Protection: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance

by Wood, Vivian

  The trees rearranged themselves, opening an arched pathway with an attractive gravel road. The same path she’d seen yesterday on her way here. Tessa tiptoed over to it, testing the road with her right foot before quickly drawing it back. When the road proved not to be quicksand, Tessa stepped out onto it all the way, feeling silly.

  That was about when Tessa realized she was being watched.

  It’s like trying to fit in at a new school. Just act like you belong here, and show no fear.

  Tessa took off at a brisk pace, her nerves causing her to sort of power walk down the road. She just had to hope it was friend out there and not foe. She walked along for about a quarter of a mile before coming to a larger main road. Tessa looked left for a moment and decided that the camp must be the other direction.

  Turning, she ran into a warm, solid wall. The wall laughed as she bounced off, and the laugh was sexy as hell. Tessa stepped back and craned her neck up at one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen.

  “Err.. hello,” she said awkwardly.

  The man laughed again. He was enormous, maybe 6’5. Jace would probably tower over most people, but this guy might have him beat by an inch or two. He had olive-complected skin, and his dark hair was just a tad long. His smile was so huge and perfect that it seemed like he had too many teeth, but the smile paired with the aqua eyes were a killer combination.

  “Ah. So you’re what Jace has been hiding out here,” said the man, his deep voice inflected with a thick Irish lilt. “I should have known he was up to something. And an Ascendant mate, that’s a big something.”

  In an instant, Tessa felt like there was a string attached to the center of her chest, and it was dragging her towards the man in front of her. She moved closer, unable to resist.

  He offered Tessa his hand.

  “Declan O’Riley, damned pleased to meet you.”

  “Tessa Anderson. Nice to meet you too, Declan,” she replied. “And I’m not Jace’s mate. It’s a long story.”

  “Ah, now the truth is revealed. He’s hiding you because you’re Ascendant, pretty, and single. Horrible friend, that Jace.”

  Tessa blushed and laughed, then waved a hand toward the road.

  “I was just heading out to check out the rest of the Den. Would you mind giving me the tour?”

  “I am almost certain that this is going to get me in trouble, but I find I can’t say no,” Declan teased. Offering her his arm, which she accepted, he led her toward the main area and as they walked they chatted about the places from which they each hailed. When they reached the cluster of buildings, Declan gave her the tour, pointing out the different areas.

  “This big area of grass in the middle, we just call it the Grass. We’re imaginative folk. That’s the big mess hall in the middle there, and the apartment-style residences for Shifters who prefer to live close to one another. There’s the infirmary on the right, and the gym. There’s the armory in the far back, and the rest are all communal buildings as well.”

  Tessa nodded as he talked, admiring the large ivy-covered beige brick buildings that were scattered around the Grass. It reminded her of some small private college, set back in the woods.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked.

  “The question of the hour. I do believe that there is a Game happening somewhere, my dear Tessa. The pitch will have popped up somewhere out past the Armory, I should think.”

  Tessa raised a quizzical eyebrow, but she just nodded and followed his lead. Declan led her to the right of the Grass and behind several buildings before coming to a stop by a football-sized field. The field had no lines or markings, but it did have a soccer goal at each end. Two dozen people were spread out over the pitch, and by Tessa’s estimation they were playing something between soccer and rugby.

  “What’s are they playing?” she asked Declan.

  “We just call it the Game, capitalized G. There aren’t many rules, except that you have to be strong enough to play.”

  Declan cut across the field, giving all the players a wide berth. The men and women they passed spared Tessa a look here and there, but otherwise were more occupied with the movement at the other end. Tessa couldn’t really understand why they were so alert when the action was so far away.

  All of the sudden there was a loud POOMF and the figures around her blurred into motion.

  “SECOND BALL IN PLAY. MIND THE GAWKERS!” shouted a woman’s voice from just behind Tessa. A second, differently-shaped ball zoomed onto the field, and a cheer rose from the players and crowd alike.

  Declan slipped his arm around Tessa’s waist and pulled her the last ten yards to the sideline, freeing her when they reached a large group of people scattered over half a dozen picnic tables.

  “Watch the field,” he gestured, and Tessa complied as they sat down.

  “Don’t worry about what everyone is doing. The only things you need to remember are that if they make it in either end it’s a goal, and don’t ever turn your back on the field,” he said, already absorbed with what was happening in the game.

  “Got it,” Tessa affirmed.

  The two balls were now close to one of the goals, and it seemed as if there was a fist fight happening across the field by the other goal. Hopefully it was all in fun, although it looked pretty serious from here.

  SMACK!

  Tessa winced as two of the players smashed into each other, and one went down hard. The blond man didn’t seem to be getting back up, but the redheaded man just kept moving.

  “Nasty check, there,” commented Declan.

  “That’s Cord there on the ground. He’s more of a surfer than a ball player, innit? The one that bashed him’s Rhett. Big guy, always plays an aggressive forward.”

  Big guy? Coming from Declan, that phrase really meant something. He wasn’t wrong, though; the man was a mountain, built so solidly that the other players almost looked fragile next to him.

  “The bloke there on the other end breaking up the fight is Shaw. He’s the pack alpha. Bit of a temper, so mind that,” Declan pointed to an angry-looking dark-haired man way across the field.

  Tessa stared at Shaw for a long minute, shaking her head. He looked familiar somehow, but that was impossible. She was sure she’d never met anyone named Shaw before. Still, the sensation was hard to shake.

  The man Declan had identified as Rhett put the rugby ball through one of the goals. Declan shot to his feet, hooting and clapping.

  There was a thunk as black-haired giant came up to their table and dropped a massive ice chest next to Tessa. The man turned to examine Tessa. He had a thin scar running from his left temple through his eye and down to his chin, and somber brown eyes. His gaze was so intense and direct that Tessa frowned and fought off a shiver. Without warning the man whipped his shirt off while still staring at Tessa.

  “Go on then, Jesse,” Declan said to the man.

  Jesse looked at Declan, then back at Tessa. She didn’t know what the man was thinking; she hoped he didn’t see her as some kind of threat.

  “Jess. There’s ball to be played, mate,” Declan urged.

  Jesse gave Tessa a final once-over before turning and trotting off toward the field. As soon as he stepped within the white lines, he immediately clotheslined the man closest to him. Then he tripped a tall blonde woman that was sprinting past him toward the ball.

  “JESSE IN PLAY!” shouted the same short brunette who had been giving game updates before. She seemed to be both a player and referee, somehow. Declan caught Tessa’s line of sight and nodded to the woman in question.

  “That’s Kat, there. Bit of a witch. Stay away from her when she’s in a foul mood,” Declan intoned.

  Tessa looked over at Declan and smiled. Funny, exotic accent, and crazy hot? She definitely felt a strong pull toward him, and he seemed to be edging closer and closer to her. Maybe it was a mutual pull, then.

  Tessa envisioned dating Declan for a moment. He was easy to be around, and nice. A girl could do a lot worse.

&n
bsp; You’ll probably like Declan, Jace had said.

  If everyone in the pack was this attractive, no wonder Jace had warned her to stay at the house. Tessa wasn’t sure what would happen if all these sweaty, muscular Shifters started fighting to court her, but she would almost surely like it. The only thing that would make it better was Jace making an appearance, showing off his toned abs and shoulders. And that incredible butt…

  Tessa’s thoughts turned sour, and the smile vanished from her face. Jace was the last person she ought to be thinking about right now.

  “All right there, Tess?” Declan asked, his eyes suddenly on her. Tessa tucked a wild strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.

  “Just thinking.”

  “Right then. How’s about a drink?” he asked, rising to open the cooler Jesse had left on the table.

  “It’s like… one in the afternoon,” Tessa said. Odd that this was the second time she’d said that in as many days. Louisiana was a strange place.

  “Precisely!” Declan replied, “So will that be beer or something harder?”

  Tessa couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Surprise me,” she said.

  “Ah, the magic words. I do believe we’ll be fast friends, my dear.”

  Declan poured her a plastic cup of something clear and strong-smelling, then settled in next to her on the bench.

  “BALL!” screamed the referee from the field.

  Declan and Tessa both ducked as a soccer ball whizzed past them with astounding speed. Tessa looked at Declan and they both burst into laughter, clinking their plastic cups together.

  A girl could really get used to this, she thought.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jace stared Maddie down as if he could will her to stop being suspicious. Nevermind his unannounced arrival and close-mouthed answers to her questions, his little sister was too damned skeptical.

  Maddie tossed her long, deep-brown mane with a sigh and readjusted herself on her front porch swing, folding up her long legs to get comfortable. Her violet-blue eyes narrowed.

  “Are you SURE there’s not a game today? I could have sworn there was one,” Maddie asked, distrustful.

  “They’re redoing the field. You know how much Shaw loves that damned field,” Jace replied, keeping his words nonchalant.

  “He really does. That man needs to get laid,” Maddie said, standing up and stretching.

  “Well, thanks for coming out and visiting your old maid of a sister, J.”

  “See, when you say things like that, Madd, I begin to suspect that you’re up to something.”

  “Me? Well, I might have a plan or two for tonight. Nothing too wild,” she said with a huge grin.

  “Wild is a relative term for you.”

  “Yeah. Thank god,” Maddie said. Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Are you leaving the Den?”

  “A girl has to get out and socialize from time to time. Don’t start in about my safety again. I can bench press my own body weight.”

  “Why can’t you just date within the pack?”

  “Please. Like any of your BFFs in the pack are gonna try to take your little sister out. They all look at me like I’m a time bomb. Besides, I like a little adventure.”

  “Who are you going out with?”

  “Who are you going out with? What time will you be home?” Maddie mimicked.

  “Fine,” Jace said, as he rose from the swing. “I’m off. I have a lot of things to take care of this weekend, so I might not be around much. Just call me if you need anything.”

  Maddie’s face softened a bit, and she gave Jace a quick hug.

  “You don’t have to be my mom and my dad anymore, J. I’m a grownup. But thanks.”

  Maddie turned and vanished inside the house, leaving Jace alone on the porch. Maddie wasn’t very into expressing emotions, so her flight was to be expected. It ran in the family, Jace thought.

  Jace headed back toward the Den, intending to stop in and get the latest news before heading back to his house… and his house guest. Refusing to think of Tessa and the fact that she could be walking around his house naked, or maybe doing dirty things in the shower, Jace steeled himself and thought about his sister instead.

  Maddie wasn’t perfect, but she could have turned out a lot worse considering the circumstances.

  As a kid, Jace’s family was part of the Atlanta wolf pack. Before Jace and Maddie were moved to the Louisiana, the pack had been outed to a human extremist group just crazy enough to go after a group of people who might or might not be werewolves.

  The humans had come in the middle of the night, and they didn’t leave until the morning sun lit upon the smoking remains of the Atlanta pack’s Den. Bodies of all sizes had littered the ground, children and their parents felled together.

  Jace and Maddie survived the massacre by slipping into their home’s storm cellar. If the door hadn’t been well concealed and the stairway hadn’t led into a packed-earth room, if one of their pack mates hadn’t made the ultimate sacrifice… if, if, if.

  Too often, Jace found himself back there, listening to gunfire and screams. Crouching over Maddie, praying that his parents would come back and bring them to safety.

  No one had returned, of course.

  Jace sighed, pushing the thoughts away. Better to think of anything but that. Even Tessa, who was nothing but trouble, with her knowing eyes and that ass he couldn’t stop checking out every chance he got.

  Jace came up behind the mess hall, intending to stop for a moment and see if there’d been any sightings of Jasper or his stooges. He heard the boom of Rhett’s laugh, and the garble of excited voices. Following the sounds, he headed for the patio to the side of the dining area. Shifters were crowded around a few picnic tables, talking about the Game Jace had missed.

  He spotted Rhett’s lumbering form, moving away from a big cluster of Shifters, and then Jace could see what the group was gathered around. Or who, rather.

  Sitting right in the middle of all the wolves, positioned as if she were the Queen speaking to her court, was Tessa. She perched on the end of one of the tables, with Declan to one side and Cord to the other. Every male in the pack was staring at her, enraptured. Even Kat seemed to find Tessa fascinating, and Kat hated everyone.

  Tessa was wearing an obscenely short skirt that showed her smooth legs to full advantage, and a tight shirt that begged you to stare at her full breasts. When she laughed and leaned forward a bit, Jace got a glimpse of creamy cleavage. Tessa’s giggle washed over him, and he faltered.

  She was drunk. She’d been at the Game, and one of these bastards had gotten her drunk. Jace could smell the moonshine coming off her.

  Jace’s vision started going red, and he barreled into the circle of Tessa’s admirers.

  Tessa looked up at him, and gave a startled smile.

  “Jace!” she said, affecting a light tone. “We were all wondering where you were! Look, I made friends!”

  Tessa laughed and everyone else joined her. Jace didn’t laugh, and he didn’t miss Declan placing a possessive hand on Tessa’s bare thigh. Red washed over his vision again. Let them laugh when he turned Tessa over his knee and smacked her ass so hard she couldn’t sit for days.

  …or maybe he’d just detach Declan’s hand at the wrist.

  Jace growled and lunged toward Declan, but several hands grabbed him and held him back.

  Jace’s eyes went to Tessa, who had paled and lost her teasing expression. She bit her lip, uncertain.

  “Jace, cool off,” Rhett’s voice thundered in his ear.

  Jace struggled for another moment, and then stopped pushing against the hands that held him back. He raised his hands over his head in defeat.

  “I’m fine. You can let go.”

  Shaw pushed in close and looked Jace in the eye for a long moment, then nodded.

  “Let him go.”

  Rhett and the others released Jace, who crossed his arms and glowered.

  “All right, folks. I do
believe dinner is served. Winners to the front of the line!” Shaw announced.

  There was a half-hearted cheer, and the crowd broke up as the Shifters headed inside to eat. As the others drifted away, Rhett and Shaw stayed between Jace and Tessa. Declan stayed next to Tessa, but he’d taken his hand off her leg.

  Shaw looked at Jace, then at Tessa.

  “Are we going to have a problem here, Copeland?” asked the Alpha, spitting Jace’s last name out like something bitter. Jace took a deep breath, and lowered his gaze slightly to show Shaw the proper respect.

  “No. We’re fine,” Jace said, solemn.

  “And Miss Tessa?” Shaw asked.

  “No, no problem,” she said, giving Shaw and Rhett a big saccharine smile.

  “O’Riley. With me,” Shaw barked at Declan. Declan stood, shooting Tessa a long look before following his Alpha to the mess hall.

  Rhett gave Jace a look, and then shrugged.

  “Call me later,” he suggested to Jace. Then he too turned and headed toward the wafting scent of steak.

  Jace didn’t move for a long minute, trying to calm himself down. He kept seeing Declan touching Tessa. He couldn’t stop imagining that she liked it. Her sweet, clean scent was heavy in the air, which meant Declan and the others had been drowning in it. They’d all been looking at her body and imagining what they would do to it.

  Just as Jace was doing now, even though he was infuriated.

  “O-kay. I’m starving,” Tessa said, that fake-sweet smile pasted on her face again. She pushed off the table and brushed herself off, then turned to head to the dining hall.

  Jace was on her in a flash, pinning her arms loosely behind her back. He felt Tessa’s sharp gasp as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, rubbing his face in her scent as he did so.

  “We have other plans,” he rumbled, restraining himself from pushing her back onto the picnic table and freeing his cock to take her right there, in front of the whole pack.

  “We do?” Tessa breathed, ensnared in his embrace.

  Jace dropped her left hand and turned, pulling her along by the right.