Wolf Tales V (3 page)

Chapter Five

Xandi found Keisha at the kitchen table in the morning. She stared blankly out the window, but turned when Xandi entered the room. Her lips were trembling, and her hand holding the half empty coffee cup shook.

“I heard the phone ring. What’s wrong?”

Keisha sighed. “I just talked to Anton. I called him first thing, told him about Carl Burns. He contacted Burns’s publisher to complain. Anton just now called me back to say the paper fired Burns over a month ago. It looks as if he’s not working on a story. He’s stalking me.”

“Have you called the police?” Xandi poured herself a cup of coffee and sat across from Keisha. “Is Anton coming out?”

“Anton’s stuck in meetings until Friday… he may even have one Saturday morning. I told him not to come.”

Xandi snorted. “You mean he listened?”

“I don’t think he’s got a choice. This deal involves millions of dollars. It’s a huge investment for him. I’ve got a call in to the detective who worked my assault case. I’m hoping he can tell me how to keep Burns away from us.”

“In the meantime?” Xandi took a sip of her coffee.

“In the meantime, I need to check on my project, make sure we’re still on schedule. The next couple days are going to be really busy.” She smiled sadly at Xandi. Her amber eyes filled with tears. “Why won’t he stop following me? Why won’t he leave me alone? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“When was the first time you were aware of him?”

Keisha frowned. “Not until the article came out in the paper, the story about my assault.”

“How did he get there so soon? He was at the crime scene really fast. I saw the pictures. There were still bodies in the room.”

“I don’t know. I was so out of it. I never saw Burns, at least that night. At first I thought the photos were from the police files, but I learned later they weren’t.”

“Did the police let him in?” Xandi recalled the lurid black and white photo, the torn and mutilated bodies of three men, the superimposed photo of a rabid, snarling wolf covering the picture. “Could he have been there before the police arrived?”

Keisha slowly raised her head. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine the police letting him take pictures. It was a crime scene, but he had to have been there right after it happened to get those shots. How could he have known?”

Xandi reached behind her and grabbed the phone. “Call the detective. Now.”

* * *

Early Friday morning, Keisha surveyed the stark stone monument, its sharp edges softened by the gently swaying grasses she’d carefully selected for the design. They were the same grasses that gave her
Chanku
abilities life. She leaned over and plucked a single golden stem and slipped it between her lips, then straightened up, chewing thoughtfully, to study the finished project.

The sun chose that moment to break through the morning fog and cast shadows exactly as she’d planned, reflecting a jagged silhouette reminiscent of the Himalayas. She nibbled on the stem of grass and studied the dark line of stone.

Xandi slipped her arm around Keisha’s waist. “It’s a fitting tribute. Absolutely gorgeous. I can see why your design won the competition.”

Xandi’s praise should have filled her with pride. All Keisha could think of was her brief and unproductive conversation with the detective. She’d finally reached him after two days of calls, only to learn there wasn’t anything they could do to stop Carl Burns from following her. Not until the reporter broke the law.

She sighed, pushing Burns and the San Francisco Police Department from her mind. “At least the project’s done, under budget and on time. I just wish I could feel more excited about it.”

“You will. Once everyone shows up for the dedication. Now let’s clean up around here so it’s perfect for Sunday. Your rake, m’dear?”

Sighing, Keisha took the rake from Xandi and began clearing away the accumulation of branches and leaves left by the workmen. She missed Anton. She missed Stefan.

She missed the sense of peace she’d lost the moment Carl Burns came after her again.

Hours later, standing in the neatly cleared garden, Keisha still couldn’t find the sense of achievement she’d hoped to feel.

She’d won a national landscape design contest, created something lasting and beautiful, yet all she wanted was to get as far away from San Francisco and Carl Burns as possible.

“Xandi, I think we should go home.” She slanted a look at her friend. “Back to Montana. Let’s skip the dedication and just leave. I have a really bad feeling about…”

“No. You’ve worked hard. You deserve recognition for this. Besides, I’m staying alert. I’ve been watching. I don’t think Burns is nearby. One of us would sense him.”

Keisha shook her head. “What if we don’t? They can’t arrest him because he hasn’t done anything. There’s no record of his stalking me. How do I make him leave me alone? I’m not even certain why he’s following me.” Keisha wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She’d been feeling so strong, so in control. Feeling like her old self, for the first time since her attack.

Not now. Now the old fears were seeping into her bones, the insecurities, the lack of confidence… it was all coming back.

“If he’s been fired from his paper, he probably wants film to prove you exist, that you shift. He wants his job back and figures you’re the key. We just won’t give him the opportunity.”

Keisha sighed, staring blankly at the memorial garden she’d worked so hard to create. “Do you miss it as much as I do? Shifting? Last night I practically lost it. I stood at the window in the middle of the night, tired from working out here all day, yet wanting so badly to shift and run… but I didn’t dare.”

Xandi gave her a tight hug. “Two more days. You can make it. Anton and Stefan will be here tomorrow, the dedication is Sunday morning, and our flight leaves Sunday night.”

Keisha nodded, then turned to Xandi and grinned. “Okay. Two more days. You realize, of course, I’m gonna be real tense.”

Laughing, Xandi grabbed Keisha’s hand. Together, they walked back to the car. Keisha paused by the driver’s side and brushed one hand across the back of her neck. She turned her head slowly and scanned the lush park behind her. There was no one there, but a subtle sense of contact, of being watched, lingered.

* * *

Anton tossed his briefcase on the wide bed, thoughts of Keisha filling his mind, teasing his body. Over three thousand miles away with that blasted tabloid reporter on her tail and not a damned thing he could do about it. Thank goodness Xandi was with her.

One more meeting early in the morning and they’d head west. He ached for her, needed her sweet body as much as he needed to breathe, needed to feel her beneath him, crying his name, wrapping her gorgeous legs around his hips.

Needed…

To run. To feel the wind against his muzzle, the grass beneath his feet, the sensory input that kept his
Chanku
soul alive. The need to shift was almost overpowering, but it wasn’t worth the risk. Not here, not in the heart of the city.

Which brought him back to a toss-up between what he could have and what he needed. He’d have to find another way to burn off the energy.

A good fuck? Anton glanced at the door separating his room from Stefan’s and wondered if his pack mate was as exhausted as he was, as wound up from their day?

He tossed his coat on a chair and tugged at his necktie, then stretched and grimaced at the crackling in his joints. Damn. As tired as he felt, he was still high. He’d never worked with a partner before, much less one who read his mind. It had been an amazing experience, communicating telepathically while pulling off a huge business deal.

Before long, Stefan would be as adept at handling their investments as he was, though he couldn’t imagine anything more effective than the two of them working together.

Which brought him full circle to how the hell he was going to burn off all his excess energy. Anton glanced back at the connecting door and grinned. The available options had an immediate effect on his libido. Remembering Stefan, his amazing mouth and aggressive tongue, had Anton’s cock surging against his zipper. He loosened his belt, appreciating the fullness, the heat of his erection.

Imagining what Keisha and Xandi might be doing together even now sent a fresh surge of heat to his cock. He cupped himself through his slacks, recalling other business trips, other lonely hotel rooms. Evenings had been the worst. Occasionally, there’d been a woman to share a meal and more, but even feminine companionship hadn’t eased the aching loneliness, the soul-deep yearning he’d felt for a true mate.

His thoughts turned once more to Stefan.

With Keisha on the other side of the country, a pack mate would do in a pinch. Stefan had already proved that. He wasn’t Keisha, but he wasn’t bad. Anton’s grin broadened. No, Stefan wasn’t bad at all.

The door between their rooms swung open. Stefan stood there, barefoot and shirtless, a big smile on his face. “I keep hoping to sense Xandi. Instead all I pick up is your sad but horny refrain.”

Anton laughed. “Damn right I’m horny. The women are too far away. I can’t reach Keisha, either.”

Stefan sauntered into the room, all Alpha male swagger and sex appeal, a man fully aware of his effect. “So… you think I’m not bad, eh? That’s all I get? A ‘not bad’?”

“It’s a start, don’t you think?”

“Barely. You can do better.”

“I intend to.” Anton began unbuttoning his shirt, taking each button in slow motion. He sensed Stefan’s growing excitement.

“I… uhm.” Stefan cleared his throat.

Anton bit back a smile. Stefan still had trouble initiating sex with another man, no matter how often the two of them had made love. Not a problem Anton shared.

Stefan cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat once more, before the words tumbled out of him. “I ordered in tonight. A couple of rare steaks, some potatoes… the basics. You looked tired and I know I really don’t want to go out. Hope that’s okay.”

Maybe things were changing. Anton ducked his head to hide his smile. “Sounds good. Have you heard anything at all from the girls? I checked my phone -- no messages.”

“No, but it’s early in California.” Stefan glanced at his wristwatch. “Just a little after three for them. They’ll call later. This was Keisha’s last day to work on the project before the dedication, so I imagine they’ve been busy.”

“I’ve been worried about her… about both of them. I wish they weren’t so far away.”

“They’ll be fine. She and Xandi can take care of themselves for one more night. I have to admit, though, I’ll feel a lot better when we’re all together again.”

“Me, too.” Anton threw his shirt in his laundry bag. He straightened up slowly when he felt Stefan’s hand brush lightly over his bare shoulder. “Isn’t dinner on the way?”

“Not for an hour. I suggested they deliver it around seven. That gives us a little time to unwind. Why don’t you sit and let me rub some of the knots out of your back? It’ll help take your mind off Keisha.”

Anton laughed. “You must really want something if you’re offering a massage.”

“Oh, I do.” Stefan laughed but didn’t say anything more enlightening. He did, however, slowly remove his slacks and briefs.

Anton turned away. The need to fall on his knees in front of that perfect body, to grab Stefan’s cock and roll his tongue around its blood-filled head, to suck him deep into his mouth… damn. It would probably shock the hell out of Stefan. Generally he was the one kneeling in front of Anton.

He bit back a grin. This was Stefan’s show. He decided to let the younger man call the shots, at least this once. Anton took a shaky breath and willed his cock under control. His legs felt like rubber.

Sighing, he practically fell onto the desk chair. He turned it backwards, straddled the seat and leaned his forehead on his crossed wrists. Stefan stood close behind, straddling his back, his big hands working magic on Anton’s sore muscles.

Stefan’s solid cock brushed against Anton’s spine. The feel of that hard length burning across his bare back sent a shiver through Anton, a charge that grounded itself deep in his gut.

His own cock pressed against his zipper. His balls drew up tight and hard between his legs. He shifted on the wood seat, managed to lean closer to Stefan. He opened his mind to Stefan’s thoughts and found them blocked.

Wondering, not knowing what his pack mate was thinking, turned Anton on even more. That and the hard length of cock riding back and forth across his backbone.

“I could do a better job if you took off your clothes and stretched out on the bed.”

“I’ll bet you could.” Laughing, Anton stood up and reached for his zipper, but Stefan beat him to it. It was the first time another man had ever unzipped his pants. Anton grabbed the desk behind him as Stefan’s fingers slowly peeled the fly back and released the snap, then moving even slower, touching only the tab, Stefan dragged the zipper open, one metal tooth at a time.

Anton gritted his teeth. This teasing, confident male was a new side of Stefan, one Anton hadn’t experienced. He put his hands at the waistband, intending to slide his pants down, but Stefan shook his head.

“I’ll do it.”

He slipped his hands inside the waistband and slowly lowered both Anton’s slacks and briefs. The elastic of his briefs caught against the root of his erection. Stefan shoved the loose slacks to the floor, but left the briefs in place.

The band pressed against Anton’s cock, holding it down between his legs unnaturally close against his body. The elastic cut lightly into his ass. Stefan led him to the bed and he lay down, still partially clad in the white briefs.

The sensation, though not uncomfortable, drew Anton’s attention to both his cock and his ass as Stefan straddled his hips and began to rub his back. Stefan’s huge cock rode against his cotton briefs, prevented from sliding up and down the crease between his buttocks by the thin layer of soft cotton.

Anton’s frustration grew. Generally, he penetrated Stefan, took him in the ass while either Xandi or Keisha sucked hard on Stefan’s cock, but this was totally different.