Exiting the bathroom in nothing more than a towel, she gasped in surprise to find Logan waiting for her. Fixing his hair in the mirror, he turned and gave her a huge smile. She couldn’t help but blush as she admired how gorgeous he looked in his tuxedo. While she wasn’t generally modest, she felt extraordinarily underdressed, given she was naked under her tiny towel.
Logan looked her up and down. No harm done looking, he reasoned. Tristan was a damn fool for sending her away, and he might as well be the one to reap the rewards. He grew hard watching her nervously pull at her towel that barely covered her breasts. If she turned around, he was pretty sure that he’d be given another show of her firm little cheeks. Her long black wavy hair tumbled down her back in wet curls. Wide-eyed, she started laughing as he spun in a circle, showing off his fancy duds like a model.
“Nice tux, Logan. You’re looking good,” she commented. “But you do know as much as I love coming out of my bathroom to find a hot man waiting for me, this seems a little awkward.” She smiled and went about drying her hair with a towel, wondering what Tristan would think if he came in here this very minute and found her nearly naked with his beta sitting on her bed. He’d probably go ballistic. And he’d deserve it, the still angry part of her thought.
“Hot, huh? Wait until you see my slick dance moves, girl. Fred Astaire, baby,” he joked.
“Didn’t you tell me that Julie was bringing me something to wear to this Godforsaken ball?” she asked, changing the subject. One could only hope that she’d forgotten and then Kalli would have a valid excuse to bail.
“Ah yes, well, there is something special that was delivered. Not by Julie, though,” he affirmed with a wry grin.
She gave him an inquisitive look, wondering what it was and who had picked out the outfit. Walking over to the closet door, she saw an elegant deep red satin gown. Matching pumps sat on the floor.
“This is…it’s exquisite. Really, I’ve never worn anything like this in my life,” she exclaimed, admiring it up against her in the mirror.
“Come on now, don’t you docs do these shindigs all the time?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Uh, no way. I’m strictly a working class girl. Did you do this, Logan?”
“No ma’am. It seems you’ve got yourself a secret admirer. But I’ve been sworn to secrecy so don’t bother asking,” he teased with a wink. “And as much as I’ve enjoyed looking at your fine body in that little towel of yours, we’ve gotta go soon or we’ll be late.” He stood and walked over to the doorway.
Kalli approached him, and on her tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek.
Logan put his hand to his face as if he’d been lovingly branded. “What’s that for? Not that I mind even one little bit.”
“For being such a great person to me after everything that went down last night; for taking me down to the shelter today; for letting me stay here. Lots of things,” she bubbled happily, guessing that Tristan had bought her the amazing dress. She returned it to the closet and went back to the dresser to brush out her hair.
“You’re welcome, Kalli. You know, you’re important to this pack, and to Tristan. Far more important than you even know,” he said cryptically.
Kalli smiled, unsure of how to respond. Whatever he was referring to was a mystery to her.
“Not so sure about that, but I swear I’ll do my best to help,” she promised.
He turned to leave her, and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, and Doc. Don’t forget to look in the box there on the dresser. There’s something special there that will look great on you.”
He wanted to tell her that Tristan had brought everything over for her, but it wasn’t his place to do it. All in good time, he thought, but hoped that he’d tell her soon. It could prove to be a long, miserable evening if Tristan didn’t address his feelings for her before they left. As Logan walked down the hallway, he prayed things would go smoothly.
Chapter Fifteen
The limo ride over to the Four Seasons had been nothing short of a nightmare. From the minute Tristan picked up Mira, she’d been peppering him with questions about Kalli and their relationship. In addition to the nonstop interrogation, she seemed overly affectionate, which only meant one thing: trouble.
It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop thinking about Kalli, since he’d left the shelter. His anger had dissipated after reflecting on her reasons why she’d been afraid to tell him. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how tough things used to be in wolf packs. Forced matings and brutality used to be commonplace, but progressively, most packs had given up old practices. Both he and Marcel had consciously led their packs with authority and fairness, refusing to live barbaric existences. Burning with rage, he wished he could have prevented the abuse Kalli had suffered at the hands of wolves. It was no wonder she’d been afraid of him and Logan.
Intrigued, he’d found his attraction to her only grew deeper after talking with her at the shelter. Even though she was vulnerable, she still wanted to help him. Yes, she needed his protection. But she could have gone to the police and asked for protection. He was certain Tony would have given her sanctuary. And he returned the favor by sending her to Logan, as if they hadn’t shared intimate moments. He saw the hurt in her eyes, knew she’d been crying because of him, yet aside from apologizing, things felt unresolved. He felt empty, as if he hadn’t said what he needed to say. Treating the request for her attendance at the gala like a business transaction, he’d neglected to mention that he was taking Mira, something he normally wouldn’t give a second thought to doing. But his connection to Kalli pulled strongly at his heart.
On the way home, he decided he needed to try to fix the mess he’d made of things. Even though cancelling with Mira wasn’t an option, he’d be damned if he didn’t straighten things out with Kalli during the gala. After his conference call, he’d visited with Ryan, happy to see that he was taking advantage of the female attention he’d been receiving at Julie’s. Thankfully, he seemed a little better emotionally and was even asking about getting back to work. While he was there, he consulted with Julie about the best place to procure female attire for the gala. At some point during his spree, he considered that he must have gone mad, to be shopping for a woman. And perhaps he had. He wasn’t usually the type to shop for himself, let alone someone else. In an effort to make amends, he sought to do something special for Kalli; to make it up to her even if his words hadn’t soothed her hurt feelings. If he was truthful with himself, he’d just admit that he wanted every man in the room tonight to know she was his, that she was wearing something that he’d given her.
The cynical part of him, who had invited Mira out of anger, claimed the purchases were nothing more than business expenses. Kalli was a means to an end. A decoy. A lure. Whoever was targeting him was keeping tabs on his pack, so he’d give them something to think about. They had the pills, but they didn’t have the research. He wanted them to know that he knew what they knew and was coming for them. A public show of confidence, in the wake of the death of one of his wolves, spoke of his strong constitution and power in this city. His wolves were not sheep, awaiting slaughter. They were wolves, out in the open, strong with their pack and ready to strike for the kill.