A Handful of Wolf (15 page)

“Dion, no. Thanks, but no.”

“Mate. What is it with this Megan chick? You met her two days ago and suddenly you’re off the market? I never had you pegged for being a masochist.”

“You wouldn’t understand.” He hung up. One day he might try to explain, but not today.

A short while later, Sasha slid onto a stool opposite Connor and his three wolves. He racked his brains to remember their names and came up blank. Connor gave him a little nod. “You wanted to see me? I have ten minutes.”

Great. Where did he start? “People are talking about “werewolves”, and wolves being seen on the hills. I wanted to check that you were aware.” Connor dipped his head. Did that mean continue? “Last night I had an encounter with a rogue wolf. He was angry I’d been talking to you and he threatened my Alpha. Something is going on.”

“Did you know the rogue wolf?”

“No, and he didn’t give his name, but he was a Brit. From Manchester.” Connor’s eyes narrowed. “Jake asked me to alert you.”

“There is some dissension in the pack, but we’re dealing with it. As for the wolves stupid enough to be seen, we deliver our own justice.” Sasha tried to suppress a shiver at the iciness of the Alpha’s tone. The meeting was over.

Megan still hadn’t called and Sasha drove back to her place. As Bessie rumbled up the driveway, he idly wondered which of the Hellspawn brothers would be greeting him this time. Somehow he had to win them over, or Megan would never be completely happy with him. Win the girl, impress the family and prevent a wolf uprising all at the same time. Yeah, right. He wished, not for the first time, that Jake was there.

Megan had managed to get home without running into either Alex or Hugh and she lurked in her room drinking iced tea and trying to focus on a paperback Nessa had loaned her. After she’d tried to read the same paragraph three times, and the words continued to dance on the page, she lay back on the bed and let the book fall beside her. The hangover had subsided for the most part, but sudden movements were not advised. Neither was anything that required any level of concentration.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the display. Another text from Sasha. He was persistent. She deleted it unread, as she had the others. The only way to forget him was to prune him out completely. No calls. He’d only be in Wellington for a few weeks and it was easy enough to avoid the office block where he worked. It wasn’t as though they moved in the same circles. As for Mighty Mike’s, she’d leave it a month before she went back. Easy. Not so easy to forget him though, especially when he kept invading her dreams.

God. That last dream had been so real, apart from the turning-into-a-wolf-trick. When he’d kissed her…she touched her lips. They felt swollen as though she’d really been snogging him. How could that be? She could cut Sasha out of her daytime hours, but she had no control over her dreams. If she had a nap now, would she meet him again? Probably.

Megan had no idea how long she’d been dozing, half asleep and half awake, but when the doorbell rang and nobody answered, she figured it might just be a dream. She rubbed gritty eyes, made her way down the hall and threw open the front door.
Sasha
. He wore the same clothes as in her dream, a well-washed grey T-shirt that clung in all the right places and faded jeans. His smile was cautious, but his eyes twinkled. “
Cariad
.”

Damn, her brain was working slowly today. “What are you doing here?” Her hair was a mess and she shoved a hand through it before remembering she didn’t care about him anymore. “I told you I didn’t want to see you again. You shouldn’t be here.”

As she stared, while trying not to stare, she realized he had one hand behind his back, a hand that now appeared clutching a bunch of wild yellow roses tied with a blue ribbon.
Just like in my dream.

“I brought you some flowers.” This was too weird. Like when she dreamed about their picnic. She shivered and he noticed, and stepped forward. “You okay,
Cariad
?” She couldn’t mistake the concern in his voice. She took a deep breath and tried again.

“Go away, Sasha.” She should have closed the door in his face and walked away, but she didn’t. Like a fool, she stood there.
Remember the bet
. “How much did Dion pay you to kiss me, Sasha? Did he pay you more for fucking me? Bit perverted, isn’t it?”

“
Megan
.” He raised his voice and waited for her to subside. “It’s not like that, I swear. Give me a chance to explain.” He held the flowers out to her
. I dreamed of these. I dreamed about him
. “Please. I can’t just walk away from you.”

His voice set butterflies loose inside her stomach, but she had to resist. “Because my dad’s loaded and you’re just a hard up chippie? That would make me more attractive, I guess.”

“No!” He moved so quickly she couldn’t stop him—
I could if I really wanted to
—and pulled her into his arms, the flowers somewhere behind her back. “Why do you think that? I wanted you the minute I saw you, nothing to do with your family.” A soothing hand stroked up and down her spine and despite her common sense, she relaxed into his touch. “And for the record, I’m not a penniless chippie. I’ve a Masters in Civil Engineering. I’m just taking a year out.” He gave her hair a gentle, playful tug. “I’m actually a penniless engineer, but I do have a job waiting for me back home.” He caressed her some more and then nuzzled her ear. “Can I come in? So we can talk about this?”

Common sense battled with yearning and she weakened. She knew the exact moment when she gave in. Her heart fluttered. “Just for a few minutes. I’ve a shocking hangover. I stayed up way too late last night and I’m really not in the mood for difficult conversations.” Aww, crud, there she went, running her mouth off,
again
!

His breath was warm against her ear. “I’ll make this simple then,
Cariad
. We had a misunderstanding and it’s making me sick that you think so little of me.” He kissed her neck and a fresh shiver trickled down her spine. “I want you, and I know that you want me. The other stuff we can talk about later.”

*

Sasha wondered if Megan would take him to her bedroom. He hoped for somewhere quiet, away from her brothers, and followed her down the long hallway. The house was impressive and he had to wonder what kind of luxury lifestyle she was used to. Although he had a job lined up he’d be starting as a graduate, and they wouldn’t have a lot of money. As they approached the kitchen he’d spent so long in the day before, he had a brainwave. “Have you eaten yet?” He snagged her hand and pulled her to a stop. “I can cook for you.”

Megan hesitated and then fiddled with her hair. “I didn’t feel like eating.”

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll whip up my patented hangover remedy for you.” He knew his way round the contents of the fridge and larder. He was confident he could feed her. “If it doesn’t work you can claim a forfeit.”

Amusement sparked in her eyes. “And what would that be? A kiss? You’re totally transparent, Sasha.”

He held the roses to his chest and adopted a wounded look. “That’s harsh. I was thinking you could ask me anything, and I’d answer. Anything at all.”

“The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

“Sure you’re not a lawyer?” He could tell her bad mood was lifting and knew he had to capitalize on it. “It’s a deal.”

Fifteen minutes later, Megan sat at the heavy scrubbed pine table in the kitchen, sipping a banana smoothie, while Sasha fried bacon and assembled a club sandwich with sliced tomato and avocado on toasted wholegrain bread. Thankfully they hadn’t been disturbed and he had her entire attention.

“This smoothie is divine. What did you put in it?”

He flashed her a smile over his shoulder. “Banana, yoghurt, honey and milk. And a spoonful of peanut butter. The bananas and yoghurt will settle your stomach while the peanut butter adds protein.” He fished the last piece of crispy bacon from the pan, switched off the hob and assembled the sandwiches, one each. “Bacon sarnie a la Sasha. The perfect hangover cure.”

Her smile warmed his heart. “I have to ask. You’ve had a lot of hangovers, if you’ve had time to perfect a remedy?”

“I spent six years at uni. Bachelor’s degree took four years, then another two for my Masters. I had my own stool at the student bar.”

“That’s a lot of bacon sandwiches.” She took a cautious bite, then a bigger one and made a thumbs up sign. “This is really good. Thank you.”

He attacked his own food, but derived more pleasure from watching his Mate eating. She had crumbs dusted over her chin and he longed to kiss them away.
Slow down, Sasha. She needs time to trust you again.

When she’d polished off the last bite and finished the smoothie, Megan sat back in her chair and gave him a smile. He was pleased to see some color back in her cheeks. “My hangover feels like it’s almost gone. I guess I can’t claim that forfeit.”

At the word ‘claim’ his gaze went automatically to the mark on her neck. She hadn’t tried to cover it today. Was that a good sign? Claiming a human Mate was more complicated than another wolf and he wished he’d paid more attention to Jake’s courtship of Lillian. At the time he’d been too busy teasing his cousin. “Hmm, why don’t we even it up? You can ask me anything,
Cariad,
but I can ask you questions in return. Would that be fair?” He held his breath while she thought about it, and then gave a quick nod. “Do you want to go first?”

*

Megan’s mind was a complete blank. She cast around for a sensible question and came up empty. Sasha sat across from her, relaxed and smiling, stubbled chin resting on his hand. Too appealing by half. “Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you at home?”

“No.” He wrinkled his nose and looked as if he was trying not to laugh. “Of course not.” There was a tiny pause before he spoke again. “My turn now.”

Her pulse speeded up. What if he asked her something she didn’t want to answer?

“Do you hostess for your dad a lot?” She hadn’t expected something so mundane and had to struggle to focus on the answer.

“Um, depends what you mean by a lot, I suppose. Probably two or three times a month. Clare is on the board of a children’s charity and she’s always doing fundraising for that, so when she’s away, I take her place.” She stared at him, taking in his strong masculine beauty and wolfish smile. He was just too perfect, a fallen angel taking human form. She might catch his attention for now, but it would be fleeting at best. There would likely be a line of girls waiting for him back at home, despite what he said.

“Hey.” He leaned forward and touched her hand. “Come back, baby. Your turn for a question.”

Okay, cards on table time. Let’s see how honest he could be. “Why did you laugh at me? When I accused you of taking the bet, you laughed in my face, Sasha. That hurt.” She had to stop. Her jaw tightened and she kept her face rigid, not giving anything away. This was important.

A troubled look crept into his blue eyes, the color deepening. “I’m sorry. It was just so ludicrous you thought I was only with you because of the bet. I’d forgotten all about the freakin’ bet.” He closed his hand around her fingers. “I thought you were asking about something else.”

It was the perfect time for Sasha to tell her. The opportunity to explain how she was his Mate, a shifter Mate, and how she’d taken him to his knees at that first kiss. Only…she still looked stressed. Her hand was fisted beneath his fingers and her shoulders were hunched as though she was trying to brace herself against a blow. He’d wait a little longer.

“So.” He drew out the syllable while he thought rapidly. “Had any strange dreams lately?” He squeezed her fingers and winked at her. “Dream about me at all?”

Her indrawn breath and pink flushed cheeks confirmed he’d hit the target. “That’s two questions.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind which you answer.”

Megan looked away, her eyes unfocused. “Yes, I dreamed about you. That you gave me flowers.” She nodded toward the jug of roses on the table. “Just like those, even with a blue ribbon.”

Come on, Megan
. Just one mention of a wolf and he could steer the subject in the direction he wanted, but she stayed stubbornly silent. Her lips pursed. “My turn again. How many other girls have you kissed for a bet?”

Ouch
. “A few,” he hedged, and wondered if he could get away with such a vague answer. The little shake of her head was clear. “Okay. Nine or ten. We’ve been working together a few months. It used to be a little game we played to make the day go quicker.”

“And how many did you date?” He decided not to point out that technically it wasn’t her turn. They needed to communicate—he had a fuck-load of things to tell her—and this was a step in the right direction.

“I took two other girls on a date, but we just had drinks. No more than that.” He decided to inject some humor. “You make it sound scuzzy.”

“It
is
scuzzy.” Her voice was severe, but her body language was softening and after speaking, she yawned. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Me neither,
Cariad
. I missed you.” Get your shit together, Sasha. He took a quick breath and then lifted her hand to his lips. Her eyes widened, but she stayed quiet. “You’re not the first girl I’ve dated, but you’re different, Megan, you’re special. I dream about you too.” He had her attention. Gods, this was nerve wracking. How much should he tell her? “We’re sharing the same dreams, baby. Only…for me, they’re not dreams.”

*

Megan thought she’d misheard. It was too silly. “Sharing the same dreams?” She knew her giggle sounded nervous. That would be too much. If it was even possible. “Go on then, what did you dream?”
He makes up stories easily, you know this.

“I brought you the roses.”
A lucky guess.

“Doesn’t take Einstein. I already told you that.”

His fingers moved, tangled with hers to link them together. She stared, transfixed. “I brought them to your tree house. You dreamed about a wolf.” The breath caught in her chest, but then sanity prevailed.