She frowned a bit. “Is Mitch Shaw a lion?”

“You know him?”

“No. But a wolf mocking a man’s hair can only mean he’s either talking to a super model . . . or a male lion obsessed with that goddamn mane they all have.”

Laughing, Ricky laid his head in Toni’s lap and put his feet up on the armrest. “I have to say, darlin’, I am liking you more and more.”

“I’m learning to tolerate you, too.”

Then, to Ricky’s delight, Toni dug her fingers into his hair and gave him one of the best scalp massages he’d ever had.

“I’m just doing this,” Toni muttered, “because I feel I owe you one for today. You know . . . calming me down and everything.” Then, her voice stronger, she snapped, “But don’t get used to it or anything. This is a one-time deal. Understood?”

“Sure.”

Of course, understanding didn’t mean he’d agreed to a damn thing . . .

Ronnie Lee Reed knew the girls were bored. Of course she hadn’t told them not to drink. That had been Sissy. Sissy who was clearly enjoying the torment-potential of Ronnie’s pregnancy.

“Isn’t it great?” Sissy was saying to their fellow She-wolves. “Hanging at this great club and not drinking?”

They all muttered, “Yeah. Great.” But they were bitter, bitter words.

“It’s like we can really talk without worrying about liquor clouding our minds. Isn’t that right, y’all?”

More muttering followed that, and Ronnie had to quickly tip her head down and focus on something else. Anything else, or she’d bust out laughing. Sissy knew it, too. This was how the pair of them had entertained themselves for years. It was wrong, Ronnie knew. But it was fun.

“Hey, y’all.”

Ronnie raised her eyes and looked up at Laura Jane Smith. Funny. She hadn’t liked Laura Jane when they were growing up in Tennessee together, and she disliked her even more now.

It had been such a relief when Laura Jane had headed off to stay with the Mississippi Smiths. A large Pack, full of Reed males for her to fuck with. Cousins Ronnie didn’t think that much of one way or another. She had kin she was much closer to. Like, you know, her own brothers.

It had been the one thing Ronnie and her mother had ever agreed on. How much they disliked the relationship between Ricky Lee and Laura Jane. It wasn’t that Laura Jane was, as Sissy liked to call her, “a ho.”

Hell. Sissy and Ronnie were hos before they’d settled down with their mates. But they’d known their boundaries. Family wasn’t off limits, but if you were just looking for a good time without any commitments, then you stayed away. That’s not what Laura Jane did. She’d played Ricky Lee and several other males she’d been with around the same time. Not okay, in Ronnie Lee’s book. So havingthe bitch coming to town to “visit with my favorite kin!” was doing nothing but irritating Ronnie’s already sensitive nerves.

Rory Lee kept telling Ronnie to stay out of it. She didn’t want to. Females like Laura Jane didn’t understand subtlety. But she could tell that Ricky was avoiding her, and Ronnie didn’t like that, either. If anyone should feel awkward, it should be Laura Jane.

But that one didn’t feel much of anything. She was too busy running around, trying to look “sultry.” It was the word all the boys had used about her when they were growing up.

Took a lot of effort, if you asked Ronnie Lee. Always posing and making sure your mouth is at its most pouty.

Laura Jane pulled out a chair and dropped into it. “So what are we all doing tonight?”

“Hanging out. Just experiencing life,” Sissy Mae offered, her smile large. “Liquor-free.”

Laura Jane managed to hold on to her perfectly sultry smile. “Really? How novel.”

“So have you been enjoying your visit to our fair city?” Sissy asked her cousin.

“I have. I have. Although it’s not really your city, is it, Sissy Mae?”

“I live here, don’t I?”

“True. But you’ll always be a country girl.” Laura Jane’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “Just like the rest of us.”

The words were said kindly, but Ronnie wasn’t fooled. Neither was Sissy Mae, which was why she was Ronnie’s best friend.

Laura Jane looked over at Ronnie. “How ya doin’, hon?”

“Fine.”

“Got the morning sickness yet?”

“Came and went. Just like my momma.”

“Good. Good. My poor sister, Sally? Lord, she went through hell during her pregnancies. Running to the bathroom to throw up nearly every damn day for nine months. Poor thing.”

“Uh-huh.”

Laura Jane leaned over the table a bit and said to Ronnie, “I went to see your brother today, darlin’.”

Ronnie had learned long ago how not to react to just anything. It was a hard-won skill but necessary when one’s best friend was Sissy Mae Smith. A She-wolf who was still banned from several countries in Asia and Europe. Of course, so was Ronnie Lee, but that was only because of Sissy Mae. It was always only because of Sissy Mae!

“Is that right? How is he doing anyway? Haven’t seen him in a day or two. Always so busy, that Ricky Lee.”

“He seems fine. Looks good.” Laura Jane winked at her, and Ronnie wanted to tear the bitch’s eyes out with her fangs. “Surprised about him and that She-jackal, though. It’s not like him to use somebody just to get out of an uncomfortable situation. Odd-looking little girl, too. I mean, unless she paid to have that hair.”