Heat Rising: A KinKaid Wolf Pack Story (6 page)

The corners of her mouth turned up into a thin smile. “Good night, Landry,” Rosa stated, her voice rock steady, yet he hadn’t missed the way her knuckles blanched from her hold on the door. Not good.

He was such an ass.

Rosa closed the door as Landry made his way down the sidewalk toward his SUV. She turned and slumped against the cool surface of the wood, her overheated flesh soaking up the chill. She groaned, her thighs trembling with the effort to keep her upright.

Thank God his cell had rung when it did. If it hadn’t…? She closed her eyes, willing her mind not to go there and conjure up the mental images of the ramifications. Rosa wasn’t sure if she could handle the impact without melting into a puddle of arousal. What was she going to do?

Too much in one day. Could a person die from lust overload?

Kissing Kaleb earlier had about melted all of her common sense. The desire between them had been combustible, a second away from igniting if she hadn’t run. And just now with Landry… She wasn’t about to admit to him how much the kiss—he—had affected her. Not when she wasn’t even close to taking that next step, committing to one male for the rest of her life. How could she when her heart belonged to two? And she couldn’t confess to either of them and put them at odds with each other.

Rosa pushed away from the door, her feet heavy with the weight of her decision. She shuffled back into the den and over to the window.

There was only one option: if she couldn’t bring herself to choose, she would have to move on. Rosa’s gut cramped at the thought of any other man in her life—in her bed. But her clock was ticking. Either she found her mate, or the heat would do it for her. She had no choice. Rosa would have to pick a male from the pack to be her mate, and then inform her brother of her condition.

A long sigh leaked from her chest like air from a deflating balloon. And like that balloon, she’d been stretched too taut for too long by frustration and tension. Rosa closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the smooth glass.

Kaleb’s face flashed before her mind’s eyes. He lay on his back, his auburn hair loose and splayed out around his head in stark contrast against crisp, white linen.
He blinked then looked up at her from beneath his thick lashes.

“Love you, angel,” he said, but the sound was all wrong. Too slow. Like a record spinning at the incorrect speed.

What was this? Prior to today, her visions had been centered on the destiny of others. Never about herself. And definitely not from her own point of view. Yet that’s when she felt it. Subtle at first, then there was no mistaking the presence. Something moved inside her—between her legs. Her breath hitched, and she stumbled back. Rosa’s knees melted, taking her to the floor. Oh, God. She was so full. A slow, constant pressure rocked in and out of her.

“You feel so damn good.” It was Kaleb’s voice in her head. His face behind her eyelids. His hands on her hips.

She was out of control. Like an earthquake blossoming, her body shook, the tremors growing in magnitude. Rosa blindly grappled for something to hold onto. Something to help her ride out the storm inside her mind. Finally, she recognized the square edge of the coffee table. With a wide sweep, she cleared the surface, then pressed her chest and cheek to the wood, curling her fingertips around the other side. She sucked in quick and greedy breaths. Her breasts were too heavy, ached.

Dear God, the way he pistoned inside her. On their own accord, her hips bucked, seeking more of the same. He was relentless.

Thick, strong, steady.

But it wasn’t enough.

Not nearly enough.

“Kaleb…” She gasped. Her fangs tore through her gums, and she clamped down hard on her lip to keep from crying out. But it wasn’t from pain. It was desire turning her inside out. An arousal so liquid hot she was consumed by the flame.

Rosa groaned and wiggled one hand down to her sex. Cupping her mound, she pressed the heel of her hand against her swollen clit. The explosion of sensation across her nerve endings sent her core into spasm—one more stroke away from orgasm.

“Not without me along for the ride, sweetness,” another male stated inside her head, but as with Kaleb, his was a voice she’d recognize anywhere.

“Landry…” his name tumbled from her lips on a breath. The warmth of his bare chest slid along her spine before his broad hands embraced her forearms and pulled her flush against him. Then his palms enveloped her breasts, taking their weight. And she couldn’t hold back the moan erupting from her throat. “Yes!”

Kaleb beneath her, inside her, and Landry behind her… She wanted to weep—shout—writhe from the sheer bliss of it all. So wrong. But oh, God, nothing had ever felt more right.

“I need to be inside you, beauty,” Landry growled at her ear. “Will you let me in?” His cock nudged the entrance to her rear. The seductive and erotic combination of the two powerful males had her dizzy, drunk with wanting.

“Yes.” She heard herself answer. “God, yes. Hurry.”

Stretching, burning, her tissues parting and giving way for two.

Too much.

Rosa couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move for the male buried deep inside her core and now penetrating her from behind. So full, yet her body demanded more. How was this possible?

Kaleb tugged her free from Landry’s hold and onto his chest, seizing her mouth. His tongue charged deep as Landry’s shaft advanced. Rosa cried out, but Kaleb only kissed her harder, swallowing the sound. Her lovers had taken her in every way possible.

And it was…

She dug her nails into the wood, her teeth clenched.

It was…
Dear, God…
Her body coiled, tightened down until it’s only focus was the frenzied in and out action below.
Nirvana!

The howl that filled her ears was unlike anything Rosa had ever heard. The sound raw, unadulterated—pure animal—and it was her.

She blinked, trying to stabilize the halo of light rippling like waves on a lake inside her den. Little black spots rode the crests and swam in the shallows of her vision.
Strange.

Slowly, as if an anchor had attached itself to her lower spine, she slid off the coffee table and crumpled to the floor. The room went dark and silent.

Landry leaned his head under the spray, allowing the hot water to sluice through his hair and down his back. After the late night he’d spent going over different when-and-where scenarios with the alpha about the Gregorson visit, he’d climbed out of bed an hour later than usual. He wasn’t due to meet with his team ‘til nine anyway and the extra shut-eye had felt damn good. Landry reached over for the shower control and twisted the water off. The moment he popped the door to the stall open, the doorbell rang.

“Damn!” Whoever was out there needed to think long and hard why they really needed to be at his door before he’d had his coffee. Landry grabbed a towel from the shelf beside the shower, wrapped it around his waist, and padded out toward the front door of his bungalow.

Nearing the door, Landry slowed. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Kaleb.
Landry shook his head. He should’ve known it was the male based on the guy’s infamous sense of bad timing.

Yanking the door open, Landry barked, “What?”

A smirk that Landry was two seconds away from knocking off Kaleb’s face greeted him. “No caffeine yet?”

“What was your first clue?”

“Good thing I thought to bring some with me then.” As if he were a proud cat offering a kill to his master, Kaleb raised the insulated cup in his hand. He shoved it under Landry’s nose. “You’re welcome.”

Mustering a grunt for a response, Landry followed it with “Fine,” then snagged the cup. “You can live.” He spun, leaving Kaleb on the stoop to manage finding his way inside and closing the front door.

“Thank you.” Kaleb chuckled. “I appreciate the stay of execution.”

“I need to get dressed,” Landry stated and kept on his path toward his bedroom. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.

“Hang on,” Kaleb called out. “Before I forget. I have something for you here.”

Palming the door jam, Landry came to a halt and glanced over his shoulder. Kaleb reached in the pocket of his black uniform vest and pulled out a small mailer. Landry frowned. He wasn’t expecting anything.

“I stopped by the front gate on my way over, and one of the guards mentioned this had just been delivered for you.” Kaleb sauntered over to him. “I was heading over here, so I told them I’d drop it off.” He deposited the white package in Landry’s palm. His fingers curled around the reinforced paper, detecting the shape of a small square box beneath the surface.

“Thanks,” Landry mumbled, searching the outer surface for a return address. A local PO Box address had been penned in the upper corner, but no name.
What the hell?

“I can tell by the look on your face, you weren’t expecting a Secret Santa gift any time soon.”

“Hmm…no.” Landry turned, aiming back toward his room. “I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah,” Kaleb responded. “All right.”

It wasn’t hard to tell his partner was as curious as Landry about what and who had anonymously sent him the package and was annoyed about being shut out. But something inside his gut telegraphed perhaps he should utilize a little discretion when opening his present.

Landry dropped the mailer on his bed, his cup of coffee on the dresser, and tossed his towel in the general direction of his hamper. On automatic pilot, he yanked on his uniform, his brain churning over the mysterious contents inside the mailer.

Dressed, he sank onto the mattress, taking the envelope in hand. Landry pulled the tab, opened the sleeve, and shook the contents out onto the bed. The contents spilled onto the bedding followed by a folded note.

Going for the jewelry-sized box first, Landry plucked it up from the surface with his fingers and gently tugged the black velvet top off. He blinked, staring at the familiar sight of the platinum and black onyx sword pendant and chain he’d lost six months. His gut tightened down on the empty space in his midsection. The last time he’d worn this was the final evening he’d been with Arick Gregorson.
Son of a bitch!

He snatched the paper beside him and flipped it open.

It was hard to part with this. The piece reminds me of you and the wild nights we shared—dark, hard, and edgy. But then I thought you might be missing it. Perhaps there’s something else you’re missing too? I haven’t forgotten you, Sir. You know where you can find me.

Instinctively, his grip curled, tightened, the letter crinkling inside his fist. Landry reared his arm back and sent it flying at the wall across the room. Launching from the bed, he spun on his heels, not really sure where the hell he was going. He scrubbed his face with his palms and sighed.
Why now?
Six months of silence and now that the packs were at each other’s throat, the male sends a cryptic message along with this…

Landry stared down at the open box and the chain inside.
Dear God, please tell me my mistake hasn’t added fuel to the fire already burning between the packs.

One thing was for sure, he had to find out if the aggression from the other pack was Arick trying to not only get Evin’s, but Landry’s attention as well. Arick sure as hell hadn’t tried to hide his scent at the kill site, which Landry had thought odd. The lead enforcer of the Gregorson pack personally marking a run against a rival pack… As with Landry, Arick’s role was to train the enforcer team, serve and protect the alpha, and in turn, the pack by ensuring the safety of their leader. But there hadn’t been a word from the shifter since their final encounter when Landry had confronted him about his identity. And he used the word “confrontation” lightly.

Landry had come close to choking the life out of the male once he’d realized who he’d been fucking. Prior to their hook-up, the last time he’d seen the younger Gregorson male, the guy had to have been ten years old. That’d been at least fifteen years ago. But after their third encounter, Arick’s curiosity about the KinKaid pack’s stability and its alpha became less than casual. And Landry’s internal bullshit meter had been tripped. So after the shifter had left their bed to get cleaned up, Landry had searched the guy’s pockets for identification.

Landry had been played for a fool. Something that didn’t often happen. And he would be making damn sure it wasn’t repeated. As they say
fool me once…

Even though detecting Arick’s scent had seemed a little unusual, he hadn’t connected the two events, one possibly having sparked the other. Sure, Arick had been trying to suck insider information out of Landry from his knees, but too many months had passed since then to have been suspicious at the time of the wolf culling. Besides, Landry hadn’t given him a damn thing except a few orgasms and a bruise the size of his hand around Arick’s throat before he’d left.

Yet now…Arick’s timing was setting off every one of the alarms in Landry’s head. He’d somehow known his fuck up with Arick would come back to haunt him. Nothing in his life had ever been easy or gained without pain. That included whenever the demands of his body could no longer be ignored, and he had to find release. There were always consequences or hell to pay for anything Landry ever wanted. And he usually ended up on the paying end of the sacrifice.

Even before he was born, his father—or donor—had done the unforgiveable and abandoned not only his pregnant wife but had deserted his pack as well. Yeah. He was spawned from the cream of the crop. From the moment Landry had been born, he’d had to fight for every shred of respect, for his place among the pack. No one had given him a damn thing. He’d earned his rank and title alone, and this situation…he’d fix on his own too.

Tonight.

Decision made, Landry inhaled deep to cool his head, grabbed his cup of java, and joined Kaleb in the other room.

He found the enforcer in the kitchen rummaging through what was left of a bowl of fruit on the counter. As he entered, Kaleb turned and tossed him a banana. Landry snatched the thing from the air with one hand, balancing his coffee in the other.

“Nice moves.” Kaleb grinned.

You haven’t begun to see the moves I’m capable of, shifter.
Landry deflected his gaze away from his partner and tipped his cup up for a long gulp of the dark brew. Well, wasn’t that statement better off trapped inside his brain? The redhead didn’t see Landry like that. Never would. Any illusion he had about something more was just that—a fantasy.

“So…?” A loud crunch followed as Kaleb took a bite from the apple he’d confiscated from the dish.

“So?” Landry rounded the other side of the counter and plopped the banana back in its place. He’d lost his appetite.

“So what was in the mailer?”

Landry jerked, knocking the bowl and wobbling the glass dish on its base.
Shit.
“It was nothing,” he muttered. “Some stupid marketing thing.” Landry shrugged. “You ready to head out?” He reached for his keys beside the fruit.

“Marketing thing…” Kaleb didn’t move, his face stoic. “Someone sent you an overnight package hoping you’d buy into their product?”

“Stupid, huh?” Landry made for the door, but as he marched past, Kaleb snagged his arm.

“You’re the worst damn liar I’ve ever met.”

Dammit.
“You gotta death wish this morning or something?” Landry yanked free. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Why wouldn’t Kaleb just leave the shit alone?

Kaleb lifted his hands, palms up, and stepped back. “You tell me.”

“I don’t have time for games. If you’ve got something on your mind, spit it out, or let’s get to work.” Maybe by the time Kaleb spilled his guts, Landry would have figured out what the hell he was going to say.

“Fine.” Kaleb’s mouth thinned, and his gaze narrowed on Landry as if he could see right through to the ugly buried deep, the effect unnerving.

Not that the other male would ever know how much he got to Landry.

“You’re hiding something from me. I called you on it the other night when we were having a few drinks, but you deflected.”

“You were drunk, Dalton.” He crossed his arms. “I’m surprised you even remember what we talked about since I’m the one who had to take you home and put you to bed.” Landry cleared his throat, suddenly finding the freckle on his forearm fascinating. The last thing he wanted were those mental images of Kaleb on his bed that long muscled body of his stretched out with nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs between him and what he knew had to be a thick gorgeous cock. His own shaft stirred at the memory. For Christ’s sake, Landry couldn’t do this now.

Kaleb performed a reshuffle of his boots on the floor, then settled back into a wide stance as if the conversation had taken a sudden hard left, and he was the one now uncomfortable on the trip. Exactly what Landry had intended.

“And I don’t know what the hell you’re on now?” Landry threw in for good measure.

“Fuck you,” Kaleb spat. “I’m not going to let you try and turn this around on me.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“The hell it isn’t.” Kaleb braced his hands at his hips, one palm on the hilt of his .40 caliber. “We’re not just partners, we’re best friends, and if something’s going on—if you’re in trouble—I’ve got your back. You know that, right?”

Hell…the guy knew just how to crawl under his skin, adding another two hundred pounds of guilt to the shitload he already carried. “Yeah.” Landry sighed and nodded. “I know you do. You always have. But everything is cool, okay? Nothing for you to worry about.”

Kaleb gave him a look that could only be defined as dissecting, then dropped his hands from his belt. “If that’s the way you want to handle this…?”

“There’s no ‘this’,” Landry growled. “Let it go, Kaleb.”

“Yeah. Whatever.” Kaleb waved him off and headed for the door. “I’m done. Leaving you alone.”

“Good,” Landry called out to his back. “That’s all I’m asking.”

***

Well, we don’t always get what we ask for, do we, Landry?
Kaleb slipped his bike into the darkened parking space across the street from the club where Landry had pulled his vehicle. Kaleb tugged his helmet off, secured it to the seat, and sticking to the shadows, headed in the direction of his partners destination. There was more than one way to find out what his friend was trying to hide.

The lot’s loose gravel crunched under his boot heels, the sound waves hitting his ears with the thunderous impact of a rockslide. He cringed at the noise. Kaleb already felt like a complete dick for spying on his partner, and the whole thing had him on edge. The other enforcer would resent the hell out of knowing Kaleb tailed him. And if he got caught, Kaleb wasn’t sure if Landry would ever forgive him. But he wasn’t about to back out now, not when his instincts said his best friend was in trouble.

Up ahead and above the club’s thick black door, the green neon sign read, The Scene. Kaleb had heard about the place before. It was about an hour and half drive from their territory and mainly catered to those in the gay community with a taste for fetish. The fact that Landry was inside those walls wasn’t part of the mystery. His friend’s sexuality wasn’t a big secret, nor was the fact the male occasionally liked it rough when he fucked. Over the years, Kaleb had overheard enough of the rumors about his partner’s escapades, so he wasn’t surprised when Landry’s trail had led him here.