Leader of the Pack (4 page)

“Yes, thank you. We
will
order now. I’ll have angel hair pasta with a double order of marinara sauce.
I’d like plenty of freshly grated Parmesan over the top.”

“Yes, ma’am.”
The young male cleared his throat, pulling nervously at his
collar. “And you, sir?”

“Fettuccine Alfredo, please. I’d
like a salad with Italian dressing to accompany it. Would you like dessert,
Yohana
?”

“Let’s wait until we get there, in
case I get full.”

“Fine.
That will do for now. I’d like more coffee, please.”

“Yes, sir.”
The young man gingerly reached in to pick up the coffee cup
before scurrying away. The lad was probably no more than twenty and wondering
if he’d see twenty-one.

Yohana
cocked a brow at Per. “Sorry,” he muttered, a flush in his
cheeks, looking away from her piercing gaze.

Her father had accused her mother of
bedding an eagle and presenting him with a fledgling instead of a pup because
of
Yohana’s
gaze and her aquiline nose. Her mother
had always laughed. There had been such love between them, even though her
parents hadn’t been True Mates. Jeremiah had been lost when his Maeve had died
in childbirth along with the son he’d always wanted.
Yohana
set the memory aside, smiling at Per.

“Thank you for your concern.”

His instinct to protect her was
certainly there. She just wasn’t sure if the impetus to guard her could go
beyond instinct. Why did she have to want him like this? For the first time in
her life she wanted to whine about life not being fair.

Yohana
hoped he’d at least be able to get it up in order to take
her. One of her former
lovers
had suffered with a lack of desire for
her, regularly losing his erection. It had been mortifying, especially after
some pack members found out about it and taunted her with the information. At
least until she’d gone wolf and given them the drubbing they so richly
deserved.

She returned her gaze to
Per’s
face, finding him examining
her with the precision of a laser.
Yohana
held back
the instinctive flinch, raising her eyebrows at him in challenge. He settled
back in his seat as if he made a decision.

“This Friday night there is a
fundraiser for the new hospital surgical wing, which is largely being funded by
my boss. Can you be there?”

So he’d decided then, and so
quickly. “You want to present me as your
almost
fiancée?”

“Not
almost
. I want to
present you as my future bride.”

She nodded slightly.
Yohana
knew what that meant in human terms, but in pack
terms?
“And as your Mate?”

Per’s
cheeks reddened, but not in embarrassment, the heat in his
gaze told her that. He licked his lips. “I’ll make the vow now, if you accept
it.”

“You’d take me as your Mate
tonight?”

“With great
pleasure.”
His eyes caressed her shoulders
before lingering at her breasts.

Yohana
felt fire flood her veins until her blood was near boiling.
She fought her need to pant with excitement. “I won’t go into heat for a few
days.”

His gaze returned to hers. “Mating
will seal the deal between us. When you come into heat, I’ll plant my pup in
you.”

“I…”

For the first time she could
remember,
Yohana
was speechless. Her mind tumbled
with sexual visions of this man learning her body as only a doctor could while
dragging screams of need from her…making her beg. Her face had to be pink
because it felt hot.
Yo
burned all over. She wanted
to reach between her legs to masturbate while everyone in the damn restaurant
watched.
Control.
Control your need and
channel it,
Yohana
.
How many times had her sire
said those very words to her?
Many.

Yo
cleared her throat. “Let’s enjoy dinner while I consider
your offer.”

Per scowled at her, obviously not
used to being thwarted when he turned up the sex appeal. He sighed.
With regret?
She didn’t know, though she could hope.

“As you wish,
Yohana
.”

Yohana
found herself staring into a mirror again. This time, it
was the restroom mirror at the restaurant. She touched up her makeup as a woman
came in to the room. What was she going to do? Per had spent the dinner being
charming, friendly and funny. She’d never had a male treat her so solicitously.
Oh, the males in her pack, save her father, deferred to her. But they weren’t
inclined to
care
for her.

When her glass had gone empty
Per
asked if she wanted more, summoning the waiter to take
her order. He’d been charm itself when she’d risen to use the bathroom, and no
doubt when she returned he would hold her chair for her. Great window dressing,
but she knew so little about him. Yet what were her choices? All she could
think was he must want to be a partner in this practice badly to submit to her
leadership.
Yo
didn’t hold him in low esteem for the
decision, but it surprised her because he didn’t seem the type to accept
another’s edicts.
Hers—or that of another doctor.

The million-dollar question was did she
go to his place tonight and Mate him to seal the contract? The other woman
exited one of the stalls.
Yohana
entered a different
one. She lowered her panties to sit down. She didn’t need to pee, but she
definitely needed relief. She heard the main bathroom door swish shut, leaving
her alone.
Yo
slipped her fingers between her swollen
pussy lips. It wouldn’t take much to put her over the top, so she might as well
ease her needs. For all his attentiveness, she didn’t think he really wanted
her, so she should take care of herself now.

Yo
spread her folds apart with one hand to give greater access
to her clit with the other. She bit back a moan as she ran her fingertips over
the sensitive nub. She leaned back, closing her eyes, alert to the sound of
anyone opening the door. She circled and teased her throbbing clit while
imagining
Per
with his head between her legs, his
mouth fastened to her aching cunt. Pinching her clit, she visualized his teeth
nipping at her. A whimper escaped unbidden from her lips.

She was so incredibly wet, she could
almost be in heat tonight, but she wasn’t.
Yohana
spread her thighs wide, plunging her long fingers into her clasping pussy. With
the fingers of her other hand she stroked and pinched at her trembling clit,
teasing
herself
. Her moans grew louder but she
couldn’t suppress them as she rocked her hips. She was skating at the edge of
thin ice.

Even though she didn’t want to, she
pictured
Per’s
cock taking
her instead of her fingers. She thrust most of her hand hard and deep into her
body, drawing hot juices out of her sheath.
Yo
rubbed
her clit fiercely while she fucked her cunt with her fingers. Sweat slicked her
upper lip; a droplet ran down the curve of her left breast. She clamped hard
around him as he penetrated her. She could see him rising above her as damp and
flushed as she was.

She moaned, “Fuck me,
Per
.”

One last thrust and she came, barely
containing a scream. She pressed her face against the cool marble of the
bathroom stall, drawing out her orgasm, riding her hand.
Yohana
gasped as she eased her hands away from her quivering, hungry flesh. She fought
to catch her breath as her body eased in the wake of her climax. She leaned
back, swearing softly as she considered the strong musky odor rising from her
pussy. How could she have been so damn stupid? He’d smell her and he’d know.

She wiped with toilet paper, stood
and straightened her clothes, then exited the stall to wash up. She washed and
dried her hands, then checked her makeup again. It was as good as she’d get,
but she knew he’d scent her orgasm. Female arousal was a faint, tantalizing
smell to a male wolf, but orgasm was a slap in the face to an Alpha Male. There
wasn’t a male in the place who’d be unaware she’d climaxed.
Yohana
would brazen it out, what else
was
there to do?
Fake it ’til you make
it.

* * * * *

Per looked up from his coffee to see
Yohana
striding confidently across the room. Two
steps behind her was the young waiter, looking dazed and horny. What the fuck?
Per had been on edge ever since she left the table, envisioning her in the
bathroom stall with her legs spread and himself on his knees on the floor,
plowing into her. Now, here she was sashaying back to their table looking
satisfied. He stood to hold out her chair. As
Yohana
stepped close to him, he was enveloped in the scent of her recent arousal…and
orgasm. His bitch screwed someone else then walked back to the table as if
nothing had happened.
Fuck that!
Per caught the worshipful gaze of the
wet-behind-the-ears pup and growled.

The pup blinked and stammered,
gulping in terror. “I’ll bring your check,” he squeaked.

“Like hell you will, you whelp. You
just mounted my Mate. We’re going for a walk.
Now.
”

The boy yipped, flying off for the
kitchen at a run. Per was after him in a shot, ready to kill.

“Per!”

He ignored
Yohana’s
cry of command, looking back once,
rage
filling his
vision. “I’ll handle this.”

The boy weaved between tables before
slamming headlong into someone exiting the kitchen with a tray full of pasta
dinners. Per caught the boy before he hit the floor, lifting him up by the
collar of his shirt. A firm female hand grasped his wrist, while her arm
encircled his waist.

Yohana
pressed against his back to whisper in his ear, “I
masturbated in the bathroom. The pup was nowhere near me. Let him go…” She
sighed as he turned to look into her eyes.
“Please, Per.”

He took a deep breath and nodded.
The scent of his Mate wasn’t on the boy, so he released the whelp, watching as
the boy ran hell for leather through the kitchen doors. Per closed his eyes,
mortified at his stupidity. He had never claimed a female this publicly in his
entire life, not even when he was in Sweden before his sire threw him out of
their pack.

Yohana
eased away from him, turning to a different man who had
appeared. It was Stefano
Blackwolf
, the restaurant
manager and son of the owner, Roberto. “I’m sorry,
Stef
.
This is my fault. I’ll pay for the meals. Please allow me to buy the diners
whatever else they would like to apologize for their wait.”

Per shook his head. “No.
My fault.
I’ll pay for it.”

Yohana
frowned at Per. “
I
will pay. It’s
my
responsibility.”

Per’s
blue eyes blazed, then he paused. “We’ll split it. Fair?”

Yohana
patted his arm. “Yes. That’s fair.”

Per blushed as Stefano’s lips
twitched, fighting to control his amusement. Per looked into
Yohana’s
eyes then started to chuckle, drawing giggles from
her. She blushed, looking down at her toes. He reached over, lifting her chin
with a fingertip, barely brushing her lips with his.

“Dessert,
Yohana
?
Would you like some cannoli?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Two, Stefano?” Per inquired of the
manager.

Stef
nodded, directing the busboys to clean up the mess while he
went to inform the waiting diners of the delay with their meals. Per set his
hand at the small of her back, escorting her to their table. He seated her and
reseated himself.

“I’m sorry for setting this mess in
motion. I didn’t consider you might imagine me having sex with Marcello. He’s a
baby.”
Yohana
took his hand, meeting his eyes.

Per clasped her hand before lifting
it to his lips to kiss. He froze, taking a deep breath. She’d washed her hand,
but he knew it had been inside her…
recently
. Per looked into her
startled gray eyes, breathing deeply so she’d know he smelled her sex. He
opened his mouth, engulfing her thumb, sucking and licking it. In spite of the
soap, her taste lingered faintly on her skin, bringing his body rigidly to
attention.

Yohana
gasped, color rising in her cheeks as she licked her lips.
He could see her pebbled nipples tight against the silk of her dress. This was
no frigid bitch and he was in big, big trouble because his mind rejoiced to
discover it. Per wanted to mount her now. He wanted to grab her, throw her
facedown
on the table, rip off her panties and sink into
her to make her his while everyone in the room watched…then cheered. What
scared him the most was the expression evident in her
eyes.
She wanted the same damn thing!