To the Edge and Back [The Royal Wolves] (Siren Publishing Allure) (23 page)

“I should, but another day. I need and want to get home for now, Janos. I think that my people interaction day is just pretty much done if that is all right with you?” Another day they could go shopping for her.

“All right, love,” he said softly, giving her a hug. Guiding her toward the doors, he rubbed his hand lightly up and down her arm. “We’ll hit a drive-thru on the way home I think. That way we can head home quickly, eat, and then just have the day to ourselves.”

“I like the way that sounds. Can we go out and see your wolves again? I would like to be able to see them and pet them and just make sure that they know me for the times that I might be home by myself. I need and want to make sure that they trust me as much as you.” Plus there was simply something about the wildness of the Wolves that drew her to them.

“Sure we can, after we eat or the mooches will try and steal our food.” He shook his head at that. “Don’t feed them. They get fed well enough and they are not to get table scraps ever. They will give you the sucky face and the ‘feed me or don’t you love me’ whine. Don’t cave. Be strong.”

“I will try.” She grinned and thought about the faces he was describing and then shook her head. “They are wild animals. I get that, but what about you? You get this look on your face when you want to touch me or want a kiss. Should I not listen to those looks as well?” She knew that sounded odd, but she was teasing him, mostly.

“You’d better pay attention to me, babe. Trust me, you really don’t want me to get after you,” he said with a grin. “Or maybe you do?” he asked in a low tone full of suggestion. “Maybe you want me to put more effort into loving you. Is that what you’re trying to tell me sweet?”

“I happen to adore when you put a lot of attention into loving me, but yes, I would very much like to, when the summer gets here, have you chasing me through our lands. But in the meantime”—she grinned as she looked at him, the intention and need there—“maybe you could chase me through our house?”

“You wear nothing but a set of those lacy little underthings I just got you and you can bet I’ll chase you from one end to the other and back again,” he promised. Licking his lips, he let his eyes go Wolf and trailed the hot gaze over her face. “Then, when I catch you, I’ll lick you slowly, playing with my catch until she screams for mercy,” he whispered in a low, intense tone.

“Oh god, I will scream for you, Janos. You know that too well.” She screamed for him often. He could touch her and she screamed. “I will wear nothing but the lacy underthings you got me, but I get a small head start if you don’t mind?” Because she knew that in the end he would always find her.

“You can have a full minute, if you want,” he told her softly, moving her toward the exit. “A little hide-and-seek perhaps to drag the moment out.” He had to chuckle. Pushing open the door, he let her step out and breathed in the clean air clearing his nose out. “I won’t even cheat by tracing you through scent,” he promised with a grin.

“That would be very hard for you to do, Janos. I mean come on, love, you are an animal and it is as much a part of you as breathing is. Hide-and-seek does sound really interesting though.” She nodded and licked her lips. “God does it ever sound interesting. I can’t wait to get home.” Yep, drive-thru for them.

“I can tie a bandana around my face with a sprig of mint to cover your scent,” he told her with a grin. “Laszlo used to make us do that when we were younger,” he said as he opened her door and moved around to dump everything in the back seat of the car. “It was so that we learned not to merely rely on one sense. He wanted us to use our brains as well as our eyes and noses to track. Tracking by scent is too easy, he used to tell us. One has to be able to use every sense individually to really learn to appreciate everything that the world gives us for information.”

“You know, that makes complete sense.” She grinned at the play on words and tugged on the seat belt. “Because if you only rely on one of your senses, what will you do if that one is lost?” She shrugged, and when he took his seat, buckling up, she slipped her hand into his. “I would like it if you would teach me things, like how to track something and how to ensure I don’t get lost.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “I’d gladly do that for you,” he said softly. Pulling out of the lot, he drove slowly down the street, his eyes flicking over everything, looking for a taco place. “I’ll teach you to track and how to tell the differences in the tracks and just who is who among the pack. They’ll give you plenty of practice, love, especially since they love to play.”

“Well good, because I have a lot that I need to learn before you make me as you are.” She saw his shocked expression and grinned. “I want to be able to become a Wolf like you are, Janos, just not right now. When we are ready to have children will be soon enough, but until then I want to simply be with you as I am and learn all that I can about the culture that I am stepping into, please?”

Stunned, he swallowed and nodded slowly. “All right,” he breathed out slowly as the vibration of need to kiss her and take her rolled through him. Licking his lips, he kissed her fingers. “I love you Mina,” he whispered against her skin.

“I love you, too, Janos,” she whispered against his lips as he leaned close and licked her own. “Now let’s get to the drive-thru, get our food, and then get the heck home so that we can play and have a good time, shall we?”

“Damned straight, woman.” He smiled, straightening up. Pulling away from the light, he spotted the restaurant and quickly pulled into the drive-thru. “What do you recommend?” he asked as he pulled up to the menu board and waited for the worker to come over the speaker.

“I want the loaded nachos and a cola, oh and I would like to add jalapeños to mine as well please?” she said with a grin and watched as the car before them pulled forward.

Blinking at her, he shook his head as he was asked for his order. Giving hers as he let his eyes trail over the menu, he played it safe and ordered a burrito and a cola. Hearing the amount, he pulled forward slowly as the car ahead moved to the next window. Digging out money, he passed it over before inching ahead slightly. “I would never have guessed you had a need for hot and spicy,” he commented as they waited.

“I have always loved hot and spicy. However, I have never really been able to afford it, so this is my time to splurge.” She grinned and licked her lips hungrily. She rubbed her hands together, and when they handed over the food, she opened the bag and she felt herself drooling. “Oh, smells
so
good.”

Sniffing carefully, Janos shrugged. “It does smell interesting,” he commented, rolling his window up. He left it open a crack just because of the scent of the jalapeños. Pulling away, he carefully got back onto the street before speeding up and heading for home.

She opened the container that held her nachos and pulled out one. “Here, they have the jalapeños on the side so nothing hot and spicy, I promise, but try it?”

Eyeing her, he took the nacho and chewed slowly at it as his tongue told him everything that was on there, and some things he was sure the company would hate to have leaked to the general population. “Interesting,” he mumbled as he chewed. Yeah, now he knew why he rarely ate out. Or, when he did, why he only ate at places owned or run by Wolves.

“You don’t like it, do you?” she asked softly, watching the way that he ate it and put the lid back on it. “I’m sorry, I had thought that maybe you would like it. Should we go somewhere else for dinner, love?”

Reaching out, he touched her cheek. “It’s fine, love. If you want I just can tell you exactly what’s in something. So if you ever want the exact breakdown of the secret sauce at the place with the arches or the secret recipe of the chicken joint, let me know. It’s not one of my favorite gifts.” He said the last word with a twist to his lips. “But I live with it, just makes getting food anywhere a serious pain in my ass.”

“I’m so sorry, Janos.” She squeezed his hand over her cheek and nodded. “But I will keep that in mind for if and when I decide that I would like to cook something to match up with what is served at the restaurants.” She grinned. “But we can’t let that gift get out or people will beat down your door to find out what is in this or that.”

“All Wolves can do it. It’s part and parcel with all our other abilities being heightened,” he told her. “You learn pretty quick where to eat because they adjust food for the Wolf clientele. Places owned by a Wolf are sometimes better since they know who a Wolf is as they come in the door. They make adjustments so that we’re not overpowered by flavors or aromas.”

“How do you know who a Wolf is when they come through the door, and how did you know me?” She was fascinated. She wanted to know everything about this culture she was stepping into.

“Scent,” he told her with a smile. “At least with a Wolf. All Wolves put out a very light pheromone of sorts,” he told her softly. “Males are musky and females are earthier in tone. Only another Wolf can recognize the scent since it’s out of the human range to identify. As for you”—he grinned at her as he hit the road that would lead them to their home—“your scent just snagged me. I can’t really say why or how it did, but when you were in my dream, I knew instantly who you were. We identify our mates by scent. We have to meet them in some setting or situation where their scent is in the air. Then, for whatever reason, our minds track them on the mental plane to the dreams.”

“I happen to love that last part, by the way.” She opened the dome to her nachos and ate while they moved. “Even if it did cost me my job, I love that part, and in the end it was for the best, because I am taking a part-time job where I can work when my mate works.” She chewed and swallowed. “It will be a massive adjustment for me, won’t it?”

“Yes, I suppose it will,” he told her with a hint of a frown. “For the most part, it will be life just as it is now, but more. Your senses will be greater, everything will seem sharper, much clearer and refined than right now. But other than that and the ability to go hairy, your life won’t really change, love.” He was trying to reassure her that it wasn’t quite as bad as she thought but wondered if he was only making it worse.

“Oh no, honey, I know it won’t be bad. Anything that lets me stay with you forever has to be a good thing, right?” Mina took another chip and munched it as she watched him driving. When they arrived at their home, she grinned. “I think that I’m going to end up with a sandwich, too.” She had already plowed through all of her food.

Parking in the garage, he looked to her and chuckled. “Eat whatever you feel like, love,” he told her. Sliding out of the car, he moved around and collected her bags. “You know you’re more than welcome to have anything that’s in the house.”

“I know.” Mina smiled. “I’m just not used to wolfing down this much food so fast or having the ability to continue to eat when I haven’t had my fill.” She shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that. It’s just something for me to get used to.”

“I’m never going to stop you, love,” he told her as he took her hand. Kissing her knuckles, he tugged her toward the house door as the garage door slid down. “You can eat as much as you want. Trust me. I won’t ever throw stones on that one considering what I can pack away.”

“Then you will want to get some sandwiches with me, because one burrito will not be enough.” She loved Mexican food, but it left a lot to be desired on the quantity of food. Every year the prices went up and the servings got smaller and smaller.

“I only got something small because I’d never eaten there before, so it’s a taste test,” he told her with a grin. “Go and start on the sandwiches. There’s turkey in the fridge or I think there might be some roast beef leftover as well. I’m going to toss these bags on the bed and I’ll be right back,” he promised, kissing her cheek gently.

“Oh, a turkey and roast beef sandwich sounds good.”

She watched him walking away for a moment before turning to the fridge. Opening it, she pulled out the meats, mayo, bread, and cheese. Seeing tomatoes there, she grabbed two of them and began to make a sandwich for herself. “Do you want me to make you one, too?” she yelled through the house.

Standing right behind her, he winced at the decibels she reached and rolled his eyes. “I’d like one thank you,” he said by her ear once the knife was out of range. “You don’t have to yell, love. Even when you speak normally I can hear you just fine.”

A blush spread over her nose and cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t take into account that your hearing is so spectacular.” She would have to remember that. As an animal, his hearing, taste, smell, and sight were all far better than hers could and would ever be.

Kissing the end of her nose, he shook his head. “It’s okay. It’ll take a little while for you to get used to. I more than understand that. Just, don’t yell please,” he asked, stroking his fingers over her cheek. “It’s brutally hard on Wolf hearing. That’s one reason I hate malls. The cacophony of noise from too many voices is painful.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again and leaned into his touch. “What would you like on your sandwich?” She pointed toward the meats, breads, cheese, and tomatoes. “I love tomatoes, very much I love tomatoes, so what do you want on yours?”

“Anything and everything that you can pile onto it without it falling apart,” he told her with a shrug. “If the kitchen sink fits, you can throw it on there, too.” He smiled slightly. “I’m going to test-drive the burrito while you make my sandwich. I want to watch you moving around our space.”

She grinned and shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulder in a light wave of silky mass. “All right, go sit and eat I will make you a monster of a sandwich.” She began to cut the tomatoes and pile them up even as she piled meat and mayo onto the bread.

Sitting at the counter, he pulled out the burrito and, unwrapping it, he took a careful bite. It wasn’t too bad. The mix was a little odd, but he knew what the spices were that they’d put into it. Chewing, he watched her as he ate, not really paying the food much attention as he enjoyed her concentration in making the sandwich.