“Undo the top two buttons of your shirt and roll up the sleeves. And kick off your dress shoes. You’ll look much more relaxed then.” I nodded as he did as he was told. Then I smirked. “I wonder if you’d keep undressing if I told you to.”
“Watch it. As I said, I really don’t know if I like you yet.”
The threat was clearly there. I took it seriously.
“Noelle, quit teasing Theron. His bite is as bad as his bark,” Wolfe mumbled, trotting up behind me. His chest heaved like he was out of breath, and his gaze traveled over my body quickly and efficiently. “Did I hear you scream? I was down in the forest with Rune, but I could have sworn I heard something.”
“She’s scared of heights.” Theron thumped Wolfe’s shoulder and snickered. “Way to go. You brought her into a tree house for a night full of terror.”
The king was still laughing as he walked away.
Wolfe’s lips pulled back as he snarled at the taunting man before his attention jerked back to me. His features only calmed so much, still irritated. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought I could handle it. It’s not heights, exactly, that I’m afraid of. It’s the lack of sturdiness and safety that gives me anxiety.”
Wolfe’s expression cleared instantly, a new gleam entering his gaze, one full of mischief. “Are you saying you don’t think this structure is safe?”
“We’re suspended by actual trees. No, I don’t think it’s safe. There’s no way in hell I’d live in a place like this.”
The wolf-man grinned with glee. It transformed his face to the sexiest man I’d ever seen in my entire life, like a fire starting in the middle of a blizzard. It was miraculous. Then he ruined it by turning his head away and shouting with pure laughter in his tone, “Hey, Rune! Noelle thinks your pride and joy is a piece of shit. I knew I wasn’t the only sane person around here.”
My cheeks burned hotter than hell, a blush stealing all over my face as the homeowner walked directly toward us. “Oh, my God! I did not say that, Rune. He’s lying to you. Your house is beautiful.”
Wolfe was still grinning like a man on the moon. “Don’t let her sweet looks fool you. She’s really a hardass on the inside. But she’s scared of heights and is afraid you’ll throw her over if she says the wrong thing.”
I slapped his chest with the back of my hand, my eyes enormous on his face. Being around all his friends altered him into a…normal person, not so uptight and closed off. “I’m not afraid of heights. I explained that to you.”
Wolfe merely brushed my hand away, not letting me whap him again, and turned his attention back to his friend. “She’s scared of your tree house falling to the ground. It’s about the same thing as being scared of heights. A house should be firmly on the ground, not settled in the trees.”
Rune raised both eyebrows and made a valid point. “So says the gray wolf to the black panther.”
“I’ll give you that, but I still don’t like your house,” Wolfe conceded. “She really is frightened, though. I think we’ll head out before she starts screaming again.”
“You are a complete ass,” I hissed under my breath. “Why in the world would you bring up my screaming? And I’ve met everyone here now except Megan. It would be rude to leave without, at least, saying hello.”
“I can take care of Megan for you, but Wolfe will always be an ass. He also has everyone fooled, thinking he’s the quiet and polite one.” Rune waved to a woman with dark hair, and called loudly over the ruckus of the party, everyone now circling near the birthday cake. “Come over here a sec, Megan. The scandalous Noelle is here, and she’d like to meet you.”
“Scandalous, huh?” I murmured and nodded my head in thought. “I should add that to my online bio somewhere.”
Wolfe grunted and glanced down at me, holding my gaze. His tone quieted, a serious note to his words. “What you do is dangerous enough, wouldn’t you say? You don’t need to add more fuel to the fire. I’ve read the comments you receive. The last thing you need is a rapist coming after you.”
My face scrunched up. “Damn, you had to go and ruin a great word. Thank you very much, jackass.”
The wolf-man shrugged both of his shoulders without care. “I don’t mind ruining things when it’s needed.”
“Like I don’t mind fighting dirty?”
The handsome man nodded his head, almost like he didn’t want to agree with me, but did so because I was right. He stated with a little hesitation, “Exactly.”
The dark-haired woman stopped next to Rune, a welcoming smile on her face. Then we locked eyes. We both froze in place as we recognized who we were gazing at.
