Terry Spear’s Wolf Bundle (22 page)

For an hour, they slept in peaceful bliss in the garden of flowers while a storm raged around them. A bolt of lightning crashed close by, shaking Bella from her state
of slumber. She frowned at Devlyn, who opened one sleepy eye and gazed at her.

“I had work to do,” she groused.

His lips curved up in a wicked smile. “You sure did.” After helping her up, he grabbed his jeans and pulled them on.

When she slipped her robe over her shoulders, he pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her cheek with his. “What can I do to help?”

She groaned. What she wanted him to do was take her back to bed and ravish her all over again.

His eyes lighted with fire and he grinned. “Does my little red wolf need some more—”

She pulled out of his embrace before he talked her into returning to the house. “Here,” she said, handing him some gardening clippers. “Cut off the dead flowers. I’ll finish watering.”

After finishing the chores in the greenhouse, Bella and Devlyn made a wild dash through the rain to the house. Intending to wash their bed linens, she declined taking a shower with him for now or she’d never get the cleaning done.

“I’ll fix us something to eat as soon as I’m through here,” he hollered from the bathroom, the steamy spray muffling his words.

She finished stripping the bed. “All right by me.” But what she really wanted was a good four more hours of sleep. She dumped the dirty sheets on the floor and remade the bed with fresh linens. By the time she had finished showering and dressing, Devlyn was in the kitchen cooking—in the raw again.

She dumped the linens in the washing machine, started it, and then wandered into the kitchen, feeling as though she could move at only half speed. Sitting down, she leaned against the dining room table.

Devlyn glanced over from his cooking, the long German sausages sizzling in the frying pan for their brunch, filling the kitchen with the scent of spicy pork. Bella leaned her elbows against the table and rested her head against the palm of her hand. She cast a tired smile in his direction. He smiled back.

Soft, pale blue sweats covered her curvy body. Already he was prepared to slip her sweats off and make love to her again. Only he’d done so three more times that morning, and the final time, when she rose from the greenhouse floor, she’d been a little stiff, like a cowgirl who’d been riding a bull too long.

Her eyes appeared blurry. She hadn’t had enough sleep, nor, truthfully, had he. Once they ate, he planned on taking a nap with her, although he feared to get any sleep he’d have to move to her couch. The memory of making love on the couch filled his thoughts, her tight bottom wiggling suggestively at him, the smile playing on her lips, the feel of her soft buttocks pressing against him when he entered her. He chuckled. Well, he couldn’t think of one place she’d be safe from his advances.

He poked at the sausages and then flipped them over. “Blueberries all right this morning?”

“Hmm-hmm.”

“Some sourdough muffins?”

This time she didn’t respond. He turned to look at her.
She cradled her head on the crook of her arm. Her cinnamon curls cascaded over the table, like a silken red waterfall. She’d closed her eyes, and her face appeared totally at rest. He chuckled.

But then a knocking at the back door just about unhinged him.

He stalked to the back door and peeked out the curtained window. Chrissie smiled back at him, her brows raised.

Growling under his breath, he opened the door. Her gaze instantly focused lower, on his nakedness. He motioned for her to come in. “Be right back. I’ll throw some jeans on.” Even though Bella was going to wash them.

“No need to on my account,” Chrissie said dreamily while he strode down the hall.

It didn’t matter to him that she saw him in the raw, but if he’d stayed that way with Chrissie in the house and Bella had known, that was another story.

After he yanked on a pair of jeans, he stalked back to the kitchen. Chrissie had served up the sausages and muffins, preventing them from scorching, thankfully.

“Did you want to eat with us?” he asked, assuming there was no polite way of getting rid of the woman. On the other hand, since she’d saved their butts the previous night, they kind of owed her.

Chrissie glanced at Bella. “Looks like you might have a time waking her to eat. What did you do to tucker her out so?” A smile appeared. “Forget it. I already know the answer.”

He ignored her, wishing Bella didn’t have such an intrusive neighbor. Leaning over Bella, he kissed her ear. “Bella honey, do you want to eat?”

She murmured something inaudible.

“Okay.” He lifted her from the chair and carried her down the hall to the bedroom. After laying her on the mattress, he hesitated. He didn’t want to disturb her slumber, but since they didn’t wear anything to sleep in, and he intended to join her after he ate breakfast…

The decision was already made for him. He slid her sweats off, first the pants and then her shirt. He groaned to see her sweet body. Never would he get his fill of her. Hurriedly, he pulled the comforter over her. Then he strode out of the room, shutting the door behind him before he changed his mind and joined her.

When he reached the dining room, Chrissie had already poured glasses of milk for them.

“I would have gotten you some orange juice, but you don’t seem to have any.”

He downed the milk. “Milk’s good for growing bones.”

Chrissie sighed. “And muscles. Don’t forget the muscles.”

“Do you often visit Bella in the morning, or did you have some news?”

“I didn’t mean to barge in on the two of you, but since it was later in the morning, I figured—” Chrissie’s cheeks reddened. “Well, I assumed you’d both be up and ready to face the day.” She buttered her muffin and lifted it from the plate. “In truth, I wanted to tell you that Henry called me earlier and said he’d talked to the police chief. The warrants for your arrest and Bella’s have been rescinded.”

Somewhat relieved, Devlyn nodded. “Thanks so much for all of your help last night, Chrissie. I don’t think we had the chance to express our gratitude.”

Fingering her muffin, she grinned. “Do you eat Wheaties?”

He stabbed a sausage. “Meat, and lots of it.”

“Ah. I’m sorry for making up a story so different from the truth. I worried that when Henry heard the real version, he would have been madder.”

“Well,” Devlyn said, lifting his forkful of sausage, “I’m glad it all worked out fine.”

He got the distinct impression something was bothering Chrissie, but he wasn’t used to having human friends or the way in which they were afraid to speak frankly. With
lupus garous,
if they wanted something, they normally came out and said it.

Dipping the butter knife into the blackberry jam, he coated his muffin, the smell of the wild berries tantalizing him. He envisioned Bella bending over to pick the strong, flavorful fruit in the wilderness, her denims hugging her buttocks. Licking the sweet, tangy jam off his muffin brought an image of the wild to him, creating the urge again to run through the brambles, to chase Bella through the woods on a carefree romp. The idea of finishing breakfast and joining her in bed quickly filled his thoughts.

He looked up from his muffin to see Chrissie watching him with adoration in her eyes. Or maybe a bit of lust. Inwardly, he smiled. She couldn’t handle a
lupus garou,
no matter how badly she thought she wanted him. “Is something bothering you?”

She looked back at her plate and then up at Devlyn. “I’m worried about this Volan. Henry showed me the picture of him and said that if the man came around my place asking about Bella, he wanted me to know what he
looked like. He feared the man might get violent, considering how he left Bella naked at the zoo in subfreezing temperatures. He must have wanted her dead.” She watched him for his reaction.

“He’s dangerous all right.”

“There’s something else. I thought I heard car doors slamming in the middle of the night. As sleepy as I was, it took me a few minutes for the noise to register. Then I wondered who it would be that late at night. So I threw on some clothes and looked out the living room window, but I didn’t see a soul, only a jeep parked in front of my house. I watched for quite a while and then, figuring whoever it was wouldn’t be returning any time soon, I walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water. But I thought it odd that the vehicle was parked in front of my house. When I returned to the living room window and peeked out, the jeep had disappeared.”

Devlyn took a deep breath. “Maybe it was someone at the wrong house.”

“I instantly thought of Volan and called Henry, but I couldn’t get hold of him. I was going to come over here to check on you, but the house remained dark and, well, then the jeep vanished.”

“We must have been sleeping like tired, old dogs.”

Chrissie grinned.

He got the impression she didn’t think they were all that tired, or old, or that they had been sleeping. Although about now he sure could use a nap. He grabbed his plate and pointed to her half-eaten breakfast. “Done?”

“Sure.” She jumped up from her chair.

He carried the plates into the kitchen. “We watched movies until way too late last night. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to join Bella for a nap.”

“Oh…oh, sure.” Chrissie headed for the back door. “If you two need anything from me, be sure and holler.”

The door shut on her hasty exodus, and he returned to the bedroom only to find Bella gone. For an instant, the image of the reds ferreting Bella away flashed through his mind. He tore into the bathroom, hoping she was taking a shower, although he didn’t hear the sound of the shower spray or smell any dampness in the air.

As he suspected, she wasn’t there.

He stormed out of her bedroom, down the hall, and into her office.

Sitting in her chair with her chin propped in her hands and wearing her sweats once again, she stared at the monitor. Bright colors zigzagged across the screen, darting hither and thither against the stark blackness.

“Bella?”

She gave a start. “Oh, Devlyn.”

He crossed the floor and knelt at her side. “Bella, what’s wrong, honey?”

“I woke and didn’t find you with me. Then I heard Chrissie talking to you in the kitchen, but I was too tired to speak to her. I couldn’t sleep, and I wondered if I had any new messages to clue us in about the killer.”

He touched her cheek and then looked at the screensaver.

Sighing deeply, she nestled her cheek against his hand. “I guess I forgot what I was doing.”

“What you are doing is taking a well-deserved nap, now, with me. We’ll look at the messages later. We’re both too exhausted to make any sense of anything.”

She raised her arms to him. “Help me up.”

“I’ll do even better than that.” He lifted her in his arms, and she nestled her head against his chest.

“I see you put on some jeans.”

“I didn’t think you’d approve of Chrissie seeing me without.”

She gave a low growl. “You’re right. I can be awfully possessive.”

“All right by me.” He carried her down the hall to the bedroom and deposited her in the bed. “You shouldn’t have gotten dressed.”

She touched his zipper and instantly his arousal strained against the denim. No wolf could ever get him worked up as fast as Bella.

Knocking at the back door interrupted them and sent a ripple of anger shooting down his spine. “Now what?” Devlyn growled.

“If it’s Chrissie, I’ll take care of it.” Bella sounded grumpy and climbed off the bed.

Knocking sounded again, louder this time.

“Maybe we should ignore her. I told her I was taking a nap with you.”

Bella’s lips turned up. “What did she say to that?”

“I think she didn’t believe we were going to nap.”

“Not with her pounding on the door every few minutes.” Bella swept her hair out of her face, and he wanted to kiss her pursed lips.

“I’ll take care of it.” Devlyn stormed out of the
bedroom, figuring an annoyed male might persuade the woman to vamoose more easily than his mate would. Before he could make it to the back door, Bella’s feet tromped on the carpet behind him at a hurried pace to keep up.

When he turned to look at her, she smiled. “Didn’t want you to be too brusque.”

“Not me.” But he had the feeling that, if Bella weren’t so tired, her neighbor might see the darker side of Bella’s persona. Yanking open the door, he tried to quell the ire building in his own blood.

Chrissie gave a nervous smile. “Uh, I’m sorry, folks, to disturb you again.” Twisting a piece of her dark hair between her fingers, she looked quickly from him to Bella—who stood slightly to the left of his shoulder—and back to him again.

Wary that something was seriously the matter, he motioned to the living room instead of sending the woman packing. She glanced at Bella, as if asking if she approved. Smiling wearily, Bella nodded.

Devlyn linked his fingers with Bella’s and followed Chrissie into the sitting area.

“I’m sorry, Bella, Devlyn, but something’s been bothering me.” Chrissie took her seat on the couch.

Devlyn and Bella sat on the loveseat opposite her. Immediately, Bella rested her head against Devlyn’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed.

“Henry told me not to say anything to you, but I think he mentioned it to me, hoping I would tell you. He really admires the way the two of you seem so much in love. He knows that Devlyn is only trying to protect
you, Bella. But, well, something about your story didn’t add up.”

Bella kept her head on Devlyn’s shoulder, but her whole body tensed.

“What did he say, Chrissie?” Devlyn prompted, wondering if he would have to take Bella back to Colorado earlier than planned and forgo solving the red
lupus garou
killer mystery. Bella’s safety was tantamount, above all else.

“Can I have a glass of water?” Before anyone could respond, Chrissie hopped up from the couch and headed into the kitchen. “Sorry,” she hollered. “I’m a little nervous.”

Bella shook her head.

Devlyn kissed her forehead and gave her another squeeze of reassurance.