Worth the Risk (7 page)

simultaneously. It took all the willpower he had not to come again. She might not

realize it, but he wasn’t done with her yet. Not by a long shot.

He needed to bind her to him and he planned to do that in the most primal way

possible.

As she rode through the last part of her orgasm, her legs gave way. Hooking his

free hand around her waist, he pulled her up so that her back pressed against his chest.

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Slight tremors raced through her body. Strange that he could feel the tremors

almost as if they were coursing through him. He bit back a groan as he slowly withdrew

from her. His own body screamed for release, but this was about her. She turned

around on unsteady legs so he kept his arm hooked around her waist.

“Are you okay?”

“More than okay.” She laughed lightly. “That was…amazing.”

Pure satisfaction filled him. He didn’t know how he knew, but she’d never allowed

a man to touch her the way he had. Later, when they knew each other better and she

completely trusted him, he wanted to put more than his finger in her ass. “I’m not

through with you yet.”

“You’re out of your mind.” She pressed a weak hand to his chest, but he turned off

the shower and grabbed a towel.

She was silent as he wrung the dampness out of her hair. When he finished drying

her, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Before her back had hit the sheets, he claimed her mouth. He loved taking her from

behind, but he loved kissing her even more. She had a distinct, sweet taste that was

something purely hers.

Even though he’d just been inside her, he wanted more. As he stretched out on top

of her, he covered her mound with his hand and played with her clit. She’d just come,

but he simply wanted to touch her, bring her as much pleasure as she could handle.

She arched her back against him so he bent toward her chest. When he drew her

ripe nipple between his teeth, the doorbell rang.

Marisol tensed underneath him. “Are you expecting someone?”

Sighing, he stopped sucking her breast and laid his head on her chest. “No.”

He wasn’t expecting anyone, but that didn’t mean his family wouldn’t stop by

unannounced. Now that they knew he was here and that he’d brought a woman to one

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of the family homes, they’d be stopping by to check her out. His pack was just nosy like

that. If he had to guess, he’d say one of his brothers was at the door.

Or his Alpha.

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Antonio Perez pressed his hand to the biometric scanner and waited for the solid

steel door to open. Seconds later, it drew back with a whoosh.

Dr. Reed looked up as Perez entered the sterile room. “You’re just in time. This

latest strain is showing more promise than the others.”

Antonio looked through the glass at the two subjects chained down. “How are the

subjects faring?”

“These two are stronger than the other werewolves. The small one is doing the best.

She’s…different. Her blood is different from the other one. It’s working better with the

mutation.”

Antonio narrowed his gaze at the petite Spanish woman chained down.
Woman.

That word was laughable. The werewolf before him had so much unleashed power and

he planned to share that power with governments willing to pay enough. If it wasn’t for

the sedatives pumping through her system, he had no doubt she’d be able to bust

through her restraints.

With the right formula, he was going to create super soldiers. But first, the drugs

needed to be perfected. “How did the human test subjects fare with this strain?”

“It’s only been a week but one male subject is adapting perfectly. His DNA is

bonding with the formula and his strength has tripled. No side effects either. He’s the

exception though. The others…weren’t so lucky. However, it’s my opinion that the

current group of humans is too weak. If we’re going to truly examine the possibilities, I

need men who are physically above average. Their bodies will go through an extreme

transformation and they need to be able to handle it.”

“You’ll have your men. Vasquez is coming tonight. Will everything be ready?”

The doctor shifted from one foot to another. “Possibly.”

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“What the hell am I paying you for? You’ve had years to perfect this! We’ve finally

found the perfect werewolves. Vasquez has the contacts I need. If I renege on this, he’ll

kill all of us! Maybe I should find someone more willing—”

“No, no, everything will be ready.” He shuffled away, mumbling to himself as he

peered into one of his microscopes.

“It better be.” Perez dealt in heavy quantities of drugs but as a very lucrative arms

dealer, Vasquez had the contacts he needed and Perez couldn’t afford to make him

wait. It’s not as if he could call up third-world dictators or other heads of state and

schedule a meeting. No, something like this would require a go-between. Someone

respected and feared would need to introduce him and Stephan Vasquez was just the

man.

Antonio had no clue how the doctor’s mind worked and he really didn’t care, so

long as he gave him what he wanted. Before leaving the lab he strolled to the thick two-

way window and raked his gaze over the two naked subjects. They were different in

physical appearance but both equally stunning. One was a petite brunette with perfect

round tits any man would enjoy. The other was tall, blonde with a body made for

modeling. That’s what she’d done at one time. Now she was just another missing

person.

The two before him were his favorites so he was thankful they hadn’t died during

the experiments. Kidnapping them had been time-consuming and expensive, but after

he’d killed the males of their packs and poisoned the females with smaller doses of

silver, it had been easy enough. Even though they couldn’t internally ingest it without

getting sick, for some reason, silver bonds had a calming effect on the werewolves. In

addition to the drugs he was giving them, they were helpless.

As if she knew she was being watched, the petite brunette with the midnight black

eyes turned to stare at him. It was impossible that she could see through the mirrored

window, but she glared directly at him nonetheless. He walked a few feet to the left and

her eyes followed his movements.

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His skin crawled under her scrutiny and he could actually feel himself getting

weaker. It made no sense, but he had the strangest desire to open the door to her cell.

An intoxicating sluggishness flowed through his arms and legs, as if he were stoned.

Antonio walked toward the door, but the doctor’s nasally voice dragged him back to

reality.

“Yes, yes. We are almost ready,” he muttered.

He looked back at Doctor Reed who was mumbling to himself as he jotted down

notes.

“I’ll be back this afternoon. Make sure the drug and the video are ready.” Without

waiting for a response, he hurried from the room. Anger hummed through him as he

strode through his house. He wasn’t sure what the hell had just happened in there, but

he knew one thing. Once they’d gotten what they needed from the pretty werewolves,

he was going to fuck that dark-haired one long and hard before he killed her. He might

even keep her around as his slave for a while. He’d give the blonde to his men. So many

of them had already shown interest, it would be a shame to let that body go to waste.

* * * * *

Stephan didn’t bother looking through the peephole. He knew who was on the

other side before opening the door. He pulled the heavy oak door open to find Thomas

waiting.

“Hey, little Brother. I hear you’ve got company.” A tired smile lit up Thomas’

normally unreadable expression.

Stephan stepped back to let his brother inside. “I guess the whole family knows I’ve

got a she-wolf here?”

“Nope. Just me.” Thomas’ shoes were silent as he stepped onto the tiled foyer.

“Carly didn’t tell everyone?”

“Nah. She told Nick, who called me.”

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Relief rolled over him immediately. “I thought for sure she’d have called Mom by

now.”

“I think she wanted to, but Nick stopped her.”

Stephan bit back a smile. He couldn’t be certain, but he was fairly sure Carly was

still pissed at him for keeping her mate away from her all those months ago. It had been

necessary at the time, but she hadn’t seen it that way.

Thomas continued. “So who is she?”

He glanced back at the stairwell. It was empty. “Her name is Marisol Cabrera…

She’s my mate.”

Thomas’ dark eyebrows shot up. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

His brother’s lips pulled into a thin line. “Cabrera, why does that sound familiar?”

“I still don’t know much about her, but she’s without a pack. She said her pack

died.”

“How?”

“She didn’t say.”

“And you didn’t ask?” Thomas’ gravelly voice was incredulous.

“It’s complicated.”

“
I’ll bet.
You stink of sex. Is the reason you haven’t asked because you haven’t come

up for air?”

Stephan growled at his oldest brother who only laughed.

Just as suddenly, Thomas’ face sobered. “Cabrera! Dad said their Alpha wasn’t at

the last Council meeting and no one has been able to contact any of their pack since.”

Stephan frowned. The last Council meeting had been almost six months ago. Packs

from around the world met twice every year to get updates on one another, to hold

trials for rogue werewolves and to handle any general business. It wasn’t unusual for

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some Alphas to occasionally miss a meeting, but they always sent someone in their

stead. “I’ll speak to her about it today.”

“See that you do. Dad will want to meet with her soon.”

Stephan bit back a sharp retort. The protectiveness humming through him was

expected, but if what his brother said was true, Marisol would have to come up with an

explanation for why her pack had suddenly died and she was still alive. He’d just been

avoiding the fact. “I know.”

“Why not bring her to Nick’s birthday party on Wednesday? It’ll give her a chance

to meet everyone. She can talk to Dad before the party starts.”

It was Saturday. Four days should be enough time to convince his intended mate to

tell him the truth about what had happened to her pack. It wasn’t that she outright

refused, but it had been obvious she hadn’t wanted to tell him. While he didn’t want to

push, he had no choice. “We’ll be there…if you could keep it under wraps that I’m

staying here—”

“I won’t let Mother find out.”

“Thank you.” With the exception of his cousin Phillip who’d driven him the night

before, no one knew he was staying at the guesthouse. Well, now Carly and his brothers

knew too, but that didn’t bother him. The one person he really didn’t want finding out

was his mother. She’d been hounding Carly to have children for months and if she

discovered he’d found his mate, there would be no end to her nagging.

After his brother left, he started up the stairs only to find Marisol descending them.

“I was just coming to find you. That was my brother.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks tinged a dark crimson and from her guilty scent, he guessed

she’d been eavesdropping. “I need something to wear other than this.” She motioned to

the t-shirt and yoga pants.

Even though all he wanted to do was strip her naked and
keep
her naked, he knew

she was right. She needed clothes and he needed to call his boss. “Grab your dress and

shoes. I’ll call my driver and we’ll head to your place in a few minutes.”

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Wordlessly she nodded and hurried back up the stairs. Once she was out of sight,

he headed to the office and called Reuben.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey.” He definitely didn’t sound as angry as

he’d been last night.

Stephan just hoped he was feeling generous this morning. “Listen, I know I acted

unprofessionally last night but I ran into a family friend at the club. She was about to

blow my cover so I had to leave with her.”

“Shit,” Reuben muttered.

“I’ve explained things to her and she’ll be staying with my family the next couple

days so there’s no chance of her relaying the information to anyone—not that I believe

she would anyway. Still, it’s a risk so if you want to call off the operation, I

understand.” He couldn’t tell his boss the entire truth, but it pacified his conscience

somewhat to tell him they’d been compromised.

“No, we’ve worked too hard to bring Perez down. You sure she’ll keep her mouth

shut?”

“Positive.”

“Do you think we should put her under protective custody?”

“No. That’ll just scare her. Besides, the meet is tonight.” The fact that his boss had

even asked as opposed to telling him, meant he didn’t want to go through the hassle of

putting someone under protective custody. If they did, more people would be privy to

their operation and that meant a greater chance of a leak.

“All right. As soon as you hear from Perez, contact me and you better get back to

your cover house. He’s got men watching the place and it’ll look odd if you don’t show