Husky, against her ear. “I missed you, Mik.”
The man was killing her. “Conall?”
“Miki?” He nuzzled her neck as one of his—huge!—hands slid over her breast. Immediately, her nipples hardened. She blinked. When the hell did that start happening?
“I think you need to back off.” At least she was pretty sure she said that. She was having trouble concentrating. Especially with his tongue sliding up across her neck to her ear.
“You think?” His hand squeezed her breast and her back arched. “Or you know?”
Oh boy, he’s good. Miki bet that with very little effort, Conall could turn a nun into a whore. Of course, she wasn’t a nun.
She yanked her body away from his and it was as if her skin started to yell at the loss of him.
Miki backed away. “Conall. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
“And what idea is that?”
“I’m not going to sleep with you.”
He took a step toward her. “I am so not talking about sleeping.”
She backed up again. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you, Viking?”
He took another step forward. “Not on your life, Kendrick.”
She backed up once again and slammed into a dresser. She held her arm up as if to ward him off. “Stay!”
And he did.
“Look, you’re an unnaturally large, good-looking guy. I’m sure there are a plethora of women out there who would be perfect for you.”
“Personally, I like women who can successfully use ‘plethora’ in a sentence.”
Dammit, the bastard made her smile. She hated that. Especially when he smiled back. He was truly gorgeous. And as dangerous as they come.
Forcing her smile under control, “I’m going to take a shower. So you need to piss off.” She walked to the bathroom and as she stepped into the luxurious and huge room, she realized Conall stood behind her. Okay. Now this was just getting creepy.
She turned around. “Is there something else?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to take a shower…by myself.”
“Great.” They stared at each other. She couldn’t understand what the fuck he was grinning at. Then, finally, with a low chuckle he asked, “You do know this is my bathroom?”
Miki closed her eyes. “What?”
“Yeah. In fact, this is my room.”
She gritted her teeth. Great. That wonderful smell on the neatly made bed had been Conall. And who the fuck made their bed these days anyway? Miki didn’t make her bed unless she was changing the sheets.
“She told me it was the second door on the right.”
“Actually, yours is third. Right next door.”
“Of course it is.” She would kill Sara.
“But, please, feel free to stay. Take all the showers you want. I can help with the soap.”
Images of that danced through her besotted brain and it felt as if someone squeezed her lungs because she was having a lot of trouble breathing.
“Well, that’s very neighborly of you, Viking. But I’ll just go to my own room.”
He wasn’t completely blocking her way, but she had to slide against him to get out of the bathroom and she felt that connection all the way down to her toes. She almost moaned.
“Well, see you at dinner,” she squeaked out.
Then she ran.
Conall didn’t care how his Alpha felt about it; he was going to give Sara the biggest kiss he could. Coming back to his room only to find his ultimate sexual fantasy spread eagle, face down on his bed was more than any man could ask for. Would dare hope for. And when she started smelling his comforter, he thought he might come in his jeans.
The woman did things to him without even trying. It seemed like he had no self-control around her. When he first saw her, he’d had no intention of touching her. In fact, he’d purposely stayed away when she arrived. Sara told him if he met Miki at the airport or greeted her at the door, she’d freak. So he wanted to give her a chance to relax before he pounced. But once he smelled her again, he just couldn’t keep his hands off her.
If this got any worse, he might start humping her leg.
He closed his bedroom door and took a deep breath. Just the scent of her got him hard. And it didn’t help she looked so good. It had only been six months, but he was positive she actually looked even hotter. Her curly hair a little longer, now reaching just above her shoulders, and her skin looked as soft if not softer than when he last saw her.
Miki simply looked…beautiful. And her body felt amazing. When he held her and when she brushed up against him on her way out the door—he kept imagining that body naked and in all sorts of positions with his.
And the thought of her in his shower. With him soaping those breasts, those legs, that ass.
Damn. Wrong thought, he growled to himself as he headed to his shower.
Miki had just pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, pushing her wet hair out of her face, when Sara knocked on her door and stuck her head in.
“Hey. Dinner’s here.”
Miki grabbed Sara by her T-shirt, snatched her into the room, and slammed the door.
“What the hell?”
“You sent me to Conall’s room, you bitch!”
“Did I? Huh. How did I make that mistake?” Sara ducked as a bottle of shampoo flew at her head. “Jesus Christ, woman! Calm yourself!”
“Stop trying to set me up with him!”
“I’m just trying to get you laid… Put it down!” Miki debated whether to chuck the hairbrush in her hand at her best friend. After a good thirty seconds, she lowered her arm and Sara smiled. “So you went to his room. What’s the big deal?”
Miki glared. “He found me face down on his bed smelling his comforter.”
Sara choked then exploded into laughter. Miki raised her brush again. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. Dude, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think you’d get so…comfortable so quickly.”
“Bottom line is you and Angelina need to back off.”
Sara took a deep breath. “Darlin’, I don’t see the problem. He’s hot. He’s straight. He’s disease free. Next to my Zach he’s walking perfection. What is the deal?”
“The deal is guys like him suck you in, make you theirs, then fuck you over. It’s like in their DNA or something.”
“Now you’re talking about your father.”
“I prefer the term sperm donor. And I’m not going to end up like my mother.”
“Of course not. Especially ‘cause you’re not a sixteen-year-old virgin, screwed over by a rich townie, and left pregnant. So, already you’re ahead of the game.”
Miki glared at Sara’s sarcasm. “I already had this goddamn conversation with Angelina. And if you two whores want to have meaningless sex with some guy you just met—like getting head at a rave from a biker—that’s your choice.”
“Hey! That’s not fair. And it was hardly meaningless. I’m practically married to the guy.”
“Don’t care. Back off.”
Sara sighed. “Fine. Fine. I’ll back off.”
“Thank you.”
And Sara backed off for a total of fifteen seconds. “Although a vibrator does not a life partner make.”
Miki growled. “Why are you two obsessed with Mr. Happy?”
“Maybe because you actually named it.”
“Whatever.” Miki turned back to her suitcase, stopping when she saw something she knew she didn’t pack. She pulled out a brown paper bag. “Dude, I didn’t pack this.” Visions of international spies using her as a transporter flew through her mind. But the expression on Sara’s scarred face told a different story.
“You may not have packed it…”
Miki frowned and opened the bag. There were boxes of condoms inside. And a note lay right on top. Immediately, she recognized Angie’s perfect handwriting.
Really, isn’t it time you got laid? —Angie.
“I hate both of you.”
“Now. Now.” Sara backed up toward the door. “Angie and I only want you to be safe. You’re not on any birth control. Sometimes people get lost in the moment. Angie did it with the best of intentions. We care about you and want you to be happy.”
“Fuck her. Fuck you. And, for that matter, fuck your intentions.”
“See. Those are the tense cuss words of a woman who needs to get laid.”
Sara ducked the bag of condoms just in time, tore the door open and ran.
Miki sat on the edge of her bed and dropped her head in her hands. This was going to be a long, long trip.
Chapter Four
“Forget it.”
Sara shrugged. “Okay. You can ride with Zach.”
“In hell.”
Sara didn’t answer Zach’s bark. She just reached back and punched him in the chest.
“I’m not riding with…” Miki smiled sweetly, “…him.”
“Then you better get your ass over there.”
Miki glanced over at Conall. He leaned against his bike, looking as casual and innocent as always. It didn’t help he wore black jeans, black boots, black tee, and a black leather jacket. He looked fucking phenomenal in all black.
He gave her that innocent smile and she couldn’t stop the little whimper that came out. She knew without a doubt Conall would not make this easy.
“Would you just go?” Sara spun Miki around and shoved her toward Conall. Immediately, Miki saw the predatory gleam in his eye, but she wouldn’t let him see her being weak. Not if she could help it anyway. So, steeling her resolve, she marched over to him.
“All right, Viking, a few ground rules.”
He seemed curious. “Such as?”
“No inappropriate touching. No grinding yourself into me. No leaning back into me. No doing stunts on your bike so that I have to grip you tighter. Are we clear?”
Conall chuckled. “I keep forgetting you were raised around bikers.” He leaned in to her. She recognized his scent from the comforter. She really liked that scent. Damn him. “Look, sweetness, just get your tight ass on the bike.”
Miki glared at him. “Maybe I don’t want to go.”
His head was so close to her it almost touched her cheek. Almost. “We can stay here if you want. I’m sure we can come up with all sorts of things to do in this big house. Alone.” Then he leaned in closer and sniffed her. She felt a bolt of electricity going right from her groin up her spine and landing somewhere in the back of her neck. “God, woman,” he groaned. “You smell good.”
She stumbled back away from him but he caught her arm.
With a firm grasp on her, he straddled his bike and gently pulled her close. “Get on.”
She forced herself to slide on the seat behind him and took the helmet he handed to her.
Bastard. He was getting to her and he knew it. She put the helmet on her head, tightened the strap. He kick-started his bike and waited. She knew he was waiting for her, but she didn’t know why.
“What?” she demanded over the roar of the chopper’s engine.
“You going to put your arms around me or what?”
“I was thinking ‘or what’.”
He leaned back against her and immediately her nipples hardened. Already he was breaking one of her rules. “Either you put your arms around me or I start poppin’ wheelies on this thing.” And she knew he meant it.
With a silent groan, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He pulled her tighter, making sure her chest was right against his back, which didn’t help the hard nipple situation one damn bit.
He pulled out of the driveway and followed the rest of the Pack that had left a minute before.
Who knew this would be so much more difficult than she ever thought it would be? Like a dog with his bone, Conall held on even though she kept saying, “Drop it. Drop it now.”
She needed to get to Seattle. And she needed to get away from the Viking before she did something she would regret the rest of her life.
His bike pulled up beside Zach’s as they cruised down the street. Miki watched Sara, her friend finally in her element. Arms wrapped around Zach, she yelled something to him over the roar of the motor that made him smile… Well, it was actually more of a leer. The two seemed to truly enjoy each other’s company.
Miki sighed with the sudden realization that she envied her best friend.
“You okay back there?”
Again with the wolf hearing. How did any of them feel comfortable doing anything in that house when they could hear everything?
“Mik?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“Liar.” He kept one hand on the handlebars while he used the other to rub her arm. “What’s up?”
“Just got a lot on my mind.”
“You need to learn how to relax. You know, I’m pretty sure I can help with that.”
She just bet he could. “No thank you.”
“Really? You sure?”
Miki crossed her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. The man really was shameless. “You really don’t need to do anything for me. Ever.”
“Spoilsport.”
Chapter Five
Miki didn’t know a shapeshifter could be so boring. The man just rambled on and on. About himself. Even his name bored her. Bob. She silently began to call him Bob the King of Boring. She let him ramble as she looked around the club.
True, it wasn’t much. But that was because wolves didn’t need much. A dark, moody room with a big bar, room to dance, and some alcoves where they could make out with the fellow shapeshifter of their choice. This was neutral ground. A place they could all get together, dance, and have a great time without getting territorial.
Of course, this wasn’t the entire club, merely the wolf part. One flight down was one of the hottest clubs in Northern California. A place where the rich and famous met up with the vapid and thin. She’d read about Sara’s club in one of the magazines at the bookstore. The place wasn’t only hot, it made money hand over fist, starting new trends. All that shit.
And Miki had finally come to the realization she still had a hard time dealing with.
Sara was fucking rich. Not a little rich. Not sort of rich. Fucking rich.
According to Kelly, her new little Pack confidant, Sara not only had Pack money access, she had money left to her by her parents. Her grandmother refused to touch it, forcing her granddaughter instead to work for every little thing she ever got. Although, Miki was kind of glad about that. She could imagine a rich, snotty shapeshifter Sara. Miki probably wouldn’t be friends with that Sara. But cool, still wearing her Jockey For Her underwear Sara was definitely her friend. Her best friend. Just like Angelina.
It was apparently this Sara who had become quite the truce maker, too, pulling together Packs that at one time couldn’t stand each other.
Miki’s eyes searched the dance floor until she found her. She still couldn’t believe six months ago this was the girl who could barely walk, was in constant pain, and lonely beyond belief. As much as Miki envied her now, she felt overwhelming happiness for her, too. Miki watched as Sara, her favorite black cowboy hat in place, moved her body against Zach’s. She had grace and precision and, not surprisingly, Zach couldn’t keep his hands off her.
It suddenly occurred to Miki that Bob was still rambling. The tragedy with her brain was that she could still listen to him even when she was thinking about twenty different other things. Her grade school teachers called it a gift. Gift her ass, if she had to listen to Bob talk about how great he was all night. Thank God he wasn’t part of Sara’s Pack.
Of course, that fact didn’t seem to stop Bob from moving in on her. He’d gotten closer and she didn’t like it one bit. She felt naked with only her steel-toe Docs. Because she had to take a plane into Northern California, she had to leave all her precious weapons back home. Miki had learned a long time ago a woman her size definitely needed an advantage.
She glanced around for a beer bottle to smash and then us
e on Bob should it become necessary, but then Conall suddenly stalked out of the crowd. He grabbed Bob by the back of the neck and slammed his head down on the bar, then lifted him up and tossed him, sending the man flying across the floor and hitting the opposite wall.
Conall grinned as he sat his big body down on the stool next to her. The one he’d just forced poor Bob to leave. “So, you having a good time?”
Apparently, they wouldn’t be discussing Conall’s way of getting a man to back off. She wondered briefly if he’d done that because Bob was making her uncomfortable or because Bob was making him uncomfortable being so close to her. She hated herself for hoping it was both.
“Yeah. Downstairs sucks, but this place is great.”
“This is for family only.” And she knew he saw all wolves as his family. For some unknown reason she liked that.
“You want something to drink?”
“Water.” Miki watched as he leaned over and spoke to the bartender. Man, was his body long. Long and big. He’d taken off his jacket and stowed it along with hers behind the bar. He wasn’t dark like Zach. But at the same time he wasn’t pale. He wore a black sleeveless T-shirt and she marveled at the size of his shoulders and arms. She focused on the thin black bracelet he wore on his wrist. It looked like something a kid made. A couple of pieces of wool braided together. Yet, it had to be the sexiest thing she’d ever seen in her life. She couldn’t explain it. It just was.
Okay. She needed to stop this right now. Right now.
Miki slid off the stool she’d been perched on and stretched her neck. Her whole body felt tight. Tight and cranky. Angie was right. Miki was a tense mess. But she had so much on her mind. She hadn’t been bullshitting when she told Conall that. She had more on her mind than anyone could possibly imagine.