Pack Mentality: Myra's Mate Read online

  “Yeah, well, I’m not much on talking myself up.”

  “You’re more an action kind of guy, huh?” She couldn’t help baiting him, teasing the hungry wolf. It was hot. The kind of hot she saw everyday with Jenny and her two big old brutes but had never really felt for herself.

  “I am. I think I might have to quit talking and act now,” he said, turning to face her and grabbing her arms.

  She stared up at him, barely able to make out his expression, and it made her moan and wiggle. Then he kissed her, and that made her do more than wiggle.

  The heat between them just ratcheted up a thousand notches when his mouth touched hers, and Myra gasped, all but vaulting right into his lap to get closer. More. Now.

  “God,” Colin said against her mouth, sounding as dazed as she felt. “We shouldn’t do this here.”

  “No one will see.” She didn’t think of herself as daring, but right now she wanted him far more than she should. It was crazy just how much. Maybe Jenny was right. Maybe there was something to the whole chemistry thing.

  “You’re right.” Pushing, Colin tumbled her back on the bench, tugging at her clothes.

  She managed to get him to leave her shirt on, but when one of his big, rough hands slid up under her peasant skirt she made no protest at all. Especially when his mouth found her breast, even through her shirt, and he sucked at her nipple, making her bite her own hand to keep from crying out.

  Colin pushed her underwear aside when he reached her upper thighs. Before Myra could even blink, he was pressing against her folds, demanding that she open for him.

  Like she didn’t want to anyway. Spreading her legs, Myra let him touch her, let his fingers comb through the curls covering her mound, let him find her clit and rub it until she thought she might lose her mind. She thrashed for him, desperate for more sensation, thinking about how long it had been since someone thought of her pleasure before theirs.

  When her moans became too loud for her to stifle, Colin moved up to kiss her, his smile shaping her mouth into an answering one. She could feel him hard against her hip when he crowded up against her, loving the way his pelvis rocked once he found a comfortable place, his cock prodding her.

  “So hot,” he said against her mouth. “So wet for me.”

  “I want you,” she agreed, arching up and taking the finger he slid inside her, her muscles fluttering around it.

  “We could. Now.”

  Myra stroked Colin’s cheek. “I thought you said we shouldn’t. Not here.”

  “Uh-huh, and we agreed no one would see.”

  The sound of his zipper echoed in her head, but Myra didn’t stop him when he moved into place between her thighs, hiking her skirt up and tearing her underwear. Nope, she encouraged him, urging him on with her hands on his back and her mouth on his neck, her tongue tasting his sweat.

  Groaning, Colin slid into her, the head of his cock opening her so wide she thought he might just break her. The fact that he didn’t, that he fit like he was made for her, made it all the better.

  So hot he almost burned her, Colin moved in and out, his harsh breathing and hers the only sounds in the night. They’d even quieted the birds.

  Harder and faster, they rocked together, both of them gasping on every breath. Colin groaned, moving up and pushing down just so, making her eyes fly open as his thrusts started pushing his pelvis against her clit.

  Oh, God.

  Myra threw her head back, watching the stars through the tree branches, feeling Colin along every inch of her skin. She dug her nails into the back of his neck, pushing him faster and faster.

  He gave her exactly what she needed, moving in a frenzy, growling low and deep. The sound was so primal it resonated in her, vibrating along her nerves. Myra came with that sound, rearing up to bite down on Colin’s shoulder to stop herself from screaming as she shook and cried.

  Colin thrust a few more times and went still above her, his cock throbbing deep inside her, filling her with his come. His deep groan had her shivering with tiny aftershocks, amazed at how good it was between them, and how fast.

  Their breathing returned to normal and their sweat began to cool in the night air, but it wasn’t until the lights from a car passed over them that Colin sat up, pulling her up and easing away from her. He zipped up and helped her right her clothes, stuffing the scrap he’d made of her underwear into his pocket.

  Then they sat, sort of not looking at each other. Or speaking. For a good little while.

  “I don’t normally…” Myra finally said quietly.

  “No. I don’t either. At least not with girls I want to go out with again.”

  Tilting her head, she pondered that. “Does that mean you don’t want to see me again, or that you do?”

  Colin turned, reaching out to cup her cheek and pull her to him for a long kiss. When he broke away, he smiled, his thumb brushing her lower lip.

  “That means I do,” he said.

  Myra laughed, a little dazed and a lot thrilled. “Oh,” she said. “Well, that’s all right then.”

  * * *

  Colin got into the house he shared with two of his buddies really late. Like three am late. He’d dropped Myra off and then had gone for the hike he’d missed that afternoon, needing to get his shit together before he went home.

  He couldn’t ever remember anyone affecting him the way Myra had. She was a lot of the things he’d always thought were ‘not his type.’ Earth mother-y and new age hippy and Boulder-crunchy-granola were so out of his realm it wasn’t even funny. She had that amazing laugh, though, and the freckles that went all over her body, not just her hands and face. The way she felt around him might haunt him the rest of his life.

  Deciding to ride it out, he ended up at home exhausted and ready to go to bed.

  So it sucked that his buddy Steve was still up working on something on the laptop. Steve would use anything as a distraction, and he hailed Colin immediately with a, “Hey! You’re out late. Want a beer?”

  He didn’t, really. If he turned Steve down though, there would be an hour of teasing about how he was getting old and couldn’t stay up all night anymore. So Colin accepted.

  “Sure,” he said, straddling a kitchen chair while Steve dragged out two longnecks.

  Steve handed the beer over, staring at him, nose quivering. Then Steve gave him a huge grin. “Someone got lucky!”

  The growl that tried to come out surprised him, leaving Colin blinking. Damn, he didn’t usually have such an immediate reaction to a woman. Oh, he never kissed and told, but Myra had him acting like a fool in front of one of his best friends.

  “I went out,” he agreed, or kind of agreed, anyway, giving Steve a smile. “What are you up to?”

  “Oh, just some accounting I’m behind on.” Steve owned his own electrician business and worked hard on the stuff he was good at. Sometimes he let the other stuff slide, which was why Colin could find him up all hours of the day and night. “So, what’s her name?” Steve asked.

  “Huh? Oh, she’s never going to meet you, man. So forget it.” Forget that Steve had already met Myra. With terrible results.

  “You, old dog! You can’t hide her from us forever,” Steve said, bending to sniff him. “We’ll figure out who she…” Steve stopped, sniffing deeper, his forehead wrinkling.

  “Uh huh.” Draining his beer, Colin stood, trying to get away before Steve figured it out. Bastard always had an overactive olfactory nerve or whatever.

  Steve leaned closer, all but overbalancing like a damned puppy when his nose met Colin’s neck. Then Steve scrambled back, yelping.

  “Myra! Jesus Christ, Col. You’re doing it with Myra Leander?”

  Shit, meet fan.

  “Look,” Colin said, “just because you had some trouble with her…”

  “Trouble doesn’t begin to cover it. She’s a freak, man.”

  A growl rose in his chest again, but he managed to turn it into a cough. “Some would say we are,” he said mildly, proud of his
tone.

  Steve stared, his mouth opening and closing. “No. She’s really a freak, Col. Plus, she’s not pack.”

  Sucking back the rest of his beer, Colin stood and tossed the bottle in the recycle bin. “She’s pack to Liam and Sasha. That’s good enough for me.”

  “But you don’t get it. The things she does to a man are just… Col. Man. Stay away from her.”

  Colin tried to count to ten. He made it to four before he moved quick as a snake, slamming Steve back against the kitchen door. “Shut up.”

  “Col!”

  “I said shut up,” he growled. “I’m seeing her. End of story. I don’t want to hear another word about her.” He set his teeth to Steve’s throat, just once, demanding submission.

  Brown eyes wide, Steve nodded, swallowing hard. “Sure. Sure, Col. Whatever you say.”

  “Good.” One hand on the back of Steve’s neck, Colin shook the man a little, smiling. “‘Night, Steve.”

  “Night, Col.”

  Yawning, Colin headed upstairs. That had gone better than he’d expected.

  Chapter 4

  “Should I go with the turquoise dress or the pink shirt and ivory top?” Myra asked, peering back over her shoulder at Jenny, who sat on Myra’s bed, cross legged, watching her.

  “So where is Colin taking you?” Jenny asked, studying each outfit. “Go with the turquoise. I think Liam would like that better, and he and Colin have really similar tastes.”

  “Yeah. I’m glad he’s not more like Sasha.” Sasha made her nervous, deep down, on some weird feminine wavelength. Better Jenny than her.

  “Sasha’s not so bad. He’s just pushy.”

  “Uh-huh. Pushy and growly and very uh… testosterone-y.”

  Jenny laughed, the sound throaty and pleased as punch. “He is, indeed.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Grinning, Myra hung the pink and white outfit back up. She could understand being hot for a man now, couldn’t she? Colin had her all atwitter.

  “So?” Jenny asked. “Where?”

  “Oh, we’re going out for supper somewhere, and then back to his place.” She and Colin had been on three dates now, and she’d never been to his house.

  “Oh -- h.” The catch in Jenny’s voiced had her looking up from where she was rooting about in her jewelry box. “Why not come here? I’ll be out with Sasha and Liam at the new place.”

  “Why, is Colin a slob?” The dress slid right down over her, feeling silky and cool. She twirled a little, arms up in the air, her pretty silver Bali bracelets jangling.

  Jenny laughed, but the sound was more nervous than happy. “He has roommates, My. Who can say they won’t both be there?”

  “Well, it’ll be nice to meet someone in his life besides me. Oh, and Liam and Sasha.” Opening a bobby pin with her teeth, she shoved her hair into a semblance of an updo and started stabbing. “Don’t you think?”

  “I guess.”

  The look on Jenny’s face had her throwing her hands up. “What?”

  “Nothing, My. I just think it would be better to come back here where you know you’ll have privacy.”

  “Whatever.” There. A little lip gloss and she was done. “How do I look?”

  Rising and padding over, Jenny came and kissed her cheek. “You look fantastic. You really like him, don’t you?”

  “I do.”

  “Then have fun. I have to head out, okay?” That distracted, hot and bothered look Jenny got when she was going to meet Sasha and Liam appeared.

  Myra rolled her eyes. “Go. Say hi for me.”

  “I will.”

  Jenny headed out, and Myra went out to the living room to wait for Colin. The knock on the door came only moments later. Myra bounced up to answer, her heart speeding up. God, it was so ridiculous what she felt for this man after what, four encounters? There it was though, when she opened the door and saw his face with his pretty, blue eyes.

  “Hey, honey,” he said, bending to kiss her.

  “Mmm.” She couldn’t help the little sound anymore than she could help reaching up to put one hand behind his head, holding him closer.

  A low, rough sound came from Colin, and he put an arm around her waist, pulling her up against him, his body strong and hard against her. Bless him, he gave her exactly what she wanted, a hard press of lips that left her breathless.

  The heat between them shocked her every time, making her shiver and push at his chest a little.

  “Hi,” she said brightly when she could breathe again. “You ready to go?”

  “Uh-huh.” Guiding her out of the apartment, Colin locked the heavy wooden door with her key before dropping it into her purse. “Oh, about going to my place tonight. Is Jenny going out with the guys? Because both of my roommates decided to stay home.”

  The way he rolled his shoulders when he said it let her know he was uncomfortable, but Myra pushed it a little anyway. “You don’t want me to meet them?”

  “More like I don’t want them all over you, honey.”

  Oh, he was smooth. “Okay. What are we eating?”

  “I thought we’d try that new Italian place on Sixth.” Looking much more confident, Colin led her out to his truck, opening the door for her like a gentleman should.

  Her own shoulders twitched a little when she got a glimpse of the moon, hanging nearly full, low in the early evening sky. “It’s almost time, huh?”

  Colin glanced over before pulling out into the street. “Uh-huh. It’ll start the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

  “Do you change for the full three nights?” she asked. Jenny, Sasha and Liam did, the wolf taking over every night precisely as the moon rose, and leaving them when it faded each morning. Lord, she wished her own supposed talent was that easy to manage.

  “Yeah. I’m not as early to change as say, Sasha. Of course, he’s like pack alpha material, yeah?”

  “I suppose.” She watched streetlights pop on, almost seeming like they did it in time to the truck’s passing. The thought that they were lighting up the city delighted her. “Who’s the alpha now?”

  “Guy named Kamen. He’s a heavy hitter, and just reaching his prime. Sasha will never take over from him. He’d have to go somewhere else.”

  “Well, just because Sasha could, that doesn’t mean he would. I think he likes the quiet life.”

  Colin snorted, the sound loud and amused. “With Liam and Jenny both as lovers? Shit, that man will have no quiet.”

  That tickled her, and she chuckled. “True enough. So what’s Kamen like?”

  Slanting her a sideways glance, Colin turned onto Sixth Street and started the parking spot game. “Why all this sudden interest in the local pack?” he asked. “You’re not one of us.”

  Ouch. Myra crossed her arms over her chest. “Nope. I’m one of a kind.”

  “Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I know. It still stings. Do you think they’ll have eggplant parmesan? I love eggplant parmesan. A nice ensalata mista would be good, and I hope they have olive oil for dipping.” She was babbling, but that was what she did, right?

  “I’m sure they will.” Easing the big truck perfectly into a diagonal space, Colin turned to her, cupping her elbow, his thumb rubbing her arm. “I’m sorry, okay? I just… Hell, you live with Jen. You know how insular we can be.”

  Blinking to clear her eyes, Myra nodded. “Of course I do. You’re forgiven.” She summoned a bright smile. It was hard, so hard sometimes. She didn’t have a pack. Myra was just a freak, even to a frickin’ pack of werewolves.

  “Good. God, that smells amazing.”

  The restaurant did smell good, and Myra put her hurt aside, determined to enjoy the night.

  Inside, the place smelled even better. Warm bread, garlic and wine permeated the very air, and the tables set with flickering candle bowls and starched white cloths made her happy. Even better were the tiny chandeliers set between tables, which were all Murano glass and had the shapes of various sea creatures.

  “C
an we sit by the squid?” she asked, and the hostess nodded, taking them back to a sweet little table for two.

  “Very Cthulhu,” Colin noted, holding her chair.

  “Tentacular,” she agreed, grabbing the menu. “Oh, I want one of those, and one of those, too.”

  The food turned out to be amazing, the service wonderful, and as always, Colin’s company filled her with delight. Myra loved the way his eyes crinkled up when he smiled, and the way he licked his lower lip while he ate.

  Who was she kidding? She liked everything about him.

  “Dessert, honey?”

  “Hmmm?” Caught staring. Her cheeks heated when he smiled at her knowingly. “Sure. Cannoli, maybe. The menu said they had a chocolate mousse and mascarpone version. I love to suck the cream out.”

  It was his turn to flush and hers to smile like a cat with a canary. Served him right for making fun of her preoccupation with him.

  Myra licked her lips. “Or would you rather see the dessert tray?”

  “No, I think cannoli will be great.” Colin waved to the waiter.

  Bold as brass, Myra picked up one of the cannoli when they arrived and licked the chocolate and cheese right out of one end of the oblong pastry shell. Humming at the flavor, which had hints of cinnamon and cloves, Myra ate and licked all the way in from both sides, finally snapping down on the pastry and breaking it up with a loud crunch.

  Colin flinched.

  “Is it good?” he asked.

  “Oh, you should see for yourself. I want to see how well you suck, Colin.”

  That seemed to push him over the edge, but instead of getting angry, Colin threw back his head and laughed, his strong, booming belly laugh drawing stares from other diners.

  “Touché, baby,” he said. “Well done.”

  “Well, I have to hold my own against you pack types.”

  “So are we square now?” he asked.

  “We are,” she said, smiling at him, reaching out to stroke his wrist. It just wasn’t in her to hold a grudge, really. “Can we at least go back to your place long enough for me to see it? I want to see where you live.”