I found it immensely distracting to be sitting across from Wheeler. I’m not sure whose twisted idea it was to place us together, but it kept our end of the table silent. His presence made my panther restless as she circled in the dark shadows within my mind.
After the ceremonial opening of gifts and extinguishing the candles, Maizy walked around and gave everyone a big squeeze. Then she reached under the table and handed Denver a brown box with a round lid.
His brows drew together. “Did you forget to open one?”
“No, silly. That’s yours.”
Denver looked at her with a bemused expression. “That must be yours, Peanut. It’s not my birthday.”
She folded her arms. “You won’t tell me when your birthday is, so we’re going to share a birthday. Don’t you want to see what I got you?”
For a moment I thought I saw his lip tremble. He quickly tightened his expression and shook his head. When he removed the lid and pulled away the white tissue paper, he huffed out a laugh. “A straw hat? I’m not wearing this silly hat.”
Denver must have thought it was a joke, because his look altered when he noticed the visceral disappointment glittering in her eyes.
“I’m just teasing.” He quickly settled the cowboy hat on his head. “I love it so much that I’m going to sleep in it. My little Peanut bought me a hat,” he said proudly.
She smiled wide and gave him a hug so big that his hat fell on the table. “I love you, Denny.”
He looked a little embarrassed. “Go spend some of those tokens. Skedaddle!”
As Maizy ran off toward the arcade games, Denver held the hat between his hands, brows drawn together in a scowl. “Whose idea was this?”
Lexi sliced another piece of white cake and put it on a pink paper plate. “Maizy insisted on buying you a present, and she came up with that idea all by herself. Maybe you should just make her happy and tell her when your birthday is.”
He put the hat on his head, pulling it low in the front so it sexily obscured his eyes. “No, then it’ll be a big thing with her.”
“Do you want a slice?” Lexi asked me as she passed down a plate. Apparently, they were doing cake before pizza, which was fine by me.
“Cut me a large slice. And heavy on the icing. No… bigger!”
April gaped at me.
“A girl has to keep her figure.” I took the plate they passed down to me. “Don’t you agree?” I asked Wheeler.
It was time that one of us behaved like the adult in this awkward situation, so I played nice.
“I agree,” Reno piped in, finishing his cake in almost one bite. “I like a woman with meat on her bones.” He winked at April.
I wondered how much difficulty he would have extracting his foot from his mouth.
“Are you saying I’m fat?” April tipped her head to the side and Reno chuckled.
“No, princess. I’m saying I love the way your thighs wrap around my neck nice and thick.”
The men chuckled and April couldn’t mask the blush rising on her cheeks.
“What about you, Wheeler?” I pressed. “Does the wolf like a bone or a juicy steak?”
He drew his index finger into his mouth and sucked off a slather of white icing. His brown eyes rose to meet mine, and a shudder rolled through my body. “I like my women skinny, blond, tall, and quiet.”
“I think I saw one of those for sale in a magazine advertisement once. Does she store easily under the bed, or do you have to deflate her?”
Jericho spit out his soda and choked from laughter.
I averted my eyes, hoping that would put an end to his indirect jabs. The last thing I needed was for this party to turn riotous, and I’d already made a promise to Lexi. I engaged in small talk with April, ignoring his reply.
“Where’s Ivy?” I asked.
April leaned in close, lowering her voice. “She’s not feeling well.”
Which translated to: Ivy was in heat. I couldn’t fathom how women lived in a house full of virile men in that condition. Lorenzo undoubtedly sated Ivy’s every need, but did she mingle with the pack? If so, the men must have scattered, afraid of looking at her the wrong way and suffering Lorenzo’s punishment. A Shifter couldn’t get near a woman in heat without his divining rod pointing the way.
“How’s Ivy’s business going?” I asked. “I’ve always envied girls with her talent.”
“Keeping her busy.” April grimaced after taking a sip of lemonade from her paper cup. “The last time I spoke to her, some big shot was offering her a lot of money to restore a houseful of antiques. They’re in poor condition, but he can’t let go of them because of the sentimental value.”
I bristled when someone brushed up against my back and sat beside me. Ben casually leaned on his left arm and watched me, mischief twinkling in his pale brown eyes. He kept his dusty-brown hair trimmed and his face shaved as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Of all the Weston pack, he dressed the most casually, and I don’t mean that in a raggedy-jeans and T-shirt way, but rather a man who preferred cotton shirts with collars, and khaki shorts. He might be what Wheeler would look like if he were a normal citizen.