“Well, tonight should be real romantic under the covers.”
I coughed with laughter and quickly covered my mouth. April resumed eating with a straight face, flicking a hard glance across the table at her mate, who was gearing up for his third bowl of spicy beans.
A log snapped in the fireplace to the right, the flame illuminating half the room. White candles lit up our table as well as the countertops in the kitchen. The wood floors, walls, and ceiling absorbed the light like a sponge.
The couples faced each other, with Reno and Lorenzo on my left. Lorenzo and Austin had been talking about the size of their land, which in Shifter speak was the equivalent of comparing penis sizes. Apparently, Lorenzo had a bigger penis, so Austin was thinking about expanding his own girth.
“Austin, we have plenty,” I said for the second time. “Lorenzo has a bigger pack. What would we do with over five hundred acres?”
The look he gave me could have frozen water. Mate or not, I still had to show my Packmaster respect in front of others, but he looked too damn sexy in that blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. I winked at him and nibbled on my cheese cube.
“Alexia is right, Cole. What would you need with so much land?” Lorenzo asked, his long black hair so straight that it shone like spun silk.
Austin blew the steam from his spoonful of chili. “A man needs to think about the future and prepare. We’re a growing pack.”
“You’ve been saying that for years, yet the only recent addition I can think of is… hmm, let me see. Ah, yes. The old mountain lion.”
Austin dropped his spoon onto his plate and sat back, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin. “For your information, Church, the only reason Maddox is under my roof is because he’s in a serious relationship with one of my packmates. It’s a unique situation since Lynn isn’t a Shifter, so rules were bent. Maybe you need to think about diversifying your own pack. Having a panther and mountain lion gives me an edge.”
Lorenzo turned over his unused fork. He, like Ivy, was also Native American, and wore jewelry indicative of his heritage. Tonight he had on a turquoise bracelet and a leather necklace with an arrowhead affixed to a clasp. “Tactical advantages don’t impress me, not when packmates could turn on one another in the heat of battle. A wolf trusts his brethren, but how can he trust an animal that could be the same as his enemy in battle?”
Austin relaxed his arms on the back of the chair. “I trust my packmates with my life.”
“I hope one day that trust is not tested.”
“Lorenzo,” Ivy said with reproach, “we’re here to break bread with friends, not antagonize them. I happen to agree with Austin. Enemies would never anticipate a pack is sheltering other animals. While my father doesn’t believe in mixing a pack, it would have benefited him a time or two if he hadn’t been so closed-minded.”
“Your father is a smart man.”
She narrowed her eyes, her long braid slipping over her shoulder when she leaned forward. “And since when do you respect my father? You’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”
A smile played on his lips. “Indeed I am, sweet Ivy.”
Ivy sat back and lifted her chin, giving him a private smile. “We’ll discuss this later, Thunder Wolf.”
“Not that I’m complaining,” Reno began, “but I can’t figure out why the hell you invited us over tonight. I thought you two would be… uh, busy up there.” He pointed his spoon toward the loft.
My heart sank when I saw the look of embarrassment on Austin’s face before he quickly concealed it with a broad smile. “We’re wolves, not bunnies.”
Lorenzo laughed and then pinched the bridge of his nose. Ivy’s body abruptly jerked as if she were kicking him beneath the table, and the laughter quickly died in his throat.
“We didn’t just come here to have a good time,” I argued.
Damn, that came out all wrong.
Reno waggled his brows at April. “Speak for yourself.”
If her cheeks weren’t red from the chili, they were on fire from the heat culminating between her and Reno. April had confided in me that even though he was okay with vanilla sex, she had become open to trying kinky things that fired up his engine. After all, they loved each other, so playing with handcuffs and a blindfold wouldn’t hurt anyone. I could only imagine what was going on in cabin number two while Austin and I were playing Scrabble.
April smiled at Reno with her hazel eyes, touching the ends of her blond hair, cut just above her shoulders. She had aged gracefully and was no longer the na?ve girl I’d met over fifteen years ago. April had matured into a beautiful woman who sparkled like a diamond. Reno’s crown jewel.
“Anyone want pie?” I offered.
Reno’s spoon hit the plate and his dark brown eyes rose to meet mine. “Did you say… pie?”
“Lexi, you didn’t spend all day baking, did you? This is supposed to be a vacation,” April chided.
“It’s not a vacation without pie.”