Page 19 of Restoring His Howl

Right now, Dillon had to come up with an outfit for the party. There wasn’t much in his closet, but he had a few ideas.

* * * *

Three hours and fifteen outfit changes later, Dillon stared at himself in the mirror. He’d never been a fashion plate. He considered himself too thin, and clothes never hung quite right, but the leather jacket he wore looked okay. He could pull off the greaser look. He smoothed his hair off his forehead in the best pompadour he could manage and adjusted his jacket.

The color was back in his cheeks. He looked happier and no one could see his scars. He could face the others, especially Cinders, now.

Dillon left his room and locked the door. His wolf wanted Cinders. The animal cried and growled. Dillon wished he could placate the wolf, but how? He couldn’t force Cinders to like him. Still, he ventured to Cinders’ door. He tipped his head but heard nothing. Cinders probably wasn’t there. More than likely, a handsome man like him had a date for the party. Dillon turned on his heel and headed toward the stairs.

“Hi.” Ryder strolled down the hallway. “Are you looking for Cinders?”

“I was.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Ryder swept his gaze over Dillon. “Nice outfit. I like the jacket. I never realized how handsome you are. You’re always hiding in your room. Cinders held out on me.”

“Oh?” His guard went up. Ryder might be on the level. He might be safe, but Dillon wasn’t sure.

“He said you two were an item, but he never gave a description,” Ryder said. “I wish he had.”

“Thanks.”I think.His first instinct was to run the hell away. No, he wouldn’t give in to the impulse. He’d let Ryder talk and see what happened. The wolf wasn’t interested in Ryder. Hell, the wolf didn’t care at all.

“Anyway, Cinders left. He went to the party already. Christ. He’s got on the shortest shorts, and he’ll bust out of that shirt. If he was my type, I’d have kept him home.” Ryder laughed. “He’s too tall for me. I like to be the tall one in the relationship.”

“He is handsome and tall.” Dillon could almost see the pale blue of the shirt against Cinders’ dark skin and the swell of his ass in those tight shorts. Cinders would be dynamite, but not his.

“I heard you’re hanging with Oscar and Avan tonight. I’m going over soon. I’ll probably run with them. There aren’t that many single guys around the Sanctuary. Kinda wish we had a new group coming in.” Ryder frowned. “Sorry. That sounds horrible.”

“It’s understandable. We’ve only got so many choices.” Dillon rocked on his feet. “It gets lonely.”

“Yeah.” Ryder smiled and reached for Dillon then pulled back. “Give me five minutes, and we can all walk over together. If nothing else, we’ll have each other.”

“I’m going downstairs,” Dillon said. “I’ll see you when you’re done.”

“Sure.” Ryder frowned. “Yeah.”

He disappeared into his room and shut the door.

Dillon waited a moment then darted down to the first level of the mansion. Everything Ryder said had been innocent and even nice. If the circumstances were different, maybe, they’d be friends or possibly couple up, but the wolf wasn’t happy. Dillon hadn’t learned much, but he knew to trust his wolf. If the animal wanted to get away, Dillon wouldn’t argue.

Nat and Syd stood in the foyer, and both wore cowboy outfits. Syd tugged on his leather vest, and Nat toyed with his holster.

“I feel ridiculous,” Syd said. “This is silly.”

“You’d like it if I were wearing chaps with nothing underneath.” Nat curled his fingers under Syd’s chin. “We’ll make Ryan and Delaney happy, have fun for a couple hours, then make our exit and have our kind of fun in our room.”

“Fine.” Syd sighed. “I trust you.”

Dillon wasn’t sure what to say. Everyone around him seemed to be in love or happy. He cleared his throat to let them know he was nearby. “Hi.”

“Look at you.” Nat let go of Syd and grinned. “Classy yet rebellious. I’m jealous.”

“And rhyming.” Syd frowned then laughed. “You both look handsome.”

“Thanks.” Dillon squirmed. “Are you heading over?” Christ, what a foolish question.

“Yeah, once Axl and Leo get down here. They said something about being bikers.” Nat shrugged. “Whatever works.”

Axl and Leo strolled out of the kitchen. Both wore lots of leather and chains. Axl twirled. “Well?” At least, he had on jeans under his chaps.

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