“I refuse to answer that without counsel.”
Jena cracked a smile. “She always saw that, you know. All the girls. Even when you were together.”
Alex frowned. “You’re saying Ted wondered about me and other women?”
“Not while you were together. We all know you’re loyal as hell. I think…”
“What?”
“Maybe she’s worried you want someone who caters to you. She’s not that woman, Alex. She never will be.”
He sat back, almost offended, even though he knew Jena meant well. “What am I? Five years old?”
“What kind of women did you date the last few years?”
“Not as many as she thinks.”
She rolled her eyes. “What kind?”
The kind he could call when it was convenient for him. The kind that would drop everything and come running if he needed a date for a business function. The kind who…
“Shit,” he said.
Jena rested her chin in her hand. “You’re a busy guy. But if you think the word about your girlfriends didn’t trickle back to town, you don’t know the gossip network.”
As if he needed another strike against him. He was already battling Ted’s belief that he was going to take off when the resort was done. And their massive communication problem. Family disapproval. And now he realized he may have inadvertently sent the message that he was looking for what could only be referred to as “arm-candy.”
“That’s not… I mean, those girls were never serious. They weren’t…”
“Hey.” Jena’s voice was quieter. “When you think ten years from now, how do you see your life?”
“Me and her.” His voice was rough. “It’s always been me and her.”
“Then you just have to make her see that.”
He frowned and looked away. Out to the window where a dust-devil swirled in the parking lot.
“What is it?” Jena asked.
“I don’t think I know how.”
Jena winced. “Hurt to admit that?”
“Don’t rub it in.”
She smiled. “Normally, I’d tell you to be upfront and honest, but you’ve done that and it hasn’t cracked her. So, in this case, I’m going to advise you to not be the Alex she thinks she knows.”
“Oh?” The corner of his mouth turned up in amusement. “And which Alex should I be?”
She leaned closer. “Charm her. You can sell anything to anyone, Alex. Sell her on you. Tempt her. Romance her. Reign in your alpha wolf-ness and take a little time with her. She works so much we can barely get her out of her scrubs these days.”
Charm Ted? The idea had merit. But…
“She’ll be pissed if she thinks I’m playing her.”
“You’re not playing her. You’re charming her,” Jena said with a smile. “And besides, you like it when she’s pissed off.”
He stewed all the way over to Ted’s office, parking next to her Jeep and noticing the lack of cars in the parking lot. Apparently, the strep rush was over. At least until all their brothers and sisters got sick. He walked into an empty waiting room with the door to Ted’s office hanging open. He set the sandwich down on the receptionist’s desk and walked in.
She was sleeping on her couch, sitting up, her head thrown to the side as dust danced in the sunlight streaming through the window. Bonnie Raitt’s “You” was playing softly from the speaker on her desk, and her breathing was slow and easy.
Ted was nocturnal, and it wasn’t just her cat. She’d always been more productive at night, speeding through studying or writing at lightning speed. She caught up on sleep in the afternoons, then she was raring to go when she woke. He couldn’t count the times he’d come home from work when they’d lived together to find her just waking up. Afternoons with Ted were meant to be spent rolling in bed. His blood rushed south at the memory.
Romance her, huh? Tempt her? Well, that couldn’t be much of a hardship.
Being patient? That might be a bit harder.
He lowered himself to her side, then leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. Her mouth was slightly parted as her eyes fluttered open.
“Ted,” he whispered.
“Hey.” The smile was slight and sleepy.
He kissed her again, just a brush across her lips, but her mouth moved against his in a lazy caress. Her tongue peeked out and caught the edge of his lip. He moved closer, cupping her face in his hands as her arms came around his waist.
“Hey yourself,” he said as he lowered his mouth to hers. It was soft and slow. Lazy like the afternoon sun and the song on the radio. Her mouth tasted like mint and coffee as he parted her lips with his tongue. She opened to him, stealing his breath when the hands at his back slid up and curled around his neck. She pulled him closer, her tongue meeting his before it drew back and she nipped at his lip.
Alex shifted, easing her onto his lap to straddle him as his hands slid from her face, fingertips trailing down, flirting with the sides of her breasts before he curled them back and pressed on the small of her back, pulling her closer. She arched back at the pressure. He took advantage and trailed his lips down her neck to lick along her collar, biting at the graceful bone that lay under her burnished skin.
“Sexy,” he muttered, biting the other side, sucking at the hollow at the base of her throat. “This right here? So damn sexy.”
“It’s just… a clavicle,” she said, her hands gripping his hair.
“It’s a sexy clavicle.”
“Alex—”
“Do you know—” He couldn’t keep his lips away from her mouth. Her sexy, smart-ass, swollen lips that could curl in a smile or a sneer. He didn’t care which it was, as long as it was pointed at him. He drank from her lips and rocked against her. “Do you know how much I missed you? Missed this?”
Her grip grew tighter. “No.”
“I did.”
“Spent the last few years pining, huh?”
He could hear the bite of sarcasm in her voice. How did he romance the woman who resisted romance? Who analyzed every detail? Luckily, pretty much everything about her turned him on. He ignored her tone and continued trailing soft kisses along her jawline as her hands tangled in his hair.
“I love it that you call me on everything.”
“I annoy you because I don’t buy your bull.”
The rebuke might have been more effective if she hadn’t panted it out.
He grinned into her neck and kept talking. “I like it. I like that you call me on my shit. Don’t ever stop.”
Her voice was rough. “Alex—”
“I like that you interrupt me calling you sexy to tell me the scientific name of what I’m kissing.” He nipped her throat. “It’s hot.”
“Most people find it annoying.”
“It’s annoying, too.”
Her mouth dropped open in protest, but he kissed her, teasing her taste into his mouth before she could speak. Then he grabbed her hips and flipped them over so that she lay under him on the large couch. It was big enough that she’d be able to sleep on it in lion form. He kissed her breathless as her leg curled around the back of his thighs. He rocked into her, imagining he could hear her purr.
“You annoy me,” he said. “I annoy you. It’s only fair.”
Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth swollen. “The door. It’s open. We should—”
“You challenge me.” Another kiss. “Keep me sharp.” More kisses along her neck. “Do you understand?”
“Understand what?”
He met her eyes, let the smile grow over his face. She was under him. Kissed to distraction with lips red from his attention. Charming Ted was going to be more fun that he’d anticipated. He could scent her arousal filling the warm air, but he didn’t push for more.
Patience, McCann.
His lips lowered to hers again as he teased a kiss from her. Then he said against her mouth, “We’re perfect for each other.”
That left her silent. Perfect was never anything that
anyone would have labeled them. Ever.
Not their families. Not even their friends.
“We’re not perfect,” she said.
“Says who?”
“Says everyone. You and I—”
“I know you,” he whispered. “I know you. And you and me?” He bent his head and brushed another whisper-soft kiss across her mouth. “We’re perfect.”
“You’re delusional.” But she wrapped her leg around him more tightly, her body pulling him close.
“I’m not delusional,” he said. “I just have vision.”
Her mouth turned up at the corner. “So you admit you’re hallucinating?”
“I’m not hallucinating this.” His hips rocked against hers, and this time he didn’t imagine it. She definitely purred.
And then she cursed, because the knock at the clinic door was loud, and when the chief of police yelled out, “Hey, Ted!” it wasn’t something either of them could ignore.
Chapter Eleven
Caleb shifted his weight from right to left as Ted looked through the final toxicology report that the chief had added to Marcus Quinn’s file. They both pointedly ignored the restless wolf shifter in Ted’s office. She was half-grateful, half-annoyed that they’d been interrupted. When she said slow, she’d meant it, but Alex had a way of making her question what exactly “slow” entailed.
“The pathologist said he was ordering more tests when I talked to him the other day.” Ted closed the file and handed it back to Caleb. “I’m grateful he didn’t make any mention of the abnormal bone healing in the overall report. The tox is surprising.”
“Marcus was roofied?” Caleb asked.
“Larry mentioned seeing something off in the initial tox. Maybe he just got a hunch. He’s like that. Must have ordered them to test for it. You have to test for benzodiazepines specifically.”
“It’s a date rape drug, Ted.”
“It’s also very easy to give to someone you don’t want to rape, but do want to incapacitate. Marcus’s reflexes would have been slowed and his ability to shift hampered. I’m guessing he wouldn’t have gone out cold, but he’d be easy to manage.”
“Past experience?”
“Not rohypnol specifically, thank God, but the Springs is like anywhere else. Teenagers are stupid and experiment. In my experience, shifters using narcotics either lose control of a shift and can’t shift back, but more often, they can’t shift in the first place.”
“How much would it take?”
She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I could ask Larry, if you want. It would depend on size and weight. Marcus was a big guy. On the other hand, most of us rarely take any drugs, even pain killers, so we tend to be lightweights. When I prescribe something, I use the dosage for normal humans and just ask people to be very careful monitoring their use.”
Caleb kept studying the paper, even though Ted sensed he wasn’t actually reading.
“Easily available,” he muttered.
“And easily masked. Still, it’s hard to imagine someone slipping him something. He’d have trusted whoever gave it to him.”
“Yes,” Caleb said. “Add that bit to the fact that he was shot in the back, and the idea of a crime of passion or opportunity is starting to look unlikely.”
“It was premeditated.”
“Most likely. Nothing about this reads as a crime of passion. We still need to find out if he had any history of drug use. I’ll ask around with his buddies. Hit Josie up again. Though she was pretty certain, and she seems sharp.”
“And that would be your area, Chief—” She patted his shoulder. “—not mine.”
“Yep.” A shuffling from the other room caused Caleb’s eyes to narrow. “Are you talking to McCann about this?” he asked quietly.
“Why would you think that?”
“Cause it took you more than a couple minutes to answer the door just now. I know the wolf’s here. And something tells me you weren’t playing Scrabble.”
“Show’s how much you know.” Alex said from the doorway. “Ted and I are known for our Scrabble games. They’re epic.”
Apparently, making out put Alex in a teasing mood, so she decided to play along. “It’s true. We used to sell tickets in college.”
Caleb sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You know, I think I liked it better when you two were at each other’s throats.”
“Who says we aren’t now?” The wolf’s smirk gave away more than Ted liked. She lifted her hand to her neck in an unconscious gesture, remembering Alex’s lips there and his tendency to mark his territory when he was younger.
Caleb noticed.
“Great.” He looked at Ted. “Wonderful. Confidentiality, remember? He is not privy to the details of this case.”
“Independent consultant, remember?” she answered. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“Fine.” He tucked the file under his arm and turned to go. “I’m out of here. Stay out of trouble, Ted. I don’t want to explain to my cranky pregnant wife why her best friend is in jail.”
She gave Caleb a few minutes to leave before she spoke to Alex. “You had to imply we were necking?”
“I think he guessed that himself. Fairly sure there’s a hickey on your neck.”
“You little shit.” She pushed past him into the hallway that led to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she saw a little redness from Alex’s stubble, but no hickey. “Ass,” she muttered under her breath.
He slid in behind her and put his arms around her waist. “You like my ass and the freckles on it.”
“Alex—”
“Stop fighting this, Ted. Just think about how much fun it’ll be tormenting me with all the added ammunition you’ll have being my girlfriend again.”
She fought the rush of her blood, urging her to give in. He was tempting enough as it was, but when he let out his playful side, she caved. She always had. And it would be so easy…
Ted tried to play off how much his attention was affecting her. “Is that supposed to convince me of something?”
“That you can’t live without me? That I complete you? That I’m the wind beneath your—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth. “Please stop before the cliches go any further.”
He nipped at her fingers until she took her hand away. “Are you sure? I was just about to start on the cat ones.”
“Like curiosity?”
“Mmmm.” He leaned down and his tongue flicked her earlobe. “I like curious cats.”
She cocked her head as an idea struck her. Alex took that opportunity to let his lips wander over the stubble burn he’d left on her neck.
“I like cuddly cats, too,” he murmured, as his hand trailed from her waist down her hip, slowly sliding toward the part of her that was not arguing with Alex’s attempts at seduction. “And if we’re talking about cats, I especially like—”
She slapped another hand over his mouth before he made all logic flee. “How about cats who want to take you to Vegas?”
“Mmnf?” He was frowning when he pulled his mouth from behind her palm. “A boy has dreams, you know. I don’t want Fat Elvis performing the ceremony and you didn’t even ask with a ring.”
“Not that, you idiot.” She was trying not to laugh, but it was hard.
“You mean there are other reasons to go to Vegas? Do you have a secret desire to be a showgirl? Because I’m okay with that, but I prefer a private performance.”
She slowly turned and pushed him away. “One. Track. Mind. Do you remember what Old Quinn said the other day?”
“About Marcus and the mob?”
“Yep. I’ve been thinking about that. Old Quinn may have written them off, but things like that have a way of coming back to haunt people. I’m not so sure that Marcus’s killer wasn’t someone holding a grudge. I wouldn’t put it past someone in the mob to lay low until Marcus wasn’t expecting retaliation. Do you think we can look at the public records and see if any names appear on his business license application? Ma
ybe loan stuff?”
Alex thought for a moment. “I have an assistant in LA who is the public records queen. She lives to dig up details on my competitors. Jolene is good and very discreet.”
“Jolene, huh?”
He grinned. “She’s old enough to be my mom, but her sources are golden. She knows everyone and most everyone loves her or owes her a favor. If there’s a record of any name other than Marcus’s in his business history, she could find it.”
“Can you ask her?”
“I’ll call her this afternoon. And once we find it?”
She shrugged. “Vegas?”
Alex grinned. “Vegas, baby.”
“So you’re going to Sin City with the man you may or may not still be in love with—”
“Who said love? I didn’t say that,” Ted said.
Allie waved a dismissive hand. “And you’re trying to be… what? Dating? You guys have already lived together. Do you need to date a person when you’ve already…” Allie scrunched up her face in confusion. “This is complicated. I’m going to have to learn all this stuff again, aren’t I?”
“What, dating?”
“Yes.”
“Unless you plan on taking Joe back, yeah.”
Allie shuddered. “Never going to happen.”
“Have you even heard from him?”
“Nope. It’s like he dropped off the face of the earth.”
Ted grimaced. Allie was well and done with Joe, but their father’s absence would be hard on her kids.
The fabled Jolene had found a name within hours, and Alex had called Ted and confirmed Vegas was the right direction, so their weekend was a go. They decided to leave on Thursday to beat the abysmal Friday traffic.
Ted had asked Allie over because her friend had borrowed the suitcase she wanted to take for the weekend. Plus, she just felt the need to check in on her.
Jena was naturally distracted the longer she went in her pregnancy. Cambio Springs was approaching the full moon. The urge to shift would be all but irresistible for any shifters other than pregnant women, who could miscarry if they shifted during pregnancy. Not being able to shift made expecting moms more than a little cranky at the best of times. During a full moon, they were practically unbearable.