“There you are!” gushed Jules running forward. “You missed the wedding lunch.”
Susie flashed a look at Barlow. “We were making great time until someone who shall remain nameless decided on a shortcut, and the big dope got us lost.”
Barlow cocked her a smile. “I maintain my way was better.”
“You weren’t saying that when you had to chase that herd of cattle out of the dirt-track road, we were on.”
It had been pretty funny watching Barlow growl and run around flapping his arms at the cattle – they were not interested in moving at all. Barlow managed to slip on some cow dung, fall flat on his face and end up covered in it. Susie wasn’t sure she had ever laughed so hard – she nearly wet her pants. At that point, Barlow was super pissed and shifted to his wolf – that got the beasts moving.
The wolf then had to run to the nearest river to take a bath to get rid of the dung, and Susie would not let him get back in the truck until he was dry. Wet dog smell and that. But soon they were back on track, Susie drove while he donned new clothes in the back and she forced herself not to watch him in the mirror.
Susie wasn’t particularly bothered about missing the lunch – the fewer times she had to see Allen and his mate, Bitcherella the better. There were lots of other ‘fun’ activities lined up for them over the weekend – wedding lunch, wedding cheese and wine, wedding cocktails – just put wedding in front of something and you had an event. Missing one would hardly hurt. In fact, she was adamant that she wanted to miss the wedding poetry slam.
“Aww, look at you,” cooed Jules, “arguing like an old married couple already!”
Susie bit her lip. Oh, it was going to be a long weekend.
Candace and Lila turned up, and Jules happily introduced them to Barlow. Susie tried to pretend it didn’t bother her that Lila was trying her best to flirt with him. She also tried to pretend that it didn’t bother her that he was drawing attention from several other pack females. Like moths to a freaking flame, they gravitated toward him.
“You’re a dark horse,” whispered Candace while Lila tried to feel Barlow’s bicep.
“Yeah, that’s me,” muttered Susie.
Susie subtly elbowed Lila away so she could get Barlow’s attention back. “C’mon, we should really check into our rooms.”
“Yeah, I could do with a real shower,” agreed Barlow. “My back needs scrubbing, too.”
He gave her a heated, expectant look. The other females tittered in a coy way while Susie rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll manage,” she said briskly. “Now our rooms…”
“Room,” corrected Jules. “I mean you’ll be sharing. All the rooms come with a double bed, so that won’t be a problem.”
“Ummm…”
Crap. She just assumed… Crap. Of course, Jules wouldn’t find another room for him. She assumed the two of them were dating, so why wouldn’t they share a room?
“Sounds good,” agreed the smug bastard.
Susie would need to talk to Jules about that.
“Plus, the hotel is all booked up,” said Jules.
Oh lord. Yep, sleeping that close to the sexiest man on earth and trying not to get involved with a wolf shifter – that was going to end well.
“Jules,” whispered Susie urgently. “We don’t know each other that well…”
Yeah, given how well she knew him when she first jumped into bed with him, that sounded stupid even to her.
“I’m sure we’ll manage,” rumbled Barlow, slipping an arm around Susie’s waist.
“Susie!”
She looked up and spotted Allen bounding down the stairs. Great.
“There you are, I was getting worried.”
He tried to reach for her hands, and she flinched away from him, instinctively moving closer into Barlow’s embrace.
“I’m fine; we just got a little lost.”
“Took a shortcut,” corrected Barlow, though the amusement seemed to have left him, and the arm around her tensed.
Allen’s smile turned chilly as he took in Barlow, and what he was currently doing to Susie. “And you are?” he sneered at Barlow.
Barlow’s eyes flashed, and fearing an insult, Susie quickly answered, “Barlow, he’s part of the Rose pack.”
“And Susie’s new boyfriend,” put in Jules with relish. Susie had to hand it to her friend, she was loyal - even when it came to pissing off her alpha’s nephew.
Susie was going to deny the boyfriend thing when she heard Helen’s nasal voice, shortly followed by the cry of a baby.
“Allen,” she whined while struggling with a huge baby carrier. “Why did you…” She stopped on seeing Susie.
Usually, Susie got a smug look out of her, but now, she just looked angry. The she-wolf made it to the bottom of the stairs and let out an ‘ooh’ as she stumbled on the last step. Numerous pack members surged forward to catch her; even Susie did – after all, she was holding a baby! Not that Susie’s assistance was needed. No, a couple of her pack mates steadied her and the baby.
Though, after Helen pouted and gave everyone big, sad eyes while they fussed over her, Susie realized that neither Allen nor Barlow had moved a muscle. No, they were more intent on out-staring one another.
A flash of fury rippled through Susie, and she was surprised to find she was angrier with Barlow than she was with Allen.
Susie grabbed her room key and without a word to either idiot male, she started making her way to her room. Why was she more bothered by Barlow’s lack of action than Allen? After all, it was Allen’s baby! But maybe she more disappointed in Barlow because she expected more. Which was insane – she barely knew him!
*
Barlow caught up to Susie just as she was entering their room.
“Hey, you should have waited, I would have carried your bag.”
“You were busy,” she retorted in a sour voice.
Susie heaved her bag onto the bed and moved to the window to look at the view. Barlow took in the room. Four poster bed, open fire – nice. He wouldn’t mind having sex in front of an open fire. Though not too close, heat rash and all that. Rawr.
He pressed his hand on the mattress, testing the firmness. Not too soft – good. Would she try to insist that he sleep on the floor? He wouldn’t, but he’d be interested in watching her try to demand he do so. She was cute when she was all bossy. She was always sexy though added his beast. Even when her eyes and nose were running with tears and snot because she was laughing so hard at him trying to round up some cows. Yeah, his wolf didn’t like her laughing at him that much, but Barlow didn’t mind. Better to have her laugh at him than be angry with him.
“Which side of the bed do you want?” he asked. “Left, right, on top or underneath?”
She turned to look at him with an exasperated look. “I can’t believe you!”
“Fine, just left, right or on top – if you were underneath me all night I’d probably suffocate you.” He gave her a devilish look.
“Helen almost fell over, and you did nothing.”
Barlow frowned. “Helen the she-wolf with the pup?”
“Yes!”
“She was faking it,” he said disinterestedly.
He grabbed his own bag and dumped all the contents on the bed. He perhaps should have brought something a little dressier for the wedding, but even when he raided his dad’s closet, the smartest thing he could find was a sweater. Bah, it would have to do.
“Huh?” Susie gaped at him.
“Yeah, she pretended to fall. Thought it was obvious.”
He could see it a mile away. His wolf huffed - he had no time for females who acted like whiny damsels in distress. He wasn’t sure whose attention she was trying to get – probably everybody’s – but he wasn’t going to give her his attention.
“Oh.” The wind seemed to have disappeared from her sails. “I just thought you were too busy trying to out-dominate Allen.”
Grrr. There was that, too. Barlow could tell he was a dick the moment he clapped eyes on him. Plus, he was way too familiar with Susie, and Barlow could scent that Allen was lusting after her. He had to quash any thoughts like that immediately. So yeah, he would not drop his gaze until Allen did – it was the wolf equivalent of trying to out-shake a guy’s hand.
He was glad to say that Allen dropped his gaze first. Wuss purred his beast just a tad smugly. He was breaking anyway, but when the female apparently called Helen snapped at him, he looked away so he could growl in return. Winner, winner! Though that wouldn’t stop any of Allen’s lustful thoughts about Susie. Double grrr.
“There something I should know about Allen?” he asked with a hint of a growl.
“We used to date,” admitted Susie in a quiet voice.
“Yeah?”
That asshole must have been the guy who dumped her and broke her heart. Dick wasn’t even fit to share a lunch menu with Susie, never mind anything else. What did she see in him? Barlow spent about thirty seconds in his company, and already he wanted to punch him. It was a relief that Susie had shied away from his touch.
“Yeah, since we were kids. Then he got Helen pregnant, and here we are.”
Humph. “Okay.”
Susie glanced up at him, and he was glad she wasn’t crying – her tears would be wasted on her sucky ex, but also because he had no idea what to do with a crying female. Pat her head and say ‘there, there’? Actually, she didn’t look particularly sad, more resigned, verging on defeated.
“Don’t you want to know anything else?”
“Guy’s a prick. Anything else I should know?”
Susie smiled wanly. “No, actually.”
Barlow patted his stomach. “I’m starving. That beef jerky was hours ago, and we missed lunch.”
“Thanks to your shortcut,” she teased.
Barlow grinned. “Yeah. Let’s go get something to eat.”
That cattle herding had been hard work. His wolf huffed – he actually did most of the work
“Sounds good. Don’t you want a shower first?”
“Nah, too hungry – I might collapse in the shower and then you’d have to come rescue me.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“You’re right,” she deadpanned, “you desperately need food.”
Susie glanced in the mirror and brushed her fingers through her hair.
“Maybe I should change into something else,” she said.
“Why?” He had been admiring her tight jeans all day – they hugged every curve, and thanks to their time in Vegas, he didn’t have to leave anything to his imagination. Nope, he had her naked in his memory – twenty-four-seven.
“I look a little messy. I should probably put on a blouse and some slacks, and comb my hair and freshen my makeup…”
She looked exhausted just thinking about it. Besides, he liked her cute sweatshirt. It said ‘frog kissing maniac.’ Having met Allen, he could attest to the truth in that.
“Little darling, I was planning on a meatball sub at the bar, the meatballs don’t mind what you wear, and you look good.”
He gave her an exaggerated leer to prove his point, and given the way she smiled, she had actually appreciated it.
“Okay, let’s go.”