Chapter 3
Cass hadn’t really been hungry for a burger, but Juliette had insisted, and when it showed up – two smashburger patties with onions and melty cheese – she’d been helpless to do anything but devour it.
The Trick Smash burger was unfairly incredible.
Now she knew why Juliette raved about the burgers at The Howl.
“It’s so good,” she said, swiping a few fries through a puddle of ketchup.
“Told ya,” Juliette said.
“You didn’t mention that it would ruin other burgers for me forever, though.”
Juliette grinned. “Well, I’m glad that you love it and I hope it makes up a little tiny bit for what happened.”
“Stop,” Cass said, picking up the burger. “I was annoyed at you, but I’m not about to waste a good burger because you fell in love.”
“I promise I’ll make Wednesdays a priority,” Juliette said. “We can go wherever you want next week.”
Cass savored the last few bites of the burger while Juliette talked about the tavern, the small pack, and the shifter town of King Lake.
Things were okay between them now. Besides, she was too busy trying not to think too much about the tall, blue-eyed problem standing at the front door.
She did not ogle him several times while eating.
Okay she did. He was easy on the peepers.
And he made her feel like Juliette flaking on their plans had been some kind of cosmic plan to get her here to meet him.
Which… she didn’t really believe in that kind of thing.
But it had happened to Juliette with Sigh.
And here she was, in the same tavern, with a wolf eyeing her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen in his life.
When his gaze caught hers, he smiled. Not cocky, like he’d known she was ogling him like the finest thing she’d ever seen in jeans and a tight t-shirt. Just warm. Like he’d been waiting to catch her gaze.
Something inside Cass unfurled like a flag in the summer breeze – soft, hopeful.
She quickly dropped her gaze to her empty plate.
Juliette made a small sound.
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Juliette protested. When Cass lifted her head, her best friend was grinning like a loon.
“You made a noise.”
“It was a totally supportive noise.”
“You sounded smug, you nut.”
She grinned. “Maybe a little bit.” She gripped her arm and leaned in, whispering, “I saw him step between you and that creep. That’s romance novel hero stuff.”
“Romance novels aren’t real life.”
“Mine is.”
Cass opened her mouth, then closed it with a grunt.
Juliette’s expression softened. “Come back to the kitchen for a minute.”
Cass followed her through the swinging doors into the kitchen, where Sigh and his line cook were working in front of the grill. Sigh looked up when they walked in, smiling at Juliette like he’d been waiting for her to come back.
Her best friend had told her she was in love with Sigh after two weeks together and the grumpy part of her hadn’t really believed it. But she could see it very clearly right now. They loved each other. Maybe they didn’t know each other very well yet, but they knew they were meant to be together.
Juliette put the dishes in a tub by the dishwasher and turned to face Cass. “Talk.”
“About?”
“You and Trick.”
“There is no me and Trick.” I think.
“Liar.”
“Rude,” Cass said, then sighed. “Fine. He’s good looking.”
Juliette just stared at her and all the noise of the kitchen faded away and it was just the two of them, talking like they always did, no holds barred.
Cass slashed her hand through the air. “Fine, he’s ridiculously attractive. Like there should be laws against being that gorgeous and roaming around in public. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means something when you look at him like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you found what you were looking for without knowing what it was.”
Cass looked anywhere but at her truth-spouting friend. “Is that what it was like with Sigh?”
“Yeah. But it was also more than that. Like I’d been walking around missing a piece of myself and not even realizing it, until he was suddenly there and he was what had been missing.”
Cass realized Juliette wasn’t looking at her anymore but was looking at Sigh and he was looking at her. The connection between them was electric.
And all Cass could think about was Trick out in the main room.
She was going to say she didn’t believe in fast love, but she was witnessing it. And while she might not believe in it, something was going on between her and Trick and she wanted to see what it was.
It would disappear in the light of day, she was sure. Because quick stuff faded and there wouldn’t be anything solid to hold it together afterward.
She moved to Juliette and hugged her. “I’m going to head home, I think.”
“Are you?” Juliette asked.
Cass didn’t answer that question, because she wasn’t really certain.
Instead, she said goodbye to her best friend and walked out into the main room.
The moment Trick saw her, his whole demeanor softened and he smiled, like he’d been waiting to see her again, and she knew saying she was going to head home was an outright lie.
“Are you free for a bit? To take a break so we can talk?” she asked when she stopped in front of him.
“My place is behind the tavern. We can talk there if you’d like.”
“Sounds good.”
But it sounded more than good. It sounded dangerous on a hundred different levels, and she liked every single one of them.
Trick moved to the bar and spoke to Dare and then offered her his hand. “Let’s go, beautiful.”
The moment her hand slid into his, a riot of sensations ran down her spine and twisted in her stomach, fluttering like a hundred trapped butterflies.
Oh, this was a bad idea. Or a very good one.
Possibly the best bad idea she’d ever had. She’d walked into The Amber Howl looking for Juliette, now she was following Trick into the night, telling herself they were only going to talk.
Talk.
Not… other things.
Who was she kidding?
Three houses were situated near the woods behind The Amber Howl, and Trick’s was the one on the right. Their pack was small and had broken off from their home pack several years earlier after a disagreement with the alpha.
“Now Dare’s the alpha,” Trick said, shutting the door.
“What does that make you?” she asked.
“I’m the protector. I keep everyone safe.
And Sigh is the caretaker, he makes sure everyone is fed, among other things.
We all have parts to play in the pack, but we’re small so we don’t have to deal with a lot of hierarchy issues that other packs do.
” He paused, then said, “Do you know a lot about shifters?”
“Not much at all, actually.”
She pressed her hands together, more to keep herself from grabbing hold of him than out of nerves. Because she wasn’t the least bit nervous right now, she was tingling from the inside out and wanting a few more of his addictive kisses.
They faced each other on the couch, close but not touching, and he talked about being a wolf, and how even when he was in his shift, he was still in control. The wolf was a part of him, but didn’t run his life.
She was listening. Honest. But holy crap he smelled good.
Why was she so attracted to him? She’d seen good looking guys before, but she’d never wanted to climb one like a tree.
Trick stopped talking mid-sentence.
“What?” she asked.
“You stopped listening to me.”
“I did not.”
“Yeah, you did. And you’re blushing.”
She touched her cheeks and felt them warm even more. “I was listening, I swear. You were talking about your wolf.”
“Uh huh.”
“And being in control.”
He moved a little closer to her, and she swallowed hard. “I was.”
She wished she could physically calm her flying pulse.
“Stop,” she said.
“Stop what?”
“Sitting there smelling like midnight and bad choices.”
His eyes darkened, summer sky blue to navy, edged with amber. And that midnight scent? It went even deeper, like starlight and moonlight and the air after a storm.
She found herself leaning forward, wondering why they were just talking and not kissing. “What are you waiting for?”
“For you to decide what you want. Because I’m not a bad decision, Cassidy. I promise.”
He was giving her a chance to walk away, but she absolutely didn’t want to.
Her gaze dropped to his lips.
Then back to his navy-blue-amber eyes.
“I want another kiss. I want everything, Trick.”
“Then come here, beautiful.”
She didn’t even think. Her mind had gone buzzy the closer he’d gotten to her. From one minute to the next, she found herself in his lap, her knees bracketing his thighs as her hands slid into his thick, soft hair and his arms slipped around her.
He growled softly, the sound a rumble in his chest that she could feel against her belly, as she stared into his eyes and made the next move.
She kissed him.
It wasn’t reserved like it had been in the tavern with people around; it was like a spark that started a wildfire, and it was roaring inside her.
He slid his hands up her back, tilting his hips up, so she could feel the ridge of his erection against the seam of her jeans.
Her body electrified, her skin prickling, she broke from the kiss with a gusty sigh.
He kissed her throat, his blunt teeth dragging down her skin. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
“It’s not enough.”
He held her close and rose to his feet. She locked her ankles at his back and lifted herself up a little higher on him, kissing his cheek and his jaw, as he carried her back to his bedroom.
Their clothes disappeared in a flurry of flying fabric, and then the sexiest guy she’d ever seen in her life kissed his way down the center of her body, his eyes practically glowing with his wolf, and closed his lips over her clit.
Her body didn’t just light up with the first flick of his tongue over her sensitive bud, she felt like she’d been plugged in. Every nerve ending came to life as he held her against his mouth with his hands curled over her hips, and sucked and licked her clit like it was his favorite piece of candy.
When he slipped his hand to her pussy and pushed a finger into her heat, she closed her eyes and gripped the bedding as he drove her right to the edge of the fastest climax she’d ever had in her life.
When he added a second finger, plunging them in and out, his tongue flicking rapidly over her clit, she exploded on a sharp cry that made her voice crack.
She grabbed the pillow under her head and tilted her hips as he licked circles around her clit, delving his tongue down to her pussy with a throaty growl.
She gasped as cool air hit her, her toes curling as he kissed his way back until he reached her breasts. He grinned devilishly at her, playing with her nipples with his fingers and his mouth, seeming to know exactly what she liked without even having to say a word.
She felt his cock against her thigh and she reached for it.
Her fingers curled around his thick length, and she rubbed her thumb over the head. He snarled, her nipple held gently between his teeth, then he sucked it into his mouth and her body rioted.
How did this feel so good?
“More,” she said, giving a gentle tug to his cock. “I want all of you, Trick.”
He let go of her nipple, finding her lips and kissing her, his hips nudging her thighs open. He held himself over her with one hand, grasping his cock with the other. The kiss broke when she tossed back her head as the first inch of him, thick and hard, slid into her.
Something feral and ancient cried out inside her.
She didn’t know what it was, but she liked it.
She cupped his face and hooked her leg over his hip, pulling him forward.
He grinned at her and pushed in fully, thrusting forward the last bit until their bodies were tightly wed.
They both sighed and stared at each other, him hovering over her, arms tense and eyes nearly entirely amber, and then he growled softly.
His hips pulled back and she let her gaze slip down as she lifted her head to watch him pull out and then thrust back in.
She’d never seen anything so erotic in her life.
Every inch of her felt covered by him, and she liked it.
She cupped the back of his head and met his intense gaze. Then she hooked her other leg over his hip and crossed her ankles at the small of his back.
He thrust in.
Pulled out.
Thrust in. Then grabbed the headboard, his muscles tense and the wood groaning with his grip. He moved so fast, was fucking her so hard, that all she could do was hold on as the center of her body went hot and liquid.
She planted her feet on the mattress and lifted her lower body, and when she did, each thrust of his cock into her sent a riot of sensations through her. She grabbed onto his shoulders, feeling the flex of his muscles and hearing his wolf growling.
“Oh yes,” she said, pushing her head back into the pillow. She could only smell him, only see him, only feel him. And nothing had ever felt as good as Trick.
“Mine,” he snarled in a deep voice. “Cassidy.”
“Yes!” She liked that. Liked the mine and the way he said her name, like it was his favorite word, and she was his favorite person.
Her body exploded into a kaleidoscope of pleasure as she came hard, the climax stealing the breath from her lungs as she fell apart. He followed her, shouting her name as he came deep inside her.
He lowered his head and kissed her, then pulled her with him as he rolled to his back and she ended up sprawled over him.
Too boneless to move. Too sated to do anything but smile as the pleasure ebbed away like the surf on the shore.
She could hear his heart pounding under her ear, hear the rumble of his wolf. Then he put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Sweet female,” he said. “You are the most incredible person I’ve ever met. How did I get so lucky to have fate smile down on me tonight?”
She was feeling pretty damn lucky herself.
A sexy wolf, two orgasms, and the word mine flitting from one side of her brain to the next.
And that’s when things got very real.
From breathless and dreamy to oh-crap in a heartbeat.
She’d walked into the tavern looking for her friend and wound up naked on top of a wolf with words like fate and mine floating around willy nilly.
For a girl who liked her happy little work-life rut, she sure had run off the rails.
What was she supposed to do now?