Chapter 38 - Wolfson
I whip my head around to find Leo strolling in with his phone in hand.
No.
No, no, no!
The thought of his gaze sliding up Dove’s bare legs, catching on her hips, and lingering on her breasts… I see red, not as a metaphor, but as an actual flare in my vision.
Tilting my head, I track him over my shoulder like prey. My stance shifts, knees widening, weight dropping over her, ready to launch myself at the threat.
It’s not jealousy. This is older. Darker. Forged into the marrow.
Mine.
That’s the word that slams through me like a hammer to the sternum.
“Did you just—?” Leo’s eyes bulge. “Did I just walk in on your first time, bro?”
By the eight frozen nuts of Hoss…
“Get out!” My cock softens, slipping out of her, as I tuck her beneath the cover of my body.
If he so much as glances at her curves, her piercings, the soft skin I’ve memorized with my mouth, I’ll become the worst version of myself. The version that survived hell by becoming a creature capable of returning it.
“Goddamn, you have a pasty ass.” His thumbs fly over the screen of his phone. “This is too good.”
“Don’t you dare text—”
“Too late.” He holds up the screen. “They’re on their way.”
“She’s naked, you fuck.” My posture goes predatory, chin lowered, eyes up, tracking his every movement.
I bare my teeth. Not smiling. Not friendly.
Claiming.
Promising violence.
Daring him to look at her.
“If I recall,” he says, eyes on his phone, “the night you introduced her, my bedmates and I were naked, in the privacy of our bedroom. Isn’t that right, Dove?”
She makes a noise that sounds like a swallowed laugh and buries her face in my neck.
“Get the fuck out!” My jaw locks so tightly a crack echoes through my ears.
“Wolf…” She sighs.
A growl builds in the back of my throat. My shoulders square, chest rising with an inhale of fire. Every muscle coils, ready to strike first and ask questions never.
“After all the times you’ve walked in on us— Wait. Is that…?” Leo examines my face. “Were you crying?”
“Swear to the holy of holies…” I keep my back to him, blocking his view of her. “I’m going to wrap your braids around your stupid neck until your eyes pop like rotten testicles.”
“Tell me you gave her more than two pumps before your tear-jerking release.”
Clutching her to my chest, I rise to my knees and grab the closest thing I can reach.
My discarded underwear.
She digs her fingers into my shoulders as I twist and fling the dirty shorts at his face.
He catches them midair and instantly drops them with a shriek. “Fuck! Why are they wet?”
“Those are your nieces and nephews. In liquid form.”
“Vile.” He makes a gagging sound and rubs his hand on his leg. “Don’t talk to me. Don’t breathe near me. I’m never recovering from this.”
“You won’t have to recover.” I glare at him over my shoulder. “Because I’m going to kill you.”
Dove lifts her head. “Both of you shut up.”
We both freeze.
“Leo.” She rubs my spine in a placating gesture. “Give us a minute?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll go.” Hands raised, he backs up slowly and winks. “But this is going in the family group chat.”
His laughter follows him out and lingers long after he shuts the door. Because he’s still there, still laughing on the other side.
Rage crawls up my throat, and my hands curl into fists, knuckles whitening and forearms trembling to rip his head from his body.
“He’s dead.” I untangle myself from her and help her stand. “Go upstairs and get dressed. And don’t come down. I’m about to commit murder. Lots of blood. Foul yeti organs everywhere.”
I charge to the knife block on the counter and grab a three-inch paring blade.
Nah. Too dull. Definitely too small.
I swap it for the five-inch meat cutter. That’s the one.
“You’re not stabbing your brother.” She plucks the weapon from my hand and drapes a blanket over my shoulders.
“Just his eyes.” I reach for the blade again. “And his tongue.”
In a flash, she sweeps the entire block of knives under her arm and bolts toward the stairs. Gloriously naked.
For a derailed moment, every molecule in my body shorts out.
Her hips sway as she runs, muscles flexing under smooth skin, the curve of her ass tightening as she climbs. Her blue hair flies behind her like a flag I’d follow into any battle. Every bounce and shift of her body owns my attention.
My mouth falls open. Until she vanishes beyond the top step.
I blink. Once. Twice. Reality snaps back.
“Those aren’t the only knives in the house!” I shout.
“Wash your dick and clean the mess on the floor! We’re expecting company!”
Right.
My family’s on their way.
To congratulate me on losing my virginity.
Of all the torture in Alaska, this is next-level.
I’d rather run upstairs and spend the rest of the night making love to my woman.
But murder first.
I wash up in the guest bathroom and run a towel over the sticky floor. Then, with the blanket tight around my shoulders, I storm to the front door and kick it open.
Leo’s smart enough to stay clear of my raging path as I charge out, nostrils flaring.
Standing a safe distance away, he eyes my blanket cape. “Are you armed under that?”
“With my fists.”
“If you mess up my pretty face, Frankie won’t forgive you.”
“She won’t see the bruises beneath your beard jungle.”
“Listen, Wolf. You’re the smartest guy I know.”
“You only know three guys.”
“If you don’t want a compliment…”
“Continue.”
“You’re genius smart, but all that intellect evaporated the second you got your dick wet.”
“That’s your compliment? Why don’t you come a little closer and say it again?”
“No, thanks.” He chuckles. “I shouldn’t have riled you, but fuck. I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. I mean, the timing…” He flashes his teeth. “I couldn’t resist. You deserve some payback for all the hell you’ve given me.”
I hate it, but he’s not wrong. How many times have I seen Frankie naked? I’m lucky they haven’t clawed out my eyes. Strakh men are viciously territorial, but I didn’t really understand what that meant until now.
I won’t be as gracious with them as they’ve been with me.
My mind spins through impending scenarios, imagining Dove bending over an engine at the garage or sipping a drink at Kody’s bar. If I even think about another man’s eyes on her, my whole body changes. It’s not subtle. Not civilized. Not anything remotely human.
It’s instinct. Animal-deep.
My vision narrows until all I see is her body and the imaginary bastard looking at it. Veins stand out along my arms. Tendons strain in my neck, and my pulse spikes so fast it feels like my heart is breaking my ribs.
“I remember those feelings the first time I had sex with Frankie.” Leo lets out a low whistle, his mismatched eyes studying me.
“Immediately afterward, I felt different. Irrationally territorial and uncontrollably dangerous.” He ambles toward me, stepping onto the porch.
“I didn’t want you or Kody near her. Didn’t matter that you’re my brothers.
I was a hair trigger away from feeding you to the wolves if you so much as looked in Frankie’s direction. ”
“Look at you now. Seventy percent less murder-happy, thirty percent titty baby, only mildly unstable, and still not housebroken. When was the last time you spent the night in the Sitka jail?”
“It’s been a minute.” He smirks, leaning against the door beside me. “Doesn’t mean the urge to kill everyone who looks at Frankie is gone. Just means I learned how to control the murderous impulses.”
“I don’t know how you do it.”
“What?”
“Share her. The thought of sharing Dove makes me feel unhinged.”
“Because it’s Monty and Kody. I trust them with my life and with hers.” He lifts a shoulder. “It doesn’t feel like sharing. It feels like the most natural thing in the world. Like breathing. It’s that easy.”
“Not at first.”
“No.” He laughs, shaking his head. “I had to sort out my ego. That took some time.”
All this happened while I was locked in Dr. Pain’s cage in Whittier, with everyone thinking I was dead. But I remember what Leo was like when Frankie arrived in Hoss. He postured like he was two breaths from snapping his own neck.
“Speaking of cavemen…” His eyes sparkle as he turns his attention toward the main house.
Kody’s silhouette emerges on the path. Broad shoulders, slow stride, arms full of stacked boxes like he robbed a post office.
Monty strolls behind him, balancing bags in each hand with that rich-man grace that makes everything look like a business deal.
Frankie saunters beside them with a smaller load, red hair bright in the warm light.
Behind the trio, Carl and Jasper lumber along under the weight of even more boxes.
“Christmas in July.” I clap my hands and usher everyone in. “My very first Christmas!”
Dove waits in the living room, looking freshly fucked in her jean shorts and tee, her feet bare and arms overflowing with things for me.
One look at her and I’m undone. Every scar and quiet place inside me rouse like my body knows she’s the one it’s been waiting for.
“What’s all that?” She nods at the chaos of boxes pouring in.
“I did a little online shopping while you were reading the journals.”
“A little?”
“It’s all for you, my love.” I kiss her mouth. “My dove.” Another kiss. “My beautiful one.”
Her lashes flutter on a breathy exhale.
Watching Dove Rath melt for me? Another favorite.
Carl and Jasper stack the last of the boxes by the couch, nod their goodbyes, and head out.
My family drifts into the living room, making themselves comfortable. Frankie curls up on the couch between Monty and Leo. Kody takes one of the armchairs.
I follow Dove into the kitchen, keeping my back to them as I drag on the jeans she brought for me.
“I thought you might want these, too.” She holds out the journals, her eyes gentle and perceptive in a way I’ve needed my entire life.
“Thank you.” I rest my brow against hers, breathing her in.
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier,” she whispers.
“What’s that?” I lower my voice, matching hers.