Wicked: Devils Point Wolves #2 (Mating Season Collection) (4 page)

Dante nodded. That’s exactly what he meant. Judging from the myriad of scents lingering out front, many were already here and it wouldn’t be long before it turned into a full-fledged party. “I’d offer to take you back to your room if you prefer, but you’re not safe there right now. I scented the rogue outside the club, but there was something wrong with the scent and I can’t put my finger on it. Until I figure it out we stick together.”

He opened the door and ushered her into the mudroom where they discarded their jackets and shoes. The scents of his family and raw meat filled the air. His stomach grumbled. If he couldn’t get one hunger slaked he might as well feed the other.

Dante led Rebel up the stairs that opened into the wide-open space they used for a combination kitchen, living room and casual dining room.
 

Rebel looked around. “I love these windows. It makes me feel like I’m up in a treehouse.”
 

He smiled. There was nothing more that he loved than being surrounded by nature and his home was no exception. The solid walls of windows kept him connected to the outdoors day and night. He got the best of both worlds. The conveniences that make human life pleasant, with the beauty of nature that soothed the wolf inside.

“I can’t take credit for much of this place. The design was all Diego’s. He is a master carpenter with striking vision.”

“Thanks, bro. Even though you did complain through the whole project.”

Diego walked up behind them while they stood staring out the windows. He turned to Rebel. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.”

A bright red flush crawled up her neck and into her cheeks as she turned away from them. “I’m sorry I screwed up. I know how important it was to lure that jerk in tonight. I’m not sure what got into me.”

Dante squeezed her arm and pulled her against his side. “Don’t be sorry. We’re all just glad you’re safe.” He brushed his lips across her hair, sending a fresh wave of heat coursing through his body.

Diego pinched his brows and stared at him for a few seconds, before speaking. “He’s right. Using you as bait was too dangerous.” He rubbed his belly and smiled. “I don’t know about you two but I’m starving. I’m going to go check and see if we’re ready to get the steaks and ribs on the grill yet.” Diego shot him a parting look full of warning that Dante intended to ignore.

Rebel glanced around the room looking a little like a rabbit about to take off. “You’ve got a lot of people here tonight.”

Dante pulled her toward the open glass doors and out onto the balcony. “Just take a deep breath. Let the fresh air soothe you. You’re in paradise.”

“That woo woo earth crunchy stuff doesn’t exactly work on me. I’m not like you, remember?”

And thank God for that. If she was like him they probably wouldn’t even be out here right now and his body wouldn’t be rock hard as he maneuvered her into a dark corner.

“Nature has a way of putting everyone’s troubles in perspective if you let it. That’s nature not woo woo.” He brushed the bright red hair from the side of her face and trailed his fingers down to her jaw. She shivered under his touch. He wasn’t surprised to find her affected as well. They’d already discovered their desire for each other after a couple of nights of heavy petting.
 

Except now he wanted so much more. He ached for her. To the point he was entertaining ideas of being inside her right now. Her underneath him on the balcony floor.

She looked up at him and licked her lips. The slight move of her moist tongue peeking out for a moment almost too much to bear. Shit. He needed a distraction now. Preferably with more people around.

“You want something to drink?”

She nodded.
 

“Come.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen, where half the pack was congregated. Some preparing food and others lining up shots of tequila.

“Dante! Rebel! Finally!” They were immediately enveloped in a round of hugs for her and generous pats on the back for him. Along with a repeated chorus of “We’ll get him next time” from the not so sober crowd. Which meant many of them had to have been drinking for a while. Not that he minded. Between mating season and the two new strangers they were dealing with the pack had to be feeling the stress.
 

They deserved a break.

“You two ready to join us in a round of shots? You’ve got some catching up to do.”
 

“Nah, maybe later. I promised Diego I’d man the grill tonight and for the sake of good food I’ll hold off on the tequila.”

“Awwwww.” Several of the group mock whined.

“I’ll do some.” Rebel spoke up and all eyes turned to her.
 

There were a few heartbeats of silence before Creed, one of the pack enforcers stepped forward. “Well, all right then. Let’s do it.”
 

One of the other guys grabbed another shot glass out of the cabinet and filled it before handing it to Rebel. “Salt is in the container behind you.”

Amidst hoots and hollering, everyone began licking the salt off their fingers and downing their tequila. This went on for a while as Dante prepared his — now famous among area packs — rib sauce and got everything ready for the grill all while keeping an eye on Rebel.

She already knew half the pack and she was easily holding her own with them. To his relief, there also seemed to be no remaining after effects of her earlier panic attack. In fact it felt very comfortable having her in his home with all of this family and friends. Unfortunately this only seemed to deepen his need for her as the desire not exactly cooled, flared to life every time he caught her scent or looked at her or heard her voice.
 

As Diego would say, it was reaching epic proportions. Although why it was so strong without the pull of a potential true mate he didn’t understand. He’d desired many women in his life and not once had one pulled at him this hard—even during mating season.
 

He glanced outside at the full moon and cursed. He felt betrayed by biology.
 

Not that it mattered anymore. He’d known from the moment she sacrificed herself to capture the man responsible for taking away her sister’s choice that Rebel Harris would be his. And not just for this long ass mating season.

Chapter Four

Rebel smiled at the joke Creed and Sawyer were regaling her with all while keeping an eye on Dante in her peripheral vision. Mostly she watched him move since he was working side by side with Diego on the grill.
 

Every move he made some muscle or another flexed until she became mesmerized by the dance. She’d seen him naked more than once thanks to the shifter thing and he had an incredible body. Tight. So damn tight, especially his rock solid abs with their dips and ridges. What she wouldn’t give right now to be touching him.

With her tongue.

Yes, the alcohol had gotten to her, but Dante had gotten to her a long time ago. And she still needed to get him out of her system. One slow lick at a time.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her head with no success. Once the image of her tongue touching that beautiful body hit her brain, it imprinted into her permanent memory.
 

“Hey, we’re going to go get some more beer from the icebox downstairs. You want some?”
 

She forced her thoughts to Sawyer who had asked her a question. “Uhh...No I’m good.”
 

“Okay. There’s water in the fridge if you just want that.”

She nodded at them both as they headed down the stairs before turning her full attention to Dante who stood alone at the grill.
 

Now was her chance.

Her earlier conversation with Melody kept replaying in her head. They needed to have sex and just get it out of their system. She was convinced it was the only way to move on. She definitely didn’t need to spend any more time on wondering what if when it came to climbing in bed with him.

It would just be sex. Easy peasy.

She moved closer to the patio door until she was just a few feet away from his back. This close she noticed a small trickle of sweat sliding down the side of his face. It would be so easy to lick that for him…

Rebel stifled a giggle. Yeah, she was pretty tipsy. But not so much she didn’t know exactly what she was doing or what she wanted.
 

“Hey,” she said.
 

Dante turned to the side and smiled at her. He looked so genuinely happy to see her she almost melted on the spot.

“There you are. Enjoying yourself?”

“I think we should have sex. Preferably as soon as possible,” she blurted.

She didn’t so much see his body go stiff as she felt all the oxygen get suddenly sucked up around them as he stared down at her. She held her breath waiting for him to say or do something.
 

It was then she noticed that all of the party noise had ceased and all heads and eyes were turned in her direction.

“I...uhh... I guess they all heard that, huh?”
 

Dante set down his cooking tools and grabbed her waist, pushing her back against the glass. Either he wasn’t paying attention or he didn’t care if everyone saw him.
 

He buried his face in her hair and breathed deep before he spoke. “This is not the time to joke about something like that, Rebel. You know it’s mating season and we’ve got sex on the brain. A lot of sex.”

“I wasn’t joking,” she whispered. “I am dead serious.”

"Then you should feel exactly how serious I am." He leaned his hips forward and pressed the rigid length of his erection into her soft belly.

"Ohhh." She sighed. "Then my suggestion is not out of the question?"

"Definitely not. Especially when you smell this good."

Heat flashed through her. Both from arousal and a little embarrassment. It was going to take her a while to get used to the fact that werewolves could see, hear and especially smell better than she could. In fact, she was pretty sure he was referring to the fact her pants were wet with her desire.
 

"Can we do it tonight?" she asked.
 

He growled. Long and low, making the sound vibrate against her skin. Oh God, she liked that.
 

"We can go right now."

Something about the urgency in his voice snapped her back to awareness. "Is everyone watching us right now?"
 

He lifted his head and looked over her shoulder. "Yep."

"Shit. And can they smell—"

"Probably. You smell fertile."

Her head jerked back. "I smell what? Ewww." She wriggled free from his hold, probably because he let her and scooted away from him to the balcony railing. "Jesus, Dante. Did you really just say that? Do you have any clue how unsexy that is?"

"Maybe. But it’s fucking delicious to wolves."

Her stomach fluttered at the guttural sound of his voice. The words didn't even really matter that much. Not when he pinned her with a stare that promised carnal delights she imagined out of her world and the vibrations in his voice hummed between her thighs. It was unusual to sense so much need from a man. Her body shook in response. She wasn't sure if her legs could hold her upright much longer at this rate.
 

"I think I'd rather do this without an audience. We could go back to my place."
 

He stalked forward. His eyes tinged with yellow at the edges. His wolf close to the surface. At least that's how Faith explained it when her eyes did that.
 

"Are you going to shift?"

"No. But the wolf inside is powerful and he has needs right now too. Mating season is not easy on either of us."

"You talk about your wolf like it's a second person. Why?" She was stalling and they both knew it.
 

"Because it's easier for non shifters to grasp when I do. The wolf is a part of me, but he's not all of me. I'm human too. The best of both worlds actually."

"Top of the food chain." It wasn't a question and he didn't answer.
 

He placed his hands on the rail behind her, one on each side of her, trapping her. "What are we going to do now? Don't you have to finish cooking those ribs?"

"They'll keep."

"Until when?"

"Until after I kiss you." He no sooner said the words and his mouth came down on hers. The heat of his lips shocked her, enough that she parted her lips and his tongue slid inside. With a combination of hard pressure and delightful licks he plunged forward, exploring every inch of her. Her head nearly exploded. Her chest constricted and blood rushed through her ears. She grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer until they were leaning halfway across the railing with his chest pressing down on her aching breasts. Heat coiled in her belly moments before it sprang forward and out to her arms and legs. There was no house, no pack, no stars and no sky. There was only Dante touching her and sending shock waves through her system like little tendrils looking for a place to take hold and grow.