Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

boxers. Period. Rule was in shirt and dress slacks when he appeared
     at the end of the short hall. The shirt was unfastened. “Sorry.” He ran a hand through
     his hair, which was already pretty messed up. Sweat gleamed on his chest. “I should
     have warned you.”
    Lily holstered her weapon. “Or at least thrown Joe the other direction.”
    Steve was shamefaced. “It’s my fault. I knew they were working out. I should have
     told you before you went in. It didn’t occur to me you’d…sorry.”
    “No one got shot, so I’ll accept the apologies.” Steve hadn’t been around her much,
     and he was Leidolf. He wasn’t used to women who reacted the way she did. “Next time
     you’ll know.”
    Rule, however, had been around her plenty, and while she hadn’t shot anyone, she might
     have. It wasn’t as if he never made mistakes, but this…this had been stupid in the
     didn’t-bother-to-think sense. That wasn’t his kind ofmistake. Lily closed the door and moved on into the room, studying him while trying
     to look like she wasn’t. “I don’t see any damage to the furnishings.”
    “We moved things around to make room.” Absently he began buttoning his shirt.
    “Where’s Cullen?”
    “Casting his Find spell. Again.”
    “It didn’t work?”
    “Oh, he claims it worked. He said the spell located the prototype, but it doesn’t
     know where that location is. Apparently that makes sense to him.” Rule ran a hand
     through his hair a second time, but this time with fingers spread to smooth it down.
     He glanced around. “It was a good bout, Joe. Thanks. Everyone on duty, take your posts.
     Off duty, get some food or sleep or head for the hotel gym.”
    The sitting room emptied quickly. She and Rule were as alone as they’d been since
     she climbed in his lap last night…God, yes, that was only a little over twenty-four
     hours ago, wasn’t it? As alone as they ever got lately. She walked up to him and put
     her arms around his waist, leaned her head against his chest, and hugged.
    He sighed and hugged back, rubbing his cheek along the top of her head. For a long
     moment they just stood there, neither of them speaking. He smelled of fresh sweat
     and the faint, underlying scent that was his alone. Even her poor human nose could
     identify him from this close. “What do you smell like?”
    “Hmm?” He raised his head. He was smiling slightly.
    “If I could smell you the way your men can, I mean. What were they smelling when you
     and Joe were working out?”
    His smile fled. “Tension,” he said at last. “I hope they didn’t smell the anxiety.
     If they’d been in wolf form, they would have.”
    “Hence the sudden need to throw Joe around.”
    “Hence that.” His smile returned, but didn’t make it to his eyes. “Hence turning suddenly
     stupid. I thought I was dealing with this better.”
    “This” being his unexpected acquisition of a brother?His worry about her? The war? All of the above, she thought, and stretched up and
     kissed him lightly on the mouth. “You’re dealing okay. You sent Patrick to look out
     for Beth. If you hadn’t, they’d have gotten her.”
    “I didn’t claim to be stupid all the time, but I can’t afford even brief bouts of
     it.”
    “I didn’t shoot.”
    “And thank God for that, but—”
    “Point being that you aren’t perfect, you aren’t going to turn perfect just because
     you feel like it’s all up to you, and sometimes you have to rely on other people to
     do the right thing. What did Scott do when I drew?”
    “Shifted to the side so he could leap past you if needed. Todd turned enough to keep
     both you and the hall in view. Mike…his posture suggested he was ready to take you
     to the floor if there was a threat. I need to talk to him about that. Standing orders
     are that they never block your shot. And yes, I take your point, which I gather is
     something about teamwork.”
    He sounded irritated about the whole concept of teamwork, which she gathered had something
     to do with being a Rho and, therefore, a control freak. The latter condition she understood
     only too well, so she gave him another quick kiss to tell him that, then simply lingered,
     held close, and thought about all the questions she’d been saving up for when they
     were alone. And didn’t want to ask any of them. She didn’t want to talk at all, not
     with her body stirring and beginning to yearn.
    She sighed. “We need to talk.”
    “Why do