When she turned around, Leidolf was still waiting for her. She got the distinct impression he wanted her company again.
She sighed. No way to avoid the issue.
Chapter 14
Cassie joined Leidolf and he walked her down the hall, not leaving an inch of free space between them, just like wolves who were courting or mated would stick close together. Trying to ignore their close proximity, she peeked into five more bedrooms, all well furnished, each having sitting areas and patio doors. The ranch must have cost a fortune.
When they reached the living room, the place was just as elegant with leather couches, Persian rugs, crystal chandeliers, and oil paintings of the Oregon coastline. All around the room, brass wolf sculptures were displayed in various poses--from resting in packs to nuzzling each other or snarling at one another.
Why then was Leidolf's bedroom so austere? It almost seemed he preferred to live in the most primitive of settings. A cave if he could have managed, she imagined. Ah, a loner, the girls had said. Kind of like Cassie, living out of a suitcase half of the time or out of a backpack. No place was home anymore.
"We didn't want to be real formal," Laney said, motioning to a table set up as a buffet with tons of food--beef tenderloin, chicken, ham slices, mashed potatoes, and chunks of cheese, as well as tomatoes, salad, melons, and grapes.
Leidolf stood apart from Cassie, giving her some room to maneuver around the table. She didn't notice the spread of food as much as she did the way Leidolf watched her in the crowd of people, probably twenty to thirty pack members. He stood out among them, his shoulders straight, his dark gaze fixed on hers, his head lifted high, in charge, the dominant male. No matter that the room was filled with tension as everyone watched them, his gaze was steady and unaffected.
He was a calming presence, although she had never felt as self-conscious when she was speaking to an auditorium full of people as she did now. Maybe because that was impersonal. She lectured, answered questions, then disappeared again into the wilderness, looking for another wolf pack to observe and grow attached to.
This was different. These people expected her to stay. And they expected Leidolf to make it happen. Every eye was on her, and she figured they all had every intention of making her welcome and would aid Leidolf in any way to ensure she stayed.
Except for one of the men. He was blonder than the rest of the people and skulking on the outskirts. He appeared sullen and unhappy to be here. The two men standing on either side of him looked like twin brothers and appeared to be guarding him.
Newly turned... Sarge? The Dark Angel? Had to be him the way no one else stood near him. He steadily observed her, and she didn't like the calculating look in his expression.
Leidolf stole her attention again, the way he watched her, his gaze finally taking in her appearance, the short cropped top, the low-slung pants, and his belt.
He offered a small smile and motioned to the table. "Cassie."
Everyone waited for her to do something, anything. She was the honored guest. She sighed. This might be the last good meal she had in a while. Might as well make the most of it before she took off.
When she reached for a plate, Laney hurried to get her one. "Rest your shoulder, dear. I'll carry it to where you decide to sit afterward."
"Thank you, but I really can manage."
"The honor is all mine," Laney said, smiling.
They were treating her like a long-lost princess of the realm--which again stirred her longing to belong to a pack. Well, not any pack. If she'd been a different woman, someone who needed a man, Leidolf and his pack might have done nicely.
Cassie filled her plate with slices of ham and roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and spinach salad and tomatoes, topped with blue-cheese dressing. All of it looked scrumptious and smelled heavenly. Her stomach grumbled, and she was sure the whole group heard it.
Leidolf raised his brows a little. Yeah, he had heard. She couldn't seem to keep much secret from him.
Then a couple of men passed out glasses of wine while the pack members began filling their plates full of food. Everyone drifted to chairs and couches, finding a spot to perch while they ate and conversed. Leidolf extended his hand and pressed it against the small of her back, guiding Cassie to a conspicuously empty velour couch. His hand on her skin stirred all over again the craving for something more than the life she had. She tried to ignore what his touch did to her until his hand shifted around her hip, pulling her close as he moved her around a couple of his men. His action was loving and gentle and possessive. Some part of her liked that possessiveness, as if she belonged with him and with this pack.
Even so, her whole body heated several degrees while everyone watched their progression, and she didn't remember a time when she had felt this exposed. When they reached the couch, Leidolf motioned with his free hand for her to sit, still possessively embracing her hip. As soon as she sat, she missed the warmth of his touch, which was plain crazy.
Laney handed Cassie's plate to her, and raising a glass, Leidolf said, "I propose a toast for our pack members returning safely."
She drank some of her wine, delighted in the rich bouquet, and felt a buzz right away, probably because she hadn't had anything alcoholic to drink since the previous Christmas when she had joined some fellow researchers in a little holiday cheer. And got blitzed. Luckily, she had managed to slip away before she did anything really stupid.
Leidolf sat down beside her, way too close, way too possessively, when the couch had ample room for them to spread out. On the one hand, the way his leg touched hers annoyed her. He was in her space, and she fought moving away from him. Again the issue of running away made her stand her ground. On the other hand, some part of her wanted more of his touch. Craved it, as if she were a wolf in heat. Which technically, damn it, she was. And he was making all the right moves on her, which she was having a damn hard time ignoring.
Until now, her wolf urges had never troubled her. Damn, if his pheromones weren't triggering hers again.
If she could just have her way with him, would that resolve the craving she had for him? Then she'd be mated with him for life, and she didn't want anything permanent with a guy. Any guy. Not when she knew just where it would lead. No more running off to study wolves. Not without her mate's permission. And she assumed a pack leader wouldn't give it. Not when he wanted her with him to run a pack. And not when he would worry about her being alone in the wilderness facing who knew what. Maybe another naked man in a lake somewhere. Or maybe another hunter.
He reached across her leg to grab a saltshaker off the coffee table, his arm brushing the borrowed silky, floral pants against her skin, heating her to the core all over again. When she shot him a look to cool it, his eyes sparkled with mischief. Even if she at first thought he had touched her innocently, his expression said otherwise. She figured Leidolf was the kind of man who was always in control of his actions. Planning, making every move count for something, leaving nothing to chance.
As he returned the salt to the very same spot on the table, instead of just leaving it on his side, his arm rested unnecessarily against her thigh. She shoved his arm off her leg and smiled when he raised his brows at her, while he wore a devilish smile of his own. She had every intention of proving the point she wasn't his. Which was what this was all about. The mating game. Werewolf style.
The great room grew completely silent, and she looked up and found every eye on them.
One of the men, tall like Leidolf, broke the silence. "My girls say you weren't the one roaming through Forest Park."
Responding before Cassie could, Leidolf shook his head and lifted his glass of wine. "No, Carver. The wolf had a different scent. Not the same one at all."