Leader of the Pack (3 page)

He sighed. Per had been with his
last patient of the day when he realized the time and had not been able to call
Yohana
. He was lucky things had gone well, or he
might still be there.

Per parked in the packed parking lot
of Il
Lupo
Nero. He eased out of the car, stretching
to crack his back. He’d been up early for a long, involved abdominal surgery.
Then he’d had a full day of patients at the Frieze Surgical Medicine Practice.
Finally, he’d been called in on a consult. What a day. Per adjusted his black
suit and red tie then headed for the door. He barely noticed the people
waiting, instead moving directly to the host. He got evil looks from men and
come-on looks from women, but ignored both.

“My name is Dr.
Per
Goldwolf
. I’m meeting
Yohana
Whitewolf
for dinner. Is she still here?” His voice
was quiet, but loud enough to draw the attention of the man doling out the
coveted seats.

“Yes, she is. Let me escort you to
the table.” The dark-haired man eyed him briefly, grabbed a menu, motioning for
him to follow. Per took a deep breath, preparing to make a profuse apology. If
he had to grovel, he would. Per needed a Mate before the reception this
weekend.

Serena sent him the female’s profile
and a face shot yesterday. Per was impressed in spite of himself.
Yohana
was attractive without being a beauty. Her face was
very strong. She looked like a capable female, not a demanding whiner. Tonight
was the acid test, though. If she could take him being late for their first
meeting, she might be able to act as his Mate.

Per blinked as he approached the
table behind the maître d’. He’d always been a leg man, but damn she possessed
a fine pair of breasts. He shifted slightly, feeling his cock stir at the sight
of her. Shit.

Yohana
was reading a book while she absently dipped some bread
into olive oil. She looked up when they stopped at her table, her brows rose
inquiringly until she caught sight of Per. She set the bread down, turned her
book over to preserve her place and wiped her hands together to get rid of
crumbs. Per nudged the maître d’ out of the way, taking the pale hand she held
out to him, and bent to brush his lips against her knuckles.

“A pleasure
to meet you.
May I call you
Yohana
?”
He forced his gaze from her seductive décolletage. He’d win no points with her
for talking to her breasts.

She nodded permission as she studied
him. What was she thinking? He couldn’t seem to read her, which normally was no
problem with females. He wanted to peel back the layers of her calm façade to
find out more about her.
Dangerous, Per.
This female is dangerous.

“Please have a seat. Per, isn’t it?
Like the fruit? And Serena told me you were born in Sweden?”

“
Ja
, to both.”
He liked her deep, rich voice, he decided, taking the seat she indicated and
relaxed. She didn’t seem ready to yell at him…yet. But they weren’t alone.

“Would you like anything to drink,
sir?”

Per noted she had some sort of soft
drink in front of her instead of wine. Thank goodness. He was so exhausted if
he drank any wine, he’d probably fall asleep in mid-meal.
“Coffee,
please.”

“Yes, sir.
Your waiter will be with you shortly to take your orders.”

She nodded, smiling kindly at the
maître d’ before turning her fierce gaze on Per.
Yohana
crossed her arms over her fabulous chest, raised her left eyebrow and waited.
Just waited.
Damn, she
was
a pack leader. He felt as
he always had when his father used to wait for him to explain himself after
some transgression. Per smiled slightly, trying for ingratiating. Her other
brow went up to join the first, and still she said nothing. He let his smile
drop. It clearly wasn’t working.

“I apologize for my tardiness,
Yohana
. I was called in to consult on a case and it took
longer than I expected.”

She nodded. “I see.”
Yohana
took a deep breath, relaxing her posture. “Is your
patient all right?”

“Yes, we were able to diagnose the
problem and schedule surgery.”

“I’m glad.”

“However, I’m always available to
patients, so I could be called while we’re dining.” Per was proud to be part of
the Frieze Practice. They catered to a broad range of people and sometimes he
was called in for emergencies. He’d been interrupted often enough since joining
the practice as an associate.

“I understand your priorities.”

If so, she’d be the first female
he’d spent time with who did. “Let me look at the menu quickly then we can
order. I assume you know what you’d like?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She nodded.

Per looked down at the menu to make
his decision, but he could feel her gaze on him, scrutinizing him. It was
unnerving yet arousing. Damn odd. He looked up, holding her eyes with his,
lifting his golden eyebrows in query. She smiled slightly, transferring her
focus to putting away her book. Per went back to scanning the menu, or rather
pretending to scan the menu.

He ate here often enough to know
what he wanted, so he concentrated on taming his arousal. He normally kept his
sexuality under rigid control, but it was getting the best of him right now. He
was tired, that’s all.
If he hadn’t spent hours with his
patients…
If he hadn’t gone without a meal…
No.
He’d still want her. Shit.

He normally went for tall women, and
she was tall. Her legs were crossed…long legs. He hadn’t noticed she had
gorgeous legs to match those stunning tits until now. He caught sight of her
leg swinging slightly. Her high heel hung off her toe, leaving part of her foot
bare. Son of a bitch, it was sexy.
She
was sexy. Per glanced up at her
face, expecting to find a taunting look. Instead,
Yohana
was staring off into space, a distant look on her face. She wasn’t
trying
to be sexy. As she turned her head back toward him, he focused on the menu,
taking a deep breath.

Visions of those long white limbs
wrapped around his hips while he plunged into her wet heat and caressed those
round breasts tumbled through his mind, forcing him to shift in his seat to get
comfortable. He’d hoped to avoid
Mating
a female he
wanted. It was disturbing. Did he tell her he’d had second thoughts or sit
through dinner to see what happened?

“So I know why I need a Mate in a
hurry. Why do you?”

Her voice stroked his cock, bringing
it fully to attention. Damn. Per met her eyes. Gray. They were a pale gray, just
like the rest of her. She was almost like a ghost. Pale-white skin, spiky-short
silver-white hair, cool-gray eyes; the only color was on her nails and lips.
A soft, luminescent pink.
He wondered if the folds of her
sex and her tight nipples were the same color. God, he hoped so. Her eyelashes
were dark, presumably from mascara since her brows were white as snow. He
couldn’t prevent his brain from imagining white down between her legs.

Through the years he’d gotten very
good at hiding his feelings. Doctors shouldn’t show fear or strong emotions to
patients and their families because they could lose confidence in the surgeon.
At this moment, he was grateful for his training. Per hid the lust raging
through his body while maintaining a mask of polite civility.

“Serena didn’t tell you?” His
question brought a delicate flush to her cheeks. He fought the instinct to lick
his lips as he imagined her entire body flushed the same color with sexual
arousal.

“No. Serena can be painfully
discreet when she wants to be. Did she tell you why I wanted a Mate?”

“No.
Point taken.”

Yohana
nodded. “My father died six months ago and my nervous pack
wants me Mated with a pup on the way.
How about you?”

Per blinked at her matter-of-fact
delivery. His hunger for her eased slightly at her cold, emotionless statement.
Yohana
seemed to have no feelings for her late sire.
Did he want his pup’s dam to be a robot? He considered her carefully, but she
withstood his scrutiny as if it was nothing to her. God, she was strong. His
colleagues quailed at the flick of his eyebrow.

Maybe she was cold as ice in bed,
and if so, it would be a good thing. He wouldn’t lose his focus on his career
if she was frigid. Sex and passion would derail his ambitions, so he must rein
in his need to mount her. Per was a male as much as he was a wolf. He
could
control himself. He
would
control himself.

“I’m up for full partner at my
surgical practice. The controlling partner wants only stable—read,
married—individuals in positions of authority. I need a Mate to clinch the
deal.”

Yohana
nodded thoughtfully. “So we need each other to fulfill our
ambitions, however different they might be.”

Per didn’t like the mercenary way
she’d phrased it, but she was essentially correct. “Yes.”

“How long do you need a Mate?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“My pack will settle down after I
have a pup. Do you want to be free at that point?”

His gut tightened at the thought of
her with other males. She belonged to
him
, damn it. “If I get you with
my pup, neither of us will be free of each other ever again.”

Yohana’s
lips tightened. “I belong to me, Dr.
Goldwolf
,
and any pups we have will be raised in my pack as
Whitewolf
young. That’s not negotiable.”

“My family pack is in Sweden, so I
wouldn’t object to my pups being raised in a loving environment.” Provided the
ice princess could supply it.

Her gray eyes turned wintry. “I
would love my pups and protect them with every fiber of my being. I would die
for them if necessary. I affirm my commitment as pack leader.”

Per nearly swallowed his tongue. By
using that phrase of affirmation, she made a binding contract in pack law. If
she backed down from it or failed in her promise, she could be ousted. Pack
leaders didn’t make such vows lightly.
Yohana
had
pledged to die for their pups. God, but she was extraordinary. He nodded
acceptance of her oath, unable to speak.

Per knew the hardest part for him
was if he took her as his Mate, she would always be his pack leader and he
would always be her lieutenant, never her equal. Could he handle having a
female dictate to him? Was his career in medicine worth it? Even more dangerous
to him…could he kill at her command? Would she order him to? Damned dilemma and
he’d better figure it out.
Before
she gave him the
order.

* * * * *

Yohana
studied the male seated across from her, knowing he was
mentally debating his place in her pack as her Mate. As a doctor, he’d sworn to
do no harm, but she could order him to kill. She wouldn’t want to, but if
anyone threatened their pack she wouldn’t hesitate because pack safety came
first.

Why did he have to be so sexy? She
yearned to drag her fingers through his long hair, which he wore loose, and
when he’d taken her hand her nipples had snapped to rigidity and her clit had
throbbed. She fought her body’s very normal reactions to desire, praying he
couldn’t smell the moisture coating her pussy. She was sopping wet, and he’d
only taken her hand. What would happen when he slid his cock into her body?
When he mounted her to plant a pup deep in her womb? She wanted it. She wanted
to feel him against her back, dominating her the way all Alpha males dominate
their Mates.
Riding her hard.
Making
her beg.

She dug her fingernails into the
palms of her hands, yet maintained a serene expression on her face.
Yohana
had learned control young. Pack leaders couldn’t
give in to fear or sentimentality because the well-being of the entire group
depended on the leader.
Her.
As she gazed into his
eyes with a calm she was far from feeling, she was sure of two things. Per would
never want her the way she wanted him, and he would never desire her with the
passion she wanted him to feel. Could she live with it? Did she want to?

Yohana
took a deep breath, smiling at him. She didn’t have a
choice. As she’d told Serena, sacrifice was a way of life for a pack leader,
and life wasn’t fair. She would do what she had to do. Her pack demanded it of
her.

“Would you care to order?”

She jumped when the male at her
elbow asked the question, but what really astonished her was
Per’s
low growl. The young male
waiter literally froze, staring at the older male, barely containing his fear.
Yohana
smiled pleasantly at the waiter, setting her hand
gently on
Per’s
wrist to
quiet him. He stilled all right, but damn it, touching him turned her on. She removed
her hand, focusing on the waiter.