by Anna Lowe
She shook her head. That was not her Cody. “Try again,” she murmured. With a gentle touch, she eased him back and closed the door.
Her heart was pounding, her veins ready to burst. Was she insane? The man she was born to love was at her door, and she was pushing him away when all she wanted to do was drag him in and never let go. Another part of her, though, stood firm. Cody needed to find his own way out of his cage.
The closed-door routine was something she did in school. If a student came in doing something wrong—being too rough or rowdy—she’d turn them around, close the door, and let them try again. It was the kind of second chance that real life rarely offered.
Except this was no schoolboy. He was a man, a fine, fine specimen of a man who could knock on any woman’s door on any night and get exactly what he wanted. But she didn’t want to be just another door that opened on command. She wanted more. Even in her tension, she smiled. Maybe the old Heather was clawing her way back to the surface, after all.
His second knock sent her nerves fluttering. She swung open the door and held her breath.
Cody still wore the color of surprise. His mouth groped for words and finally landed on one. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she breathed, inwardly cheering him on.
Those perfect lips opened then shut. Opened again. The thousand-watt smile flicked on. “Sorry to bother you, but—”
Nope. She closed the door, though half her muscles wailed.
Silence. Heather prayed she wouldn’t hear footfalls, carrying him away. God, another minute and she’d fling open the door, begging for a second chance.
A third knock. Thank goodness for stubborn men. She pulled the door open.
Serious Cody. Intent Cody. A Cody not to be refused. “Heather,” he said, lips tight. Now, only now, could she believe that he and Ty were brothers.
“Cody.”
He studied her for a long, long time before stepping forward and burying her in an avalanche of a hug. With his face tucked in her hair, the whisper was barely audible. “Heather.” For a while, that was it: her name and his fingers flowing through her hair. Then he breathed softly by her ear. “I miss you the minute you’re gone.”
The words made her chest go tight. Cody held her for an eternity, like a sailor whose ship was about to set sail. She clutched him right back, hard enough to believe that nothing could drag them apart. Behind them, the clock ticked as one minute then another passed. God, she’d missed him, too. Missed him her whole life even if they’d only met now that she was here.
Eventually he pulled back, eyes wandering over her face. He pushed aside a strand of her hair, smoothed it behind her ear. She cupped his face in both hands, trying to understand what troubled him. She wanted to sit him down and urge him to let it out, the way she needed to get everything out. But how could she find the words? Where would she start? Cody, I wish… What did she wish? And what was he wishing, with those yearning, mournful eyes?
Cody slid his eyelids down and tugged her close. Seemed like he wasn’t ready to reveal his troubles, at least not in words. Last night, after the nightmare, she’d been the same, and Cody had provided the quiet reassurance she needed. Now it was her turn. She squeezed him back, trying to push away the past and future and just live for this moment of peace.
A whisper slipped from her lips. “Every minute without you is a minute too long.”
His arms tightened around her, as his lips wrestled with words, losing badly. She shushed him with a finger to the lips and slid a hand along his neck, making him hum and her spirit soar. His body pressed close, promising escape.
Maybe she needed some escape, too. Because a moment later, a pure animal urge engulfed her. Her tongue slipped through his lips, kissing past the actor and down to the man. One hand stayed on his neck, while the other made a determined trip south to stroke his thigh. If she’d had a moment to think, she would have been shocked at herself. But something in the night—in the moon, maybe?—was urging her on.
Licking the sweet, salty taste of him off her lips, she looked him in the eye and found wild desire. A gulp, and then he was crushing her lips with his.
One thing for sure about this crazy night, it would not be sweet and slow.
Good. She was eager, even desperate for him. Grateful when his hands discarded her shirt and bra without ceremony. Right now, she needed him closer than close. His hands were warm as they worked away her shorts, then skied down her backside and scooped her close. Hasty fingers took care of the remaining clothing, and then the two of them were entangled on the floor. Her core flooded in response to his mouth on her nipples as he began to suckle, driving her ever higher.
Just when she thought she would explode with pleasure, Cody’s head popped up, pink with shame. “You deserve better,” he murmured, lips tickling her skin.
Better than this man? Her finger toyed with the nick in his right ear. “There is no better,” she whispered. “Nothing better than being with you.” It was the truth. But Cody’s eyes slid shut with the weight of responsibility. Had she gone too far? “Cody,” she whispered.
He looked up.
“Don’t think so much.”
It worked, because they collapsed back into kisses until he pulled her up and tumbled to the bed, where they picked up right where they left off. Her legs snaked around his hips, pulling him close. Cody growled—she swore he growled, the hottest sound she’d ever heard—and worked his hands under her, urging her to roll, giving him her back. He smoothed his hands over her skin: an artist considering the canvas of his newest masterpiece.
Starting from her waist, his hands followed the diagonal of her ribs and reached around to tease her aching breasts. Every move was a wish fulfilled. His fingers gently plowed into the cleft of her legs until they found her cunt, already wet and gaping, begging for more. Cody slid his body over hers, lining them up.
Doggie style? His hands were pulling her hips back then bracketing her body on either side. The position had never really done much for her. It had always seemed a bit crude, actually. The couple of times she’d been talked into it in the past, it had been a complete dud.
Must have been the guy. Because the moment Cody cupped her breasts, all doubt fled. His body heat covered her, giving raw and animalistic a whole new appeal. She let out a moan, feeling his cock glide closer.
But good grief—where was her self-consciousness? Where was her pride?
Must have checked it at the state border. Because she truly didn’t care.
A single finger stirred her inner walls. “Is this okay?” Cody’s lips tickled her shoulder.
“So good,” she moaned into the sheets. This wasn’t just dipping toes in a pool of molten ecstasy; it was diving into the deep end. Heaven. She found his shaft with one hand and marveled at its size. It was thick and warm, just for her. She was so wet, so ready.
There was a crackle of foil, a pause, and then his thighs brushed her flanks. A flash of heat ripped a cry from her throat when he plunged past her entrance and into her core. Cody hesitated there, quivering for control.
None of that, not now! She wanted wild and crazy and hard.
“Cody! Push! Hard!”
He slammed the rest of the way in and anchored himself there. She clenched tight, wrapping her inner muscles around him. As good as it felt, hearing Cody’s pleasured groan was even better. When he withdrew, then thrust back in, she stretched her arms to the wall to brace herself, biting back a cry for more. Her body greeted each thrust gladly, her ankles wrapped around his calves, clamping him close. He was gliding in and out of her now, his hands cupping her breasts. Words spilled into, and then overflowed from Heather’s mind. Tenderness. Raw power. Wonder. Only Cody could combine all those things.
She was vaguely aware of him licking her neck near the base where the shoulder curved, as if he were a prospector after a vein of gold. She angled her head away, heeding the instinct to expose her skin, willing him to nip. But Cody bit back a curse at himself and tucked his
cheek there instead.
Her focus jumped deep inside where his cock had suddenly dethroned her heart as principal organ of her body. She could feel him all over, whispering in her ear, gripping her hips as she convulsed beneath him. The edge was so close now. She held on as long as she could then cried out and came in a wild spasm that sent him flying, too. Her legs hung on to him through the sensation of tumbling over and over, refusing to let go.
Even when it was over—she knew it must be over—the delight remained. Cody eased his weight over her back, covering her like a thick blanket in the deepest blizzard of winter.
He nestled close and began to nuzzle her neck, rubbing her in long, possessive strokes. She could have grunted in dirty pleasure at each hot slide. When he flopped down beside her, she rolled to face him, hand splayed on that cliff of a chest. His eyes told her she was beautiful; his arms pulled her close. Words were superfluous to the language they were speaking.
Words like trust. Love. Gratitude. They were all there, tucked into the sheets.
But there were other words, too. Anxiety. Frustration. Fear. This magic night was only a temporary reprieve, she knew. Because tomorrow, the real world would be back.
She hid her face in his shoulder. A temporary measure, at best. But it worked—for now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cody tapped his fingers on the steering wheel all the way down the highway, brow knitted tight. All the joy of his nights with Heather—a whole week of them since that night of the closing door—still didn’t solve his problems. If anything, they seemed to have been compounded.
A mate he couldn’t have—one who didn’t know his true nature.
A series of murders in which every clue came to a dead end.
A brother who cast a long shadow and a father whose gaze never ventured beyond it.
No matter where he searched for a sliver of hope, it all seemed impossible. The more he loved Heather, the more it hurt. She was his destined mate. Some instinctual part of her knew it, too. The way she held on to him and let go of her fear.
Our mate recognizes us, his wolf purred in approval.
All well and good, but how do you tell a human you love her? How do you explain who you really are? Cody worked his jaw from side to side. Every minute he let tick by without telling her was a lie.
Meanwhile, he and Kyle had been up and down the state, hunting down every possible lead but coming up empty. Where would the vampires strike next? The next victim was out there, ignorant of her fate, and Cody could do nothing to save her. His mind spun it over a million times, all the way to the ranch.
Before he knew it, his truck passed under the gate. Hmpf. Some jerk had taken his usual spot—a truck he didn’t recognize with Nevada plates. Grinding his teeth, he parked two spots away, annoyed as hell that his father had summoned him to a meeting now. He needed to get back to town and finish the job. The sooner he could track down the vampires, the sooner he could concentrate on winning over his mate. Time was running out.
He entered the council room with a quick step then pulled up short. His father stood with another man, a grizzled old alpha. Roric, if Cody remembered correctly, head of the Westend pack, three hundred miles northwest. Beside Roric stood a petite brunette whose appraising eyes latched right on to Cody. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.
“Ah, Cody!” His father was suspiciously jovial. Cody felt the blood drain from his face. “You remember Roric.”
He gave a curt nod as Roric’s slow lookover did its best to rough him up at ten paces.
“And his daughter, Sabrina.” His father practically sang the introduction.
“Hello Cody,” she cooed, undressing him with her doe eyes.
“Roric and I have some business to discuss,” his father continued. “Why don’t you take Sabrina for a walk? Show her around.”
His gut twisted, guessing exactly what kind of business his father had in mind. From the gleam in Sabrina’s eye, she was fully supportive.
What happened to three months? he protested. What happened to—
His father’s voice boomed in his head. Think I’ll let my son ruin his life? Cody’s blood ran cold as his father’s tone grew more measured. Lest you allow yourself to be distracted by an unsuitable female, I’ve found you a good one. Isn’t she beautiful?
Maybe before Heather—maybe—he might have sniffed briefly in Sabrina’s direction. But now? He felt nothing but the dread spreading through the pit of his stomach.
But I don’t want her, his inner voice cried.
You will do as I say! his father thundered. Take her, now!
The double meaning cracked through his head as his eyes roamed the room for some escape. Tina was there, her mouth pinched in a tight line. From the looks of it, she’d tried protesting but had been firmly put in her place. Cody looked desperately to Ty. Maybe the two of them together could… But no, Ty’s face was a mask. Where was the help he promised?
His mind flailed for some way out, even as he recognized the hard truth. Men like his father and Roric didn’t care about love or individual desire. To them, it was all about the pack and bloodlines. Mating was business, pure business, a way to strengthen ties between two allied packs. Had Roric even asked about Rae, who’d been a member of Westend pack before coming to Twin Moon Ranch? He doubted it.
Roric and old Tyrone had tried their callused hands at matchmaking once upon a time, intending Rae as a mate for Ty. The fact that they hadn’t consulted either member of the prospective couple never seemed to bother them. Were the old dogs doing it again now?
Cody ground his teeth and glanced at his father. When their eyes met, he nearly reeled from the force of his old man’s glare. The fire in those eyes could kill a man, and from the looks of it, his father was more than ready to go that far. There would be no compromising on this.
He hung his head then whipped it up when a thin arm slithered over his. Sabrina tucked herself good and close, leading him out the door and toward his doom.
The wildest ideas ricocheted through his mind as they walked. He could run away with Heather and make a new life. Somewhere away from his father. Away from the pack.
His wolf growled in disapproval. We need both! Heather and the pack!
Maybe he could start a new pack in unclaimed territory. Maybe he could try the relatives on his mother’s side. Out in California, where his sister Carly lived. They all hated his father; surely they would grant asylum to him.
He was so wrapped up in desperate escape plans that he didn’t notice when they crested the hill overlooking the ranch. Didn’t notice Sabrina closing in on him until her mouth was glued to his. If he hadn’t squeezed his lips tight, she’d have tongued him right down to his spleen. Jesus! What was she doing?
He jumped back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand then scrubbing it on his jeans. “Don’t you think we ought to get to know each other a little?”
“Sure, I’d like to get to know you better, Cody,” she purred, shooting a hand toward his crotch. He caught it a hair away from his zipper. “In fact, I feel like I already know you.”
I doubt it. Though he kept the words inside, his face must have given him away, because Sabrina’s face went from puppy-dog perky to pit-bull malice in one cold-blooded blink.
That’s when he realized it. This was not just about him. Offending the daughter of the Westend alpha meant jeopardizing his entire pack. She’d go crying to Daddy, who’d come screaming for revenge. Cody’s father had toiled over a lifetime to forge alliances, making bitter sacrifices of his own. One wrong word and he’d set off a new feud. And judging by the little he knew of Sabrina, the only right words were I do.
Classical music floated up from the schoolhouse below: that yearning song, the one with the violin, striving to break free. Never had the notes sounded as bleak as they did today.
Damn his father! Couldn’t he at least have asked?
Vaguely, Cody felt Sabrina—persistent little leech— thread her arm through his
again and snuggle into his shoulder. It took everything he had not to recoil. She pointed down the hill with an exaggerated sigh, right to the spot where the old smokehouse used to stand. “Your dad said he’d build us a big house, right over there.”
His stomach did a 360. That spot? That was Heather’s—his and Heather’s! It was the exact spot he’d secretly tagged for their future house. His imagination had already filled it with green-eyed, champagne-haired kids and a big, goofy dog. And Heather, always Heather. Only Heather.
Jesus, how the hell was he going to get out of this? One by one, his vital organs started shutting down. There was no out. His gut told him as much, even as it heaved. His eyes darted over the view of the ranch. What had always seemed an endless landscape now squeezed in like the walls of a cell. That hill right over there, that’s where the rogues had come in a few years ago. To the east was the spot where Ty and Zack had fought off outsiders looking to steal a mate. And over there was the highway, a symbol of the human world, whittling away at the edges of their territory.
He took it all in, shoulders slumping. His duty was here.
He tried telling himself he’d be no good for Heather anyway. She didn’t know his true nature and never would. They just weren’t meant to be. Even if the thought killed him, he knew his outer shell would keep ticking for another few centuries, no matter how hollow he got inside.
Blood mired in his veins as his heart stuttered and slowed. When Sabrina nailed him with another kiss, he willed his mind blank, even though the taste of her snuck in. Wrong, this was all wrong. Inside, his soul was kicking and screaming, but outside, he was frozen, lost. By the time they made it back down the hill, Sabrina was practically skipping in triumph while Cody dragged his feet.
“Cody, I need you now!” Ty barked, shooing Sabrina toward the council house with a look of distaste. “Kyle called. There’s a new break in the case.” He grabbed Cody’s shoulder and pulled him aside then dropped his voice to a gritty whisper. “I swear I didn’t know Dad was up to this.”
The words trickled to his ears from the far end of a tunnel. “Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “It’s for the best.” He hauled himself into this truck, feeling gravity triple. The gears moaned as he ground them into reverse, backed out, and headed for the highway. Duty called. No matter how his wolf protested, one thing would never change. He was his father’s son, and duty came first. Always.