Read Drive Me Wild for Free Online Page B

proud-new-mama smile and downed another third of the milk. “A boy. Roark. I’d force you to come upstairs and meet him, but he was fussy tonight and now that he’s finally asleep I don’t want to risk waking him.”
    “Two weeks ago? You’ve got to be kidding.” Tess gestured to the tightly belted robe at Missy’s waist. “What did you do, adopt? Because two weeks is not enough time to lose a baby belly.”
    “That’s the other fringe benefit.” Missy pushed her empty plate away and sat back with a satisfied grin. “I told you, I burn calories like it’s going out of style. Have since I first got pregnant. Werewolves have really fast metabolisms. They probably burn seven or eight thousand calories a day on average. They eat like horses. When they’re breast-feeding, human women burn about five thousand. And I’ve just discovered, much to my joy, that when breast-feeding a baby werewolf, a human woman can burn somewhere around twelve thousand calories a day without breaking a sweat.” Her grin widened. “Ain’t life grand?”
    Tess laughed. “That’s a diet plan I don’t think I’ve seen on the infomercials.”
    “Not in this lifetime. The Lupines—well, all the Others, actually—are trying to remain secret from the human world, but it’s getting harder all the time. They’re not about to go telling people anything about themselves until they’ve got absolutely no other choice.”
    “Is that likely to take much longer?” Tess asked, thinking of the conversation she’d overheard between her grandfather and the other members of the Witches’ Council. “I mean, I’m hardly an expert, but I think that might have been one of the things my gr—the council wanted to talk to Rafe about. I’ve heard some of the members rumbling about how some of the Others in the city haven’t been keeping as tight a lid on things as usual. There were rumors about some Fae being spotted over the summer.”
    Missy sighed. “Yeah, that didn’t exactly put the Council in a good mood. It was a huge mix-up, and we sorted it out as soon as we found out what was going on. But I suppose there will always be people who aren’t happy with that. It makes me crazy, but it also makes me happy that Dmitri’s Council position went to Rafe and not to Graham. Call me kooky, but I’d prefer it if my husband spent his time worrying about keeping me and the baby happy, not the entire Other population of Manhattan.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you—”
    Missy’s scowl smoothed out into a warm smile so rapidly that Tess wondered if she’d ever really seen the angelic face wearing such a hostile expression. She must have imagined it.
    “Oh, you didn’t. I get carried away sometimes. I’m the one who should apologize,” Missy assured her. “But that subject is no fun, anyway. I want to hear more about you. What sorts of things do you sell at your herb-and-tea shop? Besides herbs and tea, of course.”
    Tess shook her head and laughed. “That’s the bulk of it. The herbs range from fragrant to flavorful, though most of what I have is medicinal in one way or another. I’m a licensed herbalist, so I make blends for specific problems people might have, and I tailor remedies to specific people.”
    Missy’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s really cool. I’ve always found herbal medicine to be a fascinating subject. How did you get into that?”
    “It’s sort of a family business. My grandmother was an herbalist, too, though she just practiced for her family and her neighbors. She never made a career out of it.”
    As if Tess’s grandfather would have tolerated his wife having a career beyond pleasing him.
    “Cool. And you said you sell teas, too?”
    Tess nodded. “Good-quality loose-leaf from all over the world. And I make up my own blends to sell as well.”
    “I’ll have to come see you and try some. And maybe see if you’ve got something to put fussy, cranky baby werewolves to sleep a little