“Spelunking.” She moved from the bedroom into the adjoining shower room.
Del-Rey frowned as he followed her. “Cave exploring? What caves? We’ve explored them all.”
She rolled her eyes as she turned the shower on and adjusted the water. “Of course you have. You’re just not using them all. You have more Breeds coming in, remember? Where are you going to put them? Will they have beds? Blankets? Towels?”
He leaned against the entrance and watched her, loving the graceful movements of her body, the way she tipped her head back, washing her hair, and still watched him.
“They would have found what they need.” He frowned at the thought. “You’re trying to cuddle the whole damned place, Anya. There’s not enough of you to go around.”
She laughed at that. “I don’t have time to cuddle. But I do have time to arrange reasonable rooms for them. It will engender loyalty, Del-Rey, and a sense of thankfulness. There’s nothing like a hot meal and a soft bed to remind a man of what he’s fighting for.”
He didn’t like her seeming knowledge of men in general. She should only be aware of his needs, he thought with a hint of piqued pride. Dammit, she hadn’t been cuddling him or taking care of his manly needs in the past eight months. Why worry about others? He was opening his lips to ask just that question.
“Hope and Faith have been forcing me along on their forays into managing Haven,” she said then. “I know what I’m doing here.”
He had no doubt of that and that wasn’t his bitch. Simply put, he had no desire to share her time or her attention with the rest of the packs as a whole.
He was selfish that way, he admitted. Coyotes were bred to selfishness though, he assured himself; he had a reasonable excuse.
He was forming another protest when she began soaping, washing her body quickly, suds rolling over silken flesh, shimmering against her skin and holding his attention more surely than a weapon in his face would have.
Damn her. She had him tongue-tied. He’d be damned if he knew how to put his foot down here and settle the area of what her duties could or couldn’t be. Cuddling other Coyotes, even impersonally, wasn’t going to be one of her duties.
Unfortunately, before he managed to get a grip on his tongue or his wayward lusts, she was wrapping a thick towel around her and the soft peel sounded, announcing someone at the door.
“That’s Ashley.” She peeked around his shoulder to the monitor that looked out into the hall. “Get in the shower; she doesn’t need to see your manly ass. She’s ditzy enough. I don’t need her getting worse.”
He frowned back at her. Again. What did his ass have to do with Ashley’s often apparent lack of common sense? Shaking his head, he moved into the shower though, determined to get a handle on his lusts so he could get a handle on his mate. He was starting to get the feeling that if he didn’t do it quickly, there might be no hope for it.
Anya gritted her teeth as she jerked the door open and pulled Ashley into the bedroom with a firm yank. Eyes wide, her lips open in a surprised little moue, the other woman stared back at Anya in confusion as she shoved an e-pad at her. “Just need you to sign at the X, Coya.”
“He hasn’t read the tabloid stories about that great and wonderful love affair we’ve had. Just exactly how much did the three of you pay those papers to plant those stories anyway?”
Ashley looked everywhere but at Anya for long seconds before pursing her lips and shuffling her feet. “Didn’t have to pay them a damned thing,” she muttered. “They just about orgasm when you give them dish. How did you know?”
“You might be subtle, but I’ve had a lot of years to figure the three of you out; I’m not stupid,” she sniffed.
Ashley nodded slowly before peeking toward the shower. “Been a while since I’ve seen the alpha’s bare ass. Can I sneak a peek? It’s probably my birthday. It would make a great present.”
Anya’s eyes narrowed.
“Oookay,” Ashley drawled as she shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rolled on the heels of the boots she wore. “So we heading to Haven in a bit?”
“In a bit,” Anya ground out as she stalked to the bed and tossed the clothes on it.
She dried off quickly before pulling on panties and bra.
She quickly dressed in the snug black pants and gray sweater before sitting down and pulling on thin socks and shoving her feet into the black dressy boots.
“Hey, boss man.” Ashley’s voice piped up with amused appreciation. “Damn, look at those chest hairs. Damn sexy. Turn around and flash me some buns.”
Anya’s head whipped around to see her mate, striding from the shower room with nothing but a towel tucked at his waist.
“Watch the bleach in the hair dye, Ash.” He grinned. “Maybe you should see Doc Armani. I think the animal genetics are recessing in favor of the human where you’re concerned.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “You’re just being mean to me, that’s all,” she griped good-naturedly before turning to Anya. “Sharone, Emma and I will be in the community room if you need us.” She turned to go.
“No, you won’t.” Anya stopped her. “You’re going to collect your co-conspirators and get the rest of the day’s reports together for me. I’ll go over them while Del-Rey and I are at Haven. Send them to my PDA and be ready to go whenever your alpha decides we’re leaving.”
“Perhaps your coya can tell you when we’re leaving,” Del-Rey said evenly. “She seems to have everything else planned out in her day.”
“She’s good like that. We taught her well, huh?” Ashley winked back at him before turning to Anya once again. “I’m on the run then, Coya. Files to PDA, prep for adventure in Haven. I wonder if Styx will try to pinch Emma’s ass again. It’s always fun watching her try to kick his bad ass.”
Ashley turned and made a quick exit as Del-Rey growled low and warningly. The steel door slammed behind her, electronic locks engaging as Anya turned back to Del-Rey slowly.
“Brim should be here any minute,” she told him. “He’s been waiting for you to wake up.”
“And will he have any reports for me?” Del-Rey asked her silkily.
“Most definitely,” she promised. “And I should know, because I put most of them together. If you have any questions though, I’m sure he can answer them.”