Page 68 of Bully Wolf's Nanny
“Something like that,” Daisy said, running a hand through her hair, turning back to give Thea a smile. Herdaughter clambered out of the car and ran over to the huge wolf, a massive grin on her face.
“Hi, Dane!”
“Well, hello there, squirt! What are you doing all the way out here?” Dane’s voice trailed off as he asked the question, as if it had only occurred to him now how odd it was that they were indeed in the woods in the middle of nowhere at nightfall. “Daisy? Care to weigh in?”
“Shit,” she muttered. Dane hadn’t heard. It had been less than twenty-four hours since she had left, but she had assumed the whole pack would know by now. But if Dane was in the dark, she had to take advantage of that. Otherwise, like it or not, he was duty bound to bring her back to the pack.
“We’re going to visit my friend Amelia,” she said, the lie tripping off her tongue, “for the weekend, I mean. And my car broke down and I don’t have any cell service, so it’s really great to see you!”
Dane grunted. “By yourself? I’m surprised Nicolas didn’t want to go with you. Or give you a better car.”
“This is my car,” she said quickly. “I…I guess he didn’t want to hurt my pride.”
Dane’s eyes narrowed, and she fought to keep her smile steady. There was no way in hell Nicolas would ever let anything as petty as her pride get in the way of giving her nice things. She could only hope Dane would believe her.
“Well, I’m sure I can get it fixed,” he said. “I’ll drive you to your friend’s place. It’s not safe for you to be so close to Black Claw territory by yourself.”
She bit back a protest, forcing a grateful smile onto her face. “Thank you so much, Dane, that’s…very kind of you.”
It didn’t take long for Dane to fix the car. After he had shifted, and Daisy had given him a spare oversized T-shirt and some of her comfy men’s joggers, hiding her eyes and burning cheeks from his naked form, he had gotten right to work. After a few adjustments, the engine purred to life, and they were off.
“So, what’s with the last-minute visit to this friend’s place?” Dane asked. “Couldn’t you have taken the train? Or Nicky’s stupid helicopter?”
“I wanted to drive,” she said, “it helps…clear my head.”
“I get that,” Dane replied, “I feel the same about my Harley. Didn’t Nicky want to come with you? Or is that bitch Francesca still causing issues?”
“Dane,” she hissed, glancing back at Thea’s sleeping form, “language!”
“Hah! She hears worse from Felix’s boys. I'll tell you that much. Shame really. They’ll miss her when she’s gone.”
“What?” Daisy’s mouth went dry, and she looked over at him in alarm. He cocked an eyebrow at her, keeping his eyes on the road, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
“C’mon, Daisy. I know a half-assed escape attempt when I see one.”
“B-but, you’re helping me? You’re not taking me back to the pack?”
He shrugged, huge shoulders comically large in the small car. “You’re not an official member of the pack, so unless Felix tells me to, I ain’t gonna drag you back kicking and screaming. I figure you got your reasons, yanno?”
She sat back, head spinning, unsure whether or not to trust him. He didn’t seem like he was lying though, and underneath all the bluster, she suspected he really was a decentguy. He’d never been that bad to her at school. It had always been Nicolas.
“Thank you, Dane. Really. I owe you one.”
“Is this Amelia chick hot?” Dane asked, smirking at her. “Cause if you’re still off the table, I’d be down for a blind date.”
“What do you mean, if I’m still off the table?”
Dane’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Yeah, bro code, you know? You’ve been off the table since we were, what, fourteen? Fifteen? Nicky called dibs.”
“Nicolas…called dibs on me? When we were fourteen? But that was before…” Her lips clamped shut and she looked over at Dane in alarm, but he was only smiling.
“Before he first kissed you? Yeah, it was years before. He’s been in love with ya ever since that piano recital thing you did in ninth grade.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you know? He wasn’t exactly subtle about it. All that bluster, the name-calling and shit, that was just to keep his father at bay. May that asshole rest in hell forever.”
“But he…he told me…”
