Wolf with Benefits

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Toni hadn’t needed an alarm clock to get her up in the morning for years, because getting up late meant she’d had to deal with full-blown arguments rather than preventing them. So when the sun streaming through the big windows hit her right in the face, she instantly knew she had to get up. Although her mother made breakfast for all the kids—she loved to talk to her pups in the morning, feed them, and then send them out into the day with her favorite phrase: “You’re all equally amazing. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.”—Toni still had to make sure that the older kids had all their supplies, knew their schedules, and most importantly, took care of basic hygiene. Oriana wasn’t a problem, but Kyle and Troy often simply forgot. They became so absorbed in their work or whatever they were studying that things like brushing their teeth, bathing, or changing their socks were considered secondary.

Toni didn’t consider them secondary, so she knew she had to get up. But, for some reason, Toni didn’t want to get up. She was entirely too comfortable here, face down on this very warm couch that smelled really good. So good, in fact, that Toni ended up rubbing her face against that couch.

That’s when the couch growled.

Toni’s eyes snapped open at the same time she sat up, realizing to her horror that she’d been asleep atop Ricky Lee Reed’s chest. Possibly for the entire night!

Amber eyes surrounded by surprisingly long eyelashes opened, and a slow, lazy smile spread across his lips when his gaze locked on her. “Mornin’, darlin’.”

“Why am I on your chest? Why was I sleeping on your chest?”

“ ’Cause I’m cuddly?”

It wasn’t his stupid question but his voice that made her punch him right in the chest she’d been asleep on. No man, wolf or otherwise, should have a voice that low and sexy this early in the goddamn morning!

“Ow!” he howled, his arms covering his chest. “What was that for?”

It didn’t help that he was still grinning at her while he protected himself.

“You know exactly what that was for!” she snarled, then tried to scramble off him. But the wolf caught her by the hips and pulled her right into his lap, her legs straddling his waist.

Toni gasped and glowered down at the big bastard. “Are you hard?” she demanded, feeling something like a lead pipe pressing against her thigh.

That damn smile grew even wider. “Every mornin’ like clockwork.”

Deciding she had had enough, Toni gripped his hands and pulled them off her waist. She scooted off his lap and stood up, adjusting her clothes as she did. “You are such a—”

“Now, now. No call to get nasty just ’cause you cuddled up to me like I was a big ol’ teddy bear.”

“Shut up.” She started to walk out, only to realize she didn’t recognize where she was. “What is this place?”

“Your apartment,” the wolf said, his arms slipping behind his head.

“My . . . ?” It all came back to her, and Toni shook her head. “The job. I have to quit that job.”

“You’re not quitting that job.”

“Why not?”

“Because you keep that job and you keep this awesome apartment and that awesome TV. ”

“What does my TV have to do with you?”

“I can’t come over and watch it?”

“No!”

“No loyalty among you jackals. Guess the Bible got it right about y’all.”

“The Bible is biased. Jackals are a wonderful—oh! Why am I arguing with you?” she demanded before marching off toward a doorway.

“Not a morning person?”

“Shut up!”

Silently laughing and enjoying himself thoroughly, Ricky got off the couch and followed after the angry little jackal.

She actually hadn’t fallen asleep on him. Or even cuddled up to him. She’d just fallen asleep on the opposite end of the couch, her hands and feet twitching away as she ran in her dreams. And sure, Ricky could have left her over there and slept on his side of the couch, or on the other two couches in the sizable room, but it had been mighty cold in that room . . . once he’d turned the air conditioner up. So he’d pulled her into his arms and she’d happily rested on his chest like she belonged there.

Perhaps not the most honorable way to handle things, but he was a wolf, not some full-human with a lot of rules and regulations about how to run his life.

Besides, she’d felt really good in his arms and had smelled even better.

Like now. All annoyed and everything, she still smelled really good.

He tracked her down into one of the bedrooms, where she stood in front of the chest of drawers.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her.

She glanced back at him. “Do you think he bought me clothes?”

“I have to say if he did . . . that would be weird.”

“Yeah.”

“Especially if they fit perfectly.”

“Stop.” She opened one of the drawers and blew out a sigh. “Empty. Good. But now I need to go home.”

“What about the bag your aunt gave you yesterday?”

“I’m wearing what she gave me.”

“She gave you a giant duffel bag with just one set of clothes?”

“Irene’s brilliance focuses on other things.”

“Other things besides logic?”

“Pretty much.” She faced him. “I have to go home so I can get dressed, go back to the Sports Center, and quit my job.”

“What about my TV needs?”

Her eyes crossed before she stepped around him and walked out of the bedroom.

“I’ll go back with you,” he suggested/insisted.

“No. I can make it back on my own.”

She grabbed the duffel bag she’d left lying in the hallway and was at the front door when Ricky came up behind her.

“See ya,” she said as she opened the door.

“When?”

She stopped, faced him. “What?”

“When will you see me? Tonight? Tomorrow? This weekend?”

“I’m not dating you.”

“Who said anything about dating? We’re shifters. Shifters don’t date. That’s for full-humans.”

“Then what are you suggesting?”

“Sex. Preferably lots of it.”

“Just sex? That’s all you want?” she pushed.

“What? Do you like to talk or something?”

“No.”

Ricky grinned. “So you just wanna hit it?”

“No! I mean—oh! Why am I having this conversation with you?”

“Because you’re intrigued and kind of turned on. It’s okay. I know you’re used to full-humans and their complicated ways, but it’s time for you to learn the ways of your people.”

“Or I could never see you again.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because . . . it’s just . . . why am I still having this conversation with you?” she finished on a yell.

“Well—”

“Shut up!” she spun away from him and stormed out of the apartment.

“You’re dang cute when you’re angry,” he called after her. “Well, damn, darlin’! That gesture was just unnecessary!”

Ricky stepped back into the apartment and went looking for the boots he’d had on last night. While he searched, he laughed the entire time because, yeah . . . this was gonna be fun.

Kyle was waiting for his sister to come home. He knew she’d be back to check on them, and when she did, he, Oriana, and Troy had it all worked out. They were going to give her the silent treatment. Show her that they didn’t need her. Not like she seemed to think they did. And then, once she understood the depth of her idiocy, they’d again allow her to manage their lives. Because working with his aunt Irene, whom they all adored, was like hell on earth.

That woman was impossible! Blunt to the point of just rude, she would cut Kyle off midsentence in order to inform him that he was wrong and remind him that he was only eleven. He knew he was eleven. He was quite aware of being eleven. He didn’t need a reminder of that. Nor did he need his aunt to cut him off while he was speaking. That was intolerable!

Did Michelangelo have to go through this sort of thing? Did Rodin? Kyle doubted it. Brilliance shouldn’t be forced to deal with such ridiculous things as schedules and worrying about making people cry.

And of course his dear, sweet, but clueless aunt Irene didn’t understand that. She was a scientist. Yes, a brilliant scientist, but just a scientist. She was not an artist, so she didn’t understand anything. She definitely didn’t understand things the way Toni did, and Toni was much less terrifying than Aunt Irene, which was very important.

So when Toni got home, Kyle would let her know in no uncertain terms that he and the others would no longer tolerate any more of this ridiculous behavior from her. She had work to do, and that work was here, with her family. Not with strangers who did no more than follow a tiny puck around while on skates. Full-blooded bears did that sort of thing in Russia for full-humans’ entertainment, so Kyle was not impressed.

Freddy ran into the kitchen, a thick and, Kyle would wager, boring book in his hands. He held it up for their father to see.

“Look what came for me, Daddy!”

“What’s that?”

“Miki sent me a book about my favorite physicist, Henry Cavendish!”

I was right. Boring.

“I’m going to go bury it in the backyard!” Freddy cheered before charging toward the backdoor.

“You haven’t read it yet,” their father reminded him.

Freddy stopped, stared at the book in his hands.

Kyle’s brother was such a canine. If anything was important to him, he buried it in the backyard, which was only really annoying when he panicked, stole something that belonged to someone else, buried it in the backyard, and then refused to tell anyone where. And for such a chatty kid, Freddy really could keep his mouth shut when he felt like it.

“Why don’t you have breakfast first,” their father suggested, “read the book, then decide if you want to bury it or not.”

“It’s from Miki,” Freddy repeated as if that explained his intense desire to bury the stupid thing.

“Miki who?” Troy asked.

“Kendrick,” Oriana replied. “Aunt Irene’s mouthy friend.”

“She’s nice,” Freddy said.

“You think everyone’s nice.”

Their father pulled a chair out at the table. “Freddy, sit. Eat. You always forget to eat.”

“Oriana never forgets to eat,” Kyle joked. Although he wasn’t sure it was worth the trouble when Oriana’s bony elbow rammed into his ribs.

“Ow! Dad!”

“Cut it out.” Their father’s voice was calm, but then again, he rarely yelled at them anyway. He mostly left that to Toni.

Oriana lifted her head, her bowl of oatmeal—and Kyle’s vulnerable ribs—forgotten. Her nose twitched. “I think Toni’s coming,” she whispered to Kyle.

“What do you mean you think?”

“I’m still learning to separate smells. And give me that tone again, runt, and I’ll bite your nose off.”

“Stop it,” Troy snapped. “Both of you. Now look cold and indifferent.”

Kyle studied his brother. “You always look cold and indifferent.”

“Then follow my lead.”

They did. Kyle and Oriana sat up straight—well, Oriana had excellent posture so that part was mostly Kyle—and looked across the room, away from the back door that led into the kitchen. Yes. Toni would notice right away that she was being ignored and it would burn.

The back door opened and Toni stomped in.

“Hey, baby,” their father said while he blatantly fed that flea-bitten mongrel their mother had brought home. What was their father doing with that dog? Didn’t he have actual children of his own to care for?

The door slammed shut, and Kyle quickly saw that his big sister was angry. He immediately ran through anything he’d done in the last twenty-four hours that could cause this response, but he’d been home in his room plotting with Oriana and Troy—and avoiding Aunt Irene.

“My TV?” Toni barked. “He’s interested in my TV. Unbelievable!” She started walking through the big kitchen. “Damn wolves. I hate wolves!”

“I think your uncle Van will have a problem with that,” their father told her as she stormed through, that mongrel pressing itself against his leg. Most likely out of fear.

“Uncle Van can also go to hell.” Toni stood by the swinging door that led into the dining room. “In fact . . . everyone can go to hell!” she suddenly screamed before she threw the door open and marched through it.

After a few moments of silence from a group that was never silent, Freddy asked, “Aren’t you going to go talk to her, Daddy?”

“Oh, no,” their father replied with that big smile he always had. What did he have to smile about? “I know that rage. I’m not about to get in front of that.”

“You’ve seen it before?” Oriana glanced around, then asked, “From Toni?”

“No. Your mother. Of course, I’m usually the one causing it.” His smile kind of grew. “But not this time. Not with Toni.”

“Then who is causing it?”

“It’s not one of you, so don’t worry about it. But you three”—their father said to Kyle, Oriana, and Troy—“if I were you, I’d let that silent treatment plan lie for now. Just let it lie.”

The three of them looked at each other, then at their father and nodded.

Because being brilliant also included knowing when not to risk life and limb by annoying their already raging big sister.

Brendon Shaw kissed the back of his sleeping mate’s neck and slipped out of bed, making sure not to wake her.

Now that Ronnie Lee was pregnant, she slept a lot more and got into fistfights a lot less. Not having to wipe her blood-covered knuckles and pay off some supermodel who got a little mouthy in a bar had been a growing pleasure of his.

Naked, Brendon walked out of his bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him, and cut through the living room of the presidential suite of his hotel, the Kingston Arms. Since shifters hadn’t had one of their own in the White House since 1909, he used the suite for himself and his family.

Unfortunately for Brendon, his “family” had grown beyond what he’d exactly been hoping for.

Stopping in the middle of his living room and, sighing greatly, he looked over at the kitchen bar where one of Ronnie Lee’s worthless brothers stood, eating yogurt and staring at him.

“Mornin’.”

“I thought I made it clear to you and your idiot brothers that you were not to just drop by.”

“Now, now, big kitty. We’re all family. And family is family.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?”

Instead of answering, the wolf held up his bowl. “Yogurt?”

“I don’t want yogurt. And I told the staff not to stock my refrigerator with that crap anymore.”

Brendon had thought by not having the yogurt, he’d have fewer visits from Ronnie Lee’s Pack and family.

“You did ask them,” the wolf replied. “But we just talked to the wolves on staff and they made sure to set us up right. It was either that or we mock them with our howls at night.”

The wolf gestured at Brendon. “Guess you’re going to have to start wearing some pants to bed, hoss, once that baby comes along.”

Which brother was this again? Oh. Yeah. The middle one. Ricky. He was a little less irritating than Reece Lee and definitely not as uptight as Rory, but he was still a male canine in Brendon’s house.

“Eat your food and get out.”

“As ya like.”

Thinking about changing the locks again but knowing it would be a waste since wolves could pretty much unlock anything they wanted to, Brendon started off again. But he’d barely walked ten paces when the front door opened, and a few seconds later, another one of Ronnie Lee’s wolf kin invaded his home.

“There you are,” Reece Lee said when he spotted his brother. He stepped into the sunken living room, briefly stopping by Brendon to note, “Guess you’ll have to start wearing pants once Ronnie’s baby comes.”

“It’s also my baby, though you and your brothers seem to enjoy forgetting that part.”

“Hope your pup—”

“Cub.”

“—ain’t born with a snaggle-fang like Bobby Lee’s mixed-species cousin out of North Carolina. Pretty girl until she shifts, then it’s a whole other thing.”

“Maybe there’ll be tusks like Novikov,” Ricky suggested.

“I hate both of you.” Brendon sneered.

“Ya can’t.” Reece patted Brendon’s shoulder. “We’re all family now. Ain’t we?”

“Come and get some of this yogurt, little brother. There’s even summer berries in the fridge for mixing in.”

“But I like my yogurt the way I like my women,” Reece said with a huge grin. “Plain and sour!”

Rolling his eyes, Brendon walked toward the laundry to get some clean clothes and consider the benefits of private schools in Switzerland before the Reed Boys had a chance to spread their Southern logic to Brendon’s vulnerable child.

After fixing his own bowl of yogurt, his brother settled down beside Ricky at the bar.

“Where’d you go yesterday?” Reece asked.

“Met a girl,” Ricky said around a mouthful of yogurt.

“Anyone I’ve already fucked?”

“Not this time. You’ve met her, though. She’s one of the new directors for your team. Travel and promotion, I think.”

Reece dropped his spoon. “That little rich jackal?”

“Yep.”

“You and some rich girl? Daddy would call that a sign of the End of Days.”

“Daddy just don’t like rich people.”

“True. Still . . . she don’t seem your speed, big brother. Kind of slow lane for a Reed.”

“Never needed a fast car to keep my interest.” Ricky finished his food and pushed the bowl away. “Is that why you’re here? To ask me about that?”

“Nah. Rory wants us at the office for a morning meeting.”

“Why?”

“Big client coming in from the Sports Center. I think they want us to evaluate their fancy security systems.”

Ricky nodded. “Perfect. Was planning to go over to the Sports Center anyway and spend some time with my jackal.”

“Momma says jackals do the Devil’s work.”

“My jackal says that’s just propaganda.”

The pair watched Brendon Shaw walk through his living room, thankfully now wearing sweatpants.

“What about what Momma says about cats being agents of Satan himself?”

The cat stopped, glared over at them. “Out, canines!” he roared.

Winking at his grinning brother, Ricky replied, “I’d have to say that Momma was probably right on that one.”

A brief knock on the door and Coop walked into Toni’s room. “Heard you were up here raging about TVs and wolves. Kyle thinks you’ve had a mental breakdown from your new job that he insists on calling stupid.”

Toni, fresh from the shower and having put on jeans and a T-shirt, quickly combed her wet hair off her face before grabbing socks and her running shoes. “It’s nothing.” She didn’t want to get into it. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened between her and that useless wolf.

She sat on the wooden bench by her bed to put her shoes on. “Look, Coop, I have to go into the office, but as soon as I get back—”

“Don’t worry about a thing, big sis. I’ve got it all handled.”

Toni stopped tying her laces to look up at her brother. “What do you mean?”

“Cherise and I canceled all our concerts for this summer. We’re staying home to take care of the kids.”

“You did what?”

“No, no. Don’t get upset.” Coop crouched in front of her and finished tying her shoelaces for her. “I know what you’re thinking, but I needed the break. I’ve been going nonstop for months. And Cherise . . . let’s put it this way. When I made the suggestion, she threw herself into my arms and kissed my face like I’d rescued her from a sinking boat circled by sharks.”

“But Coop—”

Done with her laces, Coop placed his hands on her knees and looked deep into Toni’s eyes. “You, big sis, deserve this. You deserve this. You’ve taken care of us, now it’s our turn to do the same for you. Let us.”

“But weren’t you supposed to play for the king of—”

“If you’ve played for one king, trust me, you’ve played for them all. Our family is more important. And although Aunt Irene is trying to help, she terrifies the kids.”

“I know.” Toni sighed.

“And a crap-load of computer stuff arrived yesterday and she was up all night in her room putting it together with Troy and Freddy.”

“Troy and Freddy were up all night?”

“Only until three, but that’s when they usually go to sleep anyway.” Very true. Toni tried to get them on a more normal schedule for kids their age, but their minds never stopped turning, never stopped going. When she did order them to bed early, all they did was stay up all night thinking until Freddy began to work himself into an ulcer and Toni found that Troy had written equations all over his bedroom walls. “So I don’t forget!” he’d told her when she’d found him at six in the morning with a tiny stub of blue crayon in his hand and wild eyes.

“And you know how Aunt Irene is when she gets into her work,” Coop continued. “So you need me and Cherise here. We can help each other and help you. For once.”

Toni thought about telling her brother that she was only going into the office to quit the job she was so ill-prepared for, but she didn’t have the heart. He was just so damn proud of himself. She hadn’t seen him look like that since he was ten and was asked to perform for Queen Elizabeth of England in London. Although he did ask Toni later, “Is that the redheaded one?” Then he’d whispered, “Isn’t she dead? Will I be playing for a zombie?” Her fault. She’d let him stay up with her so they could watch Night of the Living Dead while their parents were out of the house, and the babysitter was clueless.

“No,” Toni had explained. “This is that Elizabeth’s, like, great-great granddaughter or something. She was born, like, a hundred years ago or whatever.”

Thankfully Toni’s understanding of history had improved with age.

But whichever Elizabeth that had been, Coop had had a look on his face of pure pride then, and he had the same expression now. It meant a lot to him to help his family.

So although Toni was going to quit this job because she was woefully under-qualified, she didn’t have to tell her brother that. And maybe, if she was lucky, she could find a job better fit for her skills and Coop could spend the summer helping with the rest of the kids.

Hell, if it made her kid brother happy, who was she to argue?

“Thanks, Coop. I appreciate your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Toni stood, picked up her backpack. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Don’t worry about it. I know that new job will keep you busy.”

“Yeah.” Toni started to walk out but stopped. “Can I borrow your phone until later?”

“Sure, but Freddy didn’t take that new one you got apart, too, did he?”

“No, no.” She took the phone from her brother. “But I don’t want to talk about what did happen to it.”

Toni left the room and walked down the two flights of stairs to reach the front door. With her hand on the knob, she glanced back down the hallway and saw Oriana, Kyle, and Troy suddenly dive into the living room. Only Freddy stood his ground. He waved at her, and Toni smiled, winked, and blew him a kiss.

She walked out of the house and stopped when she came face to face with Delilah.

“Are you just getting home?” Toni asked, glancing at her watch.

“Mhmm.”

Delilah tried to move around her, but Toni cut in front of her and asked, “Where have you been, Delilah?”

“Just walking.”

Delilah tried to step around her again, and again Toni moved, blocking her. “Walk around where?”

Slowly her sister raised those blue eyes of hers to look at Toni. “Just around.”

“You’re being careful, right? Manhattan isn’t Seattle.”

“I know.” She gently patted the oversized shoulder bag she always had with her. It kept her drawing pad, notebook, and pencils. It was her ability to draw like artists thirty years her senior that had made Delilah a prodigy. But that wasn’t why Toni still kept a close watch on her eighteen-year-old sister. No. It wasn’t her skills as an artist that made Delilah so unique . . . and they both knew it.

“Don’t worry about me, Toni.” Delilah stroked her fingers gently down the side of Toni’s face, and it took all of Toni’s strength not to flinch away from that touch. “I’m always careful.”

“I know.”

With that soft smile, Delilah moved around Toni and headed inside.

“But it’s not really you I’m worried about . . . is it, little sister?” Toni said to Delilah’s back.

In the doorway, Del slowly turned around, her head dipping down a bit as she focused on Toni. Her smile spread—stretched—into a leer before she closed the door in Toni’s face.

Toni released the breath she always held whenever she attempted to figure out what the fuck her sister was up to.

Deciding she didn’t have time for this, Toni headed down the steps but stopped when she reached the second-to-last step and saw Johnny DeSerio standing in front of the wild dogs’ house and staring across the street. He was a young wolf and yet he wasn’t moving. That seemed strange. Young canines were known for their high energy.

Concerned, Toni waited until traffic cleared and jogged across the street until she reached Johnny.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“My feet stopped moving,” he muttered. “I’ve lost the ability to walk.”

“Okay. But you are standing. Standing is good. So there’s been no damage to your spinal cord.”

Toni moved around until she stood right beside him.

“I see you have your violin,” she noted.

“Do I? Maybe I should leave it inside. I’m not very good.”

“That’s not what my mother says.”

“Your mother is a foolish woman!” he suddenly exploded, and Toni had to move fast to stop herself from laughing. Biting the inside of her cheek definitely helped. When she finally got control, Toni placed her hand on his forearm.

“Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me?”

“I want to hide in my basement.”

“I know, but I think coffee and maybe some breakfast would probably be better.” She tugged his arm. “Come on. There’s a coffee shop down the street.”

“You really have nothing better to do than have coffee with me?” he asked.

Toni shrugged, figuring she could quit at any time. “Nope. Nothing better to do.”