Only Human (39 page)

His eyes twinkled and he grinned as he asked, “I thought you didn’t defer to anyone?”

Chuckling, I said, “No. I’m very open to accepting counsel when the other person knows more about something than I, though I reserve the right to not follow it, of course.”

“Why don’t I have someone drop me off at your house around eight thirty, and we can ride to my place together for the ritual. This way you’ll have your own transportation home.”

I debated turning him down, but didn’t want to seem rude. I needed to protect Lauren, but if she were going to be able to sense supernaturals when she touched them, we needed to do it as often as possible at home, so I could help her deal with it.

“Okay, but you’ll meet my daughter if you come to the house, and although she may not be mine genetically, she is still mine, so if she sees you for what you are please let me handle it. She probably won’t. She’s hugged Cora and has never seen her as a wolf, but you never know. She pegged Abbott as a monster with scary eyes and teeth even though he was on his best behavior.”

“You understand, no one can know about us without being blood bonded, right?”

“I’m not blood bonded, and Abbott didn’t insist we bond her, either. If this is a big deal with you, perhaps we should make other arrangements.”

“You aren’t bonded because you can’t be.”

I didn’t respond, just looked at him, and he sighed. “Very well. If she senses me, Abbott and I will work it out since he’s already allowing it. I’ll get directions to your house from Cora and will see you at eight thirty.”

I looked at Cora and heard her in my head.
Be careful you don’t get a bunch of Alpha’s trying to make it look like you somehow belong to them.

Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.

Too late now, but with Abbott and Aaron already laying claim to you, Randall is going to try, too.

Apparently, I needed to think some of this through a bit more, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I walked back down to Abbott, and as he let me in the lowest door, I asked, “Would you say that went good, bad, or somewhere in the middle?”

“You kicked the ass of an Alpha Wolf who is powerful enough to be Alpha over three and a half states, you managed to do it in a way to not piss him off,
and
you managed to get yourself under pack protection. I’d say it went as well as it could possibly go. You
do
seem to have a knack for supernatural politics. Come, sit beside me.”

“I need to get home so I can spend some time with Lauren and Xiaolan before running out on them this evening. I just wanted to come down and give you a big thanks for helping me with this. I value your friendship, and your counsel.”

“When you’re done with the wolves tonight, would you consider joining me at my house on the mountain? It should be a thirty or forty minute meeting with the wolves, and then they’ll run off to hunt. I don’t want you driving down the mountain late at night, so you can drive home and I’ll pick you up.”

“I’m afraid I’m not going to be much company,” I warned him. “I’ve had an emotionally draining couple of days and I’m exhausted. I can’t imagine my time with the wolves is going to be a pick me up, either.”

“Then I’ll pamper you, rub your back and feet, and we’ll just talk.”

I smiled. “You can be very persuasive, you know. Is this your way of making sure I don’t stay and hang out with Randall?”

“I saw you eyeing his manly chest and stomach,” he said with a playful grin. “And don’t think I haven’t realized he can walk in the sun and I can’t. Perhaps I’m a bit threatened by your plans with him tonight, but it’s for the best. You need allies and he is a powerful one.”

“And you and I are not exclusive.”

His eyes narrowed. “Yes, there is that, too.”

“Look, my instincts tell me I’m tired and I need to sleep. If, and this is a big
if
, I get energized by being around the wolves then I’ll call you and let you know. However, as of right now I intend to go home and fall into bed. I don’t want you to think I’m blowing you off, because I’m not. I’m just exhausted, both mentally and physically. Remember? I’m human.”

“Very well, then. I’ll work from here until around ten thirty. If I haven’t heard from you by then, I’ll make the rounds at some of the clubs I own.”

“Thanks for understanding. Give me a kiss, I’m going now.”

He took his time getting to the kiss, but I found I didn’t mind.

His fingers skimmed my cheek and our gazes locked. His hands moved lower, touching my chest and sliding to my shoulders to push my suit jacket off. I didn’t protest as his arms slid around me and pulled me to him, though my heart was beating faster and my breath shallow.

Fingers caressed my cheek again, and my eyes drifted closed as his hand slid to the back of my head.

My eyes opened enough to see his head descending, and then his lips were on mine and I heard myself moan as my hands rose and curled into the lapel of his suit jacket. I wondered if he owned jeans, but the thought fled as soon as it appeared because his lips on mine occupied every neuron firing in my brain.

I moaned again and melted into him as his tongue touched my lips, and I opened my mouth to let him in.

His tongue swept in and I whimpered, my fingers grasping his lapels as I leaned into him, my legs too weak to hold me.

One of my hands slid up his collar, around the cool, smooth skin of his neck and into his beautiful, sleek, thick black hair.

I gave myself to him as his tongue plundered my mouth and his strong-as-iron arms held me to him. It wasn’t a warm embrace, it was cool, hard, and demanding…and yet sweet, amazing, and caring.

My head tilted farther back as he pressed harder, and I realized if I didn’t slow us down there was a good chance I’d be naked and screaming in orgasm before I knew it.

I tore my mouth from his with another whimper, and he let me.

His voice was rough, grating, as he asked, “You’ll call me when you leave the wolves?”

My nod was infinitesimal, but I knew he’d see it. “Even if it’s to tell you I’m too tired for a date, I’ll call you.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Xiaolan and Lauren were working on the jigsaw puzzle when I got home. I went upstairs, changed into jeans and a tech hiking shirt, and came back downstairs.

We worked on the puzzle a short time before discussing what we’d cook for dinner. I said I was tired and in need of comfort food and Xiaolan said she’d peel the potatoes.

Fried potatoes are my comfort food, and I looked at her with a relieved smile. It was nice to have someone in the house to look out for me, every once in a while.

I managed to pull enough veggies together to complete the meal and we ate like queens. I told them I was going to go out for a little bit and that someone would be picking me up. They thought it would be Abbott, but I said, “No, his name is Randall, and this isn’t a date. I just need to go take care of something with him. I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but I don’t plan on being very late. If plans change I’ll call and let you know, but I honestly don’t expect to be out past around ten or ten thirty.”

“When is he picking you up?” Lauren asked.

I looked at the microwave for the time, and said, “In about thirty minutes.”

“Then you should go change. What are you wearing?”

I shook my head. “It isn’t a date. I’m wearing this, with hiking boots, and taking my car.” I looked at both of them and repeated, “It isn’t a date, and Lauren, you’ll be nice to Randall.”

“Hey! why are you picking on me? Tell Xiaolan, too!”

“I don’t have to tell Xiaolan, she’s nice without me having to remind her. When you’re her age hopefully you will be, too, but for now you need to be reminded. Be. Nice.”

I touched up my hair and makeup, put on my hiking boots, and then sat and worked on the jigsaw puzzle until Randall arrived. I let him in and introduced him to both of them, and Lauren seemed fine. Once the polite small talk was over I grabbed my purse and jacket from the hall closet, and we left.

As Randall and I walked down the sidewalk I said, “I’m guessing you’re one of those men who don’t like to be driven around by a woman.”

He just looked at me, and I wondered if the supernaturals ever played poker with each other, but I asked, “How many brownie points will I get if you I let you drive?”

“
Let
me drive? As in, you will
allow
it?”

“Well, yeah, it’s my car. You can’t drive it unless I let you.”

Still giving me a blank face I couldn’t read, he asked, “What do you mean by brownie points?”

“It’s a figure of speech. It means you’ll remember I did something nice the next time I want you to do something nice for me.”

He rolled his eyes and gave the smallest hint of a smile. “You’re insufferable.”

I grinned. “You aren’t the first to think so, probably won’t be the last.”

I flicked the button to unlock the doors, tossed my keys to him, and walked around to the passenger side.

On the way, we talked. He wanted to know if I had something impressive I could do for the pack, kind of a way to show them who I was — a way to show I wasn’t just a normal human, and it was in the pack’s interest to befriend me. He said they’d accept me because he told them to, but I’d still have to earn their respect.

“I could levitate up twenty feet or so, though honestly I’d rather keep my abilities under wraps. Being human, sometimes it’s nice if people don’t know all of my skills, so I have a few tricks I can pull out when attacked.” I considered the possibilities and told him, “Pull over somewhere kind of private, how about the boat ramp parking area?”

When we were parked, I turned in my seat and said, “Earlier today you shifted just one finger. What does it look like when you shift your whole hand?”

He held his right hand and shifted it. I held mine up and, looking at his hand, imagined a glove in the shape of his claw. My right hand formed to look like his, and I solidified it. It looked like I had glowing wolfman hand.

He didn’t look pleased. “It would be most unfortunate to let the pack see you do that. I’ll explain later, it’s a long story, but take my word on it for now.”

He let his claw slide back to a hand, and I let mine dissolve back into me, trying not to wince in pain as I did.

He shook his head. “On second thought, what you can do might be too scary. Let’s just introduce you, and they can guess about what makes you special.”

It turned out he didn’t live too far from me — the same side of town, just ten minutes farther away from the city. Once we pulled off the road we drove for quite a while, though, on what I was assuming was a private drive since there’d been no street sign. We must have driven through the woods for a mile before coming upon a mansion. Of
course
it was a mansion. Were there any leaders of supernaturals who lived in a thirty-five hundred square foot or less home? I doubted it.

The house was made of big slabs of stone, like you’d expect a castle to be made of, but the architecture was modern. It wasn’t built like a castle, just of the materials of one. Interesting.

I couldn’t help but compare Abbott and Randall. One always in a suit, the other in worn jeans and a t-shirt stretched over some damned impressive muscles.

“I need to get something from my office and then we’ll join the others in the kitchen,” Randall said as we got out of my car.

We walked through a richly decorated house, but although it was a showplace, it was an inviting, warm home. I was impressed. The room he took me to was a cross between a library and an office. Randall got some papers from his inbox, made some notations, and put them in his outbox.

“Sorry about that. My dad still handles some things for the construction company, and he’s a bit of a dinosaur. Come with me and we’ll meet the others.”

The kitchen was amazing. There were the normal cabinets, plus two islands, along with a large table that would probably hold thirty people, and even a good sized seating area with two sofas and a couple of chairs around a fireplace. And it was
full
of people. Some sitting at an island, some sitting around the massive table, and many lounging in the seating area on the sofas and chairs. They all looked up and stopped talking when Randall and I walked it.

“Hello everyone, this is Kirsten. I won’t introduce everyone around the room because there’s too many of you. I expect you to all make her feel welcome, though. By now I’m sure you’ve heard the news I’ll be giving someone status as Friend of the Pack tonight, and I can hear you all smelling and sniffing.
Yes
, she’s human. I’ll explain more later, during the naming ceremony, however, and I’m quite serious about this,” he paused and looked around the room, “make her feel welcome. No attitude about her being human and you being superior.”

Cora stood from the sitting area, walked over, and hugged me, which of course got everyone’s curiosity up even more — I walk in with the Alpha, and the Gamma hugs me.

Most of the guys who work at Drake Security came up and either hugged me or slapped me on the back, and I said hello to them by name. When Kenny came to me he said “Hey, let’s show ‘em you aren’t an ordinary human. Wanna spar? I’ll even give you your choice of weapon.”

Kenny and I’ve sparred many times, and while he can kick my butt, he usually holds back just a bit — our fighting styles complement each other, and we have a really good time with it.

But Randall was speaking in my head.

No, not a good idea.

It’s okay, I’ll use a regular wooden quarterstaff, assuming there’s one I can borrow. Kenny and I spar all the time.

You’re sure?

Yes. We enjoy sparring with each other. This might work to do what you wanted, give me a way to earn some respect.