Wolf’s Princess (35 page)

After lunch, Rose took the shower she’d missed that morning. The scent of the soap made her remember the scent of Sky’s skin. Only a few hours ago he had stood here, naked under the spray of hot water, while he washed his perfect body. Her own body was less sore now. Back at the den, the hot water never lasted more than a few minutes, so showers were hasty affairs, with no time for lingering. Now, as she soaped herself, she re-lived every move they had made last night, the way he stroked her body to fever pitch, the care he had taken when he entered her, the amazing release of orgasm. Tonight they would do it again. She smiled into the spray of water, looking forward to the long hours of the night to come.

But first she had to get through the afternoon and evening.

Supper was over by the time Sky returned. Rose dropped her knitting when she heard the door open. She and Ms. Mary, sitting in front of the fireplace in the first reception room, looked at each other and stood up together. Sky came in, tie loosened, hair mussed, looking tired. Rose’s heart clenched at the bitterness in his eyes.

“Sky?” Ms. Mary quavered.

He held up a hand. “Let’s wait. I sent for everyone to come in here. I want to say it just once.”

It was only a few minutes before everyone, from Katelyn to Tasha, from Taye to Neil the head of security, all stood in the reception room. Sky took a deep breath. “The vote was taken.” He looked around at all their faces, his own grim when it lingered on Rye and then passed on to Snow. “It failed. What’s more, the mayor has ordered me to surrender Odell to Gabe Benson.”

Chapter 20

Rose gasped. “What?”

She was drowned out by Snow’s howl of rage. “No! I’ll never give her up!”

“Damn right you won’t.” Sky looked out at all the faces turned toward him and for a moment, the fierce expression on his face reminded her of a military commander in a movie she had seen in the Times Before. “For years, I’ve bowed down to Omaha’s laws. No more. If the vote would have succeeded, I might have been willing to continue to work to bring peaceful change to Omaha. I’m done with that. If McGrath wants to try to take Odell, let him. With all of you here he hasn’t got a chance in hell.”

For a long moment, no one said anything, but Rose could feel their approval in the heavy silence. Taye threw his head back and howled. Every one of the wolf warriors joined in. It was a feral cry of battle that widened Ms. Mary’s eyes and made Tasha step sharply back, right into Joe’s chest.

When the howls quieted, Sky looked around again. “From now on, anyone who leaves the grounds will have to sign out, and no one leaves alone. Ms. Mary, will you set up a sign out sheet to be posted in the kitchen? Taye, we need to set up a rotation of perimeter guards. Who is willing to step up for guard duty?”

Everyone was willing. In fact, everyone was eager. Tracker’s quiet voice came from the rear. “When are we gonna kill those men who beat up our women?”

“It’s not that easy.” Sky raked his fingers through his hair. “If we kill everyone we want to, the city will break out in civil war.”

“What do we care?” asked Shadow. “Let them kill each other. We’ll be on our way home, and then it’s none of our business.”

“We care because there are hundreds of women in the city who could be hurt or even killed in the fighting.” Sky’s voice was even. “I know you don’t want that.”

Scowling, Shadow relented. “No.”

“What do you think, Thomas?” Sky aimed a look at Rye, standing at the back of the group.

Rye’s voice was perfectly toneless. “I think nothing.”

Taye arched a brow. “Really? I thought it was your dad we were talking about.”

“You want to kill him? Be my guest. Tomorrow I’m going to go see my mother, and after that I’d appreciate it if some of you could help me get out of the city without being seen.” He yawned. “It’s been a long day. Guess I’ll turn in.”

Rose watched him go. She wished she knew what he really felt. From what Mrs. McGrath had told her at tea that day, there was no love lost between father and son, but did Rye really not care if his father was killed? She noticed Tasha also watching the doorway Rye had disappeared through. The businesswoman had a set look on her face, made up of equal parts of hate, hurt, and glee.

“Taye, Shadow, Neil? Come back to my office and let’s get the guard rotation set up for the next few days.” Sky paused in front of Rose. He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed in what she thought was intended to be comfort. “We’ll talk tonight. There are decisions to be made, but I won’t make them without you.”

Rose passed the next hour knitting while Snake and Tracker asked Quill and Paint questions about Omaha. Well, Snake asked questions while Tracker worked in listening silence on a small stone figurine he was carving. White Horse, Sand, and Mikey were teaching Ms. Mary and Tasha how to play a Lakota gambling game with sticks. In the opposite corner, Paint held Katelyn’s hand as they spoke in quiet murmurs. Even though the reception room was furnished with a lavish elegance so different from the rec room at the den, Rose felt truly at home. If only Omaha was a decent place, she wouldn’t mind living in this beautiful house with its electricity and hot running water. But she couldn’t live here without this atmosphere of family warmth and love.

That’s what’s been missing
, she thought
. It’s a beautiful place, but without family it’s not a home, and the Pack won’t be here forever. If I love Sky, then I should be happy to live with him wherever he is.
Maybe that meant she didn’t love him. She could live here with him for a few months. He’d said they would go home sometime between Christmas and spring. Was that one of the decisions Sky wanted them to make?

When the clock struck nine, Stone came in leading Sara by the hand. In his other hand he carried a worn blue overnight bag with big pink flowers painted over it. Sara’s suntanned round face was flushed and a smile fluttered over her mouth. Her prim gray novice’s uniform was creased from the hours of nursing Odell and her hair, shoulder-length brown waves tinged with gold from the sun, needed a comb. Stone’s eyes looked at her as if she were both the most beautiful woman in the world, and the most terrifying. He attempted to smile at Rose.

“Could you take her upstairs and, um, show her the bathroom and where we’re going to be, um, sleeping tonight?”

Smiles bloomed on nearly every face in the room, but were quickly smothered into sober expressions when Sara glanced around.

Rose stood up. “Sure. I bet you’d like to have a shower, Sara. Come with me and I’ll get you set up. Stone, wait down here. Give Sara half an hour or so, okay?”

Sara took the bag Stone handed her, and followed Rose. Once upstairs, Rose flipped the light in the bathroom on. “Here’s the bathroom,” she said, unnecessarily, but Sara’s slightly hunted look made her want to say something to soothe her. “Extra towels are right there in the cabinet. The next door is the guest room. Come see.”

Sara made a strained murmur of appreciation upon seeing the pink room. “I’ll shower first.”

She took her bag into the bathroom and closed the door. Rose went into the pink room and turned the covers down. In five minutes, Sara was back, wrapped in a towel and dragging a comb through her wet hair. She set her bag in the corner and approached the bed.

“This is really nice of you,” she said studying the comb in her hand. “Thank you.” She lifted her gaze to Rose as she twisted the comb in her hand. “I…That is, I…” The younger woman turned toward the bed with an impatient jerk of her shoulder. “Thanks.”

Rose watched her with concern and sympathy. “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?”

Sara dropped the towel revealing she wore white cotton panties and nothing else, and lifted the blankets to get into bed. “I’m okay.”

“Are you a little nervous?” Rose felt almost as awkward as Sara looked. “That’s normal.”

The death grip Sara had on the edge of the blanket turned her knuckles white. “Well, just a little. Maybe I can ask you a couple of questions?”

Holy crap
, Rose thought. This would be the blind leading the blind. She plastered what she hoped was mature smile on her face. “Sure. You can ask me anything.”

“Thanks. You know my mom died when I was little, and my dad never talked about sex. And I couldn’t possibly ask my uncle about it. Does it hurt? I mean when he sticks his Willie in you? I mean, when he sticks his Willie in me.”

It was an effort, but Rose managed not to choke. “The first time is a little bit uncomfortable, but after that it will be fine. You know, Sara, you can tell Stone what you like and what you don’t like. I’ve known him a long time now, and I know he would never want to hurt you. So if he does something that you don’t like, just tell him so.”

If anything, the girl looked even more frightened. That didn’t make any sense. She must know Stone would never hurt her. Even when she had kissed another man, he hadn’t hurt her.

“Sara, if you’re not ready for this yet, just say so. Stone can wait for his wedding night.”

Sara sat up in bed clutching the sheet to her chest. “No! I’ve been waiting for this for two years.”

“Okay.” Rose laughed a little when she held her hands up. “Don’t you have a nightgown?”

The girl nodded at the bag in the corner. “It’s too dirty to put on.”

“I’ll lend you one of mine,” Rose offered.

Sara raised her brows. “Do you think I’ll need one tonight?”

Rose laughed. “Maybe not for long, but won’t it be fun to have Stone take it off you?”

Sara’s answering giggle was a little shaky. “I guess. If you get the nightgown, I could put it on while you go downstairs and let Stone know I’m ready.”

Rose went across the hall and took one of her nightgowns from the bureau drawer. She brought it to Sara. “Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Nerves bled out of Sara’s face, leaving it calm and strangely mature. “I want this more than anything else, and I’m ready now. Please let Stone know.”

When Rose entered the reception room everybody stop talking, and all heads turned toward her. She picked Stone’s anxious face from the crowd and gave him a smile. “She’s waiting for you upstairs.”

His face went violently red, then white, then red again. The cards in his hand rattled when he put them on the table. He had to swallow twice before he could speak. “Thank you.” His flush slowly died away as he sent a vague smile around the table of card players. “Good night.”

Taye, Snake, and Shadow smiled back like the wolves they were. Taye leaned back in his chair and drawled, “Try to keep it down tonight, pup.”

“Yeah.” Snake coughed to hide his chuckle. “Some of us want to get our sleep tonight.”

Red poured back into Stone’s cheeks, and for a minute Rose thought he would launch himself at Snake. Shadow shook his head. “Take it easy, cousin. Your mate is upstairs waiting for you, and you don’t want to go to her with bruises on your face, do you?”

Tracker spoke in his usual quiet drawl. “No reason to get into a tussle over a little friendly teasing. Reckon it ain’t nothing you don’t deserve.”

Stone got to his feet and stalked out of the reception room, followed by whistles and ridiculously cheerful advice. Rose shook her head and sat down in the chair he had left.

“That was mean,” she scolded them.

Snake was grinning and even Tracker had a tiny hint of a smile on his face. Taye said, “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this moment? After all the times he’s complained about the mates at the den making love and keeping him awake at night, he earned every bit of it.”

A body moved up behind her chair and Rose knew immediately it was Sky. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’m ready for us to go upstairs too,” he whispered in her ear. “But I guess it’s still early.”

The feel of his breath warm on her neck made her shiver and slow molten heat grew in her. “I guess. How long do you want to wait?”

“I think I can manage five more minutes or so.”

Across the table Taye groaned. “Do you remember all those times you spied on me and Carla?”

Snake actually squirmed.

“Now you know why we went to bed so early all the time,” Taye finished. “Just go.”

Behind her, Sky ran his hands down her arms. “But what would we do upstairs this early?” said Sky in exaggeratedly innocent tones. “I suppose we could bring a pack of cards up with us.”

“Strip poker?” suggested Ms. Mary dulcetly.

“We won’t need cards for that. I’ll just tell her what I want her to take off and she’ll do it, won’t you, princess?”

“In your dreams,” she shot back, but obeyed the pressure of his hands and stood up. “Good night,” she said to Ms. Mary, ignoring the others.

As Sky tugged her away from the table she saw a full-blown smile on Tracker’s face.

When they were halfway up the stairs, Rose covered her eyes with her hands. “That wasn’t embarrassing, no, not at all embarrassing.”

Sky stroked his fingers up her spine to caress the nape of her neck. “I thought it was funny.”

She shoved her elbow into his stomach. “You would.”

He clamped his arm around her waist to prevent her elbow from doing more damage. “Hush. Not so loud, or we’ll disturb Sara and Stone.”

Rose’s gaze flew down the hall to the closed door of the pink room. There was a dim line of light at the bottom, showing the lamp was still lit. “Can you hear anything?” she whispered.

He soundlessly opened the door of their room and ushered her in, closing it behind them. He faced her and lifted one brow. “You want me to eavesdrop?”

“No.” She raised her hands to her cheeks to cover the blush she could feel. “Of course not. I was just wondering if they were, you know, finished.”

The outrage and shock on his face were almost comical. “It’s only been ten minutes. Stone wouldn’t be that selfish.”

“Selfish?”

He threaded his fingers through her hair, his palm warm against her scalp. “A man can take care of his business in much less than ten minutes, but a lady deserves more care and attention than ten minutes allows.” His eyelids fell to sleepy slits as his gaze traced the outline of her mouth with a weight she could almost feel. “And if it’s the lady’s first time, she deserves a lot more than ten minutes.”