This Weakness For You (Entangled Select Otherworld) (Taming the Pack) (6 page)

Her glare had faded midway through his rant to something he could not face and didn’t want to name, so he turned away when he’d finished. It was so much easier when she was angry. He could tell himself she didn’t understand.

Jordan took deep breaths to calm himself—the wolf was clamoring for the change, and he’d suppressed the shift near the end, but she’d probably seen the creature behind his eyes. Hopefully, it scared her into keeping her distance.

“Maybe this is your chance to start again,” she said quietly.

It was like she had no self-preservation instinct. None at all.

“Some of us don’t deserve second chances at the cost of others, Christa. I’m sorry, but one of us has to be an adult and recognize that this
thing
between us—isn’t meant to be.”

Her sigh was more aggravated than accepting. “Quit being an ass, Jordan.”

He snorted a laugh that wasn’t humorous and had almost been a reflex. “Do you have any idea how many times your brother has said that?”

“One time too few. Okay, you go be an adult—and I guess that makes me a child, even though I graduated from college magna cum laude three years ago, so thank you for that. You choose to do whatever you want to…but as stupid and outrageous as it is, I felt something for you from the first moment—from when you walked in that hospital room with those balloons. I keep trying to figure out what the hell forever smells like because that’s what my brain keeps smelling whenever I’m around you. So maybe you’re my scent-match too—maybe it’s not just a Lycan thing. Maybe you’re the only person I’ll be compatible with for the rest of my life, but you’ve got a glorious pity party going, and I’m just going to leave you to that, because along with treating me like a child, you think you know what’ll make me happy better than I would, and I guess I don’t deserve the chance to choose.”

Then he heard the squeak of bedsprings just before pain exploded in the back of his head, and his shoe dropped to the ground beside him. “Did you really just throw my own shoe at me?” he asked, incredulously, while rubbing the back of his head. There was already a bump forming. She really had! She’d thrown his shoe at him!

“Oh, did you feel that? I thought you’d be too hardheaded.”

He turned in time to catch his second shoe. “Christa!”

Her eyes scanned around looking for something else to throw before settling on the lamp on the bedside table.

She wouldn’t.

He jumped forward and grabbed her around the waist just as she dove for it.
That little hellion.
This was insane. She was struggling and swinging punches like he’d trapped a Lycan—any moment now she’d probably bite him. He ducked a few wild kicks that would have crippled him despite her size. All while swearing enough to ensure he knew how she
really
felt. It was…just…just… Jordan sighed and rolled his eyes. It was probably just what he needed.

Just like that, the wolf won. Nothing like a violent challenge to convince his less furry side to mind its own business.

Grabbing her chin, Jordan forced her angry flashing eyes to meet his. She was so small he could pin her with one arm…which he kept wrapped around her as she kept struggling toward the lamp.

“Christa!”

“Shut up! I’m done talking!” It was so outrageously prickly that he smiled, but tried to suppress it.

“I’m not allowed to respond?”

“Not when you’re going to be a moron.”

Leaning in, he kissed her on her forehead, and she stopped struggling.

“I’m not a child!” she snarled. It was like he’d poked a caged wolf with a stick.

“No, I just figured you’d bite me if I tried for your mouth.”

Some of the anger left her eyes, but she watched him warily.

He cleared his throat. “I think you might be part Lycan—so I’m taking the fact that you’re human off the table as a complication.”

“Well…thanks…I appreciate that.” Her sarcasm was so beautifully laid down, he had to grin.

“Your brother and my anticipated castration might render me a less-than-acceptable mate, but perhaps with surgery and practice, that won’t be as disabling as I’m anticipating.”

She smiled for a second, but only for a second, and then her eyes narrowed. “Yes, but none of that matters when you’re too busy clutching at your guilt like a security blanket.”

He held her gaze, knowing she wouldn’t be cowed…and that was what made her perfect. “I’ve finished with that.”

She went limp, so he let go of her, and she sat down on the bed beside him and straightened her clothes with all the regal elegance of a queen—and not the screaming harpy she’d been moments ago. “Have you?”

“Yes. Just now. Partly in the interest of self-preservation and also because this lamp you want to smash over my head is a Tiffany—an original, not a replica.”

She didn’t even glance at the lamp, but kept her eyes trained on his. It was incredible—even arousing. He’d never have guessed he’d feel the rush of the wolf inside from someone staring him down. “Original, huh?”

“Yes, I’m told it’s worth twenty-five thousand. It’s been in my family for three generations. There’s a small crack on the back that’s from me. I tipped it over when I shifted into a Lycan for the first time at age eleven.”

“Hmm.”

“So while it might be satisfying for you when you smash it over my hardheaded skull, my mother might hold it against you when you meet her.”

As cool as could be, Christa tilted her head. “Well, then, I won’t.” Her mouth twitched in a suppressed smile before she bit her lips. “And since you’re such a mama’s boy, when I meet her, I’ll watch my damn mouth and not tell her I saw you naked.”

There was no one like Christa. Not in this town. Not in this world. “I’d expect nothing less since you’re obviously so polite and well-behaved.” Except for all the times she wasn’t—which is what he looked forward to.

He leaned forward…slowly, just in case she went nuts on him again. But she leaned forward, too, and when their lips brushed, she murmured against his mouth, “Can you imagine if I wasn’t a pacifist?”

Chapter Five

It seemed she’d get further with him when he was asleep, because as soon as they started kissing, he stopped, raised his head, and looked toward the door.

“I should have ignored what you said about pancakes and kept going,” she murmured. Because, really, who didn’t like pancakes? And they’d get hungry afterward, and she could have discussed pancakes at length, but no, she’d had to be all noble and say,
I don’t think you’re actually awake
.

“What?” he asked, still staring at the door. “Excuse me, I need to get that.”

“Get what?”

“The phone.”

Oh, she hadn’t even heard it ringing. Dogs supposedly had good hearing, though, so maybe Lycans were like that too. She trailed behind him as he walked toward the study they’d been in last night. Lucifer had come and whispered a single, humble “meow” last night to get her attention, but he was probably due to go out again.

Jordan’s long legs and better health meant that he’d already answered the phone when she reached the door. With an easy grace, he scooped up Lucifer in his free arm, walked past her to the front door, and set him down with a firm look while pointing at the black cat with his index finger.

Her subdued cat was a pathetic thing to behold, and he slunk through the door, which Jordan closed behind him.

“Yeah, about that…” Jordan looked at her almost sheepishly as he walked back into the library. “Now isn’t a good time after all.”

She raised her eyebrows. Apparently she was cutting into his social life.

He cleared his throat before striding to go look out the window. “No, it’s nothing like that. I’m not in any danger.” He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “Well, not like what you’re worried about. I might have you hold on to Mom’s lamp for me.”

She refused to be cowed when he turned to frown at her.

He’d deserved it.

He grinned. “Uh-huh. That sort of trouble.” The smile dropped off his face. “Not a chance, Garret. Don’t think I’ve forgotten what happened ten years ago.” And he hung up.

“What happened ten years ago?” Christa asked.

“My brother thought it’d be funny to steal my…uhh…the woman I was with. I’d recently been made Alpha, and he was pissed at me for that. I nearly killed both of them before I reined it in.”

She had to let the beginning of that go. She knew there’d been other women. And there wasn’t a wife in the cellar. Hopefully.

“Your brother wanted to be Alpha?”

“No. Well, yes, but he’s not Lycan. It was more salt in
that
wound.”

“And you’ve never forgiven him for that?”

Jordan shrugged. “I have, I suppose. I understand why he did it. And he’d met her first. But we’re not a close family. My mother keeps trying, but…I can’t say she’s making much progress.” He glanced out the back window again. “I’d asked him to come stay with me, thinking maybe I could repair our relationship before it’s too late, but having him around now would just complicate everything, and this is already difficult enough.” He turned back to her, but his gaze was considering and not as hopeful and excited as she’d have preferred.

Tilting her head, she said, “You say the sweetest things. First, I’m trouble. Now, our relationship is a difficulty.” She glanced around pointedly. “What in here don’t you value should it suddenly attain terminal velocity? That statue over there looks cheap.” It didn’t. Nothing in the whole place looked cheap. It simply looked easier to throw at this head.

He picked the statue of a wolf off a side table, turning it so she could see the two kids underneath the wolf. “This one? It’s not cheap, but it’s not an antique. It’s a bronze reproduction of the
Capitoline Wolf
, which is said to be from the Middle Ages.” He pointed at the infants. “Romulus and Remus.” He snorted, setting it down. “My mother wanted to name my brothers Romulus and Remus. That would have been hell down the road.” He looked over her shoulder with a half smile before nodding toward the door. “Come,” he said as he passed by her.

She glared at his back. Okay, the commands weren’t going over well with her, but she was curious what he wanted to show her. Following him, she checked out the house as they headed through a kitchen and a great room. This was a mansion. Why did one person need so much space? They ended in a game room dominated by a pool table. He went to a trophy case and pulled out a ceramic blob the size of a football and threw it to her.

She caught it and held it up.

“What is it?”

“Hell if I know. My mother says I gave it to her for Mother’s Day when I was five. She says she knows what it is, but she won’t tell me. She gave it to me a couple years ago before they moved into a condo and told me it was my turn to have it. I’ve considered breaking it so I don’t have to display it when she comes by. My brothers think it’s hilarious that I have that thing and that she asks me about it. I think she insists I have it out to keep me humble. So, yeah, I’d welcome that being thrown at me. Have at it.”

“Oh, so you’re going to ask me to break it, and then blame it on me?”

His grin was half boy and half wolf, and all Jordan. He thought he was so clever.

She stared down at the lump, running her hands along the curves and the point. Huh. Funny. Jordan was clever, but perhaps not creative—not just because this lump was a bit of a mess. He was five; this wasn’t bad for a five-year-old. No, he couldn’t see beyond the blobbishness of it.

“You’re smiling. Why are you smiling? Do you know what it is?”

She snorted a laugh. “Poetic.”

“Yeah, I was a real master of clay. What is it?” It annoyed him not to know everything. Dane was the same way.

She held it up, looking at him over the top of it. Only a man could fail to see what it was. “You don’t have any sisters, do you?”

“No.”

“It’s a heart. You’ve twisted it a bit and the point is all crooked, but that’s clearly what it is.” And he’d just given it to her. He’d given her his heart. It was so sappy that she felt the bile rise a bit in the back of her throat, even though her X chromosomes said “Aww.”

Jordan frowned. “And she’s making me display that? I’ve been telling everyone for years it’s a skull.”

Actually, it did sort of look like a skull. The indentations were right even if the shape was wrong.

“Why would a five-year-old give his mother a skull for Mother’s Day?”

“I don’t know. I’d given her a live snake the previous year. I’d had it in my sock drawer for two days. A skull seemed about right.”

“Maybe it’s both.” It was a heart, but his poor Alpha brain could never handle that. Besides, if a four-year-old gave a live snake, maybe the next step was a skull shaped like a heart. “What did you give her when you were six?”

“I don’t know. Probably a rock or a stick—I’d always had an affinity for the outdoors. Tracking was the first Lycan skill I mastered. And I liked to find her strange things. Some kids brought home dandelions; I gave her a handful of owl pellets. Which is why…that’s a skull.”

“You’re right, it’s a skull,” she said it quickly so he’d know she was humoring him. That always annoyed Dane.

Sure enough, Jordan narrowed his eyes.

And the phone rang.

He strode past her.

She stared at the ceramic in her hand and took it with her. She wouldn’t break it, but the idea of carrying around Jordan’s heart…

When she reached his library, he was pacing back and forth with the phone pressed to his ear.

“You’re sure?” Jordan asked into the phone, somewhat alarmed.

After setting the sculpture on the hearth, she dropped down onto the leather couch and curled her feet underneath her. He was still not wearing a shirt, and she would have enjoyed the view of him prowling back and forth with the phone if he didn’t sound so genuinely concerned.

“Travis, I can’t imagine. There are thirty-one of you and…okay, yeah, thirty, but you’re too strong to be a target. My pack would make even more sense at this point. Are you sure this murder wasn’t a copycat?”

Her stomach lurched at the word “murder.” Dane had been at the heart of some sort of serial killer murder investigation two years ago, but he’d kept a lot from them. The guy had been killed, though; the serial killer…he’d been found and killed by… Oh, right, a wolf. She swallowed thickly. Everything read a little differently when you knew a wolf.

“Colby has a black pelt, doesn’t he? He looks a bit like me, size-wise? No, I know. He wasn’t as big in stature, but he was larger than, say, Liam.” He rubbed a hand down his neck, pinching the tautly stretched tendon at the base. “Uhh. It’s nothing. An odd suspicion.”

It was hard to believe any other wolf could be as huge as Jordan.

“I know I’m the only one who’s caught one, but…” His eyes flicked up to hers. “This isn’t the best time, and you were my acting Alpha—and you took all the rest of the…” He sighed. “No, wait, I have someone. I’ll have to ask him before he tries to kill me, but I can be up there in…” He glanced at a clock on the wall. “If there isn’t traffic and enough come for a majority vote, I can be there in four hours. I’ll let you know if it’s not going to work.”

He hung up, but held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “Just a second, I need to send out a few messages and make a few calls.”

She was seeing a different Jordan—a more complicated Jordan. His voice was more firm and strong, his stance prouder. This was the Jordan who could command respect from a cat who barely tolerated most people. He was…intimidating. Odds were she wouldn’t have thrown a shoe at this version of him. Odds were she wouldn’t have thought she had a chance with this Jordan.

He walked over to his computer and typed as he dialed again. “Hey, I don’t know who doesn’t have access to a phone, but I need a majority there for a vote in an hour.” He paused. “Yeah, I need an acting Alpha, and Travis was the last one accepted.” He laughed shortly. “No, I have an idea.” He listened and glanced at her again. “No, I was expecting a guest last night, but let’s just keep that between us at this point.”

Guest. He wasn’t even referring to her by name; she was this secret he was keeping. Thoughts and feelings and a scent-match seemed magical in a dim room with them both breathing heavily and her heart pounding. Today, in the bright light spreading across the library, with her legs still shaky and weak, it was all too much to believe, even for someone who wasn’t in the habit of questioning what was possible.

And Jordan was Alpha. That probably meant the best, the strongest, and the fastest.

And she was…her.

“Yes, one hour.” He hung up, and she opened her mouth again. He held up a hand.

Christa narrowed her eyes. She felt like he was using the same training techniques on her as he was on Lucifer…and she was a lot less willing than her cat. Then again, maybe she was just another pathetic dependent in his life. She exhaled slowly. False bravado usually carried her through most days. So what if he was Alpha? He wanted her. He’d said that. They’d kissed for like…four minutes. That probably meant something. And there was that scent-match thing.

“One last call.” He met her eyes. “Actually, be absolutely, absolutely silent for this call.”

She frowned. He wasn’t winning any points with her today. Do this. Do that. And holding up a hand to command her to be silent?

He misunderstood her expression completely. “Trust me. Our hearing is that…” He took a deep breath. “Hey, Nessa, how are you?” He listened and then shook his head with a grimace. “Yeah, she’s here. Is Dane there? In the shower? Tell me if he gets out before we finish talking.”

That’s right. He had a cute little short name for her sister-in-law. He’d used it at the hospital. She was getting commands to stay and be silent, and he was all chatty and nicknamey with Vanessa. Maybe he was right when he’d joked about her being part Lycan, because she really wanted to snarl about now.

Jordan threw another glance her way. “No, we didn’t.” He turned his back on her and lowered his voice. “We
just
kissed, Nessa. That’s it.”

Her mouth dropped open. He did not just tell her sister-in-law that they’d kissed. And they’d
just
kissed?
Just
? She was going to
just
punch him or
just
throw another shoe at him.

“Yeah, I know she’s not Lycan so she has monthly cycles. No, she’s not fertile right now, but I swear we didn’t do anything.”

Vanessa was talking about her period with Jordan?
With Jordan?
And he was answering? How the hell did either of them know whether she was ovulating or not? Her cycles weren’t
that
regular. She probably wasn’t, but they didn’t know that or need to know that or discuss it.

“Nessa! Just listen, I’m having a meeting in an hour, and I need Dane there…and I need him not to know that she was here last night. Not before the meeting, and actually not before I leave town would be great. Yeah, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Travis’s pack lost one to a poacher a few days ago, and they need me down there for tracking. It was Colby—no, I’d only met him when he stopped through.”

He turned back to face her, but didn’t meet her eyes.

“She can stay in my place while I’m gone. Her cat knows my rules.”

Her cat. And it sounded like she was a house sitter now instead of in a relationship. Great. Wow. Special. This scent-match really wasn’t holding up to the reality of today. What was she even doing here? She ran a hand through her hair, her fingers catching on snarls. She didn’t even have a change of clothes, and her hair was probably sticking up on end.

Jordan was Alpha and a wolf, and she was what? A guest. A secret. A house sitter. He’d even acted like he was drawn to her against his will. Did he even find her attractive, or was it all the scent-match?

He’d enjoyed kissing her, but…that might be the scent-match.

What had he said about her since last night when she’d forced her presence on him?

He’d suggested she was a child in comparison. Had he changed his mind on that? And then she was trouble. And this was all a difficulty. Her MS not being a problem was a long way from acceptance and interest in her, not in this “scent” of hers, but actually her.