I sighed. “Okay. Hopefully that and the attempted kiss can be fixed with a sincere apology. And that’s all I did or said?”
Ace didn’t answer right away, and the relief that had been flowing through me vanished.
“So…,” he squinted an eye at me, “You might have also told Declan you wanted to… uh, hump him in the forest, and that Chad was who you pictured the first time you had sex, too bad he was such an asshole in real life, and you wanted to screw Lucas in his veterinary clinic, and that you wanted to jump Jasper all the time, and that I’m too young for you, but you thought I was sexy as hell. Anyhow, you told us that if you slept with one of us, Kane would kill us. Then you told Jasper that he was a dick… however, you didn’t call him a limp dick asshole, so things are looking up from the night at the bar.” Ace rubbed his nose under his glasses. “We were all just worried about you.”
My face fell into my hands. “Is there an escape route from this loft?”
“Not one that won’t break both your legs from the fall.” Ace held up a hand. “Teagan, all of us have talked out of our ass during a recovery sleep at least once. When everyone is sure that you’re okay, they might tease you a bit, but no one is going to hold it against you.”
I clasped my hands in front of me. “Tell me that was the end of the night, please.”
“Yeah. Declan set you down on his bunk, gently but firmly refused to climb up in there with you and set off to check his traps. The other guys took the couches downstairs, and I’m the one they elected to sleep up here—something about me being almost the same size as you and not very intimidating.”
Maybe Ace was close to my size compared to the other wolves, but Ace had a good twenty to thirty pounds of muscle on me. He was lanky for a werewolf with a nerdy look to his handsome face, but I’d felt his dominance for only a second in the bar, and it was something to be reckoned with.
“We didn’t want you to feel outnumbered. Also, I’m supposed to be wearing a shirt…” He felt around his bunk, “Clearly I strip in my sleep, and I’m sorry for that.”
I was not complaining in the least, but I said, “No worries.”
Ace finally found his shirt, and as he pulled it on, he asked, “So, how are you feeling? You still hungry?”
“Yes. Somewhere between nauseous with humiliation and starving.”
“Can’t do anything about the first one except assure you we’ve all been there. The second one, there’s a solution to.” Ace climbed to the edge of his bunk, but he looked as if he was fighting heavy lids. “There’s a fridge full of food waiting for you downstairs. I can make you something.”
“If you came home from work at 3 AM and then stayed up late helping me, you have to be exhausted. I can figure out my way around your kitchen if you’re okay with that.”
“Are you sure?” A yawn interrupted his question halfway. “Because I’m happy to do it.”
“I am positive.” I peeked over the edge of the bed, only to realize the bunks had no ladders up or railings, and they were at least seven feet up each. “Except, how do I get down from here?”
“Jump,” Ace said as he curled up and hugged his pillow.
“Yeah, maybe for you guys. My legs are a lot shorter.” Sliding off the edge, I shimmied down the side and took the impact with bent knees.
“Or, you could do that,” Ace said as he watched me with one eye. “You sure you don’t want… make you…”
“Yes,” I whispered the word because I was pretty sure the guy was already asleep.
Underneath the bunk was a large mahogany desk with a pair of notes sitting on top. On the first note was the word: Cherry.
With nerves coursing through me, I read the words of the first letter.
Declan didn’t say anything about the ass I made of myself last night, he had only written that he had to head out hunting, but he’d be back before nightfall. He added that he would have loved to spend the rest of the night curled up with me in his bed, but last night was not the right time for that. Jasper had made up a room for me, but I was welcome to stay in his bunk for as long as I wanted.
I bit my lip and laughed, actually feeling a hell of a lot better after reading the sweet flirtatious words.
The second note was from Lucas. He said that he didn’t regret being honest with me last night, but he sincerely regretted his delivery and timing. He wanted to emphasize that no one here expected anything of me. He was needed in the clinic, but he’d drop by for an extended lunch to make sure I was okay.
“Want me to bring you up something to eat, Ace?” I whispered as I folded the notes and stuffed them in my back pocket.
Ace hummed and muttered something unintelligible.
As I descended the stairway into the open living space, a wolf raised their head from the couch. Blue eyes met mine. Halfway down the steps, I froze, thinking it was Jasper. The wolf was a dead ringer for the alpha in lupine form. Like the alpha, he was large with thick shoulders and a gray coat, but there was something distinctly different in the eyes. This wolf’s gaze was softer somehow.
“You’re not Jasper,” I said as I truly took the wolf in.
The beast panted and shook his head.
“That would make you Chad,” I said as I finished
