When Silas pulled up to the tiny yellow house that matched the address Manahan gave him, he had to smile. For Meredith’s hardheaded attitude, her home was ultrafeminine. Freshly planted pansies lined both sides of the walk, and a wreath of grapevine and huckleberry graced her door. The front porch was tastefully decorated with potted plants and trees. He pressed the doorbell next to the cherry red door.
He heard shuffling and then the lace curtains moved aside. A muffled curse came from somewhere behind the peephole. The door didn’t open. He imagined her standing there, hoping he’d go away.
“Meredith, I’m so sorry,” he said through the door. “I should have called, but I was distracted. I had a break in the case today.”
After a short beat, her voice called back, “Just a minute.” There were running footsteps, scrapes, and a loud thunk. She cursed.
“Are you okay?”
A few seconds later the deadbolt gave way.
The puffy pink bathrobe she wore was stained at the collar with the remnants of what he thought was mascara, but Meredith must have washed her face because she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup. Only her red-rimmed eyes gave away the truth that she’d been crying. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, the ends still curled as if it had been done earlier. And her shoulders slumped.
Mine.The word came quick and firm and with the overwhelming urge to care for the woman in front of him. It was a possessive thought, uninvited, but it barreled into him nonetheless. Goddess, what could he say to her? He stared at her for an uncomfortable amount of time, then cleared his throat with a good hard cough.
“Can I make you something to eat?” he asked.
She laughed.
“If you don’t have anything to cook, I could order something. You need to eat.Weneed to eat… and talk.”
“I waited for you.”
“I went to see Ryker about the heart. It turns out he was the demon who was with Soleil last night.”
Her mouth popped open, and a tight inhale lifted her chest. “Shit on a shingle.”
He nodded. “With a vomit burrito on the side.”
Her countenance changed immediately, and she reached for his shoulder, guiding him toward the kitchen. “Come on. Let’s see what we’ve got.”
“You sit down,” he said. “After the ass I was to you tonight, let me prepare something.”
As it turned out, Meredith’s homey décor extended right into her refrigerator. Silas found the barely touched remains of a roast chicken and a good selection of fresh vegetables. He sautéed some asparagus and whipped a couple potatoes.
“Nothing says home like a roast chicken,” she said absently.
“I can’t really cook. Not like my friend Logan anyway. But I survive on the basics.” He brought the pot of potatoes to the table.
Meredith spooned a heap onto her plate and licked some off her thumb. “I’m barely proficient at cooking in general, but I can bake. You should taste my pie.”
“I’d love to taste your pie.” The words tumbled out of his mouth, latent sexual energy charging ever word.Easy Silas, he thought. A slight blush stained her cheeks.
“Would you like some wine?” she asked, her voice high and tight. She bent slightly as she rose from the chair and her robe buckled, giving him a delicious view of the inside curve of her breast. The lower half of his anatomy kicked in appreciation of the view, and he placed a napkin over the evidence.Fuck, he wanted to be inside her, to bury his face in the coconut scent of her hair. Which made no sense because she wasn’t exactly inviting his attention. She was dressed in a fuzzy pink bathrobe that might have been a prop onGolden Girls. Why then was the wolf inside begging him to take his attraction to the next level? The thought of being with her made his body ache and his head swim. But that was the thing. He wasn’t attracted to her clothes or even her appearance. It was the whole package: her smell, her smile, the fact that she’d cried over their missed date.
“Please. Wine would be great,” he said.
She returned to the table and filled two glasses.
“So did you dismantle Ryker or what?”
“No.”
“No? After what we saw last night, I’m amazed you could show any restraint at all.”
“I have no right to be protective of her. Soleil’s a big girl. She can make her own choices. But I did go to see her, to question her about Ryker, make sure he wasn’t responsible for the sulfralite.”
“And?”
