Worth Fighting For

Chapter 7

What a mess. Cody sat in his car and stared at the burnt shell of a building in front of him. He’d come back to stare at the wreckage after his emergency meeting with the town elders. They’d all agreed on the need for a town meeting about the building that had caught fire. No, not caught fire. Set on fire. Deliberately, according to the evidence left at the scene.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Cody let his frustration out in a scream, grateful no one was around to see how close he was to losing control. This was his town. His skulk.

No matter how he studied the facts, for the life of him he couldn’t find any logic here. Vulpes Creek was fairly cut off from the rest of the world, but he doubted anyone from town would do this. Too much risk, not only of the fire spreading but also of getting caught. Everyone knew Cody would be forced to punish the criminal. Besides, the location of the building on the edge of town made it a prime target for outsiders. But who?

According to the fire chief, the front door had been barricaded. If they hadn’t gotten here so quickly, it might have been too late for Widow Carlson. Even so, she’d been rushed to the emergency room for smoke inhalation. He’d gone to visit her before coming back here and was grateful to find her relatively unharmed. Sure, she was a bit of a meddler and overly chatty at times, but he couldn’t imagine her driving someone to this.

It had to be a strike against the skulk. Which still left the question of why. A warning, maybe. But of what? There’d been no note, no clue, just the remnants of the building.

No point in dwelling on it any more tonight, although he doubted he’d get much sleep. The neon clock on his dashboard read one AM. Hard to believe he’d been at this for hours and was no closer to understanding it than when he’d first arrived.

Still, his presence had been necessary. In times of crisis, his skulk looked to him for guidance and reassurance. As much as he wished he could have stayed with Misty, his work here had been important.

Misty…

Cody glanced at the clock again. Hopefully, she hadn’t waited up for him too long. Too late to head over now. No matter how much he might want to. A bout of hot sex would suit his restless spirit, but wouldn’t be fair to her. Tomorrow would be soon enough to pick up where they’d left off. And he could do better than a hasty screw in the bedroom. Misty deserved roses and candlelight. She would never ask for it. But she needed it, whether she knew it or not. Despite their rocky start, he was just the man to give it to her.

Sunlight pierced her closed eyelids, waking her from a sound sleep. Why hadn’t she closed the curtains before going to bed?

Using her hand to shield the worst of the light, Misty opened her eyes and peered around. That explained the curtain question. And the crick in her neck. Ouch.

Misty sat up on the couch and tried to stretch out her muscles. Of course, this afternoon would be the day of her advanced yoga class. Stumbling to the kitchen, Misty grabbed a cup and staggered to the coffee pot. Sending up a silent thanks for automatic timers, she poured her first cup and sniffed the rich aroma before adding in her sugar and cream.

It wasn’t until the cup was half empty that she realized she still wore the lacy black babydoll lingerie. Not surprising that it had taken her so long. She was completely useless before her first cup of coffee. God’s nectar.

She bit her lip in indecision. There were a lot of reasons why Cody might have flaked on coming by. She didn’t know how bad the fire had been. When he’d been on the phone, he’d asked if anybody had gotten hurt. Whatever had happened must have been pretty bad. He might have simply forgotten in all the hoopla.

Or he could have changed his mind….

Misty pushed the thought out of her head. Doubts didn’t deserve her time or energy. Whatever was supposed to come would come whether she worried about it or not, so her motto was let it be. Okay, she’d stolen it from the Beatles, but it worked.

Besides, he wouldn’t have changed his mind. She closed her eyes and touched her fingertips against her lips. There had been too much intensity in his kiss. Such passion. Emotion like that didn’t just disappear. Right?

There she went. Questioning herself again. She shook her head, exasperated with herself. No matter how much she lectured, it was impossible to completely dispel the doubts.

Misty looked at the wrist, then rolled her eyes and glanced at the wall clock, groaning at the early time. Despite the fact that most yoga classes were taught in the morning, no one had ever accused her of being a morning person. As a rule, she didn’t teach her first class until seven AM, and then only twice a week. Because of the size of the town, she was able to set her own schedule. Anyone who decided to start their day before six in the morning needed their head examined. It wasn’t normal. On Sundays, she didn’t have to be in until one. Thank God today was Sunday.

Still, now that she was up, she might as well get her day started. She had no hope of going back to sleep. Looking out the window into the backyard, she saw Oscar chasing his tail in his pen. Foxes were not supposed to chase their tails. Clearly, she was not letting him out enough. According to all the online articles she’d read about raising foxes, they needed plenty of exercise. And to be kept in a large pen outside, not inside like a dog. Cody had been right, damn him. Not that she had any intention of telling him as much.

Deciding it was past time both she and Oscar got a good run through the woods, Misty stripped out of her lingerie, carefully placed it on the counter, and shifted. And realized belatedly as she stared up at the knob she needed thumbs to open the door…and the fox pen. Honestly, she’d lose her head if it wasn’t attached.

This was Misty’s favorite part of any class. Everyone lay curled forward on the floor with eyes closed, concentrating on breathing, and Misty got to examine them unobtrusively. She studied the evenness of their breathing, how long it took them to release tension, and how much sweat had gathered on their clothing. All the factors told her whether or not she’d pushed hard enough, or too hard. Today the class had gotten their money’s worth and she had earned her paycheck.

“When you’re ready, slowly curl into child’s pose, remembering to breathe.”

The door in the back of the studio cracked open, the cool air a welcome relief from the stuffy room. Cody stuck his head in, his eyes zeroing in on her. She held up a finger, asking him to wait a moment. With a nod, he eased the door shut.

“Okay, now push yourself into a seated position with your hands at heart center, then to your third eye. Namaste.” She waited until everyone opened their eyes as they eased out of their meditation. “Thank you for coming today, everyone. I’ll see you all next week.”

The class began to file out, many of them stopping Cody to ask questions as he tried to slip past. Foolish man. He wasn’t nearly as invisible as he liked to think. Whenever Cody entered a room, everyone stopped to stare. The women out of attraction, and the men because his mere presence commanded it.

Misty shook her head and rolled up her mat, stuffing her extra clothes and water bottles into her bag. On Sundays she only had the one class, which allowed her to go home, shower, and be lazy the rest of the day. Maybe she’d take Oscar out for another hunt, even though they’d gone out that morning. He’d been driving her crazy with his surplus energy lately.

“Hey,” Cody said, reaching down to help her off the floor. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. The casual way he did it might have been in friendship or between lovers, but he lingered a second more than necessary.

A smile bloomed on her face. Lovers it was. Her doubts this morning had been unfounded. Too much passion raged between them to ignore.

“Hi. Busy day?” she asked. Because she couldn’t resist touching him, she ran her hand down his arm, feeling the bulge of muscles underneath his clothing.

“You have no idea,” he groaned. “I brought you something.” He reached into the backpack he carried with him.

“What’s this for?” she asked as he held out a small gift-wrapped present.

“An apology. For the way I acted yesterday. And for not showing up last night. I got a bit held up. I’m hoping you’ll let me make it up to you tonight and come over for dinner. Maybe even stay the night?”

She let the yes shine from her eyes, but didn’t let that stop her from teasing him a bit. “I don’t think I should make any decisions until I see what’s in the package.”

“Well, that’s forward. But I guess if you need to see my package first…” Cody reached for his fly, but Misty grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Not that package.” She giggled, happiness filling her.

“Oh. That one. Well, okay, I guess you should open it then.”

With gusto, she tore into the wrapping and flipped open the box within. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared down at the gift. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

“You keep looking at your wrist. Now you’ll actually have something to look at.” He reached over and removed the watch from the box. Taking her left hand, he fastened the watch around her wrist. She stared at the top of his head as he worked. Tingles of pleasure radiated up her arm from where he held her hand, but a greater pleasure came from inside as she realized what he’d revealed. He’d seen her constantly looking at her wrists. All this time, she’d watched him, convinced he didn’t return her feelings, but he must have watched her, too.

Misty tried to think of the right words to say as she stared at the watch, but was speechless. Each number on the clock face had been replaced by a Star Wars symbol. The tie fighter sat where the three should be and the imperial starship sat opposite it. At the top, a little R2D2 sat ready to hail in the hour.

“How…” She couldn’t finish. This watch not only looked expensive, but custom made.

“I was saving it for your birthday next month, but there’s enough time to plan something else. The last time I remember you wearing a watch, it was that plastic Darth Vader one with the flip up helmet. I figured another Star Wars watch might motivate you to put it on in the morning.”

She remembered that watch, but was amazed he still did. Back in middle school, she’d worn it every day until it stopped working, and a few months afterward as well. Awed at his memory, her gaze rose to his.

“Judging by your reaction, I’m guessing the gift was good enough for dinner tonight. Shall we say eight?”

“This is too much. Let me cook tonight to thank you.”

“That wasn’t the deal. Besides, I’ve got something planned. Just say thank you and be at my place at eight.”

Blowing out an exasperated breath, Misty smiled and nodded.

“Good.”

He leaned down, angling for her cheek again, but she was too fast for him. Turning her head, she caught his lips with hers. The box fell to the floor as she reached up and fisted her hands in his shirt. She pulled him in tight until his arms surrounded her.

When he groaned, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth. His taste flooded her senses as she teased his tongue with hers. His arms surrounded her, urging her closer as his lips plundered hers.

From one moment to the next, the kiss changed. No longer was Misty the aggressor. Instead, she was hit by the full force of Cody’s dominance. Without thought, she gave up control, closing her eyes and melting into his embrace. Releasing the material in her fists, Misty ran her hands up his chest, feeling the muscles ripple through his clothes wherever she caressed. God, she couldn’t wait to get him naked. From what she’d already seen and felt, the man was gorgeous, ripped in all the right places.

A moan of denial escaped as he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers but holding her hips still as she tried to thrust against him.

“Not here.” He kissed her nose before pulling away. Tease. The fact he was right only made it worse. Her work studio wasn’t the place for a wild bout of sex, especially considering a dance class was due in a half hour.

“Okay. But you better make good on those promises tonight,” Misty said, gazing at his lips. She was sure hers were similarly red and swollen, and it made her smile. She was so rubbing this in Jen’s face for not believing it would happen.