He kissed my head. “I’ll never feed you to the hogs.”
Switch swaggered over, flipped Wyatt’s chair around, and straddled it. “Do the lovebirds have plans today?”
“You’re a wanker,” Christian said.
Switch gave him a bored look. “News flash—I don’t give a shit what you think. I’m not here to impress you.”
“Mission accomplished.”
Switch addressed me with a look. “Going to see your old man?”
“I hadn’t planned on it. Why?”
Switch rubbed his chin against his arm and looked at the empty cookie tray. “Just wondering.”
“What’s wrong?”
He shrugged and averted his wolfish eyes, which went against his nature. Switch wasn’t supposed to meddle in my work or personal life, but something was bugging him, and apparently he couldn’t help himself.
“Switch, I’ve got a knife in my boot. If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll add two more ornaments to my Christmas tree.”
His gaze darted to the gathering room and then back to me. “I don’t know for sure. I’m not around the local packs as much as I used to be, but I drove out there yesterday, and something’s off.”
“Off how?”
“My father had a few important people over, including Crush. When I walked in the door, they got real quiet and gave me the look.”
“What look?”
“The look Keystone gives me when I accidentally walk in on deep discussions.”
I folded my arms on the table. “Why would my father be involved in Shifter business?”
Christian snorted. “Whywouldn’the be? Your da has a gift of inserting himself where he doesn’t belong.”
When Switch sat up straight, his chair creaked. “If there’s anywhere Crush belongs, it’s in the middle of pack business. Well, at least with the packs in that area. They’re family. Anyhow, just thought you might want to pay him a friendly visit.” Switch stood and flipped the chair around. “They don’t tell me much about pack business anymore. Not since…” He rapped his knuckles against the table. “I need to put together some study guides. See ya.”
I watched Switch strut out of the room with a rock star stride that must have beckoned the ladies… up until they learned about his sketchy past. From my understanding about Shifters, the protection that came with belonging to a pack was paramount, but none of that mattered now since he couldn’t settle down and mate until his time at Keystone was up.
What mess has my father tangled himself up in?
I scooted back my chair. “I’m heading out.”
“Have a nice ride.”
That was Christian’s way of not inviting himself. Just as well. Whenever he and my father were in the same room, they were like two sticks of dynamite with a short fuse.
I swung my leg over Christian and straddled him.
“Mmm, I like that,” he said, his voice low and sexy.
I gave him a feather-soft kiss and then nipped his bottom lip. Before his erection reached full capacity, I broke the kiss and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. His pulse ticked against my lips but didn’t tempt me. My thoughts were elsewhere. “I might be home late. Keep the bed warm?”
“You think I want to hang around here with the loons? Perhaps I’ll go out for a pint.”
When I licked his neck, Christian hissed and jumped in his seat as if a snake had bitten him.
“If you keep that up, Precious, I’ll take you right here on this table.”
