Designs on a Warrior

Chapter Seven

Wulfric and Cyndey were now dressed and beside each other on the bed as she showed him the design plan she’d done for his bedroom. While she talked, he found himself watching her rather than paying attention to what she said. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, especially after he’d seen her back.

High up by her right shoulder there was the faint beginnings of Tiw’s mark. It only looked like a bruise, barely marring her skin, but it was there all the same. Cyndey was his. It was just the last bit of proof he needed. Now he just had the hard part of trying to explain what he was without sending her running. He couldn’t lose her. He’d already fallen for her and couldn’t picture his life without her in it.

“You’re not paying attention to a single word I’m saying,” Cydney said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

He gave her a crooked grin. “Can I help it if I can’t stop thinking about all the ways I want to make love to you?”

She shook her head. “Stop that right now. If you keep it up I’ll never get started on your room.”

“Oh, I can keep it up for you. That won’t be a problem at all.”

Cydney gave him a stern look, but it soon slipped and she laughed. “You’re worse than I am with the innuendos. But seriously, we have to get down to business. I promised Maggie I wouldn’t spend our entire holiday working. I’m only here for a month.”

Wulfric didn’t need the reminder that she had no plans to stay in Norwich. It also meant he didn’t have the luxury of taking his time with her. And once Tiw’s mark fully showed, there would be no getting around explaining how that just suddenly appeared on her skin.

She elbowed him in the ribs. “You’re doing it again.”

“Sorry.”

“Do you like it or not?” she asked and shoved her sketchpad onto his lap.

Wulfric looked down at it. As Cydney had said earlier, there wasn’t any pink.

The walls were a tan color that wasn’t too light or too dark. The headboard and dresser appeared to be dark, heavy pieces. She’d made a notation next to each saying they could change depending on what she found in the furniture stores. The floors, as she’d said, were drawn to look like hardwood. The curtains on the window were black, and she’d made another notation about finding them in faux suede.

“Now I know the furniture and curtains are just rudimentary representations of what I’m thinking of, but until I can get into the stores this is the best I can do,” she said.

“I guess the main thing is, do you like the color scheme? I picked the heavy, dark curtains, since you work late at night and sleep longer in the mornings.”

“I like it all. And since you want to get started, I’ll even go out and buy the paint today. You just have to tell me how many cans you think you’ll need.”

“All right. And while we’re on the subject, I’ve been meaning to run something by you.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“To make the work go faster, I think it would be better if I worked in the evening as well when you’re at work. That is if you don’t mind me being here without you.”

He brushed a kiss across her lips. “If I had my way, you’d be staying here instead of your friend’s place.”

And he truly did. Tiw had put a form of protection around the manor, almost like an invisible shield. It kept all of Fenris’ get from being able to set foot on the property. After the run-in they’d had with some of the werewolves—right here—

shortly after Raed had met Lexi—Tiw had made sure nothing like that would ever happen again. Their home was supposed to be a safe haven for all his warriors and their mates.

Cydney blinked. “You’re serious? You’d really want me to stay here for the rest of my holiday?”

“Yes. That way you can work whenever you want and you don’t have to wait for me to pick you up. Plus I like the idea of you being in my bed, waiting for me when I come home each night.”

Her face grew serious as she appeared to think it over. After almost a minute, she said, “I don’t know, Wulfric. I’m not sure how Maggie will take to that idea. And you are moving a little fast here. I am going back to Toronto. Besides, I’m practically gutting your room. Even you aren’t going to be able to sleep here until I get the painting and the floor done.”

He stopped himself from grinding his teeth at the mention of her going back to Canada. Now that she was his, the thought of her leaving had his wolf’s hackles rising.

“Talk it over with Maggie first then. And there is a spare bedroom. That’s where I planned to sleep. As for you going back to Toronto, I’m going to do my damnedest to get you to change your mind.”

Much to his surprise, Cydney paled. She shook her head. He swore he saw what looked like extreme uneasiness flash across her face. Did she dislike the thought of staying with him that much?

“Don’t push, Wulfric. I want to enjoy what time I have with you. Please don’t ruin it. What we have now is nice, really nice, but I’m not looking for a long-term commitment. I’m not wired that way.”

Wulfric bit his tongue to stop himself from saying that last statement was utter bullshit. She was wired that way. If she wasn’t Tiw would never have marked her as his mate.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, her scent calming him with its presence. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now.” He changed the subject. “I’ll go get the paint, and I’ll take your design plan with me to match the color you want with the paint chips at the store.”

Cydney seemed to relax with relief. “Just make sure you get latex, not oil. While you’re gone I want to haul this butt-ugly dresser out of the room. Will one of the guys help me with it?”

“You’ll have to take out my clothes first. Before I go I’ll grab some bin bags for you to put them in. As for moving the dresser, since you hate it so much, you can take an axe to it.”

She smiled. “Really? You’d let me chop it up into bits with an axe?”

He grinned back. “It’ll make it easier to move and dispose of. When you’re ready, the axe is outside in the garage, and I think there’s a pair of safety glasses somewhere in there as well.”

Cydney hugged him. Seeing how happy it made her to be able to destroy his dresser, Wulfric wished he had more than one for her to go at. After giving her the bin bags and finding out how many cans of paint she wanted, he left her to get started.

Once Wulfric went to buy the paint, Cydeny got to work emptying his dresser.

The two garbage bags he’d given her would be more than enough, considering he didn’t have a ton of clothes. The drawers were filled with t-shirts and long-sleeved t-

shirts, along with a few shorts and sweaters. In the top drawer, she found his socks.

What was glaringly absent was any kind of underwear. The lack of such garments meant Wulfric went commando every day. And there also appeared to be no pajamas at all. The man must sleep nude. Just the idea made her shiver as a wave of arousal shot through her.

The drawers now empty, she pulled them out and tugged the rest of the dresser to the middle of the room. As a second thought, Cydney also pushed the bed farther away. Luckily, Wulfric didn’t have anything stored underneath it. She put the bags of clothes inside the large walk-in closet.

Ready for the axe, she walked out of the room and down the stairs. She didn’t hear anyone else around, but given how large the manor was, it didn’t surprise her. She headed out the front door and went to the detached garage next to the house. Using the regular door set in the side of the building, she stepped through it.

Cydney found a light switch on the wall and flipped it on. The light flashed off the three expensive cars that sat inside. After a quick glance at them, she turned her attention to the back wall where a number of tools hung. She spotted the axe and crossed over to it. She lifted it off the pegs that held it, then used her gaze to search for the safety glasses on the shelf just under the tools. They ended up being under a couple of clean rags.

As she turned to leave, the garage door slowly lifted. Thinking it could be Wulfric already returning, Cydney stayed where she was. It wasn’t his Mercedes that pulled inside. A silver Lexus drove in and parked. The man who got out was a couple of inches shorter than Wulfric, but he more than made up for it in having a larger muscle mass. He flipped his long, black hair over his shoulder. This had to be Brand, the only resident of the manor she hadn’t met. His dark blue-eyed gaze took her in as he walked toward her.

Once he stood in front of her, she stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Cydney. You must be Brand.”

He gave her hand a quick shake, then nodded. “Yes.”

Wulfric had warned her Brand was a man of very little words. He only spoke when he had something to say, and kept it as short and to the point as he could make it.

He definitely came across as the strong, silent type.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the silence that stretched between them, she hoisted the axe higher, and said, “I just came to get this.”

His brows furrowed. “Why?”

“Wulfric said I could use it on his puke-green dresser. The damn thing is just way too ugly to foist off onto someone else. That would be cruel and unusual punishment to inflict on a stranger.”

Brand grinned and let out a short chuckle. Cydney blinked at the change it made in his appearance. He no longer looked quite so stern and forbidding. And he was actually really good-looking. If Maggie didn’t like Dolf, there was always Brand.

“That thing is ugly,” he said. “If you’re going to use the axe, I’ll supervise.”

“It isn’t necessary.”

“I’ll watch.”

“I don’t want to keep you from anything. And Wulfric should be back soon from the paint store.”

“You’re not doing it alone.”

He turned and stepped out of the garage, then faced in her direction with an impatient look. Cydney had a feeling he’d wait there until she followed him out. With a sigh, she stepped outside with the axe and safety glasses.

She waited for him to punch in the code on the keypad on the brick wall to close the door, then walked beside him back to the manor. Inside, he stayed with her as she went up the stairs. Lexi, holding Petra, was at the top. So was Nika. Both women’s eyes widened when they saw the axe she carried.

“What’s that for?” Lexi asked.

“She’s going to use it on Wulfric’s dresser,” Brand said as he answered for her.

On his way by, he placed his large hand on top of the baby’s head and kissed her cheek.

He continued down the hallway until he reached Wulfric’s bedroom door. He turned toward her. “Coming?”

Cyndey gave Lexi and Nika a sheepish look. “Brand has decided I’m not to use the axe without having supervision. And since Wulfric isn’t here, he’s taken on the job.”

Lexi’s lips twitched as if she held back a smile. “There’s no point in fighting it.

Trying to get Brand to change his mind about anything is like trying to push over a brick wall with only your hands. It isn’t going to happen.”

“And I know from personal experience, believe me,” Kamryn said as she walked past Brand, gave him a wink and then joined them. “It’s nice to see you again, Cydney.”

“And you too, Kamryn.” Cyndey gave each woman a smile. “I better not keep him waiting. Brand already looks impatient enough as is.”

She left the other women and walked down the hall toward Brand. He moved aside, so she could walk past him and into the room. Cydney didn’t bother to turn to see if he followed her. While she slipped on the safety glasses, she felt his gaze watching everything she did.

Cydney stepped closer to the dresser and lifted the axe. She then swung it down, the sharp blade skidding across the top of it and taking a small chunk out of the corner.

She lifted it for another try, but found it held in place by a strong hand before she could follow through.

She met Brand’s sharp gaze. “What?”

“Not that way. You’ll hurt yourself.”

He shifted to stand behind her and reached around to put his hands on top of hers around the axe handle. He raised both their arms higher, then allowed them to drop. This time the axe made a sizable cut in the dresser. They made the next strike together as well.

Brand had just lifted the axe for a third time when a loud, animalistic growl sounded behind them. Cydney turned her head to see what had made the sound, but the man at her back blocked her line of sight.

“Relax,” Brand said as he let go of her hands and stepped away. Now she was able to see Wulfric who stood just inside the bedroom. Brand continued. “Your woman was going to hurt herself. Now she knows how to use an axe the right way.”

Without another word, Brand walked out of the room. Cydney went to Wulfric and gave him a kiss. “When you told me about Brand you neglected to say how he doesn’t take no for an answer. And what’s with this ‘your woman’ crap? Does he think he’s from the Dark Ages?”

The tension in Wulfric’s shoulders seemed to loosen as he cracked a smile. “More than you know. In some ways we’re all like that, but Brand has always done his own thing regardless what people think or say.”

“Well, he was quite insistent he supervise.”

Wulfiric placed the cans of paint he carried on the floor and crossed over to her.

He cupped her face and gave her a lingering kiss. His mouth moved over hers as his tongue stroked inside. After he lifted his head, he said, “But Brand is right, you are my woman.”

Not wanting to get on the topic of her not going home again, Cydney smiled, and said, “You’d better watch the ‘your woman’ thing, buster. I have an axe, and thanks to Brand, I know how to use it. I would hate to suddenly confuse you for your dresser.”

Wulfric dropped his hands from her face, then reached around and gave her a swat on the ass. “Be nice. At one time a woman liked it when a man claimed her as his, to protect her and take care of all her needs.”

Cydney snorted. “Like I said, Dark Ages. As a modern woman, the only need I want you to take care of in the near future is the one for sex.” She took a step away.

“Now if you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you give me some room. I have to put this dresser out of its misery.”

Once Wulfric was no longer in range of getting hurt, Cydney lifted the axe as Brand had showed her and brought it crashing down on the dresser. She let out a whoop as it split in half and fell to the floor. Giving Wulfric a look of delight, she attacked the fallen pieces until they were chucks littered around her.