Brink Of Passion (Alpine Woods Shifters) (7 page)

If she saw him later.

A surge of panic hit her in the gut. Her wolf howled, and Laurie bit her lip to keep the sound from escaping. The man had tracked her to the dining room. Of course she’d see him later. Besides, the convention started today. He wasn’t going to come all the way here and leave before the whole thing started. She knew where he was staying. Was sure she could pick out his room again. He couldn’t hide for long.

Laurie picked up a sausage link, but frowned at it. Suddenly, she wasn’t as interested in food as she had been moments ago. Crap. She dropped the food back on her plate.

Who would’ve thought they would have their first argument over bacon, of all things. Bacon was great. She loved it. But she wasn’t delusional. She knew it was just a breakfast food. Between the lobby yesterday and the bacon today, one thing was for sure. She was not on her A-game this weekend. Hell, even she’d recommend her foot start looking for real estate in her mouth if it was going to live there anyway.

A Styrofoam take-out container landed in the middle of the table, jarring her out of her thoughts. She tilted her head up and looked up at Max standing behind her. He didn’t say anything, but raised his eyebrows and nodded at the container.

Thank God she hadn’t scared him away permanently. Laurie could be brash at times, and sarcastic. Okay, she could be a real pain in the ass. But if he wanted to be her mate, he had to learn when she was kidding and could be poked back, and when to stay out of her way.

She was reaching for the container when the smell hit her. Amazing it had taken so long. Usually, her nose would have picked it up the moment it entered the room. Maybe her thoughts had been in too great a turmoil, or maybe her brain had been unable to process the kitchen’s lack of bacon with the smell of it. Her gaze jumped to Max, before turning back and grabbing the container.

There wasn’t just some bacon, or a serving of bacon. Inside, there was a whole heap of it.

Laurie grabbed a piece and bit in, groaning as the fried meaty goodness exploded on her taste buds.

“How?” she asked, reaching for a second piece. The cheetah at the next table eyed the container with interest. Laurie pulled it into her chest and growled at the man in warning.

“There’s a diner a few doors down. I called it in on my way, and they had it ready by the time I got there.”

“You got me bacon.” Laurie closed her eyes, savoring her fourth piece. So much better than flowers. She sensed Max move and heard his chair scrape against the floor as he sat back down.

He’d brought her bacon. Not because she asked him to, or because she was being sweet. Truth be told, she’d been a right bitch. Mornings were never her best time of day, despite her job requiring an early start.

Laurie opened her eyes and met Max’s gaze, trying to channel all of her appreciation into that one look.

“It seemed the best way to end the argument before it started,” he said, sounding embarrassed. “No need to use your eyes, it’s already yours.”

“Use my eyes?” What did that mean?

“Nevermind. Just eat your bacon while I go grab something to eat.” Max walked to the buffet and began piling his plate with food. His shirt stretched over his broad shoulders as he reached for a bagel. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. Her gaze dipped to his butt. His pants clung to his hips and glutes before widening over his thigh and calves. He turned then, and she caught a glimpse of the bulge in his pants. Would it be bad if they missed a bit of the conference and went back to their hotel room for a quickie?

“I take it back. That one is a keeper,” Danny said next to her.

“I think he just might be.”

“He got you bacon when there was none.”

“He did indeed.”

“You going to share?”

Laurie grabbed the box and brought it close to her body, snarling in her brother’s direction.

“Oh, come on. You can’t possibly eat all that by yourself.”

Laurie looked down at the large pile of bacon. She totally could eat all of this by herself. But she had already eaten two rather large helpings at the buffet.

She looked back at her brother. Part of her, the petty part, was still angry about the day before. Most of the time, she tried not to listen to that part of her, even though sometimes it was too loud to drown out with reason.

“Fine. But you have to thank Max when he gets back.”

Danny, who’d been reaching for a piece, pulled his hand back.

“I thought you said he was a keeper?”

“No use letting him get too comfortable yet. There’s still the little matter of forcing you into a mating.” A growl rumbled from his throat.

Laurie groaned, bending forward until her head clunked on the table. When she’d agreed to come along this weekend, albeit reluctantly, she hadn’t anticipated being such a hot mess. She never claimed to have a silver tongue, but she didn’t think her mouth would get her into this much trouble. Her tongue was like the bad kid at school that kept landing Laurie in detention.

“I told you, he didn’t force me. You misunderstood.”

“Then help me understand, because just thinking about it makes me mad.”

Laurie looked up and caught a flash of Danny’s wolf enter his eyes.

“I thought you were mad at me.” The words slipped out before she could stop it, drawn from the hurt she still carried from the day before.

Danny tilted his head, considering her. Laurie drove the emotion from her expression, but knew she’d only been partially successful when Danny’s gaze softened.

“No matter how mad I am, you’re still my sister. I love you. You can always count on me.” Danny sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Besides, you didn’t deserve that last night. I’m just wound up being apart from Amber.”

Laurie considered his words. She’d known the first part, even if fighting with her family always left her feeling a little vulnerable. She considered herself a strong and independent woman, someone who could hold her own in any situation. But with someone she truly cared about, she tended to shut down in an argument.

“I might have been a little bratty,” she finally admitted. If he could man up and admit fault, she supposed she could too.

“A little?” He cocked an eyebrow at her, then huffed out a breath. “So you deserved some of it, but not all. I should never have said I couldn’t count on you. I know that if I ever needed you, no matter the circumstance, you’d come. And that works both ways.”

Laurie smiled and offered the container of bacon to Danny. He returned her smile and reached for a piece. Being back on familiar ground with him mollified some of the anxiety she felt. If, for whatever reason, things didn’t work out with her mating, at least she had a whole handful of people who loved and respected her to help her get back on her feet.

“You’re still here?” Max jeered to Danny as he returned with two plates piled high with eggs, pancakes dripping with syrup, and sausage of his own.

“Be nice to my brother or we’re going to have issues,” Laurie retorted.

“Brother?” In an instant, his whole demeanor changed. He set down his plate and held a hand out to Danny. “I’m Max. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Danny reached out and grabbed his hand, but didn’t shake it. Instead, he held on and stared into Max’s eyes.

“Laurie has three alpha brothers, a dominant brother-in-law, and a father who all love her. If you hurt her, in any way, you will have to deal with us.”

Max frowned, but nodded his head in understanding. The whole thing should have made Laurie mad—did Danny forget that Laurie herself was an alpha wolf and could fight her own battles? Instead she felt warmth spread through her. Who didn’t appreciate affirmation that they were loved every now and then?

Still…

“Are we done with our pointless manly chest poundings?” No point letting them get away with it. Men would get such big heads if the women around them weren’t careful.

“Really? You’re giving me a hard time about this?”

Laurie turned toward Danny with a frown. Both eyebrows were raised until they disappeared under his hairline, and a small smile curled his lips. She ran her words back through her head but found nothing abnormal or offensive.

“What?” On the other side of the table, seemingly unconcerned with the sibling squabble, Max sat down and dug into his food with a vigor only a fellow foodie could appreciate. Someday they’d have to go head to head and see who was the bigger food hound.

“After all the overprotective crap you gave me, and Amber, you’re giving me a hard time over one sentence.”

Laurie flushed remembering all the—as Danny had put it—
crap
she’d pulled. She still couldn’t believe she’d almost gotten into a legitimate fistfight with her brother’s mate.

“You’re right. Turnabout’s fair play. Go ahead and hit him a couple times then.”

“What?” Max’s head, leaning forward to take a bite of eggs, jerked upward. The egg fell from his fork, landing squarely on his crotch. For a moment, they all stared at his lap in silence. Then, a snort slipped past her guard. She reigned in her humor, but Danny either couldn’t, or didn’t care enough to try. His laughter exploded into the air as he hunched over the table laughing. Sure enough, as was always the case when someone else laughed, Laurie lost control of her amusement. Her own laughter spilled out to join her brother’s.

“It’s not that funny,” Max grumbled, but she caught the smile curving his lips before he looked down and wiped his pants off with a napkin.

“It kind of is,” Laurie replied. When he glared at her—at least she thought it was a glare as his mouth was turned down in an exaggerated frown—amusement lit his eyes. Silently, Laurie held out the container of bacon. “Sorry?”

The man was lethal when he smiled. She’d have to be careful or he would have her eating out of the palm of his hand.

Laurie snorted as she picked up her coffee. Who was she kidding? He might be gorgeous, but she could hold her own. No one walked all over her, and if he tried, he’d better gird his loins. Laurie wasn’t above playing dirty.

With that thought in mind, she pulled her cup away and let a drop linger on her bottom lip. Staring straight into Max’s eyes as he bit into the bacon, she swept her tongue out and captured the drop. His gaze darkened.

“For Christ’s sake, do you have to do that here?”

Laurie bit her lip to hide her smile. She’d forgotten about Danny.

“So will you be moving to Alpine Woods, Max?”

Silence descended. Suddenly, Laurie didn’t feel so cheerful. Instinct had given her the answer even before she heard him say it.

“That won’t work.” He turned to her, an apology in his gaze. “I’m Premier of my leap. I cannot leave them.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. She’d known it would be something like that. The vibes radiating off him had alpha written all over them. Not many had that level of strength without holding some important position in their pack, or leap, or whatever. So she had no reason to be upset. But the thought of leaving everything she’d ever known made her want to cry.

“Leap?” she heard Danny ask.

“I’m a leopard shifter,” he replied, but she barely heard him.

Her chest felt tight, but she pushed down the pain and fear, raising her chin as reality crashed over her. She’d jumped into this mating so fast, they hadn’t discussed any of the important details. Not that the details would have made a difference in the end. Laurie didn’t believe in the whole one and only one destined mate thing like some shifters did, but in her thirty-one years she’d never run into any potential partners. And for all her worry about the lack of time, so far they seemed to suit. In reality, even if they hadn’t rushed into things, she still would have wanted to go back with him and see where things would lead.

“So where am I going then?” As long as it wasn’t Alaska, she could make it work. She liked snow, just not that much of it. And living without sunshine for months on end would simply not work for her. That was one of the things she loved about Colorado. There was snow, but the sun still shone most of the year.

“New York.”

Laurie’s thoughts stuttered to a stop.

“New York? As in City?” It was about as far from Alpine Woods as possible, not in distance, but in character. When she was eight, her family had traveled there on vacation. All she remembered was swarms of people, and streets that all looked the same. Surrounded by steel and concrete instead of grass and trees had been an entirely new experience. A fun vacation, but living there?

“You’ll love it.”

She wasn’t so sure about that. She reached for her coffee to clear the tightness in her throat. New York seemed like a whole different world to her. But, she supposed she should be grateful it wasn’t Alaska.

“You left your phone in your room. Took me ten minutes to figure out you weren’t in there.”

Laurie glanced at the man who spoke as he pulled a chair up to their table. The familial relationship was obvious. Both had the same dark features. The same square jaw, dusted with the same shadowy stubble. Wowza.

A growl had all three sets of eyes turning toward Max. He glowered at Laurie, no doubt having seen the interest in her gaze as she’d stared at the new man.

“Growling at her will put you on my bad side. You don’t want to be on my bad side,” Danny uttered in a low, dark voice. The tension at the table was palpable.

“What the hell did I walk into?” the man asked.

Around the room, attention had once again turned their way. This whole weekend was turning into a clusterfuck. Any more of this, and Alpine Woods would be the laughing-stock of shifters everywhere. All the work her brothers had done to build the pack into something respectable would be wasted. And it would be her fault.

“Danny, I appreciate your concern, but you should know me well enough to know that if he growls at me, I’ll growl right back.” She ignored Danny’s frown and turned to Max. “I’m not big on the macho act, so cut it out. And for the record, I was admiring all his similarities
to you,
so no need to get jealous.”

The man who looked like Max turned to her at the word
jealous
.