“For blowing off your concerns about Ashley. If one of my men dared to touch you the way she did me, I wouldn’t have been able to control myself.”
Shay shoved away from him, and he released his hold. She paced a bit before turning to confront him. “Don’t get it twisted. I’m not jealous of your perky little Skipper doll.”
Rory clamped his mouth shut.
“What you do with your harem is your business…”
This time he snorted. Yeah, like he believed that. His little she-demon would castrate him if his cock so much as stood at attention for another woman.
“…but I will not tolerate being disrespected, especially in my own home, in front of my face, and definitely not by that little twit!”
“You’re right.”
“Does she have any idea what I could do to her? I can screw up her credit so bad she’ll be an old lady before she untangled it all. I can have every law enforcement agency in this country and Europe looking for her, and she wouldn’t even know why. I can erase her Social Security number out of the system or report her as dead. Let her fix that!”
“No, you’re not jealous at all,” he murmured, withholding a smile. Damn, his mate was vicious. His perfect match in every way.
Finally she stopped ranting and hung her head. “Okay, I’ll cop to a streak of possessiveness, but not jealousy. I refuse to be jealous of that woman.”
Rory slouched and hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans. “And the difference between the two would be…?”
Shay raised her head and met his inquisitive gaze with a direct stare. “Jealousy is the result of one’s insecurity. My being jealous would mean I see Ashley as a worthy rival and feared her ability to steal you from me.”
He straightened and crossed over to stand in front of his mate. “Then I must be the most insecure man on the planet. The thought of someone desiring you, touching you”—he gripped both cheeks—“or smelling your luscious scent”—he leaned in close and inhaled—“drives me absolutely crazy.”
Then he kissed her because the thought of anyone else having Shay was intolerable.
“You’re not insecure,” she told him when he allowed her to breathe. “You’re a werewolf. Possessiveness is coded in your DNA.”
As he claimed her mouth again, he knew she was wrong. He was terrified of doing or saying something to drive Shay away, and ending up living the rest of his life mourning what might have been.
Rory left to cook dinner and organize his gathering. Shay finished unpacking. As she lined her lotions, perfumes, nail polishes, and other personal items on the dresser beside Rory’s, she contemplated the circumstances in her life that had brought her to this. Thoughts of being a mother made her realize she hadn’t heard from her parents since they’d left the reception.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pants pocket and dialed home.
“Dad,” she said with pleasure, happy to hear his voice and relieved he’d been the one to answer. “Just calling to make sure you made it home with no problem.”
“Sorry we didn’t call. Things got a little hectic, and I knew you were settling in on a new project. I didn’t want to be a pest.”
She scowled at the phone. “Dad, a two-minute call from you to say we made it home alive and in one piece is no bother.”
He laughed at her scolding. “As you can see, we’re fine.”
Shay pushed the empty suitcase to the floor and sat on the bed. “How’s your project going? You get it done?’
“Almost. Everything’s proceeding on schedule. I made up the time I lost by being away. What about you?”
She plucked nervously at the bedspread. “I don’t officially begin work until Monday. I’ll spend the weekend settling in.”
“Impressions of the people you’re working for?”
Professionally or personally? Shay winced, then bit back a chuckle at her discomfort, glad her father couldn’t see her face. “Not enough data to compute,” she lied. “But I admire their taste in equipment.” Shay always gave her clients three options when it came to purchasing the required hardware: cheap but functional, moderately expensive but will get the job done with a few added perks, and top-of-the-line. Rory had purchased top-of-the-line everything. The geek in her was impressed. The woman wondered just how much money the man had.
“Well, whatever the case, I’m sure you’ll whip them into shape soon enough.”
“Daddy! I’m not a tyrant,” she protested.
He laughed again, then said, “Speaking of tyrants, your mother wants to talk to you.”
“No, Daddy, wait! Tell her I’m… Hi, Mom.” Shay stifled a long-suffering sigh.
“Shay-Nei, how’s Rory? That’s one nice catch. You better hook him while you can. A man like that won’t stay single for long. His sister says you’re staying with him in his house. You’re a good cook. Cook for him. A big man like that eats plenty of food. Show him what I taught you and catch yourself a nice man.”
“Mom, he’s not a fish.” Wait till I see Shannon again. I have a few words for her.
“No, he’s a man, and just like fish, you need the right bait to reel him in.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “Or I could bash him over the head with an oar and drag him off to my cave.”
“Shay-Nei, not funny. You're already past prime childbearing years. Wait too long and you’ll be too old. Your father and I want lots of grandkids. There’s no time to be playing around.”
Sick to death of her mother hounding her, Shay let her anger do the talking. “Tell you what, why don’t I crawl naked into his bed each night while I’m here, and if we’re lucky, in nine months you’ll have that grandchild you’re so desperate for. Then I can send the brat to you and Daddy to raise and finally get some peace!”
She held the phone away from her ear while her mother yelled at her. She supposed the chewing out she got was deserved, but damn, enough was enough. A woman could only take so much, and Shay had reached her limit.
Before her mother completely wound down, Shay shouted into the phone, “Gotta go. Love you both. Tell Daddy I said take care.”
“Shay-Nei! Shay-Nei! Don’t you hang up the—”
With an evil grin, Shay pressed the button, watched while the phone powered off, then tossed it onto the mattress. She wanted to throw it, but it wasn’t her BlackBerry’s fault her mother was a nag. Instead Shay rolled over, grabbed a pillow, buried her head into it, and screamed. It felt so good she did it again.
The mattress dipped, jostling her. “Was that wise?”
Shay raised her head and glared when she saw the amusement on his face. “The woman makes me crazy.”
“That may be true, but she’ll remember this when you reveal that you’re pregnant.”
Shay tried not to look as guilty as she was suddenly feeling, but apparently she was unsuccessful.
His smile fled as Rory’s eyes narrowed. “When are you telling your parents about the baby, Shay?”
She shrugged. “Sometime before she begins school, I promise.”
Rory closes his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “Shay, don’t you think they’ll notice you’re pregnant at our wedding?”
Sitting up and tossing the pillow to the side, she aimed for nonchalance as she answered, “Since we’re not getting married, I don’t see that being an issue.”
He gripped her arm as she made to rise, halting her midmotion. “What do you mean, we’re not getting married?”
It was Shay’s turn to narrow her eyes. “You need a hearing aid?”
He scowled. “I can hear just fine, but your words make no sense.”
Shay shook him off and stood, taking a few steps to put distance between them. “We’re mated. That’s good enough.”