Tameka's Smile (13 page)

“Maybe,” she finally responded, panting with her efforts.

“Think the big, bad wolf can handle me?”

There was a tiny voice in her head screaming,
What the hell
are you doing?
It was the same voice of caution that had resulted in her playing it safe all of her life, until she walked away from 82

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her job and everything it represented that she’d come to hate.

Now she was here in Refuge having conversations with her dead grandmother and taunting her naked, werewolf lover into doing his worst. Yep, sanity had definitely left the building.

Chad tightened his grip and pressed more of his weight down on her. “You know what happened to Little Red, don’t you, when she tried to take on the wolf?”

“She kicked wolf butt?” Tameka asked with another useless jerk of her body.

He licked the side of her neck all the way to the underside of her earlobe in one long swipe, then murmured in her ear. “No, he devoured her.”

With those words, he gave her a pretty compelling demonstration of what old Red must have enjoyed with her wolf.

Tameka gave as good as she got, even as in a small corner of her mind she marveled at how aggressive she was being. This wasn’t like her at all.

* * * *

Later, after they’d finished rolling around on the floor and showered, Chad sat on side of the bed with Tameka kneeling behind him, examining the wound on his shoulder. “I still can’t believe I did that. I’m so sorry. Does it hurt?” Chad couldn’t hold in the grin, but he was careful not to let her see it. “Meka, I’m fine. It’s just a little bite.”

“Little! Chad, I drew blood. Look at it. Well, you can’t but I can see each tooth mark. I’m putting antibiotic ointment on it. I don’t care what you say. I don’t want it to get infected.” She moved to get off of the bed.

He caught her by the waist and tumbled her onto his lap.

“Leave it. I told you it wouldn’t. I heal really fast. Always have, so stop worrying. I like it. Feel free to do it again, anytime.” She shook her head. “You may not have lied about being a werewolf, but you’re still insane.”

He laughed, but suddenly grew serious. “Are you okay with what I am?” It was his biggest fear, that she wouldn’t be able to accept all of him.

She laid her head on his shoulder. He could almost hear her 83

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thinking. Finally, she answered. “In a way, yeah, I think I am.

It’s almost a relief. It means rethinking everything I’ve been taught to believe. That part sucks, but the rest just might be doable. I can honestly say I’m glad you’re not a man.” He stiffened in shock, pushed her off of his lap and onto the bed before standing. “I’m not an animal.” Anger filled him as the memory of the one woman he’d dared to reveal himself to calling him a savage beast.

Tameka braced herself with her hands to keep from tumbling off the bed and looked at him with unfeigned dismay.

“No! I would never call you an animal. Why would you think…oh. No, Chad. That’s not what I meant.

“Right.” He looked around on the floor for his clothes before remembering he’d left them in the living room. He turned and headed for the door.

“Chad, wait! Let me explain.” She ran around him and leaned her back against the door, blocking the exit.

He gave her his coldest stare, knowing it would terrify her but at that moment, not caring.

Tameka placed her hands on her hips and got right up in his face. “Don’t you look at me like that,” she snapped. “Damn it, Chad. Sit your ass on that bed and listen to me!” She actually stomped her foot at him.

He felt his eyebrows shoot to his hairline. Even his wolf stuck its ears up, interest piqued. He walked slowly to the bed and sat down as instructed, his face impassive, but inwardly he was stunned. No one ever spoke to him like that. No one.

Tameka paced before him covered only by a purple towel wrapped around her body. Her agitation reached him through their bond, powering through his hurt and anger, demolishing it.

“I told you I used to be a psychologist. My specialty was marriage and family. The courts referred most of my clients to me. Where I lived, anyone seeking divorce—especially if there were children involved—had to go to mediation first, to see if divorce was really necessary. I also had a lot of clients referred to me by the State, counseling parents whose children had been removed from their homes because of abuse.” She turned eyes so full of pain and despair toward him that his wolf howled inside. “The things I saw people—men—do to 84

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each other in the name of love…” She visibly shuddered and hugged herself. “If that’s love, I don’t ever want to be loved,” she finished softly.

Just when he was ready to go to her, she seemed to pull herself together. She sent him a small smile tinged with sadness.

“When I say you’re not a man, I’m giving you a compliment.

I’ve seen what we humans are capable of. We’re the animals, not you.”

He did go to her then and wrap his arms around her, hugging her close.

She relaxed against him with a sigh. “The irony is you looking to me to know how a family should operate.” She laughed, but didn’t sound amused. “I can tell you what not to do, but that’s about it,” she finished grimly.

He leaned back and gazed down at her, puzzled. “I thought you grew up in a two-parent home.”

She laughed again, this time with humor. “My parents are a joke. The only good thing about my family was Momma E.

That’s why I went into family practice. I knew there had to be a something better than the way I was raised.” And instead she encountered worse. As a cop, first in the military and now as a civilian, Chad had seen enough domestic violence and just plain cruelty to have a very good idea of what his mate had spent years dealing with. He pulled her back to him and rested his chin upon her head. “Maybe between the two of us, we can figure this family thing out—together.” He held his breath, waiting for her to contradict him, and/or express some form of denial. When she just snuggled into him and yawned, he let out the breath he was holding and relaxed.

“Go to bed. I’ll lock up the house.” He turned her toward the bed and gave her a light slap on her bottom.

“You’re staying, right?” She grabbed him by the forearm before he could walk off.

“Yes, I am.”

“Good.” She dropped her towel and climbed into bed.

Chad quickly locked up and joined her. As he pulled her into his arms, she spoke, her voice little more than a murmur.

“Maybe you need to leave some stuff over here. You know, so you don’t have to rush off to change every time you stay over.” 85

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He smiled in the dark, recognizing the invitation for what it was. “I’ll do that.”

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Chapter Six

Tameka couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she dressed for work. Chad had taken it upon himself to demonstrate the benefits of waking up with a horny man—namely him—each morning. An hour later, sated and pleasantly tired, she had to chase him out the door in order to make it to work on time.

Today was Thursday, the beginning of the weekend rush.

The shop would be busy today though the rest of the week, and if she intended to build her clientele, she needed to be there to get a good start. She had her things waiting by the door and was headed into the kitchen to grab her lunch when the phone rang.

She snatched the receiver off of the cradle and kept moving.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Jones?”

“Yes, it is. Who’s calling?” She stuck her head in the open door of the fridge, grabbed the chicken salad she made yesterday and a carton of peach yogurt. As an afterthought, she also snagged a bottle of water.

“Ms. Jones, I represent the Markham Group. You haven’t responded to any of our queries through the mail, so I decided to try the direct approach.”

Tameka pushed the door closed with her hip and placed the food in her insulated lunch bag. “Look, if this is about my property, I’m sure my lawyer told you I’m not interested in selling.”

“We’re prepared to make you a very attractive offer. How does two hundred and fifty thousand dollars sound?”
Like a rip off
, she thought, rolling her eyes. “For twelve acres of land and a nice sized house? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“All right. Three hundred thousand.”

“No.” She looked around to make sure she wasn’t forgetting 87

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anything.

“Ms. Jones, you drive a hard bargain. Four hundred thousand. That’s as high as we’re willing to go.”

“Look, I’m neither negotiating with you nor holding out for more money. I told you, this land’s not for sale—for any price.

That’s final. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for work.” Tameka disconnected the call. Now she had to hurry or she’d be late. She wished she had time to take something for her head.

Dealing with those people had given her a headache.

She drove into town with the AC on full blast, all the vents pointed at her. As early as it was, it was hot as Hades out there.

They were in for a scorcher of a summer if the last few days were an indication. When she arrived at the shop, there were quite a few guys waiting for haircuts. Tameka greeted everyone as she went to her station and got busy.

After about the sixth client, she paused while sweeping her area and told Lulu, “I’m going to have to get me a fan. I don’t know how you stand this heat.”

Betty spoke up. “It’s actually kind of cool in here, even with the dryers going. Lulu’s got the air cranked down really low. Are you feeling all right? You look a little flushed.”

“Are you sure? ‘Cause I’m so hot, I’m sweating and that’s not something I normally do,” Tameka told her while fanning her face.

Lulu gazed at her with a concerned expression on her face.

“You don’t think you’re coming down with anything, do you?” Tameka wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she cleaned her supplies, preparing for the next customer. “I felt fine when I got up this morning. I had a slight headache when I left the house, but that’s because that annoying developer called, trying to get me to sell Momma E’s property again, despite the fact that I’ve told them I’m not interested.” Lulu’s gaze sharpened. “Someone made an offer on the property?”

Tameka nodded as she motioned for the next guy to come over. “And being downright aggravating about it, too. Won’t take no for an answer. She actually thought I was trying to drive the price higher. I finally hung up on her.” She placed the cape around the man, ignoring the way he 88

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stared at her and picked up the spray water bottle, after finding out how he wanted his hair cut.

Lulu waited until she finished cutting to ask, “Do you remember the name of the person who called?” Tameka paused. “Now that I think about it, she never did give me her name. Just identified herself with the Markham Group.”

“What about the letters?” Lulu questioned.

“I couldn’t tell you. Momma E’s probate attorney handled them after the first one. He just passed the message along.”

“How much they offering?” Rosa asked.

“Four hundred thousand was the last offer.” She turned her attention to her next client, running her fingers through his shoulder length hair, checking the ends. “What can I do for you today?”

“Just a trim.”

Tameka grabbed her spray bottle and got to work once she verified how much he wanted trimmed off the ends.

Betty picked up the conversation. “The land alone is worth that much, and that’s not including the house. That’s a prime piece of real estate you have there, with plenty of trees and if I remember correctly, a small lake as well.” Tameka frowned. “I didn’t know about the lake, but it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t sell even if I wanted to. Momma E

made it a condition in the will.”

“Why not?” Rosa wanted to know. “If they offered me enough, I’d take the money and run.”

“Because the land belongs to the Raven pack. Tameka’s just the trustee.” Lulu supplied the surprising answer.

“If it’s not your land, how did your grandmother leave it to you in her will? Doesn’t that make it yours,” Rosa asked Tameka.

“It’s mine to live on and use, but there are restrictions. I’m on what they call a Conservation Land Trust, basically the land’s caretaker. I make sure the land stays as it is—undeveloped—but the deed lists me as trustee, not owner.” She’d thought the land belong to a non-profit, conservation group. Thanks to Lulu, she now knew better.

She turned her client to the mirror, fanning out his brown 89

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hair before letting it drop to its new length, just above his shoulders. “Is that enough, or do you want more?”

“That’s fine.”

Tameka didn’t know how he could tell. He was looking at her reflection instead of his own. “That will be fifteen dollars.

Pay at the register.”

Tameka placed her hand on her stomach while she waited for him to exit the chair. Her stomach was cramping like she’d eating something rancid, and her headache was getting worse.

She swayed and closed her eyes as a wave of heat washed over her, leaving dizziness in its wake.

“Are you all right? You’re pale as a ghost.” Lulu’s voice came to her, sounding like it was a great distance away. She wanted to answer, but was afraid if she opened her mouth her stomach would erupt.

“Meka!”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t feel so good.” She swayed again and grabbed a hold of the chair to steady herself.