Her eyes refused to meet his. “When I woke up this morning, you were gone.” She was surprised and a little annoyed at how small and girlish her voice sounded.
A warm finger slid under her chin and lifted her face to his. “I didn’t run away.” He said each word slower this time. “We left in the middle of the night. Kyle had to get back before the pack got suspicious.”
“You could have said something.”
A pang of guilt crossed his features. “Kyle wouldn’t let me wake you to say good-bye.”
Her heart skipped in frustration. “Why not?”
“He said we shouldn’t play with your emotions, what with you not wantin’ us and all. Said we needed to give you time and space to think on things, and then you’d be back.” His eyes searched hers. “I didn’t agree, but here I find you a few hours later. Guess he was right.”
“Where is Kyle? With the other pack?”
He nodded. “We split up at the foot of the mountain. Haven’t seen him since.”
“Are you expecting him later since it’s still a full moon?”
“He wasn’t plannin’ to come here tonight. He’s tryin’ to lie low with the pack since he’s been takin’ off so much lately.” Dillon arched a brow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were more interested in seein’ Kyle than you are me.”
She offered him a smile. “I confess that I came up here hoping to see you both. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
He reached out and fingered her collar. “No. It’s expected.”
“Expected?” She laughed. “Why, because you’re both so handsome and charming, even though one of you is intimidating as hell and the other annoyingly devious?”
His grin in return quickened her pulse. “Because the mate of a werewolf will be naturally attracted to the rest of his pack.”
Her smile faded. “But I’m not your mate. Not officially.”
His fingers slid from the collar along her shoulder, sending chills down her arm. “You’ll still feel the draw. But if you were to take Kyle’s mark as our mate, the need you feel for us already would grow much more intense.” His eyes threatened to consume her. “Much more difficult to resist.”
She wondered how her desire for them could possibly get any harder to resist while his words and touch wove a spell around her. “Kyle’s mark? You told me in the bar that you wanted to mark me.”
Gold flared in his eyes in perfect tune to the heat spreading low in her pelvis. “Oh, I aim to mark you in ways that’ll drive you crazy, darlin’.” His eyes flickered, then dimmed to their normal bluish color. “Male weres have an urge to mark their mates, and we do, at times. But the only way for you to be officially recognized as a bond mate is for the alpha to make the mark while your mate is inside you.”
Prickles shot along her skin at the thought. “So in effect it’s like giving their blessing?”
“More than that. The alpha’s mark warns off other males and claims you for the pack, bonding you to all the weres in it—and them to you.”
“‘All’ meaning just you and Kyle, right?” She frowned. “I wouldn’t be bonded to your old pack or to his current one?”
He shook his head. “You’d be drawn only to those under Kyle’s control. He is alpha only to me.”
“I see,” she said, wishing she truly did. “But would Kyle’s bite make me a wolf?”
“Not the way we intend to do it. Once you’re claimed, a mark by pack mates durin’ sex won’t change you. Before you’re claimed, however, any bite would infect you—even mine. That’s why I’ve had to hold off on some of my urges.”
She glanced at him. “That’s how you both became wolves?”
He nodded. “Six years ago for me. Longer for Kyle. Solomon turned him to save his life after a mountain lion attacked him in the woods.”
“Is that how he got the scar?”
“No. He got thrown by a horse the year before. Landed face first on a barbed wire fence. He doesn’t like to talk about it much, as you’ve probably figured. Apparently he got quite the cold shoulder from the ladies after that.”
She clutched at her chest. “Jesus. And you? Was Blaise trying to save you from something?”
Dillon snorted. “Hardly. He wasn’t tryin’ to turn me. He wanted to kill me.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“I was workin’ a ranch down the mountain and tried to chase off his pack when they came sniffin’ around the cattle. He attacked me and left me for dead. When I came to, I was alone out by the perimeter fence. I began the first shift right away because of the full moon. Not a good night, all around. Instinct led me straight to Blaise, and he had a fang hold on me ever since until Kade Winchester challenged and killed him.”
Her heart pounded as images flashed through her mind. “And Kyle? What happened to him?”
He sighed. “Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. You have quite the one-track mind.”
“And you have quite the devious one.” She cocked her head. “Speaking of which, you stole something of mine, I believe.”
“Did I?” He laid a finger on his lips and glanced upward. “Hm. Let me think. Your virginity? Sorry, darlin’, but that’s long gone.”
She crossed her arms. “Funny, but not what I meant.”
“You must be talkin’ about your heart, then.”
She attempted a glare but couldn’t pull it off. “It’s smaller than that. Round, has a shiny rock in the middle?”
“Ah, so your love for me is bigger than a diamond.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, peering at the stone shimmering in the lantern light. “I suspected as much.”
“Also not what I meant.” She held out her hand. “Let me have my ring back, Dillon.”
His eyes shifted to her, the hint of golden glimmers sending a shiver through her. “Is it, Aimee? Is it truly yours?”
Her legs weakened from the intensity of his stare. “No. But it isn’t yours, either. I have to return it to the man it does belong to.”
“So, you decided not to marry for money, after all.”
“I decided I can’t pretend to do the right thing if it isn’t the right thing.”
He lifted her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger. Her heart skipped like crazy with every millimeter the band advanced. The symbolism in his gesture screamed in her mind, even though she knew it was neither his ring nor a proposal. “And what is the right thing?” he whispered.
She had to swallow to try and catch her breath. “To follow my heart, not trail after my fear.”
“And your heart keeps leadin’ you here.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I do want you. Kyle, too. If it’s not too late to admit that.”
His fingers stroked upwards along her arm. “You admitted that the day you first wandered in here, lost and cold and so innocent that I ached to hold you.”
Her answer was drowned in the bottomless desire in his kiss. That brush of his lips erased everything else—her money woes, David’s engagement plans, fear and doubt. There was no denying that what Kyle said her first time there was true. Dillon possessed a magic that enthralled her. His need for her became the only force that held her feet to the earth, yet catapulted her emotions sky-high. She felt so complete in his arms, and yet something was missing.
Kyle.
“I’m not sure whether to be happy to have you all to myself or to wish Kyle were here with us,” she said when he finally broke away from her lips.
His laugh smoldered with eroticism. “I know the feelin’. But I expect he’ll be along any time now.”
“But you said he wasn’t coming tonight.”
“That was before he felt what’s happenin’ between us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pack mates sense strong emotions in each other, no matter where we are. Danger, despair.” He moved close enough to feel his breath on her cheek. “Passion.”
Strong emotion. The thought penetrated the sexual fog blowing around her. “Is that why
Kyle always looks so stiff? Is he holding back so the other pack won’t sense what he’s doing?”
Dillon nodded. “That meditation mumbo jumbo he uses ain’t only to control his shifts. Not anymore. He’s takin’ quite a risk, bein’ with me. The worst was when he got hit by the truck. I thought for sure that would bring his pack runnin’. Even then, he managed to rein up hard enough to keep them from sensin’ his pain. But I don’t hide what I’m feelin’, Aimee. And I’m bettin’ he got the jolt loud and clear the second I walked in here and saw you sittin’ in those chains.”
His cock was stiff in his jeans as he pulled her up against him, both of them on their knees as they clutched at one another. His tongue circled hers until her pussy flooded with wet heat. Damn, how she wanted him. She inhaled his warm scent and reached a hand into his hair, knocking his hat to the ground.
“Do you feel that energy risin’ up under your skin?” he whispered against her lips. “The sense that your body will explode if you don’t let that wave of electricity take you over?”
“Yes.” Her heart pounded like crazy, and she rubbed her torso against him to revel in the pleasure tingling through the delectable hardness of her nipples.
“That’s what a shift feels like when you give in to it,” he said. “Until I met you, I never knew it’s also how it would feel to give in to the mate you were destined for.”
“I am giving in to you, Dillon. I can’t fight this shift anymore. I have to be yours.”
His eyes were no longer blue, nor were they fiery gold. They had gone nearly black. “You’ve always been mine.”
With that he pulled off her collar, and when she opened her mouth to protest, he silenced her by brushing his upper lip over hers. Then he yanked her knit sweater up over her head. With a growl, he slid her bra straps off her shoulders and freed her breasts. He slipped the collar around her neck again before capturing a nipple in his mouth, grazing it lightly with his teeth. She let out a desperate moan as her head fell back, though it was soon halted by the wide metal restraint around her neck.
“Thought that was her I was feelin’.”
Dillon and Aimee’s attention snapped back to see Kyle stride into the cave, looking a shade irritated but delectably cowboy in his blue plaid shirt and faded jeans. He took his hat off and scrubbed a hand through his hair before replacing it.
“That was me you were feelin’,” Dillon said. “You just guessed why I was feelin’ it.”
“The bigger why is why is she here?” Kyle’s face appeared taut in the lantern light, and the joy bubbling up inside her at seeing him again slid lower in her throat. “This ain’t a good time.”
“What’s stuck in your paw?” Dillon asked. “I thought you’d be glad to see her back.”
Kyle’s blue stare turned on her, ice cold. “You thought wrong.”
Her stomach churned. So, his generous donation had been just a parting shot. Dillon still wanted her, but Kyle didn’t. A week ago, she couldn’t have cared less whether one man was interested in her, let alone two. Now, her heart thudded like a dull lump of lead because she didn’t have them both.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Dillon asked. “This time.”
“Did you ask her?” Kyle’s eyes held the same accusing glare she’d faced in her own reflection on the way up.
“Ask her what?”
“Why she’s here.”
“She changed her mind,” Dillon said. “She ain’t gonna marry David. She wants us.”
“Really. And you didn’t stop to wonder about the sudden change of heart?” Kyle stalked closer, and the smile that breached the scarred side of his face held a dangerous edge to it. When he stood over her, he folded his arms and stared down like a judge on a high bench. “I dangled the carrot, darlin’, and you done failed the test.”
“Test?” Aimee asked.
“Would you stop talkin’ in riddles?” Dillon added, rising from his knees to stand close in Kyle’s face. “What the hot fuck is goin’ on?”
“She’s only here for the money, partner,” Kyle spat out. “That’s why she’d let you chain her up and ride her like a well-groomed pony. Ain’t that right, sugar?”
She shook her head. “That’s not true.”
Dillon’s expression bore outright confusion. “What money?”
“I’ll admit you got here faster than I expected.” Kyle brushed off Dillon’s hat and settled it on the man’s head before staring back down at her. “Figured it’d take at least a few days before you found out about it. Guess I didn’t give your dollar radar enough credit.”
Dillon bent down and took her by the arm. “What the devil is he talkin’ about, Aimee?”
She kept her eyes on Kyle as she answered. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s dead wrong about me.”
“Am I?” Kyle knelt down the way Dillon had earlier, only his encroachment into her personal space prodded her into pulling back. “Funny, because it seems like you and I both know exactly what I’m talkin’ about.”
Dillon stuck his face down in front of Kyle’s, breaking his staring contest with Aimee. “And I’d like to know exactly what you’re talkin’ about—and why the hell you’re actin’ like she’s our enemy.”
“I wanted to test our hot little vixen’s sincerity,” Kyle said, straightening up again. “I suspected that if she knew the truth about me, she’d come runnin’ back with a fire on her tail. So I set up a little experiment.”
“Just what the hell did you do after we parted ways this mornin’?” Dillon asked.
Kyle folded his arms. “I paid a call on the nursin’ home Aimee told you her mother was at and made a little contribution to her care.”
“A little contribution?” Aimee laughed, turning to Dillon. “He paid Applewood one hundred thousand dollars.”
Dillon let go of her and rose as well, narrowing his eyes at her. Kyle flashed a greasy smile. “Didn’t guess just how well that little trick would work to bring her runnin’ back.” He shook his head with a sigh. “I had hoped to God I was wrong about her.”
“You are wrong about me.” She pushed at Dillon’s legs, which were barring her view of Kyle. Her chain rattled as she scooted on her knees as close to Kyle as she could get. “I didn’t come up here to sell out to the highest bidder. I came here to admit I was wrong to let money be a factor in my decision in the first place.”
“Coincidentally the very day you found out Kyle ain’t the scruffy stray dog that I am,” Dillon said. “How philanthropic of you.” Her eyes widened, and he laughed. “Yeah, darlin’, I know big words and everythin’. Kyle ain’t the only one who came from a life of comfort once upon a time. He, fortunately, still has access to some of that comfort.” He eyed her up and down as though she’d been dragged in by the family cat. “I, on the other hand, seem to keep losin’ every damn last thing I try and take comfort in.”
“Not every last thing,” Kyle said.
Dillon turned to him with a snort. “What, you? I don’t have you most of the time, and when you are with me, you hold yourself back because you don’t want to get too close.”
The other man’s eyes flashed. “You know why I have to.”
“There ain’t no real comfort in it, regardless.”
Angry tears threatened Aimee’s vision, and she blinked them back hard while she jammed a hand into her blazer pocket. “Here,” she snapped off, pulling her cell phone from her pocket and holding it out to Kyle.
He scowled at her. “What’s that for?”
“Call the damn clinic. Tell them to reverse the payment.”
His jaw tightened. “No.”
“Fine.” She flipped it open. “I’ll do it myself.”
“Forget your phony games,” Dillon said with a note of disgust. “You know good and well you won’t get a signal in here.”
Staring at the empty bars on her phone display, she heaved a sigh. “So I’ll go outside and do it myself.” She glared back and forth between the men. “I told yo
u, I didn’t come racing up here all fluttery eyed because Kyle has money. I came here to undo the mistakes I’ve made these past few days. I came to apologize, even knowing it could mean losing Kyle’s help and my job.”
“Makes a pretty speech, anyway,” Kyle said, reaching over to grab her shirt and blazer and drop them in front of her. “Don’t bother. Just leave.” He gave a disgusted growl. “Take this damn thing off.”
He took hold of the collar hanging loose around her neck, but she flinched away from him and backed up on hands and knees until she was pressed to the wall. “No.” In desperation, she reached up and squeezed the collar latch together until it locked with a metallic click.
Kyle sighed. “I have the key, you know.”
He fished in his pockets, but she held up a hand. “Don’t. Just hear me out.” She took a deep breath to steel herself against the dual pair of distrusting gazes that were trained on her. “I’ve obviously screwed things up. I’m not exactly an expert on relationships, you know. I’ve only been on a few dates in my life, most in high school.” She tossed her phone lightly on top of the blazer lying in a heap a few feet away. “My mother has been sick since I was seventeen, but I can’t honestly blame her illness for robbing me of a love life. I just never cared about romance before.” She rubbed at the knees that were throbbing in protest of having knelt on the packed dirt. “Mom is my responsibility—not yours, and not David’s. She will be until the day she passes, and that fact is completely separate from my involvement with any man.”
Kyle grunted. “Yet you were plannin’ to marry the man payin’ for her care.”
“Helping to pay,” she said with a biting edge. “That’s because I spent years thinking love was just a fantasy. David said he felt the same way when he proposed. I started thinking maybe there was one reason to let a man into my life, and it had nothing to do with desire. When I stumbled into this cave, however, I discovered that there are actually two reasons, and both of them are standing right here.”
Kyle’s expression was still guarded, but Dillon’s eyes had warmed with a bare hint of golden glow.
“I’m sorry if I acted like you weren’t good enough,” she went on, meeting that warm gaze. “That wasn’t my intention. I wasn’t judging your right to be in my life. I was judging myself for feeling so out of control around you. I was afraid if I truly gave into you that I’d go off the deep end and throw my duty to Mom right out the door. It wouldn’t be right to turn my back on her for the sake of selfish desires. I’ve never looked for anyone to lift her burden off my shoulders. I don’t need a sugar daddy. But I have been terrified to realize just how badly I seem to need you both.”
Allister, J. Rose - Disowned Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 15
