14. Stupid Wolf

"Oh, so we're lying now? Is that what we're doing?"

Declan glanced over and then looked back at the road. "What?"

"Pull this damn truck over and tell me what's in the toolbox." I turned sideways and gave him a hard stare. Lying was not okay, even if he was trying to rationalize it as protection. "Are you under the impression I can't take care of myself? That I am not literally made of magic?"

Blowing out a breath, he said, "Let me get us back to my workshop. I'll pull behind the barn so we don't have an audience."

"What's in the box," I repeated.

"A dead animal." He glanced at me again. "It looked like an opossum and an octopus."

I froze. "Pull over."

"We'll be at the workshop in three minutes." He rubbed my knee.

"I swear, Declan, if someone killed Cecil—"

"You saw Cecil this morning, right? It can't be him." He gripped the steering wheel tightly. "The truck is shimmying. I'd appreciate it if you didn't blow up my truck."

Staring out the side window, I bided my time. "What the hell is the matter with this pack? It has to be them, right? Daniel and Kenji said members of the pack forced you off the road." I studied him a moment. "They're your second and third in the pack, right?"

He shook his head. "It's not my pack. None of us have standing in the Big Sur Pack now that Kenji and Daniel broke ties."

"Don't be coy. You'll take over as Alpha. Do you trust them? Are they your guys?" We were only a few blocks from the workshop and I was trying not to jump out of my skin. Or accidentally blow up his truck.

"We'll see." At my sound of annoyance, he added, "Okay, yes. But I'm not Alpha. Anything can happen."

Now that distracted me from the octopus. "What do you mean, anything can happen? You said you could take Logan, no problem."

He shrugged one beefy shoulder as he pulled onto his property. "They're not known for playing by the rules. If he pulls a gun on me, I'll be dead and he'll remain Alpha." He pulled around the barn and parked.

I punched him in the arm. Hard. "What the hell? If you know he's going to cheat, you don't just go and take a bullet to the head. Since when are you Dudley Do-Right?"

"I have no idea who that is, but I can't remake the pack if I'm as corrupt as their current Alpha. Now, are we checking the toolbox or not?"

"Stupid wolf," I grumbled as I hopped out of the truck. "Go ahead. Get yourself killed. Big dummy."

He put down the gate of the truck bed, waited for me to stomp over, and then picked me up at the waist and put me in. Climbing in a moment later, he wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm very hard to kill. Many have tried and failed."

"I don't care," I mumbled into his chest, punching him in the side. Sort of. My heart wasn't in it.

"I can see that."

I tipped my head back and glared. "I'm going with you. And then if they try anything, I can curse them."

He was already shaking his head. "No. I don't want you there."

My glare turned a hair more homicidal.

"I don't want you to see what I have to do." His hands ran up and down my back.

"Do you have any idea about the sheer tonnage of fucked-up stuff I have in my head? I've been seeing horrible things for as long as I can remember."

"Right. I don't want to be lumped in with the fucked-up stuff rolling around in your brain, biding its time, waiting to pop out in nightmares. I don't want to ever be your nightmare."

I thunked my head against his chest. "Stupid wolf," I said again.

"I know."

I tipped my head back again. "You're not allowed to die. I forbid it."

His lips tipped up on one side. "I promise."

Leaning down, his gaze traveling from my eyes to my lips, he waited. We were still figuring it out. He was a magical null. If I touched him, my magic disappeared. On one hand, amazing! I could have a physical relationship and not hear his thoughts. On the other, who was I if I wasn't the sea wicche? People relied on me. We had a freaking sorcerer in the family. I couldn't take chances with my magic just because he was super hot and I was coming down with feelings for him.

Fuck it. I was pretty sure I knew how to undo Declan's touch. Going up on my toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to meet mine.

The kiss was sudden and explosive, making me desperate for him. He palmed my ass and then hitched me up so my legs were wrapped around his waist. There was a swoop up and then a thump down.

I opened my eyes, our mouths still fused. "Wha—" I started to say, but he just changed the angle and cut off my words.

He walked us into the barn and then leaned my back against a support beam. When he broke the kiss to nibble on my neck, he said, "Too open out there."

He rotated his hips, hitting me just right, and I groaned. Dropping me back to the ground, he kicked over a crate, put his hands around my waist, and put me on it so our heights were closer. Trailing kisses along my jaw, he flicked the button straps on my overalls, making them pool around my ankles. He took a moment to gaze down at me in my thermal shirt and panties, eyes wolf gold.

His fingertips traced the ribbon of scales that wrapped around my thigh, my waist, before trailing up my back. I'd created my octopus tattoo to cover the scales because I was so horribly self-conscious about them. Ursula, my animated tattoo, must be hiding somewhere. This was all very unusual for us.

I was starting to freeze up, wanting my protective overalls again when he whispered, "So beautiful. My siren."

Squeezing my waist, he brought me close for more heated kisses, making me forget about scales and embarrassment. One large, warm hand went up my shirt to fondle a breast while the other slid into my panties and then into me.

Gasping, I pulled at his belt, getting it undone and his jeans unbuttoned. He stayed my hand, stepping back and swearing.

"Why does the world hate me," he mumbled, pulling up my overalls and fastening the straps over my shoulders.

Then I heard it too. A car was pulling up and parking near the open barn door. I pulled down my thermal and tucked it in while Declan did up his jeans and buckled his belt. A moment later, another car kicked up dirt and pebbles before parking outside the door.

"Work crew is arriving," Declan muttered. He took my hand and walked us out, past the men going in. He nodded to them but kept going to his truck. I'll take you home."

"We haven't cleaned out the toolbox yet."

He shook his head on a growl. "Damn it. All I can smell is you and it's making me crazy." Although clearly worked up, he was very gentle picking me up by the waist and placing me in the truck bed again.

"I need my backpack."

He nodded and went to the cab for it. When he handed it to me, I sat on the wheel well and unzipped the bag, hunting for the honey bottle. Testing things, I flicked my fingers at the toolbox, trying to lift the lid. It was a simple spell and worked well. So Declan only nulled some of my powers. Interesting. We needed to do more research when we were alone and had the time.

I took off my gloves and squirted seawater over my hands and felt an immediate change. Voices and emotions swirled around me until I'd erected my mental walls again. Huh. We needed to figure this out.

He held out his hands before I put the honey bottle away.

"It's not hand sanitizer," I said.

He grinned. "I know, but it might help me get your scent out of my head so I can think straight."

I splashed him with seawater and he rubbed his hands together before wiping them on his jeans. He held them chest high and blew out a breath, shaking his head.

"I guess the ocean isn't a secret weapon for you." I put the bottle away and stood to look in the box.

"I'll be back in a minute. I need soap." He stepped up on the wall of the truck bed and jumped down. Ah, the swoop and thump when we were kissing made more sense now.

Dreading it, I leaned over the box and looked in. First of all, Declan was right. The stench was horrible, and my nose was nowhere near as sensitive as his. Second, the octopus was small and long dead, probably months ago and frozen. I'd guess someone in the pack worked in a restaurant and he took this poor little guy from the freezer for this bullshit prank.

The opossum, though, had been partially eaten. I said a prayer to the Goddess for these two and then used a scouring charm to clean out the box. Without me, he'd have spent the rest of the day trying to clean fur and guts from his very expensive tools and probably wouldn't have been able to get it all out of the gears or the inside of handles. He'd have had to live with the stench for years before he'd finally replaced them all.

Declan came back a few minutes later with paper towels and cleaning supplies. Brow furrowed, he looked into the box. "How did you—oh. Right." He stared at me, eyes still hot as they traveled up and down my body. "So, if you were able to do magic after I had my hands on you, does that mean the water works?"

With a grin, I nodded.

"Well, let's go then." He threw the cleaning stuff in his hands toward the open barn door. "Come on. Get in."

"You've got workmen in there waiting for you," I reminded him.

"Screw them. I have plans for the rest of the day. Come on." He held out an arm to help me down.

Another car drove around the barn, this one holding Kenji and a woman. Declan glanced over his shoulder and dropped his head.

"The world is conspiring against me," he muttered. He pinned me with his gaze again. "Tonight. After work. Okay?"

Kenji was a wolf and I didn't want him listening to us, so I barely breathed, "I can still feel your hands on me. I want them on me again."

"Hey, boss," Kenji said as he and the woman stepped out of a sports car and headed toward us. "I wanted you to meet my sister. She's the architect I was telling you about." Kenji stood for a moment, looking between the two of us. "I can show her around the site for a while if you two need to leave."

I shook my head, smiling at Kenji and his sister. Shouldering my backpack, I walked to the end of the truck bed and hopped off. I held out my hand to the woman. She was beautiful, with short black hair, warm brown eyes, and luminous skin. The woman knew how to moisturize. Wearing black trousers and boots with a terra-cotta blouse, she took my hand and shook.

"I'm Arwyn. I have the gallery across the road, the Sea Wicche."

Looking surprised, she said, "Natsuki. I'm honored to meet you. What you've done with that old cannery is absolutely amazing. It's the kind of project I would have killed to do. I can't wait for you to open so I can see the inside."

Kenji watched his sister, pride clear in his expression.

"You can come see it anytime," I said. "Just call to make sure I'm around."

"Thank you," she said, nodding happily. "I will."

"Good." I looked between the three. "I'll let you guys do your thing. I need to get back and paint." I started to walk away.

"I can drive you," Declan said.

I waved off his words, still walking. "I'm fine."

"Be careful crossing that road," he called as I rounded the side of the barn.

"I will," I shouted back. Smirking, I thought he had it bad. I turned left at the road and walked along the line where concrete tuned to dirt and grass, waiting for a break in the traffic. Playing the moment over and over when he grabbed me and…Damn. I had it bad too.