Toni’s eyes snapped open at the same time she sat up, realizing to her horror that she’d been asleep atop Ricky Lee Reed’s chest. Possibly for the entire night!
Amber eyes surrounded by surprisingly long eyelashes opened, and a slow, lazy smile spread across his lips when his gaze locked on her. “Mornin’, darlin’.”
“Why am I on your chest? Why was I sleeping on your chest?”
“ ’Cause I’m cuddly?”
It wasn’t his stupid question but his voice that made her punch him right in the chest she’d been asleep on. No man, wolf or otherwise, should have a voice that low and sexy this early in the goddamn morning!
“Ow!” he howled, his arms covering his chest. “What was that for?”
It didn’t help that he was still grinning at her while he protected himself.
“You know exactly what that was for!” she snarled, then tried to scramble off him. But the wolf caught her by the hips and pulled her right into his lap, her legs straddling his waist.
Toni gasped and glowered down at the big bastard. “Are you hard?” she demanded, feeling something like a lead pipe pressing against her thigh.
That damn smile grew even wider. “Every mornin’ like clockwork.”
Deciding she had had enough, Toni gripped his hands and pulled them off her waist. She scooted off his lap and stood up, adjusting her clothes as she did. “You are such a—”
“Now, now. No call to get nasty just ’cause you cuddled up to me like I was a big ol’ teddy bear.”
“Shut up.” She started to walk out, only to realize she didn’t recognize where she was. “What is this place?”
“Your apartment,” the wolf said, his arms slipping behind his head.
“My . . . ?” It all came back to her, and Toni shook her head. “The job. I have to quit that job.”
“You’re not quitting that job.”
“Why not?”
“Because you keep that job and you keep this awesome apartment and that awesome TV. ”
“What does my TV have to do with you?”
“I can’t come over and watch it?”
“No!”
“No loyalty among you jackals. Guess the Bible got it right about y’all.”
“The Bible is biased. Jackals are a wonderful—oh! Why am I arguing with you?” she demanded before marching off toward a doorway.
“Not a morning person?”
“Shut up!”
Silently laughing and enjoying himself thoroughly, Ricky got off the couch and followed after the angry little jackal.
She actually hadn’t fallen asleep on him. Or even cuddled up to him. She’d just fallen asleep on the opposite end of the couch, her hands and feet twitching away as she ran in her dreams. And sure, Ricky could have left her over there and slept on his side of the couch, or on the other two couches in the sizable room, but it had been mighty cold in that room . . . once he’d turned the air conditioner up. So he’d pulled her into his arms and she’d happily rested on his chest like she belonged there.
Perhaps not the most honorable way to handle things, but he was a wolf, not some full-human with a lot of rules and regulations about how to run his life.
Besides, she’d felt really good in his arms and had smelled even better.
Like now. All annoyed and everything, she still smelled really good.
He tracked her down into one of the bedrooms, where she stood in front of the chest of drawers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
She glanced back at him. “Do you think he bought me clothes?”
“I have to say if he did . . . that would be weird.”
“Yeah.”
“Especially if they fit perfectly.”
“Stop.” She opened one of the drawers and blew out a sigh. “Empty. Good. But now I need to go home.”
“What about the bag your aunt gave you yesterday?”
“I’m wearing what she gave me.”
“She gave you a giant duffel bag with just one set of clothes?”
“Irene’s brilliance focuses on other things.”
“Other things besides logic?”
“Pretty much.” She faced him. “I have to go home so I can get dressed, go back to the Sports Center, and quit my job.”
“What about my TV needs?”
Her eyes crossed before she stepped around him and walked out of the bedroom.
“I’ll go back with you,” he suggested/insisted.
“No. I can make it back on my own.”
She grabbed the duffel bag she’d left lying in the hallway and was at the front door when Ricky came up behind her.
“See ya,” she said as she opened the door.
“When?”
She stopped, faced him. “What?”
“When will you see me? Tonight? Tomorrow? This weekend?”
“I’m not dating you.”
“Who said anything about dating? We’re shifters. Shifters don’t date. That’s for full-humans.”
“Then what are you suggesting?”
“Sex. Preferably lots of it.”
“Just sex? That’s all you want?” she pushed.
“What? Do you like to talk or something?”
“No.”
Ricky grinned. “So you just wanna hit it?”
“No! I mean—oh! Why am I having this conversation with you?”
“Because you’re intrigued and kind of turned on. It’s okay. I know you’re used to full-humans and their complicated ways, but it’s time for you to learn the ways of your people.”
“Or I could never see you again.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because . . . it’s just . . . why am I still having this conversation with you?” she finished on a yell.
“Well—”
“Shut up!” she spun away from him and stormed out of the apartment.
“You’re dang cute when you’re angry,” he called after her. “Well, damn, darlin’! That gesture was just unnecessary!”
Ricky stepped back into the apartment and went looking for the boots he’d had on last night. While he searched, he laughed the entire time because, yeah . . . this was gonna be fun.
Kyle was waiting for his sister to come home. He knew she’d be back to check on them, and when she did, he, Oriana, and Troy had it all worked out. They were going to give her the silent treatment. Show her that they didn’t need her. Not like she seemed to think they did. And then, once she understood the depth of her idiocy, they’d again allow her to manage their lives. Because working with his aunt Irene, whom they all adored, was like hell on earth.
That woman was impossible! Blunt to the point of just rude, she would cut Kyle off midsentence in order to inform him that he was wrong and remind him that he was only eleven. He knew he was eleven. He was quite aware of being eleven. He didn’t need a reminder of that. Nor did he need his aunt to cut him off while he was speaking. That was intolerable!
Did Michelangelo have to go through this sort of thing? Did Rodin? Kyle doubted it. Brilliance shouldn’t be forced to deal with such ridiculous things as schedules and worrying about making people cry.
And of course his dear, sweet, but clueless aunt Irene didn’t understand that. She was a scientist. Yes, a brilliant scientist, but just a scientist. She was not an artist, so she didn’t understand anything. She definitely didn’t understand things the way Toni did, and Toni was much less terrifying than Aunt Irene, which was very important.
So when Toni got home, Kyle would let her know in no uncertain terms that he and the others would no longer tolerate any more of this ridiculous behavior from her. She had work to do, and that work was here, with her family. Not with strangers who did no more than follow a tiny puck around while on skates. Full-blooded bears did that sort of thing in Russia for full-humans’ entertainment, so Kyle was not impressed.