Eddie’s Prize (18 page)

“Oh, yes. Have you thought of what you’d like to wear to the mayor’s New Year Gala?”

“The what?” Lisa’s mind went to evening gowns and elegant parties.

“Every year, Mayor Madison hosts a party.” Hannah’s voice bubbled with excitement. “It’s called the New Year Gala, but it’s actually at the end of January. It starts in the afternoon and goes until after dark. The mayor provides hogs and cows to be barbecued, and everybody brings their best side dish. Girls want to show off their cooking and their clothes. People come from all over to eat and dance and exchange news. Men take advantage of this one day a year to be able to flirt with girls. Lots of engagements get announced afterward. And lots of people get married there too.”

Flirting? The word made Lisa’s stomach cramp. “Wow,” Lisa managed. “That’s different than how I’ve celebrated New Year’s. There’s dancing and elegant finger foods and champagne at midnight.”

Hannah waved a dismissive hand. “Of course, there is beer and alcohol at the party, and there are always a few men who get out of hand, but Sheriff Paulson and Mr. Herrick and the other men take care of them. There are always extra men on duty. Every year there’s at least one fight too, but only fists. No one is allowed in with a knife or a gun.”

“A fight?” Lisa tried to imagine a fist fight at any of the elegant parties she’d attended in New York or Los Angeles. “Why do they fight?”

“It’s usually because more than one man wants to court the same girl. They get awful jealous sometimes.”

Lisa’s head jerked back. “Men get jealous a lot here?”

“Of course. Don’t they where you lived?” When Lisa just shrugged, Hannah said, “Well, we’ll need to make you something special to wear for the Gala.”

From beyond the curtain, Eddie called, “Lisa, we need to get going to the library.”

“We’ll get together sometime soon,” Lisa promised.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Men,” she whispered. Then she bundled up Lisa’s jeans and blouse. “You don’t want to carry these with you. I can hold onto them for you until the next time you stop by.”

When the two women stepped through the curtain, Eddie looked Lisa up and down and smiled. Nate Martin whistled. Lisa flicked a smile his way before remembering Eddie’s idiotic jealousy. The smile froze on her face.

“Mrs. Madison, you look terrific,” Nate said. “Hannah, you outdid yourself on that dress!” He gave his wife a smacking kiss on the cheek.

Lisa shot a glare at Eddie, expecting him burst into jealousy again. His face was set in hard lines, but he didn’t look like he was about to explode. Maybe he was learning. “Thank you, Mr. Martin. I’m ready to leave anytime you are, Eddie.”

*

Eddie felt the claws of the beast scrabble at his fingertips when Nate made his admiring comment, but he forced it back. The look on Lisa’s face wounded him. He loved her. He didn’t want to hurt her. It was the monster inside that drove harsh words out of his mouth. He would need to talk to Packard and apologize for his asinine behavior this morning. He wasn’t sure what exactly he would say. He couldn’t explain he had a monster inside him, and it was insanely jealous of Lisa. Better to pretend it was the natural, if exaggerated, jealousy of a new husband.

“You look beautiful, Lisa,” he told his wife. The dress was pretty, but Lisa was always beautiful, whatever she wore. “Ready to go?”

“Sure.” She gave Mrs. Martin a quick hug. “Thank you for finishing the dress so quickly, Hannah. I’ll see you soon about the designs.”

One of the many things Eddie liked about his wife was he didn’t have to shorten his steps for her to keep up. Her legs were as long as his, and she matched him step for step in spite of her high heeled boots. He held her hand as they walked, and a fresh wave of love and regret flooded him when he saw the stiff way she held her head and kept her eyes away from the men they passed, even when they politely wished her a good afternoon. He wanted to tell her why he overreacted to other men. Words crowded his mind, ready to spew out in a torrent of remorseful self-defense.

But he couldn’t. It wasn’t his secret alone, and that secret was too well kept for too long for him to break. So he just opened the library door for his wife to enter ahead of him.

“Eddie! Lisa!” said Mr. Gray, coming into the foyer to welcome them. He shook Eddie’s hand with a big smile. “Things won’t be getting started for another hour or so. Taye and Carla Wolfe should be here any minute.” The smile wavered slightly. “Did you know my granddaughter is Taye’s cousin? She’ll be marrying Neal Overdahl this summer. Neal and his brother, Dane, will be attending today.”

Ice slid through Eddie’s belly, rousing the beast to hot awareness. An image of Dane sitting plastered to Lisa’s side burst into his mind. Lisa gasped when his hand clenched over hers.

“Eddie,” she complained.

“Sorry.” He loosened his fingers, forcing the beast back one tiny step. “Sorry. Give me a minute.”

“Go to my office,” Mr. Gray offered.

An offer? Or a command? Eddie wasn’t sure which, but he grasped for privacy as if it were a rope and he was drowning. He pulled Lisa down the hall, into the office, and closed the door with such care anyone who knew him would recognize how close to the edge he was. Lisa slipped her hand free and watched him with a wrinkle marking her forehead. Eddie drew in a deep breath and looked away. Scanning the familiar office would give him time to wrestle the beast back under control.

Mr. Gray’s office had been cleaned in the last few days. He had spent many hours in this office while he’d been growing up, sometimes because he was in trouble, but more often because Mr. Gray had given him extra schooling. Kearney’s schoolteacher had encouraged Eddie’s interest in the gadgets from Times Before. He, Mr. Gray, and Dane Overdahl had talked long summer nights away right here in this room.

Dane Overdahl! That weasel wanted to steal his wife. Eddie’s back teeth ached with the effort to shove the beast down.

“Eddie?” said Lisa’s hesitant voice.

He made a supreme effort and was finally able to face Lisa with a forced smile. She was sitting on a pink upholstered loveseat Eddie had never seen before.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Do you have a tickle in your throat?”

“What?”

She wiggled her fingers under her chin. “You keep clearing your throat.”

Had he been growling? He produced a fake cough. “It’s okay.” He sat beside her. “Lisa, let’s go home.”

Her eyes widened. “Now? I want to see Carla!”

“We can visit with her another time. Taye Wolfe said we would be welcome.”

That beautiful face tightened. “No,” she said bluntly.

“Yes!” he snarled. Or the beast did. Eddie found his eyesight sharper, his muscles moving with new strength and grace, and his sense of smell so fine he could smell the bacon from this morning’s egg bake on Lisa’s hair. He waited for the burning sensation of the change to take over, but it didn’t come. Thank God, he was still in control. He took her hands and drew her to her feet. “Lisa, I don’t want us to run into Dane. Me and him in the same place is asking for trouble.” He was proud of the quietly reasonable tone he managed. “I’m sorry you’ll miss your friend, but we should go.”

“Eddie.” She stepped closer so her breasts brushed against his chest. Lust sent his arms tight around her. She squirmed to free her arms and cupped his face in her hands. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing Carla. This is the perfect opportunity for you to practice your control.”

Control. It took a conscious effort to keep his arms loose and easy around her. He was a fool to demand his wife forgo something that gave her pleasure. The creature was stronger, wilder, since he had found his wife, and much harder to control. Why, he wanted to cry, why was he cursed with the monster? Lisa was his blessing. Did that balance it out? He brushed his lips over hers.

He floundered under a sensory onslaught. Part of him wanted to snarl and drag her home straight to bed. Part of him wanted to lean into her and purr. Both came from the beast. Control. His hands petted over her round rear end and squeezed, and a moment later his enhanced sense of smell could detect the merest hint of her desire threading through her scent. An entirely human groan escaped his throat when she rubbed herself against his burgeoning erection.

“Lisa-love,” he moaned. “You smell so good.”

He didn’t need her whispered invitation to kiss her. His mouth devoured hers as he bent her into a desperate dip so he could get even closer to her. Her mouth was heaven, her tongue a device made for the most exquisite torture. An intrusion teased the edges of his senses. A smell? A sound? He ignored it in favor of his wife’s enthusiastic kiss.

But the intrusion grew into something the beast inside him couldn’t ignore. A tiny sound and the pungent smell of dog signaled the arrival of strangers. Driven by the beast, Eddie jerked Lisa behind him and crouched, ready to defend his mate.

Mate? Where had that come from? Eddie shook the thought off, glaring at the open doorway. Carla Wolfe stood there, smiling. The smile faded as she was pushed behind a wall of wolves in man form.

Lisa almost stumbled from the shove Eddie gave her, but she didn’t take her eyes off Carla. Her only friend from her old life stood in the doorway with three men, none of whom was her new husband, but all of whom looked as protective as a Secret Service detail.

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Carla uncertainly.

Lisa wanted to yell at Eddie for shoving her behind him. Was this a heavy-handed attempt at gallantry? Did he think he was protecting her? Did he honestly expect any of the three men in the doorway to attack them?

Apparently not. He straightened up and walked forward with his hand outstretched to shake Carla’s hand. The three bristling men made growling dog noises and tried to muscle Carla farther behind them as if protecting her from Eddie. Maybe Eddie wasn’t the only one to behave like a caveman.

“Stop that.” Annoyance rang in Carla’s voice as she glared at her escort. “Remember what I said about behaving?” Her voice and her brow smoothed as she looked at Eddie. “Sorry about that. Let’s just pretend we shook hands, okay? Hey, Lisa.”

It was a cliché, but Carla really was a sight for sore eyes. Lisa was so happy to see her only friend from her old life she had to swallow tears. “Hi, Carla!”

She went forward to hug Carla, but Eddie brushed past her to put her behind him. She could barely see the side of Eddie’s face, but she could tell he was glaring at the other men.

“Good lord,” huffed Carla. “I thought it was only wolves who acted like that.”

“No.” Lisa looked over Eddie’s shoulder at the country music star and rolled her eyes theatrically. “Eddie thinks he’s a caveman sometimes.”

Eddie obviously didn’t appreciate that. “Lisa,” he growled.

Carla ignored Eddie’s warning. “I know exactly what you mean. Sounds just like Taye when a strange man gets too close to me. Jay, why don’t you guys go wait outside, okay?”

Jay must be the tallest one with shoulder-length dark brown hair. His narrowed eyes were fixed on Eddie. “No, Lupa. The Chief wouldn’t want you alone with another man.”

Carla opened her mouth to speak, but Lisa beat her to it. “Eddie.” She laid a hand over the tight ridge of clenched muscle in his shoulder. “You leave me and Carla alone for a while. Go find Mr. Gray. Maybe he needs some help getting set up.”

“Not leaving you alone with them.” Eddie’s beautiful tenor voice was a feral growl.

This time Carla made her voice heard. “Jay, take the guys and wait out in the hall. I’ll be right here with Lisa. Alone, right, Eddie?”

Eddie’s shoulders rolled while he thought it over. “Fine.” He turned and brushed a kiss over Lisa’s lips. “I’ll be right outside, Lisa-love.”

His gait when he moved to the other men was a graceful, predatory prowl. The other men stood firm, bodies held loosely as if readying for an attack.

“Don’t hurt them!” Lisa told him.

At the same moment, Carla said, “Don’t hurt him!”

It felt good to laugh, even if it was shaky. After the door closed behind the men, Lisa gestured to the loveseat by the fire. “Come and sit down.”

Carla sat down and examined Lisa’s face. Lisa suppressed a twitch of discomfort. Her face was bare of any makeup, her skin was pale without weekly visits to the tanning bed, and her hair was in a plain ponytail. Carla, on the other hand, looked vibrantly alive. Her walnut brown hair hung in a straight, thick sheet to her waist, and her dark-lashed eyes looked fine without shadow or mascara to highlight them. What made her appear so beautiful was something more subtle than clothes or make up. She looked happy. Self-confident. Secure. She was everything Lisa was not.

Carla settled herself more comfortably on the loveseat. “Lisa, you look fantastic. Where did you get that dress? You make it look so elegant, but it would look like a sack on me.”

“Oh.” Lisa cleared her throat, feeling the threatening tears fade away under the pleasure of Carla’s compliment. “Hannah Martin made it. I’m going to go into business with her designing clothes she will sew.” She slumped beside Carla, thinking about the fact that Eddie didn’t approve of her business plans. What
did
Eddie approve of?

Carla must be psychic. “How are you and Eddie doing?”

Lisa lifted one shoulder. “We’re doing okay. It’s been a bit of an adjustment. This is a different world, you know? I don’t always act the way Eddie thinks I should.” He wanted her to act invisible when other men were around. “But we’re working it out. I know it sounds crazy, but I think I could truly love him. Even if I could go back home, I wouldn’t go without Eddie.” Of course, Eddie would have a heart attack if he saw the way she lived back home. Better change the subject. “And Taye? I heard he’s a werewolf?”

“No, he’s not a werewolf.”

Lisa smiled with relief. Eddie must have been pulling her leg.

“Just a guy who can turn into a wolf,” Carla finished with a casual wave of her hand. Then she grinned. “He doesn’t like being called a werewolf. Talk about crazy, huh? It took me a little while to get used to it.”

Oh, my God!
Lisa thought. “Does he bite you? Are you okay?”