Legacy Read online

  “I do. That way you can protect me and be right next to me should anything happen in the night.”

  Cocking his head sideways, he scoffed. “Such a manipulator. I had no idea.”

  “Yes, you did. Come on. I made you say the Bond thing.”

  He scrubbed his hand down his face. “I’m in trouble with you, aren’t I?”

  “Doesn’t feel like either one of us are in trouble.”

  His whiskey eyes darkened while he scanned my body head to toe. With the gentlest touch, he drew my hair over my shoulder and moved the strands between his fingers. Good thing I hadn’t wanted to wash it.

  “You’re right. This doesn’t feel like trouble at all.”

  I bit down on my bottom lip as my body naturally swayed toward his. The response I had was stolen from my lips as his eyes dipped to focus on them.

  He rendered me stupid, this beautiful man.

  “You are aroused,” he said, raising his nose slightly in the air. “For me? Because of me?”

  “How do you know?” I whispered, truly curious.

  “I can smell you, female of mine. And I can feel your wolf. She calls out for mine.”

  I lifted my arm and pretended to sniff my pits. “I just got out of the shower.”

  “Ah, female. You smell like you want me. You smell like you’re the ripest peach, waiting for me to pluck.”

  Peaches were sexy. Noted.

  He chuckled and put his hands on my waist before hoisting me onto his lap, straddling him. I scooted closer, needing to be near him. Feeling brave, I reached for the hem of his shirt, raised it slightly, and splayed my hands on his abs.

  For the record, Escher has the most perfect abs.

  “Do you know how long I’ve craved your touch, Wendi?”

  “Probably not as long as me.” My voice was raspy as my breaths grew more labored.

  He laughed, jostling us both. He slightly leaned forward and pulled his shirt off, tossing it to the side of us, but then glared at it. “Is this too much? Too soon?”

  I shook my head. “No. However, it’s not really fair. I mean, look at you, and here I am with my Willy Wonka pajamas on. You’re this sexy-as-hell man, and I’m…I’m literally a walking candy advertisement.”

  He slipped his fingers under the bottom of my pajama top. “I think you are sexy no matter what you wear.”

  “Yet here we are, not kissing,” I quipped, feeling cheeky.

  “I didn’t want to rush you,” he said, but raised one of his hands to cup the back of my head.

  I leaned forward, Our lips met, and a shot of lust struck through my core. My hips bucked against his groin, and he groaned.

  “Is this okay?” he asked, pulling away. His lips were already slightly swollen and reddish.

  “It’s more than okay,” I answered and resumed the kiss.

  Chapter Nine

  I wanted so much more to happen; I wanted it all. Escher’s kisses awakened something deep inside me, an aching need I hadn’t been aware slumbered there. Until now. We cuddled on the floor by the bathroom, kissing and talking, holding one another until we looked at each other and burst into laughter.

  “There are better places in this room to sit,” I told him. “More comfortable.”

  “But surely not more romantic,” he protested, eyes twinkling. Still, he stood and reached out to me.

  I lifted my hand, and he closed his fingers around it and tugged me to my feet and against him in the same motion. His head dipped, lips taking mine again, and we got lost, sharing more kisses, my palms pressed to his chest while his slid down my back to cup my bottom and lift me closer to his height.

  Had there ever been anything sexier? Even if I was wearing lollipop pajamas. But finally he let me slide down to stand and gave me a wistful smile. “We need to stop.”

  From the tension in his tone and the bump jutting into my stomach, I knew he didn’t want to stop. It would take only a little for me to push this over into a night of lovemaking in the big bed across the room. And it sounded better than anything I’d ever considered. But would it be right to take advantage of his weakness?

  Wasn’t it the man who usually pushed these things? Who convinced the woman to take romance to the next logical place? I struggled to think of a single case in the romances I’d devoured when I had all those hours to fill in which the woman was the instigator. Especially when a man said no.

  He had said no.

  “You don’t want to stop,” I told him, stroking his cheek, the stubble making my fingertips tingle. “Do you?”

  His sigh came all the way from his toes. “Of course not. But this is not the time. I don’t want our first time to happen in this place.” And he set me away from him. “It wouldn’t be right.” He dropped his arms to his sides, hands fisted as if to keep from reaching out.

  My heart ached at the pain on his face. I had seen only the tip of the iceberg where this pack was concerned. Those children grabbing the chunks of meat and dragging them off like little animals. It was so wrong. And suddenly, I didn’t want our first time here, either. I wanted it to be within our own pack lands or at least in my home. Somewhere with a better atmosphere, where we weren’t likely to be disturbed. The curtains on the window flapped in a sudden breeze, and I squinted in that direction as if I might find someone peeking in.

  We were on the second floor so surely not, but Escher followed my gaze and gave a harsh bark of laughter. “They would do that, you know. Spy on us. Without a qualm. What is between us is sacred, and I don’t want to worry about prying eyes or evil thoughts.”

  “Sacred…” Not a term I’d thought of in terms of mating. “I’d hoped to see some of the harems here, to have a chance to talk to the women about their lives and how all that functioned, but I can see it doesn’t. It’s the most dysfunctional system possible.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t give them so much credit. There are worse out there.”

  “Then why would I want to…?”

  He gave me a smile. “Because there are also better. I know of a small pack not too far away we can visit one day, you and I and the other guys if you like? A ‘harem’ or a group marriage or anything else you choose to call it is like any other relationship. It’s made up of people, but when there are more, it seems like the sum is greater than the parts.”

  I mulled it over for a moment and sat on the edge of the bed. “So, if one member of the group is always looking to argue…the relationship is argumentative in general?”

  He sat next to me. “Usually.”

  I looped my arm through his and looked up into his eyes. “And if one person is strong and kind and loving, everyone is?”

  He chuckled and freed his arm then pulled back the covers. “Everyone has a part. After what I witnessed here, I’d sworn I’d never do anything in the way they do, but I’ve had time to think it over and to meet the other pack. Good and bad in all things.”

  “And love conquers all?” I covered a yawn.

  “We can keep talking about anything you want, but get in bed.” He guided me to lie back then tucked the blankets over me.

  “Aren’t you going to get in?” I went to lift a corner of the covers, but he pressed it back down. “We can snuggle,” I protested, pouting. “I don't want to sleep alone.”

  With a put-upon expression, he went around the bed and lay on his back on top of the blankets. “I’m here, but no snuggling. You’re too dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” My eyelids were heavy, but other parts of me were still on alert. “I’m half your size.”

  “Not quite but you’re dangerous to my self-control. If I undressed and climbed in there, nothing would stop me from making love to you all night long.”

  I loved the sound of it, but I understood his reasons. “Nobody told you to undress. Get in here and hold me…with your clothes on.”

  “Even shoes?” But he was smiling.

  “Whatever makes your day better,” I told him, gliding my fingertips down his arm.

  “Close your eyes, Wendi.” He wrapped me in his embrace, the blankets keeping us separate, but I laid my head on his chest, and the steady rhythm of his heart lulled me to sleep.

  I woke up early in the morning, to find myself still held tightly in his arms. My head still lay over his heart, and, somehow, I’d managed to disentangle myself from the covers and get one leg over his. I’d never been so rested or so horny. And judging by the bulge tenting his jeans, Escher shared at least one of those things.

  I stirred a little, testing to see if he was awake, and he flipped me over on my back and braced himself on his elbows above me. He had circles under his eyes, and my heart squeezed. “Did you sleep at all?”

  Escher nuzzled my throat then took a little nip.

  I yelped and wriggled as a shiver ran over me. “Did you lie awake all night?”

  He shrugged. “I might have. I don’t like it here, and I want to get going, so let’s get to it. We’ll be up, dressed, and on our way before most of them are awake.”

  As much as lying in bed enjoying the morning—or each other—appealed to me, the wisdom of his words rang true. “I’ll be five minutes.” I was true to my word, and he was faster. We did need to at least try to say goodbye to the alpha.

  With any luck, he’d be asleep, and we could leave a note or something.

  But since when was anything easy?

  Chapter Ten

  Escher still had my hand in one of his and my bags in the other when we left the cabin. Christie had settled for her pajamas and a quick brushing of her teeth before telling us she was ready to leave.

  Seemed like we couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

  Except when we stepped down off the front porch, all the ease of the morning came to a halt. We were surrounded by the betas and the alpha himself.

  Like they’d been waiting in the bushes or some shit, biding their time until we tried to leave. Creepy fuckers.

  “Good morning, alpha. We were on our way back our pack. Did you come to wish us well?” Christie, snarky as hell. She had one hand fisted and propped on her hip, that cheeky smile plastered on her face.

  “No.” The alpha stepped forward, but as he spoke to us, he only looked at me. “Seems you were trying to sneak out before giving us a proper answer and goodbye for that matter.”

  “An answer to what?” I asked since he insisted on looking only at me.

  “An answer to this pack. You haven’t decided.”

  I couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled from my throat. “I actually have answered you several times. I was never interested in this pack. I only came to keep the peace. I never have and never will have any intention of joining this pack.”

  In my nervousness, despite my snippy tone, my knees gave way, and Escher wrapped his arm around my waist, saving me from landing flat on my ass.

  “It seems you never really gave our pack a shot, female.” Eew, it sounded gross when he called me that.

  “But I did. I was given a tour and spent the night here, attended your amazing feast.”

  Escher’s fingers twitched at my lie.

  “Still, there is more,” the older man said but scrambled to think of what to say next. He stuttered for exactly what else there was for me to see.

  “I’m sorry. There’s nothing else for me to see.” I stepped down, but as soon as my foot hit the grass, growls ripped from each of the betas as they shook with the onslaught of their shift. I watched on as one of the men’s teeth slowly elongated, revealing his canines.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  An arm wrapped around my stomach and lurched me backward right into Christie. She did some Wendi-shuffling of her own, and, next thing I knew, I was pinned between the door of the cabin and her body. She slightly bent forward and scanned the area, and something inside me knew she was just as close to shifting as the rest of them were.

  “Tell your men to stand down, alpha, or I swear to God…” Escher started, but his own form trembled with rage.

  “You won’t take her from us, treaty or not.”

  “Let us go. He’ll kill you all,” I shouted from my place behind Christie, and she smiled at me over her shoulder.

  “This little puppy? Please. He’s about as pathetic as his parents.”

  I leaned forward and tipped my head on Christie’s shoulders, giving up on trying to help them. They were ground meat. I knew it. When Escher told me his wolf was the most primal of them all, I believed him.

  “Keep her safe,” he ground out, speaking to Christie, his voice mostly beast.

  A wave of raw power shot out from Escher as the wolf took over. He was bigger than the other wolves I’d seen. His fur was thick and midnight black like his hair, the morning sun making some of the strands seem almost purple in the light. He scratched at the dirt, kicking up clods of it like he were a bull getting ready to attack.

  The betas and the alpha had also shifted, but their wolves were skinny and almost mangy. I could see several of the betas’ ribs through their fur, and one of them was missing some fur from his side.

  There were deeper things going on in the Rattlecreek pack, but I didn’t intend to stick around and investigate them.

  Escher’s long growl seemed to shake the earth below him while he lurched at each of the other wolves, daring them to come at him.

  “Kick their asses, Escher,” I yelled. He waved his tail. I took it as a signal he’d heard me while Christie put her hand behind her for a high-five.

  “They won’t live to tell what happened here,” she said to me.

  The alpha was the first to try and attack, but Escher, even with his larger size, was more graceful. With a great deal of finesse, he slipped out of the alpha’s path but, as he did, lunged to bite at the back of the brown wolf’s thigh. The alpha cried out with whimpers and got behind the other wolves, trying to nudge them forward with his nose.

  One bite, and he was done.

  I wished I could shift and help Escher. Or at least defend myself so I didn’t have to be protected all the time.

  The other betas were smart. They continued to snark and snap their teeth, but even I could scent the fear coming off of them.

  Escher knew it, too. He took a few steps back then turned to me and nodded.

  Christie grabbed my hand. “Okay. Your man is our escort out of here. If you feel like you can’t walk, just tell me. Head up high, eyes on the car. Let’s not give anyone a reason to snap at us. Then Escher will rip their heads off and I will have to rip their throats out…you get it.”

  “I get it.”

  Christie and I grabbed the bags, and Escher paced slowly between us and the other pack members. He stayed in his wolf form, snarling and yipping if any of them took one step forward. It felt like it took a year to get to the truck, but once we did, Escher quickly shifted and got into the car…naked.

  A low chuckle filled the space of the cab as my cheeks heated. “We’ve got to get out of here, so either avert your eyes or enjoy the view.”

  He revved up the truck, and, in seconds, we tore through the gates. They barely got them open in time.

  “Let’s never go to that place again, peace treaty or not.” I took his free hand.

  Escher continued to glance into the rearview mirror over and over until we were at my house. “You’re never going near that place again.”

  Chapter Eleven

  We drove to my house in silence. Escher’s jaw was tight, fingers gripping the steering wheel, and his shoulders were nearly up to his ears. A picture of tension that made my stomach clench and my heart ache. And guilt to suffuse me. The men in my life and Christie—currently lost in her own thoughts and staring out the back driver’s-side window—always put me first, and I knew so little of their pasts, any of them really.

  What a selfish person I’d been. They were all concerned with me and my happiness. My health. They’d all been instrumental in my moving from my chair to my feet. They’d walked as slowly with me as necessary, encouraging me to move faster and grow stronger. They’d protected me from threats large and small.

  They and their alpha had taken me under their furry wings and shown me love and support I’d had no right to expect. Without asking for anything in return. Looking from Escher to my friend in the back seat, I vowed it ended right now. I would, to the best of my abilities, show them they had a friend in me. That they could bring me their troubles and worries and joys and I would listen. That I would recognize they deserved anything I had to give.

  One day, Christie would find her mates, too, and probably not have nearly so much time to spend with me. Sure, we’d still see each other, but for now, she had the freedom to be with us whenever she liked, and she did it without jealousy or any of the catty remarks a girl might make when her friend has all the hot guys paying attention to her.

  “Hey, Christie, let’s go to lunch tomorrow and really talk, okay?”

  She jerked to face me. “What? Oh sure, whatever you like.” Then she turned toward the window again, dismissing me, and I took no offense. Despite her cheery demeanor and open smile, she had her own ghosts in the past. I’d seen this expression before, lips downturned and brow furrowed, but it had always disappeared so quickly, I’d dismissed it.

  Not this time, friend. This time, I was going to think of someone else besides myself first.

  Escher…I’d had a glimpse of his world now, and I couldn’t say I understood his anger because I think you had to be there then. But my view of how families lived, and what little I now knew about his in particular, made me recognize what character he had to be the man he was.

  He didn’t run with anyone else yet, shifted, because the anger was there, but maybe one day he would. I’d add that to wishing it was me and my wolf he’d be running with. She was in there, we were talking a little. And sometimes, I felt a little funny when the others shifted.

  While I’d been lost in thought, Escher had piloted us right into my driveway, and, judging from the pickups, motorcycles, and sportscars—okay maybe one of each—the Moss, Brandon, and Cashel were there and waiting for us.