EnemyMine (18 page)

Kinsley prowled over to them, a grin on his face. Like the
panty charmer he was, he took Mary’s free hand and brought it to his mouth. He
brushed his lips against her knuckles and Emory had to force the wolf back, to
keep the beast inside him calm while another man touched his female.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mary.” Kinsley’s Scottish
accent was heavier, the words thick and husky. Mary didn’t move, no doubt
entranced by the way Kinsley looked and spoke. If the Alpha’s dark hair and
green eyes weren’t seductive enough weapons, Kinsley also had a body and face
women couldn’t get enough of. Everyone knew the shifter was a ladies’ man.

Asshole.

“You too,” she murmured, her face a mixture of awe and
curiosity.

“Keep your hands and your mouth to yourself,” Emory growled,
no longer able to keep his possessiveness at bay. “Or I’m going to rip them off
and shove them up your ass.”

Kinsley let Mary go, grimacing as he did. Emory knew the
pained expression was purely for show. It was a known fact Kinsley could have
any female he wanted. The women in his pride lined up for a night in his bed,
hoping that perhaps they could reach the heart of the man and keep him as their
own.

“So stingy with your good fortune. That’s not nice at all. I
only wanted to greet the lass properly.” Before Emory could respond Kinsley
bowed and smiled at Mary. “I’m sorry to cut you short, sweetest Mary, but I
have to go. It was a pleasure to meet you. Perhaps next time we’ll have the
opportunity to sit and chat.”

“Like hell you will,” Emory snarled, watching Kinsley as he
left the kitchen. His annoyance increased when he heard Kinsley’s chuckles,
aware the arrogant fucker was laughing at him.

“That was rude,” Mary snapped and turned, jabbing a finger
into his chest. “You didn’t have to talk to him like that.”

“He had it coming,” Emory replied smoothly, the wolf coming
to life in the presence of his mate. He grasped her hand and tugged her to him,
bringing them hip to hip. “I don’t share what’s mine. And you’re mine, angel
eyes. Only mine.”

Her “oh” was a soft exhale against his mouth, the caress of
her breath on his skin a temptation he couldn’t resist. He lowered his head and
captured her lips with his. She sighed, going soft in his arms, placing her hands
on his shoulders. When she invited him to take the kiss further, parting her
lips in offering, he accepted with a smooth glide of his tongue. She tasted of
mint toothpaste, the flavor mingling with Mary’s own sweetness. Then another
scent came to him, this one flooding his nose.

Arousal.

Pulling away, he gazed into Mary’s flushed face. He knew she
had to be tired and ravenous after completing two stages of the bloodbond.
“What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.” He combed his fingers
through her hair, fascinated by the long, soft strands that slid along his palm
like silk.

“You’ll cook for me?” She trailed her fingers down to his
chest, stopping when she came to his nipples. Mimicking what he’d done to her
earlier, she rotated her thumb around the sensitive skin.

Sexy little minx
. “Of course.”

Angling her head to the side, she peered at him through her
thick lashes and whispered, “What if I said I’m not hungry for food?”

His cock went from zero to sixty, flaccid one second and
flagpole stiff the next. “I’d say you’d better eat while you can.” Grasping the
hair at her nape, he pulled her head back. “Once I take you back upstairs,
we’re going to be there awhile.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The honeyed
scent of her pussy increased, drowning him in Mary’s succulent fragrance. He
knew it wasn’t the time or place to indulge his mate but the lust in her eyes
was almost enough to make him sling her over his shoulder and storm from the
kitchen to their bedroom.

“How about a grilled cheese with tomato soup?” he asked,
voice strained, his cock throbbing miserably.

The lust in her eyes abated and her stomach growled. “That
sounds good, actually.”

After placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, he guided her
to the table. “Take a seat.”

“What happened to Ava?” She sat and rested her elbows on the
table, squirming in her chair. He swallowed a groan, wishing she was in his lap
instead, the soft curves of her ass wriggling against his swollen erection,
gliding around and around and then up and down…

Food, asshole. Not sex. It’s time to feed her, not fuck
her.

He collected the soup from a shelf beside the stove and
reached for the pan on the rack hanging from the ceiling. Terrifying Mary
wasn’t an option, so he kept the important details to himself. “We’re not sure.
Diskant thinks he knows where she is. The pack just left.”

“Was that all the noise I heard? How many of you are there?
It sounded like an army invaded the place.”

“A couple dozen inside the city at any given time,” he
answered, trying to keep on track, cursing the memories of his mate naked
beneath him because they made him think with the wrong head.

“That many?”

The fear and crack in her voice had him turning to face her.
“There are more, actually.”

“More?” She gulped, brown eyes expanding as her face became
a ghostly shade of white.

In three steps he was at her side. He kneeled at her feet.
“You’re safe here. If knowing I would die for you isn’t enough to reassure you,
Diskant put you under his protection. No one would dare touch you. They value
their lives too much.” He paused and added, “And you’re pack now. My mate.”

“It’s so strange,” she murmured and reached out, touching
his cheek. “Like a dream that doesn’t end.”

Catching her hand in his, he brought her knuckles to his
mouth and brushed his lips across them. “Does this feel like a dream, angel
eyes?”

“No,” she breathed.

He scented her excitement, her desire traveling from his
nose to his cock. Closing his eyes, he imagined tossing her on the table,
tearing off her clothes and taking her just as she was. Her lush breasts would
bounce with each thrust and her whimpers of delight would fill his ears. When
she was near climax he’d change his movements, moving nice and slow, watching
as his cock slid in and out of the pink folds of her pussy.

“Well, hello.”

Nathan’s voice didn’t do anything to quench Emory’s lust but
Mary was an entirely different matter. In a split second tension filled the
air. The peppery fragrance of anxiety pierced his nose, followed by the burning
scent of her fear. He rose to his feet and turned to greet their visitor,
wanting to put Mary at ease.

“This is Nathan,” he said and smoothed back a strand of hair
that had fallen over her temple. “He’s the pack Beta. Diskant’s first in
command.”

“Hi,” Mary whispered and clutched Emory’s wrist.

Nathan walked over and extended his hand. “It’s wonderful to
meet you finally. Emory’s told us so much about you.”

Slowly, Mary’s fingers loosened around Emory’s arm. She
reached out, the motion cautious, and accepted Nathan’s gesture of welcome. The
moment they touched, Emory knew Nathan was absorbing her fear, taking it into
himself. It was his gift as Beta of the pack, to keep those under stress in
control. Due to their newly formed bloodbond, Nathan was able to establish a
connection with Mary through Emory’s wolf. Although she didn’t have the final
mark, she had enough of his beast inside her to establish a link. Mary’s
shoulders relaxed. She lifted her head, giving Nathan one of the rare smiles
Emory had missed.

“Nice to meet you.”

Nathan nodded, let her go and stepped back. Then he turned
to Emory. “There are more than three dozen numbers. I called half. Those I
couldn’t contact I left messages with. I wanted to let you know that I have
things covered.” He glanced down at Mary, his eyes revealing a small trace of
envy. “Take care of your girl and get her settled.”

“I’ll do that,” Emory replied, stroking the back of Mary’s
head. “Thanks.”

Another quick look at Emory’s mate revealed Nathan’s
longing, his wish for a female of his own. “Don’t mention it.”

“He’s nice,” Mary said softly when Nathan exited the
kitchen.

Emory didn’t think she’d appreciate the knowledge that
Nathan had influenced her emotions so he kept the information to himself. “I’m
glad you think so. Until we choose a home of our own, you’ll see a lot of him.”

“A home of our own?” Those brown eyes of hers widened as her
pupils dilated.

“What did you think? That we’d stay here forever?” She
shrugged and he laughed. “When things blow over, me and you are going to comb
the city until you find the one place that suits you.”

If they blow over
, a voice chimed in. He hoped
Diskant found Ava and brought her home safely. If not, the shit was going to
hit the fan in a messy fucking way.

Licking her lips nervously, she asked, “And then?”

“We’re buying it and moving in, of course.”

“Of course.” Her words deepened, becoming husky. With her
fear gone, they were back to square one. The second stage of the bloodbond
ramping her libido. Making her ache for him in a way she probably didn’t understand
or comprehend.

Fuck, she was tempting.
Too tempting
.

He left her side and kept his thoughts to himself. Food
first, the rest later. Damn if it wasn’t hard to concentrate with her so close,
knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her. On top of that was his concern
and worry for the pack. If he hadn’t found Mary he’d be with them now,
searching for Ava. He didn’t like feeling divided, as though he needed to go
but had to stay.

“Hi, big guy,” Mary said softly and Emory spun around.

Diskant’s beloved mutt Oscar stood in the door way. The huge
dog was one of the ugliest mongrels most people had ever seen, unnaturally
large with thick fur and a bulldoglike face and ears. Oscar stayed where he
was, waiting to see what Mary thought. Everyone in the pack found it odd that
the mutt understood the word ugly and got incredibly riled-up when people
referred to him as such.

“Aren’t you sweet?” Mary crooned and held out one of her
hands. “Come here, cutie.”

Oscar’s ears perked and he wagged his tail. Emory almost
laughed when the dog trotted to Mary with his head held high, like a fucking
dog prince.

“His name’s Oscar,” Emory said, studying the canine that was
larger than his mate. The mutt soaked up her attention, licking her hands as
its tail whipped from side to side.

“Oscar? You’re not a grouch, are you?” Mary laughed when
Oscar snorted and licked her chin.

Emory hissed when he burned his finger. He left Mary and
Oscar to their introductions, making sure he didn’t char his digits a second
time. When he finally finished and brought her soup and sandwich to the table,
Oscar gave Mary one final lick and left the kitchen. She watched the dog go, an
enormous smile on her face.

“I’ve always wanted a dog. We moved too much to get one when
I was a child.”

When she looked up at him, her eyes were happy and unafraid.
Emory felt on top of the world. This was how he always wanted her to be.

“Then we’ll have to get you a puppy,” he murmured, tucking a
stray piece of hair behind her ear. “So you can get the full experience from
start to finish.”

She continued smiling but didn’t speak as she removed a
napkin from its holder and placed it in her lap. Even now her manners were
impeccable. He remembered thinking she’d be horrified if she saw the pack
chowing down on game day, watching football as they devoured food with their
hands and fingers.

She moaned with her first bite of the soup, licking her
lips. His softening dick did an impressive U-turn. He went baseball bat hard,
the wolf inside determined to take over. It wasn’t easy to force the animal
back, to watch as Mary took bite after leisurely bite of her food. She wasn’t
doing it on purpose, was legitimately enjoying her meal. But she might as well
have been waving a red flag in his face, daring him to take her hard and fast against
the wall. He’d been soft with her before, wanting to introduce her to
lovemaking in a way she’d understand. Only now he didn’t want to make love.

His wolf wanted to fuck.

Damn it
, he snarled in his head.
Back the hell off
.

Mary finished her sandwich and dabbed at the corners of her
mouth. Most of the soup was gone, only a small amount coating the bottom of the
dish. He wondered how long it would take her to eat the rest, if he could hold
himself back until she got to the finish line. To his shock, she dropped the
napkin on the table, looked at him and grinned.

“Emory?”

“Yeah?” He sounded like a man walking the line, holding on
to his restraint by a rapidly fraying thread.

“You can take me upstairs now.”

His head bolted up, his eyes meeting hers.

Son of a bitch.

He’d been wrong. She
had
been trying to seduce him
while she ate, the tempting flashes of her tongue done on purpose. Not a single
bite of food she’d taken had been innocent, it was her playing a game and
taunting him.

He knocked over her chair when he yanked her close, lifting
her into his arms. She yelped when he took off, dodging obstacles in his path
as he rushed for the bedroom. Once they made it to the bed, he intended to pay
her back for every single minute he’d suffered, tormenting her as she’d
tormented him, until she didn’t know which end was up. Right now they both
needed the distraction, something to take their minds off the craziness of the
world around them.

For a moment he remembered he had to turn on the alarm. Then
Mary giggled and ran her hand up his chest. To hell with it. Nathan was home
and Oscar had probably returned to his place in the basement, so the house was
protected. With his mate’s earlier teasing, she’d be lucky if he made it past
the starting gates. After they finished he’d make sure things were in place.
Until then, everything else could wait.