smiled at her. “As Fenrir would say, pack is pack.”
“And the wolf fell down the chimney, splash! Into the boiling water. The third little pig clapped the lid on the pot, and that was the end of the Big Black Wolf. And so the third little pig lived happily ever after.” Fenrir closed the book, his perplexed expression smoothing out into satisfaction. “Ah. I see now. It is an educational tale.”
“Please,” Joe said, looking up with a wicked gleam in his eyes, “please, please tell us the moral of the story, Fenrir.”
“Thought that was obvious. The wolf should have smelled the smoke and realized the trap, but he was too fixated on his prey.” Fenrir carefully shifted the sleeping Beth into her mother’s arms. “So the lesson is: Do not let your belly overrule your nose.”
Diana smothered a laugh. “A very important lesson indeed.”
“Trust Fenrir to see straight to the heart of the matter,” Blaise agreed, making no attempt to hide her own grin.
“I think your versions of the stories make much more sense, Fenrir,” Edith said, apparently with complete sincerity. “You should write some of them down.”
“Now there’s an idea.” Joe pointed a knitting needle at Fenrir. “Fairy Tales as told by the Big Black Wolf. You could make a fortune.”
From the hint of a smile playing on Fenrir’s lips, Darcy suspected that he was fully aware of the good-natured amusement he’d caused. She had no doubt that his reaction to the book had been genuine—Fenrir was far too thoughtful to play the clown—but she had a feeling that he’d known full well that his friends would find his comments entertaining. Fenrir did nothing without good reason.
So why does he live so totally in the moment? Why does he avoid talking about the future, just as much as he refuses to consider his past?
Fenrir padded over, silent and graceful as always despite his huge bulk. He bent over her so that his lips were by her ear, his hand resting on her shoulder on her other side.
“Any progress?” he murmured.
She sighed, staring at her laptop screen. “Only in the wrong direction.”
His fingertips brushed the side of her neck in a soft, subtle caress. “Then you should stop.”
“Can’t do that.” She turned her head to kiss him, his beard tickling against her cheek. “But I might be persuaded to take a break.”
“Hey, lovebirds,” Blaise called from the fireside. “There are children present.”
“All either asleep or unborn,” Edith pointed out.
Blaise shrugged. “It’s the principle of the thing. Get a room, you two!”
Fenrir’s fingers curled over the nape of Darcy’s neck. His copper-brown eyes held a silent promise that made her breath catch. “We do have a room.”
She kissed him again. “Then let’s make use of it.”
“Fenrir?” Darcy said, quite some time later. “We need to talk.”
A disgruntled, sleepy rumble reverberated under her ear. “Now?”
Darcy’s whole body glowed with satisfied exhaustion. The thought of curling up next to Fenrir and drifting off to sleep held immense appeal.
With a sigh, she propped herself up on her arms so she could look down at him. “Yes, now. We can’t put off this conversation any longer. Not after the results of my research today.”
His eyes had been closed, but they opened at that. He lifted his head, a furrow appearing between his brows. “Thought you said you didn’t find anything.”
“I didn’t. Which is the whole point. That was my last lead, Fenrir, and it didn’t pan out. I’m not doing any good here.”
His hand trailed up her naked back, sending a shiver of pleasure down her spine. “Disagree.”
She poked his side. “You know what I mean. I’ve loved spending this time with you, Fenrir. But we can’t go on like this forever. For one thing, I’m running out of money fast, even at the ridiculously low rate Buck is charging me to stay here. I need to get back to work.”
“I have money.”
“And it’ll be a cold day in hell before I take it. It’s bad enough that Buck won’t let me pay anything like market rate for room and board. I already feel like enough of a charity case without mooching off my boyfriend as well.”
Fenrir’s eyes narrowed. “I am not your boyfriend. I am your mate.”
“That doesn’t make any difference. I can’t be reliant on you. And anyway, I want to get back to work. We need to talk about what that means for us.”
“What is there to talk about?”
“Are you kidding?” She blew out her breath, frustrated by his obtuseness. “I’m based