The Wolf's Surrender (6 page)

It had never been like that. Not ever.

It couldn’t mean anything good.

Mia swayed on her feet as she watched him fumble away from her, her eyes unfocused and gleaming with the sort of lust that made the wolf inside him sing. Lucky for him, the human part was in control right now.

Barely.

“I’ve...got stuff to do,” Jenner bit out, backing away as quickly as he could without running. “You should...rest. I’ll be in the garage.”

He left before she could collect her thoughts enough to tell him what an ass he was. Hell, it wasn’t like he didn’t already know.

Jenner turned quickly and walked away from Mia as fast as he could manage without breaking into a run. Still, once out of her sight, Jenner fled the house as though the hounds of hell were at his heels. He could feel her eyes on his back all the way to the door, and hoped that by the time she figured out what to say to him, he’d be too far away to bother.

Jenner gritted his teeth as he slammed out of the house, anger at himself beginning to roil and churn in his stomach. In his thirty-four years of life, he had never lost control with a woman. Not even with Tess, if he were honest with himself. Back then he’d been rootless, looking for something he couldn’t find, and he’d wanted what she had to give. But Mia...hell, he could lose himself in her. That kiss had been like drowning in moonlight.

Only when he was safely ensconced in the relative sanctuary of his detached garage, which he’d converted into a cavernous workspace specifically for his personal projects, did Jenner begin to feel centered again. It didn’t stop his craving for her, or the ache that meant he was denying his body the thing it most wanted, but this was a place he could make himself calm down.

Crawling under the hood of the old Chevelle was like crawling into a dark, quiet cave that smelled reassuringly of motor oil. This was real, solid, he told himself as he began to work. He knew what he was doing with cars.

The exact opposite of how he felt about Mia D’Alessandro right this second.

He wasn’t a stupid man, though Jenner had realized long ago that his size and relative silence caused enough people to underestimate him in the brains department. He’d used that to his advantage on more than one occasion. But this searing awareness of Mia was utterly beyond his experience, and it made him feel like a fool. He wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. Hopefully, it would burn itself out naturally.

Soon.

For now, though, he’d retreated to his favorite hiding place. Here, it was just him and several tons of American muscle car...and the ghost of Mia’s kiss, lingering on his lips long after the taste of her should have gone, provoking questions Jenner had never intended to ask himself...and was still determined not to answer.

Chapter 5

B
y the time there was a quick, sharp knock at the door, Mia had decided that Jenner had not in fact just gone outside, but that he had possibly relocated to another county altogether. It had been a couple of hours since the kiss that had come close to knocking her socks (and every other article of clothing she was wearing) completely off, and she was still having a hard time thinking of much but the fact that her lips had managed to send one very large werewolf into horrified flight. From his own house. For
hours
.

If that wasn’t a sign that she needed to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible, she didn’t know what was.

Mia headed for the front door, still trying to decide whether she was angry at Jenner, disgusted with herself, or both. She was leaning toward both as she caught sight of a couple of big, masculine forms through the Craftsman-style sidelights flanking the heavy wooden door.

Her nerves kicked back up immediately. She was pretty sure this would be Bane (and what a name that was), the Alpha of the Blackpaw pack.

And she was very sure that of all the times to meet him, this was far from the best where her state of mind was concerned. Still, better to get this over with.

Mia took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and opened the door. Exhaling, however, was temporarily forgotten while she took in the sight of the two men looking back at her. Neither of them had been in the woods last night—that she was sure of. Even in shock, she wouldn’t have forgotten faces like these.

The one on the left was, in a word, adorable. He was about average height, with sandy blond hair that was tousled and spiky. Big shoulders, big blue eyes, and dimples when he smiled, which he did the moment he saw her. She found herself returning it before she really knew what she was doing. Her own smile faded quickly, however, when she turned her attention to the blonde’s companion. This one looked to have been created from sin itself. If the villain in a movie were a werewolf, Mia decided, he would be their idea of perfect casting.

He was tall and lean, with a rangy, wiry build that still managed to give the impression of incredible strength. His dusky skin looked gold-dusted in the shadow of the doorway. Angular features set off a pair of thickly lashed, almond-shaped eyes that watched her unblinkingly, glowing deep amber. His black hair was shaggy and attractively mussed. A flash of gold caught Mia’s eye, and she noted the small gold hoop in the stranger’s ear.

He looked like a gypsy, Mia decided. Beautiful and dangerous. And not exactly friendly. The polar opposite of the classic Boy Next Door he was with.

“Can I help you?” she asked, feeling a little foolish. But what was she supposed to say? Inwardly, she cursed Jenner. No matter how little she knew him, he was going to get an earful whenever he decided to slink out of his hidey hole. If he hadn’t enjoyed kissing her, fine. But that was no reason to take off for hours. Especially when that kiss hadn’t been her idea in the first place.

The dark-haired man gave her a small smile, the faintest lift of the corners of his mouth. She got the unnerving feeling he was busy sizing her up. What he saw, she had no idea. She probably didn’t
want
to know, Mia decided. No doubt these were more werewolves, and werewolf material was one thing she was almost positive she was not. Not that it made much of a difference now. Then he spoke.

“Mia. I’m Jayson Bane.”

His voice was rough and sexy, like fingernails on velvet. Mia gave an inward sigh as she moved to take Bane’s proffered hand with her own. It had been too much to hope for that the friendly looking blond would be the Alpha.

“Nice to meet you. Jenner said you’d be coming to talk to me,” she said, shaking his hand. It was rough, and warm...and she felt nothing like the bright spark of connection that she felt whenever she touched Jenner. Obviously, her weird thing with Jenner was an individual problem.

Like she needed one more.

Now Bane really smiled, a brilliant flash of white. Mia might not have felt pulled to him the way she was to Jenner, but it was hard not to appreciate that he was utterly gorgeous...and that the smile just took it to an entirely different level.

“I guess Jenner talked to you, then,” he said. “Good. I wasn’t sure. You may have noticed he’s not what you’d call...chatty.”

Her laugh was genuine, and was soon joined by Bane’s low chuckle. With the sound came a burst of relief. Maybe he wouldn’t turn out to be quite so intimidating after all. That is, once she got used to looking at him.

“Yeah,” she said, “I noticed. But he did make me breakfast.”

Bane raised his eyebrows. “He talked
and
he cooked? Are you sure we’re both talking about Nick Jenner?”

Mia managed a smile, but she immediately wished she hadn’t said anything. She didn’t know enough about Jenner to say how he was or wasn’t...all she knew was that he seemed to have a lot simmering beneath the surface. Her cheeks heated as she remembered the taste she’d had of
that
. It would be better, she knew, to put it out of her mind. Jenner certainly seemed to want to.

Thankfully, whatever else Bane thought about Jenner’s behavior with her, he kept it to himself.

“Mind if we come in?” Bane asked. “Jenner knows we’re here. He should be in shortly.”

It was that pack telepathy thing, Mia supposed. At least Jenner hadn’t fled the country. Feeling awkward because it wasn’t her house, but unsure what else to do, she stepped aside and motioned Bane and his companion forward.

“Sure.” She noticed that Bane didn’t bother to introduce her to the blond, which she found both strange and rude. But the other man didn’t seem to mind. He let Bane go in first, and then stopped beside Mia to take her hand in his, blue eyes twinkling with what looked like good-natured mischief.

It was impossible not to be charmed.

“Not that anyone cares, but I’m Kenyon. Kenyon Chase.”

“Mia D’Alessandro. And no one cares who you are because...”

He leaned in as though he was about to share a secret. She inhaled the scent of his cologne, something warm and spicy. It was oddly comforting.

“Because my father had the poor taste not to be born a Blackpaw, and my mother had the even poorer taste required to marry him.” At her startled expression, his grin widened. “Don’t worry. She still loves him, inferior genes and all. But I don’t think her family has ever really gotten over it. My mother was a Blackpaw by birth.”

“Which makes you...” Mia prompted.

“Not a Blackpaw,” Kenyon replied. “Don’t worry. Bane will explain everything. Just know that I’m here to help.” And with that, he gave her hand a friendly squeeze, winked, and released it before following Bane into the house. Mia watched him go, fairly sure that on top of having been kissed senseless by one werewolf already today, she’d just been flirted with by another.

Her life, which she had often regarded as pathetically boring in spite of her odd gifts, had gotten really weird really fast.

Mia leaned for a moment against the doorjamb, trying to settle her sudden attack of nerves enough to go back in and...what, entertain a couple of werewolves? That wasn’t her job. Bane would have questions, she’d answer them, and then she’d need to find a way to rent a car or...something. It felt like running away, though, something she’d sworn she would quit doing. And thinking of going home with Jeff still out there was just...

She blew out a breath, flustered, and tried to distract herself with her first real look at the land where Jenner made his home. It was more easily done than she’d expected, since the view from the porch was, quite simply, lovely. She saw a well-tended expanse of yard, still a rich green, rolling away beyond a front porch that was occupied by a couple of inviting-looking rocking chairs. A long gravel drive veered off around the side of the house, and in the opposite direction headed toward the road through a thick screen of bright October trees. It seemed they were surrounded by forest here. The solitude would have gotten to her if she’d lived here alone, but she was beginning to understand that Jenner enjoyed keeping his own company. For her, she would need someone to share a place like this with. But if she had someone, Mia thought, her chest tightening at the wild beauty surrounding her, she couldn’t imagine anywhere more perfect. If she had someone...

As though she’d summoned him with just a thought, he was there. Mia’s heart tripped into double time as Jenner rounded the corner. It was stupid, she told herself as his big, muscular form loped into view, his scuffed boots crunching on the gravel. It had only been a kiss. One random, ill-advised, mind-blowing kiss. She should be able to set it aside, at least for now. There were more important things.

Or so her mind insisted. The sight of Jenner had her body protesting that nothing could possibly be more important than getting her hands on him again as soon as possible.

She made the mistake of catching his eye as he headed up onto the porch, and Mia watched his step falter ever so slightly. She felt a surge of triumph that was purely female. He might have run from her, but there was no way she was going to let him ignore her. And from the flash of heat she saw in those unusual golden eyes of his, ignoring her wasn’t what was on his mind. But Mia could tell he wasn’t happy about it, and that was the part she didn’t understand. If either of them had a right to be upset about what had happened in the kitchen, it was her.

Unfortunately, she just couldn’t bring herself to feel that way.

Jenner clomped up onto the porch, the set of his jaw tight. He looked so grim it would have been funny, Mia thought, if the look had been about anyone else. It was hard to believe this was the same man who’d held her earlier while she’d cried. It still shocked her that she’d been able to let go like that with him. She never cried. Why would she? There had never been anyone to soothe away the tears. But his touch, such a contrast to his fierce looks, had been so gentle, so easy to fall into...

He gave a short nod, a quick jerk of his head that she interpreted as a greeting.

“Bane inside?”

His brusque manner stung.
That’s what you get
, she told herself,
for letting everything
but
your head guide you. Again.

“Mmmhmm,” Mia said out loud, her lips pressed into a thin line. “He and Kenyon are waiting for us.”

Jenner frowned, stopping short. “Bane and
who
?”

Mia arched a brow. “Kenyon? Blond, blue-eyed werewolf guy? Kenyon...” She searched her memory for it, finally remembering. “Chase. Kenyon Chase. You don’t know him?”

Even knowing what he was, it surprised Mia to see Jenner go very still, tip his head back to scent the air, and finally, curl his upper lip over teeth that suddenly looked unusually sharp. It excited her in some deep, primal way that was as worrying as it was strangely arousing.

“Silverback,” Jenner growled. He looked like he wanted to bite someone. Mia took a step back, nerves beginning to dance in the pit of her belly. She had no interest in watching two male werewolves tear into each other over territory, or whatever Jenner’s problem suddenly was. He didn’t seem to notice her reaction, however. On his way past her, he caught her hand in his to pull her along with him. The sudden, unexpected contact sent a bright shock of warm recognition through her system. She tried very hard not to like it, and failed miserably.

“Come on,” he grumbled. “If Bane brought a Silverback with him, he’d better have a damned good reason.”

Mia let herself be pulled, temporarily powerless to do otherwise...though there was a part of her that enjoyed the way his roughened palm so fully enclosed her hand.

Bane and Kenyon had settled themselves on the squat, overstuffed couch, and watched Mia and Jenner come in. Bane’s eyes flicked quickly to her hand entwined with Jenner’s, then away. He looked troubled, though Mia couldn’t think of a reason why that would be.

Suddenly nervous, Mia pulled her hand free and headed for one of the plush, faded chairs that sat across from the couch. Jenner went for the other, though not before commenting on the soda Bane was popping open.

“Make yourself at home,” he said.

Bane smirked. “Always do. If you’d quit stocking your fridge so well, we’d quit coming over and
un
stocking it.”

Jenner snorted. “And here I thought it was my sparkling personality that brought you back. Or maybe just my new TV.” He settled himself into the other chair, and Mia wondered how he could now seem so at ease. Despite the casual demeanor of the men, the tension in the room was thick. She thought longingly of her apartment, which was quiet and werewolf-free, and fussed with the ends of her hair.

“You know I’m going to ask what this is about,” Jenner said, jerking his head toward Kenyon. It wasn’t exactly a friendly introduction, but Kenyon seemed unfazed. He simply waited, as Jenner did, for Bane’s answer. If there had been any doubt in Mia’s mind that Bane was as powerful as Jenner among the Blackpaw, those were dispelled right then. Just because the power sat easily on Bane didn’t mean it wasn’t there...and she could see now that it was, in spades.

Bane took a pull from his soda, then set it on the rough-hewn coffee table in front of him. When he spoke, he surprised Mia by addressing her.

“Should be pretty obvious. I need to know everything you know about Jeff Gaines, Mia. How you met, who he is—or pretended to be. Why he might want to hurt you.”

She went cold, but there was no hint of malice in Bane’s expression. This was what she’d been waiting for, turning over what to say in her mind since last night. Maybe it would be a relief to have it done.

“I—”

“The Silverback don’t need to be involved in this,” Jenner interrupted. “Whatever she’s got to say doesn’t concern them. You could have mentioned you were bringing company.”

Bane’s eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Jenner, who didn’t look the least bit fazed.

“The Silverback have a right to be involved,” Bane said. “Looks like the feral may have been one of theirs.” When Jenner started to reply, Bane held up a hand in silent warning.