19

Ranger

Last night hadn’t done enough to take the edge off my beast. After another conversation with Ivan, I’d given the wolf control. He was riding me hard and despite shifting in the outskirts of the woods–because that was a hard line my lawyers couldn’t argue in the contract–and hunting until the early hours of the morning, he was still hungry. My skin itched, knowing it couldn’t be scratched by our usual means.

Her scent, that feminine musk, tempted me even now as she stood with her chest heaving and blinking up at me with big brown eyes.

I didn’t like this side of her. It wasn’t natural. I wanted the chase, the fight, and not the embarrassment that seeped from her in waves. It made my wolf whine.

He never whined.

“Did you eat enough?” My voice was too hoarse and she startled. I motioned to the tray as Aspen stared at me with a confused expression.

She dropped the tray into the bucket near the kitchen unlike the rest of the assholes here who left them on the tables. “Yes.”

My nostrils flared, smelling the bitter scent of a lie, and I couldn’t stop the growl that followed.

“I’m fine,” she bit back, seeming to come to her senses. Relief washed over me. This was the spark I was drawn to. “I have snacks in my room.”

Snacks weren’t enough, but I could tell she wanted out of here. Which was fine by me. I wanted her out of this place too.

“After you.” I pushed open the door.

She hesitated, looking back to the camera crew that was hovering around the nearest table. “Thanks again, but I don’t need an escort.”

I stood there waiting, watching her. Aspen was a puzzle I couldn’t wait to solve. Her earlier embarrassment made me want to kill something on her behalf, but the way she stood up for herself now made me smile. Cute wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe her. She was like a kitten, all claws and teeth, but soft in a delicate feminine way that had my beast howling his possessiveness.

A primal ache twisted in my gut.

I needed more.

“What is it with you Alphas?” Aspen huffed as she marched into the hall. Her scent drifted by me, tantalizing and teasing, as I let the door swing shut.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you need to learn how to take no for a solid sentence.” She spun around, pointing her finger like she meant to lecture me.

I bit down on my lip to hide the laughter that wanted to come out. Something told me it would not be well received. “You’re mistaken. I understand the word no. But I also know when to ignore it.”

Her cheeks blushed that crimson color again, but this time from anger and not from shame. “You should never ignore when a woman says no.”

“No?” I arched an eyebrow. “What if she says ‘no, don’t stop.’”

“That’s followed by a second command.” Exasperated, she threw her hands in the air.

I could do this all day. “It was a misuse of the word in the first place and should have been ignored.”

“I…” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re screwing with me.”

“Not at all,” I tried to make my voice sincere and failed. “But I will say I prefer safe words because of this argument.”

Now she blushed for an entirely different reason and my cock hardened at the sight of it. This was the game I liked to play, learning which buttons to press and how to control them. It was my idea of a good time and one I’d gone too long without.

I stepped closer into her space, wanting to see how far I could test this. “Do you have a safe word, Aspen? I can assure you I’d listen to that.”

She shook her head as if she could shake off the lust filled haze and took a cautious step back. “No.”

“We’ve already established that’s not an acceptable safe word,” I teased. My fingers itched to reach out and brush away the lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. But despite every nerve in my body urging me forward, I could read the room. She wouldn’t like me to touch her now.

Her slender fists clenched at her side and she raised her chin. “Thank you for the forced escort, I’m leaving.”

“Aspen wait.” I chuckled, calling her back. “I did want to speak with you alone.”

“Why?” She growled, crossing her arms over her chest. Her annoyance made me stop cold in my tracks.

I wasn’t expecting that.

for the first time in longer than I could remember, a sense of unease filled me. I looked away, not able to meet the fire in her eyes, and struggled for the right words to say.

“Do you need money for the donation?” As soon as the question left my lips, I realized my mistake. I should have approached this more discreetly.

The door swung open and a cameraman came out, scoping the hall where we stood.

Aspen looked straight at the camera, horrified. “I don’t need your charity.”

“It’s not charity.” I scratched the back of my head, wondering how to get out of this. The cameraman called the sound crew over, distracting me from my mental beatdown. I growled at him instead. “You can go.”

“He can stay,” Aspen said.

My gaze shot to her and I felt my own anger rising. As much as I wanted to know more about this woman, I’d easily forgotten why she was here. The cameras. The fame. Small packs trying to claw their way up through the ranks.

Was she like the others?

“My apologies. If you want the cameras here, they can stay.” I’d meant to test her motives gently, but it came out more hostile than I intended. This situation was messing with me, making me lose control, and I didn’t like it one bit. I wasn’t some tongue-tied prepubescent pup struggling to get laid.

By the look on her face, she didn’t know that. “I would think you’d enjoy the cameras more, Mr. McCaw,” Aspen spit my name.

Be still my heart.

I growled to silence my wolf. “I don’t. Now about the donation–”

“I already said I don’t want your charity. Find some other female to impress.”

Her words were a slap across my face, enraging my beast, and by the flash of her wolf in her eyes, I knew she was fighting the primal battle too.

“Sparks outside the cafeteria. Get camera four out here,” the crewman spoke into his headset, breaking our intense stare down as we both turned to glare at him.

“Leave,” I commanded. “Not you…”

The sound of my voice followed her down the hall as Aspen turned and fled, leaving me standing there with the camera crew.

It hit me then. The strangeness of the encounter. She never once lowered her eyes and showed submission. I couldn’t think of anyone in the past few years that showed defiance like that.

If she wanted to frighten me off, she’d failed. There was no getting rid of me now.