Alpha Wolf Need Not Apply (20 page)

It was killing Pepper to not be able to leave work early to help Eric with the meal, or just be there because he was doing something special for her. Not to mention that she wanted to spend more alone time with him if they were going to court. She sure hoped his nonresponse was only because he was so tired that he hadn't heard her and not that he wasn't interested.

When she finally arrived home, she was later than she'd hoped.

As soon as she walked in the door, she smelled the lovely scent of tea roses and strode toward the dining room, eager to see what Eric had done. A gold box of Godiva chocolates graced the table, along with at least two dozen velvety red roses in a Waterford crystal vase of blended colors of burgundy and blue. Two champagne glasses were sitting next to each other like a dating couple, and a bottle of champagne was chilling in a crystal ice bucket.

Wow. He was a keeper. If he didn't know she'd said she was interested in courting him and this was his way of saying he wanted to court her, she was telling him again.

He walked into the dining room wearing her purple apron with the motto in hot pink letters:
I keep the best snacks UNDER my apron
, catching her full attention. The apron just didn't have the same connotation when she wore it.

She smiled at him, wanting to see more of his snacks, then saw the scratches on his face and arms and frowned. “You look like…” She paused as he pulled her into his arms. “You were in a wolf fight. Weren't you?”

“Yeah. At the park, but I don't know if it was one of Waldron's wolves. The wolf was definitely involved in the weed growing.” Eric was looking down at her so seriously, she was worried there was more to it, though the way his “snacks” were pressing against her belly, at least his body was interested in something else. “About what you said earlier… If I think you said what I hope you did when I was half-asleep, I want you to know the lobster bisque is just one of the special meals I make.” Then he frowned, still holding her close, pressing his delicious heat and his burgeoning arousal against her. “Did you say what I think you said?”

“That we should court?” She smiled up at him. “Yeah. I think we might be just right for each other. So when do I get to sample some of your…snacks?”

He gave her such a wicked grin, she knew he didn't want to court her for long before he mated her. Which was usually the way it was with wolves, once they decided to court.

“Thank you for all of this,” she said, motioning with her head, because she had wrapped her arms securely around him. She wanted this closeness, this tenderness between them. She wished that her nephews' birthday party wasn't tonight.

She kissed Eric then, not only to thank him for everything, but to seal the deal as far as a courtship went. He kissed her right back, his tongue spearing her mouth and stroking her tongue, and she felt her panties dampen. Man, was she past ready to enjoy even more of him than this.

He pulled his hot mouth free from hers and kissed her forehead. “I hate to break up a great beginning, but I don't want to make you late to the birthday party.” He started to lead her to her seat, which she thought was so gallant.

“Wait,” she said, pulling out her phone. “I have to get a picture of this.” She took a picture of the table setting and one of Eric wearing her apron.

He laughed. “I hope you're keeping the picture of me just for yourself.”

“For Susan. She gave me the apron as a gift last Christmas. I want to show her how you put it to really good use.”

Smiling, he shook his head. “I was envisioning what the apron's message would mean when
you
wore it.”

She chuckled. “Completely different snacks.”

“That
I
can't wait to sample.” He escorted her to her seat, then served the bisque. He poured them each a glass of champagne, removed the apron, and joined her.

They toasted each other, then after she sipped hers, she ate some of the bisque—creamy, a little buttery, with lots of big chunks of lobster and a hint of garlic. It was so good that she asked him for the recipe.

He gave it to her and added, “But I'll fix it for you anytime.”

“I'm going to have to take you up on that.”

“You should have seen me in the store, fretting over what I'd make for dinner tonight to convince you what a perfect wolf I am.”

She laughed. But then she turned the conversation back to the situation with the rogue wolf. “So what happened with the wolf fight?” She wanted to hear that Eric had gotten the best of him and the wolf hadn't gotten away.

“I broke his leg and had him arrested. He won't shift, so we can't question him.”

“The new moon's out in three days.”

“Right. So as long as he's not a royal, he won't be able to hold his wolf form. That's what we're hoping for.”

She shook her head. “I'm so glad you caught up with one of the wolves. Let me know if he's from Waldron's pack. I've let my pack know about the situation with the other wolves.” Then she told Eric what she had done today at the Christmas tree farm, because it was one of the pack's businesses. If she took him for her mate, he'd need to be just as vested in the properties as Harold had been. In fact, Harold had been so busy with them, he used his tiredness as an excuse when they retired at night. She certainly didn't want that with a new mate. But she did want Eric to see the businesses as important to the pack.

He asked her a million questions about the process of cultivating the trees and replenishing them. She had a million answers to give him. She was glad he was interested in the Christmas tree farm and tree nursery. He seemed impressed with the operation, which she loved. She reminded herself that he loved his national park duties, so that was in line with what she did—as far as protecting and cultivating trees.

She glanced at the clock and sighed. “It's time to go to the party. Are you sure that you want to go? You could just stay here and chill out, and we could have the rest of the champagne later.” She hurried to clean up the dishes while he rummaged through a sack, then pulled out two balls, one red, built sturdy for wolf cubs, and another blue one for human kids.

She smiled. “You didn't have to bring them gifts.”

“Always. Kids expect it, and I wouldn't have wanted to disappoint them.”

“I got them puzzles.” She suspected as active as the boys were, they'd love the balls more.

“Perfect. You've given them something to stimulate their brains, and me—”

“Their brawn.” Speaking of brawn, she wouldn't mind seeing more of Eric's brawny side again, and with that in mind, she was planning a trip to the hot tub after the party.

Then they were off to Pauline's birthday party for the boys.

“They're my nephews,” Pepper explained on the way over. “They're good kids, but they can be a handful sometimes. We have a number of pack members who take them in to help with schooling or playdates at various times of the week so everyone can get a break and play with and teach the kids.”

“I take it Pauline lost her mate?”

“Yes. Three years ago. She's…an alpha. So sometimes I have to remind her that she's one of my pack members, not a sub-leader and not the leader. I do it in a subtle way. She's so not like her brother was. I love her, but I just have to be firm with her. I could never have given her the role of being a sub-leader, or she would have thought anything she said was the law.”

“Do you feel that she wouldn't like it if you took another mate?”

“I've considered it, yes. She was close to her brother and glad I had mated him. I think it filled a need for her to be able to say she was connected to the leaders in a family way. She was just as upset as the rest of us when the wolf killed him. If I hadn't taken the wolf down, she would have. I'm really close to my nephews, so I would love it if they grew up in the pack. But I really think she needs a mate of her own.”

“Was her mate an alpha or beta?”

“Beta. She needed someone to boss around.”

Eric cleared his throat. “If my observations were correct, she's looking at prospects in the Silver pack. Which could be a good thing. We have a lot of bachelor males, and it's not that far away from your pack. If one of our males mates her and moves here, he'll still be close enough to family in Silver Town. Same if she moved to be with him.”

“I have to admit that troubles me a little. It's inevitable and it shouldn't bother me, but I have had some concerns about that.”

“About her moving?”

“About several of my people finding mates among your pack and all moving away.”

He smiled. “I don't think you'd find that happening. At least with me, I'd be moving right in. If the wolf were agreeable.”

She smiled back at him but didn't comment as she parked the car and hurried to get her gifts for the boys. She was still thinking about Eric wearing her apron, only she envisioned him not wearing anything else.

The birthday party was a great success. Pepper couldn't help but notice that the adults seemed curious about Eric staying with her. They asked him many more questions about his job and listened to some of the exciting stuff he'd had to deal with as a park ranger, while keeping an eye on the kids and making sure everyone was playing nicely. She thought her pack members figured they should get to know him better in case he ended up being a permanent member of the pack—as their alpha male leader.

She normally didn't hesitate when deciding she needed to move forward on something. But this was different. Mating with him would change her life, her pack's life, and his. She couldn't be too impulsive in determining this. Yet she was sure leaning in that direction.

One of the boys, Matthew, the redhead, talked Pauline into turning into a wolf so he could test out the wolf ball. And then the other boy, Adair, his towheaded brother, shifted, just as eager to see if he could get the ball away from his brother. They were always doing that: Matthew, the more alpha, always took the lead to try things out.

During the party, Pepper hadn't acted like she was courting Eric, but she noticed everyone watching the two of them whenever they moved together, spoke with each other, or interacted with each other. Her people could guess from their verbal and physical actions and reactions just where this was headed. Unless something big happened to change their minds.

Eric acted like she did, not possessively toward her, just sociable and casual. And yet everyone knew there wasn't anything casual about their interest in each other. Wolf scents would prove it. And the way she and he smiled at each other said much more. Or the way they touched when she handed him a plate of cake, or he brushed his hand against hers when he offered her a cup of punch. Just the fact that they were serving each other showed a mutual respect and a hint of something more.

Yet they hadn't declared anything officially yet.

The Fairhaven boys were there too, and Pepper was pleased to see them shift into wolves and play in a way that showed they knew how to interact with younger kids. She thought the boys would do all right with the pack. It really was important that the pack members supported one another.

When it was time for everyone to leave, they said their good-byes. Pauline went out of her way to thank Eric for coming and giving the boys gifts for their birthday. “The wolf balls really drew all the kids together, more than any other gift. To me, that was pure genius.”

Eric smiled. “Sometimes the simplest toys can be the best. When my brothers and I were that age, that's what we had the most fun with. And got the most exercise out of too. I'm glad they enjoyed playing with the other kids, and they all joined in on the fun. Thank you for inviting me at the last minute.”

“We all benefitted from you coming.” Pauline glanced at Pepper. “Thanks for asking if Eric could come. I think you've found a real winner there.” And her genuine smile made all the difference in the world to Pepper.

With tears in both their eyes, Pepper hugged Pauline. Both had been devastated when their mates died. Pauline's husband had been killed in a car accident while driving on an icy road through the mountains. He'd been perfect for her, and she'd been shattered. Pepper wondered if Pauline would really look closely at some of the Silver pack members and find a mate of her own.

Most of all, she was glad that Pauline didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings about Pepper being interested in Eric. She wanted to tell Pauline that if she found a mate, Pepper hoped the two of them would stay with her pack.

When Pepper and Eric returned to her house that night for champagne and a dip in the hot tub, she knew he was ready for this, the grown-up part of the night, every bit as much as she was. She dressed in her shimmering blue bathing suit that showed off the swell of her breasts and was cut high on the thigh—super tantalizing for a she-wolf who wanted to catch a he-wolf's attention. She suspected anything she wore would prove sexy to him. He wore black briefs, since he hadn't known he'd be enjoying a hot tub night with her, looking perfectly hot as she grabbed a couple of beach towels and tossed them on a cushioned bench chest.

With their glasses sitting on the drink tables next to the tub, Pepper settled back into the hot bubbles and finally relaxed. Even though she'd picked up candles, she didn't use them, afraid it might seem a little overboard at this point. Later, she could use them, if she felt she needed the extra romantic touch.

“About the courting…” He raised his brows a little, a smile settling on his lips. He looked like he was ready for more than just talking about it.

“Right. I was considering what you said—about running a pack and all the trouble that could entail. Do you really feel that way?” She had decided if she did take another mate, he wouldn't be a follower like Harold. She wanted someone who would help in the decision making. Not take charge and leave her out of the plans either, but someone who was more of an equal partner.