Shadow of the Wolf

considerate naked man.

She bit her lip, her gaze once more drawn to his sheet covered form. I wonder if I could really bounce a quarter off his glutes?

She shook her head and grabbed the first thing her hand landed on, a pretty little sundress she liked to wear when visiting clients. She threw on her underwear and the dress, trying to ignore the little voice in her head that wondered what Chris would think of it. She headed back into the bathroom to find her makeup, figuring it was the most likely place Chris would put it.

Yup, he’d neatly placed her makeup kit right at the second sink. She quickly applied some makeup, brushed her hair, and headed down the stairs.

He might be able to sleep in, but some people around here needed to get to work by eight.

“Good morning, dear.”

Lana stepped into the kitchen, smiling at the sweet scents drifting from the oven.

“Good morning, Grammy. Umm, something smells good. What’s for breakfast?”

Grammy pulled a tray out of the oven. “Honey buns.”

Lana paused, the mug halfway to her lips. “Honey buns.”

“Yes. What’s the matter, dear? Usually you love honey buns.”

Oh yeah. I adore honey buns, especially the ones upstairs. She could just picture them, covered in drizzled goodness, her teeth nipping at the firm, round globes. “Sounds good.” She took a sip of her coffee, hoping she wasn’t turning beet red. The heat she could feel in her cheeks, however, told her she probably was.

“Hmm.” The buns landed on the stove quietly. “Why don’t you get some plates for the buns?”

Lana held back her whimper and got the plates. It’s going to be a long day.

* * *

She went ahead and set up her laptop in Chris’s great room, nodding to him when he stumbled down the stairs. She watched him head into the kitchen, heard the coffee being poured, and then the rustle of the paper, his mumbled good morning to Annabelle barely audible. She smiled to herself, knowing he was checking out “his” teams. She wondered if he had to read the section more than once before the caffeine kicked in, or if it somehow trickled through his early morning decaffeinated fog.

About twenty minutes later, Chris walked in, cradling his mug. “Why are you on the floor?”

“I’m working.” She entered another set of numbers, her eyes glued to the screen.

“Oh.” She barely noticed him walking out.

She definitely noticed him walking back in, especially when he unplugged her laptop and picked it up. “Hey!”

He turned and walked out of the great room. Grabbing her mug, she scrambled to her feet and followed him. He set her computer down on his desk with a satisfied nod, plugging it in to the same surge protector his computer was on. “Better.” Then he walked around the desk and settled into his chair. “Have a seat.”

She glared at him. “You couldn’t ask me if I wanted to move?”

“It’s simple, really. Chair or floor? Nice dress, by the way.”

“Thank you. What if I wanted floor?”

He looked at her over the reading glasses he’d slipped on. “Be my guest, but there’s no coffee table in here. You might get uncomfortable.” His smile was wolfish. “But if you really want to sit on the floor, just put the laptop between your legs and work that way. Oh, and make sure you sit,” he looked around and pointed, “right there.”

He’d picked a spot where he’d be able to look straight up her dress. If it wasn’t for the teasing smile lurking around his mouth, she’d be pissed. “I liked you better before you found the coffee.” She parked herself in the chair across from his desk, placing her mug on the coaster he handed her.

“Any musical preferences this morning?”

She sighed. “Something cheerful, please.”

“Cheerful it is.”

She pulled up the next set of figures she needed to work on, slowly losing track of the man across the desk. It wasn’t until she’d finally entered the last of the numbers that she realized what had been bothering her about the music he’d put on. “They Might Be Giants?”

He blinked, pulled from his own work, his eyes barely focused. “Build a little birdhouse in your soul.”

She snorted delicately. “More like a doghouse.”

“Why would I be in the doghouse?”

“How did I wind up naked in your bed again? ”

“Sleeping with your clothes on makes you rumpled. Rumpled makes you uncomfortable. Therefore you needed to sleep without clothes.” The innocent act he was trying to pull was completely ruined by the sexy grin lurking around the corners of his mouth.

“Really?” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

He sat back and tried to look offended. “It’s not like I broke out the webcam at any point during your semi or total nakedness, you know.”

“Did I hear the word naked?” Gareth sauntered in, a can of soda in one hand and a smirk on his face. He settled on the edge of Chris’s desk, looking back and forth at them.

“Well?”

Chris was scowling at Gareth. “Lana’s naked is no concern of yours.”

“I know where you keep your webcam.” Gareth took a sip of his soda and watched Chris.

Chris looked over at Lana. “Remind me to hide it. Last thing I want is us plastered all over some porno website.”

“That’s because you’re a good dog, unlike some people who may need a trip to the p-o-u-n-d.” She’d leaned forward, whispering the spelled word, hiding her mouth from Gareth and waggling her brows.

“So I guess you don’t want to know that I just heard back from the high council?”

Chris’s head whipped around so fast Lana was surprised he didn’t hurt himself.

“And?”

“The king is considering a Beckett, all right.” Gareth bent closer. “But it’s not you.”

The relief on Chris’s face was wonderful to see. Lana had no desire to be the next wizard queen. “Thank the gods. Any idea who he has in mind?”

Gareth shook his head. “They wouldn’t say, but when I explained what was going on, they assured me you weren’t the one. However, they did confirm that Cole was originally the Godwin. They’re going to let the king know what’s going on. Odds are good he won’t be in the running for long.”

“Crap.” Chris sat back and rubbed wearily at his face, settling his glasses back on his nose when he was done. “This isn’t over. If the king dies before withdrawing Cole’s name, he could have a legitimate claim to the throne.”

“Nope, not over by a long shot.” Gareth sat back, looking more serious. “I think it’s time to call in the cavalry.”

Chris shivered. “Not yet.”

“Who’s the cavalry?” Lana saved her work and shut down for the day, logging out of her company’s servers.

“Our brothers.”

“Brothers? I thought you only had Daniel.” She sat back with a grimace. The chair wasn’t the most comfortable one in the world, and hunching forward to work on the laptop for the second day in a row had her back calling her all sorts of filthy names.

Chris frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“The Registry only listed Gareth, you and Daniel.”

“Huh.” Chris rocked back in his chair. The brothers exchanged a look. “Nope, we have another brother, and Gareth’s right. We need to call them in.”

“Why? Wouldn’t that put them in the line of fire too?”

Gareth stood and walked to the window. “I think it’s time. They need to be aware of what’s going on, and we