by Milly Taiden
Chapter Ten
“What the fuck is this?” Juan bellowed and reached for his gun.
“Hey, dumbass. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Sophia yelled. “You’re only going to piss them off more and die that much faster.”
Sam turned to see Sophia being held back by Chase. The alpha looked positively murderous. His face was half shifted, and he growled. His attention was pinned on Juan.
Juan’s hold of Sam loosened, and she fell on the ground with a painful thud. The moment she did, Riel jumped through the air and went straight for Juan. Her cousin tried to get at his gun, but the leather holster made it impossible for him to reach it in time. Riel’s big, brown wolf shot forth and pushed Juan so hard he fell on his back. The animal landed over Juan’s big body and immediately set to clawing and biting him.
Juan tried to punch at the animal, only to get his fists shredded with Riel’s massive canines. Riel’s wolf tore through flesh, muscle, and bone until Juan was screaming at the painful torture. The wolf bit into his shoulder and neck. He screamed and pushed at the furry beast, but Riel wasn’t having it. She stood transfixed. He growled, roared, and bit at the vicious human that had hurt her.
She knew he wouldn’t stop until Juan was dead. That’s how it worked with a shifter. Anyone that hurt his mate was dead. Her gaze never wavered from Riel as he continued his attacks on Juan. Each bite into Juan left a new body part dismembered. Juan’s screams lowered with the loss of blood. Riel attached to Juan’s neck and bit down repeatedly. He didn’t stop until the man lay in a bloody pile of severed limbs on the sidewalk.
Sam winced when she tried to open her mouth. Her ass hurt and so did her face. Sophia rushed toward her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, but I can’t shift because I’m pregnant and that would put my baby in danger. When I was going to get my shotgun the guys showed up.” She helped Sam to her feet.
When Sam glanced at the ground where Juan Junior’s body lay in pieces, she didn’t see Riel anywhere. She peered around among the other men still in wolf form, but her mate wasn’t there.
Sophia guided her into the house. “Don’t worry. He just went to clean up. They hate for us to see them fight or tear someone to shreds. I think it’s sexy, but that’s just me.” Sophia grinned and then winced. “Geez, your poor face. Does it hurt a lot?”
Sam tried to ignore the burning and throbbing taking hold of her face. “Maybe a little.” She lied.
Sophia smiled sympathetically and pointed to her nose. “Shifter, remember? You don’t need to lie to me, Sam. I can get you something for the pain. Raven always leaves me with supplies in case anyone comes over injured.
Sam noticed Chase was no longer at the front of the house, and she wondered if he’d gone with Riel. Sophia guided her to one of the ground-level bedrooms. “Don’t worry. Ry will know where you are and come for you in a moment. Let’s get your face cleaned up so he doesn’t get any angrier than he already is if he smells that man on you.”
Sitting on the bed, Sam wondered what the hell had gotten into Juan. She knew he had a short temper. It just went to prove that she was right, and he had more than anger problems. He had violent tendencies up the kazoo. She flinched when Sophia used an alcohol pad to wipe at her cuts. Yeah. Juan the asshole deserved what he got, and Sam didn’t feel a shred of sorrow for the jerk.
After Sophia helped clean Sam’s face and had given her a mild painkiller, she told her to remove the scent of Juan in the attached bathroom.
She showered, and when she came out, she found shorts and a tank top that must’ve belonged to her new friend. The fit was perfect. She sat on the bed waiting for Riel to show. It was countless minutes later that the door opened and Riel walked in wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He was clean and had clearly showered as well.
She stood and ran into his arms. It didn’t matter that he was uncomfortable with her seeing him tear Juan Junior to pieces. He’d done it for her.
His voice was a deep gravel when he spoke. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“I’m not.” She grabbed his face in her hands. “You saved me…again. He hurt me, and you stopped him. I could see the intent to continue hurting me. I can’t begin thank you for what you did.” She pulled his head down, kissed him, and ignored the stab of pain in her jaw.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her up to him. He rained soft kisses over her broken lips and spoke between kisses. “Sweetheart, I never wanted you to see that.”
She tried to pacify him. “It doesn’t matter, Ry. You’re a shifter; it’s who you are. I can’t, nor would I want to, change that. I love you, animal, man, mate. I knew a relationship between us wouldn’t be the usual human kind, and guess what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Sam—”
She placed a hand over his lips. “Stop, Ry. This is us. Our life. You can’t honestly believe that you’d keep me in the dark forever? I love you, every single aspect of you. And I don’t want you to ever hold back from being yourself because you’re concerned over my reaction. Besides, when we have kids they might come out with your traits and what are you going to do then?” She smiled when the mention of children brought a possessive grin to his face. “You know the chances are high that we will have shifter babies, so just get over it. You cut Juan Junior to pieces. As far as I’m concerned he had that one coming for years.” She sniffed his neck and felt his cock harden and rub against her belly. Her sex turned slick instantly. “Let’s go home.”
He growled softly. “Sounds like a fantastic idea to me. We’ll take my car.” He grabbed her by her ass cheeks, rocked her over his cock, and groaned.
She laughed. “Are we going home or what?” Lust made the beating of her heart frantic.
“In a minute.” He slipped his hands under her tank top and palmed her breasts. She moaned and licked his neck.
To her thinking, a minute wasn’t such a bad idea. She stripped off her clothes and dropped down to her knees. She jerked down his pants. Licking her lips, she watched his cock spring free, thick, aroused, and so purple she swore all his blood was centered in his shaft. She was about to suck him into her mouth, but her jaw burned at the attempt to widen her lips.
He must’ve seen her flinch, because he pulled her up by her shoulders. “As much as I love your lips on me, I don’t want you to do it when you’re not well. You’re in pain.”
She pouted and winced.
“Another time, my love.” He kissed her softly and growled into her lips.
She jerked his cock in her hand.
He hissed out a groan. “Jesus, you’re going to be the death of me.”
“Only if we go there together.” She sat back on the bed, crawled backward until she was lying in the middle of the mattress, and opened her thighs wide. She slid her hand between her legs and fingered herself. Wet heat dripped from her slit. Desire flared bright in her veins, pushing her to act. She caressed her chest and pinched at a nipple with her other hand. Fire shot through her pussy and made her womb clench. His nose flared, and he licked his lips as if he could already taste her. The thought made a crazy gallop take over her chest.
“Sam…you’re playing with fire.”
“Good. Because I want you to brand me, take me, and fuck me right now. I’m yours. Now get over here and do me before I lose my mind.” She widened her eyes at the aggression rushing through her. There was no helping it. He was hers, and she wanted him now. Right now.
He laughed and removed the rest of his clothes. “I always knew you were a bossy little minx. Good thing I’m such a patient, loving man,” he joked and jumped on the bed. He sniffed her from ankle to her dripping sex.
She widened her thighs. “Yes! Please, please, please.”
He blew cool air over her clit, and she almost came off the bed. She glanced down to catch him grinning at her. “What do you want, Sam?” The deep voice made her pussy throb in need.
She growled and lifted her ass off the bed and brought h
er clit right to his lips. “I want you to eat my pussy and make me come. Is that clear enough for you?”
He growled and licked a slow trail up her pussy lips. “Oh, yeah. I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
She groaned a laugh. He was going to drive her insane. He trailed a wet finger into her anal entrance, sucked down on her clit, and grazed his teeth over her swollen nub. Her climax slammed into her like a Mack Truck. She came so hard she dug her nails into the comforter in a white-knuckle grip, her body went into spasm, and her legs shook. Her pussy clenched on air, and she whimpered at the empty feeling inside.
She pulled at his short hair. His hot body caressed her flesh on his way up. He took her, filling her, and making her nerves tingle and her breath hitch. Each thrust into her pussy had her grasping and reaching for the pleasure she knew was just a little further. He continued to thrust repeatedly. She moaned, her insides burning with arousal. He flicked a finger over her clit, and she shattered. He brought his head down and kissed her, drinking in her scream. As she panted, he growled into her neck, and his cock jerked inside her hot channel. He came in long shudders, snarled, and dropped to the bed. He pulled her up until she lay draped over him like a blanket. “OK. We can go home now.”
She lifted her head from his chest. “I think I need another minute.”
* * *
Sam was positive that Juan Junior had been her threat and made a mention of it to Riel on their way to his house. He’d made her leave her car behind, and Kane would drop it off later. When he didn’t agree with her assessment of Juan as the sole threat, she frowned at him. “What are you thinking?”
“We still don’t know what’s going on with Danitelli. If it was your cousin Juan, he was working with a woman. I keep getting a sweet scent every time something happens to you.” Riel sounded puzzled.
Her eyes widened. “Marcia? But she’s the mousiest woman ever. I don’t see that in her.”
He clenched his jaw and shook his head. “I’ve seen her; I don’t think she was part of the threat either. I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s something we’re not seeing.”
“Who else could there be? My family is filled with snobs, but it isn’t that big. Half the people don’t even live in Black Meadows. The only ones left here are the older folks.”
Riel glanced her way. “We’re still searching further into Luisa and Cecilia.”
A shocked gasp left her. “Luisa? But she’s not like the rest of them. She’s sweet and kind, and Cecilia is not the nicest, but—”
“She’s living with a young stud who she gives every cent to in order to keep him with her. She’s completely broke and needs the money in order to entertain her young lover.”
Her family definitely had drama. Still, Cecilia being with a younger man wasn’t a crime. “So what’s the big deal that she’s giving her money to her younger lover?”
He glanced at her and grimaced. She knew she wasn’t going to like what he said.
“That younger lover is sleeping with three other rich women, and he’s an ex-con that was in prison for attempted murder and assault.”
Oh damn. That didn’t sound too promising for Cecilia. “Well what’s going on with Luisa? She’s not like them; she’s different. As for Cecilia as far as I know she’s always been like Maggie, cold and living by society’s rule book. Those women have been super strict as far as I can remember in trying to set the pace that everyone in society should follow. From their homes to how a woman needs to behave. Thank god neither of them ever had kids.”
He nodded. “What can you tell me about their husbands?”
“Maggie went through four divorces before she met Danitelli. She’s been with him for fifteen years I think. I’m not sure what happened, but from what Ginny used to say, her previous husbands felt she was much to bossy for their tastes. Cecilia was married, and her husband was a general in the army. I think I was fifteen when he left her for a young woman he met in Vietnam. Cecilia was hit hard. She’d always acted as if she had the perfect family. Ginny said if she’d paid more attention to what was going on inside the family instead of how the world perceived them, she might have seen that one coming.”
“What can you tell me about Danitelli?”
“Ugh. Not much, unfortunately. He’s always in some business or other, but he’s never really bothered with our side of the family. He’s from some big Italian family. I think they come from money, so I’m not sure what he would want with Ginny’s money.”
“It’s five billion dollars. Anybody—even someone with money—would want to get their hands on that.”
She sighed.
“What about Luisa?”
Sam sighed again. “She was married to a doctor for a long time. He was much older than her and died when I left for college. I think that she must’ve loved him, because she stayed alone after that. I never heard of her being with anyone else. It was sad to see her so lonely. She’s the only one of the three women that had kids. Two boys. I remember wishing she’d talk to me more, but she was always surrounded with the other two, and so I never tried to get close to her. Cecilia and Maggie were pretty mean, so I stayed away.”
“Mean how?”
She leaned her head back in the seat. “They tended to mention what a shame my mother was to the family. Now I realize it wasn’t the shifter friends they were against, it was my father. Mom’s relationship with him had drawn bad blood from the others.”
They turned onto his street, and she caught sight of Nat in front of his house. He parked the car at the curb and turned to her. He cupped her cheek and stared at her intently.
“We are still investigating Luisa. I can’t say for sure that she’s out of the picture until I hear back from Kane. And I’m not sure what Kane has on Danitelli, so we’re still on the lookout. So far, I know there was a woman involved in the attempts on your life, and I’m not going to let this go until I know who it was. All I ask is that you’re careful. I’m not happy with this, and I have a feeling we’re missing something.”
She jumped out of the SUV and headed to the front of the house. Natalia had a bakery box in her hand. The box was wrapped with a pink-and-gold ribbon. She knew the local bakery. It was really popular, and their sweets were out of this world.
Her mouth watered just thinking of whatever was inside the box. The craving for chocolate had been at her for two days, and she’d been ignoring it, but now that she thought of the decadent sweets, she almost drooled. “Please tell me that there’s chocolate in there?” She smiled hopefully.
Nat grinned and passed her the cake box. “I wanted to bring you something special to welcome you back to health. Yes, it is chocolate. Actually it’s Tryx’s famous chocolate mousse cake. I called your cell phone, but I didn’t get you.” She frowned as she neared Sam. “What the hell happened to you?”
After she’d taken the medication for the pain she’d forgotten about the small cuts and bruises. “Juan Junior.”
Natalia slapped her hands on her hips and huffed. “I knew that piece of crap was going to be trouble. What did he do?”
Sam glanced at Riel. “Do you mind checking to see if I left my phone upstairs? If I didn’t, then that means it’s back at Sophia’s, and I’ll need a way to get it back.” She hoped he’d go for the request. When he nodded she sighed in relief. She didn’t want to discuss what happened in front of him with him.
He rushed up the stairs. She headed to the backyard with Nat. She stopped at the kitchen to grab a knife, plates, and forks for the cake. Natalia set the coffee maker to brew.
“So?” Nat’s voice was filled with curiosity.
She placed the cake box on a table and opened it. “He came over to Sophia and Chase’s, you know the Alpha of Ry’s pack, and started talking trash about my parents.”
Sam lifted the cake, and Nat removed the box. “What kind of trash did he talk? I mean what did he say to make things get that bad?”
Sam cut a large piece of cake, placed it on a plate,
and stared at it. She then cut another piece and added it to the first one. “He said my mother was a whore because she’d fallen in love with my father, who was a shifter and one of Chase’s father’s enforcers.”
She moved the plate to the side. When Natalia tried to grab it she smacked her hand away. “That one is mine.”
Natalia’s gaped at her with wide eyes. “OK, OK. I’ll take the next piece. Sheesh.” She stuck her tongue out. “Anyway tell me more about this. Your father was a shifter? Oh my god. That’s huge.” She bounced on the lounger. “But why don’t you shift?”
She cut a much smaller piece of cake. Her best friend studied the plate, glanced at her, and raised her brows. Nat’s loud sigh said she knew Sam wasn’t trying to share.
Sam sat down and inhaled the delicious scent of chocolate, milk, and sugar. “I’m not sure why I am not a shifter, but Sophia is checking out my blood. Apparently it could be anything that caused me not to be one of them.” She bit into the cake and moaned.
Nat laughed. Sam opened her eyes to catch her grinning.
“I knew you’d love it. Tryx’s chocolate cake seems to be a favorite among shifters and humans. Although from what I’ve heard pregnant shifters crave it like a drug.”
Sam stopped the fork mid-way to her mouth. She glanced at Natalia’s smirk and shook her head. “You fantasize too much. Just for that, you don’t get any more of my cake.”
Nat waved the chocolate-covered fork in the air. “So what exactly did Juan do?”
She licked the fork and took another bite. “He started talking trash, and I got fed up. I yelled and told him the entire estate is going to charity. He went berserk. Slapped me multiple times. I tried to get away, but he had a tight grip on my shirt.”
Natalia stopped eating. “What happened then?”
“Ry and some others showed up. Juan dropped me on the ground and got torn to shreds by my wolf.” She remembered how concerned he’d been.
