“I wouldn’t need a phone if I knew stuff like—hey, wait a minute, how the hell do you know that Lucy’s from the flock?”
He pulled on his shirt and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Baby, do you really think I’d let a perfect stranger into my pack without knowing about their background?” Finding out where she came from and the details of her flock hadn’t been easy. He’d had to dig deep and use a lot of his contacts. It had taken months and he still didn’t have all the facts.
Riley tensed, wary. “Just how much did you find out about my past?”
He gave her an enigmatic smile. “Enough.”
What did “enough” mean? Riley didn’t exactly have deep, dark secrets, but she had as much dirty laundry as the next person. Knowing Tao could be fully aware just how dirty that laundry was . . . it made her feel vulnerable. Exposed.
“I wasn’t prying, Riley, and I didn’t do it to hurt you. I was making sure my pack mates were safe—that includes you. Of course, I would never have had to go to such measures if you hadn’t kept your past one great big secret.” He settled his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t uncover anything you’d consider personal, just basic facts about the flock. I don’t want to find out about your life from other people. I want to hear it from you. Okay?”
No, it wasn’t okay, because she wasn’t sure she completely understood what he was asking for—a bed-buddy? A fling? A relationship? Riley swallowed. “What exactly do you want from me?”
Tao traced the delicate line of her jaw. “I’m not asking for anything serious, baby. Relationships don’t work for me, they never have.” His past relationships had been stressful and complicated—mostly because he was an asshole with no idea how to make another person happy. “But we both know we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought this could end here, so I say we just let it play out. And I want you to let me in a little, because I’m not interested in anything cold and impersonal.” He watched her carefully as she stared back at him, eyeing him warily and deliberating on what he’d said. No doubt she’d fight him on it, but—
“All right.”
He blinked, unsure he’d heard her correctly. “All right?”
She shrugged. “I like sex, and, from what little I remember of last night, you’re pretty good at it.”
He’d been expecting a fight if for no other reason than that she could be a pain in his ass when she chose to be. Her reactions didn’t always make sense to him, and it really did make him wonder what went on in her pretty little head.
Satisfied by her response, his wolf relaxed. Tao, however, felt a little wounded by her assessment. “I’m better than ‘pretty good.’”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Next time I have you under me, I’ll prove it to you and—”
The bedroom door flew open and two small children scurried inside. They both froze, eyes dancing from Riley to Tao.
She forced a breezy smile for them. “Morning, guys.” Bending, she gave both kids a peck on the cheek. “You’re all washed and dressed, I see. Good.”
Savannah’s brows met. “You smell funny. And you have black stuff on your face.”
Hmm, thought Riley, apparently she hadn’t wiped off all the mascara after all. “I know, which means I need to go shower.” At that moment her cell began chiming again. “I’ll meet you guys in the kitchen soon, okay?”
Dexter gave a reluctant nod, and she ruffled his mop of blond curls before turning away.
Tao watched Riley quickly retreat into the bathroom. He’d like to stick around and eavesdrop on her call. Instead he turned to the kids looking up at him. Savannah’s gold, unblinking eyes were staring at him steadily. The impish viper shifter might be only four, but she was a fearless little thing. She also considered him the enemy, which was kind of understandable. He hadn’t been what anyone would call welcoming when they first arrived.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like kids. Tao had worried that they might hurt the Alpha pair’s son, Kye—especially since Dexter not only was a cheetah cub but could already partially shift. But the kids had quickly grown on Tao and, honestly, he felt like a bastard for initially being such an ass toward them.
Clearing his throat, Tao said, “Morning.”
The cub pulled a crumbling half of a cookie out of his pocket and held it out. Dexter was a hoarder, so heaven only knew how long that cookie had been in his pocket. Still, Tao took it to be polite. “Thanks, little man.”
Dexter just nodded; he didn’t say much in general. Unlike Savannah, the two-year-old had warmed up to Tao.
“Why are you in Riley’s room?” asked Savannah suspiciously, cocking her head and making her little caramel pigtails bounce. She was mightily protective of Riley.
“I just needed to talk to her about something. Why don’t you go wait for her in the kitchen? I’ll bet Grace has made your breakfast by now.” But Savannah continued staring at him, her gaze unblinking. “I’m not going to hurt Riley.”
“You growl at her. And you do it a lot.” Her little nose wrinkled. “That’s mean.”
“Only because she purposely drives me . . . You know what? Never mind. Let’s just go have breakfast. Riley won’t be long.”
Tao hustled them out of the room, closing the door behind them. Shooting him one last suspicious look, Savannah took Dexter’s hand and walked ahead of Tao as they moved to the ladder at the end of the tunnel. Incredibly agile, the kids easily scrambled up the black metal ladder. Once on the first level, the kids then turned down the tunnel that led to the kitchen while Tao went down a separate tunnel toward his bedroom. He didn’t pass any of his pack mates along the way, which meant it was likely that they were already in the kitchen.
After taking a quick, refreshing shower and some much-needed Tylenol, Tao pulled on some clothes and made his way to the kitchen. As he entered, his stomach rumbled at the sight and smell of the delicious spread on the dining table—scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, cereal, and biscuits and gravy were among the selection. Grace, the pack’s cook and mother hen, stood at the stove while the rest of the pack sat around the table.
Sinking into a chair, Tao loaded his plate with food as he scanned the room. Riley hadn’t yet arrived, which made him frown. He saw that many of his pack mates looked as if they were suffering from serious hangovers, especially Ryan’s teenage cousin, Zac; he’d been allowed only one beer, yet the kid looked dead to the world.
Makenna in particular, who was filling Savannah’s and Dexter’s plates, seemed badly hungover with her puffy face and the bags under her eyes. She knew the kids well, since she worked at the homeless shelter where they’d stayed before coming here with Riley for sanctuary. It was only later that Tao had figured out that Riley didn’t need sanctuary at all.
Lilah, Grace and Rhett’s pup, giggled loudly and clapped at something Kye said. Pretty much everyone at the table winced at the sounds.