22
The scent of bacon woke me. I sat upright—no stretching, no languishing in bed—and then I seriously stumbled blindly to the kitchen. When I arrived, I found Quinn manning the stove, wearing an apron and nothing else. There was a plate of already cooked food on the island, so I helped myself while staring at his naked ass. “Perfect.” I sighed.
He whipped around. “Hey! You’re ruining my surprise.”
“Yeah? Well, you’re ruining my view. Go on. Face the stove.” I giggled as he did what I requested.
“And she wonders why I don’t want to join her pack.” Quinn grumbled as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Right. Your life would be so miserable.” I rolled my eyes. “I can think of plenty of perks, which might make it worth your while.”
After turning off the stove, Quinn added the last of the bacon to the platter. Once his hands were free, he pointed to the writing on his only covering. “Read it.”
“Kiss the cook.” I smirked. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Shaking his head, he walked around the island and then hugged me close. “No, I’d love it.” He puckered and waited patiently.
“Gah. I suppose.” I stood on my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his.
“What was that?” His brows rose.
“A kiss! You asked for a kiss.” I huffed.
Quinn shook his head. “That wasn’t a kiss. That was a tease, at best.” He grabbed me, dipped me, and by the time he was done, my toes were curling and my wolf was whining.
When he righted me once more, I blew out a breath. “Okay. That was a kiss.”
He grinned proudly. “You know, you could move in, and then this could be a daily occurrence.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but then I heard the faint chime of my phone alerting me to a text message. Glancing at the microwave clock, I realized it was indecently early. Something had to be wrong.
Rushing into the bedroom, I found my satchel on the floor, and then hunted around inside it for my cell. I soon discovered the text was from Tanner.
Dallas never returned.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. To think, minutes ago my day was off to such a pleasant start. In an instant, I replied.
Howl is recovering nicely. On my way back. We’ll talk when I return. Thank you.
Then I threw the strap over my shoulder and trudged out to the kitchen with my keys in one hand, phone in the other. For a minute, I agonized over how to explain this to Quinn, but I should’ve known he would guess the minute he saw me.
“Back to the pack, huh?” His face had darkened, his brow creased, and his smile had completely disappeared.
I shrugged. “You know how it is. They are lost without me.” My phone chimed again. As I read the screen, I realized Quinn stood behind me, positively fuming. “Really? Over Tanner?” I grumbled.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t help it. You know this. I’m guessing if a female suddenly started showing interest in me…”
“She’d be dead.” I nodded. “Oh, but the difference here is I’m ready to accept my mate. You aren’t. So, you don’t get to be mad.” With my cheeks hot from anger, I stuck my phone in my satchel, grabbed a handful of bacon, and strode to the door without looking back.
I hopped in my car and ate bacon all the way back to the homestead. As I parked near the tiny house, my phone chimed again. “I swear to fucking God, Tanner, I’m gonna ring your stumpy neck when I see you. Gimme a break,” I muttered while I dug in my satchel for the offending electronic device. When I pulled it out, I discovered the text was from Quinn.
I’m sorry.
Still in the car, I stared at it. He was sorry. Great. He was probably like most guys and simply said it without even knowing why he was supposed to be sorry. Did he feel badly for not wanting to join the pack and for denying his mate? Was the apology for overreacting to Tanner’s text? Hell, for all I knew, he thought he’d cooked the damn bacon wrong. So, how the fuck was I supposed to respond? I sighed. Right now, I wouldn’t. Dropping the phone back into my bag, I rubbed my greasy hands on my shorts and prepared to seek out Tanner.
“Did you really just wipe your hands on your clothes?” Shelby shook her head at me, the picture of disapproval.
“Stop channeling Mom! It’s not like you do my laundry.” I frowned because she genuinely looked unhappy. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She pouted as she stormed into our little place.
Following close behind her, I refused to accept her response. “Try again. I don’t have time to draw the truth out of you today, Shelby. Help me out.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to hold you up,” she grumbled. “After all, you weren’t even supposed to be here.” Her eyes flashed and suddenly it all came back to me.
I squeezed my lids shut for several seconds. The way my day was going, I’d end up with a migraine before lunch. “I’m going to take the world’s fastest shower. I won’t even shave my legs.” I paused to see if she was softening any, but she had the poker face in our family. “Then I’m meeting Tanner and I’ll disappear, as promised.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “You act like I did this on purpose. I didn’t. Now stop holding me up, or it’ll be your fault if I’m here when the fireman arrives.”
“Bye!” Shelby threw up her hand to wave and bolted out of the house.
True to my word, fifteen minutes later, I was showered, dressed, and rushing out the door, dragging my bag behind me. As I stumbled off the little porch, I struggled to yank the strap over my head and completely missed a step. My hands flew out to protect me as I fell, but instead of slamming into dirt and stone, I landed safely in outstretched arms. My cheeks burned as I slowly met the face of my savior. “Fuck me,” I grumbled.
“Excuse me?” The fireman grinned at me.
“Sorry. I really need to go, chief.” I wriggled in his arms. “I’m good now. Can you set me down?”
“I didn’t catch your name.” The guy stared at me intensely but made no move to release me.
“Savannah Silver. Nice to meet you. Put me down.” I glared at him, but to no avail.
“I’m Gideon.” He smiled widely.
“Yeah. Don’t care. Now, what I do care about is standing on my own two feet.” I huffed. “Let me go or face my wrath.”
I heard shoes storming across the gravel, and I actually welcomed this interruption. Though I couldn’t see who was coming toward us, I soon heard a voice I recognized. And I completely wilted.
“I’ll do you one better, sport. Let her go or you’ll face my wrath,” Quinn growled.
Startled, Gideon released me, and I crashed to the ground, this time, without my hands ready to protect me. My knee was on fire as I stood and plucked the shards of stones from my leg. Immediately, he squatted beside me.
“I’m so sorry, Savannah!” Gideon reached out and began to brush the dirt from my thighs and calves.
Of course, this merely further angered my reluctant mate. “Move,” he roared.
“Just trying to help.” Gideon ignored him and reached out to touch me again, but I brushed his hands away. “At least let me help you up.” He grabbed my wrists and started to haul me off the ground.
“Get away from her!” Quinn rushed over and shoved Gideon out of the way, which meant this time, I landed on my ass.
Wincing, I narrowed my eyes at Quinn even as he moved to help me stand. “I don’t need any more help, thank you.” I struggled to my feet while my tail bone throbbed, and my legs bled.
Gideon leaned over and peeked at my wounds once more. “I have a first-aid kit in the truck. I’ll be right back to fix you up.” He laid a hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly.
When he turned, I realized it wasn’t just the three of us standing here. Shelby stood a few feet away with tears streaming down her face. I hated seeing her in pain. “Oh, Shel!” I started to hobble over to her, but she held out her hands.
“How could you, Savannah?” She glared at me and swiped at her nose. “You promised!”
I groaned. “For fucks sake, Shelby. You act like I did this on purpose. Do I look like I’m having fun?” I gestured behind me, encompassing both Gideon and Quinn. “I did what I said. I didn’t even shave!” I held out my leg for her inspection. “See? Come here, Shelby.” If I could only get her near her mate, if I could only get him to see her, this could all be fixed.
She stiffened as she considered my request. Then she shook her head and raced off the other direction, leaving me to my misery. I sighed and turned to face the angry and confused men behind me. My shoulders drooped. “I think that went well,” I grumbled.