Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance

by Ashley Jennifer

  “You set them on their feet and gave them hope when your father’s cruelties made them believe all hope was lost. And you gave them the glimpse of how rich and wonderful and joyous life could be for all of us. For me. That’s why I fought for alpha, Kara. Not for myself, or even the pack. I fought for that vision you placed in all of us when the nights were so long and desperate, none of us thought we’d make it out alive.”

  Kara looked into the mirror again and saw his belief in her strength shining in his eyes. “You really see this when you look at me?”

  He gave a crooked grin. “Oh yes. And besides that, you have really nice tits.”

  “Ryder!”

  “Had to say it…”

  “Like it is.”

  Ryder gathered her into his arms. “You are beautiful Kara. You always will be to me, even when we’re old and gray and wrinkled. I’ll always see you as the female who captured my heart.”

  For a few moments, she rested against him, accepting her place in the pack. In his life. Then Kara lifted her head. “My brother will be here soon.”

  Ryder brushed back a lock of hair from her face. “Yes.”

  “Nothing will stop him from a pack war.”

  His fingers stroked her throat. “One thing will.”

  “The mating mark.”

  “I must do this, before Aiden arrives. You have to bear my mark that we are bonded. It’s going to hurt, but just for a minute.” A heated intensity filled his gaze as he gathered her hands into his. “But I will not do it without your full consent. Do you agree to this, Kara? Do you wish to be mated to me for life? As much as it would kill me, I – I would let you go.”

  She thought about her cold, lonely room back at Aiden’s ranch, and the fresh, new possibilities awaiting her here. She thought about how much Ryder cherished, and loved her. Oh, he admitted he needed her to help rule the pack, but it would be ruling with love and tenderness, not cold indifference.

  Kara kissed him, and rubbed her nose against his neck, marking him in her own way, with her scent. “I love you. I will mate with you.”

  A low growl of approval rumbled deep in his throat. They disrobed and he led her over to the bed. She lay on her stomach. Twisting her neck, she watched his fangs descend and sharpen. Kara braced herself as Ryder gently turned her head. His warm mouth nuzzled her throat, then he sank his fangs into her neck. Sharp pain flashed through her, along with an erotic throbbing in her loins.

  Then he licked the wound, his tongue dragging slowly over her skin. The stinging faded, replaced by growing arousal. Wetness gushed between her legs.

  She turned over. Ryder spread her legs wide and knelt between them. The musky scent of her arousal mingled with his sharp male fragrance of spices.

  His mouth felt hot and wet as Ryder softly kissed her thighs. Trembling, she watched him lower his head between her legs. He blew a gentle, warm breath against her most intimate flesh, making her tingle with anticipation.

  He put his mouth on her and she cried out in shocked pleasure.

  Ryder tongued her, delving between her swollen, soaked folds as he buried his head between her legs. The silky hair on his head rubbed against her inner thighs as he slowly dragged his tongue over her clit. Cupping her ass, he rubbed his face against her and hummed deep in his throat, the vibration causing an erotic friction. Kara squirmed, eager for more.

  “I love how you taste,” he murmured against her wet flesh. “I will never tire of you, sweeting.”

  The flicks of his tongue intensified. A delicious pressure built, making her bottom clench hard, triggering the instinct to move her hips upward.

  He squeezed and kneaded her ass as he continued pleasuring her. Kara fisted her hands in the sheets. Tension built higher as he stroked his tongue faster and harder.

  And then he gave another flick, and she shattered with a sob. He remained with her, gently soothing her pulsing flesh with tiny kisses, staying with her as the last spasm faded and she lay limp and panting.

  Sitting back, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, giving a wolfish grin.

  “Turn over,” he said thickly.

  Ryder’s darkened gaze met Kara’s. The bed dipped beneath his weight as he settled on it, behind her. The traditional mating stance for Lupines.

  Kara climbed onto her hands and knees. The position made her feel exposed, vulnerable and aroused. She glanced over her shoulder. From its nest of thick, dark hair, his long penis thickened. Her core throbbed with need.

  “It’s time to consummate our bond, Kara,” he whispered, guiding his engorged shaft between her legs.

  Nudging past her soaked folds, he slid the broad head of his cock across her slick cleft. A delicious friction ensued as he repeated the action. Each slow push and drag caused her flesh to pulse in renewed pleasure. Kara gasped. Never had she imagined it would feel this good.

  Awakened by the erotic friction, her wolf senses howled.

  Guiding his penis against her soaked folds, he shoved hard, grunting with satisfaction as he slid deep inside. Kara pushed back, impatient for more. With a low grunt, Ryder began to hammer hard inside her. His enormous shaft throbbed inside her tight channel, binding them together in the flesh.

  Caged by his strong body, she surrendered to sensation. Ryder dug his fingers into her hips as he thrust harder, his thick cock making a wet, sucking sound as he slapped against her. Her breasts bounced and then he reached around her and cupped one, squeezing the taut nipple.

  She cried out as he slid his palm over her belly and then much lower, caressing her pulsing clit. With each relentless slide of his penis, she arched her ass upward, eager for more.

  Ryder snarled. She felt his engorged penis swell and press against her wet, sensitive tissues. And then his penis suddenly grew thicker, rubbing against nerve endings engorged with blood.

  The mating lock between Lupines, ensuring his seed would stay sealed deep inside her.

  Awash in sensual pleasure, Kara cried out as an orgasm slammed into her. Ryder snarled and then shouted her name as he spurted deep inside her. For several moments he kept ejaculating, each wash of his hot seed making her come over and over until she felt wrung out. Finally his penis diminished enough and he pulled out.

  When she fell exhausted to the bed, he gently rolled them over to the side, stroking her damp hair, sweat dampening their entwined bodies.

  They were mated now, for life. And nothing, not even her brother, could tear them apart.

  She only hoped Aiden would not tear Ryder apart with his bare hands for daring to abduct her.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kara insisted on joining Ryder on the porch, as word came that Aiden’s pickup truck sped toward the ranch.

  Silently, they watched the black, beaten truck spit gravel and dirt beneath its tires as it slammed to a stop. Her brother, accompanied by Darius, his pack beta, climbed out. Aiden slammed the door and advanced. Several Lupines she recognized from his ranch vaulted over the truck’s bed, joining their leader.

  Kara’s breath hitched in alarm. The strongest males in Ryder’s pack assembled on the porch, silently regarding their former alpha’s heir.

  Aiden’s thick ebony hair curled at the collar of his shirt, the sleeves rolled up to display tanned, muscled forearms. Dark stubble shadowed his strong jawline. He stood well over six feet, all muscle and sinew, a Lupine who could bench press a pick-up truck.

  Or take on Ryder in a challenge for his former pack and win.

  Feeling Ryder grow bristle with tension, Kara put a calming hand on his arm. Hostility crackled in the air as the two powerful males faced each other. Feral anger radiated from both. She could scent it.

  “Aiden. Welcome. Ryder has claimed me for his mate.” She squeezed Ryder’s hand and then lifted the long curtain of her hair to display her mate’s bite. “There will be no war, no fighting. Not even a growl. Understand? I will not have the two males I love most in the world at each other’s throats.” She tensed, ready for battle.

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nbsp; Darius chuckled, then pushed Aiden’s arm. “Told you.”

  Her brother fisted his hands, glanced at his beta then back at her. “Very well.”

  Prepared to argue, she stared at her beloved older brother. “What? It’s that easy?”

  Aiden scowled. “Easy? Hell no. I wasn’t about to even listen to what you had to say, but Darius convinced me not to charge here, fangs bared, and attack.”

  Ryder relaxed the slightest bit. “You decided to listen to reason.”

  “For now. Only because I remembered how Kara felt about you. All she ever did was talk about you.” Aiden’s scowl deepened. “But if you ever hurt her…”

  Pushing aside her hand, Ryder climbed down one step. “And if you came back to challenge me for your former pack, you’ve got a fight on your hands, Mitchell. I won’t let it go, and neither will I let Kara go.”

  The pair bristled at each other like snarling wolves. Kara waved her hands. “Hello, can we tone down the testosterone just a bit? Civilized, remember?”

  “I have no interest in claiming this pack, Carrington. I wanted closure.” Aiden looked at Kara and his expression softened. “And I wanted, more than anything else, for my little sister to be safe, and happy. She deserves nothing less.”

  “I am!”

  The scowl returned. “You’d better make her happy, and put her needs first. Or I’ll come back here and tear you to pieces.”

  “Try it,” Ryder said softly. “I can take you, Mitchell. But I wouldn’t because it would break your sister’s heart if I turned her brother into lunch meat.”

  Her stomach tightened. The assembled males shifted their feet, their stances threatening. Kara held her breath as the two leaders glared at each other, any second ready to shift into wolf.

  Then Aiden’s shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. “Lunch meat? That the best you can do?”

  “Over processed and filled with preservatives. What more of an insult do you want?” Ryder descended the steps and held out his hand. Aiden shook it.

  Her mate nodded at the restless males, shuffling their boots in the dirt. “Why all the muscle if you didn’t plan an attack?”

  A slow smile touched her brother’s mouth. “I planned an attack of labor. Brought them here to work. Figured the place still looks like shit and you could use the extra hands. We’ve got hammers, nails and energy.”

  Ryder laughed, turned and barked an order to the males on the porch. They led Aiden’s men in the direction of the barn.

  Her mate clapped her brother on the shoulder. “Come in. I’ve saved all your father’s papers for you to go through. There’s forms you need to sign. Legal shit Skins need to turn the ranch over to me. I have enough cash from my land sale to keep your ranch from foreclosure. Long as you’re here, let’s take care of business. Beer?

  “Beer, hell yeah. None of that cheap crap Alastair always stocked.”

  “Hell no, I have the good stuff.”

  They walked away, talking, their stances relaxed. Kara leaned against the door frame with a heavy sigh of relief.

  She looked up and saw Darius shaking his head.

  Kara raced down the steps. She hugged the Lupine, inhaling his unique scent. Tugging him inside to the living room, she sat down at the sofa, patted the space beside her. “How did you convince Aiden to call off the war?”

  He grinned, shoving a hand through his thick, black curls. Mischief danced in his deep blue eyes. “I told him like it is. Said that if he stormed the castle, he’d probably catch the princess in bed in a very compromising position with her new mate. That’s what I’d be doing instead of preparing for battle. Making love is much more pleasurable than making war.”

  Kara blushed.

  “I think the visual was too much for your brother.”

  “Thank you.” Grateful this charming Lupine had diffused Aiden’s anger, she squeezed his hand. “When you’re finished here, will you return to the ranch or go fetch your mate? I know you’ve been dying to see her.”

  Darius went silent, staring into the empty fireplace. Kara’s heart gave a painful squeeze. “What happened? You told me as soon as everything was stable, you’d go get Sam. Did they move? You can find her, we can help…”

  “She’s dead.”

  Kara stared, her throat tightening.

  “I snuck back to my old man’s pack. Knocked on her mother’s door, asked for Sam.” Darius laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She told me Sam died.”

  “She might have lied, might not have wanted to give up her daughter…”

  “I saw the gravestone.”

  Dear gods. Kara squeezed his hands, feeling helpless, wishing she could comfort him. Gone was his cheerful, mocking air, replaced by a male who seemed cold and distant as an iceberg.

  “It’s okay to mourn her,” she told him. “You must grieve.”

  “I can’t. I won’t break down.” His rough voice caught. “Sam was my life, and she was the only person I’ll ever love. I can’t mourn her in public because Aiden needs me to appear strong at all times.”

  And then she knew that even when a love so deep existed, and your heart shattered after losing a mate, a Lupine could act with strength and courage. Darius had lost everything, but stood firm in his resolve to help her brother build a new, resilient pack.

  Kara suddenly knew how to help him. She opened her arms. “Then while your pack is at the barn, allow me the privilege of letting you mourn her here in private.”

  A single tear escaped his brimming blue eyes. It cascaded down his thin cheek, splashed onto her hand. Kara drew him close, like a sister would a big brother she comforted.

  Darius sobbed, his broad shoulders shaking, as he wept. Tears clogged her own throat. This big male who had helped her brother keep the peace, who held the frail pack together through hard work and respect, needed to grieve.

  You are our strength, the heart of our people, who keeps us alive and strong and lets us be whoever we are, omega or alpha. You give us the rare privilege of releasing our feelings without fear. Your father used our frailties to tear us down. You take our frailties and make us stronger.

  Ryder’s words echoed in her mind as she held her brother’s best friend and beta, letting him finally grieve his true mate’s death. After a few minutes, he lifted his face, his eyes reddened and swollen. He grabbed some tissues from the box on the end table and wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

  “Thanks. I needed that. I look a mess.” He looked around, clearly uneasy. “I can’t let anyone see me like this.”

  Kara thought hard. “Wait here. Give me a few minutes.”

  She returned with a plate of corn chips. Darius blinked, his eyes puffy and red. “A snack?”

  “Aiden’s special recipe for macho nachos. Jalapeno and habanero peppers. And I seasoned the chips and cheese with hot sauce. No one can accuse you of anything more than being stupid, for eating more than one.”

  She picked up a chip and nibbled on it, her tongue on fire. “Oh my gods, that is freaking hot!”

  They ate the nachos, both of them now crying, their faces red and eyes swollen.

  Footsteps sounded on the staircase. Five rugged males from her pack entered the living room, saw Darius sitting with her. One frowned.

  “Why are you with my alpha’s mate?”

  “She’s my adopted sister. We’re sharing a snack.” Darius coughed. “But don’t try it. It’s lethal.”

  “Lethal for weak Lupines,” the male taunted. Scoffing, the Lupine picked up a chip loaded with peppers. Red suffused his face as he ate it. He began to cough and gasp and then tears streamed down his face. The other males pounded him on the back. Suddenly the Lupine shifted into his wolf. Howling, he ran off.

  Darius gave the remaining males a level look. “Care for a chip?”

  They shook their heads.

  “Then get to work on the barn.”

  They stared at him.

  “Now,” he snapped.

  They scurried to obey. Kara grinned a
t him. “You talk like an alpha.”

  Darius shrugged. “It helps keep our males in line, knowing Aiden’s not the only one who can order them around.” He squeezed her hand. “Thanks, kiddo, for everything.”

  “Just remember to wash your hands very thoroughly before using the bathroom.”

  “Yeah, did that once. My dick felt like someone slathered lava over it. Think it took a whole day before I dared to piss again.”

  He reddened. “Sorry about the swearing. Forgot myself.”

  Kara laughed. “Never do that, Darius.”

  “Piss again after eating hot peppers?” He gave a charming grin.

  “Apologize. This is me. And as my mate has pointed out, no one needs to fear being anything but themselves around me ever again.” Ever.

  CHAPTER 11

  Kara continued sitting on the sofa after Darius went to supervise the Lupines fixing the barn. She gave a long, luxurious stretch, wincing at her sore muscles. Everything would work out. It was going to be great. Terrific. She closed her eyes.

  “It’s not ours,” her brother said roughly.

  Kara opened her eyes. Okay, maybe not so terrific. “What are you talking about? Where’s Ryder?”

  “In dad’s old office, going through some stuff. I found these, and thought you should look before we tell your new mate.”

  The blood drained from Aiden’s face as he set down a dusty box and a sheaf of papers onto the coffee table. “The ranch doesn’t belong to us, Kara. It never did.”

  Stunned, she shuffled through the legal papers as he sat beside her. “I don’t get it.”

  “Did you know this property belonged to Ryder’s family?”

  Kara’s heart stopped.

  Her brother's expression tightened. “Dad didn’t legally own the ranch.”

  “But he and mom bought the property fifty years ago!”

  “They owned it back then, but money was tight, so they sold it to the Carringtons and Mom and Dad stayed on as managers. Dad paid the taxes, worked the land, and no one ever questioned it. No one bothered going through the crapload of documents until now.”