11. Chapter Eleven

Cortana couldn't move. Though Riaz had pinned her to the mat, he made sure she could have easily escaped his hold. Something else was holding her there, and she was endlessly spiraling into the intense heat of his eyes. His woodsy cedar scent curled around her like a lover's embrace, and desire plumed in her blood. Never before had she felt such primal attraction to another.

Looking at him, she knew remaining aloof would be impossible.

The tips of her fangs tingled, lengthening in anticipation and need. She squirmed beneath him, knowing instinctually that it was imperative to distance herself from him.

Connection broken, Riaz retreated at her first prompt, offering her a hand as the crowd dispersed and bets were made even.

"I'm impressed, Cort. Daddy Vamp teach you those moves?"

"Among others. You're not too shabby yourself."

They shared a loaded look that contained everything left unsaid: the building chemistry between them, the instantaneous connection, the sarcastic exchanges that egged the other on.

And then, he ruined the moment.

When his hand connected with her rear in a congratulatory butt slap, she flipped her lid. Wheeling on him with a vengeance, she cocked back her arm and let it sail directly into his nose.

Though he barely flinched under her assault, the confusion that bloomed in the wake of her anger only made her more desperate to turn and run away.

So she did. The realization, when it came, shook her to the foundations of her being. She didn't flee because she craved her usual solitude and self-control, but because it would be so easy to accept him as the axis around which her entire constitution might revolve.

Cortana's feet peddled against the wooden flooring; the noise was so faint it was barely audible. Panting breaths echoed in her ears as her pulse pounded and her nerves tingled. Stopping, she curled in on herself, closing her eyes and leaning a shoulder against the plain white walls in a back hallway she'd never seen before.

And then the devil himself made his presence known. "Cort?"

If she knew Riaz was following her, she wouldn't have stopped moving. But now that he'd caught her, she couldn't seem to start again.

Shuddering against the wall, she opened her eyes to find him a safe distance away. He had stopped long enough to pull on a shirt at some point, and the charcoal grey emphasized the confusion and regret in his features.

"What do you want, Riaz? I thought I'd made my stance on that little show clear."

"It wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable, or to infuriate you." The sincere apology sounded in his deep voice. "Forgive me, Pet—"

"I'm not your ‘Pet'," she spat, moving towards him to underscore her words. "I'm not your ‘Mistress' or your ‘Queen' or your ‘Cort'. Knock it off with the cutesy names, wolf."

As her mouth twisted into a sneer, she couldn't help but look at his. His full lips were slightly parted, the tickle of his breath fawning over her sensitized skin. In that moment, her raging emotions focused into one: desire.

Inching forward, she titled up her chin in invitation, her eyes locking with his a moment before he closed the distance between them.

Riaz slanted his lips over hers, a desperation of his own seeming to draw him in. For a moment, all she could do was let his mouth worship hers, enjoy the taste of him as he demonstrated where his heart lay.

The alpha werewolf was passion, addictive and sweet, everything she wasn't. She drunk him in like she was starved. For the first time in a long time, she purely lived in the moment. Cortana's hand fisted in his shirt, dragging him toward her.

Riaz instantly gripped the back of her neck to deepen their kiss. Another hand came around her back, dragging her into his core as he devoured her mouth. She clutched at him, her nails sinking into his flesh with a need she knew could only end poorly.

But Riaz was desire and heat and attraction all wrapped up in one tempting, delicious package. And for the moment, it was all Cortana could do to tame the escalating need in her gut for more. When her fangs tingled in anticipation of his blood, she pulled back, leaving them both panting.

Neither one disrupted the span of silence that followed, searching the other's eyes for any signs that could point to regret or shame.

Riaz was the first to break the stalemate. "The den is hosting a party tonight. Say you'll come."

"A party?" She tugged anxiously on the end of her braid. "What for?"

"One of our pups is turning five." Pride straightened his spine as he shook his dreadlocks out of his face. "And you know what they say about werewolf parties."

She frowned. "What?"

"That we have a real howlin' good time."

Cortana was impressed the wolf had said it with a straight face, but when her lips twitched, he broke into a full-on grin.

"When?"

He lazily glanced at his watch. "Ten minutes."

After she'd waved him off to take care of whatever alpha party duties he might have, she quickly went back to her rooms to change. Stripping off her workout attire, she changed into a navy-blue A-line dress—and then proceeded to question her choice several more times. Finally convinced it was acceptable, she escaped her chambers and turned toward the great hall where the sounds of celebration already announced that the werewolves would be letting loose tonight.

Like a magnet, her eyes were drawn to Riaz. Two children, both younger than ten, were hanging off him like monkeys and making about as much noise. One had circled little arms around his neck, the other dangling from the alpha's outstretched arm. Riaz was beaming, the infectious joy on his face making her lips curl in response.

One by one, he threw each of them high into the air, earning outrageous laughter while he easily caught them. Even after several airborne acrobatics, they continued tugging on his pants with pleas for flight. She leaned up against a wall, admiring the general merriment that they'd clearly put up in less than an hour.

When the music began, a thumping base with barely audible words, she knew the party had started. While she'd been invited, Cortana wasn't quite comfortable mingling just yet, preferring to remain on the sidelines before she dove into the throng.

It wasn't meant to be.

Red-haired Gadriel settled onto the wall next to her. "We wolves love a good party, almost as much as we like food."

"Oh yeah?" Smiling, she gave the redhead a sidelong glance. "And are you a big fan of buffalo burgers, too?"

A flare of interest lightened his features. "Riaz tried to feed you, did he?"

"Tried being the operative word," she replied. "Vampires don't eat regular food."

"Pity. Wolves love to feed—"

He stopped dead, his eyes fixed on something out ahead of them, in the middle of the hall. Following his gaze, she found Riaz staring at Gadriel. Something dark rippled behind his intent, though he gave no outward signs of warning. And just like Gadriel, Cortana had frozen, sensing the danger.

When Riaz's attention was captured by the birthday boy at his feet, Gadriel visibly shuddered. "Fates, woman, what a spell you've cast."

"Me? What did I do?"

"My poor alpha has fallen prey to your sarcasm and charms." He clucked his tongue, then offered her his hand. "Come, let us prompt the beast into action."

Eyes thinning to slits, she regarded the invitation with suspicion. "What do you mean, ‘prompt'?"

"Allow me to show you."

With a suave move, he swung her onto the dance floor, making her dress spin around her like in a movie scene. Other couples swelled behind them instantly, trapping Cortana on the dance floor with the debonair wolf who'd coiled her in his arms.

"Should I be worried?"

His sparkling sapphire eyes positively glittered with amusement. "You have nothing to fear, Cortana."

Her eyebrows hit the ceiling, reading between the lines. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm fairly certain I'll be growing a new pair of arms before the night is over. It'll be worth it."

Another charming smile, the wolf having no regard for his own safety. With a laugh, she softened toward the other man, allowing him to whisk her over the dance floor. The stark scent of pine flooded her senses, but somehow, it felt less than enticing.

It wasn't Riaz.