Her bite fell out of her mouth. “Oh!”
“Both of them.” He nodded. “Didn’t notice?”
“My lips are numb.” She smacked them together, relishing in the tingly feel of them. “What’d you say?”
“Nothing.” He laughed. His voice was nice. Scratchy and warm. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
“Okay, but Logan,” she said as she stumbled out of her chair. “It’s really sweet, what you do. The taking- care-of-everyone thing. That’s nice.”
He caught her, roping his strong arms around her waist. “Thanks.”
“There’s more.” She looked up at him. His face was blurry, but still handsome as heck. “If the stalker kills me, will you really take care of my cat?”
He smiled and tugged her against him. “How about I take care of you instead, so it doesn’t come to that?”
Chapter Seventeen
Friday evening and the rehearsal dinner had come too quickly. Veronica had spent the entire day holed up in her hotel room, and Logan hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about what happened last night.
Did she remember anything?
Knowing he was a wolf, she’d said he was nice, and the world didn’t implode.
Following two car lengths behind Veronica’s Lexus, Logan pulled into the downtown parking garage for the Starlight Tower Club. He exited his truck before she got out, and used his heightened senses to pick up sounds or smells that might strike him. There was the occasional car honk, the buzz of the city, the smell of leaking oil from the Buick next to him, and smoke from a Cuban cigar that some guy was puffing near the elevators.
No sign of the stalker.
They were no closer to finding him, either. The fingerprint results came back, though they weren’t much help. They got a solid “unknown” print, but couldn’t match it against any “known” prints in the system. The postmark showed that the stalker had mailed a few notes from the post office nearest Veronica’s house, but it didn’t take a genius to guess that he was in close proximity when he sent them off.
Logan couldn’t figure out how the guy was getting close enough to take pictures of Veronica all the time. He should’ve seen a guy snapping shots or detected the scent of a wolf. And he couldn’t even think about the fact that the pervert had sneaked into her house while she was sleeping to leave earrings on her coffee table.
The anger flaring inside him was like a cancer, spreading through his body, stirring a vicious current of vengeance in his blood. Veronica might not have said she wanted to be his for all time, but damn it, he yearned to protect her with everything he had.
Still, he failed.
There wasn’t much time left before Jake’s wedding. Failure was a bitter pill to swallow, and Logan hated to admit he was choking on it. Again and again. Damn, he hated this wolf with a burning passion. Once Logan got his hands on him, he’d relish the thought of snapping his neck.
Veronica exited her car and walked past Logan without a single glance. Her brown hair was slicked back into a ponytail, a sign that she was going to be all business tonight. A cream-colored dress hugged her hips and flowed in silky material to her knees. It was soft, delicate, and sleeveless, showcasing her toned arms and slender back. As he followed her, Logan had the urge to walk up from behind and wrap his arm around her tiny waist. If he had his way, they’d whisk up the elevator, joking about the last time they were in one together. When they reached the top floor where the wedding was going to take place, he’d step out with Veronica on his arm.
His chest swelled at the thought.
What was happening to him? He should be focused on finishing this job and moving on to the next one. Instead, he was thinking how great it would be to have Veronica on his arm, for always.
“You ready for tonight?” He pressed the button for the elevator and stood beside her.
“Of course.”
They stood still as stones, gazes locked on the doors. The elevator took its sweet time.
“Have you heard from Leah and Jake?” he asked.
“Leah called me thirty minutes ago.” She cleared her throat. “Their flight was delayed in Portland due to problems with the plane.”
The doors opened and they stepped inside. “But they’re supposed to be here.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “You look stunning tonight.”
As the doors hissed shut, Veronica looked Logan square in the eye. Her mouth was set in a grim line, and her color was paler than normal. She looked as though she hadn’t been sleeping well, and he wondered if it had to do with him or the stalker. He hadn’t been sleeping either. But upon further inspection, Veronica’s dark eyes sparkled, giving away some sort of emotion brewing beneath the surface of her put-together persona.
“Last night, did we…you know,” she said.
“I drove you back to the hotel, used your key to let us in, tucked you in bed, and left. That’s it.”
“But I was in my pajamas,” she said as the elevator zipped them up. “You changed me out of my clothes.”
“Perk of being the DD.” He chuckled. “I looked away. Swear. Cocoa was my witness.”
“Don’t drag Cocoa into this.” Her voice was stern, but a smile was curving the corners of her lips.
“Listen, about last night—”
“Don’t, Logan,” she interrupted, putting up her hands. “Don’t start. Let’s drop it. I drank too much, and whatever I said was probably grossly exaggerated.”
“Okay.” He stared at the mirrored panels inside the elevator, then pointed to the reflections around them. “These would’ve been nice to have last time.”
“I said don’t.”
He shrugged. “Just saying.”
As the doors peeled apart, Veronica practically spilled out onto the burgundy-carpeted floor. Biting back a laugh, Logan followed her out. She veered left and picked up her pace, as if she wanted to put as much space between them as possible.
The Starlight Tower Club was stunning, with wraparound windows that allowed an unobstructed panoramic view of downtown Seattle. The floor opened up into an elegant dining hall that was spacious and packed to the limit. The place was hoppin’. Each table occupied by people lost in private conversation and delicious-smelling food.
“See anyone you know?” Logan asked, checking out the sparkling waters of the Puget Sound.
“Not yet. We’re part of the McKenna party,” Veronica said to the hostess as they approached a counter that separated the foyer from the rest of the room. “Has everyone else already arrived?”
“They’re in the private party room in back.” The hostess pulled at a tiny mic on her lapel. “Two more for the McKenna party.”
Logan rapped his fingers against the counter. “Any idea how many of my friends will be here tonight?”
“Enough,” Veronica said, tilting her head at him. “More than enough.”
…
Too many, in Veronica’s opinion. This evening was going to go smoothly, she’d make sure of it. She couldn’t afford loose cannon packmates who wanted to drink up, lose control, and get hairy and stupid.
Why wouldn’t the Advil kick in already? Her migraine had teeth. Mangled ones that were digging into her skull. She didn’t drink
So he was hot. And surprisingly generous. He was still a werewolf, and they had undeniable anger issues.
“This way,” the hostess said, and led them across the restaurant to a private section. A curtain separated
