6

Larissa

Twisting on Kace’s lap, I glared at the two people who had interrupted what I had no doubt would’ve been my first kiss if they hadn’t knocked on the darn door. The guy flashed me a welcoming grin, but the girl returned my dirty look with a scowl of her own. A deep growl rumbled up Kace’s chest, and her gaze softened when she focused her attention on him. He stood, taking me with him and setting me on my feet. The quick change in position left me unsteady, and I gripped his arm to regain my balance. When my hand grazed his chest along the way, I realized he was still shirtless, and the girl’s reaction to him took on a whole new meaning. One that had an unexpected surge of jealousy racing through my system.

“Put your shirt on,” I muttered, earning me a chuckle from the guy and another glare from the girl.

Her gaze stayed on Kace as he bent over to grab his shirt o the floor. I stepped in front of him and earned myself another dirty look from her.

“Cut it out,” the guy grunted, elbowing her in the side. “Shut up, Luke.” She widened her eyes, and she pasted an innocent expression on her face that I didn’t buy. Not even a little bit. “As usual, you don’t know what you’re talking about because I wasn’t doing anything.”

Kace moved to my side after tugging his shirt in place, his arm going around my back. “Don’t try to pull any shit, Heather. I didn’t put up with it before, and I’m not going to start now.”

“And he sure as fuck isn’t going to let you do anything to upset his mate,” Luke added.

“Mate!” Heather shrieked, her gaze raking me up and down before her lips curled up in a snarl. “Wow, the strongest alpha in the region ended up with a human. Fate really fucked you over.”

Kace was across the room with his hand around her neck before I could blink. “I get that you’re still young and trying to figure out your place in my pack, but don’t think for even a second that I’ll hesitate to punish you for the slightest infraction against my mate.”

“I apologize for my sister’s o ense.” Luke lowered his chin to his left shoulder, baring his neck to Kace as he stared at the floor. “Too often, Heather speaks before she thinks.”

“It’s a habit she needs to break before it gets her into the kind of trouble she can’t handle,” Kace warned as he released her.

Heather’s hands went to her throat, and she mumbled, “Sorry.”

Kace prowled across the room and wrapped his arm around me again. “Get out of my sight and don’t return to my home until I’ve given you permission.”

Luke yanked on Heather’s arm and pulled open the door to shove her outside. After he slammed it shut, he turned to face us again. “I’m sorry as well, Alpha. I should’ve known better than to bring her with me when I needed to speak with you about pack business.”

Kace nodded to acknowledge the apology. “What did you need?”

“Tane got a call from his mom. There was a family emergency, and he had to head to New York,” Luke explained. “Before he left, he asked me to complete a task you assigned to him.”

I felt some of the tension leave Kace’s body, and his hold on me eased a little. “He sent you to Stewart?”

“Stewart?” I tilted my head back to look up at Kace’s face. “Yeah, we’re having some issues with the liquor distributor there. I was pissed as hell at how badly they fucked up our last order, so I sent Zeke over to fix it last night.” He grinned and winked at me. “If it didn’t set the wrong precedent, I’d let them get away with it since the whole mess ended up with Zeke and I finding our mates.” Luke’s eyes widened. “Damn, it’s too bad your good luck didn’t rub o on me. My trip to Stewart this afternoon was a pain in the ass because Heather wanted to come with me. Finding my mate would’ve made it worth all the trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Kace asked.

“The guy at the liquor place wanted to stare at her tits instead of listening to what I had to say, and I couldn’t let him insult my sister like that. So I had to get a little physical with him.”

Kace barely reacted to Luke’s announcement. He just asked, “Will Zeke need to intercede with the Stewart PD on your behalf?”

“Nope, it didn’t go that far,” Luke assured with a shake of his head. “The guy backed down the second I yanked on the collar of his shirt. He sputtered an apology and promised to fix things for the bar.”

Kace chuckled. “You didn’t let him o that easily though, right?”

“Hell no!” Luke pulled a sheet of paper out of his back pocket and held it out with an outstretched arm. Kace moved forward to grab it and quickly returned to my side. “He’s knocking ten percent o cost for all our deliveries over the next year, and he replaced the missing bottles at no charge. I took them over to the bar already.”

Kace glanced down at the paper and grinned after skimming the details printed on it. “You did good, kid.”

“Thanks.” Luke grinned and jerked his chin in my direction. “You did even better.”

“Don’t look at her,” Kace growled, tugging me behind his back.

“Sorry, Alpha. I know better.” Luke did that thing where he looked at the floor and bared his neck at Kace as he reached behind him for the doorknob. “I’ll be on my way. I’m sure you want some alone time with your mate.”

When the door shut behind him, Kace stalked over to flip the lock. “Luke will get the word out that we don’t want to be disturbed.”

One minute, Kace was talking about our babies, and the next, I was stuck dealing with crap from some other girl in his life. Then he had the gall to act jealous over a small compliment from a guy I’d never met before. I wasn’t sure what to think of it all, but everything that had happened in the past five minutes made me even more confused than I already had been.

“Was Heather an ex of yours?” I heaved a deep sigh, feeling as though I’d been put through a mental wringer. “You know what? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to run across the street and let Allegra know I’m heading back to the dorm.”

“What? No!” His head jerked back, and his brow wrinkled in confusion. “She’s not an ex, and anything you want to talk about absolutely does matter.”

“There’s no ‘of course’ about it.” I jerked my thumb toward the door. “That girl wants you. Badly.”

“She doesn’t want me,” he insisted with a shake of his head.

“You’re blind if you truly believe that,” I sco ed, crossing my arms over my chest. “She eye-bo ed you the entire time she was here.”

He tugged my arms down and hugged me close. “Shifters don’t feel physical desire for anyone other than their fated mate, and I’m not hers. The only thing that particular she-wolf likes about me is that I’m the alpha, and she’s all about getting whatever she wants. She’s jealous of your position within the pack as my mate. That’s it.”

“Whoa. Hold up.” I hadn’t thought he’d be able to surprise me any more than he had when he’d changed into a wolf, but if I was understanding him correctly, he’d just proved me wrong. “Are you trying to tell me that the perpetual hard on you’ve been sporting since you hauled me into your house is a new thing for you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, baby.” He pressed his hard length against my belly. “This is all for you and only you.”

This hot man with the dominant personality was a virgin? He’d never look at another woman? “When you were explaining how mating worked, you probably should’ve led with that piece of information since it definitely goes in the plus column.”

His fingers dug into my hips. “Is it a big enough plus that you’d consider mating with me?”

I’d always known it would take a special man to capture my attention. Measuring up to my dad wasn’t an easy task since he was beyond awesome. But Kace seemed to be amazing in his own right...and not just because he could shift into a gorgeous wolf. He was sexy, bold, and confident. He was also the only man I’d ever felt an ounce of desire for—a fact I wasn’t willing to overlook. I’d always been someone who knew their own mind and was willing to take risks when I felt as though they were worth it. Throwing myself into a relationship with Kace—one he said would last forever— might be considered foolhardy by others, but it seemed like a no-brainer to me.