"How does it work? This bond?"
"There are enzymes in my saliva. When it combined with your blood, it connected us."
The explanation didn’t reassure her. She sighed.
“Is there a hierarchy in this pack?”
He grinned and watched her composure slip a little. He suspected she already knew the answer to that question, too.
“There is.”
“Well?” she asked, annoyance shining in her eyes.
“There’s a pack leader, the alpha, who has a second in command. Or two, really. A beta and an enforcer.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded, before saying with exasperation, “And of course you’re that pack leader. Aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he said.
She got up and paced around the room, the red satin sliding over her curves and making his mouth go dry. She seemed oblivious to what she was doing to him. Then she spoke, and he felt her words like a slap.
“It’s really late. You should probably go,” she said.
“What?” Hadn’t she heard a word he said? “I’m not leaving.” He stood and walked around the coffee table. “Didn’t you listen to anything I just said?”
“Oh yeah.” She put her hands on hips, a pose that forced her breasts out and had his dick taking notice. “Werewolves, rogues, mates. Heard all that. I need some space here, and frankly I don’t know about this getting involved with a werewolf thing.”
To hell with this. He tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“Hey! Put me down, Darius!”
“In a second,” he said, swatting her butt for good measure. He was glad she couldn’t see his grin. “You're already involved. I want you in a position where you have to listen.”
“You could try putting me down and talking like a civilized person, you know.”
Dropping her on the bed, he came down hard on top of her.
“Well, that’s the thing, sweetheart. I’m not all human. I’m half wolf.” He nudged her thighs apart and settled over her. His erection throbbed. Fuck, she felt perfect. “And I’m not feeling very civilized right now.”
*
“Let me up,” she demanded, but made no move to free herself.
She'd been fantasizing about him for what felt like a lifetime, right down to that spanking, and he felt so damned good in top of her. Down girl, she told herself sarcastically. He was heavy, propped on his elbows watching her, and she found his weight comforting. It felt right, Darius here in her bed. She didn’t want to examine that yet. He’d used some werewolf voodoo to bind them together, and she was supposed to be pissed off. She was pissed off. Also, a lot turned on. She groaned mentally. This wouldn’t do.
“Nope. I’ve explained things now, and I want to know why you’re still resisting me.”
Sighing, she turned her head and saw the wolf on her dresser. So lonely. So Darius.
Looking back at him, she whispered, “I was thinking while you were gone that it’s really going to hurt when you leave. I’d just as soon get that over now. And now you tell me about this bond thing.” She glared. “That was sneaky and unworthy, don’t you think? I might have come around in my own time.”
Laughing, he shook his head.
“Don’t know much about wolves, do you? Your grandmother missed a couple things in her stories.”
“Apparently.” She smacked him in the chest, and he finally got serious.
“Wolves mate for life, baby,” he said, and rubbing his chest where she had hit him. She rolled her eyes.
"Like that hurt."
He flashed her a grin. “I’m not going anywhere. And I’m sorry I didn’t give you a choice. A lot of what I’m doing is instinct, but…”
“But what?”
“I didn’t have any more time to give you. You’re the one who’s spent almost a whole month avoiding me.”
She gasped. “Don’t blame it on me!”
Apparently, he decided arguing wasn’t getting him anywhere and he shifted gears. His new tactic involved sliding the gown up her hips. He was cradled between her legs and she was wet and ready. He cupped her face, and with practiced ease slid his tongue into her mouth and his cock into her pussy. It was impossible to stay mad.
Her eyelids drifted shut and she went with the moment. She could get used to this. And him. Even if he was impossible and bossy. When he left…her eyes flew open. Oh my God, she was in love with him. No, that was impossible. She hardly knew him. But how else could she explain the tearing in heart at the thought of him leaving? What if what he said was true? She let the block she’d been using drop. Feeling the full strength of the bond between them, she finally started to accept he was part of her future.
*
He reveled in the change as it came over her, enjoying her pleasure as if it were his own. Her breath came in gasps, her heart pounded, and warmth moved across her skin. Gritting his teeth, he knew he wouldn’t last amid the maddening intensity much longer. He reached between them, found her clit, and rubbed it in a speed matching his thrusts, each a little harder, a little closer on the heels of the first.
He felt her tighten around him, heard her gasp his name, and knew the second she flew apart in his arms. He stroked into her to find his own release.
“Don’t leave me,” she murmured when he rolled off her.
He turned her on her side and pulled her back against his chest. Wrapped around her like that, the protective posture filled him with contentedness. Sighing, he brushed her hair from her face and settled a kiss on her temple.
“I won’t,” he said, but she was already asleep.
Chapter Nine
He woke her before dawn, hands gentle on her breasts before sliding one down to her sex. She winced, and he froze.
"Did I hurt you?"
She heard the growl in his voice, felt the rumble in his chest pressed against her back, and shook her head. "Just sore. It's been a long time, and last night was…a lot."
Humming, he rolled onto his back and pulled her around so she was laying over half his chest. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his other hand on the small of her back. She threw one leg over his and his chest rumbled again. He held her tight when she would have pulled away.
"Why are you here?" she asked. "Where did you and your people come from?"
She lightly scratched his chest when he tensed. "Is it something bad?"
He relaxed with a sigh. "It wasn’t fun." He paused and she got the sense he was gathering his thoughts so she didn’t push. "We're from Tennessee, closest city is Knoxville. Our alpha died suddenly. Usually the line of succession is very clear, but Brant hadn’t had a beta in years. He used me, Eric--who's my beta here now--and our friend Jackson for the jobs a beta would normally take on, though officially I was his enforcer."
"He used you against each other?" she guessed.
"Yeah. After his death, it pretty much came down to me and Jackson. A few decades ago we would have fought over who became alpha, probably to the death, but we don’t do things that way anymore. Usually."
"I can't see you losing," she said. She pressed closer to him, feeling his hurt and frustration.
"Jackson and I are very closely matched," he said softly. "I can't predict that outcome, and thankfully we didn’t test it. The council of alphas came and made the choice for us. Most of the adult males in the pack wanted Jackson so I was banished."
She leaned up to stare down at him and he pushed her hair back behind her ear. "Banished?"
He nodded. "I was offered four locations to start my own pack, places where there were packs once. Except Atlanta."
"Atlanta had a werewolf pack?" She had a hard time picturing a bunch of werewolves in a big city.
"The Regis's pack. He was our king, but he was murdered and had no living heir that could be found. He had a daughter who disappeared before that happened but she's never been found. That was before I was born. Now each pack rules itself and the alphas meet once a year for decisions that af
fect all of us."
"So in a year you'll go to that meeting?"
"We'll both go, baby. It's in Florida next year. Panama City."
He was holding something back. "What aren’t you telling me?"
He sighed, pulled her back to lay on his chest, and held her tight. "I have the next eleven months to prove myself. To hold this pack and integrate its members into the town. If I don’t do that to the council's satisfaction, the pack is fair game to any challengers."
She froze and he brushed his fingers through her hair. It was soothing, an offer of comfort. "I'm not worried about that, baby. There are very few werewolves who could challenge me and win, and they won't want to leave their own packs."
"What about these rogues?"
He snorted. "They have their own pack, so to speak, called the Society. No one in my pack would follow a rogue. He'd have to kill everyone. And he'd never survive Trey."
It took her a minute to remember where she'd heard the name. "He's got a thing for my cousin."
She felt his surprise. "You're sure? Who is she?"
"Tara Burke. She owns the bakery in town. Who is he and why does it surprise you so much? Should I be worried about her?"
She wondered if they were talking about the same person after he told her about hunters and Trey's former position with them.
"I don’t think we're talking about the same guy. The one I saw…he was gentle with her. Protective but he didn’t feel dangerous on the level you're describing."
He didn’t respond but she could feel him speculating. Damn, this bond thing was intense.
"Do you miss it? You're home?"
"It's beautiful here and I can make it a place I belong. I have to, but the mountains will always be part of me. They'll always be the place I call home."
She understood that feeling. Some places were part of you, claimed you in their own way. For her, that was where they lived. It had always been home, and she'd never wanted to leave it. To be forced out of the place that was yours had to suck. He squeezed her shoulders.
"It's okay, you know. I was pissed, and a little bitter for awhile honestly, but if things hadn’t gone down the way they had I wouldn’t have found you. And I wouldn’t give you up for anything, Meg," he said softly.
His admission, his easy acceptance and absolute confidence that they belonged together threw her for a loop all over again.
"Why nature photography?" she asked, desperate for a topic not focused on her or them or werewolves.
"I've always loved taking pictures. Catching a moment in time and being out on my own, getting a look at the unknown. It suits me."
Something in his tone or maybe in the bond he'd forged between them, warned her that wasn’t the whole story. He didn’t give her the chance to pursue it.
"Why do you run a bar?"
She snuggled closer to him and felt him relax as she accepted the change of subject. "It was my father's. He gave it to me when my parents retired a few years ago."
"You're young to own a bar."
She heard the scowl in his voice. "Twenty-five. How old are you?"
"Thirty-three."
She wouldn’t have guessed their age difference was that big and he seemed pretty neutral about it.
"I grew up in that bar. Dad gave it to me when I turned twenty-one with the understanding I could do whatever I wanted with it. Keep it or sell it."
"Did you ever consider that?" he asked softly.
She'd never considered it. "Nope. Maybe it's in the blood. I always knew it would be mine and most of the time I love it. I work for myself and my bar is a big part of this town. And I love this town."
"When don’t you love the bar?" he asked. She heard the smile in his voice.
"It's demanding, you know, running a bar or restaurant or anything retail. The hours can be a killer and staff turnover is always a concern. Sometimes I spend sixty or more hours a week at the bar. It's why I haven’t been involved with someone in so long. The business takes so much."
He tensed under her for a second. "In most packs there are a couple of meeting places, and one is usually a bar. I can help with the personnel issue. The younger, single guys often pitch in at the bars after their day jobs. I've got a few."
Huh. Interesting. "What's the other place?"
"What?"
"You said there were two gathering places."
"The alpha's house, if he's mated. It tends to be a place the mates feel comfortable, where they can take their kids and feel safe. They tend to be a lot larger than this house, and everyone in the pack is welcome."
She needed her privacy. That's why she lived out in the middle of nowhere. But she knew, instinctively, Darius needed contact with his people and she could block a lot of the time. Also, having people come and go here wouldn’t be nearly as bad as living downtown like Tara did. She had to try. She wanted this thing with him, and he had to be with his pack. It's not like the pack was moving in.
"I guess we could expand the house."
His arms tightened around her. "We can find another way, baby. Trey just bought a house. Eric and Mary are looking."
"But you're their alpha. It should be your place, right? Unless…you don’t want…"
He nipped her throat. Hard. "I want you," he growled. "But this place is your sanctuary. I won't take that from you. I can't."
Damn. That was almost sweet. "We could build another house. We could actually build a lot more houses. I own five acres here."
His hand tightened on her hip. "You'd do that for my pack? Offer that?"
"It would keep you here? With me?"
She heard the neediness in her voice, the yearning. He rolled them over and nipped at her throat.
"You're mine, Meg. I will always come home."
She felt his words in her chest. A painful, pure truth.
"Is Meg short for Margaret?"
It was a completely unexpected subject change and she burst out laughing. "No. it's Megan."
"Nice to meet you, Megan," he said with a grin so sinful she blushed. Then he thrust into her and she forget all about thinking.
Chapter Ten
Bright early afternoon light streamed through the kitchen windows as Darius poured his second cup of tea. Meg was moving around upstairs, and he wondered if he had enough time to go up before his visitors arrived. Hearing the soft tapping on the sliding glass door, he sighed and let Eric and Trey in. At least the nagging suspicion about Trey was allayed after seeing the wolf last night. It wasn’t Trey. It wasn’t any of his people. And maybe, if Meg's cousin's new love interest was their Trey, he didn’t have to worry so much in that direction.
“Tea?” he asked quietly, getting mugs from the cabinet. He waited until they were sitting at the bar sipping their hot beverages before going on.
“I saw the rogue last night.”
“Ow! Damn!” Eric exclaimed, glaring at Darius as he mopped up the spilled tea. “Warn a guy next time, will you?”
“Sorry.” Darius grinned. “Didn’t expect my words to have that kind of effect.”
Sensing movement on the stairs, he turned to watch Meg enter the kitchen. Blowing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, she arched a brow in question at the men at the counter. He could almost hear her thinking, okay, what now?
“Good morning.” She nodded at them and sniffed the air suspiciously.
“That isn’t coffee I smell,” she said.
He laughed. “We don’t drink coffee. Well, except Trey here, but he’s a little strange, even for us.” He arched a brow at Trey, who snorted.
“They can’t handle coffee,” Trey said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. “I, on the other hand, can drink it all day long.” He paused and glared at his mug. “Please make some coffee.”
She laughed and filled the coffeemaker. When she stepped back to wait for it, Darius pulled her against him. Bending to nip at her neck, he whispered in her ear, “Afternoon, baby.”
From the corner of his eye, he caught Eri
c and Trey exchange a knowing grin. No more trouble on this front, at least. Keeping his arm around her, he turned and introduced her.
“We were just discussing the wolf.”
“Oh goodie. I wouldn’t want to miss that,” she said.
Eric laughed, “Just what you need, Darius, a woman with an appreciation for sarcasm.”
She glared. “Go ahead and laugh,” she bitched. “The rogue isn’t stalking you.”
The light mood evaporated in an instant, and the two men turned matching, laser-blue gazes on her.
“He’s stalking you?” Trey asked. His voice was calm and his expression cold.
The sudden shift reminded Darius that Trey was the deadliest predator among them. He spared a moment of sympathy for the woman who would someday live with him. Meg blinked and took a step back. Trey turned to him when she didn’t answer.
“Apparently, he’s been watching her,” Darius said, his mood going as grim as his men’s. “She thought it was me.”
“I didn’t think you were a danger to me,” she interrupted. “Not seriously.”
“He was here last night,” Darius said, anger a controlled thread in his voice.
“Who is it?” Trey asked.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before. We’ve been hunting him like a wolf, though. I think it’s time we start looking for him as a man.”
Eric nodded and turned to Trey. “Time for our private investigator to get involved,” he said. “It’s perfectly natural for Darius to hire someone to find whoever’s stalking his woman.”
“His woman?” she asked, glaring at him.
She poured coffee into the two mugs she’d set on the counter. Trey reached for one, took a deep breath of the rich brew, and smiled. Meg blinked at the transformation on his face.
“I think y’all are living in the wrong century.”
He smirked. “Maybe. But we protect our own.”
Under Cover of the Moon Page 6
