He slowly lowered his head, about to kiss her, when the sound of a wolf's howl echoed outside from the back of the manor. Raed stiffened. Lexi looked around him and through the window, but she couldn't see anything outside. "Was that a wolf? I thought there weren't any more wild wolves in England?"
"There aren't." Raed stepped around her and yelled, "Algar!"
Algar quickly ran into the kitchen. "We heard. This is new. Darkness hasn't even fallen yet."
"I don't like this," Raed said. "Tell the others to split up. I'll join you in a minute."
With a nod, Algar left. Raed turned and took Lexi by the shoulders. "I'll be back.
Stay here."
Why had the sound of a wolf's howl caused this kind of anxiety? Even if there really had been a wolf out there, the men's reactions seemed a bit extreme. She nodded and watched Raed run out of the room.
Chapter Six
Lexi was about to sit at the table when the sound of food sizzling in the frying pan brought her up short. Obviously Raed had forgotten about it in his hurry to leave.
She pulled open drawers until she found one with cooking utensils and fished around until she found a spatula. She stirred the vegetables before she lowered the heat under the pan.
The smell of barbeque smoke wafted through the open window. The burgers!
Lexi knew Raed had told her to stay put, but she didn't think he would want her to let the burgers burn. She crossed over to the outside door and stepped out onto a flagstone patio, then followed the smell of the barbeque to the back corner. Smoke billowed out from under the gas grill's lid.
Lexi shook her head when she saw how high Raed had set the heat. She opened the lid and waved a hand in front of her as smoke swirled around her face. She held her breath until it cleared, then reached for the barbeque spatula hanging from the side of the grill. She flipped the four burgers. Great, they hadn't burnt yet. That task done, she closed the lid and turned to go back inside to check on the stir fry.
She froze in place when she saw a large grey wolf standing only a few yards away. The side of the animal's upper lip curled as it growled. Lexi slowly took a step back until she felt the heat of the grill behind her. The wolf started to close the space between them.
Lexi groped behind her until she found the long-handled barbeque spatula. She held the cooking utensil out in front of her like a weapon, not that she thought she could do much with it if it decided to attack. "Shoo," she said as she waved the spatula at the wolf.
The wolf growled louder and took another step closer. Lexi's heart started to pound with fear. She had always thought wild animals were supposed to be more afraid of humans than humans were of them. For a wild wolf, if it was wild, it didn't seem to scare easily. Lexi took slow, even, sideways steps as she tried to get the barbeque clear of her back. If she had to make a run for it, she didn't want it in her way.
She waved the spatula at the wolf again as the animal bunched its back legs under itself. Just as she was sure the wolf was about to spring, a streak of dark blond fur slammed into it. Even though she knew she should be running back inside the house as fast as her legs could carry her, Lexi found herself unable to move. She silently watched as the second wolf fought the first. Their snarls and growls filled the air. It soon became apparent the dark blond wolf was stronger. He—Lexi could now see both wolves were male—forced the grey wolf back. Before the dark blond wolf could take the other one down, the grey wolf managed to twist free and take off running.
The dark blond wolf looked over at Lexi, then in the direction the other wolf had gone, and then back to her again. He loped over to her, appraising her with his blue-eyed gaze. Lexi froze and held back a whimper as he came even closer. The wolf sniffed her leg before he turned and loped away, obviously in pursuit of the other wolf.
Lexi sagged in relief. That had been a close one. Not wanting to meet up with either wolf again, she quickly moved back to the barbeque and returned the spatula to its place. A large hand landed on the top of her shoulder and spun her around. Lexi let out a yelp. When she saw it was only Raed, she smacked him in the chest. "Don't do that. You scared the crap out of me."
"I thought I told you to stay in the kitchen," Raed said in a stern voice.
"I only came out here to flip the burgers."
Raed took hold of her by the upper arms, gave her a little shake and bent down until they were almost nose to nose. "Next time you do what I tell you. Do you know how close you came to being the wolf's next meal?"
Lexi's back came up at his bossy tone. She wasn't about to stand here and let Raed order her around as if she had no brain in her head. "You aren't the boss of me, Raed; so stop ordering me around as if you were. If you saw the wolves, why didn't you do something to scare them away?"
Raed gave her another shake. "I'll order you around when I deem the situation necessary."
Lexi became really annoyed with that comment. She tried to wrench her arms free, but Raed held on. "Who the hell died and made you king? Just because we slept together does not mean you can tell me what to do. That kind of thing died out in the Dark Ages, buddy."
"Times like this, I wish I could go back to them. At least women knew their place then."
Lexi's mouth fell open. Had she actually thought Raed could be everything she wanted in a man? Now that his true colors had come shining through, she knew there wouldn't be a repeat performance of what had taken place in his bedroom earlier. He would be lucky if she didn't smack him a good one upside the head for thinking she should 'know her place'.
She glared at him. "You know what? I think today may have been a mistake. If you want some woman who will do your bidding, you've chosen the wrong one. I may come across as timid, but I'm no pushover. I don't have to take the bullshit coming out of your mouth. I think it best I go back to my flat."
Raed's face lost the stern look he wore as he slowly released her. He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Lexi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
"The hell you didn't."
Raed took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's go back inside. We'll eat our supper and talk." He tried to reach for her, but she shook her head, walked around him and headed for the back door. Raed followed behind her. "Can you at least give me a chance to explain?"
"You've done enough explaining already. Will you take me back to the flat or do I have to find my own way there?"
Back in the kitchen, Raed walked over to the stove and shut off the heat under the frying pan. He turned and gave her a pleading look. "I don't want you to go, Lexi.
Not like this. I have to turn off the barbeque and have a brief talk with the others.
Maybe once we have both settled down you'll be in the mood to listen."
Lexi crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever."
"I promise I won't be long."
As soon as Raed went back outside, Lexi left the kitchen and headed for the front door. She picked up her purse where she had left it on a small table in the foyer. She was in no mood to hear what Raed had to say. She'd dated a man like him once before who had thought a woman's place was in the house, barefoot and pregnant. At least that time Lexi hadn't been stupid enough to sleep with the male chauvinistic pig.
Hoping she didn't run into any of the others, she opened the front door and hurried down the stairs to the long drive. After she got far enough away from the manor, she jogged to the bottom of the driveway. She started to walk along the side of the road in the direction she thought would take her back to her flat.