His mother shot him a wicked look, and Jack fought the urge to muzzle her. The thing about his dad dying and the two of them being left alone was that she’d become as much friend as parent, which meant she felt free to harass the shit out of him.
“I haven’t said anything.”
Both women snorted at that.
Peyton gave him a look that said he was screwed, but his stepdad didn’t feel the need to express the sentiment silently. “You are so hosed, son.”
“Thanks, Darren. That’s really helpful.”
The two women were now talking too quietly for him to overhear, and Jack tried not to worry. He hadn’t said a word about sleeping with Selina to anyone. It was no one’s business except his. And hers. But he was pretty certain she wouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t seem to have anyone she confided in. At least, no one she’d mentioned. He hit that frustrating wall where he lacked the knowledge he craved to answer all his questions. He could school himself to patience all he wanted, but it was maddening. She told him just enough that he couldn’t protest she was refusing him, but she stonewalled any real attempt to know her. He hadn’t been fooled the night before that she’d teared up over an old case that haunted her. Sure, that would be enough to throw her off balance, but tears? No. She wasn’t the type to cry over ancient news—she was too experienced a cop for that. There was something else she wasn’t telling him; he could feel it.
It made him want to shake her, take her over his knee and spank her. The thought of her bare ass draped over his lap made his cock stiffen. He thrust that line of thinking away before he humiliated himself. It was a good thing his basketball shorts were loose or he’d be more than a little uncomfortable right now. Even now, Darren shot him a knowing look, then glanced at Selina and raised his eyebrows.
Jack kept his face impassive, but he doubted the older man was fooled. Who else would he be getting revved up about? It sure as hell wasn’t his mother, and Selina was the only other woman here. Damn. He’d tipped his hand. He could only hope Peyton hadn’t noticed, but it was unlikely. That wolf missed very little. The only consolation Jack had was that Peyton didn’t gossip. Or even talk much.
He might get out of this morning without Selina skinning him alive. First, he’d let her think he was having a nooner with another woman, and then he’d let it slip that they were knocking boots. He was batting a thousand here. Awesome.
“Jack! Aunt Angela, Uncle Darren!” A slender blond woman came flying out of the café and threw herself into Darren’s arms. Then she hugged Jack and Angela, shook hands with Selina and Peyton, and escorted them to a table on the patio under a big umbrella.
“Friend of yours?” Selina arched her eyebrows, a grin twitching at her lips, as she watched the younger woman croon over Grim.
“Something like that. The blonde is Holly Kerr, and that’s Erin Bates.” He waved to a curvaceous brunette who poked her head out the door of the restaurant. “My step-cousin and my bio-cousin went into business together.”
“Cousin?” For just a moment, Selina wore the same stricken expression he’d seen yesterday before she masked it. She cleared her throat and forced a smile. “It’s good you have family. When you’re around as long as me, you tend to be the last one standing.”
His mother made a sympathetic noise, but something told Jack that Selina hadn’t been telling the whole story. Another secret she was keeping. It just made him more determined to dig under her defenses and learn everything about her. He couldn’t say why he was so fixated on it, only that no woman had affected him the way she did in close to forever, and he had to figure out why. What made her different from all the other females who’d gone in and out of his life over the years?
“Holly has her MBA.” He pointed to the woman petting Grim. Then he gestured to where the brunette had disappeared. “Erin went to culinary school. They also own that new bakery over on Broadway.”
Selina blinked. “You mean Sugar Rush?”
“That’s the one.” He grinned, proud of what his relatives had accomplished.
Her mouth formed a moue. “Good congolais.”
“What?” Peyton spoke for the first time.
She shrugged. “It’s a coconut cookie biscuit thing. It’s good.”
“Do they serve it here?” A keen interest shone in his gaze, and Jack had to wonder if the wolf had a serious sweet tooth. It was certainly the most interest he’d ever displayed in anything besides work ... and Tess, but that was a topic Jack wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. He had to associate with Peyton, Tess, and Cavalli for the rest of his foreseeable career. While Tess didn’t work with them directly, since she was a medical examiner, it didn’t make it any less awkward that Cavalli and Peyton both wanted the same woman they all dealt with on a regular basis.
“I’ve heard of you, Agent Peyton. Or is it Peyton Something?” Holly quit petting Grim and stood up to face the table. She cocked a hip and propped a hand on it, her lips curling flirtatiously as she looked Peyton over. The barest flash of wolf canines showed in her smile. “One of my friends is the archivist for the pack, so she handles preserving all the pack records, and she says yours don’t indicate a first name. Just the one name, like Prince or Madonna.”
Jack snorted.
Remaining impassive, Peyton didn’t return the smile or the flirtation. “I’m afraid that’s not a question I can answer for you.”
“Top secret spy stuff.” She nodded sagely, winking. “Unless you don’t know your own name.”
Peyton just grunted, picked up a menu, and began thumbing through it.
Her laughter tinkled out at his response, or lack thereof. “I’ll be back to take your orders in a few minutes.”
“And I’ve got coffee for everyone.” Erin, his Normal cousin, bless her culinary genius heart, passed out empty cups and just left an entire pot of liquid ambrosia for them. She dragged Holly away with her.
Silence dropped over the table, and Jack sighed in relief. His mother poured coffee in everyone’s mug and then buried her nose in her menu. Under any other circumstances, he loved going out with his parents, but this seemed ready to explode in his face. He’d invited Peyton and a couple of his contacts in other law enforcement agencies in order to introduce them, establish more contacts for the wolf over in the Normal world, and have a nice competitive game of basketball at the same time. He hadn’t expected to run into Selina, or to have anyone dragged along for a warped version of Meet the Parents.
Selina let her menu drop to the table and narrowed her eyes at Peyton. “I’d say you owe me for saving you from the nose-breaking drama back there.”
A single eyebrow arched. “Did you want me to buy your lunch?”
“No, I want you to answer a question.” She barely took a breath before she launched her little bomb. “Are you shagging Tess?”
Jack choked on his coffee, and Darren reached over to pound him between the shoulder blades, nearly collapsing his rib cage.
“Holy shit, Selina. How are you going to ask a man that at lunch?” Especially considering what a privacy Nazi she was about her own personal life.
Rubbing his jaw, Peyton sighed. “Yes. I’m sleeping with Tess.”
The elf reached over and socked him in the arm. “Why, you sly dog ... uh, wolf, I mean.”
A bark of laughter spilled out of Peyton, and he shook his head at her. Jack just stared at the other man. He’d worked with Peyton for several years, and he was pretty sure that was the first time he’d heard the werewolf laugh.
Peyton took a sip of his coffee, hiding a grin. “I prefer it not become something you speculate about at the office, which is the only reason I’m confirming it for you. Once the gossip starts, no matter how true or untrue, it doesn’t tend to stop. I trust you won’t say anything.”