Eager indeed.
The large bulge behind his sweats was unmistakable. She took a lesson from what he’d done, though, and when she leaned forward it was to press her lips to his solid abdomen.
Mark groaned.
She licked along the ridges of his muscles, taking her time and working her way downward inch by inch.
He growled. A long, low sound similar enough to what she’d done earlier, she knew exactly what it meant.
She lifted her head, timing it just right so she could enjoy his reaction to her fingers closing over his hard length. Satisfaction at seeing his eyes roll back struck at the same moment a peculiar sound echoed through the house. Kind of like a door slamming.
Mark’s eyes snapped open.
Singing rose from somewhere faraway. On the main floor? Getting closer. A sea shanty, one with a lot of slurred words and yet high enthusiasm.
Fingers closed around her wrists as Mark pulled her hands from his groin, his breathing uneven but getting steadier. “We have to stop.”
“But—”
She accepted the T-shirt he returned, slipping it over her head as she watched in confusion. He took a deep breath and rose to his feet, wincing for a few steps as if he were in pain.
The singing grew louder and Tessa clued in. “Oh.”
Mark adjusted himself and winked at her. “Oh is right.”
He pulled his shirt on before making his way to the top of the stairwell. They waited without a word, instead exchanging snorts of laughter until his grandfather appeared.
The man gave an extra lusty finish to his chorus before slapping Mark on the back and turning to face her.
“Well, lovely to see you again, dear. Ready for the trip? Got everything you need?”
She didn’t get a chance to answer before Mark spoke. “Of course she’s ready. Will you be taking us out soon, sir?”
He guided the older wolf into the living room and settled him in a well-worn leather rocker.
“We leave with the tide. Heard the weather’s going to change—we’ll want to get past the narrows on full swells.”
Mark nodded curtly. “Yes, sir.”
Gramps fell silent, staring into the fire. Mark sat back on the couch and reached out a hand to Tessa. She curled up at his side. The sexual tension between them lingered, and she’d already had an orgasm. She couldn’t imagine what Mark felt like.
His lips pressed to her temple. “Stop worrying. Everything is okay.”
He spoke softly, so she matched his volume. “Were you expecting him tonight?”
Mark laughed, stroking his fingers through her hair. “I think you know the answer to that one by what he interrupted.”
Gramps fumbled with his pipe, humming his tune now as he worked to get the tobacco lit. Then he sat back and smiled, rocking as he gazed into the flames, an aromatic cloud surrounding him.
His appearance wasn’t scary or anything, just unexpected. Tessa’s curiosity shot to high.
Mark touched her cheek, bringing her attention to him. “He gets…confused. This was his ship, and there are times he kind of goes back in time. I don’t know when he’s going to show up, which is part of the reason I’ve never sold the place.”
“But you can’t sell it.”
Mark took a deep breath and nodded, his turn to stare at the fire. “I could sell the place as land alone, but what would happen then? Gramps is happy at the seniors lodge except for those occasional moments he loses track of what year it is. He comes, spends a few nights, then he seems to wake up and heads home. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if he showed up during a session to discover the paddle wheeler was gone. He’d be devastated. Think they’d left without him or something.”
Gramps continued to rock while Mark’s confession rocked her. “You’ve been staying for his sake.”
“He’s my family.” Mark smiled indulgently at his grandfather. “He’s the reason I missed being on the cruise ship with you in the spring—I had a position with the maintenance crew, you know. The person who’d promised to house sit for me while I was away never showed up that morning. You sailed before I could make other arrangements.”
Another mystery solved. “Keri and Jared didn’t mind how that turned out.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while—well, relaxed as Mark could be. Tessa leant her head on his shoulder and whispered, “We could go to bed…”
His nostrils flared for a moment. “Tempting, but I’d better make sure he settles for the night.”
He stood and brought her to her feet as well, kissing her before tucking her hair behind her ear. “You go to bed. I’ll see you later.”
Tessa crawled under the covers feeling even more confused than when Mark had first announced they were mates. She attempted to stay awake until he came in so they could finish what they started, or at least have time to talk.
Only the soft pillow lulled her, and the next thing she knew the sunshine was announcing the start of another day.
Chapter Seven
***Monday
Gramps made them breakfast before breaking out a mop and “swabbing the decks”.
Mark excused himself shortly after that. “I’m going to run into town and stop by the permit office to see what kind of timeline we’re looking at. You can come with me if you’re interested.”
For some reason the idea of heading out didn’t excite her the way it usually did. “You go on. I’m itching to explore the place a little more. Work on a few brochure ideas.”
He stared at her for a moment before cupping the back of her neck and pulling her against him for a brief, intense kiss. They separated, her lips tingling, his pupils gone dark. He stroked her cheek. “If you think of anything you need, make a list.”
The door closed behind him, and something very uncomfortable trailed up her spine leaving her listless. Edgy.
She wandered the bottom two floors for a while, picturing the changes she’d drawn all being completed. The place was going to be gorgeous when it was finished. She nabbed a stack of sticky notes and popped information on the walls that she wanted to remember to discuss with Mark when he got back.
The beam of sunshine falling through the window had to be the reason she blinked in surprise half an hour later as she woke up from a catnap. She didn’t remember going back to his bedroom, though, or putting on the shirt that smelt like him.
It took her full concentration to manage a bit of computer work before Mark returned with supplies for the kitchen and a pile of mail-order shopping catalogues.
She flicked through the pile quickly. Decorative lighting, specialty fixtures. “Oh, nice.”
Mark smiled as he sat down to the submarine sandwiches she’d put together while the groceries had been unpacked. “I figured you’d like something to hold on to, rather than just shopping online.”
“That’s so sweet of you. Thanks.”
“No problem. Also, good news on the renovation front. One of the pack works in the permits department, and I got to speak to him.” Mark nodded thanks at Gramps as the older man refilled their glasses. “He’ll make sure the forms are pushed through fast for us. Which doesn’t mean we can get away with any funny business in the important things, but it does mean we can go ahead and start immediately.”
Tessa sat in shocked silence.
Mark grinned wider. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”
She slipped out her tongue at him for a second before shaking her head. “You’re kidding. We can start on the renovations now?”
“I’ve got the first load of wood being delivered this afternoon, and a dumpster box. We can clean out the unusable material and dive right in. I asked a few of the pack to help with the hard labour.”