by M. L. Briers
Riff grabbed a mug and poured a coffee, leaning over to refresh Dex’s mug as he sat on the stool at the end of the counter like one half of a bookend.
Riff lifted his nose and smelled the air. A frown planted itself on his forehead as he looked for anything out of place.
“Human female? What’s up with that?” Riff passed his Alpha and took the first stool around the corner and Dex eyed his friend warily.
If he could keep it to himself for a while, he would have. But Zoe knew, so it was a good bet that by morning the whole pack would anyway, and he would have to tell his Beta at some point soon anyway. Add to that the fact that he would be marking Kate as his as soon as he got the chance and…
“I have a guest.” He wanted to ease into it.
Riff slurped down his coffee and winced. Reaching for the sugar pot that Zoe always kept handy.
“A human?” Riff flicked the top off and reached for the little fresh spoon she left inside.
“She’s the contractor for the site.” Dex really wasn’t looking forward to this.
Riff huffed as he added a spoonful of sugar, then another. “Thought she was staying at the hotel?” He put in a third for good measure, before putting the lid back on the sugar bowl and aiming his spoon at his mug.
“She’s my mate.” Dex let out on an internal sigh.
Riff’s hand hovered over the mug, the spoon long forgotten as his eyes snapped to Dex and his mouth dropped open. Dex didn’t look at him, he didn’t need to. He knew Riff would be in shock and it would only take him a moment for the grin to spread across his face and then…
“Ha! You’re mate is human?!” Riff spat out with gusto and Dex’s fist shot out and caught Riff on the jaw. Riff was knocked sideways from the stool, as his body sailed through the air and landed with a loud thud in a heap on the floor, just as Zoe and Kate sailed in through the doorway.
CHAPTER FOUR
Kate’s eyes dropped down to the man sprawled on the kitchen floor and then up to Dex, as Zoe sniggered into her hand.
“ Are you ok Riff?” Zoe sniggered again, turning her eyes to Kate and rolling them.
“Just peachy little darling.” Riff bit out as he glared up at Dex.
“He’s not very coordinated, falls off stools, over his own feet…” Zoe lied to a tense Kate and seemed to sooth her uneasiness.
“Man can’t stand up for falling down.” Dex added. Slipping off his stool and offering Riff a hand up. Riff took it without hesitation, and Dex hauled him to his feet with ease. “End of conversation.” Dex whispered to his Beta and Riff couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You wish brother.” Riff whispered back as he turned towards Zoe and Kate and gave his Alpha’s mate a full inspection. He had to admit, even if not to Dex for fear of having his head ripped off. The woman was attractive with some fine attributes.
“Let’s get that coffee Kate.” Zoe saw the way Riff was eyeing Kate with curiosity and hoped Kate hadn’t noticed. She motioned for Kate to sit at the counter and moved Riff’s mug down a space.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Riff.” He slunk down on the stool next to Kate and she held out her hand. Riff’s eyes flicked to his Alpha, who nodded once and Riff shook her hand.
“Kate.”
Zoe deposited Kate’s coffee in front of her and walked around to sit next to Riff.
“Riff’s here for dinner with us.” Zoe commented and Dex snorted.
“Riff always here for dinner with us.”
Kate caught the whiff of a smell and casually looked about them. Dex followed her gaze around the floor.
“Lost something?” Riff asked and Zoe took a mouthful of coffee.
“I can smell wet dog.” Kate announced slightly puzzled.
Zoe choked on the coffee she was about to swallow, instead of swallowing it down, she more inhaled it up her nose as she snorted a laugh and ended up spitting it out across the counter top as Dex cleared his throat on a chuckle and Riff took a second to sniff himself.
“Something I said?” Kate asked as Dex turned away to grab a wad of kitchen roll and tossed it down the counter towards his sister, as Riff turned to slap a coughing and spluttering Zoe on the back.
“It’s probably Riff’s feet.” Dex put in quickly, trying not to chuckle, but not succeeding and Kate couldn’t help herself as she half turned and tried to keep it casual as she looked down at Riff sock clad feet.
When she looked back up Riff had followed her gaze down and was now following it up until their eyes met. He gave her a devilish grin.
“Sorry.” He gave her a double tap of raised brows and she smiled back at him.
“Zoe makes him take his boots off at the door.” Dex added.
“Really. I’d make him superglue them to his feet, but each to his own.” Kate muttered and Zoe couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore as Riff took to sniffing himself again.
He turned to Zoe with a frown. “Is it really my feet?” He looked perplexed. He had a damn fine sense of smell, but he couldn’t detect anything.
“We’ll get you some odour eaters.” Dex chuckled and Zoe beamed down the counter.
“That’ll only work if they eat Riff’s feet.”She patted him on the arm to spare his hurt feelings, but he shrugged it off.
Slipping down from the stool he lifted his chin. “I’ll go wash them off…” He started to turn away.
“There’s deodorant in the bathroom.” Zoe called after him and he hesitated in his step.
“Thanks Zoe.” He bit out between clenched teeth and Dex couldn’t resist.
“After shave and some mouthwash might help too.” He called out and Riff shot him a glare over his shoulder.
“Might as well have a bloody shower while I’m at it.” He grumbled and Kate flushed crimson.
“Did I hurt his feelings?” She asked Zoe when Riff was out of earshot and Dex snorted another chuckle.
“No Riff’s part of the family. We’re always teasing him.” Zoe assured her and Dex felt his mate’s unease.
“So did Zoe show you everything?” Dex asked meeting the amused look in Zoe’s eyes for just a second before he turned his attention back towards Kate.
“You have an amazing home.”
“Well you should think of it as your home too, while you’re here.” Dex added the last bit for Kate’s comfort, but his eyes flicked to Zoe again who had a Cheshire cat smile on her face.
“I hadn’t said I was going to…” Kate started and Zoe cut her off.
“I know my brother can be a royal pain, but the view from that balcony is worth putting up with his maleness, isn’t it?”
Kate squeezed her brows together just over her nose as she frowned into her mug.
“I kind of feel like I’m being railroaded here. Am I missing something?”
“Yes, I’m planning to murder you in your sleep.” He offered and she couldn’t help but smile. “Zoe could do with the company and I could do with not driving out to the cabin every day before we go to the site. Where’s the harm?”
Kate took a long moment to consider his words. Where’s the harm? Hmm, has to be there somewhere. She thought as she flicked her eyes towards Zoe and then cursed herself as she got the puppy eyes back.
“Ok. Great. Thank you. I’d love to stay, but in the guest bedroom. I’m not throwing you out of your bed.” She informed him as she brought her eyes to his and he gave her a lopsided grin.
He does a really good impression of a predator that just spotted its prey.
“That kind of implies that you’d be in my bed.” He drawled and Kate swallowed down the mouthful of coffee, for fear she would do a Zoe and spray the counter top with it.
“Not in this lifetime Mr Thornton.” She informed him on clipped tones as her heart did a great impression of Thumper the rabbit and her womb did a little jig. Damn. But he was dangerously sexy. Even if she didn’t much like him, she concluded.
Riff must have heard the pans being moved around, or he just followed the smell of the food
being dished up as he appeared in the doorway wrapped in a thick black bathrobe, his hair still wet and a bright smile on his face.
All eyes turned to Riff as he proudly pointed down to the fresh pair of socks he’d lifted from Dex’s drawer.
“Good enough?” He beamed as chuckles rippled around the table and Zoe patted the seat beside her.
“Come sit next to me Riff.” She offered and he padded across the kitchen, still grinning to himself.
“And I don’t want those socks back.” Dex informed him and Riff nodded.
“Bonus. How’d you feel about the underwear and the bathrobe?” He asked cheekily and Kate giggled as Dex growled.
“Keep them. Anything else you’d like?” Dex asked as he slipped onto the seat beside Kate.
“Pair of jeans with my name on them in your wardrobe and I wouldn’t say no to a black Tee.” Riff pushed his luck.
“You did ask Dex.” Zoe informed him as he nodded.
“I’ll know better next time.” Dex retorted, making sure he brushed his hand against Kate’s arm as he reached over for the rolls and he saw her shift in her chair out of the corner of his eye and grinned inwardly.
The pull between mates was slower when there was a human involved, but it was still there. And it was there in Kate. Every little movement of her body seemed to bring her a little closer towards him. If they sat here all night she might just end up in his lap, he thought with an inward grin.
“Clothes shopping is for the female of the species.” Riff offered. Cutting a look at his Alpha with amusement. Dex liked nice things, and that included clothes. He didn’t mind digging the knife in a little to Dex’s male ego and twisting it, while his human mate sat unaware of what they were beside him, because Dex’s hands would be tied as to his reactions.
“So I’m guessing you don’t have a wife Riff?” Kate put in and heard Zoe snigger. She rolled her eyes and went to rephrase the question when Dex grinned.
“Could you imagine the woman that would take on Riff?” Dex grinned at his Beta with a smug attitude.
“Sure. Now that he’s all washed and polished, I can think of a few women who would be interested.” Kate offered.
Dex growled towards Riff when the man puffed out his chest and Kate heard the low rumble and turned towards the wall of glass, looking for signs of the weather changing.
“Why thank you, Kate.” Riff beamed back, bringing her attention back towards him on a smile. He sat there looking like a puffed up peacock and it amused her. The fact that Dex seemed slightly miffed was just a bonus.
“He certainly has a nicer disposition than some people I could mention.” She teased, as she made sure to keep her eyes on Riff and not to look at Dex. Although she did note the way Riff eyed his friend slightly nervously, before another louder roll of what she thought was thunder drew her attention towards the window again.
“I take it that was aimed at me.” Dex’s deep tone’s brought her attention back towards the table and she shifted slightly in her seat, somewhat regretting the verbal dig at him now that he’d picked up on it.
“If the cap fits.” She offered, spearing the last chunk of her steak with her fork and giving him a sideways glance. His eyes were still locked on Riff and one look at Riff told her that he wasn’t happy to be under such an intense gaze.
“So you reverse over me with your car…” He started on a half sigh and she felt the flush of heat go through her.
“I did not reverse over you. It was a slight nudge when you walked out behind me while I was reversing.” She informed him in clipped tones. Her eyes took in the spectators at the table, both of whom seemed quite amused by his revelation.
“Then you flipped me the finger and drove off…” He continued once she’d had her say.
Kate adjusted herself in her seat. The sudden rush to warmth through her body was the embarrassment that being under the spotlight brought her.
“You were being a rude and intolerable. Pig headed and wouldn’t listen to reason.” She gave a little dismissive shake of her head. Her fork was still perched above her plate, she wasn’t about to be caught chewing if he was going to embellish the tale.
“Then you slammed the hotel door in my face…” He recounted. There was no real emotion within his voice, as he nudged the food around his plate, seemingly oblivious to the grins and sniggers of the others.
“You appeared at my door, rude and arrogant. You burst into my room when I was naked…” She reminded him with the disbelief that she still held deeply within her for that little escapade.
The image of her naked did something to Dex that made him glad there was a table in the way so nobody could see just how hard that memory made him.
“Then you kicked me in the balls…” He wanted to get off the subject of her naked, now really wasn’t the time for those images.
“You tried to push me down the stairs and then you grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go, with you’re…” She was getting flustered. The thought of being pressed up against his hard body didn’t seem so threatening now, in fact it seemed sort of appealing.
Kate didn’t just mentally slap herself on the forehead she used a sledgehammer. What the hell are you thinking woman? He still the arrogant, pig headed, ill mannered…
“It’s called a penis Kate.” Dex put in and Zoe’s hand shot to her mouth as she spluttered her amusement. Riff just grinned like a man who had escaped the asylum.
Kate felt the rush of blood to her cheeks and wanted to fan her burning hot face, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She might have wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole, but she wasn’t going to back down.
“I know what it’s called and it really is nothing to crow about, Mr Thornton.” She heard that low rumble of thunder again and ignored it. She’d just scored a point against Mr-I-Think-I’m-So-Wonderful, she could see it in his sideways profile as she snatched a glance from under her brow.
But then he slowly turned his body towards hers and she wanted to slide down off her chair and vanish under the table where she couldn’t feel that damn dark gaze of his.
“Well I can assure you Kate. I’ve never had a woman complain…” His voice was as deep as his gaze was dark, and she knew she should have stopped there, she really, really did. But in for a penny…
“They were probably too drunk to notice.” She bit out, placing her fork down on her plate, that last piece of food forgotten as she casually turned her eyes towards him, a challenge of sorts.
The sound of Riff and Zoe sniggering did nothing to calm his raging need to rise to her challenge. He could settle this as easy as picking her up, throwing her over his shoulder, taking her to his bed and burying himself so deeply within her she would be begging for a reprieve.
“Do you really want me to prove my point?” Dex leaned his body in towards her and she felt the heat that came off of him. Or was that just the fact that her temperature had just soared to fever pitch at the thought of being back within this man’s arms.
“Do you really want another knee in the groin?” She offered, not wanting to back down, especially in view of Riff and Zoe.
As he locked his dark eyes on hers it felt as if they were the only two people within the room. He held her gaze with such an intensity that she just couldn’t pull away.
A challenge had been issued and his wolf was more than eager to oblige in the egging on department. Damn, but he really could reach out and pull her too him right now, take her right down there on the floor and make her his.
“Well I’m gonna go get me those clothes…” Riff’s voice bit out through the rushing in her ears and the pounding of her heart.
“I’m gonna… just… go with you.” The amusement in Zoe’s voice stuck in Kate’s mind, even if she couldn’t take her eyes away from Dex’s long enough to watch the table cleared of everyone but them.
“You certainly know how to clear a room Kate.” Dex breathed out. “And issue a challenge…” He added, causing her heart to jump
a beat or two inside her.
“Your ego would see it as a challenge.” Still she didn’t want to back down, even though she knew she was skating on thin ice with him. He was so unlike any man she had ever met before, and she couldn’t put her finger on just what it was about him that had her jumbled inside, mentally and physically.
“Is it not?” There was a flicker of amusement in those darkened eyes, and she knew that it was at her expense. Annoyance rallied within her.
“I know to be successful in this world you need a certain level of arrogance Mr Thornton, but you take it to a new level.” She needed to end this conversation now. She felt as if she were being drawn into something she couldn’t quite grasp. “If you’ll excuse me I need to freshen up.”
She didn’t move, and she really couldn’t understand why she didn’t move. Her brain had issued the orders to her legs and her body to get the hell out of there, but still she sat staring back at him.
“Of course.” That amusement seemed to have turned into a smirk on his lips now. She noted the slight upturn to the corner of his lips, and then found that she couldn’t quite lift her eyes from those lips.
Half of her wanted to lean over and feel just how warm and inviting they would be against her lips and the other half of her wanted to punch him right in the kisser.
However she managed to quash both urges, she wasn’t sure, but when he turned away from her she felt the instant need to get the hell away from him, and she didn’t wait to be snared by his eyes again.
Kate made the dash up the stairs in record time for her. She wasn’t running away from Mr-Sexy-As-Hell-Thornton, she was regrouping, like any good General mustering their forces would, she decided. Only her forces didn’t want to be regrouped, they wanted to wave the white flag and surrender to that…