The only drawback was if Carol got sick. She was the one he wanted. A red, turned by his own cousin. She would be his, and being a nurse, she could counter the effects of the sickness, if Miller was lying about his intentions.
The women entered the house, and he briefly saw Lelandi smile and motion for them to follow her. Carol could also take care of Lelandi, in the event she got sick. It wasn’t Lelandi’s fault she’d left their red pack. Damn their previous pack leader and his brutish ways.
North took a deep breath and slunk into the woods. The package had arrived.
His next mission was grabbing Carol before it was too late.
Normally, Ryan would dress casually on a fact-finding mission—in jeans and turtleneck or T-shirt, depending on the weather. So why the hell was he dressing up for this “affair?” He scoffed at himself for making such a big deal of this as he peered into the bathroom mirror of his room at the bed and breakfast. He ran his hand over the five-o’clock shadow that gave him more of a wolfish look and considered whether to shave again or not.
Hell, the first date he ever had, he took the girl to a swimming hole. It was an impromptu situation, and neither cared about what they were wearing—or not wearing as the night wore on. Of course, she’d been human and his and her hormones had been running high. Over the years, he’d been just as spontaneous. He’d take a liking to a human girl, make it known and, if she was of like mind, have a one-night stand.
But with Carol, he knew deep down it wasn’t the same. That she needed a mate. That one-night stands were out, and although he kept telling himself he had nothing to prove, damn if he couldn’t shake loose of the need to show up the other males, if she was even interested in anyone else.
He pulled on his sports jacket, hoping to convince Darien that he needed to speak to Carol pronto so he could quit interfering in Darien’s pack business and return home. At least that’s what he told himself.
As soon as he reached the cozy sitting area for guests at the inn, Bertha Hastings greeted him with a smile and twinkle in her eye. “Your sister, Rosalind, called. Asked if you were all right because you wouldn’t answer your cell phone. I told her you were watching the games earlier and were going to the gathering tonight.
“She asked if you were seeing Carol. Since I hadn’t been at the earlier event, I couldn’t say. I did mention you were taking Carol on a date tonight. Your sister was real quiet after that, and then she quickly thanked me and said good-bye. But I must say you’re looking really spiffy. Enjoy the gathering.”
“Thanks. I’ll be asking Carol a few questions and be on my way.” And have a word with Rosalind again. Hell, by the time he was finished with his business here, Rosalind would have everyone thinking he was chasing after Carol and soon would be mating her.
“Only one question is worth asking.” Bertha grinned even broader and made her way to the kitchen. “If you young folk want something to snack on later, bring her here after your date. Plenty of food for everyone.”
“Thanks.” It wouldn’t be necessary. As soon as he spoke with Carol, he was returning ASAP to Green Valley and the business he should have been conducting.
Shoulders straight, he stalked outside to his truck and took a deep breath of the chilly night air. He was ready to try to persuade Darien to allow him to see Carol one last time. And to end this obsession he had to set the record straight with Carol.
When Carol came down from her bedroom before the gathering, men and women were already settling in the sunroom. She was wearing jeans, boots, and a soft pink cardigan, trying to look cool and casual instead of more nervous than she’d like to admit.
She’d been planning to go to the kitchen for a glass of wine to soothe her nerves when Ryan walked in the front door with Sam and Silva. Carol’s heart skipped a beat.
Ryan was wearing a steel blue sports coat and a pinstriped blue and silver shirt. He had left three of the buttons open from the collar down, giving the appearance he was ready to unfasten the others in a hurry in the call of duty. She couldn’t decide if that meant shape-shifting or sex, but he definitely looked ready for either.
Jeans gave his look more of a dressy casual, which she totally approved of, but then her gaze riveted to his face to see his expression. A shadow of a beard graced his angular face, roughening it a bit and making him appear more like an outdoorsman than someone who sat around an office all day.
He was studying her face, just like a wary investigator would, and observing her reaction to his being here. Instead of smiling, he raised a brow as if to say he was here at her request. Let’s get this over with. She couldn’t believe it. But promptly at six, here he was. Maybe Lelandi was right. When Ryan got something in his mind to do, he wouldn’t be stopped. Wouldn’t he be surprised if he stayed around long enough to discover she truly was psychic!
That could take a really long time, considering that her visions were so unpredictable and that he probably was quite stubborn about refusing to believe in the paranormal.
She let out her breath. She assumed Darien would be pissed that Ryan was here. Jake also, because he’d made all the arrangements for the gathering. And because this was her coming-out.
Darien and his brothers stalked into the foyer to meet Ryan, all of them looking stern and with firm resolve. “Your date will have to wait until after the gathering. Where do you plan to take Carol?” Darien asked.
Her heart thumped harder. Darien was allowing it?
But her second thought was that this was so much like when she was sixteen, going on her first real date with a boy and her dad had read him the riot act first! No riding in vans, on motorcycles, or visiting homes when parents aren’t there. That was the only time her father had acted really alpha. She’d always suspected her mother had counseled him first as to what to say.
Carol was twenty-six now, for heaven’s sake, and beyond needing fatherly lectures before a date!
Ryan smiled a little. “The movies.”
Darien’s response was terse. “We don’t have a movie theater here.”
Ryan had to have known that. Cad. Yet she loved his sense of humor and the way he challenged Darien. Darien’s brothers supported him in just about every situation that arose. None of his people disagreed with Darien. She enjoyed seeing someone who would test him in a lighthearted way.
“We’ll grab takeout and return to my room at the inn to watch something on TV then.” Ryan gave Carol an elusive smile and winked.
Pure macho man and a lady-killer all rolled up in that one faint smile and sexy wink that promised a night of pure heated pleasure. After the way they’d kissed with an audience, being alone in his room didn’t sound like a safe bet at all. She was certain Darien wouldn’t think so, either.
Every inch of her skin flushed with warmth, and if she hadn’t known any better, she might have worried that the shift was coming. But the heat that signaled the impending transformation went much deeper, Lelandi had explained to her, as if it settled into the marrow of the bones and melted them. And she supposed it did since the bones reshaped into a wolf’s skeletal form or back again into a human’s. What she was experiencing now was more of a surface heat, triggered by pure embarrassment.
Darien shook his head at Ryan’s suggestion of taking a meal to his room and watching TV there. Darien tried to conceal the expression, but Carol had lived with him long enough to recognize he was fighting a smile. He admired alpha males, and she could tell that while it stuck in his craw that Ryan was an outsider intruding on his pack business, the gray was a challenge. And Darien enjoyed the game when someone had the audacity to oppose him in a non-threatening way from time to time. She wondered if Ryan reminded him of himself.