by Leilani Love
Kassandra grinned, nodding in the direction of the girl who’d given her the death stare, trying not to grin when she noticed she had still been staring. “I was just wondering what I did to earn that girl’s hatred.” Turning to look more directly at him, she placed her hand on his chest and felt the strong beat of his heart. “Either I stole you away from her or she’s a very jealous ex.”
Even though she knew why the girl was wishing her dead right now, she found herself curious about his answer. Kassandra watched Damien as he glanced at the girl in question and was rewarded when his cheeks flushed. His eyes met hers before he replied, “You didn’t steal me from anyone. There was no hint of a promise or future to anyone before you.”
The words before you echoed in her mind and Kassandra’s mouth suddenly felt dry. Licking her lips, she fought the urge to lean into him and teasingly asked, “And after me?”
Damien’s warm brown eyes turned a light yellow as he leaned so close, she could feel his breath on her lips. “What makes you think there’ll be anyone after you?”
“Oh, that’s smooth,” she whispered, teasing him. She would be willing to bet he said those words a million times. Kassandra knew better than to fall for him, yet despite herself, she still felt light-headed and her body reacted to the heated promise of his words. From the way his nostrils flared, she knew he could smell her arousal. Giving in to temptation, she turned her face up to his and her lips parted in silent invitation.
She heard his low growl as his mouth claimed hers. He cupped her neck, angling her head as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. The kiss was consuming, stealing her breath. Kassandra’s hand curled into his chest, gripping his shirt as if she were afraid he might just vanish.
Damien broke the kiss, and Kassandra looked over his shoulder to see one of the male bartenders crouching down, whispering in his ear. Damien swore softly. “Sounds like some customers might get into a fight in the parking lot. I’ve got to take care of this. I’ll be right back.”
Nodding, she leaned over and brushed her lips against his. “I’ll be waiting.”
Kassandra shuddered as he gave her one last hungry look before walking away. Feeling eyes on her once more, Kassandra looked up to see the lead singer staring at her. Again. The look on his face was one of contempt and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was someone she should avoid.
CHAPTER 5
Damien had to fight to keep his wolf under control as he went outside to break up the argument. The only focus was to claim Kassandra and mark her as his, leaving no doubt to his fellow wolves whom she belonged to. Maybe smacking some heads together would help.
As he approached the door, he could hear the men outside as their voices rose in anger. Their words slurred as they argued about a girl. Damien opened the door just in time to see one guy tackle the other and start pummeling him into the ground. Letting out a growl, Damien ran and pulled off the guy on top. Meanwhile, the bartender, Jacob, put his foot to the other man’s chest to keep him from rising. Jacob was just over two hundred pounds and often doubled as the bouncer. Damien trusted him to keep the man on the ground while he dealt with his friend.
“I’m done, let me go,” the man in Damien’s arms grumbled as he tried to pull himself free.
The two guys reeked of cheap liquor and beer. Damien recognized them as part of the construction crew that often came in on the weekends. He couldn’t help but think that whoever they were fighting over would be better off without them. Damien looked him over before releasing him. “I think it’s time you both leave, boys. Don’t come back until you’re both calmed down. Got it?” With a jerk of his head the guy Damien was holding walked off.
Jacob removed his foot from the other guy’s chest, allowing him to get up off of the ground. Jacob offered him a hand to help him up only to have the guy smack it away and get up on his own. “Shitty bar anyways,” the guy from the ground muttered before walking away.
Damien watched the men until both their trucks pulled out of the driveway, before heading back into the bar. Jacob stopped him with a knowing grin, “So boss, heading back to that pretty little blonde?”
Turning with the intent to let Jacob know he’d crossed the line, he stopped when he noticed a smirk playing on his lips as if he already guessed the importance of Kassandra to him. “Make sure those two guys don’t try to come back in tonight.”
Jacob chuckled behind him as he elbowed his way through the growing crowd. Damien felt someone grab his arm forcing him to stop. “Damien, I was worried about you when I heard there was a fight going on outside. Are you hurt?”
It was the same girl from earlier, who’d been watching Kassandra. Annoyed by her persistence, he sighed extracting his arm from her hold. “I’m sorry I—”
“My friend Brooke is dying to meet you. I thought the three of us could maybe…” Her voice dropped off as she licked her lower lip. She took a step closer and put her hand on his chest.
He grinned down at her thinking he was glad his sister wasn’t here to tell him I told you so. He chose his words carefully, making sure to leave no doubt. “I’m sorry, my evening unfortunately belongs to someone else.”
Her lower lip came out in a huge pout, and Damien turned away to hurry back to Kassandra. Damien could hear Hope’s voice echoing in his head: One day sleeping around will bite you in the ass. He would be damned if one of the other girls stopped him from winning Kassandra’s heart and making her his. As he approached the booth, Kassandra turned her head, her eyes instantly locking onto his. Her eyes widened and with his enhanced vision, he was able to see her lips part and the pulse in her neck speed up. He bit back a grin, knowing she was responding to the need in him.
When he stood before her, a knowing smile formed on her lips. “I assume that little problem outside is taken care of?”
Unable to help himself, he traced his finger along her jaw. “I’m all yours.”
“Let’s dance,” Kassandra whispered as she slid from the booth and took his hand in hers.
She pulled them to the middle of the dance floor. Since the band was on break, the music was a rock mix from one of their playlists. Kassandra guided his hand to her waist and he pulled her harder against him. Her heeled boots made her close to his height, and every time Kassandra rolled her hips he had to fight the urge to pull her harder against him and grind his cock against her ass.
Kassandra looked over her shoulder. The smile she gave him told him she knew exactly what he was thinking. Damien had no doubt she could feel him hardening against her. When she rolled her hips, he closed his eyes against the torturous pleasure as he heard her laughter over the music.
Two could play this game he thought. With all his experience, there was no doubt in his mind he would win. Damien slid his hand from her hip across her flat belly, her shirt exposing the skin just above low cut pants. He could feel her muscles contracting under his hand as he continued to tease her bared flesh. He knew he’d found a sensitive spot when he heard her breath catch and felt the slight quivering of her muscles under his seeking fingers.
Damien lowered his head to kiss the nape of her neck, inhaling deeply. The smell of her arousal hit him hard, he flexed the hand that was still holding her hip. His teeth throbbed with the need to bite her, and his skin itched. The wolf in him was dying to come out and rub itself all over her soft skin.
As if on cue, the next song was slower and Kassandra turned, wrapping her arms around his neck. Damien pulled her tight against him, feeling the hard nub of her nipples against his chest.
They continued to tease each other as the music played. Their bodies moving in time with each other. Damien had never wanted anyone as badly as he wanted Kassandra. Each time her body slid against his, he could feel his heart beat speed up. Damien dipped his head and ran his teeth along the column of her neck. Kassandra’s body pressed so hard against his, he felt her shiver and he couldn’t help the swelling of male pride knowing she was as affected as he was.
The bar wou
ld be closing soon, and if they kissed now Damien wasn’t sure he could control himself long enough to get her upstairs instead of taking her right there. He would hate to have to kill everyone for seeing her naked body.
The lights flickered and the band announced last call at the end of the song. Damien smiled. “Let’s go upstairs,” he said in Kassandra’s ear, loud enough for her to hear him over the music.
She licked her bottom lip and stared at the floor for a moment before looking up to meet his gaze. “Do you have things to drink upstairs or should we bring some up?” she asked, bringing her mouth close to his ear.
Damien nodded down at her before he led her to the back stairs. He should just take her home with him, to his actual house, but he and his wolf wanted to be alone with her—now. There would be plenty of time for slow later.
Once in his room, Damien closed the door and pressed Kassandra against it, kissing her deeply. The only thing holding his hunger in check was the thought of possibly scaring her away. He growled in approval when her tongue dueled with his. He felt a tug on his shirt and moaned as she slid her hands underneath the material. His moan quickly turned into a growl of approval when her long nails dug into the flesh on his back.
Breaking the kiss, Damien rested his forehead against hers as they caught their breath. Male pride caused his chest to swell as he watched her eyes slowly open. There was a quick flash of emotion that Damien couldn’t identify, but he quickly forgot about it as her nails scraped his back once more.
“I think it’s my turn to make us a drink while you get comfortable.”
“It is, huh?” he grinned. “All right, I’ll be waiting on the couch and the kitchen is…” Damien gestured to the small kitchen behind him.
A few minutes later he heard the sound of Kassandra’s heeled boots clicking on the floor. He looked up to see her smiling as she handed him a drink. “I thought we could both do a shot of tequila since you had the good stuff.”
Chuckling, he raised the glass to her before quickly downing the double shot in one swallow. He watched as she did the same. Putting the glass aside, he reached up and pulled her into his lap, laughing at her small squeal of surprise.
With his fast metabolic rate, Damien was surprised that he was already starting to feel dizzy. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Kassandra’s neck. Damien could hear his words slurring together. “Mines beautiful wate,” he whispered before his world went black.
CHAPTER 6
Kassandra felt a wave of guilt as she felt Damien’s arms slip from her waist and his head land hard on her shoulder. She gently removed his head from her shoulder and set it on the couch. Kassandra reached up and pushed stray hair back from his head. “I’m really sorry to have to do this,” she whispered before brushing her lips against his.
She slid off his lap before she looked around. The room had a couch and desk, but not much else for furniture. The drug she gave him was comprised in large part of Rohypnol mixed with antihistamines normally found in strong sleeping pills. Since she knew he was a wolf, his fast metabolism would at most give her two hours before he awoke.
Not wanting to delay, she quickly rummaged through his desk looking for any sort of day planner or messages from Dmitri. Anything that would give her information that he had been in contact with Dmitri and why. What would the Fallen Prince have wanted with a wolf?
After she emptied out the shelves, Kassandra felt around inside, trying to locate anything that was out of place. Swearing softly, she got up and looked around the room. Walking over to the only closed door, she was hit with the scent of stale sex and cheap perfume when she opened it.
Kassandra growled low in the back of her throat and her fingers curled into a tight fist. If she had any delusions about how Damien felt about her, they instantly disappeared. Damien thought she was just another notch on his bedpost, and she was glad she’d drugged him before things had gone any further. She played the player, she thought with a grin. Wolf was too nice of a name. Damien was a dog, plain and simple.
The sudden desire to flee spurred her to keep rummaging through the nightstands. She let out a deep breath. The only thing she could find that had any information was an electric bill. Looking it over, she noticed he brought it from his house. Not seeing anything written on it, she put it back.
Kassandra sighed, frustrated. Since there was nothing here, she would need to check out his home. She seriously doubted he would let her drug him a second time. Kassandra smiled bitterly to herself—he would probably never let her near him again.
A quick glance at her watch told her the bar had been closed for almost an hour. Kassandra closed her eyes, letting her dragon come close enough to the surface to see if it could detect anyone still lingering downstairs. Except for Damien’s snores, she couldn’t hear anything else. Kassandra gave one last look at Damien, then headed downstairs.
The bar was empty and eerily quiet. Near the coat closet, she spotted her jacket resting on a hook, and her bike helmet on the counter. The staff must be used to their boss inviting random girls from the bar and had designated a spot for their belongings. Before she got her jacket, she noticed a door she hadn’t seen earlier.
Kassandra turned the knob to find it locked. It was a cheap older lock and she was able to easily pick it using a credit card. The office was surprisingly neat, and simply decorated with a desk and several chairs.
As she sat down, Kassandra flipped through the two books on the desk. The first was an address book and the second was a check ledger with blank checks. From the records they looked to be all used for vendors.
Kassandra opened the laptop on the desk and swore when she saw it was password protected. Aithne, her soon-to-be queen, had promised to teach her how to break into people’s computers. Aithne, however, had been preoccupied with helping to plan the rescue of several panther shifters and hadn’t yet found the time.
She searched through the desk, checking for any hidden compartments. Nothing. She sighed. Would she have enough time before Damien woke to check out his home? She figured he’d been out for an hour and a half. She’d better leave before he came to.
She locked the door and grabbed her jacket. Since Damien spent all his nights at work, she figured she would sneak into his place tomorrow night. Sitting on her cruiser, she gave one last look at the door before letting out a deep breath.
Kassandra took a long, hot shower once she arrived back at the hotel, and was disappointed it didn’t calm her nerves. She used the coffee maker to heat some water so she could prepare tea to help her relax. On the road, she used store-bought tea, but tonight she wished she had her special blend that she kept at home. The blend was made to help her relax and get some sleep, but the way she was feeling tonight, she doubted that would be happening anytime soon.
She curled up in the chair and tucked her feet underneath her as she slowly sipped the tea, waiting for her dragon to relax. It took a lot of energy for her to mask its scent. Hopefully she could find some information about why Damien was talking to Dmitri so she could leave this small town and get some much needed rest.
She put down the empty cup and closed her eyes, resting her head on the back of the chair. Kassandra couldn’t quit thinking about everything that had happened tonight. She had to admit Damien was charming; she could almost understand why all those silly girls fell all over him. At least, until they found out he was a love-’em-and-leave-’em kind of guy. Then, they should have left. Kassandra smiled. She bet they all thought they could change him.
The last words he slurred before he passed out played in her mind. Vain enough to appreciate being called beautiful, she wondered what he meant by “wate.” The only word that sounded similar to her was “mate.” Surely wolves, who mated for life, knew that mates were sacred. Damien wouldn’t go around calling every woman he intended to sleep with mate…or did he?
Kassandra had heard the story about Damien’s twin sister. Her mate, Warrick, had tried to have them both killed when they were young. Warrick
had imprinted on Hope when she was a toddler. It would have been years before he could claim her. The pack would have naturally gone to the oldest of the twins, but eliminating the parents, and with everyone thinking the twins were dead, the pack naturally went to Warrick. Was it possible that the human side of them was able to reject their mate? For some reason the idea that one could betray their mate saddened her more than it should. Kassandra decided to shake off all the thoughts of the wolves and to crawl into bed. She placed her robe on the back of her chair and climbed into bed, hoping sleep wouldn’t elude her for too long.
***
The twin bond gave Hope a sense of connection with her brother, and she could feel his growing sense of frustration finally ease. Hope wondered what had made him so happy, and looked forward to asking him tomorrow.
The last few months had been filled with nightmares. The dreams so real she often woke screaming and in pain. Hope had been staying up late in order to push herself to the point of exhaustion. The goal, to be so tired she wouldn’t dream. As she finally settled into bed, a sudden panic overtook her. The feelings were so intense she almost mistook them for her own. When she realized that they were coming from her brother, she quickly got dressed and headed to the bar.
Once there, she pulled around back, parked next to his Ducati and let herself in with her own set of keys. She opened the door to see Damien pacing back and forth. Tables were overturned, and he looked disheveled. It wasn’t often his shirt was untucked and his hair looked like he had been continuously running his hands through it. He came to a complete stop before turning to look at her.
“I found her and she drugged me!” Damien practically yelled, causing her to flinch.
Not sure what to say, she watched him kick at a chair before continuing to pace. It took a moment for her to understand who she was. She smiled. “It’s about time you met a girl who didn’t fall at your feet.”