Devil Hills: #1 Scarlet, Lexi & Lily

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “It has occurred to you that if I didn’t want you here, I wouldn’t have searched for you and brought you into my life? You mess with my head and my heart and I wouldn’t give up either of those, Scarlet. I won’t give up you.”

  “I don’t think you realized how complex your life would become,” she replied tactfully, watching him grimace just a little. “I figure I’ll go north in the spring and you can visit me on weekends.”

  “I…you’re planning what?” He knew his voice tightened and lowered but something inside him also knew she was much stronger than he first believed.

  “I have a business to run, Lucas,” she laughed at his scowl.

  “You’re gonna make me sleep alone? All week?” His growl was deep when she pushed to sit up, his arms reluctantly opening only when he felt the hint of claws in his biceps. His eyes remained on her face, his scowl lightening just a little when her hands worked the belt at his waist and then the button at the opening of his jeans. “Don’t think you can distract me, Scarlet. I haven’t agreed to that plan.”

  The tiniest hint of what she might call dismay in his tone.

  “Perhaps you should have done a little better planning,” she suggested mildly, shrugging and letting her fingers trail over the growing bulge beneath the denim. She liked the suddenly supping breath from her male.

  “I remembered condoms,” he murmured, groaning when her palm flattened and stroked down the length of his cock. “Scarlet…”

  “Shh…” She slid the zipper down slowly, her nails grazing the thin fabric of his boxers. “I find it fascinating that you believed we would be lovers.”

  “I had hopes,” he answered quickly. Her laughter was light and eyes sparkling.

  “You didn’t know me, Lucas. I could have been married with a half dozen pups and…” She shook her head, studying him in the semi-darkness of the room.

  “That part I had some serious heartburn with,” he murmured, sitting up and facing her, adjusting his jeans and wincing at the strain. How the woman was able to make him so hard, so fast that it hurt was a new sensation for him, mentally as well as physically. “And I knew the girl I’d met years ago wouldn’t have changed much...you had too strong a belief inside yourself. That’s the girl I fell for…it’s the girl I have now,” he told her softly, his palm moving to her shoulders, caressing along their length and down her arms. “Stay with me, Scarlet. Fight with me, love me…give me time…”

  She looked down at the large hands holding hers and smiled.

  “You certainly have confidence enough for both of us, Lucas.”

  “You had been calling it arrogance,” he teased, meeting the dark eyes with a grin. “I’m thinking this is progress.”

  Scarlet put her hands on his shoulders and went to her knees, pressing him back onto the bed.

  “You aren’t afraid of my temper,” she leaned closer, stretching out over him, her hips rotating and pressing down against the hard length of him. “Or my aggression.”

  “That isn’t quite true,” Lucas felt each and every move her very naked body made against his. A low groan was pulled from deep inside him, his hands gripping her hips firmly. “Stop moving, Scarlet.”

  “Which part isn’t true? And I like moving…if I tilt just like this…” A soft gasp broke from her lips. “Yes…like that…”

  “You’re naked…” His palms slid over her ass to her waist, lifting her higher and reaching for one beaded nipple with his mouth. His tongue swirled and stroked, the wide flat surface dragging across the tip before it curled and pulled her deeper into his mouth.

  “And you’re not,” she breathed raggedly, her hands digging into his shoulders. “I’m pretty sure we’re done talking, Lucas.”

  “What if I have questions?” He teased, dragging his tongue around the puckered nipple and enjoying the shiver he caused.

  “Send me a text,” she growled through her laugh, her knees sliding apart just at his waist. “You’re mine and I want you.”

  Lucas felt the searing, heated moisture against his skin, blinking in surprise when she twisted her body, gripping him with her knees and forcing him to his side. He felt her hands on his jeans, opening the zipper and tugging it over the rock hard length of his cock. The passion in her words sent his mind and body crashing together in a way that had never been his before Scarlet.

  “Keeping a girl waiting is not very polite, Lucas Daniels,” Scarlet went to her knees and pulled from the legs. She tossed the mass of fabric over her shoulder and prowled up the long length of his legs, her tongue pausing at the connection of his thigh and body.

  “I’m a guy, honey…and I’m still learning when we’re finished arguing and onto the hot make up sex part,” his low laugh turned into a long, deep groan when her tongue stroked over his cock hungrily, flicking over the tip and around the ridge.

  “I guess I’ll have to show you the difference,” she whispered before her demonstration began.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Eli was in the middle of congratulating himself on making it through the evening without fighting with Lexi about what the pack was planning. All of that flew out the window when she came storming into his home office shortly before nine, the tightly wound ponytail that she’d arranged that morning flipping and twitching and making him wince.

  “Boundaries,” she declared loudly, ignoring the admin assistant who suddenly found work to do in the other room. “Boun-dar-ies. Want a definition?”

  Eli cleared his throat, grateful for the wide old desk between them. Temporarily. His attention was on the low well between her breasts, something betrayed when her hands went flat on his desk with a loud clap and she leaned over the surface a little.

  “I need a little more information, Lexi. What’d I do?”

  “My car? Which isn’t really my car anymore since you had your minion…”

  “I have a minion?”

  “It doesn’t even look like my car!” She shouted, something that made the ponytail flip a little more sharply.

  “Lexi…” Eli rose slowly, coming around the desk and struggling to keep his eyes off the long flipping curl of her hair.

  “Eli…” Lexi hated the whine in her voice but the urge to stomp her foot would only make things look worse, she thought petulantly.

  He reached out, taking both her hands in his before he let himself breathe. He knew the car was being delivered that morning but really didn’t think about the reaction he was getting.

  “Let’s go outside and take a look. I don’t think Toby changed it that much. He fixed things that were teetering on the edge and…”

  “It’s not yours! It’s mine!” Lexi tugged on her palms and snarled at him. “Mine, mine, mine!” She stomped her foot anyway since she couldn’t get her hands free to wave them around.

  “It’s still yours only now I don’t have to worry about you stuck on the side of a hill waiting for a tow truck!” Eli tossed back, pulling on her hands until they bounced off one another. His arms locked around her, unyielding despite the strength inside her. He didn’t flinch or back away from the narrowed gorgeous eyes. “We’re a pair, Lexi. We take care of each other.”

  “You made that decision before we were…before we…” she bared her fangs at him and then quickly pulled them back, her head thumping on his chest.

  “Breathe…” he lowered his head, his teeth tugging on her ear lobe. “You’ve got one hell of a temper, kitten.”

  “You’re gonna wake up one morning with all your clothes shredded,” she growled back.

  “Why are you angry? It’s been made safe. That’s all I asked Toby to do, Lexi. Just make it safe for you,” he kept his voice low, soft against her throat. “Why is that bad?”

  “You could have asked,” came the petulant answer.

  “You would have argued and I don’t like arguing about money. Not when I can afford it,” he barely got his head out of the way when her head bounced up. His brain kicked into high gear at a glimpse of the fire in her eye
s. “How about I promise from here on out to talk to you before I…we…make decisions.”

  “This continues the problem from yesterday, Eli,” she said softly, closing her eyes.

  “If there was something important to you, I know without a doubt that you’d act first and apologize second,” Eli knew he was reading things right simply because she left her eyes closed. “Even if it revolved around me or my brothers. We aren’t so very different, Lexi. I don’t think yesterday was a problem. Yesterday was a sign that we’re all learning how to be part of a couple,” he winked at the arched look she tendered. “It’s a slow process.”

  “Lots of apologies involved,” she finally said with a sigh.

  “Hmm…”

  “You’re not going to let me see the bill from Toby, are you?” Lexi met the silent green eyes she admitted to falling for. In a dog. She was in love with a dog!

  She snarled when he peeked around the side to watch her ponytail flip and twitch.

  “It’s like a predictor of your mood,” Eli said with a chuckle.

  “And yet you continue to annoy me,” Lexi tried shoving against his chest.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he admitted. “I’ve got some people coming in a few minutes,” he kissed her, losing himself to the fire as their tongues mingled and she nipped his lip. “Be careful, Lexi.”

  “You, too, please,” she nodded and lifted her pack from the floor. She stared at the freshly washed, renovated car and sighed.

  Eli watched from the porch, another sharp flip of her ponytail when she lifted the keys and noticed the new coder for the new alarm since the old one no longer functioned. He leaned against the wide support for the roof, arms crossed over his chest when her eyes snapped around to meet his.

  “Get it out of your system all at once, kitten. It’s a brave new world,” he teased, laughing when she opened the door and finally noticed the clean and renovated inside.

  “Keep in mind you gotta sleep sometime, canine,” she growled over her shoulder, staring at the…it was just so clean and shiny! She sunk into the front seat and closed the door, old habits making her ready to turn the key a second time.

  Because it never started the first time. Ever. Until now.

  She shoved the seat back and scrambled to her knees, peering down the length of the wagon, taking in all the changes. Not really changes, she forced herself to amend.

  Repairs. Toby was very good at his job, she decided. Spinning back around, she fastened the seatbelt she no longer had to tuck under her butt.

  Eli was still grinning when she backed out of the drive and moved cautiously around the larger, fancy black vehicle pulling before the house. He went to greet his appointment, aware of the twitching noses at the scent around him.

  “You can relax, gentlemen. It’s cougar and she’s my mate,” he declared with more than a hint of pride, his palm out. “Eli Daniels. If you’ll step into my office, we can discuss the needs of your restaurants and what the Daniels’ Ranch can provide for your clientele.”

  Lily and Scarlet stood on the sidewalk outside Jess’s office and stared. Scarlet bent slightly, whispering.

  “She doesn’t look happy.”

  “The wagon looks incredible. I don’t think it’s ever been that quiet before,” Lily returned, nodding toward the approaching Lexi. “The tail is twitching.”

  “Always a clue,” Scarlet chuckled.

  “Are you two finished?” Lexi glared from one to the other. “Let’s go. I got the directions and this is gonna be a two hour drive.”

  “But at least we won’t be dead on the road somewhere,” Lily walked toward the wagon, nodding as she checked the tires and peered through the windows. “Nice.”

  “Don’t start,” Lexi shook her head, sliding behind the wheel. “He won’t tell me what it cost,” she growled angrily, starting the car and fastening her belt.

  “I’m operating under the belief it becomes joint once you’re mated,” Scarlet took the back seat, long legs stretched out over the seat. “This is nice. Really nice. I need to get my clothes from Morning Star sometime soon.”

  “Someone’s feeling real mellow today,” Lexi tossed over her shoulder, the deep chuckle making them all smile. “I think I was…mellow…until I saw what he did to my car. I…it just feels…”

  “Permanent?” Scarlet offered softly.

  “It takes some adjusting to,” Lily turned in the seat, watching her friends.

  “Kind of makes things really nice to live in the same town finally,” Scarlet grinned, turning serious with a long sigh. “What’d you learn about this pack?”

  “We’re meeting with three of the females,” Lily answered, sipping from the coffee cup in her hand. “Essentially our equals in their pack. A nice neutral shop just outside Seattle. Good coffee and food. I got the impression they weren’t happy about the information we had and were quite anxious to talk to us.”

  “Hmm…so maybe their males froze them out,” Scarlet said thoughtfully.

  “I don’t know. From everything I’ve been learning through the years, there’s usually a lot of loyalty involved. Barring abuse, I hope,” Lily stared out at the passing mountains they were crossing.

  “It’s also possible they don’t have accurate facts for whatever takeover they believe is good for them,” Lexi offered with a shrug. “Or we’re being set up for a trap.”

  “I was waiting for that one,” Lily looked from one to the other.

  Several minutes of silence followed before Scarlet answered.

  “We’re in the middle of a nice little yuppie town called Issaquah. I’m pretty sure it’ll be just a simple meeting of…people,” she finished with a tiny wince.

  “Can’t shift, can’t shoot…I hope we know what we’re doing,” Lexi finally said, exhaling slowly.

  “Well…” Lily stepped from the front seat, stretched and glanced around the small shopping area an hour later. “It is a nice little place. Clean and sunny today,” she saw the coffee shop and sighed in relief. “Coffee.”

  All three crossed the parking area, taking in the few people out for morning shopping. A long stretch of green belt was on their right, walkers and joggers now and then on the well-kept trail.

  “You know you’re gonna creep people out if you don’t control that thing here,” Lily sipped the hot coffee and sighed gratefully, watching her friend reach up and grab the band from her hair. She thrust it in her pocket and ran her fingers through her hair, the tiered length reaching the center of her back in wide, loose curls. “I could braid it for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Or you could get a little pixie cut,” Lily winked at Scarlet.

  “I like my tail,” Lexi grumbled, paying for her coffee and striding from the shop to find a table outside. “It’s nice on this side of the mountains. Warmer.”

  “I think I’ll wander around a bit,” Lily nodded and walked off toward some shops just opening.

  “Did you and Lucas talk about the pack stuff last night?” Lexi leaned back, making sure she had a wide angle view of all coming toward them.

  “Some. Neither of us is used to being part of a pair,” Scarlet followed her actions, adjusting her chair so she could watch the sun filtering through the tall trees and the approach of people from three sides. Both had their backs to the building as they sipped their coffee. “But given that his parents have been an example, I guess I thought he’d be more…understanding. More…democratic.”

  “What gets me is how Eli just accepts it,” Lexi stared into the parking lot, fingers on one hand absently turning the half empty cup in her palm. “It could be a year or three days and he’s the same. Don’t you ever wonder why we’re so different? In thinking, I mean…guys and girls…”

  “That’s what’s causing my headache,” Scarlet sighed, watching three women striding toward them. “I think we have company.”

  Lily saw them approach from the book store window she was peering into. She turned and went to join her friends, arriving
at the same time.

  “Scarlet Matthews?” A tall blonde glanced from one to the other, settling on Scarlet and offering her palm. “Caroline Baxter. My friends, Alexis and Ronnie,” she gestured to the women behind her, a brunette and redhead.

  “Nice to meet you. Lexi Baker and Lily Gaines. Pull up a chair and let’s talk,” Scarlet suggested, arranging her chair a little for better access.

  “After some coffee, please,” Alexis inhaled the scent and walked gratefully into the shop.

  “Totally understood,” Lexi chuckled.

  “I was afraid you’d change your mind about meeting with us,” Scarlet said when they all returned to the table.

  “Our Alpha is my oldest brother,” she told them. “Just because some of our males are too stupid to discuss problems, doesn’t make us the same,” Caroline said with a sigh. “What you told us about the females coming to your territory…” Her head shook. “I’m sorry for that. The names and descriptions in your email…I’m not saying we should watch every single individual, but they’re too damned young. Hell, most of them are still considered sub-adults and their parents are not happy with what I found out. An Alpha might be scary, but a pissed off mom…” She met the grins on the others faces.

  “I couldn’t believe it at first,” Alexis said quietly. “Then I started asking questions. Some tried lying…that never goes well. We’ve had these positions forever and some of the younger females needed a serious reminder of how things worked.”

  “They didn’t use any of the females old enough to think,” Ronnie said dryly, taking a long drink of something steamy. “God, I needed that this morning. Spent half the night corralling girls who should have their heads examined,” she shook her short clipped dark curls. “And working to keep their parents from grounding them for life. You throw the right cute guy at them, and they forget to come to their own Alpha.”

  “You didn’t speak to the males?” Lily looked from one to the other.