“It was the closest one to hand. Why are you naked?”
“I’m not!”
“Right, sorry. Why aren’t you naked?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Buck, have you been drinking?”
“No. Have you?”
“I’m beginning to wish that I was.” She grimaced, taking a limping step toward the bed. “Go put on a shirt. A different shirt. I need to sit down.”
His gaze traversed down her body. Somewhat belatedly, he took in the state of her feet; bare, filthy, and not in the good way. Mud splattered her legs up to the knee, and her calves were striped with dozens of thin red scratches.
A deeper need drove aside the fog of desire. “Damn it, Honey, you’re bleeding!”
“It’s nothing,” she started, but he was already scooping her up in his arms. She let out an undignified squawk, kicking her legs. “Buck! Put me down!”
“Stop struggling and I will, woman.” He carried her over to his bed. “What the hell did you do, run through a field of feral cats?”
“The woods.” Honey winced as he lowered her to the mattress. “Turns out it’s hard to see brambles at night. Stop fussing, I’m fine.”
Her borrowed t-shirt had rucked up round her waist. Flushing bright red, Honey grabbed his sheet, dragging it over her legs. He promptly flipped it back again, grabbing her ankle before she could pull away.
“Holdstill, woman.” He ran his fingertips over her calf, inspecting the lacerations. They were superficial, but still needed cleaning. “Are you going to stay put while I get my first aid kit, or am I going to have to chain you to this bed?”
Honey blew out her breath, but grudgingly subsided. “I suppose that’s not an empty threat, coming from you.”
“Damn straight.” Even though he didn’t have his handcuffs, he was quite prepared to lash her to the bed frame with his belt, if necessary. “For the love of Santa, why did you take a stroll through the woods in your birthday suit? I hope I didn’t make it look that much fun.”
“I had to get undressed,” Honey said as he went to fetch a clean cloth and some alcohol wipes. “Wolf shifters can’t take their clothes with them when they transform. If I hadn’t left my things behind for Ignatius to find, he would have known I didn’t shift.”
He started dabbing at her calves, wiping away the grime. “I think you’d better start at the beginning.”
She relayed the whole story as he tended to her cuts as gently as he could. By the end, her feet were clean, and he was grinding his back teeth.
“Those damn kids,” he growled. “Every time I think they’ve finally started to settle down, they double down instead. I’m going to start chainingthemto their bunks at night. See how they like it.”
“The girls had good intentions.” Honey winced as he dabbed antiseptic ointment on the last of her scratches. “They were just worried about me. I’m not sure why they seemed to be trying to get you to shift at the same time, though.”
“I do.” He briefly relayed the partial conversation he’d overheard during pottery. “Motherlovers figured out we’re not fully mated. Must have decided that we were both denying our animal instincts. I reckon they thought that if I bumped into you when we were both on four feet, nature would take its course.”
“Wonderful.” Honey tipped her head back against the wall, letting out a long sigh. “I should have known. Kids always see more than adults assume. So much for fooling them by occasionally holding hands.”
“Yeah. Looks like we’re going to have to step up the misinformation campaign.”
Thank you, kids.
At least this latest asinine stunt had an unexpected silver lining. Maybe he’d take them out for ice cream, after he’d fashioned a fetching patchwork vest out of their collective hides.
“Shouldn’t take much,” he continued. Since he’d run out of excuses to keep holding her ankle, he set her foot back down on the bed. “If we lie low tonight and make a bit of a show tomorrow, they’ll assume their latest harebrained scheme worked.”
Honey did not look nearly as thrilled by this prospect as he was. “What kind of show?”
“Few more kisses ought to do it.” He kept his tone casual, while some idiot part of his brain fist-pumpedyes!and high-fived his hormones. “Should be easy enough to stage. After the kids have walked in on us with our lips locked and our hands all over each other a few times, their fears will be put at rest. Probably start planning our wedding, dog help us.”
Honey sighed again. “I suppose there’s no alternative.”
“Sweet baby cheeses, woman. Don’t sound too enthusiastic.”
