Taming His Wolf [Dark Knights 3] (The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection)

by Lynn Hagen

  “Deep breaths.” Ryan ran a hand over Joelle’s back. “Let your brain absorb what you just saw.”

  “Let my—” He sputtered, unable to think, not after his brain had just been kicked sideways. “You just blew my mind and you want me to…” He hurried out of the kitchen as though he could outrun that image.

  “Joelle,” Ryan called out as he gave chase.

  Joelle stood by his fishbowl, staring down at Bubbles. “I need time. Please go.”

  “Remember your promise.”

  “I’m not gonna tell anyone.” Who in the fuck would believe him? His own mother would try to check him into a mental health clinic if he told her what he’d just seen.

  “I’ll be back to check on you,” Ryan said as he left.

  Joelle took a long and steady breath, but his attempt at trying to calm himself was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sometimes Ryan could be a pain in the ass.

  He snatched the door open, ready to tell Ryan to go away, only it wasn’t Ryan.

  It was Kivani.

  Chapter Three

  Terrified or turned on. Joelle couldn’t decide which emotion to go with. The smart move would have been to go with terrified and slam the door in Kivani’s face. Instead, he let Kivani step into his apartment.

  Again, he should have been afraid, but Kivani’s expression stopped Joelle from freaking out. “What’s wrong?”

  Kivani’s features were pinched, and his hands convulsed into fists at his sides. He looked like he was scanning the apartment for someone. “Who said anything was wrong?”

  He fully faced Joelle. Kivani was too uptight, too rigid. His jaw kept clenching around his plastic smile.

  After closing the door, Joelle kept his hand on the doorknob, squeezing it, as the video Ryan had played looped in his head. His brain couldn’t process Kivani changing into a wolf. It just couldn’t. So he decided to ignore the hard facts Ryan had shown him and focus on Kivani’s odd behavior.

  “I say something is wrong. You weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow night. You promised.” Not that he wasn’t happy to lay eyes on Kivani’s rocking-ass body and good looks again. He wasn’t sure if it was Kivani’s natural odor or cologne, but that dark, musky scent…goddamn, Joelle was ready to beg Kivani to drown him in it.

  “I—” Kivani scrubbed a hand over his head. He let out a long breath and Joelle could practically see him struggling to come up with an excuse. He waited for Kivani to say he had missed Joelle, that he hadn’t been able to stay away, that he had enjoyed Joelle’s company too much to end their evening so soon.

  “I forgot my wallet.”

  He stared incredulously at Kivani. “That’s the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard.”

  Joelle was not only hurt that Kivani hadn’t said anything dripping with sweetness, but he was also confused.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because this is the first time you’ve stepped foot in my apartment,” Joelle pointed out. What the hell was wrong with Kivani? “You’re not a very good on-the-spot liar.”

  A smile cracked across Kivani’s face. It was like watching the sunrise—all warmth, and Joelle stopped himself from closing his eyes and basking in it.

  “I’m a damn good on-the-spot liar.” His smile wavered, then he scrubbed a hand over his head again. Joelle was starting to believe Kivani did that when either nervous or frustrated. He didn’t know which yet. “Just not with you.”

  “I made some coffee.” Joelle left him in the middle of the living room while he beat a hasty retreat. Standing so close to Kivani scrambled his brain. Should Joelle blurt out that he knew what Kivani was and demand he leave, or should he make Kivani tell him why he’d shown up in the first place?

  Or should he completely ignore what Ryan had shown him and act as though he was simply having coffee with a friend? What was the right choice, A, B, C, or none of the above?

  He grabbed his mug from the sink, stepping over the spilled and now-drying coffee on the floor. He’d clean that up later. Joelle zoned out as he stared at his mug, thinking about what Ryan had told him, and imagining a huge wolf stalking into his kitchen.

  His heart hadn’t stopped racing since he’d answered the door. Joelle’s hand began to shake, so he set the cup down. He gripped the edge of the counter with both hands, letting go of a series of short breaths.

  “He told you, didn’t he?”

  Joelle was so lost in what he was doing that he jumped, spun, and slapped a hand over his heart at the sound of Kivani’s voice. “You scared the shit out of me!”

  “Did he tell you?”

  “Who?” Joelle grabbed the carafe with vengeance and poured coffee into his mug. His aim wavered though, and some of the liquid hit the counter.

  Kivani moved in behind him, took the carafe from Joelle’s shaky hand, and set it aside. “Ryan. I saw him leave your apartment. He gave me a look that said he’d told you everything.”

  A, B, or C? It was hard to decide when Kivani stood right behind him, his body heat scorching Joelle’s back. Kivani’s scent wrapped around him and Joelle became hard, thankful Kivani couldn’t see the effect he had on him.

  “What do you think he told me?” Joelle wanted Kivani to say the words, to confess he wasn’t human. He also wanted to know what in the fuckity-fuck Ryan was talking about when he’d said that Joelle belonged to Kivani.

  “I don’t play games, boo. You know what I’m talking about.” Kivani slid his hands down Joelle’s side. Joelle sucked in a deep breath and held it until his lungs burned, then released it slowly.

  “I don’t play games, either.” Now who was the liar? But in Joelle’s defense, this was new territory he was wandering into. He had no idea what the rules were or what to say, think, or feel.

  Kivani’s hand moved to Joelle’s hip and gave it a light squeeze. Joelle had to bite his lower lip to stop from moaning as his cock twitched, and his gaze fixated on the spilled coffee next to his mug.

  “You’re playing games now.” Kivani’s lips touched the shell of Joelle’s ear, and Joelle shivered and closed his eyes. He had to pull himself together, which was hard, very fucking hard, but he managed to make his feet move. He was across the kitchen in seconds, and staring at Kivani’s back before Kivani turned to face him.

  Joelle gasped. Kivani’s eyes looked as though they were glowing, but that was impossible. Damn it. If he used the word impossible one more time, Joelle was striking it from his vocabulary.

  “He told you I was a wolf shifter.” Kivani stalked toward him. “He told you that we were mates. Am I right?”

  His painfully beautiful eyes froze Joelle, who stood there letting the predator bear down on him. Kivani didn’t stop until they were chest to chest. His arm curled around Joelle, pulling him even closer.

  “Do you know what a mate is?” Kivani kissed along Joelle’s jaw, then rubbed his cheek over Joelle’s, inhaling deeply, like he was sniffing him.

  “H-he said I belonged to you.”

  A soft growl rumbled in Kivani’s chest. It was so animalistic that Joelle could no longer think Ryan’s video was a hoax. The truth was like a bucket of cold over his head. Joelle shoved away from Kivani’s chest and ran from the kitchen.

  “Damn it, Joelle. Don’t fucking run from me.”

  Joelle reached the door, ready to race from his apartment, but Kivani’s chest pressed into his back as his hand wrapped around Joelle’s wrist. Any words Joelle might have shouted died in his throat as Kivani’s touch sent shivers of need through him. Joelle didn’t want to leave. He wanted Kivani to take him down to the floor and—

  “Back off,” Joelle snarled. He wasn’t aggressive by nature, but his fear was getting the better of him.

  Kivani took a step back. “I’ll give you your space, just as long as you don’t try to leave.”

  “Ryan told me about you, like, five seconds before you showed up,” Joelle said. “I haven’t had time to process anything. So, just, back off.”

  Holding his hands
up, palms out, Kivani sat on the couch. Joelle stayed at the door, too afraid to move closer, yet wanting desperately to say the hell with it and climb on Kivani’s lap.

  Joelle strummed his fingers on his arm after he crossed them. “I’m not sure what to say or do.”

  “You need to stop freaking out. So preternatural exist. Big deal. You have a wolf shifter as your mate. Feel privileged.”

  “Feel—” Joelle dropped his arms and glared at the prick. “Glad to see you don’t have a big ego.”

  “I don’t.” The look in Kivani’s eyes said he really didn’t. “But I’d rather deal with your anger than your fear.”

  He’d pissed Joelle off on purpose? “That’s some pretty screwed-up logic.”

  “I’m a wolf shifter.”

  “I know that.”

  “I’m a wolf shifter,” Kivani repeated.

  “Why do you keep saying that?” Great, the guy Joelle supposedly belonged to was insane.

  “The more I say it, the less impact it has on you.” Kivani patted the cushion next to him. “So sit down and process whatever you need to process. I’m a patient guy.”

  Why did he have to be so charming? Joelle fought not to smile as he crossed his arms again. “I’m perfectly fine right here.”

  “Can you get me a cup of coffee while you’re up?” Kivani looked dead serious. “Cream only. Thanks, boo.”

  “Anything else?” Joelle lost the fight and smiled. He hated that Kivani had torn down his defenses and made him actually laugh. The bastard.

  “More of that,” Kivani said. “Your smile is breathtaking.”

  Joelle frowned. “I thought we were past the lies.”

  He’d never fooled himself into thinking he was hot. Not like Ryan and Henry were. Joelle was a nerd who liked to keep to himself. Men didn’t look at him with lust or trip over themselves to talk to him. And any guy he did talk to lost interest seconds after finding out Joelle was a bookworm and was a mama’s boy. He wasn’t into taking selfies and wasn’t a social-media junkie, or much of anything guys looked for as far as dating material was concerned.

  Kivani pushed from the couch and Joelle swallowed roughly at the burning anger in Kivani’s eyes as he approached. “Boo, you’re the hottest fucking guy I’ve ever seen, from your loafers to your perfect hair. I want to strip you naked and show you just how sexy you are to me. I don’t bullshit when it comes to something I want, and I want you.”

  Joelle was at a loss for words. So he said nothing as he spun and rushed back into the kitchen, hearing Kivani’s deep chuckle behind him. Under any other circumstances, he would have thought Kivani was laughing because he was making fun of some hopeless nerd after telling Joelle all the right things and knowing Joelle had eaten that shit up.

  But the sincerity in his eyes told Joelle that Kivani had meant every word.

  As Joelle made Kivani’s coffee, he no longer cared that the guy wasn’t human. Maybe Joelle was so desperate for attention that he wanted to believe every single word Kivani had said. Was he that needy?

  Yes, he was.

  He’d lived his entire adult life being flat-out ignored when he hadn’t been used for sex, and he wanted something deep and meaningful, something that made him smile every morning when he cracked his damn eyes open.

  And Kivani was offering that. Or, at least, Joelle prayed that was the case. He would be devastated if Kivani had only come over for sex Not that Joelle wouldn’t have it with him.

  “Oh my fuck,” he grumbled. “Get the hell out of your headspace. You’re overthinking this.”

  Sometimes Joelle was his own worst enemy. Self-doubt was a bitch. He was just gonna roll with this and see where it led. What did he have to lose besides his heart?

  Ethan sat on a stool at Lenny’s, nursing a drink and trying to figure out how he could use the information he had to not only get paid, but to turn the tables in the Hunters’ favor. They were getting killed off so fast that Ethan suspected the files Enrique had stolen had surfaced.

  From what he’d learned, Enrique was a wolf shifter who’d gone undercover and infiltrated the Hunters organization, becoming Joe Hephner’s right-hand man.

  Hephner. What a fucking joke he’d turned out to be. The guy had been brilliant when he’d formed the Hunters. He’d been cold, ruthless, and had killed as many nonhumans as he could find. Rumor even told of Hephner destroying some ancient vampire.

  Hephner had had only one rule. Don’t kill any humans. What Ethan wouldn’t give to have been a part of the secret war at the beginning, to have followed such a great leader. But Hephner had lost his way, and now he was dead.

  And Aleksei Kovachi was fighting his own war to take Hephner’s place. Hephner had been vicious, but fair to those who followed him, but Kovachi didn’t operate by those standards. He killed both preternatural and humans in his lust to rise to power.

  Most Hunters feared him, and so did Ethan. That was why he sat here mulling over how to use what he knew to gain favor with Kovachi, instead of being one of his victims.

  He just had to make sure no one found out about his family ties to Kivani. Ethan had only a small percentage of wolf in him. His genes were so watered down he couldn’t even shift.

  Fuck, he might as well be fully human for all his lack of abilities. He had no superior strength, sight, hearing, or sense of smell. His canines couldn’t even descend. The only preternatural quality he’d inherited was his unusually long life. Ethan was well over three hundred years old.

  But that didn’t matter to him, not when Kivani had flaunted his abilities in front of Ethan when they were younger, walking around the house in wolf form and going on runs with his parents once a month while Ethan sulked at home.

  He would find a way to make Kivani pay. Maybe that twink really was a tool to exploit. Ethan just had to find the nerd with glasses, and then the real fun would begin.

  Joelle wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed when Kivani received a call and had to leave. Just when he’d been close to giving in and letting Kivani have his wicked way with him, the guy up and left.

  “Maybe it’s best,” he told himself as he curled up on the couch, grabbing his paperback off the end table. He looked at Bubbles swimming around, zipping in and out of her small castle. “I like boring, and Kivani is the opposite of boring.”

  Though he knew Kivani would be back.

  With a sigh, he set his book aside, got up, and headed out the door. Ryan was usually the one who invaded Joelle’s space, but Joelle needed to talk to someone right now.

  But his enthusiasm for spending time with Ryan died when Ryan opened the door and Joelle saw Devil in the apartment. Devil grunted and went into the bedroom.

  “He’s not gonna shift and attack you,” Ryan said. “Stop staring at him. You’re making him uncomfortable.”

  “I’m making him uncomfortable?” Joelle gave a dry laugh. “That’s hilarious when you consider what he is and the damage he can do.”

  Ryan dropped onto the sofa and grabbed his iPad from the coffee table. “So tell me why you’re here and not with Kivani.”

  Joelle sat next to him. “He had to leave.”

  Ryan cut his eyes at Joelle, then looked away and tapped open a game app.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Joelle asked.

  “Fuck.” Ryan dropped his head backward, resting it against the back cushion. “Why am I the one who has to tell everyone the truth? I had to have this talk with Henry, too.” Ryan frowned. “Or more accurately, I freaked and told him everything. Still, I think you should talk to Kivani about his line of work.”

  That got Joelle’s attention. “Seriously? You’re gonna throw that out there and then slam the lid on it? He told me was a garbage man. That’s not true?”

  “Garbage man?” Ryan stared wide-eyed at him, then grinned as he went back to his game.

  Joelle snatched the iPad and tucked it behind him. “I’m not gonna be ignored.”

  Ryan crinkled his nose. “You sound
like a nagging wife.”

  Joelle smiled. “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Give me back my iPad.”

  “Tell me what you’re not telling me.”

  Joelle inwardly groaned when Henry walked in. He was the last person Joelle wanted to spend time with.

  “Are you two about to watch some chick flick again?” Henry plopped onto the couch, right between Ryan and Joelle. “I’m in.”

  Ryan had forced Joelle to watch Titanic a few weeks ago. He’d tried to talk Ryan into watching The Matrix trilogy the next time they’d gotten together, but Ryan had refused. So Joelle had been tortured for however long Legally Blonde had been, ready to plunge an ice pick through his eyes ten minutes after it had started.

  “We weren’t watching a movie.” Ryan reached behind Henry, trying to get his iPad back. Joelle pulled it free and handed it over. Why hold it hostage when he no longer wanted to talk about Kivani now that Henry was here?

  “I’m gonna head back to my apartment.” Joelle started to get up, but Henry slung an arm in front of him.

  “No, don’t go.”

  What the who? “Since when do you want me around?”

  Henry rolled his eyes. He’d perfected the art of eye-rolling so well, he should teach a class on it. “I’m trying, okay? Since you’re Kivani’s mate, you’re part of our little group now. Besides, Ryan keeps harping that I’m being a complete dick to you. And I don’t mean to be. I’m just a very possessive guy and I had Ryan first.”

  Henry was whining, and Joelle hated to admit how adorable he was when he did that. He had to stop himself from patting Henry on the head and telling him that he was being a good little boy. “No more stank looks?”

  Henry folded his arms as his bottom lip slid out. “Baby steps.”

  Joelle got up, so over this conversation. “I’m gonna baby-step my ass home. See you later, Ryan.”

  Henry might be trying, but he had been a complete dick to Joelle up to now, and Joelle’s feelings still stung from Henry’s continued dickishness. Besides, he had his own bullshit to deal with. Henry could make amends some other time.