The ladder up to the loft was more like a staircase with handrails on either side, and I’d been sitting with my feet on the top step for the past half hour, thinking about home.
“Is everyone helping Mom with the cooking? I don’t want her overdoing it since I’m not there to make her sit down and let someone else take over. You know how she loves to stay busy, but she’s getting to the age where she tires out easily.”
“Nothing to worry about, darling. Denver grilled hamburgers last night, and I’m about to dash to the store and get what I need for my baklava.”
“For dinner?” I asked, imagining the sweet pastry.
“One taste of my dish, and I don’t think it’ll be dinner he’s hungry for,” she purred.
“Well, if you guys need anything, call me anytime.”
“What’s wrong, chickypoo? A woman doesn’t go on a secluded vacation in the woods with her sexy mate only to beg her family to interrupt with phone calls about a broken garbage disposal.” She sighed on the other end before continuing. “April and Reno should have stayed home and given you two privacy, but after Lorenzo agreed, what would be the point? You shouldn’t have invited everyone.”
“We’re having fun, and William’s got plenty of experience managing a pack in Reno’s absence. You should have come. I’m sure Wheeler would have agreed.” My ears perked up when the motor shut off outside. “Look, I’ll call you later. I need to run.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she sang. “Which doesn’t leave you with much.”
I tossed the phone on a pile of clothes by the bed before heading down the ladder. Austin was a morning person and loved sunshine, so while I slept in, he’d gone out to clear a path to the main road. The snow acted as a reflector for the sun’s rays, and without blinds or curtains, I had to shield my eyes from the piercing light. I glanced at my aviators on the table and realized they were more trendy than practical. What I needed was a pair of dark shades, like the kind ophthalmologists hand out after cataract surgery.
The door swung open, and the first thing I noticed was Austin’s flushed cheeks.
He pulled off his sunglasses and tossed them onto the table by the front window. “I cleared a path to the road. I should have called Reno to help me take the equipment off the truck. Goddamn,” he said, out of breath, while hanging his brown coat on the hook.
Despite the cold weather, he was all sweaty.
“Do you think we could make it to the store? I need to pick up a few things.”
He kicked the snow off his boots, sending chunks of dirty sludge onto the mat. “We’re heading out that way in a little while, so yeah.”
His mood seemed off.
“What’s going on?”
“The local Council slipped a notice under our door. They contacted all the local Packmasters, from what Hector was telling me.”
“Wait, when did all this happen?”
He unwound his scarf and draped it around my neck before pressing his cold lips to my forehead. “While you were unconscious beneath a pile of blankets. I called Hector to find out what the invitation was about, and he said they’re calling an emergency town hall meeting.”
I watched him stroll languidly into the kitchen. “But we’re not local.”
Austin wrenched open the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice, then drank it straight from the container. He sighed with satisfaction before putting it back in the fridge. “All the wolves in the territory were summoned. It’s mandatory. Something’s going on,” he muttered, leaning against the counter.
I didn’t like seeing my mate on edge, especially when we didn’t have our pack with us.
“Should we pick up Reno and April on the way?”
He shook his head and pushed off the counter, swaggering in my direction. “No. He got the same notice, so we’ll be heading out in separate vehicles.”
Austin sniffed his armpits and then stripped out of his shirt. My eyes feasted upon his body and then went back for seconds. I felt just the slightest sensation of tingles, as if an invisible finger had grazed across my sex with a featherlight touch.
When he gripped a wooden beam with one hand and did his sexy lean, I licked my lips.
Damn, that lean.
“Anyhow,” he continued, “everyone’s heading out there, including Church. I need to jump in the shower before we go. I don’t want to make a bad impression since I’m representing one of the Texas territories.”
“So while all this excitement was going on, you didn’t consider waking me up?”
He lowered his arm and cocked an eyebrow. “You seemed really wiped out from last night. All that… cleaning.”
The sarcasm that rolled off his tongue made me want to sock him in the mouth, but instead I smiled and waltzed past him to put on my boots. “I can’t wait to meet the Council and make a lasting impression. Think they’ll let me sing a song before the meeting?”
“Lexi…”
I bent over to grab my boot. “You know, something like ‘Werewolves of London’ or maybe—” I squealed when he grabbed my hips and yanked me against his thick arousal.