Werewolves of Forever 06 - Wild Lust

puckering into a soundless whistle. If she was an artist, she’d make a bronze tribute to the man’s butt. He filled the jeans as though they were made for him, showing just enough ass to tease her libido. His incredible butt led the way up to a lean waist and a back that made her bite her lower lip to keep from sighing. Broad wasn’t the right word to describe the expanse covered by a simple white T-shirt.
    She jumped, jerked her gaze upward, and plastered on an I’m not doing anything wrong smile as he turned to face her. Had he said something? His smile made her believe he’d known she was checking out his butt. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
    “I said not to worry about helping. I prefer to do it myself. But you can, if you want, find your corkscrew and open a bottle of wine.”
    “Sure.” She eased off the stool as he dropped his attention to the food on the counter and started opening the carton of pasta. Did she have a wine corkscrew? She pushed by him, grazing her breasts against his back. A flash of heat radiated off him and into her. She drew in a quick breath as he went still. Holding her breath, she waited for him to spin around and crush his mouth to hers as Reese had done. Disappointment twisted her gut when he didn’t.
    Did that mean he didn’t want her? Had she gotten her signals mixed up? She frowned and opened a drawer on the far side of the kitchen. Rummaging around, she found a corkscrew and held it up. “Voilà. I found it.”
    Damn, how she liked his smile. A woman could get lost in the brightness.
    “Great. I don’t suppose you have a couple of wine goblets? And a couple of plates? I found the utensils.”
    “I don’t remember seeing any goblets, but I’ll look. I know there are a couple of plates, although I’ve been using paper plates for just me.”
    She checked the cabinets and found two glasses. One was the Scooby-Doo glass she’d been using, and the other was the same type of tall children’s glass but with the image of Wolverine on the side. “Will these do?”
    “Only if I get Wolverine. Wolverine and I are simpatico.”
    Simpatico how? But she kept her question to herself. “That works for me.”
    She pushed by him again, prepared for the sizzle, and again was mystified when he acted like he hadn’t felt anything. Taking one of the bottles out of the bag, she lifted it up and had to laugh. “Red Blooded? That’s an odd name for a wine.”
    He kept working, his back turned to her as he stirred the spaghetti. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. If I’d had more time, I would’ve hit my neighbor Aiden Carr up for a quick trip through his wine cellar. He brings in really fine wine and will let a few people sponge off him for a special occasion. But most people around here run over to Shatland to pick up a decent bottle of wine. They have a connection to a winery in California that’s run by a cousin of one of their residents.”
    “But the name is so…dark. Almost ominous sounding.” She frowned and squinted at the bottle’s label. “It says the winery’s name is Villa Diablo. Home of the Devil?”
    “Yeah, the name’s strange, but the wine’s fairly decent. Once every six months or so I make a run into Dallas for friends like Aiden and others to fulfill special orders. At one time, I tried to keep a stock of good vintages at my bar, but beer’s the main drink around here, so it wasn’t cost efficient to keep much of a wine stock. I could make a run over to the bar and grab a better wine if you like. I should’ve done that in the first place, but, like I said, I kind of wanted to get here before you ate.”
    “You own a bar?” She searched her memory for the one bar she’d seen around town. “Is it The Moonstone Bar?”
    “You know it?” He cast an inquisitive glance. “I know I haven’t seen you in there.”
    “I drove by it one day. Tell me. Why does everything around here have the word “moon” in the name? I’ve seen The Moonstone Bar, Moonbeam Ranch, and Moonlight Ranch. Does everyone have a fascination with the moon?”
    He stopped stirring the spaghetti and started cutting the bread into pieces. “I guess I never really noticed before. Maybe it’s just because the moon looks so nice out here. You know. Away from the bright lights and smog of cities like Dallas.”
    “Okay. I guess that makes sense.” Did he know about the werewolves her sister was living with? Should she broach the subject?
    “By the way, I’m a part owner