Page 27 of Wolfish
He smiled. “You’re on the right side.”
Then they forgot about sides and curled up together, feeling it was so right. The bed was as big; they could have slept apart, but this was perfect. Never had she met a wolf that she was so into before.
Daniel hadn’t envisioned ending the night like this, but he was glad for it. Selena’s body, pressed against his side, radiated a gentle, persistent warmth that seeped beneath his skin and settled deep in his chest. She curled into him with ease, like a cat finding its favorite spot on the sun-warmed windowsill.
He was startled by how completely natural it felt to have her tucked beneath his arm. Her hair spilled over his shoulder and tickled his neck, making him hope they could spend a lot more time together like this—sharing meals, playing as wolves, snuggling in bed together at night.
At first, he’d feared awkwardness—the inevitable shuffle of limbs, the pressure of two people pretending not to notice the intimacy of their arrangement. Instead, there was a slow, organic choreography: Selena turned, he adjusted, and soon it was as if his bed had always been meant to contain the two of them, a matched set.
He tried to play it cool, to keep his breathing unhurried, but he was keenly aware of the minute movements of her fingers as they traced lazy patterns on his bare chest. Their pheromones were already dancing around each other, showing their keen interest in one another. For a few seconds, he wondered if she was even awake, or if she was sleepily lost to the world, the way her breath had softened and steadied. But then she looked up at him, her eyes glimmering with something between amusement and relief.
Daniel realized that he didn’t know what came next, and for once, he didn’t mind the uncertainty. He felt the tension that had colored his evening soften at the edges, replaced by a fragile sense of promise. There was something in the air—a hush, a pause, the possibility of something real which he wanted to continue to explore. He let himself enjoy it, the quiet miracle of her closeness.
She was so cuddly and fit him perfectly.
He finally fell asleep and woke to the aroma of coffee brewing in the kitchen. He was surprised she had left the bed and hadn’t woken him. He dressed in his uniform and then joined her in the kitchen.
“I hope you don’t mind that I made the coffee,” she said, dressed in a skirt, sweater, and boots for her grand opening.
“I must have been tired. I didn’t even feel you leave the bed.”
“You were. I didn’t want to wake you, but I guess you smelled the coffee.”
“I did. A surefire way to wake me. Do you want me to fix us breakfast? Sausage or ham? Hash browns? Toast?”
“Ham, hash browns, and toast sound delightful.”
“Coming right up.”
“Do you have honey?”
“Yes, and strawberry and grape jam.”
She poured them cups of coffee, then helped him warm up the ham and popped the sliced bread into the toaster while he made the hash browns. “Scrambled eggs?
“Sure.”
Then he figured she’d be all set for her final preparations for her grand opening. He just hoped Peter would let him stay at her shop for the day.
Once he was done cooking the eggs and hash browns, he served them up, and she added ham and toast.
He took the plates to the dining room table while she carried their coffee cups.
Then he called his boss. “Do you need me to take care of anything?”
“Are you going to be at the grand opening for Selena’s shop?”
“Yes, sir, unless you need me.”
“No. I need someone to watch out for Selena, and if you want the job, it’s yours.”
“Yeah, you know I do.”
“Okay, good. One other thing, some of our men found files belonging to Selena. They were scattered all over the woods. They gathered them up. I’ll be at the grand opening and drop them off.”
“She said they didn’t have any files that were relevant to their dad’s case.”
“Good, then they didn’t get any important files.”
