Luca’s anger dimmed in a second. Up until the moment his mate had arrived at the farm, his sister-in-law had been one of the only people he’d let get close to him. She was the perfect match for Niko, even if they did fuck like bunnies. “Thanks.”
Knowing he couldn’t win, Luca rose and wrapped his arms around her in a quick but tight embrace. Rylee gasped and stiffened a little before hugging him back.
“Okay, enough of that. Go hug on your own mate, bro,” Niko said, but there was no heat in his words.
What had possessed him to do that, he had no idea. He wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy. Heat flared in his neck and crept up his cheeks. When he stepped back and cleared his throat, Rylee was sporting a mile-wide smile. “Have a good sleep, Luca. I’ll bring food and more candy up in four hours.”
He gave her a quick nod and headed for the fridge, stopping only long enough to grab the sandwiches before walking out the door.
Seventeen
Kaitlin blinked at her monitor. She took her glasses off and placed them next to her mouse, rubbing at her burning eyes. Luca hadn’t been gone long, but every cell in her body was screaming for her to go to him. Not that she thought anything was wrong. She just missed his nearness. Dropping her head forward, she reached for her shoulders, squeezing the muscles to loosen the knots that had formed as the night had worn on.
A footstep sounded on the stairs leading up to the loft, but she didn’t open her eyes. When had she closed them? As tired as she was, she couldn’t keep her smile from forming.
She took a long, deep breath as he neared, eager to catch a small whiff of his cologne. Or maybe it was just his natural scent. Regardless, it was yummy, and she wanted more.
“Sleeping on the job? Mrs. Wagner won’t like that too much,” Jeff’s sleazy voice ripped her out of her dreamy state at the same time as the smell of wet mutt hit her.
She bolted from her chair, knocking it back. “What are you doing here?” she asked, clutching a hand to her chest as if it might help keep her erratic heart where it should be.
Jeff took a step closer, sniffing the air, his top lip curling up in a silent snarl. “You’d let that backwoods dog fuck you, but not me? You too good for me, human?”
“For one thing, you’re trespassing. For another, my mate will eat you alive if you come any closer to me,” she warned.
Jeff tossed his head back and laughed. “Mate? Are they that desperate in this part of the country that they would take a weak, pathetic, little human as a mate? But you’re not, though, are you, Katie? Well, you are weak and pathetic, but you’re not his mate. He might have fucked you, but he hasn’t bitten you. You’re no more his than you are mine.”
Kaitlin backed away from him, but he matched her pace for pace. “What do you want? Why are you here?” The last time she’d spoken with her boss, she hadn’t seemed to like Jeff all that much. It didn’t make sense that she would send him after her when she’d asked for any and all updates to go to her directly and to no one else.
“Now that I know you’re into wolves, I’ll get what I want from you when you get back to Philly,” he said with a leering glare that sent an uneasy shiver down her spine. But he didn’t keep his eyes on her. His gaze flickered to her computer, then to Luca’s, landing for the briefest moment on the hard drive still attached. He closed the gap between him and it in two long strides, his sick smile widening as he did.
“What are you doing? Stop,” she yelled, lunging for it. Whatever Jeff was up to, something told her it had nothing to do with Howlers, Inc.
His growl rumbled loudly between them, but she wouldn’t let him scare her off. She’d pegged him as an asshole and a coward back in Philly, and he was no different now.
“Help,” she yelled louder, snatching the little black box in her fist before Jeff could get a hold of it.
Down below, a door slammed against a wall, and several pairs of boots clomped on the floor. “Kaitlin?” Luca bellowed as he ran up the stairs.
A second later, Luca stood between her and Jeff, who was already spread out on the floor.
“Don’t you fucking move,” Emmet said, his voice dripping with menace as he held him down with his arm twisted so far back it was sure to snap in two or pop out of the socket. Jeff snarled and gnashed his teeth.
“Shift, asshole. I dare you,” another male she didn’t recognize said, standing right by Jeff’s head. The air thickened with tension, making her head spin. Needing his comfort, Kaitlin grasped the back of Luca’s shirt in her fist and leaned her forehead against his shoulder blade.
“Did he hurt you?” Luca asked, his voice gravelly.
She took a steadying breath. “No. He tried to take the hard drive.”
“What the fuck? You said you worked for Howlers, Inc.,” the man she hadn’t been introduced to said. “Damn it, Luca, I never would have let him up here, otherwise. I’m sorry, man.”
Luca clenched and released his fists, his breaths coming in fast, then out again with a snarling growl.
Emmet hauled Jeff up by the bent arm. “Care to tell us who you are and why you’re here, asshole?”
“I wasn’t lying. I work for Howlers, Inc. Ask the bitc—”
The word wasn’t all the way out before Luca was on him. His fist flew so fast it blurred. Jeff’s head snapped back, and the crunch of his nose sounded loud in the room.
“You might want to try being a little nicer to the lady,” the one who’d let Jeff come up said once Jeff’s scream died down.
With blood dripping onto his chest, Jeff glared at her over Luca’s shoulder. “Ask her. Ask Katie.”
Luca's shoulders expanded as another growl rumbled free. “Her name is Kaitlin.”
Jesus. If she didn’t do something, they would tear him apart right there in the loft. “He works for Howlers, Inc.,” she admitted in a rush.
“What are you doing here?” Emmet asked, releasing him roughly. It wasn’t lost on her that rather than step back, Emmet came closer, obstructing her view so that only a two-inch gap remained between the two men. Protective bunch of wolves. He reached into his back pocket and handed her his phone without looking. “Send Jaxon a text and ask him to come up here. He’ll want to talk to this one.”
Jeff grunted. “Getting the hard drive so I can get the damned job done. Humans shouldn’t stick their noses into shifter business. Wagner should have known better. I went above her head and got approval to take over the assignment. Now hand it to me, and I’ll be on my way.”
He was acting tough, but the quiver in his voice and the way his body jerked at the mention of the Alpha didn’t fool her. He wasn’t authorized to get the hard drive.
“Do we give it to him, Kaitlin? Do you trust this guy?” Luca asked, not taking his eyes off Jeff for a second.
“No.”
A growl rumbled from Jeff, which he cut short when the other shifter stepped closer.
Down below, not one, but two sets of clomping footsteps approached. “You better have a good goddammed reason for not being asleep already, Luca,” Jaxon said as he entered the loft, followed right behind by another man she’d yet to meet. The energy in the air was so heavy, even she could feel it. The dominance radiating from the pair could have choked her.
“Who’s this? You adding to the pack?” the other man asked, eyeing Jeff and his bloody nose.
“Fuck no. Everyone okay?” Jaxon asked, coming closer. His eyes landed on her, or what he could see of her between the two behemoth men protecting her. “Anyone care to explain?”
As though unable to meet Jaxon’s gaze, Jeff stared at the floor and shifted his weight like a child in the principle’s office having gotten caught being naughty.
Kaitlin cleared her throat. “That’s Jeff Marion. He works for Howlers, Inc. He was tr—”
Luca stiffened and fisted his hands. “Jeff the Asshole? All talk, no balls?” he asked through gritted teeth, finally darting a glance her way.
Gold flecks brightened his eyes, making them shine co
pper. She swallowed and nodded once.
“Shit. Get him outside. Now,” Jaxon yelled. “Luca, stand down.”
At the same time, Emmet turned and grabbed her mate, keeping him—barely—from lunging at Jeff.
“Let. Me. Go,” Luca demanded in a feral voice that sent shivers down her spine. His growl filled the air, making her stomach lurch and her heart race so fast she couldn’t catch her breath.
“Back off. We need to question him,” Emmet said, turning Luca so he couldn’t see the other men, who were now dragging Jeff toward the stairs.
Jeff caught her gaze and snarled. A wicked kind of joy shone from his wolfish eyes. “This isn’t over. You have no idea what you’ve unleashed here, bitch,” he called out before disappearing down the stairs.
When Luca leaped for him, Emmet was ready, shoving him back.
“They’ve got this. You have to calm down and be here for your mate, man,” Emmet said, his voice smooth, yet firm. “She’s safe, and you need to keep her that way.”
Luca growled, but the sound wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the ones before. He looked to where she’d backed herself up against the wall with the hard drive still clutched to her chest. Her knees were shaking, and when she lifted a hand toward him, her fingers trembled. But she wasn’t scared. Not of him. He and his pack had proven once more that they would protect her.
What was more terrifying than anything was the promise of violence and vengeance in Jeff’s eyes as he’d looked right at her.
Eighteen
Fur bristled just beneath Luca’s skin. His jaw ached, and it took everything he had to remain upright and not tear through his clothes in a shift that would have put even more fear into his mate’s eyes than having the bastard come up and scare her in a place where she should have been safe no matter what.
He took a shaky step forward, then another until he could reach her outstretched hand. As soon as their fingers connected, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. Her whole body trembled against his, infuriating his wolf further, but he forced a calmness over himself. Emmet was right. Kaitlin needed him. He wouldn’t let her down.
With her face nuzzled sweetly in his neck and her scent surrounding him, the tension drained from his body. “You okay?” he asked her as he rubbed his hand up and down her spine, keeping her pinned to him.
She nodded and took another deep breath. If she were a wolf, he’d think she was using the scent of his beast to soothe herself. Kaitlin pulled her head from his shoulder and looked up into his eyes, searching. For what, he didn’t know. “How about you? How’s your hand?”
As tense as the situation was, he couldn’t keep the smile from forming on his lips. Kaitlin was worried about him? “It’s fine, babe. It’s already mostly healed,” he told her, bringing it up for her to inspect. He regretted it the moment she winced at the sight of the blood drying on his knuckles.
Emmet cleared his throat from a short distance away. “You good, man?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime. I’m going to have a talk with Cole and check on the others,” he said, his voice cold as he spun around and headed for the stairs.
Luca had no doubt that Emmet would seek out his packmate. And that Cole would bleed for allowing an intruder close to Kaitlin, but before any of that happened, Emmet would check on Bonnie. Luca would bet his favorite controller that each mated male would do the same with their own women as soon as Jeff was secured just to make sure no other breaches had occurred.
A shudder coursed through Kaitlin. “Cole’s going to be punished, isn’t he?”
Luca looked down at her. He didn’t want to scare her, but she had to know what life as a wolf shifter entailed if she was going to be thrust into it at some point. “He will.”
Her eyes widened, and she gasped. “Emmet’s not going to kill him, is he?”
“He’ll be reprimanded for his lack of judgment, but he won’t come to any permanent harm. Wolves are only ever put down when they go rogue and are a threat to the pack or the humans we protect. He’ll feel it for a while, but he’ll be okay.”
“But nothing happened. I mean, Jeff got up here, but that’s it. We still have the hard drive, and no one was hurt except for Jeff. You have to stop Emmet.”
Luca strode to the sink where he washed his hands, before leading her to the bed. Now that the tension was seeping out of him, fatigue was setting in again. And he still had orders to follow. “It’s not that simple. We live by human laws, but we also adhere to pack law. Jaxon’s our Alpha. He’s the one in charge, and he keeps the pack healthy and thriving by leading us in the right direction.
Cole and the other wolves out here are on assignment. Their job is to keep us safe until we finish our work. By letting that asshole up here, he went against a direct order from the Alpha. Sometimes, when the offense isn’t huge, there isn’t a physical repercussion. But when something like this happens, and a threat is made against one of our women, it can’t be overlooked.”
When Luca sat on the edge of the bed and scrubbed his hands over his face, Kaitlin stood there, glaring at him with her fists on her hips. Beautiful, fierce little human.
“But nothing happened.”
He pulled her into the vee between his legs before wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her close. “No, but it could have. No matter what you decide to do about us, the pack has accepted you. You’re under Jaxon’s protection now—under the Wassookeag pack’s protection. If something had happened to you, the pack would have lost not one, but two of its members. They would have lost me, too.”
Her whole body stilled against him. “What do you mean?”
Luca squeezed her tighter before looking up into her eyes. “My wolf would have gone crazy in its grief. It might have taken an hour, a day, or maybe even a month, but eventually, Jaxon would have had to hunt me and put me down.”
The seriousness of what he’d told her sunk in gradually. Bewilderment, then shock chased the anger away from her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but when no sound came, she snapped it shut again.
“Listen, this is a whole lot for you to take in on zero sleep. Jaxon has ordered us four hours of rest, and I agree. We can’t keep going like this. Come on,” he urged, patting the bed next to him. He pulled out his phone and set his alarm.
She hesitated, worry carving out little lines in her forehead, but did as he asked. “We’ll need to talk about this again later,” she said softly.
“You got it. I’ll answer all your questions once this is over, I promise you that.”
She wiggled out of her jeans, then after a little more jiggling, pulled her bra out from the sleeve of her shirt. “What? I’m wound too tightly to sleep, but if I’m going to lay here cuddled up next to you, I want to be comfy,” she said when she caught him grinning at her.
“By all means. Go ahead and take the rest of it off if you want. You won’t hear me complaining.”
“Aren’t you going to undress?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye that had his body pulsing to life.
He shook his head and pulled the comforter over top of them. “I’m not that kind of guy, lady. If you want the goods, you’ll have to wait until you put a ring on my finger,” he teased.
“Oh, I will, will I?” she asked as she pulled her shirt tight, putting her gorgeous breasts on full display for him, drawing out his moan.
“Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch. But I’m not taking my clothes off. Otherwise, you’ll have me breaking all the rules, and neither of us will get any sleep. You’re too tempting for your own good.”
Kaitlin leaned against him, pressing those perfect breasts onto his arm with a grin before giving him a sweet peck on the lips. With a soft sigh, she snuggled into his side and closed her eyes. “I won’t sleep, but this sure is nice.”
“That it is.” Curling his arm around her shoulder, Luca brought her closer still. “Wake me up if I snore too loudly.”
Stroking down her arm
and up again with the tips of his fingers, he settled in. He’d be damned if he slept and she didn’t, but it wouldn’t come to that. No amount of denial on her part could remove the fatigue dulling her eyes or the dark circles shadowing beneath them. A few minutes of quiet, and they’d both be drifting off.
***
Kaitlin woke with a start. The spot where Luca had been when she’d closed her eyes was empty, the sheets cold. Sitting straight up, she whipped her head around, and sure enough, there he was, hair still sticking up, hunched over his keyboard.
“Well, hello there, sexy,” he said, tearing his gaze from his monitor long enough to look at her.
Shuffling out of bed, she joined him. “Didn’t you get any sleep?” she asked, stifling a yawn.
“Yep, I got the four hours that were ordered.” He rose from his seat and wrapped her in his arms. “I love that rumpled look on you.”
“How long did I sleep? Why didn’t you wake me?” She smacked his chest, then did it again when he grinned down at her.
“It’s almost half past five. You slept a couple of extra hours, but before you say anything, you needed it, and I’m not sorry.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but Luca swooped in with a kiss, scrambling her groggy brain. Just when she melted against him, he pulled back, smiling.
“One,” he punctuated the word with a soft, all-too-brief peck of his lips, “there’s food in the fridge. Rylee was here a while ago and dropped it off. You need to eat. And two,” he landed another kiss, “I’ve made some progress. Get your butt in gear so we can finish this once and for all.”
Her heart rate kicked up, and her drowsiness fled. “What progress? Let me see.”
“How about I get your plate ready and put some coffee on while you check it out?” he asked.
Hacking That Sass: Sassy Ever After Page 10
