Wolf Quest (24 page)

As if speaking about him had conjured him up, Jesse walked in and flopped down on the couch next to Maria, throwing one arm behind her along the back of the couch. He looked tired now that they’d arrived safely at their destination.

“I guess she told you?” Jesse’s words were for Sally as he dropped his arm to Maria’s shoulders and pulled her in close against his warm side.

“Told me what exactly?” Sally’s eyes narrowed although a smile hovered over her lips.

“That I just added another dryad to our Pack.” He laughed as he said it and squeezed her tight against him. “Maria is my mate, Sal. We already sealed it inside a sacred circle. It’s a done deal.”

Sally squealed and jumped out of her seat, leaning in to hug first Maria, then Jesse, then Maria and Jesse together.

Jason walked into the room and Sally jumped up and hugged him too. “Did you know Jesse and my new cousin were an item?” she accused playfully.

“I suspected, based on Jesse’s evasiveness every time I mentioned the good doctor, but I wasn’t sure.” Jason grinned broadly as he came over to the couch. Jesse stood and accepted his brother’s back-pounding hug. “Congratulations, Jes,” Jason said as he released his older brother. He turned to Maria and took her hand, helping her up from the couch to stand in front of him. “I know you’re not well versed in how things work around here, but Sally and I will help in any way we can. Welcome to the Pack, Maria.” He hugged her and Maria felt the true feeling behind his words. She was touched by the genuine warmth of Jesse’s younger brother and feeling just a tiny bit overwhelmed.

“All right, all right. That’s enough of that.” Jesse pulled her away from his brother playfully and wrapped one arm around her waist, drawing her close. “You’ve got your own woman, Jay. This one’s mine.”

They all laughed at the brotherly ribbing, and although Maria would’ve loved to talk more with her supposed cousin to try to figure out where she fit in, a jaw-cracking yawn didn’t go unnoticed. Jason moved back and Sally seemed sympathetic.

“You’ve been on the road all day,” Jason stated, moving toward the door. “You’re probably tired. Are you going up to your place or do you want to crash here for the night?”

Jesse turned to look at Maria and caught her yawning again. “Much as I’d love my own bed right now, I think we’d better get horizontal as soon as possible. We’re both pretty tired. I guess we’ll use one of the guest rooms here, and I can show Maria our place up the mountain in the daylight so she can get the full effect.”

“Good,” Jason said decisively. “I already had one of the women fix up the suite on the southwest corner for you.” He rubbed his hands together as he led the way out of the parlor. “Don’t worry about your vehicle. I’ve got someone taking care of all the loose ends. Your duffle bags should already be in your rooms and you’re just down the hall from the bears, in case you were wondering. I’ve got extra security on the Pack house tonight and will keep that going until the bears move on, but we can discuss details for their protection tomorrow, Jesse. I’m going to need your help with that.”

“Of course.” The two men moved forward together back into the main entryway, discussing plans for the morning, leaving the women to follow.

Sally caught Maria’s hand and her attention. “I’m really glad to have you here, Maria. Maybe we can find a little time tomorrow to talk.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Maria said politely, meaning every word. Now that she was here and had met these folks in person, she wanted to learn more about them.

If they really were going to be part of her family, she had a lot to discover and a lot to tell them as well. For one thing, she would bet her last nickel that her aunt and grandmother were already on their way, wanting to know all about Maria’s new beau. They’d already foreseen him, but now that the storm was over, they’d want to meet him and his people. And they wouldn’t wait for an invitation. Of that she had little doubt.

The Alpha pair left them at the grand staircase and Jesse made her yelp when he snatched her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs like something out of “Gone With the Wind”. She was secretly glad. She was so bone weary that she hadn’t been looking forward to mounting all those stairs on her own two feet.

Jesse seemed to know exactly where he was going in the big house, so she closed her eyes and nestled her head against his shoulder, willing to let him take her wherever he wanted to go. Though she did open her eyes a few times just to get a glimpse of her surroundings.

Jesse carried her through a couple of hallways and down a corridor marked by closed doorways at more or less regular intervals. Sort of like a hotel but not quite. It wasn’t as sterile in its décor for one thing. And the spaces between rooms was much larger. Everything here was built on a grand scale.

He opened a door, jostling her a bit but refusing to put her down. Jesse carried her across the threshold and kicked the door shut behind them. She looked around and realized they were in a sitting room. French doors were open to an inviting bedroom only a few yards away, and as he approached the soft-peach room, she noted another open door to a luxurious bathroom where steam was rising from a bathtub filled with lightly peach-scented water.

“Oh, man, does that look good. Is that bath for me?”

Jesse walked into the bathroom and set her down, finally, on her feet in front of the bathtub.

“Yes, ma’am. A relaxing soak for you. A quick shower for me to wash away the miles and help us both unwind a little so we can rest well tonight.” He pulled his T-shirt off over his head. “Hop to it, missus.” He flicked her playfully with the shirt before and throwing it in a hamper in the corner.

Her tired brain fixated on the hamper. “Do they have laundry service here?”

“Sort of. We’re only staying one night, but the ladies on laundry duty will make sure our clothes find their way back to my place after they’re laundered. We all help each other in the Pack. I protect. Some of the older ladies seem to like doing domestic tasks. A few of the older gents keep the screen doors from squeaking and fix the appliances, that sort of thing. Everyone pitches in, doing what they’re best inclined to do.”

“Sounds a little like a commune,” she observed, removing her travel clothes. She felt decidedly grungy after so many hours on the road.

Jesse laughed at her comment as he undressed near the lavishly tiled shower in the corner of the big room. “We tend to rely on ourselves more than the outside world, though Jason’s made some changes that allow us to mix a little more freely with humans than we did before. Most of our kids attend college now. A generation ago, that was forbidden. We seldom interacted with humans and mixed marriages were discouraged to the point of banishment.”

“Wow. That’s harsh.” She slipped off her underwear and placed all her clothes in the hamper before submerging herself in the fragrant water of the bathtub.

“We’ve been sort of reexamining history since this thing with the
Venifucus
blew up again. It seems that during the last great battle against Elspeth, all the Other races banded together and worked in unison to bring about her defeat. After that, they went their separate ways. Over the centuries, the alliances broke down and suspicion and fear took over. I tend to think the
Venifucus
—who never really went away, we now realize—were behind a lot of the dissention. I think they fomented anger and distrust between our races and even among humans.”

“That’s…diabolical.” But Maria could see the truth in his ideas. Somebody had turned werewolves and vampires into super villains even in human society. Growing up, she’d never heard one good thing about either race—although that was starting to change. Maybe Jason’s decision to allow the Pack members more interaction with human society was having an influence.

“Yeah, it is. But we’re working to change all that. We’re forming alliances with Others. Shifters of all kinds, magic users who are on the right side of things, even bloodletters, as you saw.” Jesse turned on and adjusted the water in the shower before diving in.

On her side of the bathroom, the warm water was having a relaxing effect on Maria. She began to drift as a very naked Jesse stepped into the shower, out of sight. Damn, he was gorgeous. She wondered again what a man built like that really saw in her? She wasn’t going to question it too closely because she didn’t want to jinx things, but she felt lucky to have him. Not only was he a man of honor—one of the most important attributes in any person, in her opinion—but he was built like a Greek god. On steroids.

Did the bath water suddenly get hotter? Maria felt flushed and she knew the cause. He was standing under a hot spray of water only a few feet away from her. They were both naked but separate. She really needed to do something about that.

Maria washed off, using a brand new scrubby that still had the tag on it. These guest suites were really stocked well, if this bathroom was any indication. She rinsed her hair using the handheld sprayer and luxuriated in peach-scented heaven while Jesse took a shower so hot that steam billowed out into the room. Or maybe, she thought with a giggle, water just sizzled into steam when it touched him. He was certainly hot enough all by himself.

“What’s so funny?” Jesse’s voice rumbled near her ear, making her jump. Her eyes popped open and she realized she’d been so caught up in the hypnotic heat of the water combined with her own thoughts that she hadn’t even heard the shower cut off. Jesse sat on the rim of her tub, a towel wrapped low around his hips.

Her mouth went dry. Damn. He really was as beautiful as a man could be.

The silence dragged on until his gaze went from amused to molten. He reached over and pulled the plug on the drain.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of there. I have a surprise for you.”

She didn’t say a word as he held out a heated towel for her to step into. He wrapped it around her, taking a moment to give her a hug from behind and nibble on her ear. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and he chuckled, noticing his effect on her.

He guided her out of the giant bathroom, through the bedroom and into the sitting room. A rolling tray with a plethora of covered dishes stood to one side of a small table by the window that was now set with two place settings. Crystal goblets of water and beautiful china graced the table, as did a single red rose in a crystal vase and a candle ready to be lit.

Maria gasped, taking it all in for a moment.

“I thought you might be hungry.” Jesse sounded a little uncertain at her back.

She turned and stared up at him. “This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me,” she said seriously, smiling to keep from weeping at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”

His expression went from nervous to confident as he bent to place a chaste kiss on her lips. She wanted more, but he wouldn’t allow her to take the kiss deeper. A little annoyed but willing to play the game his way for now, she stepped back and moved toward the table.

Jesse served what had to be the most delicious, exotic, romantic meal of her life. He lit the candle, and though there was no alcohol served, the water was even better. Mountain-spring fresh and filled with a magical sparkle that spoke volumes about the source and the lands from which it came. Pack lands, Jesse told her. There were natural springs all over the mountain from which they drew their water, and they did their duty as custodians of this woodland, to keep the land pure, the way nature intended.

She could tell. The spring water was invigorating in a way that most other water in the human world was not.

Maria didn’t realize how hungry she was until the aromas hit her as Jesse lifted the covers off the dishes of food. He ate easily three times the amount that she did, which was fine with her since the helpings were generous. There was even desert, though that was not as huge a portion as the meat had been, which made sense to her. Wolves were carnivores, after all.

She enjoyed the cherry cheesecake, eating every last crumb. After the past few days of travel, fear, fighting and worry, she figured she deserved a little splurge.

As she licked the last creamy bits off her fork, she became aware that Jesse was staring. She looked at him, going from oblivious to very tuned in to him in a flash. Her licking motion on the fork stuttered to a halt and then started again with new purpose. She went slower, teasing him, showing him her tongue and hoping it reminded him of what she could do to him with it.

Judging by the bulge in his towel, they were on the same page.

She kept licking until the very last bit of cheesecake was gone. Jesse watched her every move, his mouth parted slightly until she put the fork down. He sat there for a moment before his eyes narrowed and a low, sexy growl rumbled through his chest.

He stood and scooped her into his arms, quick as a flash, taking her into the bedroom and kicking the doors shut behind him before tossing her onto the lush bed. She bounced a little, laughing at his eagerness. She felt exactly the same. She’d waited too long to have him all to herself, in a bed where they didn’t have to rush.

Jesse threw his towel to the floor and reached for hers. Rolling her out of it, he pounced on her the moment she came to rest on her belly. One of his hands was on either side of her face and she could feel his knees brushing against the outsides of her thighs.

He lowered his upper body, rubbing his lightly furred chest against her back and growling. She felt the rumble pass through his chest and into her body. The feel of it—of him—made her breath catch. Damn. That was sexy.