by Desiree Holt
At the office, her car was untouched and the lost files had miraculously appeared. When Brian wasn’t sitting with her in court, he was just outside on his cell phone, talking to his brother and the others.
“They’ve got a tail on Mickey Walker,” he told her at a break. “But he’s not doing anything to call attention to himself. And his wife, who managed to hang onto most of their money, sticks to him like glue.”
“Then who…?”
“Don’t know, but we’ll find out.”
* * * *
Brian was glad to see Luke, Grey and Michael waiting for him when he and Regan let themselves into her house.
“No van tonight?” he asked his brother.
Luke shook his head. “We had Sierra drop us off. She sent along her apologies but she had some stuff to take care of tonight. She’ll pick us up in the morning.” He looked at Regan. “She says she hopes to see you again before we have to leave again.”
“Me, too.”
Regan smiled, but Brian could see the strain on her face. Just in the short time he’d known her, he’d become aware that being in control of a situation was important to her. Now, control had been taken from her, and he would fix that as fast as he could. If they hadn’t been in a room full of people, he would have yanked her into his arms and done what he knew would ease her tension. But right now, they had other things to do.
“I’ve got some stuff for you to look over.” Grey, who had been leaning against the kitchen counter, took a folder from under his arm and dropped it on the table. “We checked out all the perps on the list you gave us, and the ones on the loose are too busy getting into trouble again or staying under the radar to plan this kind of vengeance.”
Brian grabbed it before Regan could and flipped it open. “Did you know Sharon has applied to law school three times and been turned down?” he asked Regan. “Or that your friend Lisa is in financial trouble and a promotion on the homicide team would give her the bump in salary she needs? Or that your former…date, Greg Sampson, wants your spot as assistant chief on the homicide team and has been lobbying your boss for it?”
“According to his nosy next door neighbour, he also has a woman visiting him at least four times a week,” Michael added. “No security cameras and the woman didn’t give us a very good description but we’re on top of it.”
At that moment, the telephone rang. Everyone looked at it as if it was a living thing.
Regan reached for it. “It’s too early for my ‘friend’ to call. It’s probably about one of my cases.”
But as she listened to the person on the other end, Brian saw Regan’s face turn even paler. She dropped the receiver and left it dangling for Michael to receive.
“What?” he asked.
“It was him. Or her.” She wet her lips. “Whoever it was said it’s happening tonight and all the bodyguards in the world can’t protect me.”
Brian’s wolf rage rose up within him, and for a moment, he thought he’d be unable to control the urge to shift. The need to kill to protect his mate.
“Shit.” He guided her into a chair at the table. “Where’s your liquor? You need a shot of something.”
“Family room,” she whispered. “Bar.” She knotted her hands together, but the trembling was still obvious.
As he went to pour Regan a drink, he managed to get himself somewhat under control. But he also realised they had bigger troubles than threatening calls and nasty notes. Someone wanted Regan dead. And badly.
* * * *
Regan sipped on her drink, feeling marginally better. She’d strained to hear the voice on the phone, trying to identify it, but whoever it was had used something mechanical to disguise themselves. The news about Sharon, Lisa and Greg had unnerved her. She’d thought she and Greg had parted friends, but that might only be her perception. And the information about Sharon and Lisa floored her. How little she really knew about anyone around her.
That’s what comes of being totally consumed with my work.
“It will be dark soon,” Grey pointed out. “We need to get ourselves set up.”
Michael, who hadn’t said much up until now, nodded and looked at Regan. “Nothing will happen to you. We promised Brian, and we promise you. I guarantee you no one could have gotten on the property today without tripping the alarms, and we monitored them all day. That means whoever it is has something planned for tonight. They’ve pegged me as a bodyguard, but don’t know about the rest of us.”
“Whoever this is sounded pretty confident,” Regan told him, taking another swallow of the liquor to steady herself.
Brian leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “That’s because they don’t know about your secret weapons.”
She looked around the kitchen.”Do you all…shift? I mean…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be asking…”
Luke laughed. “It’s okay. Sierra asked the same thing. Yes, we are all shifters. All with the wolf gene.” One corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. “And we don’t howl at the moon.”
Heat crept up her cheeks. “I apologise for—”
“Not a problem. Why don’t you go upstairs and change into something more comfortable? I’ll fix you some soup,” Brian said. “You need to eat something, and I know you only nodded at lunch today.”
“I’ll try. My stomach’s just tied in knows.”
He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his mouth lightly to hers. “I think this may all come to a head tonight. Then you can finally relax.”
Regan sighed. “I hope so. This is driving me nuts. But how do they think they can get close to me with all this protection?”
“No one knows just how well covered you are. And we plan to do the same thing we did last night. Let them get just close enough so we can grab them.” He swatted her rear. “Now go change, and I’ll see about that soup.”
When she walked into the kitchen clad in her favourite sweats, Regan did a double take. Brian was standing at the stove stirring a pot, but three wolves prowled the room restlessly. One of them had a gorgeous red pelt that reflected the kitchen light. Another was a silver grey. The third was as black as Brian.
Luke, she thought. The brother.
They all looked at her with the same warm amber eyes, and if she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought they were grinning.
Brian grinned at her, poured soup into a bowl then carried it to the table. He had a place set with a cold drink and some crackers.
“Here. Eat.”
He gave her another one of those brief kisses then calmly took off his clothes and folded them on a chair. With burst of stars, the black wolf of the morning was back. At the same time, in another starburst, the grey wolf disappeared and a very naked Grey Montgomery appeared.
Regan couldn’t help staring at him. Were they all this magnificent?
Grey unselfconsciously took his clothes from the counter and slipped them on. “Sorry. I meant to shift before you got back down here but got sidetracked.” He finished with his buttons and zipper. “We decided someone needs to be inside with you. Brian wanted the job, but his senses are keener than ours so we need him outside.”
He opened the sliding door, and the three wolves slipped outside into the dark.
Regan ate her soup slowly, knowing Brian would be upset if she just dumped it. Grey prowled restlessly around the house, checking windows and doors and every so often peering into the darkness outside.
When the phone rang, they both jumped. Grey put his hand over Regan’s.
“We’ve got a recorder set up on the phone to try to get whoever it is to talk some more.”
She nodded and picked up the receiver, holding it so Grey could hear also. “Hello?”
“Regan?” A woman’s voice, slightly garbled. “This is Ruth Fairchild.”
Her boss’s secretary.
“Ruth, I can hardly hear you.”
“That’s because I’m on my cell, and I’m in a weak reception zone. Listen, Barry has some last minute files fo
r you to review before tomorrow. I hate to do this, but can I drop them off?”
Regan looked at Grey.
He mouthed, “Do you know her?”
“Yes.”
He nodded his okay.
“Fine, Ruth. How soon will you be here?”
“About half an hour, if that’s okay.”
“Come on over.” She disconnected the call. “I’ve known Ruth since I started working at the prosecutor’s office. I promise you, she’s not the stalker.”
“Okay. Let me tell the others. I’ll be right back.” He stepped out into her yard and whistled for the wolves. In seconds, he was back inside. “All set on the perimeter,” he told her.
Regan paced uneasily as she waited for Ruth to arrive. So much whirled through her mind—Brian, his story, the stalker, the news about her co-workers. How the hell had she gotten into this mess, anyway?
It was almost a relief when the doorbell rang. Grey moved to stand against the wall beside the door, a gun in his hand then nodded for her to proceed. Regan wished she had one of those doors with a peephole.
“Ruth?” she called through the door?
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Regan unlocked the deadbolt and released the chain, pulling open the door. She was stunned to see two people not one and to have a man’s hand push her back so fast she fell on her rear end.
“Close the door,” Greg Sampson snapped, pointing a gun at Regan.
Everything happened so fast that even afterwards Regan couldn’t recall details. Grey moved away from the wall and placed the barrel of his gun against Greg’s neck. Behind him, Lisa Jensen squealed then shrieked as a large, black furry body hurtled through the door, knocking her down and sinking its teeth in her throat. Two others followed, one of them pushing Greg to the floor and sitting on his chest, his snout pressing against his mouth.
“Get this animal off of me,” Greg shouted. “Regan. Call off your dogs.”
“Not dogs.” She managed to scramble to her feet and stay out of the line of fire, trying to hold back her venom. “Wolves. And they love hunting prey. Greg, for God’s sake, why did you do this?”
Next to him on the floor, Lisa gurgled as the black wolf kept his fangs closed on her throat without breaking the skin.
“Let’s get this wrapped up before we call the cops,” Grey said.
He pushed Brian off Greg’s chest so he could roll Greg over and slap a pair of flex cuffs on him. Then he freed a terrified Lisa from Michael. She came up spitting and shrieking, but he placed the barrel of his gun against her temple.
“Shut up. Guys, I could use some more help here.”
The wolves disappeared into the kitchen, and in a moment, Luke returned, fully dressed, with his own set of cuffs.
Brian was right behind him. “Time to call the cops.”
Regan was shaking with anger. “Why did you do this?” she asked them. “Do you both hate me so much you’d want to kill me?”
“You think you’re such hot shit,” Lisa spat at hers. “The rest of us do your slop work, and you get all the praise and glory. Did you know I dated Greg before you stole him away?”
“Stole him away?” Regan was stunned. “He was the one who asked me out.”
“He told me was only trying to get something on you so he could rat you out to the chief and take your place.”
“This is all over work?” She couldn’t get her mind around it. “For God’s sake, are you people crazy?”
“I’d say so.” Brian was next to her, his arm wrapped around her. “The cops will be here any time now. We’d better get our act together.”
Chapter Six
Regan didn’t think the night would ever end. She still had trouble understanding how work could be so important to someone they’d kill for it.
“You have a great success rate,” Luke pointed out. “And you’re the boss’s favourite. Jealousy is a powerful emotion.”
“I think I’m mostly embarrassed about my relationship with Greg,” she said in a quiet voice. “I can’t believe—”
“Stop.” Brian’s voice was a quiet command. “We all misjudge people. It’s over and done.”
“My favourite part,” Grey said, “was when they tried to tell the police they’d been attacked by wolves.”
Even Regan had to laugh at that. “I called my boss. He’s overseeing their processing, and he plans to ask for the indictments himself. He’s furious, not only at the plot they hatched, but also at the fact they used his name to gain entry to my house. They’re in for big trouble.” She sighed. “He thinks it shows a lapse in judgment on his part to have hired them, so he wants his pound of flesh and more.”
“There’ll be a lot of fallout from this and some heavy days ahead.” Brian looked pointedly at his watch. “And shouldn’t you all be heading home?”
Luke laughed. “I can take a hint. Come on, guys. Let’s give them some privacy. They need it after all this.”
“Take my car,” Brian said. “I’ll get it from you…sooner or later.”
“Should I ask if we’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Maybe. I don’t intend for Regan to go into the office alone and face all the gossip.”
Just as they reached the door, Luke turned to Regan and cupped her cheeks the same way Brian did. “You’re a winner, Regan. A keeper. My brother will make you very happy…if you let him. We will all keep you safe.”
“I-I know,” she stammered.
“It can work. I want you to know that. You just have to open yourself to the possibility.” He kissed her gently on the forehead.
Then they were gone, and it was just the two of them.
”Luke meant what he said,” Brian told her. “We’re a family. I want you to be part of it.” His eyes burned into hers like burnished torches. “I love you, Regan, and I want you for my mate. My wife. Can you handle that?”
Could she? Hadn’t she, in fact, already decided that? She inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Yes. Yes to everything.”
With a shout of joy, Brian lifted Regan in his strong arms and carried her upstairs, taking the steps two at a time.
“I think we could both use a good, hot shower, don’t you think? I’ve been dreaming about getting you in that shower again.”
He reached into the shower to turn on the water then stripped the clothes from both of them. His large, warm hands cradled her face, and his mouth descended on hers. His lips moved over hers, his tongue tracing the seam before pushing inside her mouth. She opened for him, and the sensation of that hot tongue tasting every inch of the warm cavern was like being brushed with a live wire. Electricity shot through her body, sparking every nerve and making her shake with need. When he lifted her into the shower she wasn’t sure if the steam was coming from the water or their bodies.
Brian reached for the bottle of shower gel, poured some into his hands and worked it into a rich lather. His hands stroked the lather over her body, beginning with her shoulders, smoothing over her skin. Slowly, he spread the bubbles over the slope of her breasts, his thumbs chafing her hardened nipples. With thumb and forefingers, he pinched each one lightly, sending spikes of pleasure straight to her cunt.
He moved slowly over her body, lathering and rinsing, his mouth following the path of his hands. He sucked lightly at the sensitive place where her neck and shoulder met, biting it gently, and placed an open-mouthed kiss on the hollow of her throat where her pulse beat hard.
With great care, he let his hands and mouth travel from her breasts over her tummy to her mound, tugging at her curls with his teeth as he lowered himself to his knees. His slick fingers outlined the length of her labia, separating them so he could slip one finger inside her. Regan rocked back and forth on it, tiny quivers racing through her pussy, her fingers digging into his shoulders. Sensations jolted through her, heating her blood and accelerating her heartbeat.
“More,” she begged. “Please.”
Brian’s chuckl
e was harsh, edged with desire, as he slipped a second finger in next to the first, then a third, curving them to find her most sensitive spot in her vagina, rasping them against the slick, hot flesh.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, rocking her hips harder.
Brian pressed his thumb against her swollen clit, rubbing back and forth as he fucked her with his fingers. One hand slid around to cup her buttocks before he trailed his fingers into the cleft between her cheeks. The tip of one finger pressed against the tight pucker of her anus and sensuous thunderbolts raced to every nerve.
When he removed his hands, she cried out at their absence, but in a moment, he brought them back to her body, thick with fresh, rich lather. Coated with the gel, his fingers slipped easily back into her body, and as he finger-fucked her cunt, he pushed one digit into the hot well of her rectum. As he slid it in to the knuckle, his thumb pressed against her clit again, and without warning, she exploded. The walls of her pussy clamped down on his fingers as they clenched over and over again, and her entire body shook with the force of her release.
Brian eased her through the aftershocks until her body was limp and lax again, then he rose to his feet and poured more gel into his hands as his mouth captured hers in a gentle kiss.
“That’s just the beginning,” he told her.
When she held out her hands for gel to lather on his body, he shook his head. “Tonight is for you, darlin’. I owe it to you. I’ve taken you quickly and selfishly too many times in the past couple of days. Now, I want to make sure there is no part of your body that isn’t pleasured.”
He washed and rinsed quickly then turned off the water, dried them both and carried her to the bed. Before she could catch her breath, he had her flat on her back, knees bent, and he was kneeling between her thighs. When he opened the lips of her sex, he stared at her, a hot light blazing in her eyes.
“Jesus, Regan. This is the most gorgeous cunt I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it.”
He bent his head and traced the length of her slit with his tongue, his thumbs squeezing the lips of her pussy as he lapped her length again and again. Regan thrust her hips at him, but he was determined to take his time, lazily tracing every inch of her sex with the tip of his tongue, his wide shoulders holding her thighs apart. Her skin felt stretched too tight, and hot and cold shivers raced over her body as his devil’s tongue teased and tormented her.
