Page 70 of Stripped

“Doc?” She grinned. “Oh, you mean Alexis. I've known her since she was in diapers and I've never quite adjusted to her being an adult with a medical degree.” She patted my shoulder. “Are you hungry? I've got leftover beef stew I just put in Zane's fridge. With some fresh bread?”

“That sounds wonderful. Thank you. Can I do anything to help?”

“You just sit there and relax, Abigail. I heard what you did for the pack, confronting Leopold like you did and nearly dying. You are a hero.”

“I believe some people, your son included, would say I'm an idiot.”

She bustled around the kitchen and was soon heating the stew and standing by the stove while she stirred. “It was risky, that's for sure. I know Zane would rather have you safe than anything else in the world, but what you did may just save us. Now that we know why the vamps and the council want us and our land, we can fight them. You gave us options we didn't have before and I, for one, am very grateful to you for that.”

“You've lived on this land for a long time?” I asked, glad to change the subject from my heroism.

“All my life,” she said. “I don't know anywhere else and I don't want to. If we'd had to move away or watch our home be overrun by vampires…” She shook her head. “I'm not sure I'd want to survive it.”

“Have you never traveled?” I couldn't imagine anyone choosing to stay in one place their whole lives.

“A bit. It's hard for us. We need to have places we can shift and run or we get antsy and aggressive. A trip to Paris could turn into a real-life re-make of a horror movie.” She set a bowl of stew and a slice of fresh bread on the table and sat across from me. “I've never minded. I'm a homebody at heart.”

“And has Zane never traveled?”

“He went to college in California and he's taken short trips all over the world, but that was in his early twenties. He hasn't said anything about wanting to travel, lately. Are you worried he's thinking about leaving the area?”

Quite the opposite, but I wasn't willing to get into that with Iris. “I was just curious about him.” I took a bite of the beef stew, rich and creamy, but with a bit of a kick, and nearly died of pleasure. I was hungrier than I'd realized.

While I shoved in the food, Iris told me stories about Zane as a kid. He'd been a bit of a loner in a pack that was centered on the idea of togetherness, but he still managed to get into his fair share of trouble, to make close friendships that had proved to be lifelong. I wondered how different my life might have been if I'd known Zane when I was a kid, if I'd had a friend like him. I wouldn't have felt quite so alone, so different from everyone else, I suspected.

“I'm so glad he's found you,” Iris said, as I was finishing up and resisting the urge to lick the bowl.

“I figured you'd want him to end up with another wolf.”

She smiled and patted my hand. “I've always just wanted him to be happy. You make him happy and you're strong enough to allow him to be who he is without complaint.”

I thought of my idea to make him sexy up his yoga videos. “I like Zane. More than anyone else I know, but I'm not as convinced as you that I'm the right person for him. I mean, you know I'm a stripper, right?”

She remained unfazed. “You are a strong, smart, beautiful woman who looks at my son like he hung the moon. You risked your life to help your friend and to help his pack, his family. It doesn't matter what you do for a living.”

“I'm not a hero,” I said. “Going to see Leopold didn't feel like being heroic, it just felt like doing the right thing.”

“Which is exactly why you are heroic.” She took my empty bowl and stood. “And he looks at you like you're the center of the universe. When you walk into the room, his breathing hitches and he can't take his eyes off you. He moves to wherever you are and stands close to you, touches you. You are it for him, Abby. I hope you'll stay.”

“I…”Shit, why were my eyes burning. “I can't—”

She turned to the sink. “Zane's home. Why don't you let him in?”

She had to know the front door wasn't locked and that he had a key if it was, but I went to the door anyway and opened it to find him standing on the porch, his cheek creased from the pillowcase, his hair ruffled. Something in him relaxed when he saw me and I wanted to step forward and wrap myself around him, but I held back. I was already too much wrapped up in him and in his life. I needed to pull back.

“Feeling better?” I asked, moving to the side and letting him in.

“Much.” He grabbed my waist as he passed and pulled me in for a hug and quick press of his lips to mine. “How are you feeling?”

I moved back, even though it felt like the wrong thing to do. Zane didn't miss the movement, his expression shuttered and his smile faded. “I'm feeling pretty good,” I said. “There's some beef stew in the kitchen if you're hungry.”

He didn't touch me again, but he got close enough that I could feel his heat and be surrounded by his scent. “I'm starving, but not for food.”

I giggled and dodged before he could touch me. If he touched me, I'd cave and I'd probably never leave. I walked to the kitchen. “All I've got to offer is food. Your mom heated it up, and it's still warm if you want some.”

Iris had left while I let Zane in. I wished she'd stayed. I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and filled it with stew. I spun to find him seated at the table, his eyes on me, hungry. I shivered, set the bowl in front of him, and backed up until I was leaning against the sink and far out of his reach.

He kept his gaze on me while he ate, lifting the spoon to his mouth and tearing the bread in a way that somehow breathed sex and made my knees weak and my panties wet. Why did I have to be sensible? I could have sex with him again and it wouldn't mean anything. It wouldn't make it harder to leave, wouldn't make me hate Denver because he wasn't in it. I could handle it. “How is it that you have food?” I asked, because I couldn't lie to myself. I couldn't handle sex with Zane, couldn't handle getting any more wound up in him.

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