His Dark Embrace

by Verika Sloane

  God, he turned her on with just one look. As his hand drifted down her face, his thumb tugged her lower lip down, and her tongue darted for a taste.

  Shain made a sensual growl and came down for a deep, erotic kiss, dipping his tongue slowly as he gripped the back of her skull. Her mouth remained open as he left it to move down her neck with big, hard sucks on her neck.

  He moaned. “Gods, your skin is so soft.” He jerked back, his teeth sharp. “Stop, stop. We have to stop. You’re killing me, Kimber.” He stared down at her breasts, her lace bra peeking out.

  Women would kill to have a man look at them the way Shain looked at her.

  She wanted to turn him on, please him, seduce him.

  Hesitating, she brought up a fingertip, watching his eyes flash as she ran it along the edge of her bra, brushing the top of her nipple.

  He turned her around and splayed her hands high above her head on the cold concrete wall, ran his palms down her arms methodically as if memorizing every angle, texture, the shape of her shoulders. Breath locked, the concrete cold on her hard nipples and hot face, Kimber stood still, the magic of his hands a tonic to her brain. When he pressed himself against her, his breath on her ear, she closed her eyes, letting him explore at his leisure.

  “Why did you wear this skirt? Hmm?” he murmured, a hand coasting down her hip, his thumb in the waistband, tugging it down. The seductive cadence of his voice lured her to submission. “I could so easily just push this up, slide your panties down, slide my cock inside. Fill you. Fuck you. Make you moan.” He kissed her shoulder. “Make you cum.”

  Her eyes rolled back. “Oh—okay.”

  His chuckle tickled her neck. “I wish. And I find it funny I seem to be the only one in control when we’re alone.” Gently, he turned her back around and she lowered her arms around his neck. “Speaking of which, how is it going with that plan of yours? Tell me something good.”

  She brushed his nose with hers. “I just put the deposit on the venue. The restaurant across the street has a second location that’s available.” His grin, and the dimples that went with it, were worth all the begging in the world she’d have to do.

  “It’s coming together then. You’ll make your sisters happy. And then I’ll make you mine.”

  Her heart tripped. “Yours?”

  “All mine. For the weekend.”

  Oh, but to be his, really his… In another world, another life. But for a few days, he would be hers, only hers. They could pretend the world as it was didn’t exist.

  Her heart broke a little, knowing how fast those three nights would fly by. “Where will we be going?”

  “To a villa about two hours from here. With a personal chef. A saltwater pool. Plenty of shade and privacy. Everything we need. I may have a surprise or two in store for you as well.”

  And I have one for you. “Does it include a boat?” she teased.

  “Should it? Is that what you’d prefer? A yacht?”

  “I’m kidding. No, I just want you. I do miss being out on the lake, though. It’s one of the best things about the Midwest in the summer. But I’ll be pleased with whatever you have planned.”

  “Well, good. Because I don’t know how to drive a boat.”

  “Put it on your bucket list to learn.” She kissed him. “All I need is to get through this shiya recruitment night. And beg my alpha for more money.”

  “More money? For what?”

  “The venue was above our price range, but I didn’t want to ask Lucinda to spend more. She might call the whole thing off if I ask.”

  “Don’t bother with her or the alpha. I’ll give you the money.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Shain, this was my idea.”

  “Do you want to risk Lucinda canceling? No, you don’t. Do you want to beg your alpha? Of course not. Furthermore, just the thought of you begging him puts me on edge. The path of least resistance, Kimber. How much do you need?”

  She bit the corner of her lip. Well, it wasn’t like he was strapped. “I really don’t want to take your money.”

  “The longer you argue, the less we’ll get to molest one another until my driver comes back. How much is a lot?”

  It really would save her a lot of trouble. “Five big ones.”

  He reached in his jacket and retrieved a billfold. “Thousand?”

  “Hundred.”

  “That’s it?” He tsked, then plucked out five bills and tucked them in her bra. “Party on.”

  “Shain—”

  “Some free advice, too. Give Lucinda the credit. All of it. Make the meet-and-greet appear as if it was her idea, even though it wasn’t. Trust me, it’ll go a long way with someone like her.” He grinned. “Now kiss me.”

  “Thank you. I’ll pay you back.”

  “I’ll take payback now. Right here.”

  She smiled as he lowered his mouth down to hers.

  Chapter Sixteen

  If there was such a thing as feeling less than your own species, Kimber was feeling it.

  Being with Shain took pieces of her apart, bit by bit, day by day. Or rather, night after night. And she was being reassembled anew.

  After every encounter with Shain, she’d walk away a little different than the woman she was before. Less innocent, less ignorant, less… No. Not less. More. More awakened. More passionate. Sensual. Open. Cultured, curious. All the things she didn’t know she wanted to be.

  Standing on the outside of the meet-and-greet, holding a Solo cup half full of draft beer, she observed her pack sisters engaging and socializing with the single shiyas about their way of life in northern Wisconsin.

  If only Kimber could summon the energy to join them.

  But it was hard putting on a front. Every day was a challenge to feel connected to her sisters, the kind of connection that should come naturally, instinctively, with no effort.

  What would it be like when she went home? How could she possibly be who they expected her to be now? Even before they’d arrived in Atlanta, she’d been struggling to talk, act, and think like the others. To go back to life on pack territory full-time didn’t seem possible.

  Maybe it was time to think about other options.

  She’d told Shain the risks, what could happen to her if she went off on her own. At the time, it seemed unthinkable. But now—

  Nya nudged her to be on alert, sensing Jackson’s wolf.

  Soon enough, the alpha came around with his All-American handsomeness. “Hey, beautiful. Why are you hidin’ from the party?”

  It took her a moment to collect herself and show appropriate respect.

  Nya put more effort into it than she did.

  “I’m not hiding,” she said, dodging his probing gaze while she finished off the beer that’d turned tepid from holding it too long.

  What she was doing was waiting for the right moment to speak with Lucinda, who was in deep conversation with three young women, trying her hardest to stop her resting bitch face while she listened to their questions.

  Over forty women had shown up. A few had asked if they could bring a friend, neighbor, or co-worker, and before they knew it, it was a party. Most of the ladies Jackson had shared the invite with also showed up. The meet-and-greet was a success sheerly by attendance.

  Little did they know, a vampire had funded half of it. Kimber smiled.

  Jackson leaned on the high-top table. “Thanks to you, you’ll have at least a dozen joining the pack. That should satisfy your alpha plenty. Some packs don’t get half that when they cold recruit out-of-state.” He crossed his arms and bumped her with his elbow.

  “Yep.” She moved over.

  He moved, too.

  Every few seconds, someone would glance at them and whisper. They didn’t know the only man she wanted to be close to, the only one she wanted to talk to, flirt with, and be with was not the man next to her.

  What was Shain doing at that moment?

  Thinking of you as you think of him. Of that, she
had no doubt.

  “You should tell the DJ to play more rock, this music is cheesy,” Jackson remarked, taking her away from her thoughts.

  It was as if he was fishing for conversation starters.

  Trying to inject a friendlier tone, she said, “You don’t have to hang out. I know you’re a busy man with things to do. We appreciate you stopping by.”

  He seemed shocked she’d said that. “Kiddin’ me? Pass up being the only man in a party full of pretty women? I’d be a loser to leave.” His gorgeous eyes looked down at her from beneath lowered lids. “Besides, I have good reason to stay.”

  If only he could take a hint. She leaned her elbows back on the bar and jerked her chin toward the group. “Your true mate could be staring at you from across the room right now and you would never know, hanging back here with me.”

  Jackson didn’t remove his gaze from her profile. “None of those women are my true mate.”

  “How do you know for sure? You haven’t bothered to scent any of them. They’re eager for you to introduce yourself.”

  He sighed and rounded to stand in front of her, making Kimber feel even more crowded. “Why are you tryin’ to push me on them?”

  “If your omega was here, he’d tell you to do the same. As a pack leader, you should be on the search for your mate more than anyone. It should be a priority, second only to your pack’s needs. How many opportunities will you get with this many single shiyas in one space with no competition?”

  “I’m an alpha. There’s never competition.”

  Right. Every alpha thought he was king of them all. She turned and handed the bartender her empty cup, silently asking for more beer with a smile. “You’re wasting your time with me.”

  “Am I?” Stepping back, he pursed his lips and squinted his eyes, as though solving a riddle. “I think I know what’s going on.”

  The bartender handed her a full cold cup of Miller Lite.

  What you’re thinking is nowhere near close to the truth, I’m sure. Kimber lifted her gaze to his as she drank. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re pissed at me for not gettin’ back to you. About our date. And then I dragged my feet about this party. You want an apology? I’m sorry. Okay?”

  “Honestly, I’m not mad at all. I was a little annoyed you left me hanging, but it all worked out.”

  “Then why are you bein’ so cold? Look, I’ve got a lot goin’ on, but I’m ready for that date. I’m sorry I’m not the best communicator. What man is?” He grinned. “Cut me some slack. I’ll do better.”

  She laughed. “And you can do better by taking one of these ladies out instead. It has nothing to do with your comm skills, or the date that never happened. It’s good that it didn’t.”

  “Ah, I see. The ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bit.”

  Past him, two shiyas from the LikeMinded group were headed their way, eyes on Jackson. Kimber was utterly grateful. “Exactly.”

  He raised a brow. “I think you’re just playin’ hard to get.”

  Brushing by him, she shook her head. “Have a good night, alpha.”

  The two women were all smiles and Bath & Body Works body splash as they approached.

  The redhead spoke first. “Jackson, we want to start a Flip Cup game. Will you join us?”

  “Just a moment, ladies. Hey!” At Kimber’s back, he said, “I’m not givin’ up, you know.”

  She didn’t bother to look back or remark on that. His pride wouldn’t give up, but in a day or two, he’d forget about her again and move on.

  All of her pack sisters—except for Beth, the designated driver—were pretty well lit and having fun. Finally letting loose as they should’ve been from the start.

  The three women who had been talking to Lucinda got up, leaving her alone.

  Should Kimber ask her now or wait?

  Nya practically forced her to approach the woman. “Hey Lucinda, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Lucinda sighed. “My throat hurts from all this talking, to be honest.”

  “I…” Kimber looked around, remembering Shain’s advice to always give the person in charge credit, even if she didn’t deserve any. “Thank you for supporting this. Amos should be impressed. If memory serves, you’ll be the first mission lead to get this many shiyas. And we still have another six weeks to go. We could get even more by the time we leave.”

  “Speaking of, I was thinking since we did so well tonight, we might not have to stay as long.”

  A proverbial shadow moved over Kimber’s sun. “What?”

  “Why spend the money when we don’t need to? We got what we came for. Might as well pack up and save a month’s rent.”

  No. No! That would mean leaving in two weeks. Way too soon. Of course everyone would love to go home. Except Kimber. She sought a solution, a logical one. “I don’t think we should call it quits just yet. We…we don’t want to bring just any shiyas into our fold. Numbers are great, but have you really vetted them?”

  “Vetted? Well, no. But since when do we care about that in the recruitment stage?”

  “Exactly. No one has cared before. We might get twelve to trial our pack, but how many will actually stay? On average, it’s what? Three or so?” Her memory scrambled. “Remember the last mission? They got ten. Only two stayed. And one of them tried to steal from us. So technically, they got one good addition to the pack after three months of recruiting. Shouldn’t we be trying to recruit as many as we can? If we leave too soon, we’ll never know.”

  She was rambling, the desperation leaking out enough that a sober person might have caught on, but Lucinda was buzzed enough to miss it. Thank God.

  Lucinda finished her beer, then hiccupped. “Mm. Maybe you’re right. You are the numbers nerd, after all. I forget how smart you are sometimes! Easy to forget with that Barbie face of yours.” She squeezed her arm. “I meant that as a compliment.”

  Kimber did her best to smile. “I know.”

  “We’ll stay. But we can’t have another party like this. Next time, we’re back to spaghetti dinners at the house. We’ll just have to have host multiple nights.”

  Kimber nearly melted to the floor with relief. “I agree.” She shuffled her feet. “One more thing. I was wondering…” God, how to word this? “Would it be okay if I went away next weekend?”

  “Away? With who?” Lucinda’s eyes widened and she glanced over Kimber’s shoulder. “With Jackson?” she whispered none too softly.

  Kimber wished she could use him as the reason, but that kind of lie would be easily exposed. “Just me. I want to do a little exploring.”

  Lucinda’s face twisted more. “Explore what?”

  Then again, she could still use her fabled courtship with the alpha as an excuse. She leaned in. “Promise not to laugh? I want to impress him by getting to know the area. Where his pack is. If I decide to stay because of him, I want to make sure this is the place I want to settle.” Would Lucinda buy that?

  The woman flicked a hand. “You don’t need to impress him. He already likes you.”

  “He’s attracted to me. That’s all. That could change. You know it takes more than attraction to win an alpha when you’re not his true mate. I want to stand out.”

  Lucinda visibly struggled to comprehend going to such lengths for a man. Kimber could tell by the perplexed draw of her brows that she failed to grasp the concept, but couldn’t argue with it at the same time.

  “How long would you be gone?”

  “A few nights, that’s all. There’s a lot of area to cover. I’ll rent my own car.” She waited, anticipating the answer. Then boldly added, “While I’m away, I can scout more.”

  “Three nights on your own? Not safe. Plus, the other girls would complain I let you go off by yourself. They’d be jealous.”

  Kimber felt a growl from within. “The others are mated. And didn’t bring over forty single shiyas tonight.”

  Lucinda rubbed her palms on her jeans, then shrugged and reached for a bottled water on
the table. “Fine. But you’ll have to check in every day.”

  Her elation remained hidden behind her simple smile. “I will. Thank you, Lucinda.”

  Kimber had to walk away; she was about to burst into a thousand stars from happiness.

  The moment every light in the house was out, so was Kimber, out to the park to leave Shain a note with the good news. Part of her couldn’t believe she’d pulled it off, but the rest of her enforced that nearly everything about being with Shain was inevitable. Meant to be. Meant to happen.

  Otherwise, his gods—or hers—would’ve stopped her.

  Right?

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Do I have anything…less formal?”

  Brooks lifted a prominent brow at Shain’s request before he returned the brocade vest back to the walk-in closet. “Less formal, sir? Such as?”

  Shain knew the sum of his wardrobe, and no, he didn’t have many articles of a casual tone, but Brooks could be creative when it came to ensembles, hence why Shain asked for his opinion. “Summer wear, what have you. It’s nearing the end of July, after all.”

  “A bespoke suit is always in style.”

  “Agreed, but the occasion calls for more of a relaxed look.”

  Brooks seemed confounded and did a poor job of not showing it. Was it just Shain, or did his assistant also reveal a bit of alarm? Over what? Not mixing the right palette?

  Shain leaned back on the edge of his bed, arms crossed. “If you can’t help—”

  “Of course, I can. I like a challenge.” Brooks strode to the closet. “Let’s see. Relaxed... Relaxed…”

  Shain smirked. Was it that difficult? He must’ve made it too easy for Brooks in the past with dressing appropriately. Which he was starting to see as pretty dull and repetitive. It was time to vary his pieces.

  “Do I have any jeans?” Shain called, thinking of things Kimber wore, things shiefs always had on.

  “Denim?” Brooks called back with horror.

  “Yes.”

  “Definitely not.”

  Another thing he didn’t have? Color. Other than some dark blues or shades of brown, there were no reds, greens, purples… Shain hadn’t cared or noticed until Kimber pointed it out. Perhaps it was time to color his world. Nothing drastic, of course.