"I imagine it's close or surpasses how crazy you make me," Jen answered his question, though she knew it was rhetorical.
Decebel shook his head and rubbed his hand down his face, trying to regain control.
"I love your spirit, but I'm designed to protect, possess, and my wolf doesn't understand your need to constantly push the boundaries. I need one thing, Jennifer, one thing that I won't compromise on. I think we've already discussed this, but I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't understand."
Jen snorted a laugh as she spoke out loud. "Gee, thanks. So kind of you to just toss it off as me being a dumb ass."
Decebel chuckled and his eyes began to get lighter. "You will stop undressing in front of other people."
Jen put a hand on her hip as she tipped her head to the side. She narrowed her eyes at her mate and tapped her lip with a finger.
"Now, I'm going to need you clarify that." When Decebel didn't respond, just continued to stare at her, Jen rolled her eyes. "Clarify, elucidate, enlighten. Do. You. Understand. The. Words. That. Are -" she emphasized each word.
"Jennifer," Decebel growled.
"Comingoutofmymouth," Jen finished quickly, making Sally giggle.
"Only undress in our bedroom."
"Nope, na-ah, there's waaaay too many loopholes in that little decree. Seriously, Dec, you can do better than that." Jen raised a single eyebrow.
Decebel growled at the challenge in her words and at her tone of voice.
Damn, when am I going to learn not to poke the angry wolf? The thought ran through her mind before she could censor it from a now wickedly smiling Alpha.
"I have to agree. Jen could run wild -" Sally began, but stopped abruptly when Decebel's head snapped around and he pinned her with his amber eyes.
"Sorry, shutting up now," Sally squeaked.
Decebel looked back at his mate, then glanced down briefly, trying to think of how to beat her at her own game.
"Okay." Decebel smiled smugly.
Jen did not like the look of that smile, one that said the cat had the mouse by the tail.
"You set the boundaries. You tell me exactly how to word that I don't want your clothes coming off in public."
Jen huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Fine, Ricky," she blurted out in her best Lucy voice. "You want me to esplain it, then I will." She walked toward him and began slowly circling him as she spoke.
"I'm not to disrobe myself -" Decebel chuckled at her choice of words. "- in front of any person of the male persuasion, in any location, at any time, for any reason." She paused and looked at Sally. "Would you say that covers all the possible ways I could wiggle out of his decree?"
Sally thought for a moment. She knew Jen, knew how good she was at working around the rules. "'Any person'," Sally started. "That doesn't necessarily cover the Canis lupis species. It could be argued that they are indeed not persons because they are not human."
Decebel looked back and forth between the two best friends and ran a hand though his hair. "Did you two take a law class of some sort in school?"
Sally shook her head. "No, Jen has just learned over the years how to get around certain questionable details of any incident." Her eyes brightened as she continued eagerly, "Like this one time -" Sally stopped as she looked back at Jen, who was admittedly making a cutting motion with her hand, telling Sally to shut up.
Decebel looked back at Jen, who quickly put her hand on her chin as if she were thinking about Sally's words.
"I can agree with that." Jen nodded. "So we will change 'person' to 'species'."
Decebel took another step toward her so that he was standing only a breath away.
"I do, however -" h\He groaned in exasperation when she started speaking again. "- reserve the right of clemency if said species is unable to be determined as a male simply by sight alone."
"Uh-huh, yeah, I think that's fair," Sally said helpfully.
Jen looked around Decebel's large frame and winked at her. Sally was trying to laugh silently. She felt like she shouldn't watch the exchange between the two, but now that she had a mate, she was curious as how to deal with such a dominant person.
"Jennifer."
"Decebel."
"Sally." Sally spoke. She'd tried really hard not to add her nam,e but when they both said each other’s staccato style, she just jumped on the wagon.
Decebel turned and glared at Sally, who quickly made a zipping motion across her lips.
His glare didn't soften as he turned back to Jen.
"Are you finished?" he asked calmly.
"Hold on a sec, let me think."
He growled, then leaned down to whisper in her ear. She stepped back and gasped. Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew tight. She looked positively ticked off. Decebel, however, looked very smug.
"You wouldn't," Jen snarled.
Decebel grabbed her hand and turned toward the door, dragging a growling Jen behind him.
"Oh, smart ass of mine, I will. I told you once that one day you would write a check your ass couldn't keep. Make no mistake."
Decebel's eyes were glowing again.
"Uh, no, you actually said cute ass. Get it right if you're going to quote yourself, you barbarian covered in hair and fleas. Bossy, domineering, overbearing, ridiculously overprotective -" Jen paused and hollered back at Sally,
"Sally, our conversation about the FAHDEH is not over."
Sally laughed when she heard a smacking sound and imagined Decebel had swatted Jen's butt. Then she heard Jen yell, "I don't care how hot you are! You're still a flea-infested butt head!"
"FAHDEH, FAHDEH, FAHDEH," Sally chanted out loud, trying to figure out Jen's latest acronym. She laughed and shook her head when it hit her. "Fine as hell, dimple-endowed hottie.”
Only Jen, she told herself as she climbed into bed.
Exhausted from the eventful evening, she closed her eye,s and there waiting for her in her mind’s eye was her FAHDEH.
Chapter 3
"How evil is my soul, you ask? Gaze into the darkness, a place where all light is consumed and not even a hair's breadth can be used to cast a shadow. Then you will begin to understand the depth of my depravity."~ Desdemona