“I would have no trouble.” He gestured toward his crotch. “He, on the other hand, is unpredictable as hell in these matters. Got a blanket?”
Smirking at him, she rang for the young kid, who appeared immediately, as if he’d been poised in the back waiting for her next summons. “Jared, would you please bring two blankets for Mr. Wallace and me? We’re going to try and catch some sleep.”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Nadia sighed. “He makes me feel ancient when he calls me that.”
“Trust me, he doesn’t think of you as an old lady.”
“Jared? He’s just a kid, not much older than Theo.”
“He’s several years older than I was when you began starring in my fantasies.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
“Pathetic, I know.”
“It’s not. It’s flattering.”
Jared arrived with the blankets and a couple of pillows. After Nadia and Quentin positioned the pillows behind their heads and spread out the blankets, Quentin made sure Jared had returned to the back of the plane before he spoke again.
Even so, he kept his voice low. No one needed to hear this but Nadia. Fortunately the sound of the jet’s engines helped cover their conversation. “I remember first being sexually aware of you at a picnic on the Wallace estate. You must have been about sixteen.”
“I vaguely remember that picnic.”
“I vividly remember it.” After this trip he might never have the chance to talk with her privately again, and it felt good to confess how much he’d wanted her over the years. He literally had nothing to lose.
“Didn’t the kids all play volleyball?”
“Yeah, and I couldn’t make a single decent play because I kept watching you. You had on a pair of denim shorts, the kind that ride on a girl’s hip bones, and a tight knit top. Light green, like spring leaves. When you jumped to spike the ball, I could see your belly button.”
“Whoa.” She laughed. “Hot stuff.”
“Believe me, for a sixteen-year-old hormonal boy, it was very hot stuff. Your hair was loose, and you had a tan. You became my standard of perfection that day.”
“That’s lovely. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I thought you should know.”
She gazed at him and sighed. “Sorry, but I don’t remember you at all from that picnic.”
“Ouch.” But he wasn’t surprised. He’d been a gangly teenager tripping over his own feet at the sight of a long-legged, high-breasted, dream girl. An impossible dream—she’d been pledged to his cousin Aidan.
“But the next year, when the picnic was at my folks, I remember you then.”
“Oh, God. You probably remember the beer thing.”
“Uh-huh. You were the ringleader, as I recall.”
“You would remember that.” He’d talked some buddies, including Roarke, into making off with a keg of beer. They’d taken it deep into the woods and proceeded to get wasted. “I couldn’t have looked very good when I came out of the woods.”
Her gray eyes sparkled with laughter. “You looked . . . like you’d be lots of fun to get to know.”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure you wanted to get friendly with the boozed-up troublemaker.”
“I did. You weren’t a mean troublemaker, just rambunctious. My life was so controlled, so completely planned. I envied your spirit. And I . . . thought you were sexy.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better. I was drunk, is what I was.”
“Yes, which is probably why you’d unbuttoned your shirt, which gave me a good look at your impressive pecs.”
He felt his face grow warm. “I used to work out like crazy back then. I was kind of a show-off. Not a good thing.”
“Not for a grown man, but it’s wonderful for impressing a seventeen-year-old girl.” Under cover of the blanket, she reached for his hand. “I’m glad you grew out of that phase, though.”
“Me, too.” He laced his fingers through hers, grateful for the contact. It was all they could risk with Jared hovering in the back of the plane. Quentin reminded himself that he was on this trip as Nadia’s good friend. Nothing more. But nothing less, either. He would stand by her, no matter what happened once they arrived at the Henderson estate.
Holding her hand, he drifted off to sleep.
When they arrived around midnight, no one was awake in the Henderson household except Nadia’s mother, Eunice, who met them in the grand entrance hall. The floor where Quentin placed his leather duffle was Italian marble, and the paneling on the walls featured a blend of exotic wood from around the world. Quentin wondered if Nadia winced every time she thought about the ecological impact of this ostentatious mansion.
Eunice Henderson looked shocked when Quentin walked in the door behind Nadia. He’d expected that she wouldn’t be warm and welcoming, and she wasn’t. His memory of her from other Were gatherings was that of a tall, regal female, a foreshadowing of how Nadia would look in her fifties.
Eunice still had the high cheekbones and elegant figure, but she no longer looked regal. Her black silk monogrammed robe fit the image, as did her mid-length brown hair which looked as if she spent a fair share of time and money at a salon. But she wore no makeup because she’d obviously thought she’d be greeting only her daughter. Therefore nothing disguised her haggard appearance and red-rimmed eyes. Eunice had just been through a very bad day, and it showed.
No doubt Quentin’s presence was both surprising and embarrassing to her. He regretted that, but he was more concerned with Nadia’s emotional state than her mother’s. Nadia had told him on the drive from the airport that their reminiscing and their cozy shared nap had calmed her more than anything else she could imagine.
Once Nadia had hugged her mother and asked about her dad, who was sleeping, she turned to include Quentin in the conversation. “You remember Quentin Wallace, Roarke and Aidan’s cousin?”
“Yes.” Eunice summoned a little of her usual gracious manner and extended her hand. “Welcome to my home, Quentin. I regret that you’ve come at such a difficult time.” Her gray eyes, similar to Nadia’s but dull with pain and worry, silently asked why he was here at all.
Quentin planned to let Nadia handle that. She knew her mother far better than he did.
Nadia seemed up to the challenge. Her voice was firm and confident. “I happened to meet Quentin and Roarke at Jessie’s last night,” she said. “Quentin thought I might appreciate having an old friend nearby when I deal with this crisis.”
Eunice turned from her study of Quentin and looked at her daughter. “He’s a Wallace, Nadia. This is a Henderson matter.”
“I almost mated with a Wallace,” Nadia said quietly.
“That was different. Aidan is . . .” She glanced at Quentin and seemed to realize that the rest of her sentence would sound elitist and rude.
Quentin finished it for her so they could get that out of the way. “He’s the alpha’s first-born. I’m not. I have no illusions about my place or my role, Mrs. Henderson. I only care about Nadia’s welfare and she seems to appreciate having my support.”
“That’s right, I do.” Nadia maintained her firm tone. She already sounded like the pack alpha. “Quentin dropped everything to fly home with me, so I expect that he’ll receive every courtesy while he’s here.”
“Of course.” Eunice moved toward the wall and pressed the button on an intercom before speaking into it. “Brianna.” She paused until a sleepy voice answered. “Make up the blue room in the south wing. When you’re finished, come down to the main hall so you can guide our guest to his suite.”
If Quentin had to guess, he’d say the blue room in the south wing was a prodigious hike from Nadia’s room. Eunice might be upset, but she was no fool. And if she had typical mom radar, she knew that Quentin and Nadia had something going on besides plain old friendship.
He was okay with her sensing that, because he wasn’t going to mess up her plans for her daughter. Eunice might not believe that yet, but she would eventually. When the time came, he’d bow out of Nadia’s life.
“Where’s Theo?” Nadia glanced around as if he might round a corner and pounce on her.
Eunice stiffened. “He and the gang of Weres who support his takeover went downtown, no doubt to celebrate their victory. They’ll probably be out all night.”
“Good.” Nadia took a deep breath. “He’ll be hung over and I’ll be rested. Does he know you called me?”
“I didn’t tell him, but he could assume I would. I doubt he cares. He thinks he’s invincible. And he’s talking crazy. He says—” She stopped and glanced at Quentin. “Well, I’ll tell you later.”
“Mom, it’s not a secret that Theo has radical ideas. Everybody knows. But he talks big when he’s in this manic phase, and then he runs out of gas when he falls into his typical depressions. Besides, the Were community won’t let him wage some sort of private war against humans. It’s not going to happen.”
Eunice reached out and clutched both Nadia’s hands. “I’ve told myself that a million times, but then I get scared. I’m so glad you’re here. You’ll fix this.”