Naughty by Nature (23 page)

While Tessa slept,
Wolf popped into the shower then he wrapped himself in a terry bathrobe he’d
found hanging behind the bathroom door.  He was feeling good today and he was
in the mood to cook.

He found his way
around the kitchen fairly easily.  Tessa was very organized, with all the
spices in one area, all the tea things in another, and pots and pans neatly
arranged in cupboards.

He made quick work
of breakfast.  In less than half an hour he’d loaded a tray with two cups of
hot tea, plates of scrambled eggs, hash browns and slices of tomato.  He’d even
squeezed glasses of fresh orange juice.  As a final touch, he pulled one of
Tessa’s white roses out of the vase and laid it on the tray.  Now he was ready.

When he got to the
bedroom he saw the rumpled bed clothes but no Tessa.  He heard the shower going
so he laid the tray on the nightstand, lay down on the bed and folded his arms
behind his head.  He would just wait.

She was out in
less than five minutes and greeted him with a shy smile.  When she’d found her
robe missing she must have grabbed another because she came out wearing a
pretty pink robe with frills at the bottom.

Boy, was he glad
that wasn’t the one he’d found when he got out of the shower.

“I made
breakfast,” he said and waved his hand toward the tray.

“Thank you,” she
said but made no move to come forward.

So she was
planning to take up residence by the bathroom door?  “Come on,” he said, and
lifted the covers.  “Hop in.  Make yourself comfortable and let’s eat.”

After another
second’s hesitation she nodded and padded over to join him in the bed.  How
different she was from the bold and saucy siren who had dominated everything
the night before.  She looked so shy and so sweet with her damp hair curling
around her face.  No-one would ever guess she was a prankster at heart.

She slipped into
the bed and pulled the cover up and under her chin.  Which was surprising,
considering that he’d already seen her totally naked.  “What have you got?” she
asked.

He reached over
and got the tray from the nightstand then rested it on the bed, right between
them. “Here you go.  Bon apetit.”

Her eyes lit up. 
She must have been as hungry as he was because she dug in immediately, all
shyness seeming to have disappeared.

“Hey, hold up,” he
said with a laugh.  “Save some for me.”

After that, they
gobbled down the breakfast then relaxed into the pillows and chatted for a
while then Wolf reached over and pushed a stray lock off her face.  “I’m hungry
again,” he said as he stared into her brown eyes.

“Already?  We just
ate.”  She gave him a look that said, you’re such a pig.

He shook his
head.  “I’m not hungry for food.”

“Oh,” she said,
her eyes growing round in realization.

“Yes, oh,” he said
with a laugh and then moved the tray off the bed and slid back underneath the
covers with her.  “You tortured me last night,” he said.  “Now it’s your turn
to suffer.”

He reached out and
tickled her, making her laugh out loud.

“Hey, no fair,”
she cried.

But he did not stop. 
He tickled her till she loosened up, let go of all her inhibitions and became
that bold and unapologetic girl of the night before.  Within seconds the shy
maiden of the daytime was gone and the daring woman was back.

And so, with his
feisty Tessa back, Wolf pulled the robe off her and threw his on top of hers on
the floor, then made sweet love to her until both of them groaned with
exhaustion.

Both spent, Tessa
lay with her head cradled on his shoulder as she played with the hairs on his
chest.  She seemed to love doing that but he didn’t mind one bit.

But then he
reached out and stilled her fingers.  He’d been lying there, reliving all the
wonderful moments he’d shared with Tessa, and he never wanted it to end.  He
took her hand and kissed the middle of her palm.  Then he looked down into her
wide, brown eyes.

“Tessa, I’ve
already told you how I feel about you and I think I’m ready to take things to
the next level.”  He kissed her fingers, which had begun to tremble.  “I’d like
to spend the rest of my life with you.  Will you marry me?”

For a second her
eyes grew wider then she blinked, like she hadn’t heard right.

“Marry you?” she
whispered, as if in shock.

“Yes, little one,”
he said with a laugh.  He hadn’t expected her to be so surprised.  After all,
this wasn’t the first time he’d said he loved her.  “I’m asking you to marry
me.  Would you be my wife?”

She dropped her
eyes and made a small sound, like a sob.  “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice a
broken whisper.  “I can’t.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Wolf jerked
upright.  “You…can’t?” He looked like he’d been smacked with a two-by-four. 
“Why not?”

How could she tell
him?  How could she say she didn’t want to spoil what they had?  Would he even
believe her?

Marriage, she was
sure, would spoil everything.  She’d seen it happen to her parents.  Her mother
often told her how happy they’d been – until marriage, new responsibilities and
the arrival of a baby.  Tessa knew there were happily married couples out there
but she would never be so lucky.  She was from a dysfunctional family.  She was
made up of dysfunctional genes.  And if she ever dared to get married, that
would be dysfunctional, too.

But how could she
tell him all that?  Finally she said, “I just can’t.”

All kinds of
emotions flashed across Wolf’s face – confusion, hurt, pain, and then anger. 
He pulled himself away from her and got out of the bed.  He stood there, arms
folded, face darkened in a frown, totally naked and obviously not giving a
damn.  “So what was all this?  A joke?”  He looked at her like he didn’t know
her at all.  “Are you telling me you have no feelings for me?”

She needed to give
him an answer, she knew she should, but the words left her.  How could she
explain without making him think she’d now truly gone round the bend?  She bit
her lip and shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

With a snort of
something akin to disgust, Wolf turned away and went over to the chair where
she’d put his clothes.  Quickly, he began to dress.  “I don’t understand you. 
I told you I loved you.  I thought you felt the same way.”

“I do love you,”
Tessa said, finally finding her voice.  She clutched the cover to her as she
stared at him.  “I just can’t marry you.”

By this time Wolf
was fully dressed.  Only his shoes and jacket were missing.  As he watched her
his gaze narrowed.  “What?  Are you already married?  Do you have a husband
hidden away somewhere?”  He bit out the words as if they caused him pain.

“No,” she said,
wishing she could make him understand.  Still holding the sheet, she kneeled in
the bed.  “It’s nothing like that, Wolf.  I wouldn’t be that crazy.  I just…I
just can’t make that kind of commitment.  I’m not the marrying type.”

“Not the…oh, so
you just want to sleep around?”

Tessa felt like
he’d slapped her.  He was angry, she knew, but that was no excuse.  She would
not take insults from anyone, not even Wolf Spencer.

“If you can’t be
civil,” she said, her voice cold, “you’ll have to leave.”

“With pleasure.”

He didn’t even
look back.  He marched out the door and seconds later she heard the front door
slam.

And that was how
he left her, hugging the covers to her chest and staring out the open bedroom
door, wondering if she would ever see him again.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Wolf wasn’t
speaking to her.  Tessa had called his number three times over the last couple
of days and he hadn’t picked up and he hadn’t returned her calls.

After he had
stormed out of the house Tessa had been so angry.  No, she’d been pissed.  What
right did he have to get angry with her?  There was no law on earth that said a
girl had to accept every marriage proposal thrown in her direction.

But then, after
her anger had cooled, she’d understood.  Sort of.  At least she was trying to
see things from his perspective.  He’d made himself vulnerable to her and then
she'd turned him down.

Maybe he would
understand if she explained?  Then again, maybe she’d only end up making things
worse.

Frustrated with
her confusing thoughts, Tessa picked up the phone but this time it was not to
call Wolf.  She was calling Lydia.

“Hi, stranger,”
Lydia said with a laugh.  “You’ve moved on to bigger and better friends?”

“Of course not,”
Tessa responded warmly.  Speaking to Lydia always gave her a boost.  “In fact,
I’ve been thinking about you.  A lot.”

“Really?” Lydia
sounded pleased.  “How come?”

"There was a
book I was reading which may be helpful to you.  It’s called ‘The Brain That
Changes Itself’.”

Lydia chuckled. 
“So you want to change my brain now?  I thought you’d be focused on making your
students smarter, not me.”

"No, it’s
nothing like that,” Tessa said quickly.  “In the book they talk a lot about
non-traditional therapies that have helped stroke patients.  I thought it might
help you.”

“Well, bring it
over, girl.  What took you so long to tell me about it?”

“I wanted to
finish reading it first, just to make sure what the author was saying made
sense.”

“And did it?”

“I’m no neurologist
but as a layperson it made sense to me.  And they mentioned a doctor…Dr. Taub
or something like that…who has a clinic that’s used some very effective
techniques.  Maybe he can help you.”

“Like I said, come
on over and bring it.  Can you come tonight?”

Tessa looked at
the clock.  Seven eighteen.  “It’s already a bit late and I have school
tomorrow.  What if I swing by after my last class tomorrow?”

“Perfect.  I’ll
see you then.” 

By four o’clock
the next afternoon Tessa was on her way to Mississauga.  She was greeted with
hugs from Lydia.  She was a bit surprised at the effusive greeting.  It was
like she’d known Lydia for years and not just a few months.  Still, she was not
complaining.  Then she paused.  Something was different.  Then she gasped. 
“You just hugged me,” she exclaimed.  “With both arms.”

“Glad you
noticed,” Lydia said, looking pleased as pie.

Ruben, too, was
beaming.  He was obviously ecstatic at his wife’s progress.  “I made sure she
did all her exercises,” he said, “even when she grumbled.”

“Ruben’s a good
coach.”  Lydia reached over and patted his arm.  “I still have a long way to go
before I regain control of my hands but I’m grateful for where I am.  So
where’s this book you’ve been telling me about?”

They spent the
next few minutes flipping through the book and talking about what Tessa had
learned, then she picked up her handbag. 

“Well, I’m off
again, but it was nice chatting with you both.”

“What?  Running
already?  We expected you to stay for dinner.  Wolf’s coming over this evening,
you know.”

That news made
Tessa get all jittery.  Which was weird because she’d been the one hunting him
down these last few days.  “Ah, no,” she said.  “I have to go but thanks,
anyway.”

Lydia gave her a
knowing stare.  “What’s going on, Tessa?  I can see as plain as day that
something’s not right between you and Wolf.  Just the mention of his name had
you looking like a scared rabbit.”

“Uhm, it’s
nothing.”

“Don’t give me
that,” the older woman said.  “Now spill it.”

Ruben cleared his
throat, beginning to look like he wanted to slip out of the room, but Lydia
paid him no mind.

Tessa drew in her
breath.  She might as well come clean.  “Wolf and I…we had a fight.” 

“That’s too bad,
dear, but all couples have fights from time to time.  And it’s no secret that
the two of you are a couple.”  Lydia smiled.  “Whatever it is, you can work it
out.  You love Wolf, don’t you?”

Tessa bit her lip
then she nodded.  “Yes, very much.”

“And did he tell
you he loves you?”

“He asked me to
marry him.”

Lydia gasped. “He
did?  That’s great news.”  She reached out and gave Tessa’s hand a squeeze then
she shook her head and on her face was a look of confusion.  “So what’s the
problem?”

Tessa shook her
head and sighed.  “I said no.”

“But…why?”  Now
Lydia looked even more confused.

And so Tessa gave
her the whole story, of her strange family, of her fear that she would spoil
everything by marrying the man she loved.  “And besides,” she said as she ended
her explanation, “he was so angry, I couldn’t explain things to him then.  He
wouldn’t have listened.”

Lydia gave her an
impatient look.   “You could have tried, Tessa.  At least let him understand
where you’re coming from.  You owe him that much.”