Page 90 of Out of Peril

I wouldn't deny I had ulterior motives for this. Lindsey and I still hadn't seriously talked about what she would do regarding Pack status. Of course I wanted her to stay. I didn't care under which rule. If she wasn't comfortable becoming an official Westin wolf herself but was okay with remaining here and living in the house that I was desperately trying to make ours and not just mine, then that was fine with me. It wasn't like we needed the money.

Between my Pack stipend and my salary through Westin Force, I had more money than I would spend in two lifetimes. I was perfectly capable of providing for my family.

What I hadn't anticipated was just how being in the city around all these people would upset the three of them.

“What's wrong?” I finally asked.

“They're humans,” Maya whispered.

“Sweetie, they're just people like any others. Maybe not as cool as us, but people just the same. Some are good, some are bad. For the most part, they don’t care about us and we don't care about them. But you need school clothes and some other things that are a lot easier to get here than back home.”

I started to promise her that nothing bad would happen here, but then a wave of déjà vu hit me hard as I remember promising them that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to Lindsey back in Louisiana. And look how I'd managed to botch that. I was lucky any of them were still willing to accept me after the way I'd failed them by letting her get shot.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my wolf.

We all knew I hadn't “let" her get shot. It had been a horrible misunderstanding, and one I was grateful I didn’t have to regret for the rest of my life.

“Come on. This could be fun,” Lindsey said, but her tone told us all that she didn’t really believe it.

“Let’s make a deal. We get through this and do what we need to do without complaints, and I’ll stop by Scoops on the way home.”

“What’s Scoops?” Dante asked.

“What’s Scoops?” I repeated in a shocked tone. “Only the very best ice cream place in the entire world.”

Maya looked at me skeptically. “Have you been to every ice cream place in the entire world to compare?”

I chuckled. “No, but I’ve been to enough of them to know it’s awesome.”

“I like ice cream,” Dante said.

“Clothes, school supplies, and toys to have for fun. Deal?”

I held out my hand and he shook it.

Maya finally conceded and while Lindsey nodded, she skittishly clung to my arm the entire time we were there.

“Sorry. The last time I ran into town to grab a few groceries I ran into Leo and came home just in time to get shot.”

I cringed.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “But aside from the two little trips to the store I made there, I haven't been around this many humans since before my time with the Raglan. And let's face it, that didn't exactly leave me with a fondness for humans,” she said dryly.

I stopped and took a moment to settle my wolf.

“Hey, no wolfing out here. In and out, right?” she said.

Her choice of words certainly grabbed my attention. In and out. I couldn't help but check out my mate and think of much more enjoyable ways to pass the day. In and out. In and out. Damn. I was growing hard thinking of how perfectly she felt under me as we made love.

Something on my face must have tipped her off to where my brain had just derailed because she smacked me and gave me a little shove.

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to me. And then I kissed her.

Maya giggled, reminding me we were not alone.

“In and out,” I agreed with a wink. Then I lowered my voice and leaned down to whisper in her ear even though I damn well knew she could hear better than anyone. “Tonight.”

She stopped and blushed before pointing to the kids walking just ahead of us and shooting me a look that warned me to behave.

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