Page 76 of Ice Wolf
After scratching his head, he nodded toward the open door. “Why not. I could use one myself.”
He led us into his man cave, the only room in the house my mother absolutely hated and refused to come in. I’d learned early on he’d created it on purpose just to have his own private time and space away from her.
Don’t get me wrong. They adored each other. They were the original Hallmark couple, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get on each other’s nerves from time to time. Pops had even told me early on when I became involved to keep my own place as long as humanly possible.
Now Lily and I were going to be living together. There was some kind of twisted irony in that. But I’d created the nightmare. That much I had to constantly remind myself of.
He said nothing as he poured us both a drink, but his heavy sighs were a clear indication thoughts had been rumbling in that big head of his.
When he turned around, his eyebrows were furrowed. He handed me the drink and continued staring at me. He used to do that when I’d been caught doing something wrong and he needed to punish me. Tonight just hadn’t gone the way I’d thought it would.
“Rocco showed himself,” he said.
“Yeah, he came close to shifting. The man has no control.”
“I guess the same thing could be said about you.”
My jaw was clenched from hearing his admonishment. “Yeah, well, he deserved the beating he received.” I didn’t need to tell him why. Doing so would be an admittance I believed she could actually be my mate.
“You know your mother is going to go balls to the walls on your engagement.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell her it was fake, assuring her the idea was ridiculous.”
“I didn’t because I’m not certain it is.”
I already didn’t like what I was hearing. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means as soon as I saw the two of you together in the first picture, I had the same feeling you obviously did. She’s your mate. Do you know how lucky you are that the two of you crossed paths? Of course, I wasn’t certain until I opened the door. Her scent is off the chain.”
“That’s not used any longer, Dad. It shows your age.”
He waved it off. “I’m pleased you found her. Maybe getting married will calm down your libido and cut back on the extra testosterone created by your Wolfie.”
“My Wolfie, Dad? Really? You used to use that term when I was five.”
“Hey. The term stuck. Sue me. But I’m serious. From what I could tell in watching the game, you played much better than you usually do. There was no hesitation, no need to destroy your opponent. Just a little craving for violence here and there. I’m proud of you.”
Pops had always been the expert in giving backhanded compliments. I knew he wanted the best for me, but marriage to a girl who considered me the most stuck-up human on the planet wasn’t on my bucket list. Just like I wasn’t on hers.
Whatever I decided, it was best to placate my dad for the time being. That generally helped avoid his long discussion on the birds and bees, wolf shifter style.
“I don’t know, Dad. That’s a huge assumption since she’s human and all.”
“Maybe. But there could be other reasons her scent is so strong.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged his shoulders. From what I’d been taught as a child, mating with a human was impossible. Dating? Marriage? Even having kids? Sure, that happened every day, but true mating, the kind where the male enjoyed the rut as much as the chase, could only occur when twoCanis lupuswere coupled. I couldn’t envision that the prim and proper likes of the little librarian with the penchant for destroying arrogance could tolerate that kind of sex.
I grinned from the thought as nasty visions floated through my mind. Just envisioning her wallowing in the mud on a rainy day spun my libido out of control, my cock aching like a son of a bitch.
His deep breath was followed by a scratch of his stubbled jaw. “Well, I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but there are various scientific reasons dating back to the Stone Age.”
I gave him a dour look. “Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”
“Very true. I could tell you stories about your great-grandfather and some very unconventional mating habits.”
I threw my hand out. “Not tonight, Pops. I still have a small crisis on my hands.”
