“You’re
He took a seat, smiling to himself. There was something about Big Bad Wolfie-Girl. He was always tense with excitement around her. Part of him longed to touch her. The other part urged him to run. Fast. No doubt, that was the part controlled by his brain. Unfortunately, his brain never worked well around her.
She was part animal, that was the problem. It gave her a wild, aggressive nature, and that appealed to a primitive need inside him. An ancient and raw caveman need to possess her.
But the civilized part of him knew Brynley was not the kind of woman who should ever be possessed. She was a free spirit. A wolf. A princess.
She would always be beyond his reach.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. In the last thirty minutes, he’d zipped through a bunch of tasks as quickly as possible. He’d stocked an ice chest full of bottled blood, then he’d teleported it to the cabin.
It had been a few years since he’d been to Phil’s cabin in Wyoming, and a quick inspection had left him pleasantly surprised. Phil had modernized the place into a vacation home for himself and Vanda, and it now had electricity and running water. A bathroom and utility room had been added onto the back of the cabin.
It was still basically one room—combination den and kitchen with a table and chairs, and some furniture arranged around a large stone fireplace. A trapdoor led to the basement, which was now furnished with a king-sized bed. A second bed was in the loft above the kitchen, which could be reached by climbing a ladder.
He made several trips to the cabin, teleporting back and forth from Romatech. He brought a laptop and Internet card, plus a stash of weapons and ammo from the security office. Then he raided the cafeteria for food to stock the refrigerator and pantry. Brynley was doing him a big favor, agreeing to go with him, so he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.
With the cabin ready, he turned his attention to himself. The MacKay uniform of khaki pants and navy polo shirt wasn’t going to blend in. He needed to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Freemont told him there was Western wear at Leroy’s House of Class, so he made a quick trip there.
Freemont also remembered there was a great pair of cowboy boots in the wardrobe closet at DVN, so Phineas teleported there to grab them. Back at Romatech, Laszlo had embedded a tracking device into one of the boots while he packed a duffel bag with underwear, socks, T-shirts, jeans, toiletries, and his fancy new shirts from Leroy’s House of Class.
He teleported the duffel bag to the cabin, then back at Romatech, he went over all the job details with Freemont one more time.
“It’s all right, dude,” Freemont assured him. “I got it covered. Besides, you’re just a phone call away.”
“I can’t be sure I’ll always get a connection,” Phineas warned him. “I’ll be out in the middle of werewolf country.”
“With Big Bad Wolfie-Girl.” Freemont snickered.
Phineas winced. He shouldn’t have shared that name with his little brother. “This is a business trip.”
“Yeah, but I know what kind of business the Love Doctor’s into.” Freemont slapped him on the back. “Just don’t let her bite you.”
Phineas groaned inwardly as he waited in the school office. He had to be crazy, taking Brynley with him. He glanced at his watch. She’d been gone ten minutes. Maybe she’d changed her mind about going. To his surprise, that thought didn’t bring him relief, but a twinge of sadness.
He enjoyed being with her, looking at her beautiful sky-blue eyes, creamy skin, and mane of wild hair. He even enjoyed the way she prodded and poked at him. It was a challenge to keep up with her. And fun.
A smile tugged at his mouth when he recalled how she’d given LaToya a shock. She’d been outrageous, calling him back to bed, claiming he made her scream. He’d known, of course, that she was joking, but his groin had still responded. Now he had to wonder—why had she come to his defense? Had she felt angry on his behalf?
No, he pushed that thought aside. She hated vampires. She’d made that clear many times in the past. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder. Had she objected to his clothes because she enjoyed picking on him, or was she trying to protect him? And if she was concerned about protecting him, was she doing it out of a sense of duty or because she actually liked him?
He sighed. He needed to stop looking for emotions that didn’t exist. He’d wasted two and a half years imagining that LaToya actually liked him. How pathetic it would be to make the same mistake twice.
He heard footsteps approaching and rose to his feet.
Brynley entered with a few shirts draped over her arm. Behind her, a group of women hurried into the room. Toni, Caitlyn, Olivia, Marta, Vanda, and Sarah. They greeted him as Brynley dropped the shirts on the desk.
He nodded at them. “Hello, ladies.”
They exchanged looks and giggled.
“I told you he’d say it,” Sarah whispered.
“He sounded just like he does on TV,” Marta added.
Olivia smiled at him. “We really enjoy your commercials, Phineas.”
“Okay.” Brynley shook out a plaid shirt and gave the women an annoyed look. “You heard his sexy voice. You can go now.”
Sexy voice? Phineas studied her, not sure what to think. One time she’d told Connor and Marielle that he had a tight ass, but he could never figure out if she was complimenting him or insulting him.
“Try this on.” She handed him the shirt.
He glanced at the blue plaid shirt, then at the other women. They showed no sign of leaving.
“Come on, guys.” Brynley waved her hands to shoo them away. “You’re embarrassing him.”
“How could he be embarrassed?” Vanda asked. “He has a great chest.”
“And he has to know it,” Marta added. “Why else would he show it off on television?”
He frowned. Did people think he was an exhibitionist? “I’m sure the clothes will fit. Brynley and I need to get going.”
The women all moaned with disappointment.
“Please, Dr. Phang,” Sarah whined. “We’re your biggest fans.”
“Oh, get a grip,” Brynley fussed at them. “It’s just a chest. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
Oh really? Phineas had a sudden desire to prove her wrong. He dropped the blue plaid shirt on the chair, then unbuttoned his fringed shirt with vampire speed and tossed it on the floor.
The ladies squealed and clapped, but he ignored them, focusing only on Brynley to see how she reacted. Her gaze darted over him, then quickly looked away as if she wasn’t interested.
With so many people in the room, he found it difficult to focus on her heartbeat alone, but he could swear that hers was the one that was pounding the fastest. And her cheeks were blushing again. She
His own heartbeat sped up as he put on Phil’s blue plaid shirt. Instead of buttons, there were snaps. A vision flitted through his mind of Brynley popping all the snaps open as she ripped off his shirt. And then they would get naked and it would be—
“A perfect fit!” Vanda announced.
He jumped. Oh, she meant the shirt. He pushed aside the vision.
“That’s wonderful!” Marta clapped her hands. “Now we can send you off to Wyoming looking your best.”
Toni stepped forward to shake his hand. “Best of luck to you and Brynley.”
“Thank you.” He was going to need luck. And a lot of cold showers.
All the women shook his hand and hugged Brynley. Vanda stuffed her husband’s shirts into a Dragon Nest Academy tote bag and handed it to him.
Brynley swung her handbag over her shoulder and grabbed hold of her duffel bag. “I’m ready.” She approached him hesitantly.
He slipped a hand around her waist to draw her closer. “You’ll have to hold on to me when we teleport.”
“I know how it works,” she muttered, then placed her hands on his shoulders while staring at a white button on his shirt.
“I’m up here,” he whispered.
Her gaze lifted.
