who do you need to get in touch with over the whole king business?"

"Not sure. I'll fire off an email to my father, have him look into  what's going on. Meanwhile I need to get some work done too. Do you mind  music?"

She paused, putting the laptop down on the coffee table. "In general, no. Why?"

"I like to work with some playing in the background." It helped set the mood for the work he was doing.

"You have headphones?" She sank gracefully to the floor, getting to hands and knees to plug the laptop in.

That luscious ass of hers was up in the air and she expected him to  speak human? The memory of the incredible sex they'd had that morning  had him so hard he was surprised there was any blood left in his head.  He figured there must be some left there though. He was still breathing.

She looked back at him over her shoulder, rolling her eyes when she saw  where his gaze had landed. "Head. Phones." Each word was accompanied by a  wiggle of her ass.

He gulped. He hadn't thrown his underwear on under his jeans, and now he  was going to have a permanent zipper mark up his cock. "Uh." He was  definitely going to have to fuck her in that position. Note to self:  pick up lube. He wondered if she'd let him talk her into taking her  there.

He bet he could. After all he'd already had her twice when she'd been  unsure. If she'd given him a firm no either time, he'd have backed off,  threat of blue balls or not. But she hadn't. She'd given so sweetly,  come so beautifully for him, he was permanently addicted.

"I'll take that as a yes." She sat up, sitting on her heels and holding out her hand. "There. Hand me your plug."

He blinked. It took him a second to realize she meant the electrical  plug. She'd look so incredible with her ass plugged. "Here."

She plugged in his laptop, giving him another show. "All done. The  travel surge protector I had should work for now." She squirmed around,  sitting cross-legged in front of the laptop. She looked up at him with a  grin, her eyes drifting lazily over his erection. "Work now, play  later."                       
       
           



       

He sat down so hard he nearly bounced. "Work. Then play. Got it." He stared at the blank screen.

"What was I working on?"

She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Turning on the laptop."

He stared down at the top of her head, trying to ignore the way her  shoulders shook with her laughter. It's going to be a long day.



* * * *

Lana reached up with her arms and stretched, her back feeling stiff from  sitting on the floor. She scooted back and leaned against the sofa,  pushing her legs under the coffee table. Chris's music track had gone  from Joe Satriani to Enya, the soft strains filling the room, his mouse  moving in sweeping arcs across the mouse pad. "Wouldn't that be easier  with one of those drawing pads I've heard about?" "Considerably, but I  forgot to pack it."

"Oh." She stood up, more than ready for a bio break. "Want anything to drink?"