Training Their Mate [Pack Wars-Book 1] (9 page)

“Is it okay that I borrowed a
few of your things?” she asked from across the room.

Damn it. She almost sounded
afraid. His
protection mechanism
intensified, but he turned his back to
her and waved a hand. “Sure. Take what you need.”

“Thanks.”

He got an apple out of the
fridge and took a bite. The juices dribbled down his chin and he imagined Liz
licking his face clean. This was absolutely the wrong time for a woman who
appeared to be their mate to come into his life. His body sure as hell wanted
her, but she didn’t need more trouble in her life. Liz would be better off if
he spent his time chasing after Couch instead of pursuing her.

When he turned around and
headed back to the living room, Liz had moved to the sofa. Dante had joined
her. Seeing the two of them together altered something inside him. It wasn’t so
much jealousy, since Dante would share, but his more primal need emerged,
surprising him.

“We’re going after Couch
tomorrow,” he told her.

As expected she perked up.
“Tell me.”

Though highly unlikely, it
was possible she might be able to spot an issue with their approach. “I’ll take
two other teams with me. We’ll enter his office by the back. Hopefully, our
appearance will be unexpected and we can take him easily.”

“He keeps the back door
locked.”

She bit her lip. He almost
caved and hugged her. She had no idea how capable his team was and couldn’t
keep a small smile off his face. “We have our ways of entering a building.
Locks are never a problem.”

“Oh.” She glanced to the
ground as if trying to come up with other roadblocks. “What if he shifts into a
werewolf on you?”

His brother tossed him a smug
look.
How are you going to field that
one, bro? You going to tell her Couch would be outnumbered five werewolves to
one?

“We have our ways to contain
him.”

Her brows rose. “Maybe you
can bring a steak that’s laced with that poison that’s harmful to werewolves
and capture him that way.”

She was clever, but there was
no need to go to such an extreme. “I like that idea. If he escapes the five of
us, we might try that, though I’m thinking he’ll see through the ploy. It’s not
like he’s a real wolf.”

The foot she’d been tapping
stilled. “Good point.”

He was able to school his
features at her thoughtful response.

She turned to Dante. “Why
aren’t you going with him?”

Dante squeezed her thigh in
an intimate way. “Trax and the guys are capable to capture one old man.
Besides, I have a store to run. One of us has to make money.”

You
are such a little shit
.
Trax glared at his brother then dragged his gaze back to Liz. “Dante likes to
meet and greet the public, so he does his thing, but we don’t need his salary.”

Her brows rose. Wouldn’t she
be surprised to learn the depth of not only their pockets but those of the Pack?

“What if Couch isn’t at the
office?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” The
thought had his mind shifting in several directions.

“He can’t do much business
without a secretary. I bet it will take him a few days to replace me.”

“So you don’t think he could
handle the day-to-day business by himself?”

Her gazed drifted left. “I’m
not sure. He knows how the business runs, since he instructed me about what to
do, but when he gave me instructions, it was like the work was
inconsequential.”

Dante leaned back. “More
proof that Au Pairs for U is a front for his drug running and possible human
trafficking.”

“The man is such a scumbag.
When you catch him, what will you do with him?”

Trax was wondering when she’d
ask. “There’s a jail in the middle of Florida that’s just for shifters.”

“Seriously? Why haven’t I
heard about it?”

This time he couldn’t hold in
his chuckle. “That would kind of defeat the purpose of hiding the existence of
werewolves if we did that, don’t you think?”

“Yeah.” She glanced between
the two men. “I want to come with you.”

He quickly sobered.
“Sweetheart, there is no fucking way I am taking a girl with me to do a man’s
job.”

Her mouth opened, and another
erotic thought blasted him.
Don’t think
about the havoc her mouth could wreak.
His damn cock twitched.

“I need to ask him why he
raped my mother again after all these years.” She tapped her chest. “I need
closure, too.”

“No way.” He polished off his
beer and dumped it in the trash. “I need to get some shuteye.”

Dante stood. “Let’s hit the
hay.”

She leaned close and looked
up at his brother with adoring eyes. Trax held in his groan. He could see it
now. Dante would want her to stay around, but there was no way she was living
here. Liz would be a constant distraction and if he ever expected to put away
the Colters, she would be a hindrance. Besides, the fact they were werewolves
would surely come out, and that was the last thing the Pack needed was a
busybody woman blabbing to the world about who they were.

She followed Dante, but he
turned around. “Sugar, as much as I’d love to cuddle up to you all night long,
we’d get no sleep. Trust me, I can go all night long.”

Trax had shared enough women
with Dante to know his brother had the stamina of a flower deprived of water
for days.

She moved in close. Jesus, if
he saw them kiss, he’d—well he didn’t know what he’d do but he sure as
hell didn’t need to be watching.

He averted his gaze and
strode past them. “I need to get my toiletries out of the bathroom and some
clothing.” He sure as hell didn’t need to go back into his room with Liz there.
Sure, he’d need to use his computer that was set up in the corner, but only
after she was up.

Christ, he never should have
brought her here. It was all the more reason to stop Couch. Then Liz would be
safe and on her way.

#

The morning sun speared
through the window and disrupted Liz’s carnal dream. She shielded her eyes as
she sat up and yawned. Trax’s king size bed had been incredibly comfortable and
his flannel sheets soft and warm. She almost didn’t want to get up, but the smell
of bacon and eggs drew her.

She dreaded changing out of
her comfortable sleepwear, but she wanted to check on her wounds so she pulled
off her pajama bottoms and lifted the bandages covering her scraped knees. To
her delight, the wounds had almost scabbed over. She decided to keep it
uncovered. Her hand, however, was a different story.

Maybe she’d ask Dante to
change the covering or perhaps leave it open so it could breathe. Then again,
she’d have to be extra careful if she kept the stiches exposed. As she put on
undies and got into her jeans, buttoning her jeans wasn’t going to happen nor
was putting on a bra.
Damn
.

Perhaps Dante could help her
dress. She stuck her head out the door and scanned the living room. Trax was in
the kitchen with his back to her.

He turned around. “Morning.”

“Good morning. Where’s
Dante?”

“At work.”

Shit
. “Oh.”

“You need something?”

“Yes. I’ll be out in a sec.”

She closed the door, located
her bra and placed the straps over her shoulders. Holding the bra close to her
chest, she stepped out.

Trax’s eyes darkened as he
kept his gaze, not on her face, but on her chest. Could this get any more
embarrassing?

“I need a hand, literally,
with hooking my bra and buttoning my pants.”

His jaw tensed. “Come here.”
He didn’t sound pissed, but he sure as hell wasn’t happy.

She proffered her back, and
his warm fingers hooked her bra in two seconds. His touch altered something
inside of her. What was up with that? Dante was the kind of man she’d always
dreamed of. He was funny and considerate yet there seemed to be some unleashed
power bursting to get out.

“Thanks.” She adjusted the
bra so that she was covered and turned around.

Her luck, her only bra was
the one she’d worn when trying to entice Couch into hiring her. It was a demi
cup so only her nipples were hidden. Now Trax would think she was trying to put
the moves on him. That was so not the case.

Liar
.

“Can you button this for me?”
She lifted her shirt to expose the open waistband.

He didn’t answer as he
stepped close. His spicy scent had her body thrumming. This was not right and
she averted her gaze. His fingers scraped against her skin and her body heated.
What was wrong with her?

Once more, he didn’t linger
as he buttoned her jeans. She expected him to step back, but instead he stayed
close. Her breath increased, and she couldn’t have moved if she’d tried.

“Liz.” His voice cracked.

She looked into his simmering
eyes that seemed to change right in front of her. The gray and green flecks now
had more of an amber hue.

He clasped her shoulders,
pulled her to his chest, and kissed her. While the pressure wasn’t hard, his
kiss bordered on desperation. His tongue pried opened the seal of her lips, and
her body refused to deny him entrance.

Their tongues tentatively
touched a second before he took charge. Her nipples puckered and she clasped
his shoulder and he jumped back.

“I’m
sorry, Liz. I never should have kissed you. I—”

“It’s okay.” Her heart
deflated. Who wanted a man to say the kiss had been a mistake? She stepped
back. “I need to finish getting ready.”

She rushed back to the
bedroom happy her knees were a lot steadier than yesterday.

“I made you breakfast. Hurry
back.”

She didn’t answer as she
ducked into the bedroom and plastered her back against the door. What the hell
just happened? She had only wanted help getting dressed. Trax seemed to think
she was putting the moves on
him
.
Then he apologized. That was the mortifying part.

She rushed to the bathroom
and checked to see if she looked any different from the kiss. Her lips were a
bit pink from the pressure, but otherwise, she appeared to be the same.

Trax had made breakfast and
she was hungry. Sucking up her embarrassment, she returned to the living room.
A plate piled with eggs, bacon, and a piece of toast sat on the dining room
table. He’d also left her a glass of orange juice, but he was nowhere to be
seen.

“Trax?” Perhaps he was in
Dante’s room.

She knocked. No answer.
Thinking he might be using his brother’s bathroom, she went in. Holy moly. The
place was a total pigsty. The bed wasn’t made, clothes were on the floor, and
the open bathroom door revealed a bigger mess.

Trax and Dante couldn’t have
been more different. Comparing them in other ways would serve no purpose. She
stepped back into the living room and called his name again. Her stomach
grumbled. She’d eat first, then figure out what the hell was going on.

Next to her plate sat a
neatly penned note.
Going to capture
Couch. Wish me luck
.

“Aw.” The last sentence was
such a cute endearment.

It took her no time to inhale
her meal even with only one hand. Once she was finished, she washed her dishes
and placed them on the counter to dry knowing Trax would be upset if she left
the place dirty. Touching their things connected her to them in an intangible
way. Perhaps the act of doing housework allowed her to pretend she was part of
a family.

Since she figured it would
take Trax some time to find Couch, she wanted to call her friend. Poor Chelsea
must be terribly worried. Liz punched in the number.

“Oh my God. Where are you?
I’ve been in a panic.”

She inhaled.
Telling Chelsea all the details would take a
while, so she laid back on the bed and spent the next ten minutes describing
all that had happened. Discussing the reason for her mom’s suicide had been the
hardest to retell.

“Holy fuck, Liz. Are you
telling me that in the last twenty-four hours, you tried to kill the man who
raped your mom, were chased down an alley by two wolves who turned into men,
and made love with a hot protector?”

Even she couldn’t believe it.
“That about sums it up.”

Chelsea whistled. “So now
what happens?”

She loved that her best
friend didn’t lecture her on the attempted murder or the subsequent sex. “I
have to wait here until Trax captures Couch.”

“And if he doesn’t succeed?”

Her breath hitched. “I’ll be
spending the rest of my life cooped up in a fabulous loft apartment making love
to two hot men?” Even though it was a joke, juices dampened her panties and her
heart skipped a beat. She feared she’d just spoken her secret desire out loud,
and that was so not good.