How Do I Love Thee? (12 page)

He turned to look at her, and had the cheek to raise those arrogant eyebrows at her again. A little grin kicked the corners of his mouth up. Tori seethed. Did he have to look so cocky?

‘You think?’

She frowned then shook her head. Swinging her arm, she tossed his bag down the front stairs. Presenting her back, she stepped inside, slammed the door and secured the deadbolt, shaking the doorknob to check the lock had engaged. No way he’d get past that.

Kaeden chuckled as the bag flew through the air and landed at his feet. His amusement morphed into outright laughter when Tori slammed the door. Did she really think that would keep him from her?

‘Hey, Boss, everything’s in place.’ Giles jogged up and joined Kaeden. ‘What’s next?’

‘Where are the others?’

‘Steve and James are checking the perimeter for weak spots. Good thing Tori has these eight-foot fences to keep the dogs in. It’ll help keep the undesirable hounds out.’

Kaeden shook his head. ‘They want in, they’ll get in. The Drasser pack is the sneakiest and meanest I’ve ever come across. And if Liam Drasser thinks he’s going to mate with Tori—’ He ground his teeth, unable to finish the sentence. Tori was his and no other man, whether lupine
or
human, would touch her.

He turned his wrist over to expose the crude symbol cut into the skin. Two triangles superimposed over each other, with an arrow piercing both. He’d worn the brand since he was a teenager. The sharp lines had faded, grown warped and puckered, but the memory of the day he’d taken part in the bonding ceremony was as clear now as when he was thirteen.

Enough of this. He needed to focus on protecting Tori. ‘The rest of the pack will be here as soon as it’s completely dark. If Drasser comes, it will be closer to midnight. That seems to be his normal modus operandi. You guys stay alert.’

Giles flicked him a cheeky grin. ‘What about Tori? I could stay in the house to keep her safe.’ He wiggled his
eyebrows. ‘I can think of lots of things we could do to pass the time.’

Kaeden cuffed him upside the head. ‘You keep your mind on your work.
I’ll
take care of Tori.’

His pack-mate burst out laughing and pointed to the overnight bag at Kaeden’s feet. ‘You planning on protecting her from
outside
the front door? From what I saw, she’s not keen on you entering.’

‘Oh, I don’t know. I kind of think there are parts of me she’s quite taken with.’

He rounded the side of the house, away from the front windows. Once hidden, he stripped off his jeans and tossed them over a bush. Head thrown back, eyes closed, he called on the beast within.

The Change rushed through him. The air shimmered, an intense wave of heat following a momentary flash of pain. Tendons snapped. Ligaments lengthened. Muscles twisted and realigned. The dark hair on his body thickened, spread. Until it covered his skin with a thick coat of charcoal-grey hair. Hands curled in on themselves, their shape beginning to morph into that of an animal.

Kaeden dropped to the ground. Hands and feet completed the Change, taking on the shape of the furry paws of the lupine. Bone creaked and his face transformed into a long snout. He stretched his jaw and exposed long canine teeth
dripping saliva. A shudder trembled through his large body and the Change was complete.

He shook his head and turned, slinking back to the front of the house. Giles stood where he’d left him, a smile creasing his face.

‘You think she’s going to let you in when she sees your big bad wolf shape, huh? Man, you just might scare her to death.’

Kaeden swatted him on the leg with one large paw before heading up to the front door. First he whined. Next he scratched at the timber. Then he raised his head, opened his jaw and let loose with a long, eerie, wolf howl.

That brought the response he wanted. Tori wrenched open the door and dropped to her haunches in front of him. She buried her hands in the thick ruff of fur about his neck and hugged him.

‘Oh, you poor thing. Are you still lost?’ She stood and, hand on his head, guided him into the house. ‘Since you’ve got nowhere else to go, you can keep me company tonight.’

The last thing Kaeden heard before Tori shut and bolted the door was the sound of Giles’s laughter as he headed towards the workers’ quarters.

Tori curled up on the couch and the dog immediately joined her. He cuddled close, his head up, tongue lolling
out. ‘You might look like a fierce wolf, but you’re really a softie, aren’t you?’

The animal tried to lick her mouth again. She fended him off. ‘No more doggie spit. I think you’re cute, but I don’t like you that much. However, if you’re going to keep coming around, you need a name. Hmm, how about Rover?’

When the animal flashed his canines at her and shook his head, Tori roared with laughter. For a moment there, she actually thought he’d understood her. ‘Um, okay, Fido. No?’ This time a slight growl accompanied the movement of his head. ‘Blackie? Patch? Rollie?’

She threw her hands in the air at the dog’s continued negative response. ‘Wow, opinionated for a four-legged beast, aren’t you? You should meet Kaeden. You’d make a good pair.’ She chuckled. ‘There’s a thought. I’ll call you Kaeden. That should get a reaction from him when he knows I’ve named a mutt after him.’

Her new pet stretched his lips wide and made a strange raspy sound. His body shook, the hair ruffling around his neck. Damn, she’d swear he was laughing. ‘Okay, I guess Kaeden it is.’

Images of the two-legged Kaeden slid through her mind. For some reason, the dog reminded her of him. The amber eyes. The cocky attitude. A real alpha personality. She lifted
her hand and dragged her fingers across her lips. The imprint of his mouth remained, like a fiery brand on her skin.

She shivered, sensation overwhelming her. Her thoughts took on a decidedly raunchy edge. One little kiss, and here she was, acting like a teenager with her first crush. Heat gathered inside her, spreading out to encompass her entire body. Her skin felt tight. Her breasts ached. Tension gripped her, demanding release.

‘Enough already!’ She jumped to her feet, waving a hand in front of her face to cool herself down. She had to stop thinking of Kaeden like this. He’d never given her any indication he wanted to be any more than a friend, and maybe not even that at times.

Well, except for that kiss …

‘Get over it, girl.’ Stalking across to the sideboard, she grabbed a packet of flea-control pipettes and rejoined the dog on the couch. She snapped the end off one of the vials and patted her lap. ‘Okay, K—that’s your new nickname, by the way. I can’t keep calling you Kaeden. It ties me in knots every time I hear his name. Now, let’s get this sorted out. Put your head down here.’

K lowered his head to her lap, wriggling to get comfortable. He snuffled once or twice until Tori tapped him lightly on the tip of his nose. ‘No sniffing, remember.’ Spreading the
thick fur on his neck, she poured the contents of the pipette on the skin. The animal whimpered as if in pain.

‘Don’t be such a wuss. It doesn’t hurt. Now …’ She scratched him behind the ear. ‘I’ll keep you inside tonight and tomorrow I’ll take you over to the surgery. If you’re going to stay with me you have to be fixed.’

The dog raised its head and stared at her, his lips pulled back, a soft growl coming from its throat.

‘Don’t look at me like that. I don’t want you out there tom-catting around. Okay, so dogs don’t tom-cat, but you know what I mean. So tomorrow you get the chop, you hear?’

K bounded off the couch and skidded across the polished floor. He hit the door with a thump, the timber vibrating with the force of the impact. Then he started to scratch to get out.

Before Tori could get to the door, he threw himself against it again.

‘What’s wrong with you? It’s one tiny little snip.’

Mouth opened, head raised, the dog howled. The hair on Tori’s arms stood up, goosebumps pebbled her skin. She opened her mouth to tell him to calm down then snapped it shut as shock splintered through her.

The air around K wavered, circled about the beast and reshaped itself. Like ripples in a pond spreading out from a central point when the surface is disturbed. Sparks shot
out from his body, hung in the air a moment and then disappeared. Heat swelled and surrounded him, hot enough for Tori to feel it on her face. His body twisted. Limbs contracted before lengthening, changing. Growls issued from his mouth and the hair on his body receded, leaving behind tanned flesh. The last thing to change was the elongated snout.

Fear clawed at Tori’s gut. The breath strangled in her throat and she fought to drag fresh air into her lungs. She didn’t know whether to run in horror, or stay and confront whatever was happening.

With a final burst of flickering light, it was over. Instead of K the dog, there stood Kaeden the man. Naked.

He advanced on her. Tori backed up until the edge of the couch hit her behind the knees. She blinked and lifted her hands to her head, squeezing, trying to make her brain function.

Kaeden stopped within an inch of her. ‘Just so you know, ain’t no-one coming anywhere near
my
family jewels. You start talking the chop and I’ll start biting. Got that?’ He tapped the end of her nose with one long,
human
finger. ‘And just for the record, I don’t have fleas.’

Tori flopped backwards onto the couch, legs splayed, hands hanging limply between her spread thighs. ‘Holy freakin’ nightmares! Toto, I think we just left Kansas.’

Kaeden grimaced. Hell, this was
not
the way he’d planned to introduce Tori to her heritage. Her face was pasty white. Sweat beaded on her forehead. The breath wheezed from her chest in a loud exhale.

‘Are you okay?’

Tori opened her mouth to speak and then closed it, shaking her head. She tried again. ‘I just … I thought I saw …’ She broke off and dropped her gaze to the floor.

‘It’s all right, Tori. I can explain.’ He bent over the couch, trying to get her to look at him.

‘Freakin’ hell,’ she whispered.

Oh, she was looking all right. Just not where he wanted her to. His body immediately responded to the heat of her gaze. Blood pounded, heading south, and it was all he could do to keep control of various parts of his anatomy.

Before he could say anything, she jumped up and shoved past him. She rushed into the kitchen, returning moments later with a dishtowel clutched in her hand. She thrust it at him.

‘You’re naked.’

He grinned and looked down at his semi-aroused body then at the cloth she’d shoved into his hands. ‘Ah, yeah, I knew that. What do you want me to do with this?’

She gestured to his nether regions. ‘Um, cover yourself?’

A crack of laughter burst from him. He held up the itty-bitty cloth. ‘You’re kidding, right? This won’t cover my front, let alone go around my hips.’

Satisfaction filled him as he watched a tide of red wash up over Tori’s cheeks. With her blonde hair curling about her face and the crimson blush on her fair skin, she looked sexy as hell. His heartbeat accelerated, driving the blood through his veins to harden his body even more. Biting back a groan, he held the tiny dishtowel in front of him.

Hell, much more of this and he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. The animal inside him roared his approval. Kaeden fought to keep it contained, but it was damn hard when Tori’s scent curled about his brain, an earthy, musky aroma his beast recognised.

A thump sounded on the door and Kaeden just about jumped out of his skin. Some watchdog he was. He was so taken with Tori his normally enhanced senses had deserted him.

Tori shook her head as if coming out of a stupor. She zipped across the room and grabbed the edge of the four-foot table runner on the polished sideboard. She whipped it towards her, sending photo frames and china knick-knacks flying. Shattered fragments sprayed out in an arc. Ignoring the broken ornaments, Tori whirled and tossed the runner to Kaeden.

‘Wrap that about yourself while I see who it is.’

‘Don’t open that door, Tori!’

Kaeden tried to tie the piece of material about his hips at the same time as he sprinted to the door. One end refused to tuck in and that was his undoing. The fabric caught between his legs, twisting around his feet. Down he went, hitting the floor with a bang.

‘Tori, open up. What the hell’s going on in there?’

‘Ross? Hang on while I get the deadbolt.’

‘Jesus, Tori, wait for me, will you?’ Kaeden struggled to his feet, trying to keep the strip of material about his hips. Not that he was concerned about his nudity—shapeshifters got used to that by the time they hit puberty—but it seemed to worry Tori.

Pain lanced through his right foot when he put his weight on it. He glanced down and saw the bloody imprint on the polished floorboards. With a grimace, he braced himself against the wall and lifted his foot, pulling the fragment of broken china from his heel. It wasn’t bad, but he’d better get Tori to clean up the glass before he did any more damage.

‘You all right, Tori?’ Ross stepped through the door and closed it behind him before turning to stare at Kaeden. ‘I take it by your outfit she knows about—’