"To Do List" Excerpt (with the characters from Let Sleeping Wolves Lie)

Dex’s lip twitched but he suppressed the general snarl at the world. He’d made a conscious, mature decision not to bitch about how much Maddock was working. Maddock was trying to get his business off the ground and Dex was going to support him dammit if it was the last freakin’ thing he did.

He made his way into the kitchen.  Rhian and Micah sat that table, sipping coffee, reading parts of the paper. Rhian glanced up and smiled. She looked tired and a little puffy. Her swollen belly poking out like she was carrying twins, though the werewolf doctor they’d consulted promised it was only one. His actual words had been, “despite her size and how long she’s been pregnant, she isn’t giving birth to a litter.”

Dex shuddered at the memory of the storm that had followed that comment—lightning, thunder, hail the size of oranges. It hadn’t been pretty.  The doctor tucked his tail between his legs and slunk out and strangely refused to come back.

“Morning,” she said, lowering the newspaper to the table. “You look like crap.”

“Thanks.” No snappy comeback developed in his exhausted brain. He’d slept. Hell, he’d been in bed for almost nine hours but he’d spent much of that tossing and turning. He didn’t sleep well without Maddock there.

Maddock had called about eleven last night to tell Dex he was just finishing up work at the site and was going to sleep in his truck because he had a meeting with the client at seven in the morning.

Dex glanced at the clock. It was almost one. He hoped Maddock’s meeting had gone well. He should check his phone, maybe call Maddock, but it was getting difficult to keep the whine out of his voice when they spoke. Dex pulled out a chair and sat down.

“What me to make you some breakfast? Lunch?” Rhian offered.

Dex shook his head. Nothing sounded good. The only thing he wanted to sink his teeth into was Maddock firm, delectable ass. Damn.  Dex gave himself a shake. He had to get out of this funk. It wouldn’t last forever—Maddock would finish this job, Rhian would have this bady and Dex would finally get a night off with his lover. 

His unfocused gaze drifted across the table.  Familiar scrawl on a random piece of paper caught his attention.

He grabbed it.

“Maddock is here?” His fingers gripped the page. It was Maddock’s “To Do List.” He never went anywhere without it these days. When he’d quit his job at the real estate development firm, he’d given up his smart phone and gone back to basics.  Pen and paper for most things. A pay-as-you-go phone that did little besides make calls.

Dex didn’t know how Maddock survived. Dex loved gadgets.

“No.”  The sympathy in Rhian’s eyes just made Dex feel worse. “He stopped by earlier as he was heading into town to get another load of lumber or something.”  She shrugged. “He checked in on you but you were dead to the world.”

“Great. That must have been the twenty minutes I managed to sleep last night,” Dex groused. Dammit! He wanted Maddock. 

“When was the last time you two actually saw each other?” Rhian asked, getting up and walking to the refrigerator. She pulled out the carton of eggs and placed them on the counter.

Despite Dex’s denial that he wanted food, he was pretty sure he was going to get fed.  And based on Rhian’s erratic personality of late...he would eat whatever was put in front of him.

“You mean when we were both awake?” he asked, trying to make a joke of it. But damn it—it wasn’t a joke. He wanted to talk to his mate, see him, kiss him, lick him...

Dex inhaled through his nose and fought to contain the groan that threatened. He stood and went the fridge as well. If he was going to eat, might as well make it good. He poured himself some OJ.

He glanced at Micah. The Alpha wolf’s lips pinched together and he glared at Dex and Rhian as if he wanted to tell them to shut up and let him read his paper in peace. The big grumpy werewolf remained silent, knowing that bitching would get him no where. He might be the Alpha wolf but their little "pack" didn't exactly bow to his wishes.  

Rhian tapped an egg on the side of a bowl. The shell shattered in her hand.  “Oops.” She plucked the pieces of shell out from the goopy egg mixture.  “So, yes, when...?”

Dex took a sip of his juice and mentally counted back the days.

“Oh, sweetie, if you have to take this long to count, it’s been too long.”