We stretched out together beneath the blanket, my ear pressed against his chest listening to the steady thump of his heart, until the post-orgasmic rush of endorphins began to ebb and my body let me know that it had taken quite enough abuse from me in the last few hours. Cursing and swaying like a drunken sailor, I disentangled my limbs from Holbrook’s, pulling the blanket with me, wrapping it around my shoulders like a shawl.
“I’m starving. Come make me breakfast,” I commanded, sidestepping out of his reach when he made to pull me back down into his lap.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a chuckle, pushing himself up from the chair with far more grace than I had. Passing our now cold mugs to me he collected his holstered weapon and led the way back into the house.
After filling our mugs, I lounged against the counter and watched him gather eggs, bacon, and thick sliced bread, admiring the way his shirt draped over muscled shoulders and the “just fucked” state of his hair. I was sure that mine, on the other hand, looked like I’d spent the night sleeping in a ditch.
Chugging half of my coffee fast enough to give myself a wicked case of heartburn, I found my body buzzing with energy and the need to move even as my collection of aches and pains begged me not to. Maybe it was a side effect of trying to burn off the wolfsbane, or maybe it was the lingering endorphins inspired by Holbrook’s very knowledgeable hands and lips. All I knew was that I needed to move.
Taking Holbrook’s preoccupation as an opportunity to do some exploring, I set aside my coffee and meandered down into the living room. I hadn’t seen much of the house the night before, what with my drug-induced haze and all, and figured I might as well do a little nosing around.
Wan winter sunlight filtered in through the large picture window in the living room, filling the room with cold light that drained the color from the room but couldn’t erase the warmth of Holbrook’s personality that was as much a part of the room as its walls.
There wasn’t an overabundance of furniture, his design aesthetic leaning towards bachelor minimalism, but it still managed to feel homey and comfortable. In addition to the recliner that Loki had obviously claimed as his new perch, the furnishings consisted of a dark leather couch that sat facing a brick-faced fireplace which I was betting saw a hell of a lot less use than the enormous flat screen TV mounted above it, a low coffee table, a saddle draped over a wooden frame, and a large fish tank.
Ambling over to the fish tank, I bent over to look inside. Like many people, I’ve always found watching fish to be relaxing. At first I couldn’t see anything except sand and rock awash in bright, bluish light. I was about to ask Holbrook if he’d invested in stealth fish or just liked to keep an empty tank, when one of the strangest looking creatures I’d ever seen floated up from behind a rock formation.
“Whoa!” There was nothing even remotely relaxing about that thing.
With a large rounded body and a pair of tiny yellow fins that looked far too small to be useful, it looked like a deranged science experiment gone awry. Dark bulbous eyes stared at me from a face tipped with a long, dog-like snout that ended with an almost comically small mouth. I say almost, because the hard line of teeth in that tiny mouth looked as though they could easily remove a finger.
“This is one seriously weird looking fish you’ve got,” I called over my shoulder, tapping my finger on the glass.
“Oh, that’s Steve. He’s a Dog Faced Puffer,” Holbrook replied.
“Steve?” I said soundlessly, raising an eyebrow at the peculiar looking critter gazing back at me. I have to admit, tough werewolf badass that I am, it kind of creeped me out.
Deciding I’d had enough of Holbrook’s creepy-ass fish, I turned my attention to the saddle in the corner of the room. It was a thing of beauty, all glossy tan leather that looked like it had been hand-tooled and well used.
“Do you ride?” I asked, fingering the time worn leather on the pommel, breathing in the rich scent that was a mixture of horse sweat, leather conditioner, and the ever pervasive scent that was simply Holbrook.