“I don’t need a present for that particular party, but you won’t believe me.” He set his ice cream bowl on an end table and walked over to the duffel bag that still sat in the entry. “Let’s go on Sniffer and see what information we get on the subject.”
“I just realized you haven’t unpacked from your trip.”
“I’ve been busy.” Crouching down, he unzipped the duffel and pulled out a laptop. “I should thank you, by the way. Until you managed to coax the powers that be to lay cable up here, I was dead in the water when it came to going online. That was going to be a big problem for gathering supporters for WARM. You helped the cause.”
“Oh, goody.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about his cause. It sounded elitist to her, but then, she wasn’t a werewolf living in fear of discovery. She should remember that before passing judgment.
After crossing to his bookshelf and turning on a modem tucked in with the books, he sat on his sofa with the laptop. Soon he’d booted it up. “Come on over. I’ll show you what Sniffer looks like.”
Unable to resist, she sat on the sofa next to him. He was giving her entree into a secret society, and that was the stuff of novels and movies. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about this, ever.
As Jake typed his log-in and password, she thought about how her parents would react if she tried to tell them about Jake and his underground community. She wouldn’t, of course. She would keep this secret forever, and once Jake believed that, they could go about their separate lives.
But it was still interesting to imagine what sort of response she’d get from her folks. Her dad would think she’d gone stir-crazy up here in the woods. Her mother would want to believe, but she might eventually side with her husband and decide Rachel was imagining things again.
Realizing that she’d never convince her closest family members comforted her. A secret wasn’t particularly fun to tell if nobody believed you and instead hustled you off for a psychiatric evaluation. Jake might be worried about exposure, but Rachel didn’t think it was all that likely.
“So here we are. This is Sniffer.” He pointed to a screen that closely resembled Twitter. “Let’s see what I can dig up without alerting anyone as to why I’m asking.”
“Because you have your reputation to protect?”
“Exactly.” He typed in “Researching origins of condom-free Were sex. Was it always this way?” Then he hit the Send button and sat back.
“I see you’re following Duncan MacDowell on Tw—I mean
“Have to. He’s a lunatic and I have to keep track of what madness he’ll suggest next.” Jake seemed to relish the idea of going toe to toe with MacDowell.
Rachel took note that Jake, like many of the human males she’d known, enjoyed the challenge of a worthy opponent. Duncan seemed to fill the bill. His posts were funny and intelligent, just like his book. She’d like to meet him someday but doubted she ever would.
She watched in fascination as messages popped up on the screen accompanied by a little snuffling sound. Sniffer, indeed. Werewolves seemed to have a sense of humor. “Who’s @Kate Stillman? Duncan references her a lot.”
“His mate. She’s being groomed to take over the alpha position in the Stillman pack, which is based in Denver. That’s where the first annual conference was held last fall.”
“A werewolf conference?”
“Yep.”
“Denver was full of werewolves and nobody knew about it?”
Jake glanced at her. “We’re very big on security. Kate organized the conference and did a great job. The sad part is she hooked up with MacDowell during that conference and changed her stripes. She used to be firmly aligned with us, the conservative contingent. Now that she’s MacDowell’s mate, she’s more wishy-washy.”
“Fascinating.” Rachel could have been listening to a politician from a red state talking about a turncoat colleague, except, once again, Jake was discussing werewolves. “But how can Kate serve as the Denver pack alpha when her mate Duncan’s from Scotland? I read his bio in the front of his book, and he lives in some place called Glenbarra.”
“He’s relocated to Denver, which doesn’t please me. He’s charismatic and he’s liable to do more damage in person over here. I wish he’d stayed in Scotland.”
“I see.” As they sat huddled over the laptop, Rachel didn’t miss the coziness of the setup. Jake’s big warm body next to hers had a predictable effect. She scooted sideways but stayed close enough to read the messages.
“Afraid of me?” Jake didn’t take his attention from the screen.
“You’re too damned sexy for your own good, Hunter.”
“Thank you.” He swore under his breath. “Now MacDowell’s suggesting private nightclubs where humans and werewolves could meet. What a moron.”
“If he’s so big on mating with humans, why did he choose a werewolf, and a budding pack alpha, at that?”
“He didn’t intend to, but he fell for her, and that was that.” Jake typed something to @DuncanMacDowell on the subject of Were-human nightclubs. “Aha! There’s a Sniff responding about condoms. And there’s another one. Three more. Looks like a popular topic.”
“Let me see.” Rachel leaned closer as the computer erupted in a chorus of Sniffs directed to @JakeHunter.
Thank God Weres don’t need those blasted things!
Another reason for Were-Were sex. No explanation needed.
Ready to give up on human chicks. They all insist on one. Yuck.
No offspring until I was mated. Great system, eh?
The Sniffs kept coming, piling on top of each other. Rachel finally stopped reading and leaned back against the plump cushions of Jake’s sofa. It seemed that he was telling her the truth—werewolves didn’t need condoms.
And why wouldn’t it be true? She’d fallen down the rabbit hole and discovered an alternate universe where
She’d just been introduced to a Were-only digital messaging system called Sniffer. Jake had casually mentioned that someone named Kate Stillman was being groomed to be the alpha for a pack in Denver. A blogger named Duncan wanted to set up private Were-human nightclubs.
And last, but certainly not least, she was sitting within a few inches of someone who looked like a man but could turn into a big black wolf. She should ask him more about the logistics and timing of that maneuver, too. If they were going to spend quality time together, and it looked as if that might be in the cards, she didn’t want to wake up and find herself in bed with the big bad wolf.
“Convinced?”
She nodded. “Yes.” Standing, she began her round of pacing. They had more to discuss, and she needed to put some space between them while they talked. Earlier she’d let herself be swept along on a tide of lust, but that was when she’d thought sex with Jake, as long as he stayed in human form, would be like sex with any man.
But if he had built-in birth control and some sort of natural shield against disease, what else was in store if they got friendly between the sheets? She needed full disclosure before she got naked again. Any smart woman would demand that, even from a hottie like Jake.
He turned off his laptop, shut the lid, and set it on the coffee table in front of him. “So if you’re convinced that we can have sex without a condom, why are you pacing like a caged animal?”
“Because I’m finally beginning to understand how different you are, both inside and out, and I don’t want any unpleasant surprises.”
His smile was pure sin. “How about nice surprises? Are you okay with those? Because I have some moves that I think you’ll—”
“Stop it, Jake. Don’t flirt with me when I’m trying to get important information. It’s distracting.”
“God, I hope so. If not, I’d be worried that I’d lost my touch.”
“Be serious! I want to know about this shifting thing.”
His teasing expression vanished and his green gaze grew kind. “Okay, sorry. Ask me anything.”
