“Stand back,” Blake ordered and pushed her toward another man.
Naomi could barely see a thing as two men held her back from the fight, probably on orders. After a moment she no longer heard any scuffles.
Blake emerged from the shadows with Aiden close behind him. Their clothes were in tatters, showing deep scrapes in places where their skin was exposed. Blake grabbed Mr. White Cap’s ankle and dragged him toward her. He was motionless.
Blake dropped Mr. White Cap’s leg. “Captured. Alive.”
Her eyes roamed over the unconscious man whose intentions were to lure her into this back alley, take her Spirit, and probably kill her while he was at it. Her attention didn’t remain on Mr. White Cap. Her attention favored her mate.
Naomi stepped over Mr. White Cap’s body and slid her palm against Blake’s cheek. She wiped a smudge of blood from his cheek and discovered a scrape under it. Her gut twisted in anguish because his expression mirrored the obvious pain in his body. Within her was this uncontrollable drive to touch every hurt and heal every wound, not because they were mates and she could, but because she loved him.
Blake’s eyes fell closed. He turned his face into her palm and kissed it.
Aiden cleared his throat next to them. “We’ll get this dude locked up before his people come to find him.”
Blake turned his head to address his cousin. “When he comes to, we can question the hell out of him.”
“Planning on it.” Aiden nodded. “I’ll leave you two alone but you better get moving soon.”
“I’ll catch up with you later,” Blake replied.
The two Caedmon who assisted Blake and Aiden took one leg each and dragged the unconscious Mr. White Cap down the darkened alleyway. As Caedmon Council members Blake and Aiden had found it their priority to confiscate a live body with vital information.
“Hmm.” Naomi took his hands and pulled them around her waist. “Why do I feel as though my find is being stolen from me?”
“You think so?” Blake pulled her body closer to his.
“I found him first,” she teased.
Blake chuckled softly and raised an eyebrow. “You think so?”
“We can duke this out. Winner takes the bait to his Pack.” She bit her bottom lip and hooded her eyes suggestively.
His slow smile built into naughty grin. “I’ve got a better prize. Winner takes all.”
“And by all, “ she slid her palm against the back of his neck, “you mean?”
“All of you.” His lips were centimeters from hers.
She couldn’t help herself and crushed her lips against his. A spicy and metallic taste filled her mouth all at once, and velvet lips smoothed across hers. Only moments earlier when she had the fate of her Pack in her hands her heart had been empty, but now it was filled. Their mouths united, fitting like the pieces of a puzzle. Their tongues danced playfully as if this was their first time.
They fell deeper into kiss. She wanted more, needed more. It had been weeks since she was filled with the sustenance that kept her going. This sustenance was like a drug. The more she took, the more she wanted until suddenly it was a need that couldn’t be overlooked.
He sipped her tongue and nipped her lips, kissing her senseless until they were both running on limited oxygen.
Finally Blake pulled away from her but held her waist. His gaze ran across her face. “I wanted to murder him for touching you that way.”
“So did I,” she whispered. “But you understood why that couldn’t happen. We needed him for answers.”
“And more importantly, you told me not to.”
“But sometimes I tell you not to do things, and you do them anyway.” She traced the hard line of his jaw.
“Like what?”
“I don’t remember giving the sign.”
“You’ve got me there, but that’s not the way things work. If you want to know the truth, if Aiden hadn’t come when he did, the dude would have been dead.”
As a wolf thinking in terms of possessions, Naomi understood this. If a person tried to steal the last meal of a hungry wolf, they would be lucky if they got away with a limb.
Naomi’s fingertips traced the hard ridges of his chest through the open tear on his shirt. “You’ve got a lot of aggression left in your system.” She licked her lips as her fingers played against the seam of his jeans. She wanted inside. It had been so long since she had him.
Blake pressed his hardened groin into her hand, licking hotly against the cartilage of her ear. “And my aggression is something I’ve known you to release very well.”
He nipped her earlobe, pressing the cold tip of his nose against the sensitive spot behind her ear. Liquid pooled in her center and she clung to him greedily.
“I’ve got a room waiting.” She panted. “Won’t take long to get there.”
“I’ve got a ride waiting. Won’t take long to get there either.”
Chapter Twelve
“You do know what I’m about to ask you, right?” Blake removed a hand from the steering wheel and lightly stroked her face with the soft side of his thumb.
Naomi turned her attention from the vivid lights of the truss bridge and the smell of fresh river water. Blake was driving a little slower than usual. He was usually the speed demon out of the two of them, but that was when they were together without worries and not a care in the world. When they were both members of the Arnou Pack, they had fewer problems, but then he decided to leave and she decided to stay.
“You always have a dozen questions, Blake,” she said with a slow smile. “Why don’t you start with the easy questions first? Let’s get those out of the way.”
“Why are you so beautiful?”
A heated blush warmed her face, and she pretended to be preoccupied with the AC dial on the dashboard. “That’s not an easy question.”
“Okay, next question. What happened to the shy girl next door I met twelve years ago at Arnou’s fireworks show?”
“I grew up.”
“Into a beautiful woman.” His hands were planted on the steering wheel. He stared straight ahead at the road. “You were just fifteen when I met you. So young yet so vibrant and free spirited. I remember the night of Arnou’s first fireworks show as though it was yesterday. Not only was it the day I returned to town after my uncle sent Aiden and me off to spend two years at a human Ivy League school, but it also was the day I imagined a purposeful life. I had no clear direction until I saw you.”
She swallowed. This conversation always made her nervous. At fifteen years old, she received the shock of her life when she discovered Blake DeLuca was her mate. How many times as a young adolescent did she hear her counterparts and friends talking about how much they wanted to find their true mates, bond and have 5.2 kids, which was the average family size in the Arnou community? Finding her mate was never a priority for her like it was for so many other women, but to her surprise, she’d caught scent of Blake when she least expected to.
Back then, all she wanted to do was to find a way to please her father and find her independence in the process.
“You had a direction. You told me how Aiden and you wanted to go in business together and own your own security agency.”
“Yeah, things haven’t quite happened that way. Sometimes you make plans but then better ones develop.”
Naomi bit the inside corner of her mouth. “I screwed up your plans, didn’t I? If you’d never met me, you would’ve left the Arnou Pack long before you did. You wouldn’t have made it past the Elite recruitment stage if you’d have left when you said you would.”
Blake turned a corner, leading them into the metropolitan area where she’d booked a hotel for a week. The hotel was in the unmarked territories, but it was better than staying on Arnou lands where anyone might notice her and report to her superiors.
“I knew I had choices back then—both inside and outside of the Arnou Pack.”
“But you had far better opportunities outside of the Arnou Pack. Look a
t you now. You’re on the Caedmon Council. You’re living a life you’re proud of and one in which you believe.”
He stopped under a red light and turned to face her. “I never wanted to leave without you. You backed out at the last minute and it was too late. Aiden and I refused the Belt. Do you know how many wolves we crippled to break from the Arnou prison cells?”
She shook her head. “They are not prison cells.”
“Close enough. He wants all of you housed right outside his backdoor in that compound.”
“It was to protect us. To keep us near.”
Blake frowned. “To make sure that no one strayed away from him. It’s why I refused. We’re not dogs and we don’t wear anyone’s collar let alone a belt.”
Arnou-kind had talked about Blake and Aiden’s refusal for months. No one had ever refused the Elite Belt. No one had gone through a full training cycle, passed with high honors, and escaped without serving.
Naomi shook her head and diverted her eyes. “I couldn’t…I couldn’t put my father’s health on the line and my brother—”
“I know. Your brother dreamed of climbing the ranks within the Arnou Pack. Your father would’ve been ashamed of you. You already told me this.”
Blake hit the gas as soon as the light changed to green.
“Then why bring it up? I can’t wave a magic wand and change any of the past.” She raised her palm, signaling the conversation was over. “We’re behind this now. We’ve found a way to work around it.”
“Work around it?” He must have lifted his foot off the gas pedal because the sports car slowed in pace. “I don’t want to work around being with you. Call me selfish, but I want you in the center of my world. I want to wake in bed next to you. I want to enjoy breakfast with you every day at sunrise. When I go to bed, I not only want you as the last thing on my mind, but I also want your taste to be the last one on my lips when I drift off to sleep. I know I told you I could wait, Naomi, that I’d wait until we’re old and gray, but I’m miserable trying to keep that promise. I don’t like being miserable.”
She sighed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart. The truth was every time Blake talked about them being together as he suggested, she became overjoyed, thinking of the possibilities. In the Elite training program, they were taught never to dream and fantasize about happily ever afters because the moment one let their emotions take over, their guards fell. Letting your guard fall meant challenging your enemies in a weak state of mind.
It was too late for her. When she escaped her short-term lock-down and walked out on her father and brother a couple days ago, she let her heart make the decision for her.
This time it was Naomi who rested her palm on his thigh. “I’m glad you think I’m beautiful, but a dose of real life and targeted training turned this shy girl next door into a bold, brave, action-oriented woman. At fifteen I met you, and you showed me I didn’t have to shadow my brother to gain recognition. Like you, I had choices but mine affected the people around me directly. The only family I have left in this world are my father and brother. If I grew up knowing my mother, maybe things would’ve been different. She died bringing my twin brother and me into this world.”
Blake’s leg grew tense under her palm, and he placed a hand over hers. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m being selfish too. Sometimes I have to remind myself both of your parents perished in an accident. You’re so well-rounded, like the other people I know who grew up in homes with two parents.”
“I had my uncle, who did right by Aiden and me. He punished us if we showed the slightest rivalry toward one another.” Blake chuckled. “He told us if we wanted to fight, we should do it professionally. We both picked professions that involved the complete opposite.”
Naomi smiled. “You own the shooting range and teach self-defense classes, and Aiden’s the bodyguard. Funny how things turned out.” She pointed to a green street sign up ahead. “North Main Street, this is it. Turn right up ahead.”
“Pretty fancy for a night on the town after partying at a nightclub,” Blake commented as he pulled into the parking lot. “This has got to be at least five stars.”
“Good guess,” she replied. “But it’s for more than just a night on the town, and I didn’t go to that nightclub to party.”
“Your avid curiosity seems to be one trait you’ll never lose.” Blake grinned, put the car in park, and turned off the engine. “Which leads me to my other question…”
“You’re right. I was there because, like you, I knew something fishy was going on there after that stunt with Ruby and the fight.”
He gave her the side eye. “And your crew let you out alone?”
“Actually, we’re under punishment for venturing into the unmarked territories, among other things. Arnou’s direct orders.” She opened the door, swung out her legs, and looked over her shoulder. “By the way, I escaped. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not wearing my Belt.”
Blake’s mouth had already fallen open before his gaze dropped to her waist, and his eyes widened.
Naomi exited the car and closed the door behind her. She made her way to the entrance of the hotel with Blake hot on her tail.
Chapter Thirteen
“You did what?” Blake asked once they were out of earshot and eyesight.
Naomi bent to retrieve the hotel key card from boot sleeve to open the door. “Escaped. E. S. C.—”
“I wasn’t exactly the spelling bee winner in grade school, but I think I can figure out the correct spelling just fine.” His voice carried a teasing tone as he followed her inside. He dropped his car keys on the tall stand near the entryway.
She shrugged out of her jacket and laid it on the back of a chair. “We should’ve stopped for food. I forgot I didn’t have any food here.”
“We can go back out.” He took his phone out of his back pocket. “Or we could call for takeout.”
“Takeout sounds much quicker.”
He smiled. “I saw an Italian restaurant on the way here.”
She grinned. “I bet you know what I like.”
He winked. “I know a lot about what you like.”
His attention drifted to his smartphone, pressed a few buttons, and pressed the receiver to his ear. As he ordered stuffed shells, her favorite Italian dish, Naomi sauntered to the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. She leaned against the counter, taking a few sips.
She refocused on her surroundings. The studio-style hotel room had walls made of brick, the hotel walls were Sheetrock and the paint color was a drab eggshell white. Of course faux paintings hung about to give it a homelike feel, but it felt drab. This wasn’t her place. She didn’t own it. Someone else did. She longed for a place she could call home and decorate the way she wanted. She couldn’t do that living in hotels, and finally she realized her departure from the Elite Compound may have been premature.
She had no plans, other than to find out what or whom their Alpha was trying to keep at bay. Under the restriction of the Belt, she was forced to follow a chain of commands, but by breaking free she could take her investigation to a whole new level.
And breaking free had been well worth it. Her decision had gotten one of their enemies captured. If Blake and his crew hadn’t been there tonight, she wondered if she would have failed or succeeded. What would have become of her Wolf Spirit if Mr. White Cap had gotten the upper hand?
Blake completed his call and moved closer to her, his eyebrows pulling in toward the center. “Are you being tracked?”
“Eventually, I probably will be. Nathan won’t be able to cover for me too long. I need to lie low.”
“So you’ll stay here?”
She bit her bottom lip. “For now.”
“Come with me.” He slipped his arms around her waist and brought them closer together.
She put the bottle on top of the fridge behind her. “Where? To your Pack?” Her last question was an exaggeration. Arnou and Caedmon didn’t mix. Everyone knew that.
“Yeah.”
“I was only kidding. Your people would probably stone me for having the gall to show up.”
“Says who? You escaped Arnou and you’re not wearing the Belt. That means you’re a lone wolf without a Pack.”
“I escaped yesterday,” she said. “Building a low-key profile takes time. Weren’t you on the run a couple years as a lone wolf before going to Caedmon?”
“Yeah, but the stakes were much higher then. Arnou was more likely to kill anyone who crossed him.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And now he’s not?”
The hue in Blake’s eyes shifted from dark brown to a mixture of dusky reds. “I have a good feeling he understands who his true enemies are.”
“How so?”
“No wolf can harness denial that long.”
“You’re right. Like my Alpha, I’ve been in denial too long. Finally, the answers to my questions are coming together.”
“I’m here for you, Naomi.” He held her gaze. “I want to be right next to you when you need me.”
“I need you now, Blake.” Her fingers played against the back of his neck. “I thought it was possible for us to live our separate lives and then come together for the thing that satisfies us the most. I was wrong.” She pulled his face to hers and brushed her cheek against his. “The mating urge burns inside of me long after we’ve parted. The longer you want something you don’t have, the more you long for it. When I’m not with you, my heart feels devoid of love and excitement. Those are feelings I’ve only known with you. An empty heart is a dangerous thing. If it’s left unattended for too long, coldness begins to fill the void. When you’re filled with coldness, you tend to act without reason and do things you wouldn’t normally do, like…” She pressed her lips together and swallowed.
Blake handed her his undivided attention. He was always good about that, but meetings in the past had been swift with one intended purpose. To couple. To have sex. To join in temporary union where one soul met another in the throes of passion. Tonight, there was no time limits.
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