Here we go! This section in Sand and Amanda’s story is meant to build tension and drama. We’re about two thirds to the end of the story. Enjoy!

Amanda left him at the door to Sky’s House, saying she had girl things to do until supper. He watched her go up the stairs with sadness. He wanted to spend all his time with her. With a sigh, he turned to go to the kitchen.

Paint was standing in the kitchen door. “There you are!” he said. “I could use another hand with the lawn.”

Sand followed willingly. Two of Sky’s men he didn’t know well worked on the lawn in the front of the house while he and Paint worked on the back lawn. He rolled the push mower over the grass, wondering why anyone needed to cut grass. All that did was make it fall in untidy heaps that Paint had to rake into piles and load onto a wagon to be taken away. The scent of freshly cut grass was so strong in his nostrils Sand couldn’t smell anything else.

They took a break on a low stone wall to eat the sandwiches Denise brought out for them. “Why are you still here?” Sand asked. “Aren’t you going home?”

Paint shrugged, swallowing half a sandwich whole. “I guess I’ll leave pretty soon. Snow wanted a few days to play tourist.”

“And you didn’t want to leave Sky short-handed. Where is Snow, anyway?”

One of Paint’s rare smiles flitted over his face. “Riding the bus, I bet. He’s fascinated with it.”

Sand made a face. He remembered the loud, smelly vehicle with distaste. “I wouldn’t ride that thing if you paid me.”

“Amanda likes to ride it.”

Gentle warmth curled around his heart. He had first seen his mate when she mounted the bus. “If Amanda asked me to, I’d ride the bus with her.”

Paint adjusted the patch over his missing eye. “How is your courtship going?”

“I don’t know.” Sand looked down at his sandwich. “I think it’s going okay. She hasn’t accepted my mate claim, but she says I’m still in the running. She wants me to give her something before she’ll be my mate.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.” He spread his hands. “She wouldn’t tell me what it is, only that without it she won’t marry anyone. She said I had to figure it out myself.”

“Hm. That’s not fair. Maybe you could ask Sky. He’s learned a lot about women since he came here.”

“Yeah,” Sand agreed. “I’ll ask him.”

After they finished the lawn work, Sand went back into the house in search of Sky and found him in his office seated behind his desk. He wasn’t alone. A slender man in a black suit was in the plush visitor chair. Sand thought he looked familiar.

“Sand,” said Sky. “Just the man we needed to see. Peter, this is my cousin Sand Wolfe. Sand, Peter Vann, Vice Mayor of Omaha.”

Since the little man stuck his hand out, Sand shook it before folding his arms over his chest. Maybe he should have some said one of those polite, meaningless phrases that townsmen used when meeting a stranger, but Sand didn’t see the point in wasting words. He waited, saying nothing.

He didn’t have to wait long. Vann spoke in a quiet finicky voice, fussing with the cuffs of his suit rather than looking at Sand. “A complaint has been lodged against Sky and his House.”

Sand almost spat on the floor. “Askup,” he growled.

“Yes, indeed.” Vann did look up now, face cool. “Normally, the Mayor’s office wouldn’t concern itself. Sky has proven himself a savvy and supportive businessman. However, a formal complaint can’t be dismissed out of hand. An investigation must take place.”

Sky lounged in his chair, looking supremely relaxed. Sand wondered if the Vice Mayor knew how false that appearance was. Even with the scent of cut grass lingering in his nose Sand could smell Sky’s rage. Sky inclined his head with a lazy smile. “Of course.”

“Excellent.” Vann got to his feet and stretched a hand to Sky, who rose to shake it. “We will see both of you in the Mayor’s office at nine tomorrow morning.”

“Certainly,” Sky agreed. “Let me show you out. Sand, wait here for me, will you?”

It wasn’t a request. Sand watched Sky walk out of the office with the Vice Mayor, then took the visitor chair to wait for Sky to return. He should have done what he’d wanted last night and kicked Askup down the stairs instead of just taking him down them with one hand hooked under his arm.

Sky came back and closed the door so they were private. He slumped down on the corner of his desk and dropped his head into his hands. “Oh, lord, what a mess.”

“Askup already harassed me and Amanda in the garden this morning. The City Guard dismissed his complaint. Is this something else?”

Sky looked up. “Yeah. Looks like Askup doesn’t like to hear no. Did Amanda tell you she refused his marriage proposal?”

Sand nodded. “She said she refused him in two seconds.”

“I’ll bet he thought he could still get her to say yes. He was willing to keep trying. But she’s considering you, so that makes his chances of winning her darned slim.” He stood straight with a growl. “You have to stop hurting our clients.”

“I didn’t hurt that weasel! I was polite. I told him his appointment was cancelled, and when he tried to push past me to go to Amanda’s room I tried to be nice. All I did was block his way. Even when he tried to punch me, I only lifted him by his arm and walked downstairs with him. I could have thrown him down the steps.”

Sky rubbed a hand through his thick hair, dragging the locks that fell over his forehead back. “I can’t fault you. That seems reasonable enough. Normally, this kind of a complaint would blow over with no harm down. But Askup is one of the mayor’s best friends. This isn’t going to blow over.”

Sand lifted his lip in a derisive snarl. “What can they do about it?”

“At best, we’ll be let off with a fine.” Sky looked at Sand soberly. “At worst, we could both be condemned to death.”

Sand choked on horror. “What? I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I know that.” Sky’s voice was grim. “The mayor will know it too, but Askup is one of his cronies, and one of his most generous supporters.” An ironic smile quirked the corner of his mouth. “Justice in Omaha is different than in Kearney.”

“Justice is justice,” Sand protested with a scowl.

“At the den, sure. Taye decides for us at the den, and he doesn’t play favorites. Even Mayor Madison in Kearney is hard but fair. But here, the mayor decides.”

Disgust climbed up Sand’s spine.“And he has favorites?”

His cousin nodded. “And guess who his top favorite is?”

“Terry Askup.”

“That’s right.” Sky strode to the door, pausing to glance back. “You’re a little thinner, but one of my suits will fit you well enough. I’ll have it sent to the bunkhouse for you.”

A suit? He had to wear a suit? “I’ll be with my mate.”

Sky nodded slowly. “Alright, I’ll send it to her room. Be ready to leave tomorrow morning by 8:00.”

Sand stood in front of his mate, using his own body to shield her from whoever was coming. He tasted a familiar scent on the warming morning air. He identified it only a moment before two men came around the shrubs into the fountain area. One was a tall skinny man in the uniform of the City Guard. The other was Terry Askup, his mate’s appointment from last night.

“See?” said Askup loudly. “There he is!”

Sand heard the brush of Amanda’s jeans over stone when she stood and forced his immediate desire to push her behind him away. She stood beside him and smiled at the Guardsman.

“Good morning, Joe!” she said brightly. “How’s Leanne?”

The Guardsman gave her a small smile in return. “She’s doing fine. Not here to chat, though, Miss Amanda. Mr. Askup wants to file a complaint against your companion.”

Sand tensed, but Amanda just blinked at the men with an expression of confused innocence. If Sand hadn’t smelled her anger, he would have accepted it as genuine.

“Really? What on earth for?”

Askup stabbed a finger in Sand’s direction. “He refused to allow me to keep my appointment with you last night!”

When Sand began to growl Amanda looped an arm around his. The warmth of her skin pressed to his eased the growl to a hum so low human ears probably couldn’t hear it.

“That’s right. I’ve cancelled all my appointments for the rest of the month.” Her voice dripped honey that Sand could almost taste. “I’m so terribly sorry for the short notice but it couldn’t be helped.”

Askup had a mean nature. Sand didn’t have the best nose in the pack, but he could smell the sour stink of it. The thought of this man laying his hands on Sand’s mate brought the growl back.

Askup’s eyes were narrowed in rage and narrowed further when the Guardsman said, “Mr. Askup, I see no grounds for a complaint.”

“He laid his hands on me! My shoulders are bruised! I want him arrested for assault.”

The Guardsman turned slightly away from Askup to face Sand more fully and said politely, “I am Sergeant Joseph Rush of the Omaha City Guard. May I see your Visitor Permit, sir?”

Sand dug the paper out of his pocket and handed it over. The Sergeant took the time to read it thoroughly before handing it back. “Thank you, Mr. Wolfe. Would you care to comment on Mr. Askup’s accusation?”

“I didn’t assault him. I told him his appointment was cancelled, and when he wouldn’t leave I picked him up and carried him down the stairs.”

Sergeant Rush glanced from Sand to Askup and Sand knew he was wondering how he could carry the much larger man down the stairs. “Did you strike him or kick him?”

“No.” Sand remembered wanting to, but he hadn’t needed to.

“Mr. Askup, in what way did Mr. Wolfe assault you?”

Askup curled a lip. “He touched me. He forced me out.”

Amanda spoke up. “Of course he did.” She directed that same innocent smile at the Guardsman. “He is employed by Sky Wolfe to keep the peace in his house. As I wasn’t taking  appointments, Sand escorted Terry out. He is allowed to use necessary force if an appointment becomes unruly.”

“I asked you to marry me!” Askup yelled.

“You did, and I declined.”

“Why?” Askup spat. “So you can slither all over this .. this …”

Showing his teeth in a snarl that couldn’t possibly be called a smile, Sand took one step forward. Only the weight of his mate hanging fiercely onto his arm kept him from invading Askup’s personal space.

“I refused you before I ever met Sand. Who I choose to … slither over is my concern, not yours. Sergeant, it seems clear to me that Mr. Askup is trying to cause trouble, not file a legitimate complaint.”

“I agree.” The Guardsman frowned at Askup. “Unless you have some evidence that Mr. Wolfe caused you unnecessary harm, I am dismissing your complaint.”

Sand wondered if the scum would lie, but he didn’t. His round cheeks were red with rage, a muscle at the corner of his jaw bunched. “Fine.” He leaned toward Sand. “But don’t expect me to forget this. I won’t. I will make you pay.”

Hey, today is Tax Day in the US. Have you filed? I dropped off my return tonight, a whole day early. LOL

Here is the next bit in Sand and Amanda’s story. Did you think Sand and Amanda had seen the last of her appointment with the taste of roughness? Enter the bad guy!

Sorry Amanda and Sand’s story is a little late this week. I worked on the Final Line Edits for Wolf’s Vengeance over the weekend and completed them last night. In about a month, I’ll send out a contest through my newsletter for someone to win an ARC of Mel and Snake’s story. If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, the sign up form is on the right.

The entrance to the gardens came in sight. She grabbed his hand. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I want to show you my favorite spot in the gardens.”

She rushed Sand through the profusion of blooming beds of flowers to a small open area. There weren’t any colorful blossoms here, only ornamental grasses lining gravel pathways. There was a fountain in its center, a collection of logs and stones for the water to pour over, but it was dry now. Amanda pulled Sand to one of the benches scattered around the clearing.

“Sit down,” she invited, settling herself on the bench.

He sat, leaving a few inches between their thighs. It surprised her; she’d expected him to plaster himself against her. “This is your favorite place?” he asked, looking around.

Maybe he thought it was plain here. Just a few yards away from where they sat the gardens blazed with the heavy blooms of gold chrysanthemums and red asters. She loved that too, but this was her special place. She was surprised by how much she wanted to share it with him.

“Yes. When I come here I feel close to my mom.”

New interest brightened his dark eyes. “Your mom comes here?”

The grief, dulled by time though it was, stabbed her. “No. She died when I was seven, but this is where I remember her.” She drew the edge of the shawl higher on her neck. “On Sunday afternoons me and my mom and dad would come here. I would run around on the grass while mom sat on a bench with my dad. She always had her knitting with her.”

Amanda brushed a hand over the stone bench, remembering her mom’s knitting bag on the ground under this very bench, a colorful strand of yarn rising from the bag to the needles flashing in her hands, on its way to becoming a sock or a sweater or a shawl. Her parents leaned toward one another with loving smiles, speaking quietly to one another and glancing over at their cavorting daughter from time to time. The love between them was something the seven-year-old girl didn’t totally comprehend, but she recognized it as something that made her feel safe. Even today, the twenty-five-year-old woman looked back on it as something beautiful, the goal of all marriages.

Sand touched a hand to hers. “Is it a good memory? You look sad.”

Looking sad was a thing she didn’t allow herself, so she took her hand away from him with a smile and changed the subject. “What do you have to offer me if I marry you?”

He didn’t look surprised by the abrupt change of topic, only thoughtful. She considered that a point in his favor. “I’m not rich. I don’t live in a fancy house. I don’t wear pricy clothes or talk in big pretty words.”

“Are you trying to talk me out of considering you?” she laughed.

He didn’t laugh. “No. Just trying to be honest with you. If you accept my mate claim I promise to take care of you. You’ll always have enough to eat, and we’ll have our choice of places to build our house in the Clan’s land. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”

“You haven’t said anything about love. Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

“No.” His eyes were solemn. “Lust at first sight, yes.” Now a corner of his mouth kicked up in a quick grin, that settled immediately back into solemnity. “Love is something different, though, something much better.”

She could agree with that. “You’re right. But you said your picked me at first sight yesterday.”

“My wolf chose you to be my mate,” he corrected.

“So it’s your wolf that fell in love with me at first sight?”

His chuckle was soft. “I guess you could put it that way.”

She glanced sideways at him, trying to understand how that lean, slimly muscled body could house a wolf. “What if the man doesn’t want the same woman the wolf wants? Does that ever happen?”

“No …” He trailed off, frowning at the grass at their feet. “Maybe. One of my cousins sent his mate away. They were unhappy together, but they’re just as miserable apart.” He focused his gaze on her face. “We can be happy together, Amanda, I know it. We can learn to love one another. As long as we are honest with each other and talk things out we can make it work. Please, promise me to always tell me how you feel. If I do something wrong, talk to me about it, okay?”

She tried to imagine one of her clients saying that to her, especially in that gentle, earnest tone, and failed. “Okay, I promise. I’ll start by saying I’ve never brought any other man here to my special place. Only you.”

His smile beamed light as well as any lamp. It turned him from a handsome man into a gorgeously appealing one. She leaned closer to him, wanting to kiss that smiling mouth.

He flowed to his feet with such smoothness it almost didn’t seem abrupt. His crouched posture was that of a wild animal protecting something. “What?” she began.

“Sh,” he hissed. “Someone’s coming.”

Today’s tidbit from Sand and Amanda’s story is not as exciting as I would have liked it to be. This is a section where I want the reader to get to know a little bit more about Amanda. What sort of family does she come from? What does she think of her life working in Sky’s house? This is the sort section that I will spent extra time on during my self-edits because it rambles more than I want it to.

Speaking of edits, I just finished edits on Wolf’s Vengeance. I’ll be sending out the first couple of chapters in the newsletter later this week, along with news of a blog hop where you can win tons of prizes, including gift cards and a kindle paperwhite.

Amanda woke the next morning feeling oddly happy. She hadn’t felt this sort of fragile hope since her early childhood, before she learned lavish Christmas presents only came to rich little girls. A set of pretty clothes that were brand new instead of hand me downs had been at the top of her wish list for years, until she realized a sanitary worker couldn’t afford them, even one who cherished his daughter above anything else.

Sand wasn’t her Christmas present, but he could be. She lay on her back between cool sheets and cast her mind back over the events of last night. A giggle escaped when she remembered Paul’s misunderstanding. The giggle died. Sand’s violence had been controlled, but was there any doubt he could have killed Paul? No, not in her mind. What would it be like being married to him? The sex part would be fine, no matter what sort of lover he was. In seven years she had plenty of experience. Some men were good at it, others weren’t. She shrugged, her shoulders moving against the pillow. As long as he wasn’t cruel she could accept his lovemaking. Sex was only one slice of the marriage pie. There were other things that outweighed sex. She had a month to decide if Sand could give her what she wanted from a husband.

She got up and threw on a robe. Unlike her sexy working robes, this one was bulky and comfortable. Summer was winding down, and the morning air was a bit chilly. Was it always this cold in the morning? Since she normally slept until noon, Amanda wasn’t sure.

She opened her door to go downstairs to breakfast and nearly tripped over a foot. Sand jumped up to steady her.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She tightened the sash of her robe. “I’m going to use the bathroom and then have breakfast. Have you eaten yet? I’ll meet you in the dining room in a couple of minutes.”

 Sand was still at the head of the stairs when she finished in the bathroom. He walked beside her down the stairs, through the kitchen to the dining room. There she found a half a dozen women seated at the long table. They were what Amanda considered day staff. Ginny, Sally, Carey, and Rebecca were laundresses, and Jennifer and Denise worked in the kitchen.

Sand said a quiet good morning and headed over to the buffet under the window and loaded his plate with enough eggs and sausage to feed an entire family. Amanda filled a plate more modestly.

Sand wasn’t one for chatting while he ate. Amanda watched him empty his plate one forkful at a time. He ate neatly, she noticed, but steadily. When he got up to fill his plate again, Amanda met Carey’s wide eyes with wide eyes of her own and a little shrug.

He finished his second plate before she finished her first. He leaned an elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand to watch her. “What would you like to do today?” he asked. “Are there chores you need to finish first?”

Ginny snorted, a sound loaded with bitter sarcasm. Amanda put all her attention on finishing the last of her raspberries. “Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested when she put her fork down. “Give me five minutes to dress, and I’ll meet you by the front door.”

Without looking at Ginny, Amanda went back upstairs. She put on ankle boots, jeans, and a loose blouse of pale green cotton. Because it was a little cool, she added her mother’s shawl. It seemed right to wear the shawl her mother had knit before her death.

 Sand stood in the foyer, deftly braiding his long black hair into a single braid that dangled between shoulders blades. Amanda’s fingers itched to do it for him. He had gorgeous hair.

“If I decide to marry you, you’ll have to agree to let me play with your hair whenever I want.”

Surprise lit his face before melting into a smile. He ducked his head almost bashfully. “It’s just hair. You can play with it anytime you want.”

She laughed and went past him through the door he held open for her. “You’re making it too easy for me. You should hold your hair hostage. Tell me I can’t touch it until I agree to marry you.”

Sand stopped her by touching his fingertips to her shoulder. “No.” His face was very earnest. “I want you to accept me. I want that so bad it’s all I can think of. But I won’t use blackmail to get you. I want you to be my mate because you want it too.”

She swallowed a quick stab of emotion. What exactly the emotion was she wasn’t sure, but it brought tears crowding the back of her eyes. She hurried past him to the steps. He fell in beside her.

“Let’s go down to the city gardens,” she said quickly. “I like to walk there.”

“Sure.” They walked in companionable silence for a few blocks before he spoke again. “Why doesn’t Virginia like you?”

Amanda sighed. “Ginny is an unhappy person. Her family paid nearly all they had for her to marry. They belong to a church that believes all women should be married. They don’t approve of my profession.”

“Hm.” Sand’s face looked interested. “Where is her husband?”

“He died a year ago. Ginny is twenty-nine. The city ordinance requires all women from eighteen to forty to pay a tax to remain single, or go to work in one of the brothels.”

“Even widows?”

“Even widows. Sky’s house might be a brothel, but he doesn’t force anyone to accept clients. It’s a good place for Ginny. Her sons live with her parents, but she has two days off a week to visit them.”

“So why does she not like you?”

“Well, I’m a whore.” She laughed lightly. “Which according to her church, means I’m evil and going to hell. Besides that, I make more money than she does, and I don’t have to do any of the labor she does. Other people wash my clothes, cook my food and clean my house.”

Sand’s brow was furrowed as he tried to understand. “Is she jealous?”

Amanda shrugged. “That might be part of it.”

The entrance to the gardens came in sight. She grabbed his hand. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I want to show you my favorite spot in the gardens.”

Here we are, another Tuesday. That means another snip from Sand and Amanda’s story! I apologize for this being on the short side. A good friend passed away this weekend after a long battle with cancer. I haven’t had the time or the heart to write much the past few days. I also received and completed the first round of edits on Wolf’s Vengeance.  I think the editor has shown me things to fix that will improve the story. 🙂

Enjoy!

Sand all but leaped to his mate’s side. “Bed?”

Sky caught his arm. “To sleep,” he said sternly. “Right, Mandy?”

Sand saw a twitch disturb Amanda’s face, almost a wince. “Yeah,” she agreed.

There were so many scents in the room that Sand couldn’t identify her emotions. Dare he hope she was disappointed by the idea of merely sleeping with him without more? He walked close behind her as she went up the stairs, blowing laughing kisses to her admirers below. She kept that breezy smile on her lips until the door of her room closed behind them.

Sand watched from the door while she sat down in front of her dainty vanity. He wanted nothing more than to pull her up against him and feel every lush curve of her body pressed to his.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She glanced over at him, surprise plain on her face. “Nothing. Why?”

“You frowned. Downstairs, when Sky spoke.”

She dipped a square of fabric in the wash basin on the vanity to wipe away the paint on her face. He was glad to see it go, but his focus was on her words. “I didn’t frown.”

He shook his head, forcing himself to stay by the door. “You did. Something Sky said bothered you.”

“Oh, that.” She put the cloth back in the washbowl and shrugged. “Sometimes he calls me Mandy.”

Sand raised a brow. “And?”

“And that’s not my name. Mandy makes me sound like I’m five years old. I’m Amanda.”

“No, you sure aren’t five.” His voice came out husky when he surveyed his mate, her black leather costume showing off the most gorgeous, alluringly tempting body he’d ever seen in his life.

She laughed, a burst of surprise and pleasure. The sound poured happiness through him. “Thank you. I think. Looks like I’m going to have an early night for once. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sand straightened from his lean on her door. “Wait. Aren’t we sleeping together tonight?”

“No.” The disappointment that slammed through him lightened when she went on with a crooked smile. “If we’re in the same bed together I’m not sure I could keep my hands to myself. I’m only human, you know.”

“Me too,” he admitted huskily.

Amanda rose from the fragile chair and came to lay her hands over his hair where it lay over his shoulders. “Give me a kiss good night, and then you need to leave.”

Her scent reminded him of a cool breeze brushing over a field of prairie grass, clean lightly touched by flowers. He drew a deep intoxicating breath at the tender spot behind her ear. “How many kisses?”

“One!” she laughed, clenching her hands in his hair.

“Okay.”

He wanted it to be a kiss she would remember. He touched his lips lightly to hers, intending a gentle tease before he tasted the inside of her mouth, but she surprised him by taking control. Her tongue played with his, at first lazy, then turning hot and demanding. The feel of her hands sliding through his hair made him hum his pleasure. When her hand slid around his waist to squeeze his ass he shuddered.

It really wasn’t fair that one moment he was drowning in her kiss and the next he was standing in the hall, blinking down at her smiling face. “Good night, Sand,” she whispered. “I’m looking forward to being courted by you.”

He blinked passion-dazed eyes at her closed door for long moments while he tried to get his breathing back under control. Courting. Yeah. He swallowed and went to find Sky. His cousin would know how to court a woman. He stopped dead on the step, remembering Sky’s spectacular failure with Rose. Sand shook it off, continuing down the stairs. That was a long time ago. Surely Sky had learned what women liked by now.

Time for the next bit in Sand and Amanda’s story! I’m not doing any self-editing like I usually do, so as always please excuse my typos and other boo-boos. I’m enjoying writing this story. I hope you’re enjoying reading it!

Amanda licked her painted lips while she stared at him. He could count her breaths sliding in and out of her lungs. “I want Sand to court me.”

Sand threw his head back and screamed a howl of victory.

*

Amanda shivered at that feral howl. When Sand tilted his fiercely smiling face back down toward her, she jabbed a finger at him. “Okay, I’m giving you a chance. For tonight, let’s just keep this cool. I want to go downstairs and visit with people. You just keep your distance.”

“Okay,” he said softly, which really contrasted with his expression.

Sky nodded. “And don’t bite anybody,” he said deadpan.

Amanda wasn’t sure he was joking. She went out of her room and down the stairs. When she was spotted by the twenty or so men in the reception rooms a cheer rose. She tilted her head at its usual jaunty angle and gave them a wave. She strode across the room to an empty armchair, Sand looming like grim death behind her. Even without the spiked collar, wearing his worn jeans and rumpled blue chambray shirt instead of black leather, he intimidated the visitors. He stood a step behind her chair and glared with arms folded over his chest. Most of the men learned right away to not flirt with her. The almost sub-vocal growl Sand let out each time one of them tried to touch her clued them in. Only Paul, her second appointment of the night, hadn’t caught on right away.

“Miss Amanda,” he called when he first entered the reception room. “You look gorgeous!”

He hurried through the knots of people, tall and broad in his well fitted tan suit, his thinning brown hair impeccably groomed, his pale face flushed and sweating from the heat in the room. She knew for a dozen previous encounters that his body was fit for a man of forty who spent hours at a desk. He looked for a moment as if he wanted to try to squeeze into the chair beside her, but a glance at Sand apparently changed his mind.

He knelt on the carpet before her. “I had expected to meet you upstairs in your room.”

Habit made her put on an imperious sneer. “If I choose to allow you in my room—”

Sand came around the chair in a blur of blue cotton and black hair to grab Paul by the collar and jerk him up to his feet. “You will never see the inside of her room again,” he said in a chillingly conversational tone.

She could see that instead of frightening Paul, Sand’s domineering warning excited him. His pale blue eyes rolled to Amanda, his face shining with delight. “Are we having a threesome tonight?” he asked breathlessly.

She wondered if Sand even knew what Paul was talking about. “Paul,” she began, but Sand cut her off.

“Amanda is mine,” he snarled.

“Yes, Master,” Paul said in that same breathless voice. “Of course. I’ll be grateful for whatever crumbs you allow me to have.”

Amanda had to laugh at Sand’s confusion. “Paul,” she said kindly, “I’m afraid there’s been a change in my schedule. This is Sand Wolfe. I’ll be spending my time with him exclusively for the next month.”

Paul looked from her to Sand. “But … I am very good at fellatio,” he offered.

“At what?” Sand said, still holding Paul’s collar twisted in his fist.

“Fellatio.” Now Paul’s voice turned slightly condescending. “Giving head. I can suck your cock all the way down my throat while you finger fuck Amanda. Or you can ass fuck me while I fuck Ama—”

Sand’s fist jerked Paul off the floor. The man clawed desperately at his strangling collar. Amanda jumped up but wasn’t sure what to do.

Sand dragged Paul’s ear close to his mouth. “If you ever speak her name again I will kill you.  If I ever see you near her again, I will kill you. You understand me?”

“Yes,” Paul croaked.

“Good.” Sand lowered the other man down to his feet with frighteningly gentle care. “Now get out and don’t come back.”

Paul stumbled when Sand dropped him and hastily pushed his way through the whispering people who were staring at them. Amanda sat back down in the armchair, aware that her fingers were trembling. She drew a calming breath and looked up at Sand. There was a faint flush in his lean cheeks when he turned to look down at her.

“Do you do that?” he asked. “Have two men in bed at the same time?”

For no reason that she could think of, she felt heat rise to her face. “A few times,” she said quietly, stroking the nap of the upholstery.

“Do you like it?”

She paused to consider it. “No, not really. I don’t dislike it either. Really, it doesn’t matter to me one way or another. It’s just part of the job.”

“I can never do that.” Sand dropped to one knee in front of her chair. “My wolf would never accept sharing you with anyone that way.”

“I know.” Maybe she shouldn’t have, but she cupped his face in her hands and leaned forward to kiss him. “I would never share you either.”

He kissed her back, his lips more gentle than she’d expected. He pulled away after only a few moments, though, and stood up to meet Sky, who was approaching with that smooth, unhurried gait of his that ate up the distance far more quickly than it seemed to.

“Sand, you have to stop throwing our guests out.”

Before Sand could snarl a reply Amanda stood quickly. “Considering what Paul said, Sand behaved himself very well.”

One of Sky’s elegant brows rose. “And what did Mr. Harper say?”

“Paul thought a threesome was a good idea, and described who would be doing what to whom.”

Sky’s other brow shot up. Amanda wondered how he did that. “I see,” he said smoothly. “I think you’re right, Mandy. No blood was spilled, no furniture broken. All’s well that ends well. But I believe I will need to send notes out to your usual appointments to inform them you will be unavailable for some time.”

“Forever,” Sand snapped.

“Perhaps. Good night,” Sky said pointedly.

Amanda sighed. “Alright.” She sashayed past Sand. “Coming?”

“Where?” he asked suspiciously.

“To bed, of course.”

This is almost late! But better late than never, right? As always, this is unedited, not proof read, and new! I hope you enjoy it!

     “He’s a —“ She looked at Sky, then turned to stare at Sand. A trickle of fear soured her scent. “You’re a werewolf?”

     “No!”

     Sky shook his head. “Just go with it,” he advised Sand. “It’s easier.”

     His mate’s acrid scent of fear hurt. “I have a wolf, but he wouldn’t hurt you.”

     The fear scent faded into something confused but cautiously curious. “That’s kinda cool. Kinda.”

     “Whether or not you decide to be his mate is your choice. If you don’t want him, I’ll send him back to Kearney.”

     Amanda was staring at him. “I don’t know. I don’t even know him. I just met him an hour ago.”

     Sand’s breath was hot in his chest, hot with urgency and yearning. “We can take time to get to know one another. We can talk, or do whatever you like.”

     “The thing is,” Sky said, leaning forward on the small chair to take her hands, “our wolves are very jealous. If they see another man too close to our mates, they don’t like it.” Corner of his mouth puckered sourly and Sand wondered if he was remembering the man who sat far too close to his mate, Rose, back in Kearney. “So while you decide whether or not you want to accept Sand, you can’t make appointments.”

     “You’re touching me,” she pointed out.

     Sky waved that away. “I’m Pack. His cousin. Pack doesn’t count. So what do you say? Will you give Sand a month to court you? To try to persuade you to be his mate?”

     Sand felt his mate’s gaze burn over him as she examined him carefully. For the first time in his life he wondered if his clothes were good enough. His jeans and blue cotton shirt were clean but rumpled from days in a saddlebag, his moccasins worn. His gaze went to Sky’s stylish suit and shorn hair before he straightened his shoulders proudly. His mate would be accepting or rejecting him, not his clothes or hair.

     Amanda stared at him wordlessly for long minutes. Sand forced himself to not twitch, determined to let her make up her own mind, but it took so long that he finally blurted, “Do you want me to cut my hair? Get other clothes?”

“Don’t you dare cut your hair!” she answered immediately, looking genuinely horrified. “I like your hair. As for clothes…” She trailed off to look him up and down again. “I’d love to see what you look like without them. And,” she added hesitantly. “What does the wolf side of you look like?”

     Relief at being able to keep his hair loosened his shoulders. “I hate wearing these tight clothes,” he said with a smile, reaching to undo the buttons on the shirt.

     “Wait a minute!” Sky said quickly. “There are still two more things for Mandy to know. One, we can’t let our wolves out where anyone can see them. No one can know. You have to promise to never tell anyone.”

     Amanda smelled of confusion. “Okay, I promise. What’s the other thing?”

     “If you have sex with him, you’ve accepted his claim. You’ll be his wife.”

     Her face fell almost ludicrously. “I can’t sleep with him?”

     Sky laughed softly. “Sure you can sleep with him. You just can’t have sex with him.”

     Her face still looked unhappy. “But what if I want to have sex, but don’t want to be his mate?”

     Sand’s heart twisted violently in a knot of such pain that his knees almost hit the floor. Having her would be bliss. Losing her after he’d known the delight of her body would leave him a useless shell around a broken heart.

     “No,” Sky denied. “For wolves, it’s all or nothing. It’s your choice. Do you want to allow him to court you, or should I send him back to Kearney?”

    Amanda licked her painted lips while she stared at him. He could count her breaths sliding in and out of her lungs. “I want Sand to court me.”

    Sand threw his head back and screamed a howl of victory.

Happy Tuesday! Today is going to be a bad trying day for me. My car is going to be towed to the repair shop and I’m terrified to find out what that will cost. The engine is probably ruined because there is some sort of grit in the oil. It could cost $5000. (sob) On a brighter not, Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop is out today and I’m going to sit down and read.

Here is the next little tidbit in Amanda and Sky’s story. For those who receive my newsletter, you will have already read this. Enjoy!

She tapped a glossy red nail against her chin. “You know, that could work. Every dominatrix needs a sub. Wait here a minute while I get a collar to put on you.”

*

“Collar?” he said, but she was already turning away and didn’t see the outrage on his face or the eerie shimmer of gold that filmed his eyes. He roared after her, “Do you think I’m a lap dog?”

He jerked his head around at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Sky appeared. Sand inwardly shook his head at the slick city suit and short hair. Well, the short hair wasn’t so weird. The Chief wore his hair short in memory of his white mother’s preferences. But that suit, so perfectly fitted and precisely pressed, was nothing any of the Clan or Pack would have worn. It was too many layers to shed to let their wolves out.

“Hey,” said Sky. He unbuttoned his suit coat to tuck his hands in his pants pockets and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “How’s your first monitor shift going?”

Sand was half distracted by listening to his mate move around in her room. A terrible thought struck him. “You knew!” Suppressing the quick rage was hard. “You knew Amanda was my mate.”

Sky lifted his free shoulder in a light shrug. “She was one of the possibilities.” Now Sky stood straight, the aggression of an Alpha showing in his face. “I’m told you decided to cancel Amanda’s appointments for tonight. Given who she is to you, I can understand that. But you need to understand that Amanda is one of my pack. You don’t give orders about her without consulting me.”

Neither Sand nor his wolf were Alpha, but he immediately bristled. “She’s my mate!” he growled.

“Has she accepted you?” At Sand’s frown, Sky laughed softly. “Of course not. It’s too early for that. Until she does, Amanda is mine. My sister, moron,” Sky added with a snort, sounding suddenly much more like the young wolf Sand remembered. “I have a mate.”

“Has she accepted you?”

Sand regretted his taunt even before he saw the black rage burst in Sky’s blue eyes. Amanda’s door opened and she came out carrying a wide leather collar studded with silver spikes. “I think this one might … Oh, hi, Sky.”

Sand forgot Sky, forgot their argument, forgot everything except how much he wanted his mate. The strip of skin between the tops of her outrageous boots and the hems of her too tight black shorts looked pale and soft. He had to clench his fists to keep from stroking her thighs. He wanted to feel those thighs clamping his hips when he drove inside her. Her lips, painted a false dark red, smiled at Sky, but the smile died. “Are you okay, Sky?”

“Fine.” Sky smiled at her and bent down to give her a hug. It was an appropriate hug for a brother to give a sister, but Sand had to swallow a growl. “Mandy, we need to talk. Do you remember what I showed you about myself two summers ago?”

Sand didn’t think Amanda’s uncertain expression matched her gaudy facial enhancements. “You mean when you turned int… That is, the …” her voice dropped low. “That wolf thing?”

“Yes, that. Let’s step into your room. This is a private conversation.”

Amanda opened the door and led the way into her room. She sat on the bed while Sky pulled out the chair at the vanity and Sand leaned against the wall near the headboard. He inhaled the precious scent of his mate in the room, but there were other scents in the room. Scents of other men that made him half crazy.

Sky crossed one leg clad in silvery blue over the other. “What I’m going to tell you is private. You won’t talk about it to anyone.”

Amanda darted one glance at Sand before nodding at Sky. “Okay.”

“Those of us with wolves can’t be with just any woman. That is, we can, until our wolves choose a mate for us. Yes, the wolf chooses. Once a mate has been found, we can never be with another woman.”

“Yeah,” Amanda said slowly, testing the sharpness of a silver spike on the collar with a fingertip. “I remember you telling me that before. That’s why you never accepted any of our invitations for sex.”

“No man would ever hurt the mate his wolf chose for him,” Sky went on.

“And?” Amanda shot another quick glance at Sand. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because Sand’s wolf has chosen you for his mate.”

Sand was afraid his mate had forgotten how to breathe. She went white, then red. It looked odd with the rouge on her cheeks. He straightened from his lean against the wall, but her head whipped around to stare at him and finally she gulped in air. “Are you shitting me?”

Sand stared, confused by her words. Sky shook his head. “No.”

“He’s a —“ She looked at Sky, then turned to stare at Sand. A trickle of fear soured her scent. “You’re a werewolf?”

Here we go with another segment of Sand and Amanda’s story:

He cut her off, in a tone so raw it made her shiver. “Will you deny me?”

“No.” She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. She’d had perhaps a hundred different men in her bed in the last seven years, and none of them had ever looked at her with such an expression, as if she were infinitely wondrous, utterly precious. “Would you like to go to the Red Rockers concert with me on Saturday?”

“I’ll go anywhere with you,” he murmured.

He dipped his mouth to her collarbone, but she lifted his face to her with a hand under his chin. “Then I need to keep my appointments tonight so I can have Saturday off.”

The sweet expression on his face froze into wrath. “No more appointments,” he snarled. “Never again. You said you wouldn’t deny me.”

Amanda jerked her robe closed and pulled the sash tight. “I’m not denying you,” she pointed out reasonably. “I’m giving you Saturday. Other men made appointments for tonight. I’m booked three weeks out, so they’ve been waiting. It’s not fair to cancel on them at the last minute.”

“No!” he howled. “No man comes before me. You are mine!”

Disbelief dropped her jaw. “Excuse me?”

“I saw you today on the street. I’ve known since that moment that you were mine.”

Amanda exhaled a breath. What a pity. Sand was so handsome, and so damn stupid. “I don’t belong to you, Sand.” She jabbed a finger at the door. “Get out.”

He jerked her hard against him and backed her into the wall, trapping her. “No.”

Her mouth fell open. Was he crazy? All she had to do to get rid of him was call the monitor … Ice slid down her spine. He was the monitor. And right now he looked angry enough to alarm her.

Pain passed swiftly over his face. One finger at a time, he released her arms, and then stepped back. “You’re afraid of me?”

“No,” she lied. Well, it wasn’t a total lie. She was sure someone would come if she screamed.

“You are afraid of me.” Something close to shame was in his voice. “I would never hurt you.”

“Then leave me alone.”

“I can’t.” The words were simple and quiet. He turned his back to her, showing her all that long sleek black hair falling down his back. “You’re the only woman I can ever love.”

Amanda barely restrained an eye roll. Like she hadn’t heard that a thousand times before. “Please leave, Sand. We’ll talk about this tomorrow if you want to. My invitation for Saturday is still open. But if you don’t leave me alone now I’ll never speak to you again.”

An almost invisible shudder went down his spine. After a moment he walked to the door, opened, and left.

Amanda stared at the door. Well, that went easier than she’d expected. A small part of her was almost disappointed he’d given in so easily. Not even a demand for a last kiss!

With a twitch of her shoulder she went to her vanity to re-do her makeup. Her next appointment was still over an hour away, but she could get ready for that, and then go downstairs to mingle until Paul arrived. The makeup she applied was darker and more dramatic, and she took off the erotically prim nightdress and put on the black leather shorts and bustier that showed off her dragon tattoo, then pulled on the thigh high black boots with the five inch needle heels. It took her only a few minutes to release her hair from its feminine arrangements of loops and tease it into a mess. This was Paul’s favorite look. He liked being dominated by his partner, and Amanda knew she did it well.

With a last glance in the mirror, she went to the door to join some of the other girls to mingle and flirt with the guests. She hadn’t gone one step before she saw Sand leaning crossed-armed next to her door. When he saw her, he jerked straight with his eyes springing wide. She gave him a small smile and sashayed to the rail to wave down at the people below. They applauded enthusiastically. Knowing he legs looked a mile long in the boots, she sauntered to the stairs.

Somehow, Sand got there first. “Where are you going?” he demanded in a growl so sexy she shivered.

“To play with the visitors,” she replied.

“Play? Will you kiss them?”

The jealousy would have been cute if he wasn’t so damn scary. “Of course not.”

“Will they try to kiss you?”

“Not if they’re smart.”

He eased up on the scary. “I’ll go with you to be sure no one bothers you.”

She tapped a glossy red nail against her chin. “You know, that could work. Every dominatrix needs a sub. Wait here a minute while I get a collar to put on you.”

“Collar?” he said, but she was already turning away and didn’t see they outrage on his face or the eerie shimmer of gold that distorted his eyes. He roared after her, “Do you think I’m a lap dog?”