by Alisa Woods
“Beck is in the same meeting,” Mace grumbled, the anger still simmering hot under his breath. “He was supposed to handle it himself, but that idiot promised the client I would be there.”
“I’m sure it would go better with you there,” she said carefully.
He grunted but still seemed pissed. “You’ll have just run in and get notes or something from the professor.”
“It’s a really big class.” She swallowed. Did she dare even suggest this? “The professor’s already said he won’t hand out notes. Or let us share. He expects us to attend.” Mace growled audibly, so she rushed to add, “Maybe there’s someone else who can pick me up? Maybe one of Gage’s wolves isn’t too busy?” She didn’t trust herself to say Jak’s name… and besides, that would only be suspicious. She held her breath, clenching her hands in her lap, hoping Mace would be willing to at least try.
He let out a long sigh but pulled into the Red Square parking garage rather than circling back toward the freeway. Once they were parked, he dug out his cell phone again and dialed.
“Yeah, it’s me,” he said into the phone. “Look, I’m at UDub, but I have a meeting. Do you have someone you can send to watch Arianna?” There was a pause. “Do you think I haven’t thought of that already? Beck’s tied up, and Alric’s off on a site visit. Do you have someone or not?” Another pause, then his voice dipped into sarcasm. “Fuck. That’s just perfect.” He sighed. “No, I’ll take him. But if he fucks up, I’m taking it out of his hide. Personally.” Another pause. “Right. We’re there now.” Then he hung up.
Arianna’s chest hurt from holding her breath so long. She tried to let it out calmly and without drawing attention to herself.
“Apparently, Gage and his idiot beta are on campus on some kind of site visit. He’s sending Jak over. I’ll drop you off at class, and he’ll bring you home.”
Arianna’s heart spasmed, and she could hardly believe she had heard him correctly. “Jak?” Her voice was whispery, and her eyes had gone wide.
Mace snorted. “I know, right? I’d be better off leaving you with Alric, for Christ’s sake.” He turned to her, and his face softened a little at her expression. “Look, I’m sure the bounty hunters are long gone. Jak’s an asshole, but even he can handle this.” Mace held open his jacket and showed her a gun he had holstered under his arm—one he’d apparently been carrying all week without her knowledge. Her heart raced at the sight of it, retroactively ramping up her fear for when Jak had snuck into her classroom. And the fact that they were about to go see him again.
“With this,” Mace said, “even an idiot like Jak can keep you safe, all right?”
She nodded rapidly and with what she hoped was enthusiasm. As they climbed out of the car, her fears and tremors settled a little. She was going to see Jak. Although, once Mace saw her and Jak together in the same room, she was afraid their sins would be written clear as day on their faces. How could Mace miss it? Her heart lurched again.
Due to Mace’s speeding, they were actually early for class. By the time they crossed the plaza and entered Kane Hall, there were only a few students trickling into the classroom. Mace lingered, keeping them out in the hallway, apparently waiting for Jak to show up.
When he appeared around the corner, Arianna did everything in her power to keep her eyes down and her face frozen. She was afraid to even look at him: she was just sure she would give them both away. But she couldn’t help peeking up as Jak’s hard-soled shoes rapped against the tiled floors.
He hurriedly stalked up to them, his face furious. “I have better things to do than take care of your business, Mace,” Jak said, his voice low but harsh.
“Apparently not.” Mace’s smile was gloating. “But I’ll tell you what, beta—you screw this up, and Gage won’t be able to keep me from tearing you into pieces.”
They were attracting some notice from the other students in the hall. Arianna was convinced she would have a heart attack at any moment.
Mace lowered his voice, his smile vanishing. “All you have to do is get her back in one piece.” He clapped a hand on Jak’s shoulder and dragged him closer. He lifted the gun from his hidden holster and jabbed it into Jak’s side, just under his coat jacket.
Jak’s face went hard.
Arianna couldn’t breathe.
“You fuck this up,” Mace said in a menacing whisper, “and I’ll be using this on you.” Then he turned the gun sideways and pressed it into Jak’s chest.
His face inscrutable, Jak took the gun and quickly shoved it into the back of his pants, hidden under the jacket. Arianna sucked in air and flitted glances around them. She didn’t think anyone had seen the gun.
“I’m not the fuck-up around here,” Jak said coolly.
“Keep telling yourself that, beta.” Mace’s sneer was back, but he turned his hard gaze on Arianna. “Call me from the house when you get back. I want to know whether Jak needs an ass-kicking or not.”
Arianna nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. Jak glared at Mace’s back all the way down the hall until he disappeared around the corner. Arianna didn’t dare move for several more seconds. Finally, Jak turned to her, a grin wide on his face.
“You. Are. Amazing,” he said, drawing out the words as he stepped close. Then he dropped his voice to a whisper. “How did you manage to arrange this?”
With Mace gone and Jak smiling, Arianna could finally breathe again. “I had almost nothing to do with it. What are you doing on campus?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jak’s grin just grew. “The question is, what are we going to do with an hour on campus alone?”
“Jak.” She felt the heat rush to her face. “I have class.”
He scoffed. “As much fun as it was to sit next to you in class, I have something a little different in mind.” Then he grinned wickedly, and with one last look down the hall where Mace had just left, Jak grabbed her hand and towed her in the opposite direction.
They quickly left Kane Hall and dashed a short ways to a majestic building with Gothic architecture. Its tall stone columns loomed over them, and the arched entranceways were topped with terracotta figures that looked very scholarly.
“The Suzallo Library was one of my favorite places to hang out,” Jak said breathlessly as he towed her up the stone steps and inside the building. Stone staircases swept off to the side, and a reading room that looked like the inside of a medieval church filled most of the building, but Jak hurried past those to a help desk in the center.
Jak rained a sexy smile down on the short, rail-thin girl manning the desk. “Hi! My name’s Jak. I was hoping you might help me with something.” She had to be one of the students, and Arianna could tell she was dazzled by Jak’s trim suit, tailored to fit perfectly over his well-muscled shifter body, not to mention that gorgeous smile he was favoring her with. Arianna felt a small pang of jealousy, but more than that, she felt sorry for the girl. Whatever Jak wanted, she was sure the girl would happily give it up… but she’d never get what she hoped for in return.
“I, um, sure… what can I help you with?” The girl’s eyes grew wider as Jak placed a hand on her desk and leaned forward. Shifter pheromones worked best up close—and Arianna knew human females were even more susceptible to them than wolves. The girl had no chance.
“You see, I used to love going down in the stacks,” Jak said in a sexy half-growl. “All those old books, you know, the smell they have? It was like being absorbed into all the stories, all the great characters…”
The girl was nodding. Arianna rolled her eyes.
“But I hear they closed them down,” he said. “Restricted access only now.”
“Yeah, it’s really sad,” the girl said, leaning forward, entranced. “Only the staff are allowed down there these days.”
“That’s a terrible shame.” Jak bit his lip.
Arianna swore the girl was about to drool on her papers.
The librarian dropped her voice. “Sometimes I go down there and just pull a book at rando
m and read.”
“I know, right?” Jak said. “I mean, everything’s a treasure. You never know what you can find.” He sighed. “I mean, I get it, you want to keep out the people who don’t understand. The ones who don’t get it. But the people like us, who really appreciate what’s down there…”
The girl was eating this up. Then she glanced at Arianna. She tried to put on her brightest smile but kept quiet, letting Jak work his magic.
“Look, I know this is asking a lot, but…” Jak glanced at Arianna and gave her a soft smile. Arianna knew it was all an act, and she still melted inside. Then he leaned forward to whisper in the librarian’s ear. Arianna couldn’t hear what he said, but the girl’s eyes went wide, and a small smile crept onto her lips. She flicked a look or two at Arianna, but mostly she bit her lip and grinned.
When Jak finally pulled back, the librarian smiled wide. “I don’t think it would hurt anything.”
“You’re the best,” he gushed.
Arianna had no idea what he had just told her, but two seconds later, the girl was fishing out her keys from her desk and beckoning them toward a special-purpose elevator. She keyed them in, and it was quickly apparent that they were heading down to the Restricted Access Only stacks.
It was all Arianna could do to keep her grin in check.
The girl stayed in the elevator when they stepped off. “Take your time. You don’t need a key to come back up, just punch the call button.”
Jak grinned and squeezed the girl’s hand lightly. “Thanks again. I really appreciate this.”
She smiled, and the elevator door closed, leaving Jak and Arianna in a giant room with dozens and dozens of shelves lined with books. Everything was a hundred years old by the musty smell, and the stacks stretched what looked like the length of the building. There wasn’t another soul in sight or signs of anyone down here with them.
“What did you say to her?” Arianna asked, her grin finally let loose.
Instead of answering, Jak swept her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. She felt as dazed and light-headed as the librarian must have been by the time he stopped.
“I told her I wanted to propose to you, and I needed a very special place in which to do it.” His grin was wide. “Wouldn’t have worked at all, but she’s new.”
Arianna laughed as Jak towed her away from the elevator. “So you’re saying you’ve proposed to other girls before, down here in the stacks?”
“Oh… only a few,” he said, still grinning. “Less than ten, for sure.”
“You are awful!” She swatted him on the shoulder. He was still dragging her past shelf after shelf, searching for something. Then he seemed to find it and veered down one row. At the end was a heavy wood-carved table with two chairs, clearly set up for the scholars and their work in a previous era. He clasped her hand and brought her to the table, twirling her around and backing her up against it. He kissed her again, and she could feel his cock growing hard as he held her against him.
Then he pulled back from the kiss and just held her in his arms. “However… I’ve never been here with someone I actually intended to spend the rest of my life with.”
Her breath caught, and she stared up into his dark, shining eyes. “You do?”
He brushed her hair back and lightly kissed her face, starting with her cheeks, then her nose, then finally, her eyelids. At last, he swept a feather kiss against her lips. “I know it’s fast,” he whispered. “I know it’s crazy. But I want to spend the rest of my days giving you everything you deserve, Arianna. If you’ll let me.”
Her heart felt like it might burst with his words. “I already told you,” she whispered. “You’re everything I want.”
Suddenly, all the gentleness was gone from his touch. Jak’s hands roamed her body, his fingers tugging at her clothes, his commanding touch igniting a fire between her legs. Her backpack and jacket were gone first, discarded to the floor, but her shirt went next. She grabbed at his, trying to get to his bare skin, but she wasn’t fast enough. He shucked them off quickly and set Mace’s gun down on the table. Then he came back to her, his mouth nipping at her neck as his hands worked her bra free. He groaned as her breasts met the bare skin of his chest. Then his hands attacked the buttons on her pants, working them down. He hoisted her up on the table, pressing his cock, still straining against the fabric of his pants, against the ache between her legs. Her wolf whimpered for him to go faster, to take her now.
“God, I need you, Arianna,” he said hoarsely. “Now and again and again. Forever.”
“Take me,” was all she could manage to get out before his mouth found her breasts and his hand slipped between her legs. Her words became moans and then gasps as he pulsed pleasure through her body like only he knew how to do. She grasped at his pants, trying to clear the last of his clothing, and when his cock finally sprung free, she wanted nothing more than to take it into her mouth and pleasure him the way he was pleasuring her. But he wouldn’t allow it.
He held her tight to the edge of the table and thrust into her, gasping as he did so. The table cried out in protest just as she cried out in pleasure. The fullness of him, the hot shocks of heat that raced through her with every pound against the table… it quickly crashed an orgasm through her. She clawed at his back, arching hers in pleasure and gasping her way through it. As it peaked, she kept calling his name, and he kept murmuring my love, my love, you’re mine, over and over. It was such sweet music to her ears, filling her with such lightness, she scarcely could breathe. He kept going, building to his own climax, and his touch on her, stroking her with his fingers while filling her with his cock, was quickly building another orgasm inside her, tight and low and hot.
She cried his name again as she came, and his groans matched hers. Then he slowed, but didn’t stop, the steady beat, working her body with his. When she could breathe again, she held onto him tight and whispered, “What you do to me, Jak…”
He pulled back to look into her eyes but still slowly stroked into her body. “And what do I do to you, Ms. Stefan?”
She was still breathless—with pleasure, with the look of love in his eyes. “Everything.”
“Not everything.” He grinned. “Not yet. I still have an hour.”
She laughed, lightly, but that was soon lost in the joining of their bodies, hot and hard and secret among the dusty tomes of forgotten books.
Jak was everything to her: freedom, pleasure, hope.
Soon, all of it would be hers forever.
Chapter Fifteen
Saturday night. The ceremony. Time to kill Mace.
Only… not quite yet.
Normally, Gage and Mace would have their submission ceremonies in different parts of the Olympic mountains. There was no love lost between the brothers, no reason to have a family ceremony. But this time, they were staying at the estate, which meant carving out different sections of the sprawling landscape in order to still have a sense of separation. Gage’s pack would meet at the south end of the main house, Mace on the north, in the clearing near his house. Jak had gotten all the details of how Mace normally ran the ceremony from Arianna, and he wasn’t surprised to find it different from the way Gage ran things.
Jak’s alpha always used the submission ceremony as a time to draw the pack together. Even Gage’s two mates were brought into it, with everyone submitting to their alpha under the full moon at the same time. Then, the pack usually ran, including the females, in some sort of game, bonding them further together. Later, after the festivities, Jak was sure Gage went home to claim each of his mates… maybe in turn, maybe together. That part was none of the pack’s business, and Gage never made it so. It was private.
Apparently, Mace’s goal was to humiliate everyone.
According to Arianna, Mace fought each of the three members of his pack—Beck, Alric, and Thomas—individually in a sparring match. They started human then shifted, wrestling, biting, drawing blood… eventually, when Mace had pummeled them sufficiently and had their thr
oats in his mouth, they would submit. He would take each of their submissions in turn. When all the fighting was done, and Mace had a hard-on the size of Manhattan at how much of an alpha he was, then he would take Arianna. The rest of the pack would wait… and watch… while she submitted.
Jak needed to know the exact order of events, but it had taken him several tries to get out of her what precisely happened. And Jak could see why. Mace, bastard that he was, didn’t fight Arianna… he just forced her to have sex in front of the rest of the pack. She said he did it while in wolf form, once she had submitted, but still… just because she was covered in fur didn’t mean the pack didn’t get off on the show.
It made Jak want to retch. And eased any guilt he had about putting a bullet in Mace tonight. Jak had one of the pack’s guns holstered under his arm, loaded and ready. It felt heavy and hot, warmed by his body and the tension of carrying it. But the timing would have to be just right to pull this off: Jak needed to catch Mace in wolf form. If he died that way, it would be a lot easier for Jak and Arianna to make their escape—they didn’t need to have a murder charge trailing after them. In case Mace was carrying a weapon, being in wolf form would mean Jak would have crucial seconds to make their getaway before Mace could to get to it.
Plus killing Mace at all required Jak to be free of his own submission bond to Gage. Jak could feel the effects waning already, as the night wore. Jak needed to push it as far as he could, get as free of his commitment to Gage as possible before pulling the trigger. Just in case any of a dozen things went wrong.
Timing would be everything.
Jak paced the floor of his room, his phone in his hand, waiting for Arianna’s signal. The wolves of Gage’s pack were starting to scuffle out in the hall, gathering to head over to the far side of the estate… farther away than Jak wanted to be when Arianna’s text came in. Plus, he would need an excuse to leave, and that would be tough when in the middle of his own submission ceremony. Which he couldn’t, under any circumstances, actually complete. The last thing he wanted was to fight his own alpha… which wouldn’t even be possible if he submitted. Jak had to stall as long as he could.