“I want to see them all,” he decreed.
Pepper made a little sound of protest, but she disappeared behind the white double swing doors. Wyatt found himself grinning for no reason other than his woman looked more flustered than he did in the boutique. He was the one that should have been protesting the number of outfits she should try on, but instead, he’d added to it, genuinely wanting to see her face when she came out in each of them. Well, her face and the way she looked in the clothes they’d chosen.
The door to the boutique opened and closed and he scented perfume and a man’s cologne. He glanced up and instantly recognized the male. He’d gone to school with him. Harley Jetter had been born and raised in the bayou, just like Wyatt. They’d been fast friends, fought on and off and gone their separate ways. Harley had chosen a life on the river while Wyatt had gone to college and then med school. It had been years, but those years had been good to Harley.
He stood up as the man approached, his gaze sweeping over Harley’s woman. She clearly wasn’t from around there, her pencil thin skirt and flared jacket screaming city. Her blonde hair was cut in a soft swing that framed her face. She spotted Wyatt before Harley did and instantly pulled off her sunglasses to make eye contact. If Pepper did that to another man, he’d have quite a lot to say to her. Harley didn’t notice. Wyatt would have.
“Wyatt!” Harley greeted him with a smile and an outstretched hand long before he actually made it to Wyatt. The woman hurried after him in her platform heels.
Wyatt gripped his hand, taking care not to use too much strength. “Long time, Jetter. Good to see you.”
“What are you doin’ in here?” Harley asked, looking around as if he were on an alien planet. He grimaced. “Lucia likes to shop.”
“Harley,” Lucia hissed in an aside. “Introduce us.”
“I dragged my woman here,” Wyatt admitted, looking confident and casual as if he hung out in the boutiques all the time. “I like to see her all dressed up.” He glanced at Lucia, barely nodding his head to acknowledge her. He’d met dozens of women like her, always looking to trade up.
Babe. Come out here lookin’ good and save me.
Lucia was used to being the good-looking woman in the room and she didn’t mind embarrassing her man at all. She flirted openly and she showed off her assets right in front of Harley. She clearly had the man wrapped around her finger.
“Wyatt?” Lucia said, her voice saccharine-sweet. “I’m so pleased to meet you.” She held out her hand as if she were a princess and he should kiss her fingertips.
Pepper had perfect timing. She swept out of the dressing room in a summer dress, one that clung to her high breasts and emphasized her small waist. The cool lavender color suited her eyes, as did the dress. It was simple, but elegant, the skirt swinging around her shapely legs. She’d clipped her long hair out of the way when she’d gone into the little room, but it flowed down her back like so much silk.
“Baby, can you help me with this zipper…” She trailed off when she saw the couple standing beside Wyatt.
The look on her face would have won her an Oscar. She had known they were there before he’d even said anything to her. She was a GhostWalker. Enhanced. She had to have caught their scents, just as he had. She smiled directly at Harley and then transferred that exact same smile to Lucia even as she came right up to Wyatt, right into her space to stand close to him. Claiming him without a single word.
The couple had exactly opposite reactions. Harley’s head jerked up and his breath slammed out of his lungs. Lucia scowled, looking pinched around her mouth.
“This is my fiancée, Pepper.” Wyatt circled her shoulders with his arm and drew her even closer, bending to brush a kiss along her temple. He turned her gently. “Lift your hair for me, babe,” he instructed.
She did, and Harley’s mouth fell open as her breasts lifted with her arms, drawing his attention. Every move Pepper made was sexy. Her walk, the turn of her head, the sway of her hips, the lift of her arms. Those things had been drilled into her from the time she was quite young and she knew no other way to move. That had little to do with enhancements.
Wyatt knew she was naturally sensual. Any man who wasn’t blind could see that. Harley wasn’t blind. He drew the zipper up the rest of the way and dropped his hands on her shoulders. “I love this one. Is it comfortable?”
She nodded, smoothing her hands down the skirt. “The material is soft, barely there. I like it too.”
“Definitely in the yes pile,” Wyatt decided. He glanced at his watch. “Change for me, honey, we’re on the clock. Can you get the zipper back down?” His voice changed deliberately, dropping an octave so that the sound was caressing.