Terr4tory by Susan Bliler Page B

short minutes later she heard the unmistakable creak of the downstairs floorboards.  Stilling, she waited, staring at her bedroom wall, ear turned toward the door.  Then there were booted feet coming up the stairs.  Her insides fluttered even as her heart started a panicky gallop.  Unable to move, Barron entered her quarters to find her standing frozen in the middle of the room.  Slowly, she turned to face him.  “Alpha Kane?”
    “Alpha Hutchinson.” He smirked at her formality.
    “What are you doing up here?”
    Wide shoulders practically brushed the doorframe as he entered.  Willa’s mouth went dry and her hands started to tremble with excitement.
    “Protecting your virtue.”
    She reacted to his nearness.  Her wolf was bouncing up and down, begging Willa to let them play with the virile male in their room.  She sucked in a breath as Barron slowly stalked closer and closer.  With each step, Willa’s head tilted back as she kept eye contact.  When he was just a step away, towering over her, she inhaled and raw lust shot through her, sending her into dizzying heights before plummeting wildly.
    Barron stepped around her with that cocky smirk and crossed to her window.  He pulled the curtains back and lowered the window until it was shut, then stood and faced her.  “If I have to smell your creaming pussy one more night, I’m going to kick your front door in and do something we’d both regret.”
    She could feel blood flood her cheeks as humiliation seared her.  No, humiliation was too weak a term.  Mortified.   She was wholly fucking mortified.  Worse, her blush told him that she knew exactly what he was talking about.
    Barron brushed past her and left the room, his heavy footsteps on the wooden stairs mocking her with his departure.  Relief and disappointment flooded her in equal measure when she heard a deep sigh precede the sound of the front door closing.
    Oh!  My!  God! She dropped to her knees in the middle of the room and buried her head in her hands. That did not just happen!

Chapter 9
    The following day was a near replica of the one before.  Willa woke sexually frustrated to the sounds of the pack and Barron hammering away and chatting happily.  She’d barely slept as she replayed Barron’s words over and over in her mind. ‘Something we’d both regret’.  What would be so regrettable about sharing a bed with her?
    She’d forgone the luxury of pleasuring herself in the shower, just washed up and then dressed in a light T-shirt and shorts before trudging down to the kitchen.  Again, she spent the better part of the morning tidying up and basically hiding out.  The day was a scorcher, and she secretly hoped one of the kids would ask Barron to look at the central air unit that had stopped working the previous year.  She’d been tinkering with it on and off, but couldn’t seem to get it running.  Alas, every time she crossed by the door, Barron had been just outside.  She’d avoided eye contact at all costs, scurrying to whichever room she was headed, ignoring his smiles and interested stares.
    When the pack and Barron finally came in for lunch, she was still avoiding eye contact.  Every time she even glanced in his general direction, her blush would rush back full force.  Humiliating!
    Luckily, all through lunch, she had the distraction of the kids inundating Barron with questions.  After lunch, the kids—too hot and worn out to keep working—lingered at the table, their questions still flowing freely.  She assumed their exhaustion was what kept them from leaving to trek down to the lake for a cool swim.  She wished she could go.  The temperature and company had her feeling flushed and anxious.
    Refilling everyone’s lemonade, she set the pitcher on the table and started clearing dishes.  The questions shot at Barron were so rapidly fired, he barely got the chance to offer to help with the dishes—which Willa declined—before the questions began firing