Wolf with Benefits

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Breakfast, Toni.”

Toni turned over at the sound of her baby brother’s voice; Freddy’s small hand was patting her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I had breakfast on the plane.”

The patting stopped and there was a long pause before Freddy said, “That was yesterday.”

Toni shot up into a sitting position, her eyes trying to focus as she blinked. She searched for the alarm clock in her room. After a few seconds, she got her eyes to read the numbers.

“It’s six thirty? A.M.?”

Freddy nodded. “Uh-huh. Mommy made you waffles and bacon.” Freddy smiled. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

Toni smiled at her brother. “Me, too.”

He walked to the door, stopped, and said over his shoulder, “You’re invited, too, Mr. Reed.”

“Just call me Ricky Lee.”

“Okay, Ricky Lee.”

Her brother walked out and Toni spun around, landing on her knees. “You were here the whole night?”

Yawning and scratching his head, the big wolf rolled onto his back. “I guess so.”

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“That I was tired . . . that you were tired . . . that we were tired.”

“But you were here all night. And in my bed. And Freddy saw us!”

Resting on his elbows, Ricky raised himself up. “It’s not like we were naked.”

“That’s not the point. Once Freddy knows, the world will know.”

Ricky shrugged. “Don’t make me no never mind.”

“Well it does to me.”

“That ’cause you’re ashamed to be seen with me?”

Surprised by the question, Toni immediately replied, “Of course not!”

“You sure? I know most of your friends are important artists and musicians. I ain’t nothin’ but a good ol’ wolf from Tennessee.”

“Your accent certainly does get thick when you’re trying to make me feel guilty.”

“Is it working?” He reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Laughing a little when she fell into him.

Toni braced her hands against his chest but didn’t try too hard to pull away.

“I swear,” he said, gazing at her mouth, “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just thought we’d sleep for an hour or two. Not all day and night.”

“I was more worried about us being up all night. You know, from the change in time.”

“I think dealing with those bears just wore us out. It was the first time you could sleep without worrying.”

Toni smiled. “But that doesn’t explain why you slept so long.”

“That’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Snuggling up to you just makes me so dang comfortable. Why would I bother moving?” He suddenly kissed her neck before easing away from her. “Dang, those waffles smell good. Hope your momma made enough.”

“How many do you need?”

“A lot.” He got off the bed, headed toward the attached bathroom. “I’m gonna use your toothbrush.”

“Sure. Why not?”

“No need for that tone,” he teased. “You can use my toothbrush anytime you have a need.”

“Oh, well.” Toni flopped back on the bed. “When you put it like that . . .”

They walked into the kitchen together and Ricky expected the treatment he’d get from his own kin and Pack, a lot of dramatic stopping and staring, making the pair feel uncomfortable. But the jackals seemed less than interested.

“Good morning, you two,” Jackie greeted them. “Waffles and bacon for breakfast. How many do you want, Ricky? One or two?”

“Try six,” Toni stated as she reached for one of the plastic cups on the table and the pitcher of orange juice.

“No big deal.” Jackie laughed. “I had to feed that lion security guard. My God, could he eat.”

“You do know, Miss Jackie, you don’t have to feed the team.”

“I don’t mind. At least for breakfast. I don’t do lunch or dinner. That’s what takeout and delivery services are for.”

Ricky sat down at the table, nodding at the Jean-Louis Parker siblings. They continued to eat, lost in their own thoughts, it seemed. Until Kyle bit into a piece of bacon and then asked, “So Freddy tells us he caught you defiling our sister.”

Toni choked on her orange juice, quickly slapping her hand over her mouth and turning away from the table so she didn’t spray everyone sitting there.

“Well—” Ricky began, but Cooper cut him off with a raised hand.

“Kyle,” Coop said, “do you actually know what defiling means?”

“Of course I do.”

“No, you don’t,” Oriana told him.

“Shut up. I do, too.”

“You don’t know anything. You’re an idiot.”

“And you’re getting fat!”

“Kyle!” Toni, Cooper, and Cherise all yelled in unison.

“She started it!”

Jackie put a plate piled high with waffles and another plate piled with bacon in front of Ricky. Smirking, she winked at him and whispered, “Just stay away from my mate while he recovers.”

“Recovers?”

She glanced at her now arguing offspring and leaned down to whisper in Ricky’s ear, “Recovers from finding out his daughter has fallen for a wolf. Something I’m sure he’ll blame Irene for. She’s a bad influence, don’t you know? At least that’s what my mother always said.”

When she pulled back a bit, Ricky softly asked, “You sure about that? The falling, I mean. Because I can’t really tell.”

“Because you’re male and all of you are hopelessly stupid.” She smiled at him and went back to the stove.

By the time Ricky dug into his waffles, Toni and her siblings had stopped arguing but were now staring at him.

“What?” he asked around a mouthful of his food.

“Are you really going to eat all that?” Coop asked.

He shrugged. “I’m hungry.”

In the backyard, while the rest of her family was still in the kitchen, watching Ricky Lee dig into his third helping of waffles and bacon, Toni faced her best friend.

“What did you say to me?” Toni demanded.

“The wolf . . . he’s in love with you.”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up.”

“He’s not in love with me.”

“You’re stupid. You’re a stupid head.”

Toni pinched her lips together. It made her frown and look fierce when what she was really doing was trying not to laugh.

“You might as well just face it. The wolf’s locked on target. And I think that target’s your big ass.”

“My ass isn’t as big as yours.”

“I’m compact and powerful. You, however, are a jackal and should look more like Oriana. But if she had that ass, she wouldn’t be anyone’s prima anything.”

“Such a bitch.”

“And very good at it.”

“I’m about to do something, Livy, that you’re going to hate me for.”

Livy studied her a moment, black eyes narrowing. Then, the honey badger begged, “Please don’t.”

“I have to.”

“No. You don’t have to. We can just let this go.”

“We’re not letting anything go. I’m not letting anything go. Not now. Not ever.”

Disgusted, Livy snarled, “Then just get it over with.”

So Toni did—by hugging her best friend.

“Thank you so much for taking care of those little bastards that I love.”

“You know I didn’t mind.”

“I know.” She hugged Livy tighter. “But it means the world to me.”

“Whatever.”

“You know . . . you don’t have to feel ashamed if you’re into me. Apparently a lot of people are right now.”

Hissing, Livy shoved a laughing Toni away.

“You’re such a freak,” she accused. “And I told you I’d protect them.”

“I know.”

“I mean, I may be a cold, heartless bitch, but once I make a promise, I keep it.”

“Awww. Can I hug you again?”

“No.”

Toni laughed until she saw her father walking toward her, the dog her mother had brought in for her own selfish reasons right by his side. She kind of liked that her father had his own companion while he was in New York. Although he had lots of friends in their home state, he didn’t have any out here and didn’t feel the need to make any. So the dog, and probably Coop, gave him some relief from keeping the kids from killing each other.

“Hi, Dad.” Toni smiled at her father but he didn’t respond, simply wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close.

“Uh . . . Dad?”

“My poor, poor baby. I blame Irene for this!”

Toni looked over at Livy, but her friend was about to get into a fight with a rude squirrel who kept mocking her from a high branch.

“You blame Irene for what?”

“For this . . . this . . . this nightmare.”

Oh, boy. “Dad—”

“You know he’s not like the Van Holtzes, don’t you?” Her father pushed her away so he could look directly into her face, but he continued to grip her shoulders. “He’s not a chef or cultured in anything that doesn’t involve a banjo.”

“Dad!”

“I’m just letting you know what you’re in for. Because I think you’re under the misconception that wolves are better than they are. But they’re not.”

“Dad, you’re taking this too seriously.”

“It’s all my fault,” he went on. “I should have stopped this from the beginning. But I thought he’d be able to distract you from that ridiculous full-human you were still mourning. I didn’t know you’d get serious about him!”

“Dad, I wasn’t still mourning anyone.”

“But you’ve been so down the last few months.”

She shrugged and admitted, “I was starting to think that my entire life was going to be taking care of my siblings. I love them all, but spending every day ensuring there’s enough money for facial reconstruction for Kyle after he pisses someone off is not my idea of a satisfactory life goal.”

“I’d never allow that. Don’t get me wrong. I can’t imagine running this family without your help, but I had no intention of letting you become anyone’s permanent nanny. You deserve, more than anyone, to have your own life and your own family.” He paused a moment, then added, “A family made up of un-spoilt jackal children.”

“Dad.”

“I’m just saying that you take a risk when you start mixing breeds.”

“This from the man who used to spend entire nights outside bars so he could get tickets to Dead Kennedy concerts? Where did my soulful, liberal dad go? Besides,” she added, “we both know that being a purebred doesn’t ensure anything, either.”

And to illustrate, she looked over at the best friend she’d entrusted her siblings to the last few days.

Livy had shifted and was now high up in the tree, fistfighting with a squirrel. Livy’s shifted form was huge compared to a full-blood honey badger, but a hundred-pound ratal shifter was still tiny compared to the lion, tigers, and bear shifters. Of course that difference never stopped Livy from taking all of them on at one time or another.

Honestly, Livy would fight the Queen of England if she thought the woman stared at her too long.

“That’s not a fair comparison,” her father argued, but he winced when Livy lost interest in the squirrel and discovered a beehive a few branches higher.

“Uh-oh,” her father sighed out. “I’ll get the Benadryl cream from the first aid kit.”

He headed toward the back door, but stopped, faced her, and smiled. “I love you, baby.”

Toni grinned at her father’s warm words, ignoring the sound of a breaking tree limb as Livy slammed into the ground, the hive caught between her claws.

“I love you, too, Dad.”

He started off again, giving a wave. “Good luck at work today.”

As her father walked into the house, Ricky Lee was walking out.

“Mornin’, Mr. Parker.”

“Whatever,” her father growled, before moving around the wolf and going into the house.

Ricky Lee looked at her and grimaced. She felt for the guy. No one wants to face down a canine father after he knows you’ve been fooling around with his daughter.

“Guess he’s mad, huh?” Ricky asked once he stood in front of her.

“Just worried about me. I tried to tell him it’s not serious, but he doesn’t believe me.”

“Of course he doesn’t. I don’t believe you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not hung up on you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I wasn’t. But what if I’m hung up on you?”

Toni took a step back. “But you’re not.”

“I told you he was.” They both looked over at now-human Livy, her hands still claws, her naked body covered in marauding bees while she gorged herself full of larvae-filled honeycombs. “You canines never listen to me, even though I’m always right.” She held her claw out, opened it. “Larvae?”

Toni shuddered. “No. But thank you.”