Authors: Savannah Stuart
meeting. All Alphas must attend.
Apparently
, there’s going to be a vote on some new
laws regarding mixed-bloods and other supernatural beings.”
Adam shrugged as he shut the door. “Tell me something I don’t know.” He was in
a foul mood and the last thing he wanted to do was talk to this son of a bitch who no
doubt knew where his mate was yet refused to tell him.
“Oh I know a lot you don’t.” Thomas smirked as he stepped farther into the foyer.
He refused to take the bait. “Why are you here?”
Thomas’ eyes narrowed. “I want to know if you had something to do with this
emergency meeting.”
“I might have said something to The Council.”
Thomas snorted. “I refuse to believe it’s a coincidence that in the past five hundred
years they haven’t seen fit to reexamine their laws and now all of a sudden, they’re
calling an emergency meeting.”
“I don’t give a shit what you believe. Tell me where my mate is or get the hell out of
here.”
“Technically you’re still in my family’s beach house and your mission is over. I
should be telling you to get out.” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest and that
annoying smirk of his grew even wider.
Lightning fast, Adam crossed the distance between them and wrapped his fingers
around Thomas’ neck. Not hard, but he put enough pressure to show his intent. The
other wolf’s eyes widened, but he didn’t struggle.
“Where. Is. She?”
“Give me one good reason why I should tell you.” Thomas’ words were strained as
he gasped for air.
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Adam let his hand fall. “I love her.” The words came out before he could stop
himself. His head told him it was too soon, but his heart knew it. They were kindred
spirits. His wolf side had recognized it before his human side had. Now both sides were
on the same page and they wanted the missing piece of their soul back.
Thomas stared at him for a moment with a curious expression. Finally he spoke.
“She’s at her sister’s house. If you hurt her… Shit, I’ll just send her sister after you.”
Then he turned and left.
Adam stared at the door after he’d long closed it. Paz was a few houses away from
him.
This whole time.
He’d scented her along the beach but had assumed he’d been going crazy. Without
wasting any more time, he hurried out the back door and jogged down the short stretch
of sand. He opted not to shift because he didn’t want to scare her. The last time she’d
seen him, she’d looked terrified and he couldn’t blame her. He’d just killed another
wolf and had been covered in blood.
As he raced up the steps to the back porch of Marisol and Stephan’s house, he
jerked to a halt when he saw Paz lounging in a bikini on one of the chairs by the pool.
He’d been going insane scouring the entire city trying to find her and she was tanning?
He slammed the small gate behind him and stalked toward her stretched out figure.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted, then immediately cringed at his brash
manner. He was supposed to be making things right between them.
She lifted a hand to block out the sun as she looked up at him. “Baking cookies.”
His mouth snapped open. She sounded pissed.
At him.
He’d been trying to track her
down the past couple of days and apologize. “You’re mad at me.
You’ve
been hiding
from me, and you’re mad.” He collapsed onto the lounge chair next to her and scooted
it closer.
“Does it look like I’m hiding?” she muttered as she turned her face away from him.
No, she definitely wasn’t. Her entire body was practically exposed to anyone who
wanted to see. Werewolves were usually unabashed about their nudity. Hell, he usually
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was. Now he wanted to cover his woman up so no one could get a peek at her smooth,
tanned skin. The tiny blue triangles covering her breasts and the small scrap of material
covering her pussy were practically nonexistent. His cock hardened at the sight.
“I’ve been trying to find you for the past two days.”
“Why?” She still didn’t look at him.
“Because you’re my mate.”
Now she turned toward him and her gaze burned. “I’m half fae, did you forget
that?”
“I’m sorry about what I said to you. More than you’ll ever know. I didn’t realize
what you were.” His apology sounded stilted and lame but he didn’t know how to tell
her how truly sorry he was. Maybe when she found out that he’d talked to The Council
it would make a difference.
“Thank you for the apology, but it doesn’t matter. You can’t change the way you
feel and I can’t change what I am. If you’re going to turn me into The Council, I won’t
go easy.” She abruptly sat up and reached for the towel she’d draped across the chair he
was sitting on.
He snatched it and held it away from her. Frowning, she lunged for it and he
snaked his hand around her waist. Before she had a chance to react, he hauled her up
and onto his lap. “I
can
change the way I feel. I love you, Paz. And if you think I’d turn
you over to anyone, you’re out of your pretty little mind.”
All the fight left her body. Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “What?”
His gut twisted when she didn’t return his sentiments but what could he expect? At
least she didn’t try to run away from him. “Nothing’s official yet but I’ve spoken to The
Council and there’s going to be a major overhaul of all our laws. They’ve called an
emergency meeting. You don’t have to hide who you are anymore and I wouldn’t want
you to.”
“Oh.” She squirmed in his lap and his grip on her tightened.
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The feel of her skin beneath his fingers made him itch to take the rest of her skimpy
clothes off. “Is that all you have to say?” He’d assumed she’d be ecstatic.
“I’ve spent the past two days mad at you. It feels wrong to let go of all that pent-up
anger now.” The corners of her mouth pulled into a small smile.
“And I’ve spent the past two days going crazy.” His heart still beat an erratic tattoo
at the thought of losing her.
“So…what does this mean? You
like
faeries now?” She eyed him warily and he
didn’t miss the not-so-subtle sarcasm in her voice.
He racked his brain, trying to think of the right words. It didn’t help that his tongue
naturally got twisted in her presence. He really didn’t want to fuck this up. “After
meeting you, I realize there’s a lot I don’t know about your kind. I’m not too proud to
admit I was wrong. More than anything I’m sorry by how much I upset you the other
night. I was angry thinking about my parents, but…I was wrong.”
He still hated those who’d killed his family but Paz was right, he couldn’t lump
everyone into the same group. If he did, he’d lose his only chance at happiness. Holding
onto that kind of hatred wasn’t worth it if he lived without Paz.
“So what does this mean for us? You’re the enforcer and you live in Chicago. I just
want to be a high-school teacher again and live without fear.”
“I’m not the enforcer anymore.” He’d told The Council to start looking for his
replacement immediately. Whether they found one soon or not wasn’t going to be his
problem. He’d put in his time with them and they owed him. Something they knew,
which explained why they’d agreed almost immediately when he’d told them they
needed to change their laws. In truth, he hadn’t expected them to be so acquiescent but
stranger things had happened. Now it was just a matter of getting the rest of the packs
on board with the new laws.
He could sense her nervousness, but she didn’t say anything. She just shifted on his
lap and over his erection. Having her sit on him with so little clothing was worse than
torture.
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“I’m scared,” she whispered.
“Of me?” His gut clenched at the thought.
“No! Of the future, of us, of everything.”
“Shit, sweetheart. I’m scared too, but we’re meant to be together.” More than
anything, he was afraid of losing her.
“How can you be so sure?”
He shrugged. There was no answer. He simply knew how he felt about her and that
wasn’t going to change.
“Are you going to move here?”
“If this is where you want to live. I’ll move anywhere you want.” He had a few
homes dotted around the country but he’d wait to tell her that another time. She’d
seemed freaked out when he’d bought her all those clothes. He didn’t want to admit
how much money he had just yet.
She paused as she digested his words. Then she spoke. “You want to help me grab
the rest of my stuff? I’ll head back to the beach house with you and we can talk some
more if you want.”
He nodded because he didn’t trust his voice as he stood with her. She walked ahead
of him and he wanted to howl in frustration. She wore one of those Brazilian-type
bikinis that didn’t cover the bottom half of her ass. He wanted to reach out and run his
palms over that tight skin but restrained himself.
She’d only said she wanted to come back to the house with him. He couldn’t jump
her bones just yet. Convincing her to take up permanent residence in his bed was likely
going to take some time.
Paz felt as if her insides were shaking as she led Adam inside. She couldn’t believe
he loved her. She loved him too but was scared to say the words. After the past couple
days without him, she’d been miserable. Even though she’d been hurt and angry as
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hell, she’d still missed him. That had been the most maddening part of all. She thought
he hadn’t wanted her and had been avoiding her. She’d run from him, but she hadn’t
been hiding. She’d just assumed he knew where she was staying. And she’d thought he
hadn’t wanted her anymore.
His heated gaze on her as they walked toward her room was scorching. Without
even seeing him, she knew what he was focusing on. She’d taken most of her
belongings to the guesthouse and she definitely didn’t need his help bringing her things
over. That wasn’t why she’d asked him to her room at all.
Thankfully they had the house all to themselves. Her sister was still gone and
would be for a few more days.
As they entered her room, she turned to face him.
His gaze raked over her body from head to foot with a heat she’d come to love
seeing in his eyes. “What stuff do you want to bring with you?” The question came out
scratchy and uneven.
She reached behind her back and pulled the ties of her bikini top loose. His eyes
widened as she let it fall to the ground. Understanding quickly dawned in his eyes and
was quickly followed by full-blown lust.
Her nipples peaked under his scrutiny. He started to move toward her but she held
up a hand. “Wait,” she whispered.
She shoved her bathing suit bottom over her hips and let gravity do its job. After it
pooled at her feet, she covered the distance between them and wrapped her arms
around his neck. She didn’t want any more barriers or secrets between them. “I want to
bond with you.” It was the only way she could show him she loved him. While she’d
been busy cursing his name, he’d been making more progress with The Council than
anyone else had in hundreds of years. And he’d done it all for her.
His hands settled on her hips and he tugged her flush against him. She could feel
his cock pressing through his pants, begging to be unleashed. But there was a question
in his emerald eyes. “Are you sure?”
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“I want this more than anything.” And she also wanted something else. He’d tasted
her—all of her—and she wanted to return the favor.
Glancing down, she freed the button to his pants, then slowly pulled the zipper
down. She sucked in a deep breath as his cock sprang free. Her stomach muscles
clenched as she stared at him. Something possessive stirred inside her. He was thick
and perfect and all hers.
She ran her tongue over her lips but glanced up when he groaned. “What?”
“Are you trying to torture me?” he gasped out.
Grinning, she dropped to her knees. “Maybe I am.”
He shoved at his pants and quickly stepped out of them. As she fisted his cock, she
was aware that he stripped out of his shirt, but she didn’t take her eyes off his hard
length.
Holding him firm, she bent forward and licked the underside of his dick, all the
way to the crown. She took her time circling the head before stroking her tongue back
down his length, then up again. His legs jerked once and she inwardly smiled.
“Oh yeah.” His voice was tight and she knew he was barely holding onto his
control.
She sucked his head into her mouth then took him as far as she could go. Until this
moment she’d never understood why so many women loved this act. She’d never felt
more powerful than she did right then. Even though she was on her knees, she held all
the power. And it was an incredible turn-on. Heat pooled between her legs as she tasted
him.
As his fingers threaded through her hair, she moaned against him and kept
sucking. Up and down, she took him deep. He pulsed in her hand and under her
mouth, so she knew he was close.
With a low moan, he pulled away from her. She frowned and kept her hand snug at