WYLDER Page 20

  I gasp at the sound of his voice, and I would totally pull away from Lyon guiltily because, darn it, I feel guilty for some inexplicable reason, but the infernal scoundrel grins and pulls me closer, turning with nary a care to face a very, very annoyed Wolf.

  Goodness he looks good. He’s still all big and scary with those cold green eyes that turn me on with just a look. And that body…is he bigger, more ripped than I remember, I wonder, taking the time to give him a long, thorough looksee that in no way spells out my hatred.

  In fact, I think he knows I’m a step away from drooling, because his mouth quirks and he narrows his eyes at Lyon with a smugness that stops my perusal in its tracks.

  Oh, nuhuh, I think, my mental Beyoncé giving a head bob and finger wave with attitude.

  “Hello, Wolf. So good of you to knock before barging in on us.”

  Lyon’s lip twitches at the innuendo, and I feel him squeeze my hip while the smirk drops off Wolf’s face and morphs into a sneer.

  “I didn’t think I had to, since it’s only been three months since you were clinging to me.”

  I grunt a denial, shivering at the harsh glare directed my way, and catch my breath when Lyon’s arm tightens around my hips and holds me closer. The man is really pushing it to the limit.

  “Hhhmm, but three months can be a lifetime when you have to stitch your life back together, and despite all obstacles, the show must go on. My grangran always said there ain’t no sense in keeping a shoe with a hole in the sole. The rain will always get in.”

  Lyon’s shoulders start quivering as I give Wolf the set-down, and I feel proud of myself when his cheeks redden and he snaps his mouth shut with a frown.

  “Yeah, well, uh, Mom and Pop have checked out of their hotel, and the plane’s standing by, so why don’t you two stop fooling around and get finished so we can leave?”

  I’d totally say something bitchy but he turns on his heel and stalks away before I can open my mouth, leaving Lyon and I exchanging WTF looks.

  “I watched a show once where the woman accused her brother of getting his meriod, like a man period. You think he’s on the bleed?” I giggle, getting a laugh from Lyon before he sobers and tugs a lock of my hair in rebuke.

  “He’s been struggling the last few months. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him try to escape life as badly as this before. He drinks and goes out with women a lot—”

  “Good for him,” I mutter, turning away to carry on packing even though I’d like nothing more than to rip this place to shreds.

  Goodness and almighty pain, that hurt. I am no fool, and I haven’t been languishing here thinking that Wolf would miraculously become the man of my dreams and sweep in to drop the love bomb on me.

  I kinda already suspected that he’d moved on, but come on! It’s been three months, and he’s had women, not woman but women. As in plural, not singular, and possibly so many that I should wear a hazmat suit just in case proximity makes it catching. Whatever he has, because God knows he must be diseased by now.

  Rat. The unconscionable rat. I won’t cry. I really won’t, but it does not feel good to know that the man I loved enough to give myself to not only dropped me like a hot potato but also did it and moved on at the speed of light.

  If I wasn’t so messed up right now, I would go out and get it on with an orgy of men just to prove that I don’t care. But I do. I care a lot that Wolf’s moved on and living his life as if I was never in it.

  “Lori?”

  “We should really get done before his royal assness comes back in to bark orders at me,” I say, stopping whatever that soft tone was about to throw at me.

  I can’t do comfort and sympathy right now. I just can’t, because I will cry, and it won’t be pretty, and by the time they pull me off Wolf’s lifeless body, I really will be ready to be committed to the psych ward.

  “Lori.”

  “Don’t. Just don’t, okay? Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. I’m not in a good place right now, and I can’t afford to focus on anyone but myself.”

  I hear Lyon sigh and give him a look of gratitude when instead of pushing the issue he grabs clothes and starts folding with military precision.

  “I’d walk over hot coals to have a good woman like you love me.”

  The compliment is heartwarming, and I hug him on impulse for saying just the right thing at a time when I feel like brittle glass on the verge of shattering.

  “You will, Lyon. You will.”

  Chapter Five

  Lori

  You know what’s absolutely fabulous about an awkward flight spent avoiding a certain asshole’s glares and pretending to be enthused about talk of babies and everything to do with them?

  It distracts your mind, and that is exactly what I needed, I think as I settle back into the soft leather seat and shoot Lyon a grin. Bear sent a limo to get us all from the airstrip, his way of making good on the pampering I insisted on the first time I was supposed to fly out.

  That distraction is gone though when Wolf slides in right beside me and sits so close I feel his thigh meet the length of mine.

  Don’t freak out, I tell myself, brutally forcing down a shiver when his heat penetrates the fabric of my cotton slacks.

  “Oh Lord am I glad to be back here. Texas is all fine and well, but the air there is just so dry. No offense, Lori, honey, but how you people live with all that dry heat is beyond me,” Rain chatters, looking between me and Wolf with a frown.

  I pretend not to notice and shift incrementally when the cologne he wears starts wrapping itself in my senses, doing unwelcome things to my body.

  “None taken. The first few days I was here, I thought I was suffocating before I acclimatized. I guess it’s just a matter of preference,” I say, shrugging into a curl when the stupid man moves with me, taking up way more space than his lummoxing body needs.

  That might not be the right word. Is it even a word…whatever, the man is a beast, and I hope he catches the dick boils from one of his sex buddies.

  “Well, you should be comfortable here, and then tomorrow we’ll make arrangements to see the doctor that was recommended,” Alric says, his forthright attitude and lack of care for my privacy both a kindness and a hardship, when I feel Wolf stiffen beside me.

  “What? What doctor? I thought she fainted.”

  Huh! Oh Lord, thank you, I crow silently, catching Rain’s narrow-eyed stare at her husband and the smirk Lyon can’t hide. No one told him. They’re on my side. I feel like I just hit the jackpot, and the feeling grows when Alric glares at Wolf and Lyon throws me a heavy-lidded stare that has him grinding his teeth.

  Oh, so the great Wolf doesn’t like not being part of the action? Well, he can suck on my fumes, because I am not saying a word, and from the closed-lipped looks his family have adopted, they’re respecting my privacy.

  “I did. Been working too hard, and your mom decided I need to take it easy.”

  “Why are you seeing a doctor?!”

  “Oh, ya know, just the usual check-ups and whatnot,” I say airily, waving him off without difficulty because Rain hasn’t let up on her glare and Wolf is squirming as he fights the need to interrogate me against the wrath of his mom.

  “You’re lying.”

  “Wolf Jameson Wylder! You apologize to Lori right now for your rudeness, and mind your own business! Her body is not yours to rule, and as such, you have no place cross-questioning her.”

  Oh, oh, the unadulterated glee I feel when he stills and starts breathing deeply, as if searching for an answer to combat the truth of his mom’s words.

  Nope, buster, this body ain’t got nothing to do with you, I think, smug because I know Wolf and he’s so used to being in control all the time it must piss him off not to have a reason to control me.

  That’s the problem with men like him. They don’t want you, but God help me, they want to have a say in what you do at all times. Well, not this time, buddy. This time what I feel, what I’m thinking, it’s all about me, and th
ere isn’t one thing he can do to get his sticky fingers in this pie.

  “I was concerned. That’s all,” he mutters when Rain keeps up her stare. “Sorry.”

  “Good boy.”

  Oh, oh God, I think I just had a phantagasm or something!

  Wolf blushes at her crowing, and I see Lyon’s shoulders shaking as he looks out the window, laughing silently at the way a little slip of a woman just put Wolf firmly in his place.

  I myself am finding it hard not to crow and slap her a high-five, my enjoyment at his expense colored only by the way my body continues to tingle where he’s pressed up against my right side.

  “Lori?” Rain prompts, pulling me out of my head and giving me a pointed look.

  Oh, for the love of…

  “Apology accepted,” I mutter ungratefully, turning to look out the window at the passing scenery.

  “Well, good! This is good. We can all put the past behind us and be a family. Now, Lori, honey, Bear mentioned that he wants you to stay with him and Danny.”

  “Great!”

  “But I told him that you were with us. Danny is still sick in the mornings, and besides, you need Mama Rain’s care. I’ll fatten you up nicely before you’re ready to leave.”

  My insides chill and go even colder when her next words penetrate the fog in my brain.

  “And it’s about time that you and Wolf talked about your ordeal and you forgave him for keeping you locked up in that cell. We’re family. He should be like a brother to you.”

  I won’t even touch on that, I think, throwing Lyon a panicked look that he ignores like the coward he is.

  “She’s not my sister, and she is not family,” Wolf snarls.

  Heart. Hurting. A lot.

  “Well, I don’t want to be your sister either, you overinflated bag of fart! And as for family, it will be a cold day in hell when I want anyone to think we’re related,” I sneer, feeling his satisfaction when Rain gasps and gives me a chiding look.

  “Why, Lorianna dear, that wasn’t very nice.”

  “Sorry.”

  I’m not one bit sorry because while I get that he and I can’t be all brother and sisterly after some of the truly depraved things we did together—gross—it’s not very nice of him to react as if I’m a freaking leper he’d rather die than claim as a family member.

  “Wolf!”

  “Yeah, sorry,” he sneers, shifting away from me as fast as he plastered himself to my side.

  The loss of contact and heat chills me, but I shove the feeling aside and spend the rest of the drive making conversation with Lyon, who looks ready to rip Wolf apart when I can’t effectively hide my hurt pride.

  The house looms large what feels like hours later, and by the time the car draws to a stop on the drive, I’m ready to throw myself from it, needing space from the brooding Wolf and the way he avoids looking at me at all.

  “Lori!”

  I laugh and catch Danny when she throws herself at me, sharing a strangely understanding smirk with Bear, who just sidles over and grunts a greeting, his eyes only for his wife.

  “Hey, girl.”

  “Oh my God, I told Wylder that if you didn’t come down soon, I would go down to that God forsaken place and drag you back here kicking and screaming. I missed you.”

  Her hug is all sweet and warm and what I thought I would need, but the longer she chatters and keeps hold of me, the more I start feeling panicked and trapped.

  My skin cools drastically, the warning tingle making my heart thud as I try to breathe and wrestle with the sensations hitting me. I love Danny. She’s like a sister to me! Why the hell am I on the verge of an attack from just a hug, I yell silently, stiffening when a cold sweat pops out on my brow.

  “And you can come over and swim with me and help me with the nursery and pick a color scheme because Wylder is being an ass with the white and blue when we all know it could be a girl…”

  Breathe. Breathe, Lori. I don’t hear much of what Danny’s saying, my sole focus on the need to stay aware and fight off the overwhelming sense of terror that starts invading my very blood.

  Cold chills, gooseflesh, the slow slide of sweat between my breasts. Thump, thump, BANG as my chest goes tight and my heart beats hard enough to be heard.

  For just the briefest second, I don’t see Danny, don’t see the Wylders, and I don’t see the open splendor of nature around me. Her tight hug becomes the harsh, painful grip of the man who dragged me to the bathroom.

  The breath against my neck becomes the fetid stench of his tobacco and gin tainted mouth, and the smell becomes the sour tang of male sweat instead of Danny’s flowery scent.

  It’s not real! It’s not real, Lori. Just close your eyes and breathe, I tell myself, clinging onto her even when the body I feel isn’t hers but the hard-packed male wall of flesh I was trapped against.

  Somehow, somehow, I breathe, keep my lungs pumping and don’t go numb. I don’t know how I manage it but I do, and when I feel a hand at my hip, the strong warmth a familiar caress, I find the strength to stop the images in my head and force my eyes to focus on everything around me.

  My heart is still pumping in my ears though, a steady, loud wump, wump that has me feeling off-balance, but it’s easier to breathe, and I realize why when the smell of earth and clean sweat fills my nose. Wolf.

  Goddammit. No, I think, denying the thoughts that bombard me with a need that is frightening. Please don’t let him be what I need, I beg even as I settle down and find the will to hug Danny back and push her at arm’s length.

  “Geez Louise! You look as white as a sheet, girl. Are you feeling okay? It’s this heat. I just knew you wouldn’t feel well after you landed. Wylder, Lori doesn’t look like she can do the whole big lunch thing you have planned.”

  The way she talks to her husband is enough to make me giggle despite the slight fuzziness I still feel, and I shake my head in wonder. Lord, this bossy little thing would just go and fall for the scariest man alive.

  “I’m okay, just a little unsteady from the humidity.”

  “You think this is humid? You obviously don’t remember what it’s like here when a storm is coming in.”

  Oh, but I do, I think, pulling away from the hand at my hip and pretending a calm I don’t feel. I remember exactly what it’s like when a storm approaches in these parts, because it was exactly on a day like that, the air muggy and cloying, sweat-slicked skin, hair plastered to the pillow, when Wolf kissed me and made me his.

  I remember the storms, even more so after the memories I can’t let go of were made down in that little basement cell. I hardly noticed the storm after the first kiss, didn’t hear the thunder because my heart was pounding so hard when he touched me it was a boom in my ears.

  I don’t recall the static electricity in the air as lightning struck, because the power and heat coming off us as Wolf thrust himself into my body was hotter than any strike.

  Oh, I remember the storms, and I remember the heat. Only, not the storm outside in the elements. No, the storm I will never forget happened when a man made love to me and truly took everything I had to give, holding me so tightly I knew I didn’t want to ever have him let go.

  “Wylder!”

  “Yes ma’am?” he chuckles when Danny snaps out his name like a command, her small stature so at odds with the way he jumps to attention with an amused quirk of his lips.

  “We should get everything inside so Lori can have some sweet tea and put her feet up. Hey, Mom!”

  Danny flings herself at Rain, her enthusiasm and lack of coherence making us all laugh when Rain has to double step to catch herself under Danny’s weight.

  Yeah, I get how good it must feel to have unconditional hugs, and I wish like heck I could bring myself to just throw my body at her, demanding comfort, but I’m still shaking and hanging on to control by a thread.

  Wolf, I notice, is staring at me with a frown, his eyes narrowed as if he’s aware that something is wrong. That look makes me yearn, and yet I
clench my teeth against the feeling and remind myself that he doesn’t see me and so I shouldn’t feel all warm and tingly that he’s the only one not buying my smiles.

  He doesn’t see me because all I am right now is a guest in his family home while I battle with the claustrophobia that’s crashing down on me.

  “You okay?” he asks softly when everyone starts walking into the house, his voice a soft breath against the shell of my ear.

  “Like you care,” I grunt, putting another inch of space between us and plastering on a smile when Alric tells me to sit and goes to get the tea.

  “I do care, Lori.”

  Yeah? Where was all that caring months ago when I begged?

  I don’t believe him, and more, I don’t care if it’s true, because all it would be is some human concern for another, nothing more. Not even close to what I once prayed he would feel.

  “I’m fine, Wolf. Now, why don’t you go away and go entertain yourself with some other poor loser who’ll fall for the soft words and fake concern, because I am not interested.”

  “It isn’t fake!”

  “Keep your voice down.”

  “Only if you tell me you know that I care,” he hisses under his breath, ignoring my displeasure when he sits beside me, throwing Lyon a nasty look when he comes my way.

  The traitor turns on his heel and leaves me at Wolf’s mercy while I try to tune in to the women’s chatter and the comments Bear throws in every once in a while.

  “Go away, Wolf. I only came here because I wanted to see your parents and Danny, so as far as I am concerned, you don’t need to stick around and make nice. Go play with one of your other little dolls, because I have your number. You made sure of that.”

  His frustration is palpable, but he doesn’t so much as show it by a movement or an inflection when he leans closer and looks at me.

  Oh, there’s the expression I’ve been waiting for. There’s the softness in his usually cold green eyes. I remember that look because it’s the exact one he used on me for days, seducing me, lulling me with a soft look here and there and the words that every woman wants to hear from a man; I want you.