Bewitched (Betwixt & Between #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,46

when Dad walked up. “So . . .” he began. “. . . the wolf.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Please,” Papi said with a scoff. “It’s about time you found someone decent. We just want to make sure his intentions are honorable.”

My gaze darted to the subject at hand, who was at the sink, rinsing off dishes, his wide shoulders and lean waist so visually stunning it mesmerized me. But triangles had been my favorite shape since kindergarten, and now I knew why.

I wondered if he could hear us talking about him, figured he could, and decided I didn’t care when I said, “I don’t know about his intentions, but his tongue makes up for any discrepancies.”

“Cariña,” Dad said, fighting a grin tooth and nail while Papi high fived me.

But my question was answered when the wolf tossed a smile over his shoulder so wicked that I almost climaxed again. In my defense, it had been months.

We said our goodbye under the light of a bug zapper, then I went inside to help finish cleaning up.

The chief was just leaving.

He gave me a hug. “Can you tell her hey for me?”

“Absolutely.” I set a hand on his arm.

He headed out the front door.

I ran to stop him. “Chief, don’t give up on her.”

He nodded, his expression grave and anything but hopeful.

“You know her. You’ve known her far longer than I have. She’s not doing this for herself, although she is part mouse now, so who knows how her brain works.”

“Come again?”

“Either way, I promise you, she’s making this great sacrifice for you.” I spread my arms wide to emphasize the greatness of it all. She loved him. I knew she did. She knew she did. He knew she did. But for some reason, she felt she could no longer give him what he needed when all he needed was her.

He studied the wrapped plate of leftovers in his hand. “Then she’s doing it for the wrong reasons.”

“I know, but she needs to figure that out. Just . . . just don’t give up on her.”

“Never.” The impassioned gaze he gave speared me with told me everything I needed to know. “Never.”

“Thank you.” I walked him out.

By the time I got back to the kitchen, it was deserted minus a single slice of leftover pineapple upside-down cake arranged on a dessert plate with a single bite taken out of it. I hopped onto the counter of coitus and delighted in every last crumb.

I decided to take the stairs to my room when all I wanted to do was visit the wolf below. Surely, he’d had enough of me for one day. But he hadn’t gotten to experience the same pleasure as I did. Surely, he’d want an orgasm. Still, if he did, wouldn’t he have stuck around?

I almost locked the back door then realized Roane may have gone out to check on the wolves. I left it unlocked and started upstairs when the damned pocket folder piqued my curiosity.

After sliding an oven mitt over my right hand, I grabbed the bright folder. The whole thing glowed now. I figured it would burn when I touched it the just like the message had, thus the insulation. Precautions were definitely in order.

I opened the flap and scooped out the messages with a set of salad tongs, worried they’d would all be glowing now. Thankfully, the only two glowing like they’d been set on fire with some kind of supernatural eternal flame were the same ones from before. The little girl who’d lost her dog and the man wanting a remedy for male pattern baldness. But why those? Neither seemed particularly life-threatening, yet my magics seemed to think they were important enough to set them aflame.

I ran upstairs, grabbed my laptop, then hurried back down. The little girl had left no address and no phone number. The only clue I had to go on was her name and the fact that her dog was a bully. That could’ve meant anything from a French bulldog to a boxer to a pit bull or and any number of breeds in between.

After searching the local papers for her name, I found a Clara Thomas from Peabody, Massachusetts, in the second grade who’d won a pumpkin carving contest last Halloween. The caption listed her parents as Bernie and Hope Thomas. From there, it wasn’t terribly difficult to find an address.

Sinking back into the chair, I wondered if I should do what I was about to do. A lost dog was one