"Yeah, or at least that's what the email on my-laptop!" My face paled and I whipped my head to Adam. "I left my laptop at your house!"
He jumped to his feet and in the blink of an eye he was by the door with his coat in hand. "I'll fetch it," he offered as he opened the door.
I turned and leaned over the arm of the chair that lay nearest the door. "But what about the wolf's bane smell?" I argued.
"I doubt much remains of it, and what little there is won't effect me. I'll return in five minutes." He sped out the open entrance and slammed the door behind him.
I frowned and leaned back onto my feet. "What a stubborn, unselfish, suicidal man, and damn him for being so cute about it," I mumbled.
In a minute a silver sedan came into view from the direction of my gate, and at the wheel was the familiar, albeit strained, face of my boss. Beside him, decked out in tall, wavy blond hair that contrasted sharply with her suntan-bed skin, was Bunny. Her tight shirt pushed her chest assets into view over the dashboard and something squirmed in her arms. The car cruised down the gravel driveway and stopped in front of the door with the passenger side near the edge of the porch. Bunny hopped out and I rolled my eyes when I noticed the yapping, squirming-um, dog in her arms. I wasn't sure if I was being kind calling it a dog, or insulting dogs for putting it in with the rest of them. The mutt was a golden, wire-haired chihuahua with large, pointed ears and a bark that hurt my eardrums.
I stepped onto the porch and smiled at the pair. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Whinier."
Bunny let out a twittering laugh that sounded like a squeaky washing machine. "It's so wonderful to see you and your lovely home!" She stepped her high-heels onto the porch and engulfed me in a hug that included the yapping Mexican hors d'oeuvre in her arms.
"Glad to see you, too," I wheezed out. I separated us and turned to my boss. He stood at the open trunk and piled luggage after matching pink luggage into his arms. On his face was a frown deeper than the Grand Canyon and twice as terrifying. "Here, let me help you," I offered.
"I need it," he grumbled.
I gathered up half the luggage which filled the spacious interior of the trunk and led them into my abode. "The bedroom you'll be staying in is this way. It's a little rustic," I warned them as I directed them into the back room. I flipped on the switch and smiled. Adam had cleaned up the space and set out a beautiful old quilt on the bed. I would have to give him a kiss as a thank-you later, he seemed to enjoy those.
"What a quaint little place! And what a lovely quilt!" Bunny cooed. Mr. Whinier grumbled something as he set the luggage at the foot of the bed and I did likewise.
"I'm glad you like it. Did you want something to eat or drink?" I offered.
Bunny waved her hand at me and shook her head. "No, we ate before we left. My little Snookums insisted on food." She squished the dog against her-ahem, ample assets attached to her chest and kissed the air in front of the animal's face.
"You must have left early," I commented.
"Bunny insisted," Whinier grumbled.
"I just had to see this rustic place of yours! It's just so-well, rustic!" Bunny giggled.
"Yes, well, let's go sit on the couch and have some coffee or cocoa," I suggested.
Bunny clapped her hands and the dog jiggled against her. "Oh goody!" She hopped from the room.
Mr. Whinier sidled up next to me and lowered his voice. "You have something strong I can put in that drink?" he asked me.
"I could dig something up," I whispered.
"Good. Do it," he ordered me. He followed his loud wife into the living room.
A few moments later I stood at the sink preparing Whinier's pick-me-up juice of black coffee and whiskey left over from Johnson's hunting parties when Adam returned. He stepped inside and tucked under one arm was my laptop. I looked up from the sink and my smile faltered when I noticed his face was more pale than when he'd left.
Bunny stood at the opposite end of the couch, and when Adam stepped inside her eyes widened and one corner of her mouth tilted up into a curvaceous smile. Her little dog yapped louder and with more energy than before. "My goodness, who do we have here?" she wondered. She glared down at her noisy dog in her arms. "Snookums, quiet! Quiet, Snookums!" Snookums didn't quiet, and she plopped the dog on the couch beside her husband.
Snookums jumped off the couch and stood before Adam with hackles raised and teeth bared. Adam stared indifferently at the little monster, but with each bark Mr. Whinier flinched. Finally he could take no more and turned to the yapping mutt.
"Shut up!" he shouted. Snookums yipped and raced for the room. I heard him collide with the luggage. He no doubt buried himself deep within the bowels of Bunny's clothes.
Bunny glared at her husband. "That wasn't nice," she scolded him.
"That dog was too loud," Whinier argued.
Adam shut the door behind himself and the attention returned to him. He smiled and kindly bowed his head to my two guests. "My name is Adam Smith. I'm a neighbor of Christina's," he introduced himself.
Bunny's ire at her husband and her concern for her dog flew out of the room as quickly as her pet had done. "Adam Smith! What a quaint name!" she cooed. She flew over to Adam and looked him over with an eye that made my blood boil. It startled me how much jealousy I felt as this other woman eyed my boyfriend like he was a rich stack of meat ready to appease her appetites. "My name is Bunny Whinier, and the man over there is Mr. Whinier."
"Adam is also my boyfriend," I added.
That didn't faze Bunny. She let out her twittering laugh and turned to me. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing. He is very handsome, isn't he?" She was so excited by his appearance she could hardly keep her sentences in the same thought.
Mr. Whinier sat glumly on the couch and ignored his wife's antics. He turned around to face me. "Monet, we have some business to discuss," he informed me.
"Business? Already? We only just got here," Bunny protested. She swooped in on her husband and plopped herself into his lap. He let out a little wisp of air and his face softened when she slid a finger down his cheek. "Couldn't we talk business later and go for a hike now? I'm dying to try out my designer boots you bought me."
"I could show you the trails," Adam offered. I cringed and slashed my finger across my neck. Whinier wasn't one for nature hikes. Adam got the hint. "Or perhaps that isn't the best idea. It rained quite well last night and the trails will be slippery."
Bunny waved a hand at Adam and laughed. "Don't be silly! A little water never hurt anyone!"
"I'm staying here," Whinier insisted.
"Oh, come on, my wittle baby-kins, you want to go for a little walk," she argued.
"Not when I have work to do. Monet, you're staying, too. I want to talk to you about your article output and quality," he ordered me.
I cringed. It was a double-whammy of seeing Bunny walk off with my boyfriend and being left behind with my boss. This day just got a hell of a lot longer.
"Then Adam here can take me, and we'll have a wonderful time without you," Bunny replied. She hopped to her feet and smiled coyly at Adam. "You just wait there and I'll be ready in a few minutes." She hurried into the bedroom and shut the door behind her.
Adam sidled up to me and handed me my laptop. "What have I gotten myself into?" he whispered to me.
"A date with the ever-horny Bunny," I told him. He cringed and I noticed his hands shook by his side. "You okay? You don't look so good."
"The hike up the hill was more than I anticipated for my weakened body," he explained.
"You sure you can take her for a hike? You look half-exhausted already," I pointed out.
He gave a nod. "I will take her along the easy trails and stay nearer to the cabin than she suspects. If anything does go amiss it will be a quick return to the cabin."
I pursed my lips and sighed. "All right, but be careful." He turned away, but I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. I stood on my tiptoes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. "And don't do
anything stupid," I repeated.
Adam smiled and brushed his hand against my cheek. "I'll be fine. Trust me."
Those were famous last words.
Chapter 7
A few minutes later the door to the bedroom flung open and Bunny hopped out with her arms over her head. She wore an outfit I can only describe as a mockery to outdoorsmen. Her baggy pants and shirt had the pattern of camo gear, but the bright pink color of the Easter Bunny. Her boots were shiny and had velcro instead of shoelaces, and around her waist was a belt that had fishing hooks, short leaders, and small, silver balls of weights attached to it. My first thought was to find a lake and throw her in for bait.
"I'm ready!" she shouted.
The corners of Adam's mouth twitched as he tried to keep from laughing. I turned away and choked on my fit of amusement over the kitchen sink. "That's a very interesting outfit," Adam commented.
Bunny jingled the fishing supplies in her well-manicured hands. "Isn't it? I had it specially made with all these pretty things I saw on the fishing channel."
"Well, if you're ready we'll go for the hike, but it won't be for very long. There are bears in these woods that are very dangerous," Adam told her.
Bunny skipped over to him and attached herself to one of his arms. She pressed her cheek against his captured arm and tilted her head up to batter her eyes at him. "I feel safe already."
Adam coughed and slid from her grasp. "Yes, well, we'll be back in a few minutes," he told us couch potatoes. Whinier made a gruff sound and I waved to them.
"Good luck," I called as they left. I turned from the door and lowered my voice. "You'll need it. . ."
"All right, Monet, down to business," Whinier spoke up. "Bring your laptop over here and show me the newest articles you've got."
I reluctantly seated myself on a couch cushion beside him and he scoured my latest internet masterpieces, an oxymoron if there ever was one, and corrected every typo and grammatical error with all the mercy of a Gulag prison guard. I winced and cringed as every word was changed or struck out.
After watching him for twenty minutes he finally put my articles to rest and placed my laptop on the coffee table. "Not bad, but needs some work. It all seemed a little rushed and boring. This place isn't exciting enough for you?" Before I could stop myself I snorted. He whipped his head to me and his eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" Here was the boss I knew and feared.
"It means I've had a fun time here, but there's been a lot of work to do around the home that's distracted me from my work. It won't happen anymore," I explained.
Whinier gave a curt nod. "Good, I don't mind accommodating some of my better writers when they live away from the office, but I won't tolerate any slacking off on the job. Don't just sit in your pajamas all day twiddling your thumbs. Get outside! Meet the people around here! Search the internet for the latest news! Anything but being a slacker." He punctuated his grand speech with a knock of his fist against the table.
I jumped when there came an echo of the pound, but it originated from outside on the porch. It was followed quickly by a yelp and then horrible silence. After a few tense moments the door opened and Bunny sauntered inside. Her face was bright red and her eyes were aflame with passion. Behind her was-well, no one.
I jumped to my feet and looked for Adam, but he didn't come. "Where's Adam?" I questioned her.
She coyly smiled and waved her hand toward the door. "Just out there. We had a nice, long walk and the finish was a little too rough for him." I noticed there was a red mark on the left side of her long, slender neck. It almost looked like a hickey. Bunny flung off her coat and plopped herself down on the couch beside her hubby. "You missed a great walk, Honey-Buns."
"I doubt it," he grunted.
I walked around the back of the couch and hurried outside to the porch. I turned my head to the right and no one was there. A look to the left and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Adam right beside me. His skin was pale and he violently shook. I closed the door behind me and caught hold of his shoulders.
"What happened? Are you okay?" I asked him. He ground his teeth together and shook his head. His eyes were scrunched shut and I studied his stiff, tense form. My eyes traveled down his arms and I noticed his balled fists had thick bunches of hair on their backs. His teeth were also slighter longer than they should have been if he were fully human, and his shirt was tight in my hands. I tilted my head to one side and blinked. "You didn't transform in front of her, did you?"
He shook his head. "No, but nearly so," he growled.
I tugged him away from the wall and off the porch so we wouldn't be overheard. "What happened?" I pleaded with him.
He took a few deep breaths and relaxed his muscles. His fur and fangs retreated back into his body, and he opened his eyes. They were his normal color again. He nodded at the woods in front of the cabin. "I led her through the woods close to the cabin for ten minutes until I suggested we turn back. She-well, returning so quickly wasn't her intention."
I frowned. "I can imagine, so what happened next?"
"I insisted we not follow her carnal desires and return to the cabin. We reached the cars when she-well, she performed as her namesake suggests and hopped onto my shoulders. In my weakened state the woman was impossible to pull off and I stumbled forward onto the porch and against the cabin's front wall." He ran a hand through his hair and shuddered. "She was as much an animal as Ashton. Her hands and lips were-"
I pressed one of my fingers against his. "I get the picture. Then what?"
"I panicked and my wolf senses told me to attack my attacker. She slid off my back and I faced her. I nipped at her neck to scare her away. She took it as a sign of affection and victory, and broke off the contact to enter the cabin." He sighed and shook his head. "In my long life I have never met a human female as wild as that."
"Yeah, I'm surprised she hasn't killed anybody in bed, but you're okay?" I leaned toward him and he tried to lean away.
"Please don't come to near. I don't want to bite you," he told me.
I frowned and pressed my chest against his. "There's going to be none of that I'll-protect-you-from-me-by-keeping-us-apart bullshit."
"But-"
"But nothing. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend, or not?" I questioned him.
"We are, but-"
"Stop using that word. There will be no 'buts' in this relationship except the kind I can admire. Since mine isn't that great to look at yours will have to be the one I can admire. Preferably uncovered, but I like you in tight pants, too," I told him.
Adam smiled and I found our positions of dominance quickly changed when he wrapped his arms around me. My breasts pressed against his firm chest, and I noticed his shirt was covered by a slight sheen of dew from the fog. He leaned down and his sultry voice brushed against against my ear. "I could certainly arrange for a private showing if you wished."
My cheeks blushed and I tried to push away, but he held tight. "You don't need much encouragement, do you?" I asked him.
He chuckled. "I am male."
"Doubly male with that wolf inside of you," I reminded him. I glanced back at the cabin and nodded toward the door. "Speaking of carnal things, you think you can handle being around Bunny again or should you hide away in your cabin until the storm's blown over?"
He pursed his lips and followed my gaze to the door. "I am not sure yet. Perhaps a day away from her would be the wisest action to take."
My shoulders slumped, but I nodded. "Unfortunately, yeah. Just wish me luck that I can make it out this visit with my sanity intact."
"I will pray for you," he promised.
I snorted. "Thanks, now get along before one of them comes out wondering if a bear's eaten us."
Chapter 8
Adam left me to my fate of a day alone with the pair of Whiniers. I stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and-almost plunged inside. My outstretched hand hovered over the knob when the sound of raised voices greeted my ears. I leaned against t
he door and listened to the conversation.
"Why do you always have to pick on me?" Bunny whined.
"Why do you always have to fornicate with every male who bats his eyes at you?" her husband's louder voice growled back at her.
"He came on me! It's all his fault!" she argued. I glared into space. She was more the viper than I took her for.
Whinier snorted. "How can they help in when you attack them? And don't try to deny it! I caught you with that store clerk last year, remember?"
"He was helping me dress," she defended herself.
"But you insisted he undress you, and I had to pay a pretty penny to get him to stay quiet," Whinier countered. I heard heavy footsteps march a short distance across the floor and stop. "You're going to ruin us both with your antics! One more lawsuit and we'll probably be bankrupt!"
"Alfred! Don't say such a thing!" I clamped one hand over my nose to keep from snorting. I'd forgotten my boss' first name. "What would our friends think if they heard you say that?"
"We'd have more friends if you'd stop trying to jump in bed with all the husbands, and I don't give a hang of what they think! They haven't given me the connections that I wanted, so they can go jump in their expensive Olympic pools for all I care!" Whinier growled. There was my cut-throat boss. Even in personal dealings everything was business.
Bunny scoffed and her high-pitched voice rang through the door. "And how is that different from my wanting to-to get to know the gentlemen better? Well? You're using them just as much as I am, so there!"
"Mature," I muttered. My voice must have been too loud, or the door was too thin.
"Shut up!" Whinier hissed.
I coughed to warn them of my presence and stepped inside. The pair stood on the opposite side of the couch and Whinier hurriedly plopped himself down on the nearest cushion. Bunny scowled at her husband, but her face changed to a smile when she looked to me.
"Only you? Where is that devilishly handsome man of yours? I didn't hurt him with my tripping into him, did I?" she asked me. I wondered if she had any shame.
"He's been feeling a little under the weather, so he went home," I informed her.
Her lip puffed out in a pout. "Oh phooey. Well, I suppose I'll just go take a nap. Not much else to do around here. Just call me when lunch is ready, and have some of that delicious cocoa of yours for my drink." She waved her fingers at me and strode into the bedroom where she shut the door behind herself. I heard her speak to her Snookums and there was the squeak of the bed hinges as she plopped herself onto the mattress.