by Lauren Dane
But for now his responsibility was to figure out just what was going on in the Pack and to claim the woman down the hall as his mate. If she were a wolf it would be relatively easy. She’d understand the attraction of their pheromones and would submit. But she was human, and in his experience human women never made anything easy.
He tucked his shirt in as he stalked down the hallway. As he neared her door he heard her muttering and the clacking of her typing. Giving a quick tap on the door, he opened it and froze as he caught sight of her.
Mouth gaping open, he took her in. She was sitting on one of the chairs, the laptop in her lap. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth as she typed madly. She was also wearing only his pajama top. Impossibly, his cock hardened more until he actually winced in pain. Gone was the uptight matron, and in her place was a goddess.
Chocolate brown curls tumbled about her shoulders and arms, shiny and lustrous. Her eyes were a luminous brown, wide and fringed with thick black lashes. Her legs were long and athletic and the curve of her breasts was visible at the top of the pajama shirt she wore. Her skin was the color of milky coffee and looked silky and soft. He clenched his fists to keep from touching her but his eyes greedily soaked her in.
Hearing his strangled moan, she looked up, startled. Seeing him, she sent him a smile that made his insides warm. “Oh, good morning. I’ve called my staff and also the cops. I used my cell phone, said I was away from home and saw it on the news. I have to go in later today to talk about the fire. I hope to god they don’t think I set my own house on fire. It’s all so suspicious.”
“I was thinking about that last night. We can say you were with me. Here. In my bed. All night.” He had been thinking of it, of good alibis for her. But the bed thing came to him when he saw her sitting there like a luscious dessert.
Her pulse fluttered and she only barely leashed her gasp. “Uh, oh...yeah, er.” Could she be any more incoherent? She took a deep breath. “Okay, yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
“I’ll come with you when you go. Since I’m your boyfriend and all.” He said it like he was kidding but there was an edge in his voice. He meant to claim her and to do it as soon as possible.
Feeling a desperate need to change the subject, she motioned down to the laptop. “I’ve been working on this for the last few hours. It’s tight programming. Your guy was no slouch. But I’ve gotten in a few layers.”
“He was in the army with me. He did computer stuff. He decided to convert three years ago. He was an asset to the Pack.” And a personal friend. Pushing aside his pain and feelings of failure, he realized she wasn’t wearing her glasses. “Don’t you need your glasses?”
She blushed. “Oh, well. That was a disguise. Or not a disguise really, but a way of keeping from being noticed. I don’t have to wear them, they’re clear lenses.” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder and he struggled to breathe.
Deciding to be nonchalant he moved in, needing to be nearer so he could get her scent. He wanted her to be as insane with longing as he was. “Oh, clever. I like you more this way, though.” He knelt next to the chair and leaned in to see the screen and watched her fingers fly over the keys. “What is it? What have you found so far?”
Oh my god! He was so damned sexy and he smelled so good. She wanted to lean in and breathe deep of him. Pull his essence into her senses. Ugh! The man drove her insane. With a slightly shaky voice she answered, “It’s encrypted. I’ve broken through three of what I can tell so far are six levels. The code it’s in is pretty complicated, it looks like something I saw once at the Department of Justice. One I get past all of the built-in defenses and the traps, I’ll unlock everything and then I’ll have to see where to go from there.”
He raised an eyebrow. “The Department of Justice? As an employee?”
She gave him a look and went back to the keyboard. “Something like that. Look, I’m not always proud of what I have done. I’m a different person now. I’ve worked really hard to be.”
He snorted. His little human mate was full of surprises. “Are you hungry? Why don’t you come down and grab something to eat?” Or we can get into bed and I can fuck you boneless. His eyes devoured every inch of her. His wolf pushed, strained within him to possess her.
“I will in a few minutes. I’d kill for a cup of coffee,” she said, not taking her eyes from the screen. If she looked at him again she’d lose it.
“Okay, I’ll get a pot of coffee on and start breakfast.” He stood, and as he did he leaned in and inhaled her, his eyes sliding partway closed as her essence floated through his system. She turned and their eyes locked, her lips parting in surprise at the connection between them.
With a growl, he took the laptop from her, laying it on the carpet at her feet. He knelt between her thighs—those sweet, soft, bare thighs—and slowly brought his lips to hers. She stiffened for about three seconds and then relaxed into him. Her hands rested on his chest, his own hands momentarily still against the flesh of her inner thighs.
His tongue slipped into her mouth and she gave a soft moan, her fingers digging into the muscled skin on his chest. He nipped her bottom lip and she made a soft, startled sound, sliding her hands up into his hair as he angled his head to taste her better.
She sucked at his tongue and it was his turn to moan as his cock throbbed in agony. She was warm and soft and perfect—made to be in his arms. Her taste exploded through him, her essence lighting every single nerve in his body on fire for her. And for her alone. He knew that now for an absolute certainty. Knew that she made him feel like no other woman had ever done before and this was just from a kiss. There was an overwhelming feeling of rightness in having her lips beneath his own.
He scented her wetness and slid his hands up her thighs. She parted her legs wider, giving him access to her sex. His thumbs slid over the now-wet panties and she arched into him, one leg rising to curl around his thigh.
Desire roared through Nina as she opened her legs to him. She felt as if she’d die if he stopped touching her. Her nipples throbbed, her pussy slick and hot clenched, desperate to be filled. His lips tasted so good she felt drunk from them. They were firm and masterful and he knew just what to do. His large hands had slid up her thighs and she mewled in delight, barely stopping herself from moving down to meet them halfway. She’d thought that was good but when he moved his thumbs over her pussy through her panties she thought she’d lose it and come immediately. It had been so long, nearly five years, since she’d been with a man. This man was seriously dangerous to her peace of mind. She felt as if she were outside of her body watching someone else as she rolled her hips and begged for more with her whimpers.
He nibbled down her jaw as one hand came up to unbutton her pajama top, slipping inside to cup her breast. His palm slid over that hard point of sensitive flesh and drew back to pinch a nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He could smell her layered on his scent in the shirt and it drove him crazy. Her head lolled back and she gave a moan of pleasure that shot straight to his groin. His control was hanging by a thread at that moment.
“God, I want to fuck you,” he growled and took a nipple in his mouth at the same time as he slid a finger into her panties and up into the heat of her pussy. Triumph rushed through him as she gasped and moaned. Her honey scalded his hand. “Jesus, you’re so tight, so tight and hot.”
She clutched his head to her as he bit down on her nipple, snagging her breath in her throat as she moaned. Unable to stop herself, she moved her hips, grinding herself against his stroking fingers.
“Lex? You around?” Cade’s bellow from downstairs shocked her back to her senses. Lex’s growl around her nipple stopped her from her attempts to sit back up.
“Lex! You have a call from New York,” Cade yelled out again.
“Go! He’s going to come up here any minute.” She squealed as he pinched her clit between sli
ppery fingers.
“I can’t leave you this way,” he murmured.
“Lex! Damn it, it’s important,” Cade called out again, the frustration clear in his voice. She could hear him coming closer, footsteps getting louder. Feeling panicked, she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand out of her underpants and pushed him back, panting and irritated.
Sighing, he brought his fingers to his lips and licked them, eyes falling shut at the pleasure of her taste. “So sweet. This isn’t over,” he promised and adjusted his ridiculously hard cock in his pants and limped out of the room to deal with his call.
She sat for a few minutes trying to pull herself back together. What on earth was wrong with her? What was he doing to her? When he touched her it was as if everything else seemed to disappear. It was as if he was the only thing that mattered, and that was dangerous. She didn’t have the time or the emotional energy to deal with a relationship right then. Ugh! And a man like Lex Warden wasn’t really relationship material to begin with. She could just fuck him out of her system and then move on, but she had the sinking feeling that sleeping with Lex would not be something easily walked away from. She needed to get laid, plain and simple. She tried to tell herself that it could wait until after she had some distance between herself and Lex, but she knew it was a lie.
She ordered herself to suck it up and got dressed. She pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and made a mental note to stop at the mall and get some new clothes on her way back from the police station. Her hair was a lost cause. She put it into a loose braid that was already coming undone because her ponytail holder had snapped the night before.
Giving herself a stern talking-to, she took a deep breath and, clutching her case and the other laptop, she headed downstairs to the kitchen.
Trying not to show how much she enjoyed seeing Lex there cooking and holding out a mug of steaming coffee to her, she kept her focus on her laptop, setting it on the bar. She put the other case down and made sure the programs were still running before she looked up to him, grabbed the cup gratefully and sat down.
“Thanks,” she murmured, putting her gaze back on the screen. If she ignored him, perhaps they could just forget that scene in the bedroom even happened.
He pushed the laptop aside and put a plate filled with bacon, hash browns, eggs and toast in front of her. “Eat.”
She gave him an annoyed glare but dug in heartily, realizing it had been quite a while since she’d last eaten. Moments later she could feel the delicious food begin to energize her, and she needed that strength to meet the day.
Cade strolled in and grabbed a mug of coffee and sat at the bar with them. He did a double take, eyes widening as he took her in. “Uh, wow, who are you?” He laughed and it got even louder when he saw the look Lex threw at him.
Nina explained the situation quickly and Cade sent a surreptitious look at his brother and then back to her. “Well, I think glasses are sexy but I have to say that the you you’ve been hiding is pretty hot. I can see why you wanted to keep things low-key. I do look forward to hearing just exactly what it is you’re hiding from someday.”
“Put your eyes back in your head while you still have them,” Lex growled.
Cade chuckled and looked back at Nina, who was blushing. He winked at her and tipped his head toward the laptop that was on the counter. “So? Any news?”
She took a sip of coffee and turned the screen to face Cade. “I’ve broken through some major security protocols but I’m still working on the encryption program. Right now there’s a program running through my laptop, hooked up to this one, that’s trying to break through. The problem is that the protection program on this is layers deep and much newer than the program on my computer. Whatever your boy found out, it’s something pretty major. This is really sophisticated stuff.” She looked to them and narrowed her eyes. “You guys running guns or drugs? If you are, say so now because I have enough trouble and I don’t have any need to borrow more.”
“No! What is it you think a Pack does anyway?” Cade asked, offended.
She made an annoyed snort and waved in Lex’s direction. “Look, your brother here carries a mighty big gun and seems pretty comfortable around ass kicking. You live in this very posh mansion, you drive a Mercedes and a Harley. Your clothes are designer. You’re both wearing expensive watches.” She stood up and began to pace, trying to stay calm.
“My brother was infected on purpose in a bar fight by one of your own Pack members. He pretty much has been off the radar for the last two years. I have no idea what you do but if he had a part in it, I can only guess that it’s shady.”
Lex gave an inarticulate growl of offense. “We don’t run guns or drugs, Nina. The Pack owns a construction business. By trade I’m an architect but I handle Pack security. I carry a gun because sometimes we have to deal with dangerous situations. Cade runs the Pack as well as the day-to-day business stuff from the construction company and our coffeehouses. The Pack owns a coffeehouse in Queen Anne and another in Bellevue. Carter, the third-in-command, runs the coffeehouse in Queen Anne, and our fifth, Melissa, runs the one in Bellevue. Nothing illegal.”
She sighed. “Nothing you know about. This level of encryption doesn’t protect coffee-buying records of your Pack, Lex. Whatever is on this hard drive is hot. Two people have been killed to protect it.”
“As far as I can tell, you’re the only one here who is a criminal,” Lex said and immediately regretted it when he saw her reaction.
“Yeah? Huh, cause no one’s been murdered over me. I’m not carrying a big gun. My house—the house I had before your people torched it—wasn’t protected by a sophisticated security system.” Her voice was tight.
“In any case, if I recall correctly, we aren’t talking about my past. This isn’t about me. I’ve changed. Everything I did, I did to eat and to feed and house a teenaged brother. I don’t have to defend myself to you,” she bit off and he watched her close up. She moved her body away from his and it brought a frisson of panic from his wolf.
Lex winced, horrified that he’d hurt her. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Some money has disappeared. Cade noticed it about six months ago. We also noticed that some non-Pack-affiliated wolves had been coming to our Howls. A few of the Pack hierarchy came to me, concerned that one of our own might be up to no good. We took a few names, discreetly, off the financial stuff, to try and protect the Pack. We didn’t want to arouse suspicions or make false accusations but it wasn’t something we could ignore. Tommie was watching three people for us.”
“And they are?”
Lex looked to Cade, trying to decide how much to tell her.
“Hey look,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “My brother died for this crap. I’m either in or I’m out, there is no in between. You tell me everything or I’m out of here. You can crack your own computer—which you won’t be able to.”
“You aren’t Pack, we don’t share this kind of thing with outsiders,” Cade tried to explain.
She widened her eyes at them incredulously. “Look at me, Cade Warden. Look at my face. Is this the face of a woman who cares? No! Listen, in fact, I could not possibly care less about not having the secret wolf handshake. I’m telling you how it’s going to be. Take it or leave it.”
Lex sighed, looking to Cade, who nodded his permission to tell her. “Sit down and finish your breakfast. Tommie was watching Carter, Melissa and Eric. They’re all in the top Pack hierarchy, right below Cade and me.”
“Obviously you don’t know who Tommie was meeting that night.”
He shook his head. “No, we do, but that’s the problem. He met with all three of them that night. They all admit to having seen him but they all said that he left without a problem. According to their stories, Melissa was the last to see him, but obviously the killer is lying and so we don’t know what the heck is up.”
&nbs
p; She nodded. “Okay, well, let me get back to work and see if I can’t find some answers for you. I’ve got to go to the police station in an hour so let me get this program started so that it can work while I’m gone.” She shoved her plate away, pulling the laptop back in front of her.
“While we’re gone,” Lex said.
“Do you always do that growl thing?” she asked, annoyed that it turned her on as much as it did.
“Are you always this difficult?” he countered, leaning in closer to her.
Before she could retort, Cade threw his head back and laughed so hard that he cried. Lex snorted, tossed the dishtowel at his brother’s head and turned to gather up the dishes.
* * *
She tried not to cry when she saw the ruin of her house. Lex wanted her to see it before they went to the police. He hated hurting her but he wanted that emotion to help her because the last thing he needed was to bring more problems into her life than they already had. The cops and the arson investigators from the fire department needed to see how upset she was, needed to know that she didn’t do this herself.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly as she looked at the ruin that had once been her home.
She shrugged. “There’s nothing you can do. It is what it is.” Her voice was flat but he could feel her sorrow. He wondered, not for the first time, just what it was that made her so distrustful. He also winced as he remembered his comment about her criminal past back at the house. He doubted she’d be opening up to him about that any time soon.
He touched the back of her hand briefly and drove her to the police station.
They were both relieved that their story about spending the night together was accepted without incident. The authorities didn’t have a lot to go on but the chemicals used as an accelerant were unusual enough that the attentions of the investigators had been raised.
