Growl (Winter Pass Wolves Book 2) (5 page)

Brooke watched him quietly as he undressed her, then himself. He turned off the light and climbed into bed with her, pulled her to his side, and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. Pax followed her soon after, lulled by the rhythmic sound of her soft breathing.

He hadn’t felt this kind of peace in… well, since the day she’d left him.

A guy could get used to this
, was his last waking thought.

“
T
his is not going
as I planned,” Chase said, snatching a shot of whisky from Brooke’s fingers. He tossed the shot back, then slammed it on the wood bar top and gave Brooke a warning look. “Stop drinking.”

“I’m fine,” Brooke said. She glanced around the dark, smoky bar and sighed, wishing she hadn’t let Chase drag her out just days after her big breakup. Especially since she’d pounded a few shots, said something a little snarky to Pax, and now he was across the bar flirting with some skanky no-name blonde.

Men are the worst
.

She almost couldn’t blame the other woman; Pax was looking too damn hot for his own good in low-slung dark jeans and a navy t-shirt that clung to him in all the naughtiest places. Worse, every time he caught Brooke looking, he gave her this
look
, this cocky expression that said
I know you want me
.

And she did. Of course she did, so much.

She tugged at the hem of her red leather mini dress and shuffled her feet, making a face at the way her black patent leather heels pinched her feet. She wasn’t used to dressing like a party girl anymore, so all her wild clothes were a couple years old and a little too youthful for her. Hell, this whole bar was too youthful for her, with its pounding music and busy dance floor, crammed with people dirty dancing.

“Quit fidgeting. You’re like a child right now. A drunk child,” Chase said, rolling his eyes. “Drink a glass of water and then go over there and interrupt him, for god’s sake.”

“Interrupt who?” Brooke said, picking up the cup of ice water that Chase slid over to her and taking a sip. She tried to play it cool, but her eyes wandered right over to Pax and the blonde, who was leaning over the booth where Pax sat, saying something and waggling her boobs in an unsubtle way.

“He looks miserable, if you’ll notice,” Chase told Brooke. “Pink tube tops and cherry lip gloss have really never been his thing.”

“And what, pray tell, is his
thing
?” Brooke snapped, frowning at her brother. “Since you’re determined to butt in.”

“You, Brooke. You’re like… his only thing. He’s never dated anyone, and all his hookups have looked just like you,” Chase said, sounding a little disgusted. “It’s pathetic. I keep trying to tell him that you’re not even that great.”

“Jerk,” Brooke said, rolling her eyes and slapping Chase’s arm. “I’m awesome. You’re lucky just to know me, buddy.”

Chase’s expression sobered.

“Listen, Pax told me the story about mom and dad… I think we should talk about it, B.”

“No no no,” Brooke said, giving her head a sharp shake. “You promised me a night of fun. This conversation is like… the opposite of fun.”

Chase huffed a sigh and shrugged.

“Later, then, but we will talk. In the meantime, I think that girl’s about to give Pax a lap dance right here in the bar…”

“The hell!” Brooke croaked, spinning around to see. “Is she seriously trying to get him to take her shirt off?”

The girl was teasingly tucking the hem of her tube top in Pax’s hand, then yanking it away. Brooke saw Pax stifle a yawn, then say something and try to push the blonde a step back. He stood, which only encouraged the girl; she pressed herself up against Pax and started swaying to the bar’s loud music, grinning.

“Get in there, slugger,” Chase said, giving Brooke a little push.

“Go to hell,” Brooke said, but her feet were already carrying her toward Paxton.

She stopped right next to the blonde, crossing her arms.

“Do you mind?” Brooke asked, glaring at her.

“Yes,” the woman said, eyes narrowing to slits. “I saw him first.”

Brooke laughed, surprised.

“I doubt that. We’ve been together since 2009,” Brooke informed her. “He just got back from deployment, so I’d appreciate if you stepped off.”

The blonde looked up at Pax, who shrugged.

“Told you so,” he said.

With a huff, Miss Tube Top whirled and stalked off, looking for new prey. Pax looked at Brooke and shook his head.

“Oh,
now
we’re together, huh?” he asked. “An hour ago, you told me to
stop eye fucking you
, if I recall correctly.”

“Is there any chance we can just not talk about this right now?” Brooke asked, pulling a face. “I haven’t exactly been my best self tonight.”

Pax’s lips twitched, and Brooke could tell that she’d been forgiven.

“I guess I’m okay with any self you want to be, as long as it’s wearing this dress,” he said, reaching out and running his fingertips down her hip, tugging at the hem of the ridiculously short garment.

“Yeah?” Brooke asked, catching his hand and pulling him toward the packed dance floor. “Come see it in action.”

Pax let her tow him into the crush of gyrating bodies, surprisingly unresistant. She could tell from the look on his face that the bar wasn’t playing his kind of music. At the moment a sultry remix of a Nine Inch Nails song was playing. The bass was low and persistent, the song’s lyrics were more than a little suggestive, and the crowd was writhing enthusiastically along.

Pax took the lead, pulling Brooke up against his body as they swayed to the beat. He pressed one muscular thigh between hers, his hand splayed against her lower back to hold her close. Brooke bit her lip and stared up at him, their gazes connecting and holding, tension building between them.

It was like stoking a banked fire, flames leaping to life again like no time had passed. Like the last six years never happened, like she and Paxton hadn’t missed a single moment together. Even now, past and present blurred, the memory of Pax’s lips on hers so fresh in her mind that she wasn’t sure where they were, what they were doing.

The song shifted and Pax turned her around, pulling her ass back against his body as he swayed his hips. He was hard, and the feel of him made Brooke’s mouth go dry. Pax’s hands guided the movement of her hips, squeezing her flesh, reminding her of how dominant and confident he was in bed.

Damn, the man was pure sex.

“Alright, love birds,” Chase shouted in Brooke’s ear, making her jump. She turned to find her brother standing with his arms crossed, several women gravitating towards him with interested expressions. “We gotta go.”

“Awwwww,” Brooke protested as Chase shooed her off the dance floor, Pax trailing behind them. “You’re no fun, you know that? Maybe you should let loose, live a little. When’s the last time you got laid?”

Chase favored her with an unamused glance.

“You’re riding with me,” he said, then turned to Pax. “Can you hitch a ride with Harlan and Penny?”

Pax’s gaze narrowed, but after a moment he nodded.

“See you back at the lodge,” he told Brooke, giving her hip a gentle caress. “I moved some of my stuff into the main lodge, so I’m staying right in the room right below yours.”

Brooke nodded, not sure what to make of that. Chase rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist, dragging her out of the bar to his SUV.

“What is your deal right now?” Brooke asked, scowling at her brother as he made sure she was safely in the car, then closed her door and walked around to climb in the drivers seat.

“My deal is that I feel like you’re toying with Pax, B.” Chase guided the SUV out of the parking lot, his expression stormy.

“What?” Brooke asked, perplexed.

“This whole, want me, don’t want me thing you were doing tonight,” he muttered. “It’s unkind.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brooke said, crossing her arms.

“Put your damn seatbelt on,” Chase said, shaking his head. He pulled onto a winding two-lane road, taking the long way home. Harlan must have taken the faster route, because there was not another car to be seen, just quiet, hilly darkness for miles.

Brooke tried not to pout as she fastened her belt.

“Maybe you should just stay out of it,” she said. “Ever thought of that?”

Chase pulled the car over onto the shoulder, stopping abruptly. He turned to stare at Brooke, angrier than she’d seen him since their parents’ funeral.

“You have no idea, do you?” he said, his eyes flashing. “Pax loves you, Brooke. When you dumped him, I didn’t say anything to you because it’s your decision, your right. But I had to sit with him every day, watch him be miserable. For
years,
Brooke. It’s not like he rebounded, went to some strip clubs and then found a new girlfriend. He never replaced you, ever.”

Brooke’s mouth opened and closed, but she was at a complete loss.

“I.. I didn’t know,” she said at last.

“Yeah, well. I’m telling you. He mourned you, B. You finally got the balls to spill all these secrets you’ve been keeping, about Mom and Dad and Travis. Pax rolled with the punches, forgave you for breaking his fucking heart. And now you have the guts to treat him like some lost puppy?”

“I don’t think that,” Brooke said, frowning.

“Well, that’s how you’re acting. You’re back in my life, which I appreciate. I love you, I want you around. But Winter Pass is my home, and Pax’s. It’s the only place we can be safe. There are people out there that hunt and skin werewolves, you know.”

Brooke flushed at that.

“No,” she said softly. “I didn’t know.”

“Open your eyes, B. Pax is dealing with a lot of shit, just like you are. So the question is, are you going to grow up and stand with him, or are you going to torture him forever?”

“I literally left my fiance four days ago,” Brooke said. “I am just trying to get my head straight before I jump into things with Pax. I was trying to be fair.”

“Well, you’re doing the opposite. If you love him, be with him. If you don’t, leave him alone. That’s all I’m saying.”

With that pronouncement, Chase threw the car in gear again and pulled out onto the road. Silence reigned, and Brooke stared out into the darkness, mulling over her brother’s words.

He was right. Brooke had only meant to get a little space, but Pax deserved to know what was in her heart. She loved him every bit as much ever. At the end of their first date, when Pax walked her up to the front porch of the lodge, he’d looked down into her eyes and kissed her.

She’d known, right then. Just like she knew now.

When Chase pulled up outside the main lodge, Brooke turned to look at him.

“Thanks,” was all she said, but she knew Chase understood. He nodded, seeing her to the main house before trotting off to his own cabin.

Brooke let herself into the main house. Her brow furrowed when she stepped inside, noticing that the brand new front door lock they’d installed the day before was loose. The door was badly scratched all around the handle, making her wonder what the hell the handyman had been doing.

Making a mental note to have the man come out and replace the whole thing at cost, Brooke toed off her shoes and looked around the spacious, dimly lit main room of the lodge. It was a huge open-air affair, with two back hallways. One led to a restaurant-quality kitchen and dining area; the other led to a few of the more lavish guest suites. Brooke was partial to one of the smaller bedrooms upstairs, the one she’d stayed in during college breaks, but Pax’s selection of one of Winter Pass’s nicest rooms made her smile.

His choice was easy to identify, mainly because it was the only door open on the whole hall. That, and the fact that there was a little candlelight and soft music pouring into the hallway, beckoning.

Apparently Paxton wasn’t above a little wooing, even after all they’d been through.

Smile on her lips, Brooke shook her head. She needed to head upstairs and freshen up before she threw herself at Pax. Get out of her impractical leather dress, at least.

Keeping her footsteps quiet, Brooke hurried up the stairs to change and primp a little. A girl needed to look her best when she was about to—

Brooke stumbled to a halt in front of her door, then
screamed
.

P
ax toweled
off after a quick shower — and he meant
quick
, doing just the bare minimum required, considering the things he was hoping to do to Brooke in short order. He’d managed to get his legs halfway into a pair of soft flannel pajama pants when he heard Brooke’s terrified scream.

His heart thundering, Pax dragged the pants on and charged out of his suite, heading straight for his mate. He cleared the stairs between them in no time flat, bounding up to find Brooke standing in the hallway, clutching her throat.

It didn’t take much deduction to find out what had upset her. Scrawled on the door of her room, in shiny-wet dark red, was a message.

DIE, BITCH
.

One sniff told Pax that the words were written in some kind of paint and ketchup mixture and not actual blood, but that didn’t matter in the face of Brooke’s obvious terror.

“Come here,” Pax said, drawing her into his arms.

“What the fuck is happening?” came Chase’s voice. He appeared at the top of the stairs only a moment later, which made Pax think that Chase might have been snooping, making sure Pax and Brooke didn’t get into some kind of drunken fight.

Standing here staring at the threatening message, holding Brooke’s shivering form in his arms, Pax had never felt more stone-cold sober.

“We need to sweep the whole lodge,” Pax told Chase, who nodded.

“Stay right here, B,” Pax said, pulling out his phone. “I’m calling Harlan and Penny to give them a heads up, but no one else should be coming. Okay? It’ll take us five minutes to check the whole place over.”

“Don’t move,” Chase cautioned. Brooke just nodded, looking dazed.

Following the familiar pattern set in their military days, Chase and Pax swept each room quickly and thoroughly. After making sure there was no one in the building, they sussed out the subtle forced entry on the front door. Pax also noticed a second-floor window that someone, likely the villain, had left propped open.

Once Chase and Pax were sure that the whole place was completely secure, they agreed that Pax would bolt the front door from the inside, locking even Chase out. Pax also knew he was going to make Brooke stay in his room from here on out, but he figured Chase didn’t need to know
that
much.

When he’d locked Chase out, Pax took the stairs two at a time until he reached Brooke. True to her word, she hadn’t moved an inch. Instead of looking shocked and frightened, though, now she looked
mad
.

Despite the circumstances, Pax almost grinned.
Can’t keep that woman down, no matter what
.

“Hey,” she said, staring at the door.

“Listen, B… we took care of everything for tonight,” Pax told her. “Looks like Travis got in the front door somehow, but I don’t want you to worry. Chase and I got the place locked down.”

Brooke gave him a faint smile.

“I know you do,” she said. “I’m just… I’m so pissed right now. That fucking asshole can’t stand to lose. I knew he’d lash out, but this is low. Even for a Marchand.”

Pax hesitated, glancing at the door.

“I’m sorry to say, but he ripped up some of your stuff. Slashed your brand new mattress, poured blood on some of your clothes.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to keep his temper from rising again. “We’ll get everything replaced, so don’t stress about it.”

Brooke snorted, an indelicate but endearing sound.

“Nah,” she said, shaking her head. “I was going to get rid of a lot of that stuff anyway. I was dressing the part, playing along with what Lynne and Travis wanted. None of it means anything to me.”

“Alright,” Pax said, releasing a relieved breath. “You’re taking this like a rock star, by the way. Hang here for a sec, let me grab what’s salvageable, and we’ll go downstairs.”

“Oh yeah?” Brooke said, canting her head. She narrowed her gaze, but Pax could tell that she was amused rather than annoyed by his statement.

“Yeah. You’re in my bed now, every night,” he said, giving her whole body an up-and-down glance. “Permanently.”

Brooke’s lips twitched, but she just shooed him toward her ravaged bedroom. Pax made quick work of his task, saving a bag of her pajamas and intimates, a few clothes that hadn’t been ruined, and her pillow, which was undamaged.

The rest could wait. Unlike his wolf, who was desperate to have Brooke nestled in his arms, safe in his bed. Her mouth under his, skin to skin…

“Take it down a notch, chief,” Pax mumbled to himself.

Tucking all the stuff he’d salvaged under his arm, Pax went back out to Brooke, who stood in the hall way fidgeting.

“My pillow!” she said, brightening when Pax handed it over.

“It escaped unscathed,” he said, nodding toward the stairs. “Shall we?”

Pax led Brooke downstairs to his suite, nearly sighing when he remembered the sultry music and dimmed lights he’d set up prior to his shower. They were a nice enough touch, but no longer appropriate for the mood.

“I’m going to put your clothes in this drawer,” he told her, clearing out the topmost dresser drawer for her things.

“Thanks,” she said, sinking onto the bed.

Pax turned and eyed her.

“I got just the thing,” he told her. Opening the second drawer of the dresser, he produced one of his biggest, softest USMC t-shirts and tossed it over to Brooke. The soft smile of gratitude she shot him sent a ripple of pleasure through his chest.

Brooke pulled the shirt on over her head and did some girl magic, hopping around until she pulled that sexy red dress down underneath and stepped out of it, leaving her in just Pax’s shirt. It was much too big on her, draping over her small frame to fall almost at her knee, but something about it stirred Pax’s wolf. His woman, in his clothing, standing in his bedroom.

Brooke tossed her dress onto a chair and sat on Pax’s king-sized bed with a sigh.

“Finishing touch?” he asked, holding up a pair of thick, warm socks. “Sorry there’s not more fanfare. I always thought that when I got you back into my bedroom, it’d be a little more romantic than this.”

Brooke laughed and caught the socks he lobbed at her, shaking her head.

“No one could have expected Travis to go this far,” she said.

“Get under the covers,” Pax ordered. “You look like you’re about to freeze.”

“I’m a little shaken up,” she admitted, leaning down to pull on the socks.

Despite the fact that she’d just ditched her sexy red dress for a simple cotton shirt, watching Brooke crawl into his bed was stimulating Pax in all the right ways. Maybe he was too hard up, having foregone too many potential dates in favor of staying at his Winter Pass cabin and jerking off to thoughts of Brooke. Maybe it was how she’d teased him earlier, grinding against him on the dance floor, reminding him of how amazing her tight little body was.

Or maybe it was just Brooke, the sheer closeness of her, the way her scent filled the air around him, drawing him in. That sexy head tilt she was doing, watching him with her big eyes, all that strawberry blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders as she assessed him with a piercing gaze.

Maybe it was the thickening tension in the air, surrounding them and pulling them together, the flicker of interest that flared in Brooke’s eyes as Pax strolled over to the bed. Those big gray eyes were all over Pax’s bare chest and torso, those eyes that couldn’t hide a thing. Worry, satisfaction, desire… it was all there for Pax to see, laid bare.

“Pax…” Brooke said. Reaching out and taking his hand, she tugged him down to sit on the bed.

“God, this isn’t the moment when you tell me you just want to be friends, is it?” Pax said, a moment of panic hitting him.

“What?” Brooke said, looking astonished. Her pure surprise warmed Pax inside. “No, the opposite! Chase gave me a stern lecture about treating you nicely.”

A startled laugh tripped off Pax’s lips.

“Did he now?” he asked, a hint of insecurity leaking back into his thoughts.

“Well, yeah. And fuck him, he needs to mind his own business. Only…” Brooke wrinkled her nose. “He was right, kind of. I was trying to be cautious, not jump into things with you when I was still sorting out my issues after breaking up with Travis. The thing is… I don’t need to be cautious. Not with you. I’m me, you’re you. Brooke and Pax. That part never changes.”

Pax arched a brow, a little surprised at her words.

“So that’s it?” he asked, trying to find the words. “You’re just…”

“All in,” Brooke said softly. She moved to kneel beside him, throwing her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss against his bare shoulder. “I’m all in, Pax. I want everything.”

Pax stilled, taken aback. He wrapped an arm around Brooke’s waist, knowing that no matter her response, he wasn’t about to let her go. Brooke wouldn’t slip away from him, not ever again.

“Everything like… what, exactly?” he asked.

Brooke pulled back and glanced up at him.

“I want you to change me,” she said, dead serious. “I want you to marry me. I want a baby, when it’s time. When I said I’m all in, I meant it.”

Pax pulled Brooke closer, branding her lips with his. The kiss was hard and demanding, filled with all the longing he’d felt for the last six years, a demand for the desires he needed fulfilled. Brooke pulled back after a moment, breathless.

“Can I take that as a
yes, me too
?” she asked, looking amused.

“Fuck, Brooke, of course I love you,” Paxton swore, laying back and dragging her body over his so she straddled his hips. She was so hot against him that his hands went straight to cup her ass. “You’re not wearing panties!”

“Well, yeah,” Brooke said, her giggle cut off when Pax pulled her head down, lips possessing hers once more.

Groaning at the taste of her, Pax struggled to be gentle as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Brooke’s weight atop his erection, even with his thin cotton pants between them, was driving him fucking wild. When she rolled her hips, her warmth caressing him root to tip, Pax nearly came like an untried boy.

Ripping at the shirt she’d only just put on, Pax stripped her, freeing her perfect, full tits and showcasing miles of creamy freckled skin. Her hair poured down her shoulders like a river of molten copper, her eyes blazed the perfect bright gray of the sky just before a storm. She was killing him, and he wasn’t even inside her yet.

Soon
.

Pax sat up, keeping Brooke in his lap. Cupping one perfect breast, he lifted it to his lips, sucking and nibbling her sensitive pink nipple until she squirmed, rocking her hips over his. He slipped his other hand between their bodies, teasing her hip bones and inner thighs, working his way inward until he ran a fingertip over her slick, heated lower lips.

“Mmmmm,” Brooke uttered, rocking into his touch.

Circling her clit with the lightest touch, he teased her until she was breathless, until small mews of pleasure escaped her lips, until her eyes flew open and she said his name.

“Pax, please!” she said, brow furrowing with frustration.

“Please what, B?” he asked, dropping a kiss to her lips, enjoying the flush on her cheeks. “You want more?”

“Yes,” Brooke breathed.

“You want me to fuck you?” he asked, teasing her tight core with a single fingertip. “Like this?”

He sunk two fingers deep into Brooke’s body, glorying in the way she moaned and threw her head back, her breasts thrusting up as she arched her back, seeking more of his touch.

“You like this, Brooke?” he asked, rubbing his thumb over her clit, then slowly pumping his fingers in and out. She was so ready for him, soaking his hand, making him ache so bad for her he barely knew what to do. Still, he needed her to want him the same way, needed her desperate for his cock.

Brooke’s nails dug into his shoulders, and all he could think about was getting inside her, about her riding him just like this, making him come with her perfect body…

But no, the first time he had her again, Pax was going to dominate her, remind her of what she’d been missing. When he claimed her, marked her forever, he’d be so deep inside her that she barely knew her name.

“Pax,” Brooke murmured, drawing him back to the present. Her body was tightening against his fingers, and he could tell that she was close to the edge.

“You are
not
going to come yet,” Pax informed her, pulling his fingers away. Still, he teased her clit with the gentlest touch, savoring the flare of anger in her eyes.

“But—”

He cut her protest off with another kiss, grabbing her by the waist and flipping her over roughly. Ass up in the air, Brooke made a surprised noise, then groaned when Pax landed a hard slap on one perfect, juicy cheek. He knelt behind her and pushed her knees apart, biting his lip as he examined all that she presented to him.

“Damn, Brooke,” he said, pressing two fingers into her core again, enjoying the way she pressed back into his touch. “You have the tightest pussy. And this ass…”

Without removing his fingers from her core, he pressed the tip of his thumb against the balloon knot higher up, penetrating her just enough to make her shiver, her body tightening convulsively against the intrusion.

“Mmm,” he said. His mouth was actually watering at the thought of taking her there, pounding her tightness until she screamed his name, coming against him so hard that it almost hurt him. Again, something that wasn’t going to happen her first time back in his bed, but yeah… he was going to pop that cherry, hard… and soon.

“Pax,” Brooke said, glancing back at him with a mixture of uncertainty and hunger.

“Another time,” he promised, withdrawing his fingers. He reached down and stroked his cock, already so sensitive that his body was begging for release. “Fuck, what you do to me…”

He moved closer, pressing the thick tip of his cock against her waiting entrance, a wave of lust hitting him when he felt the damp heat of her body against his flesh.

“Touch your clit, baby,” Pax instructed, needing to push her as far as he could, as hard as he could. As soon as Brooke’s hand drifted down her stomach, he filled her in a single, deep thrust that made them both cry out.