“Hey, you’re the one who told me that saying anything more would only make things worse.”
She sighed. “So you’re real y serious about this abstinence plan?”
“Deadly serious.”
“Then I’m leaving.” She walked a few feet away and paused to see if he’d open the door.
“You’re stil there,” he said.
“You must rock out on hearing tests. Okay, I’m real y leaving, now.”
“Good.”
She stomped into the living room, making as much noise as possible so that he’d know she was truly moving away from his door. Apparently cake was going to be her only option tonight.
After ordering both the cake and a pot of coffee with a pitcher of cream, she walked into her bedroom and took off her heels. Good thing Aidan hadn’t confronted her on the shoe issue, because these strappy black patent beauties were Gucci.
After al the times she’d dinged him for his expensive tastes, she felt a little guilty about the shoes. Footwear was one of her indulgences because she’d never found an ecofriendly shoe that a girl could take dancing.
Sitting on the bed, she massaged her feet. She loved wearing the shoes ... for about an hour. Sometime during the second hour, her love always waned, and she was as eager to get out of the shoes as she had been to put them on.
Barefoot, she decided to haul out her suitcase and start packing while she waited for the cake and coffee to arrive. She’d simply pretend that she was alone in this penthouse, and that there was no ripped man hiding behind door number two. She was used to being alone on these book tours.
But it was one thing to start out alone and continue on alone. Starting out with Aidan for company and then continuing on alone wasn’t going to be a lot of fun.
They’d been together constantly ever since they’d met at the airport, and she felt somewhat ... attached.
Her feeling of attachment could be related to the great sex they’d had, although she believed it went beyond that. She liked talking to him, liked teasing him, even liked arguing with him. They just ... clicked.
Intel ectual y, physical y, and emotional y, she and Aidan matched up. From his reaction to her, she’d be will ing to bet he felt the same way. But he didn’t dare say so because he had this archaic family obligation. She stil had trouble with that. Talk about lack of personal choice!
The arrival of her late-night treat interrupted her packing, and she went to answer the door. Aidan would have been proud of the way she checked the peephole first.
The uniformed bel man delivering her tray was the same one who’d brought dinner a few hours earlier, so she opened the door.
But just to be absolutely safe, she peered into the hal way. Nobody else there.
“Where would you like the tray, ma’am?” the bel man asked. “Over by the fire? It’s a nice night for a fire.”
“So it is.” She’d intended to fol ow Aidan’s advice and close herself in her room, but she would never be in this penthouse again, so why not enjoy cake and coffee in front of the fire? “That would be terrific.” She walked over and flicked the switch to turn on the flames.
The bel man arranged the tray on the coffee table and handed her the check to sign. She added a generous tip and gave it back. “Thank you. This hits the spot.” At least it hit one spot: the chocolate craving part of her. That would have to suffice.
“Have a nice evening.” The bel man smiled and left. The door locked behind him with a soft click.
Emma sat on the sofa and fixed up her coffee exactly the way she liked it. Denver would be soon enough to begin cutting back on cream and chocolate. Tonight she needed both.
Her coffee on the end table and her cake in her lap, she stared into the dancing flames and told herself to enjoy the experience because she wouldn’t have a fireplace in her next hotel room. Then she took a big bite of cake. Maybe she wouldn’t cut back on chocolate in Denver, after al . She’d be feeling deprived enough without denying herself that bit of comfort.
The cake was gone way too soon, and sitting in front of the fire by herself wasn’t nearly as much fun as she’d hoped it would be. She set the empty plate and coffee cup on the tray before standing and stretching. After turning off the fire, she carried the tray into her bedroom. She could finish off the coffee while she packed.
When she decided to shut the bedroom door, she told herself it wasn’t because she was putting more barriers between her and Aidan. Closing the door made the bedroom feel cozier. Too bad every time she looked at the big bed, she remembered curling up in Aidan’s arms last night.
Her turquoise suit hung in the closet in a plastic bag, and when she checked it, al the chocolate was gone. She unhooked it from the rod and pul ed off the plastic so she could pack the suit in preparation for her next event in Denver, on Monday.
As she folded it, she heard her bedroom doorknob turn, and her pulse kicked up a notch. So Aidan had given in, after al . Working to hide a smile of triumph, she faced the door. But as the door opened, adrenaline shot through her. The person coming into her room wasn’t Aidan.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Theo, dressed in an old black sweatshirt and sweat-pants, closed the door behind him and twisted the lock.
Then he faced her looking smug. “Hel o, Emma.”
At last she found her voice. “How did you get in?” She was proud of herself for the calm way she said it despite the painful thudding of her heart.
“I have your key.” He reached into the pocket of his black sweats and held it up.
“That can’t be mine. Mine’s—”
“Not anymore.”
Then she remembered someone had jostled her at the party. She’d had to clutch her purse to keep it from fal ing off her shoulder. “You were at the party.”
“No. I hired the finest pickpocket in the greater Chicago area.”
As the panic slowly cleared from her brain, she realized that, although he stood between her and the door, once she cal ed for help, Aidan would be between Theo and escape.
“I don’t know if you’ve thought this through very Well. Once I start yel ing, you’l have nowhere to run.”
“I know, but I’m will ing to take that chance. I’m hoping you won’t start yel ing until you’ve heard what I have to say.” His gaze was earnest. “This is critical, and you’re the kind of person who will understand the issues.”
Lord help her, she was eternal y curious about people, and he’d just appealed to that curiosity. She’d start yel ing in a minute. With Aidan’s sharp hearing, he’d respond quickly. “What issues?”
“I can tel from the way you write about werewolves that you real y get them.”
“Theo, if you’re about to claim that you’re a werewolf, then this conversation is over. There’s not enough spirit gum and fake hair in the world to convince me that you’re ...” She paused as he raised a hand and fur began growing on it.
Blinking, she looked again. “Okay, that’s a trick. I don’t know how you’re doing it, and it’s very impressive, but I want you to stop. It’s creepy, Theo. It’s not a turn-on for me, if that’s what you’re hoping.”
“You say that now, but just wait.” He nudged off his shoes.
Damned if hair wasn’t growing on his feet, too. “Stop that, Theo! Eww!”
“Believe me, yet?” His voice had deepened into something resembling a growl.
“Good God! What are you doing to yourself?” She stared in horrified fascination as the seams of his sweat suit ripped open. This wasn’t happening. She couldn’t be seeing what she thought she was seeing.
And yet ... Theo was gone. Standing in his place, with bits of black fabric clinging to its black fur, was a large wolf. It took a menacing step toward her.
She screamed, and in the same instant her bedroom door splintered as a large form hurtled through it. Now a second wolf, larger and more powerful than the first, stood by the shattered door. The golden-eyed creature from Emma’s nightmare had arrived.
Chapter 17
Aidan had stuffed towels under the crack in his bedroom door to block out Emma’s scent once he’d realized that she was intent on hanging out in the living room and he’d be able to smel her easily there. That had been his first mistake, muting his ability to smel .
Then he’d made a second mistake. Desperate for a distraction, he’d cal ed Roarke, knowing his brother would provide an extra incentive to keep him in his own room. Roarke hadn’t disappointed. His disapproval of Aidan’s methods for neutralizing the threat from Theo registered about nine on the Richter scale.
“So you’re tel ing me that last night, after shifting, you waltzed into her bedroom to check on her? You couldn’t have thought to do that before you dressed in your fur overcoat?”
“You know I can think better after a shift.”
“That’s debatable, buddy boy. A thinking wolf wouldn’t have tiptoed in to peek down at Sleeping Beauty, knowing that she might—oh, I dunno— wake up and said wolf’s ass would be grass. That’s the sign of a wolf who’s a few bones shy of a ful rack of ribs, if you know what I mean.”
Aidan closed his eyes and let his brother rave on. Roarke was his lifeline to sanity, his anchor, so he wouldn’t go out that door. Emma was will ing to spend the night in his arms. She’d said as much not long ago. And now she was eating cake, the same cake he’d fantasized rubbing al over her firm little body just so he could lick it off.
“Do you want me to fly over there tonight?” Roarke sounded eager to get into the middle of this rodeo. “I could take the corporate jet and be there in no time. We could double-team Theo, and with me there, you won’t be as tempted to boink the lovely Emma.”
“No, I don’t want you to fly over.” Aidan smiled. Roarke would grab any excuse to climb into that corporate jet. Then he’d talk the pilot into letting him have the controls. He was licensed for single-engine aircraft, and Aidan predicted he’d be piloting the Learjet before too much longer.
“I think I should,” Roarke said. “From the sound of things, you don’t have this situation under control.”
“Theo didn’t make a move tonight, so he may have gone to ground. This penthouse is as safe as Fort Knox, so no worries for now. I’l see if I can smoke him out tomorrow morning. Once Emma leaves, I’l be free to handle this any way I choose. I—hold on.” He walked over to the door and sniffed. Even through the towels he’d stuffed under the door to block Emma’s scent, he picked up a musty odor, like that of a werewolf shifting ... Shit!
Dropping the phone, he pul ed away the towels and flung open the door.
He commanded his shift as he moved and ignored the ripping of seams. His Tshirt and sweats lay in pieces along his route. Straining toward the shift, he heard Emma scream. He entered the final phase right as he launched himself through the central panel of the door. He was counting on it being hol ow. Fortunately, it was.
One quick glance told him Emma was okay, at least physical y. Her eyes were wide with shock. He had no idea how he’d explain this. The nightmare excuse wasn’t going to cut it this time.
But Theo was his first concern. They didn’t have to fight if Theo acknowledged Aidan’s superiority. Avoiding a fight would be a good thing, considering that Emma was there to witness it and they were surrounded by expensive furniture. The ruined door could be the extent of the damage if Theo would cooperate.
The black wolf spun around to face him.
Aidan held Theo’s gaze as they circled each other. Give it up, Theo. You’re outgunned.
That’s what you think, old man. Bring it. I can take you any day of the week.
Theo snarled and flattened his ears to his head.
Aidan didn’t discount the young werewolf’s age and agility. Chances were he’d been in a fight more recently than Aidan, who no longer felt the need to battle for dominance. He’d proved himself when he was younger, and the pack members knew he was in line to take over when his father stepped down, so the chal enges had been few and far between recently.
Now he wished he’d sparred more with his brother, just to stay sharp. But he would handle Theo. The kid was risking the future of packs everywhere, and he had to be stopped. Tonight.
Aidan kept his attention firmly on the black wolf. Your choice, Theo. This can be easy, or it can be hard. I’d advise you to make it easy on yourself.
You’re stalling.
I’m giving you a way out.
Theo growled low in his throat. Fuck you, Aidan.
So be it. Aidan moved in a split second ahead of Theo’s charge and lunged for the black wolf’s throat.
Emma’s scream registered but didn’t deter him. He knocked Theo to the ground while sinking his teeth into the soft skin beneath his jugular. A quarter inch more and he’d take the young wolf’s life. That was guaranteed to ruin everyone’s evening.
So he eased up, which al owed Theo to twist away and turn, closing his teeth over Aidan’s hind leg. Ignoring the pain, Aidan pul ed his leg free. Being hamstrung by this young pup wasn’t his idea of a good time. And now he was bleeding al over the carpet. Housekeeping was going to hate that.
No more Mr. Nice Guy. He lunged for Theo’s throat again, and this time he held on and issued his ultimatum. Give up unless you want your carotid artery severed.
You won’t kill me. I’m a Henderson.
The kid had a point, damn it.
I’ll claim self-defense.
From the corner of his eye, Aidan saw Emma approaching. She had the hotel hair dryer raised as if she was about to bring it down on somebody’s head. Whether it was his or Theo’s, he couldn’t be sure.
He’d take his chances. Don’t look now, but Emma’s about to bean you with a hair dryer.
No way.