Crowning Glory [The Royal Wolves 3] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Honor James

  “No, not silly,” he said, softly running his thumb up and down her neck. “Every time I think about my parents…” He shook his head and looked away for a moment. “It hurts still, it’s been a very long time but they were taken from us all at too young an age. Because of who we were and who was hunting us I had to grow up fast, not an excuse,” he clarified softly. “Just fact. I had to protect my brothers and emotions got in the way too often. I’ve learned to shut them out rather than to let them eat at me and potentially blind me to danger.”

  “I can understand that.” She sighed and nodded. “I’m just very sorry that you had to go through that, that you had to hurt as badly as you did.” She touched him once more. “I don’t think I will ever get enough of touching you, Laszlo, so you will have to simply get over the not showing emotions part when you are with me, with or without others being around. I want to be with you, but I want to be with the man I fell for.”

  “I’m trying, Des,” he murmured, leaning into her touch, which, surprisingly, was starting to heal him. “Don’t give up on the cranky bastard, all right?” he asked, his voice teasing but his eyes serious. If she ever gave up, his eyes seemed to say, he’d shut down completely and likely never come back out.

  “I won’t as long as you don’t give up on the bitch with the badge.” She smiled softly as she looked at him. “I love you too much to give up on you, Laszlo, but you just need to realize that no matter what.”

  “I love you, too, sweetheart,” he said gently. “And you’re not a bitch. I know Mik says otherwise, but I think he’s slightly biased,” he teased carefully, hoping he wasn’t pushing too far over the line with her. “Wonder how he’s going to react to finding out you’re my mate?” he murmured with a slight grin, like he knew his brother would go ballistic.

  Desmonda snickered and shook her head. “He will likely try to shoot me. Just saying.” She sighed and then said, “I don’t know what I did to him, other than that I really can’t stand him any more than he can stand me. I think it’s just because he is dating my best friend and I never thought there would be anyone good enough for her.” Pretty lame, but it was all she had.

  “He’s not dating her, Des, he’s mated to her. There had been a time when I worried that they wouldn’t make it. Mik still hasn’t said anything to me or our other brothers, but I know there’s something eating at him. Go easy on him, Des,” he said softly, his concern evident in his eyes even though he managed to keep his voice calm and even. “He’s got something from the past that’s hurting him still, but I don’t know what it is. He just won’t talk to us about it, but he has with Harker. I can see it every now and again. Miklos gets this look, almost pained, and Harker is there to soothe him. The fact that Mik let her tells me that she knew all about what was going on.”

  “I know that he’s mated to her just as I am to you.” She grinned and her hand touched the mark at her shoulder as she sighed happily. “My Gods that is so sensitive.” Nothing like when he would touch her, however, but it still was. “I will try to go easy on him, Laszlo, but you need to know something.” She leaned closer to him and breathed him in before saying, “I am only as hard on him because I really do like him. He irritates the hell out of me but I respect him and know that if I ever had trouble he would be there to help me. I think however that he and I work best when we are grating against each other.” She shrugged. “Kind of like siblings, they bitch and fight with each other but may hell have mercy on you if you tease, poke or prod the other one.”

  “We’d walk into hell with nothing to save one another,” Laszlo agreed softly. “I’ve had to do more than my fair share of getting my brothers out of trouble over the years. I’m glad though to hear you don’t actually hate Mik, as that could have caused some serious problems in our relationship. Come on, honey, let’s eat and then we can figure out what to do about the Wolf packs that have a serious issue with me and mine.”

  “Fair enough.” She paused and tilted her head. “Do you need to go and make your inquiries so that we can know at least somewhat what we are up against?” She hated to go into things blind. However, it seemed that was what they were doing now, going into everything blind.

  Shaking his head, he looked to her. “No, I’m going to make some calls, put out the word for what I’m looking for and then we’ll have to be patient.” Touching the pendant around her neck, he tapped it with a short nail. “This will keep you safe for a while. Once we know what’s really happening, then you’ll be safe for life.” His face indicated that one way or another he’d ensure that.

  “As long as you don’t hurt yourself to make that happen, Laszlo. I would rather live with a threat to me than lose you in any way, shape, or form.” Desi looked at him and grinned. “Besides, I rather like thinking that I will get to come home to you every night and spend my nights in your arms, and dreams.”

  “There’s no risk at this stage of things, Des,” he told her honestly, taking her hand and guiding her to the large kitchen. Letting her go, he started a pot of coffee and then went digging in the fridge for eggs, the leftover ham and some vegetables. “Omelettes okay for a meal?” he asked her, looking up as his mind clearly began to work out the what-ifs of what was coming.

  “Omelettes sound good.” She took the seat and then said, “No risk at this stage of things? What do you mean by that phrase, Laszlo?” She toyed with the fruit basket sitting on the counter, watching him as he pulled out fixings for their omelettes.

  Glancing at her, he smiled slightly. “I see I’m going to have to be careful about how I phrase things with you around, aren’t I?” he asked. Pulling out a cutting board, he sliced up the ham and then cubed it before putting the rest away and grabbing the grated cheese. Popping a piece into his mouth, he chewed as he pulled out a pan and started to warm it. “As I said, at this stage there is no risk, I’ll only be dealing with those that have sympathies for me and my brothers. Later it might become something more, but it depends on what we find out.”

  “Cop, keep that in mind. I’m a cop and so, yeah, if you want to keep something from me you will have to watch how you phrase things.” She leaned back and frowned. “Why is it that I have a feeling that there is something more that you are holding back? I mean, why else would you give me a pendant designed to protect me?”

  “Because,” he said as he cracked the eggs into a bowl and whipped them up. “While I know the majority of the players in this city that are aligned with the packs, there are some that I don’t know. I know that there are a great many here with no allegiance to anyone but that will take money to make someone’s life better or happier. Everyone has their price and those are the ones I’m worried about, Des, the ones without a moral compass to guide them between right and wrong.”

  “Or it could be that they don’t have that guide because they have been too long without a reason to believe and follow in the right path. I think honestly the thing that needs to happen is that they need a reason to believe in the royal line once more, they need to have leadership once more.”

  Glancing to her as he added salt and pepper to the eggs, he lifted a brow. “You volunteering us again, Des?” he asked with a half grin, as if knowing she was still having issues with that plan. Pouring the eggs into the pan, he quickly cut up the vegetables and tossed them into the second, much hotter pan to partially cook them. As they sizzled, he glanced at her. “What? Having second thoughts, my Queen?” he teased as he flipped the vegetables in the pan a few times before sliding them into the still uncooked portion of the eggs.

  She stuck her tongue out at him and while she was nervous and knew that she was so not Queen material, she conceded. “Yes, Laszlo, I think that I am volunteering us because our people”—she paused and nodded—“yes, ours because soon you will turn me so they are mine now as well because of you.” She lost her train of thought when he had that look in his eyes, the one that mirrored hers, the one where he tossed her onto the counter and they just came together hard and fast. “Right, uh
.” She had to think and then said, “Our people need leadership and not the mafia-like handling they are living through right now.”

  “Uh-huh,” he said, eyeing her, his thoughts definitely on stripping her naked and having her for his breakfast. “See, you say this now, but I’m betting as soon as the bowing and scraping starts you’ll be having second thoughts. Personally, that is my least favorite thing. Like really,” he muttered, focusing on the eggs. “It’s not like I’m going to be yelling ‘off with their heads’ just for kicks. And yet they kiss ass and say what they think I want to hear, pisses me off,” he grumbled before viciously flipping the omelette over and spreading cheese on it.

  “Yes men, I hate those kinds of people. I would rather them simply tell me just what the hell they are thinking and not what they think I want to hear.” She sighed and nodded. “Well, we will just have to make sure they know that you don’t want that. They need to know that you will rule them, but with advice from them and not the constant, ‘yes, sir,’ ‘you are right, sir,’ ‘you are so sexy, sir,’ ‘can I see you naked, sir?’” she added, just to see if he was listening or not.

  “Not amusing, Desmonda,” he said as he slid the omelette onto a plate, flipping it shut at the last minute. Cutting it in half, he put half onto his plate and handed her the other one. “Coffee, milk or juice?” he asked her as he poured a large mug of coffee for himself.

  “Coffee, preferably walking if you have it?” She liked good and strong coffee, needed good and strong coffee. She inhaled the scent of the omelette and her mouth watered. “This smells really good, I really think that I lucked out here. I got a man that can cook, puts up with my smart ass mouth, and sees the real me.”

  Pouring a second mug for her, he took it with him and set it before her before he sat down, sipping at his own. “I’ll always see you, Des, even when you may not want me to,” he said with a half smile. “I’d taste it before you start crowing about how lucky you are to all your friends.”

  She took a forkful of the omelette and chewed it carefully. “Oh this is good.” And when she took a sip of her coffee she laughed. “This is perfect.” It was strong enough to make the hair on her arms stand up and she was perfectly happy with that. “Remind me to ask you to pack me a thermos of this if I ever have to do a stake out again.”

  “I’ll see if I can remember,” he told her as he started to eat. Not that he’d ever forget anything about her, but she didn’t know that yet. “Do you do stake outs often?” he asked her, curious about her job.

  “No, thankfully I haven’t had to do one in a long while.” She stroked her hand along his forearm, needing to touch him simply because she had to. She loved him and needed to touch him, loved to touch him. “I don’t think that I will ever have enough of touching you, Laszlo, will you be all right with that?”

  Nodding even though he appeared mildly surprised at her question, he smiled. “I don’t mind. Like any animal, Wolves like being stroked, it’s soothing and very relaxing for us. It calms us and makes us see things more clearly especially if it’s someone we love and trust doing it.”

  “How can we find out if I have wolf in me?” Because she had a tendency to want to stroke him and be stroked by him, now every single thing they were sharing seemed to open up more and more to her inner wolf. “I am scared.” Because what if she was part wolf, would that change how he felt?

  Frowning, Laszlo slid his arm around her and pulled her closer. “Why are you scared, love?” he asked her, clearly not liking to hear her even say those words. But he seemed to sense a change in her scent, and that appeared to be most disturbing to him. “There is a blood test that can be done to see if you carry any of the markers,” he told her. “But it takes about four days to get the results.”

  “I’m afraid that if I am part wolf you will not feel the same for me as you do now,” she whispered and then said, “I love you, Laszlo, I really do love you, but I’m scared. What if I am part wolf, how will I have a part in a pack society without one?”

  “Honey,” he put his fork down and turned to face her. “Nothing about you could change how I feel for you. You are my mate,” he said, taking her hands in his. Stroking his thumbs over her soft skin, he watched her. “It doesn’t matter if you do have Wolf in you or if you don’t have a pack. You’re mine, Des. That means you’re part of my pack, my family.”

  “Then we will do the test, Laszlo, if only for my own peace of mind.” She wanted to know if she was a part wolf, if she shared that with him or if she was just more than unusual in everything. Her hands moved so that she had her palms to his. “I know I love when you touch me and I love to touch you, I am aching even to have you stroking the mark you made on me.”

  Tugging her closer, he leaned over until he could rub his lips over what little of the mark he could uncover. “I’ll always touch you, love,” he promised softly. “Any time you want I’ll touch you and you can touch me. I don’t care where we are, I don’t care who’s around just go with your instincts, honey.”

  She whimpered as he rubbed his lips over the mark, making her pull her shirt further away from the mark. “Again?” She couldn’t believe just how amazing it felt when he nibbled, licked, and touched that mark, it was making her close her eyes in pleasure.

  Licking at the mark, he undid her shirt and pushed it further from her shoulders with her holster following along, adjusting her bra strap so he had all of the mark bared. Sliding his hands down, he lifted her from her chair and pulled her across to his so she was straddling his lap. Biting down on the mark with a bit of pressure, he rubbed over it with his teeth.

  Her head fell back and she cried out, losing the holster that was around her shoulder and putting it blindly on the counter. She tugged her shirt out of the band of her pants and when she opened her eyes they had a look of pure pleasure in them. “More.” Her legs wrapped around him awkwardly, holding him and the chair where he sat.

  Pushing her shirt down, he dropped it and her shoulder holster to the floor even as he went to work on her bra, peeling it from her body and baring her to his eyes. Stroking the mark with his fingertips, he moved his mouth down to her breasts, tongue and teeth teasing her flesh as he leaned her back slightly, his other hand stroking over her skin.

  She felt her body clenching in need, and when he began to lave his tongue and teeth over her nipple and breast, she cried out again. “Oh yes.” Hands buried into the wealth of his hair and held him to her body. “I hope that it never loses that feeling, Laszlo.” She loved the way it felt when his mouth or fingers moved over that bite.

  Smiling against her skin, he nibbled his way up to her throat. “It only gets stronger,” he told her, honestly. “When you change, if you want to be changed, it becomes even further enhanced. It’ll get to a point that when I breathe on it you’ll come in a flash,” he murmured, his tone highly satisfied by the thought. “Most females tend to cover up their mark unless they are with their mates.”

  “I can understand that, but I have already told you that I want to be changed.” Her fingers clenched in his shirt. “Stronger? God.” She was so close already to coming and he was doing nothing more than teasing the mark on her shoulder, his lips and teeth paying it homage even as his hands toyed with her breasts.

  “Yes,” he chuckled softly. “It gets even stronger. Material or you touching it won’t affect you at all. But your mate’s touch or another male’s”—that had him growling, even though he clearly tried to control it—“will set you off.” Okay, thinking about another male touching her mark flesh to flesh had him seeing red, not exactly a good thing.

  She frowned. “No other male can touch me. I will be really unhappy if someone else tries to do this to me.” She would likely shoot them and ask questions later, maybe. “Only you, Laszlo, I only want this with you, from you.”

  “Good,” he said, feeling himself relax slightly as he bit her chin gently. “Any other male touches you and I won’t be responsible for what I do to him. I’m extremely pos
sessive, Desmonda, something that you need to know right from the start.”

  “As long as you know that I am just as possessive, Laszlo. You are mine and I certainly don’t want to have to start to tear women to shreds for touching you.” She grinned as she added, “Oh, and by the way, any other male touches me and I will break their arms.” This was theirs, only theirs.

  Smiling, he kissed her softly. “I’m thinking that we should go back to bed and to hell with the real world for the rest of the day. What are your thoughts?” he asked, running his finger over the ridges of the mark slowly and continuously.

  “I think that I have the most brilliant mate there is on the face of the Earth.” She moved her hands up and down his shirt. “Make your calls, Laszlo, make your calls and I will be waiting in the bed all nice and naked for you.” She had to have answers, as much as she wanted to be in bed with him and to hell with everything, she needed answers.

  “Go now then before I say to hell with the phone calls,” he told her, kissing her again. Letting her off his lap he sighed. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said as he stood slowly.

  She pulled off her belt and let it drop to the ground as she looked over her shoulder. “I will be the one in the bed, nice and naked and waiting on you.” She turned and began to tug at the buttons of her slacks and tugged them off, dropping them just before the bedroom door and striding into their bedroom now in only her panties and socks, her shoes laying haphazardly beside her slacks outside of the door.

  Shuddering as he seemed to be fighting the need to go after her, Laz pulled out some of his control and moved to his office instead. He made his calls as quickly as he could, spending more time than he wanted passing pleasantries back and forth until finally he had people out doing what was needed. Raking a hand through his hair he headed for the bedroom, tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it as he stepped through the door. “God,” he breathed, staring at her as she lay supine on the dark sheets of his bed.