Page 37 of What a Wolf Wants
“Yeah, I’m all for it.”
“Don’t hesitate to tell me if you have to do something work-related or if you’re feeling like you need to rest a bit because of your injury. Other than seeing you wince some, I keep forgetting about your bullet wound,” she said.
“So far, so good. I’ll let you know though if anything’s going on that you need to know.”
“Okay.”
They kissed briefly and said goodnight. He was already wanting to stay the night with her, and he hadn’t felt that way for another she-wolf ever. He’d been happy to date them and kiss them good night and that was it. He had been feeling some pain from his wound, but he’d been sucking it up so he could enjoy the time he was spending with Charlene. He didn’t wantanythingto interfere with their plans.
At home, he took a shower, then headed for bed, glad that the mystery of who had sent the flowers to Charlene had been resolved. He wondered how Tori, Adam, and Sierra were going to subtly mention that Ethan was seeing Charlene in front of Renault and how he would react.
Ethan closed his eyes and swore he could still feel Charlene’s sensuous mouth pressed against his, the way she licked the seam of his mouth and gained entrance, the way her pheromones always sent out devilishly sexy hints that she was as into him as much as he was into her.
For the first time since he’d met a she-wolf that he’d dated, he had wanted so badly to show her that he was the right wolf for her.
***
Ethan woke early the next morning, ready to have some more fun with Charlene and was thinking that if she was interested, he would grill some steaks for them tonight for supper.
He dressed in cargo pants, a long-sleeved shirt, andhiking boots. This time he took a hiking bag with bottled waters, energy bars, and a first aid kit. He called Charlene before he headed over, just to make sure she still wanted to do this. “Hey, it’s me. I’m about to come over, if you’re ready for me. I was thinking about grilling steaks for us tonight too, if you would like to do that.”
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll see you in a minute.”
“I’m on my way over.” He drove over to Charlene’s house, and she had left the door open for him. Grabbing his backpack from the car, he walked inside her home, calling out, “It’s just me.”
“I’m in the kitchen. I love how close we live to each other. How would you like your eggs?”
“Over easy would be great.”
“Sausage or ham or both?” she asked.
“Sausage appeals this morning.” He put his backpack next to the door and joined her in the kitchen. “Do you want me to make the coffee?”
“Yes, thanks.”
But first, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek as she slipped some sausage links into a frying pan. “Good morning.”
She turned her head to smile at him and kiss him back. “Hmm, good morning.”
Then he let go of her and made them some coffee. “Have you scoped out the area where the berry patches are?”
“I saw a few when I went through the forest on my first trip here. We went a different path when we were running as wolves that one night and I saw a few that way too. Oh,if we’re going to have dinner here, we might as well run as wolves afterward too.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a winning plan.” But he realized that’s probably why his arm had been bothering him when they ran the first night as wolves. It didn’t matter. He was healing up day by day, and he wasn’t giving up the opportunity to run with her if that’s what she wanted to do. Then he got a call on his phone and pulled his cell out of his pocket. “It’s…Renault.”
Charlene nearly dropped her spatula into the frying pan that she was cooking home-fried potatoes in. “No.”
“Yep.” Ethan answered the call, pretending he had no clue why Renault would be calling him, and said, “Hey, how’s the job going without me?” He put the call on speakerphone in case Tori and his friends had already let the cat out of the bag about Ethan dating Charlene and that was what Renault was calling him about.
“I hear you’re dating Charlene.” Renault sounded perturbed.
No good morning, hello, no talking about work, just the topic of Charlene—which indicated to Ethan that Renault had really wanted to make something more of getting together with Charlene.
“Uh, yeah, news travels far and wide and…fast. She told me that you and she had known each other through your friendship with her ex-boyfriend. But she had been ready to move on. Did you know that she and Noah had broken up two months ago and he hadn’t even realized she was living in Oregon for a month? She said Noah still wouldn’t haveknown except that you saw her at her place and told Noah about it.” Ethan was trying to catch Renault in a lie while he made some toast for them, then found the butter and strawberry jelly in the fridge and set them on the table.
“Right. I wanted to make sure they weren’t together any longer—which was the only reason I called him about her. I really thought he would say they’d broken up for good. Instead, he was furious that she was living in Portland and never told him she was leaving.” There was a significant pause before Renault said anything further. “You’re really dating her?”
“Yep. I’ve found a kindred spirit in Charlene.” Wolf-wise for sure, and he loved being with her. He set the table. “We have a lot in common. We just suit each other. I hope everything’s going well for you at work.”
