The Werewolf Meets His Match (Nocturne Falls Book 2) (23 page)

Hank waited in the hallway. “Is he still asleep?”

She closed the door, turning the knob slowly until it clicked. “He woke up when I was taking his jeans off, but went right back to sleep.”

Hank nodded. “He’s a great kid. I like him.”

“He likes you, too.” She draped her arms around Hank’s neck. “I think you’re pretty amazing myself.”

He settled his hands on her hips, sending a thrill through her. “Tomorrow’s your last day to change your mind about marrying me. Not even a full day. We’ll be in front of the justice of the peace by five.”

She leaned into him, a sudden surge of desire making her knees go weak. “Same goes for you.”

He walked her back against the wall and held her there with the length of his hard body. “I’m not changing my mind.” His mouth went to her neck.

She sighed and arched against him, welcoming the friction between them as he trailed kisses down her throat. The full moon was one night away and it sang in her blood like a siren’s song, its pull intensifying every feeling until her body was one giant needy ache.

A soft groan left her throat, and his hands slipped under her shirt, hot and insistent. They traveled up her rib cage until his thumbs brushed the undersides of her lace bra.

Her nails dug into his shoulders. “It’s too bad we can’t go for a run.”

“Mm-hmm,” he murmured without taking his mouth off her skin. “We’ll have to think of another way to use up all this energy.”

The vibration of his words sent a shiver through her skin, and all she could manage in response was a mewl of pleasure.

He slid his hands down under her thighs and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Lucky for you, I just had an idea.”

She hung on to him as he walked them into his bedroom, tangling her hands in his hair and kissing him. “I bet I know what it is.”

“I bet you do, too.” He laughed and nudged the door shut with his foot, then he dropped her on the bed and yanked his shirt off over his head, the gold gleam in his eyes pure lust.

Holy nakedness, the man was unbelievably hot. She grinned.

“What’s that look for?”

“How crazy sexy you are.” She pulled her T-shirt off, too, leaving herself in just a black lace bra and jeans.

“I think crazy sexy is your department.” He nodded as she tossed her T-shirt onto the floor. “Keep going. All of it. The only thing I want you wearing is that smile and that ring.”

She laughed out of sheer happiness.

Tomorrow she would be Mrs. Hank Merrow.

Tonight she would be anything he wanted.

It was a rare day that Hank slept in. He chalked it up to extreme contentment. He rolled over to find the sun in his eyes and his bed empty, but the sounds that carried up from downstairs were happy ones. Ivy and Charlie, fixing breakfast no doubt by the aromas of coffee and bacon that were wafting up. He threw his arm over his head and grinned up at the ceiling.

Amazing how your life could change so quickly. In such a great and unexpected way.

What hadn’t changed was his need to get to work. He got up, grabbed a quick shower and headed downstairs in his uniform. “Morning.”

Ivy smiled at him with the sort of knowing look that told him she’d been very happy with his performance last night. Not a bad way to be sent off to work at all. “Morning, tiger.”

Charlie looked up from a plate of scrambled eggs, his eyes going big at the sight of Hank in his uniform. “Are you a cop?”

“I’m a sheriff.”

“Is that a real gun?”

“It is.”

“Do you arrest bad guys?”

“I do. And sometimes bad women.” He shot a glance at Ivy, who gave him the don’t-you-dare-tell look.

“Wow.” Charlie’s eyes hadn’t left the gold star on Hank’s chest.

“You want to come down to the station later and take the secret tour?”

He whipped around to look at Ivy. “Can I, Mom?”

“You bet.” She raised her brows at Hank. “Around lunch?”

“Sounds great.”

“That’ll give me time to take him to the walk in clinic for a quick check up. How about some breakfast?”

“Love some, but I don’t have time.”

“Already thought of that.” She passed him a wax-paper-wrapped bacon and egg sandwich and a travel mug of coffee.

He shook his head. “You’re something else, you know that? I could get used to this.”

She winked at him. “Just taking care of you.”

“I love it.” He lifted the sandwich and the coffee. “I’ll make sure Birdie’s free in case you need her.”

“I think I can manage. Besides, Birdie will probably have wedding fever today. I’m sure she thinks there are still a million things to do.”

“In that case, Charlie can hang out at the station with me until it’s time to go.” He started for the garage door, then paused. “Why would there be a million things left to do? We’re still doing the justice of the peace thing, right?”

“About that…”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Do you own a tux?”

He frowned. “Do I look like a guy who owns a tux?”

“Then you need to get over to Corette’s and get one.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Charlie might need one, too.”

“What’s a tux?” Charlie asked.

“A monkey suit,” Hank answered.

“I’m not wearing one of those,” Charlie said.

“Hank.” Ivy narrowed her eyes.

Hank nudged Charlie with his elbow. “Hey, if I have to, you have to. Besides, your mom wants us to look nice. Plus, we can be monkeys together.”

“Can I have a badge like yours?” Charlie asked.

“I can arrange that.” Hank pushed the stopper back on the mug and took a sip of coffee. The kid was all right.

“Fine, I’ll wear one. But I probably won’t like it.” Charlie went back to eating his eggs.

Ivy laughed and shook her head. “Why do I feel like you two are forming some kind of alliance against me?”

Hank swallowed. “We’re wearing the suits, aren’t we?”

“Thankfully. Do you really have to go right now?”

He looked at his watch. He could skip checking in on Bridget one morning. “I could stay another fifteen minutes if you need me.”

“I do. I haven’t had a chance to get a shower. Can you hang out with him until I’m done?”

“Sure.” He’d wanted to talk to Charlie alone anyway.

“Great. I’ll be fast.” She put down the dish towel she was holding and ran upstairs.

When he heard the water start running, he turned to Charlie. “You know your mom and I are getting married today.”

The little boy nodded. “I know.”

“What do you think about it?”

“I think it’s good.”

“I’m glad you approve. That’s important to me.” He hesitated, not exactly sure how to phrase his next question. The last thing he wanted was to upset Charlie. “Can I ask you some questions about the night you were supposed to turn?”

Charlie frowned. “I guess.”

“I just want to know what happened. How you felt.”

“I didn’t turn, you know.”

“I know. How did that make you feel?”

Charlie put his fork down and stared at his plate. “I felt bad. And scared.”

“Because you couldn’t turn? Or something else?”

He shrugged and went quiet for a long second. “I asked Grandpa what to do, and he said no one in his family needed directions.” His little shoulders rounded. “Then everybody else but Mom turned into wolves, and they were really big and all around me, and Grandpa’s wolf growled at me.”

Poor kid. Hank stayed quiet and let him talk.

“Mom picked me up, but Grandpa turned back into himself again and told me to stop being a baby and just shift.” Charlie sniffed. “I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.”

Being able to shift wasn’t really something that could be taught. It just happened. But Hank was starting to question Charlie’s inability to shift. Getting growled at by his grandfather couldn’t have been a very encouraging environment. “Do you ever feel different as the full moon approaches?”

Charlie looked up at him. “I dunno.”

Hank took another sip of his coffee. “The full moon makes me want to run around. I feel like I have extra energy.”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I feel like that sometimes. Like…now a little bit.”

“You want to run around now?”

He lifted one shoulder. “Kinda.”

“You want to play a little game with me?”

He perked up. “Okay. What is it?”

“Follow me.” Hank put the coffee and sandwich down then jogged up the stairs.

Charlie raced alongside, following Hank into the room that held his gym equipment. Time to see if Hank could get a clue about what was going on with Charlie.

“I’ll do something, then you do it.” Hank grabbed the chin-up bar and knocked out five pull-ups, counting them out as he did, then dropped to the floor. “Your turn.”

“No fair.” Charlie crossed his arms, a mini-version of Ivy. “I can’t reach it.”

“That’s okay, I’ll lift you up.”

Charlie stuck his hands up, ready to be lifted. Hank picked him up, and the little boy grabbed hold of the bars.

“I’m letting go.”

“Okay.”

Hank took his hands off Charlie, and the kid did five without blinking an eye. “Wow. Good job, Charlie. Can you do more?”

Grinning broadly, Charlie did another five reps.

Hank smiled. The kid definitely had the strength of a shifter. “You won that one. Do you want me to lift you down?”

“No.” Charlie glanced at the floor but didn’t let go.

“It’s not far,” Hank said. “You can do it.”

“I know.” Charlie took a breath and dropped, landing lightly on his feet.

Hank stuck his fist out. “Nicely done, kiddo.”

Charlie bumped his little fist against Hank’s. “Now what?”

“We’ll play the rest of the game this afternoon.”

“What game is that?” Ivy walked in, towel-drying her hair and wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

“It’s guy stuff.” Hank winked at her.

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Guy stuff.”

Amusement sparkled in her eyes. “All righty then.” She looked at Hank. “Don’t you need to get to the station?”

“I do.”

“And you.” She pointed at Charlie. “You need a bath, son.”

“Aw, Mom, do I have to?”

“Yes. Bathroom. March.”

Charlie dragged himself out of the room like he suddenly weighed a thousand pounds.

Hank snorted out a laugh, then gave her a quick kiss before heading out. “See you at lunch.”

“See you,” she called after him.

Birdie was already at her desk when he got in. “What are you doing here?” she asked “You have a wedding to get ready for.”

He stopped to pick up his messages. “I’m getting a tux from Corette this afternoon. Other than that, I just have to show up.”

“Men.” She shook her head. “You haven’t done a thing to help with this wedding.”

“I called the J.O.P. That was a thing.” He gave her a sharp look. “You’re talking about it like it’s the event of the year. We’re going to the courthouse at five o’clock. There’s nothing to prepare for.”

“What about the reception afterwards?”

His eyes narrowed. “What reception?”

“For your
guests
.”

“We haven’t invited anyone.”

“Not even Titus and Bridget? And if you think you’re keeping me away—”

He raised his hand. “Okay, I get it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What do we need to do?”

“I’ve already done it. The reception is in the back room at Howler’s. Bridget is setting up a buffet dinner, so nothing fancy, but it is what it is. Delaney Ellingham is making the cake, so of course she and Hugh are invited. And with Corette helping with the wedding attire, it only made sense to ask her and Stanhill to attend as well. And isn’t Ivy’s brother still in town? Plus a few other people.”