Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 303(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Her little hands pawed at his jeans, plucking the fabric. “Sorry,” she said in a small voice. “I didn’t know.” After a moment of silence, she said, “I was thinking I might text them.”
“Blindfolded?”
“Well, getting the blindfold off was my next problem.”
He made a growling sound. “What were you going to text?”
“Something like, I still have the laptop and I want my sister.”
He handed her the phone and pulled up the blindfold by an inch. “Go ahead.”
She texted the words and showed him first before hitting send. He took the phone from her and put it in his pocket, then pushed the blindfold back in place. “You don’t move without my permission, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
He sighed and started the car back up.
“What about my sister?”
“We’ll find her,” he said.
She pushed herself up, her elbow going into his erection.
“Ouch.” He jerked and pulled her back down to the original position. “Stay.”
“Woof.”
He almost smiled at that. Damn, she really tweaked him. He let himself touch her hair again, telling himself it was only to move it out of her face. But that didn’t make sense, since she couldn’t see anyway. The silky strands slid between his fingers as he pulled back on the road and tried to ignore the sight of her ass, still on display and flossed with her panties. The smell of her arousal filled the car like aromatherapy for his already raging libido.
He pulled up at the old warehouse his brother’s pack used as a meeting place. No other cars were there, but that didn’t mean anything. Mark Ruhl had talked him through disarming the explosives on the phone, but he’d arranged to meet him here to give him the laptop so he could analyze it, and monitor when the signal was sent for it to detonate. While at the motel, he’d called Stanley and asked him to come to the meeting as well. He would need a ride back to Stone Tech to get his car and the laptop and he needed someone to watch Ashley while he went. It wouldn’t be safe to bring her back to the scene.
He entered cautiously, scenting the air. Empty. He pulled off the pillowcase blindfold once they were inside. Pointing to an old couch against one wall, he said, “Sit.”
She glared at him, but obeyed.
“Little girl,” he said, “You need to stop giving me those dirty looks, or I will take you back over my knee for a reminder of who is in charge around here.”
She wobbled on her feet, and he would swear the look she gave him was pure desire, but she looked hastily away.
“That’s better,” he said, his voice thicker than usual.
He lifted his head, catching a sound at the back door. It pushed open and Stanley and three other males strode in, naked. Shifters were unabashed about nudity, but for the first time, he found himself bothered, not liking the way Ashley stared at them. They grabbed clothes from their lockers, stalking over, eyeing her. He became acutely aware of how out of place she looked, still dressed in her narrow work skirt and heels, her blood-stained blouse gaping because he’d popped all the buttons off when he tore it open to check for injury. Why the hell hadn’t he put her in his shirt first?
“Hey, Stanley,” he said. “Hey, guys.”
“Who’s she?”
“You don’t need to know,” he said. To Ashley, he said, “Lower your eyes.”
She obeyed him, although he could see she was alert and paying attention.
“You brought a human to our private location,” Stanley stated the obvious, his eyes narrowed.
“She was blindfolded.”
“She knows what we are.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“I’ll handle her.”
“How?”
The general code was to kill outsiders who found out. He bristled. “It’s my problem and I’ll take care of it.”
Stanley raised his brows, looking at Ashley dubiously. “She looks like trouble.”
4
Ashley had abandoned lowering her eyes to glower at the man named Stanley.
“My problem, not yours,” Ben said.
What had he meant when he said he’d handle her?
“Yeah? So why are we here, then?” the aggressive wolf asked.
Ben’s jaw hardened. “Someone’s trying to kill me. I just need a little backup while I figure out who’s behind it.”
Stanley looked at him. “You’re calling in a lot of favors for someone who’s not even a member of the pack.”
He shrugged. “If you’re not willing to help, I’ll deal with it on my own.”
Stanley scowled. “You’ve already involved us. You brought a human into our den, and now she’s seen our faces.”
A low, unearthly growl emitted from Ben’s throat, sending shivers up her spine.
Stanley beckoned with both hands. “You want to challenge me for alpha? Do it. We both know you’d win. But if you just want to waltz in and pull favors without giving back, no one is going to fall in step behind you.”