CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR

The feel of a hot mouth dragging kisses down her neck woke Blair. It took a few moments for her brain to register the situation. She was in Luke’s bed. He was spooning her, one hand under her tee stroking the pads of his fingers along her stomach, his cock hard and thick and digging into her butt through his sweatpants.

Well.

She let her eyelids flutter shut, sinking into the sensations as sparks of hot need licked at her flesh. His kisses were soft and almost lazy, just like the fingertips teasingly tracing patterns on her skin. But she could feel the tension in his large frame. She could sense how difficult it was for him to hold himself in check.

The graze of teeth made her gasp. Anticipation beat at her, making her body tighten and her nerve-endings prickle. She was seriously wishing that they were both naked, but he’d last night declared that his good intentions would fly out the window if they lay together without clothes—hence her long tee and his sweatpants.

“Morning,” he rumbled as the sleek, muscled arm she was seemingly using as a neck-pillow curved around her and rested on her shoulder, pinning her against him.

Like she had any plans to go anywhere.

She’d been craving this, craving him, for too damn long. She needed him inside her. Needed him to finally claim her as his. Her inner animal yearned for it just as much.

“Morning.” She rocked back, grinding against his cock. He growled low into her ear, stirring the tiny hairs there. She shuddered, her nipples tightening.

Luke softly snaked his warm, calloused hand up her stomach and closed it over her breast. She clenched her thighs. He always touched her that way—with a bold, entitled possessiveness, reminding her that it was his right. Branding her in ways she could only feel. It pushed all kinds of delicious buttons for both her and her female.

Blair moaned as he squeezed her breast just right. It made her lower stomach tighten and her clit pulse. Since she turned eighteen, he’d made it his mission to learn what she liked and exactly how she liked it. He clearly meant to exploit that knowledge.

He plumped her breast again and again, fueling the fiery need that coursed through her. Blair arched into his hold, pushing out her ass to rock back against his dick once more.

Hot breath washed over her neck as he growled. “Stop that.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

She licked her lips. “That’s not a real answer.” But it was a very Luke answer. A reminder that she was in bed with a born alpha.

He suckled on her neck, and damn if her inner walls didn’t ripple. She gripped the arm he’d curled around her, digging her fingers into hard muscle as he played with her breasts. Squeezing. Stroking. Kneading.

Her nipples were lavished with just as much attention. He repeatedly pinched and plucked and twisted them until they were tight, throbbing buds. At this point, she was damp and hot and felt ready to crawl out of her skin. Or maybe tackle the teasing bastard so that he was flat on his back and she could impale herself on his dick.

Was she nervous about losing her virginity? Not at all. She’d never quite considered it a big deal anyway. And after months of Luke’s brand of torturous foreplay and being in a constant state of arousal, she was more than ready to be taken; more than ready to take in return.

His fingertip circled an aching nipple. “Such soft, pretty breasts.”

“They’ve been well and truly pleasured. Your hand needs to head further south.”

“You know, I just had the same thought.” He slipped his finger into her mouth. “Suck.”

She did as he asked, swirling her tongue around the digit. She barely hid a smile when she felt his cock throb against her butt. It didn’t take a genius to work out what he’d been imagining right then.

He punishingly bit her earlobe as he withdrew his finger. “It’s not nice to tease.”

“No, it’s not.” She almost bucked as a wet fingertip rolled her clit. “And yet you tease me all the time. Why?”

“Because I can.” He slipped his finger through her folds and then gently thrust it inside her. He groaned. “So tight.” He nipped her earlobe again. “So mine.”

Feeling close to intoxicated on the scent of his mate’s need, Luke set up a slow, steady rhythm as he fucked her with his finger, going a little deeper each time. Her gasps, her moans, her responsiveness, the hot liquid coating his finger—all of it made the possessive streak inside him unfurl and stretch out like a wild, waking animal.

She appealed to every one of his senses. Stirred them up. Inflamed them. Demanded their attention.

He groaned when he touched the barrier inside her. “You don’t know what it does to me,” he began, swirling his finger, “to know that no one else has ever touched you this way. That no other man has ever made you come.”

Luke kept his pace slow as he continued to pump his finger into her pussy. He’d used his hands on her many times before, so he knew she could handle more, harder, faster. But he wanted to drive her so insane with need that she barely felt any pain when he first slid inside her.

His body wasn’t down with the “slow and teasing” plan. It fairly vibrated with the primitive, animalistic need to take his mate hard and fast; to rut on her until she felt owned, mastered, conquered.

He couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t. Not right now. It would hurt her. But his cock didn’t give a single hot shit. It was raging hard, demanding he give into the urge to fuck her raw.

Luke added another finger, gritting his teeth as her tight muscles contracted around them. “Exists solely for me.” His cat rumbled his agreement, pressing against Luke’s skin in an effort to be closer to her.

“Dammit, can’t you pick up the pace a little?”

He felt his mouth curve at her snippy tone. “I could.” But he wouldn’t.

Luke lazily sank his fingers inside her over and over and over … until she was arching and bucking and snarling at him to move faster. Yeah, snarling. He bit her neck, and her pussy began to blaze and spasm. “Let go, come all over my hand.”

She did exactly that seconds later, her thighs clenching and trembling as her inner muscles clamped bitingly around his fingers.

“That’s my baby.” He withdrew his hand and sucked his fingers clean. “Hmm, I need more of your taste. But first …” He rolled her onto her back, draped his body over hers, and then fit his mouth against her own. He kissed her slow and deep and greedily, until she had to tear her lips free to catch her breath.

“Get inside me,” she demanded, her face flushed, her eyes dark with need.

“I’m busy.” He almost jumped when warm, soft hands delved into his sweatpants and curled around his cock. “Sneaky little witch.”

He’d had his fair share of great sex before Blair came into his life, but the simple feel of her fingers curled around his dick super-charged his nerve-endings and inflamed him far more than any fuck he’d ever had. As if his body recognized hers; reacted to it on a level it could never respond to with anyone else.

Luke grunted as she began to pump. “Tighter.” She squeezed his shaft, and he thrust into her hands once, twice. But then he gently removed them. “As much as I enjoy covering those wicked little hands in my come, that will have to wait until another—”

A knock came at the front door. Unexpected. Jarring. Unwelcome.

He completely ignored it and kissed his way down her neck, loving how her scent was so much warmer and sweeter when she was—

The knock came again. He ignored it once more, raking his teeth over her pulse. But then a hand banged on the front door once more.

He swore, snapping up his head.

A little growl rattled in her throat. “Answer it, tell whoever it is to go away.”

He bit into the swell of her breast. “I don’t want to. I told you, I’m busy.”

“It could be important.”

Luke felt his jaw tighten. “Don’t move.” Adjusting his cock in his pants, he stalked through the apartment and yanked open the front door. There stood one of the female enforcers, Finley, with a thermal takeout cup in each hand.

Her eyes drifted down his bare chest but quickly snapped back to his face. She cleared her throat. “Good morning. I wanted to talk to you about a few pack-related matters. I meant to do it last night at the party, but you disappeared.”

He stared at her. Seriously? He’d walked away from his mate—who was finally in his goddamn bed—for this? Luke shut the door in the enforcer’s face and returned to Blair.

She was now sat upright, her eyes narrowed. “Was that Finley I heard?”

His step faltered. He knew Blair wasn’t a fan of the other female. They’d crossed paths a few times over the years. Finley had never been bitchy or unwelcoming toward her—he wouldn’t have stood for that—but she’d been somewhat dismissive of his mate. Not in a cruel way, but as if Blair’s age meant that Finley didn’t seem to see her. “Yes.”

Blair’s brow inched up. “Does she usually turn up at your apartment first thing in the morning?”

“It’s not typical for her, no.” He knelt on the bed and gripped her calves. “She only seeks me out when she wants to discuss pride issues.”

“Does she still take it upon herself to do Beta female duties?”

He blinked. “I’m guessing it was Elle who mentioned that to you.”

Blair only shrugged her shoulder.

“If Finley crosses lines like that, I never fail to point it out.”

“I know, I heard all about it.” It nonetheless ruffled Blair’s fur. She might not have claimed the position yet but it was hers. Everyone in the pride knew that. Each time Finley overstepped, she was essentiallychallenging Blair’s claim to the role. More, the enforcer was acting as if she and Luke could be some kind of team.

Her inner female bared her teeth at the thought. “Has she ever come on to you?” The bitch would get reamed with a red hot poker if she had.

“Never. She’s not interested in me, Blair.”

“But she is interested in the position of Beta.”

He sighed. “Yes. But she never tried to use me—or Tate when he was Beta, for that matter—to get the role. She wants to be assigned it, not get it by default due to who she mated. That’s why Finley applied for the position when Tate became Alpha, suggesting I could remain Head Enforcer. Can we forget about her now?”

Not likely. “Be honest, has she tried crossing lines more than usual since it neared the time you were due to claim me, or has it been less?”

He hesitated. “More.”

In that case, Finley hadn’t resigned herself to the fact that the role belonged to Blair. “So she’ll be a problem, then. For you and me, really. If she can establish herself as more dominant than me and better suited to the position, she can argue that I need to step down … which would mean that, as my mate, you’dhave to step down right along with me.”

He nodded. “She’s bold enough to try it. She’ll test you. She might even encourage others to test you. As much as I’d love to warn everyone to back the hell off, it wouldn’t help. It would weaken you in their eyes. But I’m not worried that you’ll struggle to handle them. Now can we please get back to—”

A rhythmic knock came at the door.

“Mother of Christ.”

“You might as well answer it,” said Blair. “The mood is somewhat spoilt.”

Yeah, Luke had noticed. Silently cursing, he again prowled through his apartment and opened the door. This time, his sister stood on the other side of it. “What?” he bit out.

Elle’s brows lifted. “Oh, well, that’s very nice, isn’t it?” She stepped into the apartment. “I bumped into Finley. She said you slammed the door in her face without speaking a word. She’s worried that something’s … Wait, do I smell Blair?”

Luke sighed as his sister hurried through the apartment, following the scent of his mate. This was absolutely not how he’d expected the morning to go.

In the bedroom, he found them standing near the bed hugging as they excitedly babbled greetings. It warmed his heart that they got along so well.

Elle pulled back slightly, beaming. “I had no idea you were here, I—oh.” She winced and then turned to Luke. “Now I get why you didn’t want visitors. I’ll go. But first, I gotta ask …” She looked at Blair. “Does this mean you’re part of the pride now?”

His mate sat on the bed. “It does.”

Elle clapped, but then her smile faltered. “On the one hand, I’m delighted. On the other hand, I know Luke wouldn’t have broken his promise to your parents unless things went tits up. What happened?”

Blair pulled a face. “It’s a long story.”

“At least give me the short version before my imagination starts running riot.”

Resigning himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to rekindle the mood, Luke sank onto the corner armchair and brought his sister up to speed.

Elle did a slow blink when he was done. “Wow, that’s so completely wacked I’m struggling to process it.” Sitting beside Blair, she looked at her. “You have absolutely no idea who could be stalking you?”

Blair cocked her head. “Would we call them a stalker?”

“They sent you weird-ass gifts, plied you with strange phone calls, wrote a massively creepy email, possibly killed someone to prove their devotion to you, and also seem to believe not only that you’re theirs but that you know it. I’d call that stalker behavior. You know, you should speak to River about this. As a cop, he’ll be able to educate you on stalker stuff.”

“Which is why I asked for him to be present at the meeting,” said Luke.

“What meeting?” asked Blair.

“I texted Tate last night to let him know you’re here and that there are things he should be made aware of. He wants us to show up at his place in”—Luke glanced at the wall clock—“half an hour. A few others will be there.”

Elle stood. “Why don’t I make coffee while you two dress?”

“Sounds good,” said Luke.

Blair inwardly snorted. He didn’t look like he thought it would be good. Well, it wasn’t. She’d expected to be claimed before she left the apartment this morning. But the appearance of Finley followed by talk of Blair’s recent problems in addition to Macy’s death … the last thing Blair was feeling was in the mood for sex.

Once they were alone again, Luke fluidly rose from the chair and crossed to her, making her pulse jump. He bent over and fisted her hair. “Tonight, Blair,” he told her, his eyes glittering with promise. “Tonight, you’ll get claimed.”

“So will you.”

His gaze heated, and his grip on her hair tightened. He kissed her hard, licking into her mouth, delving his tongue deep. He ended the kiss with a sharp bite to her lip and then straightened. “Goddamn cockblockers,” he muttered as he stalked into the bathroom.

Once Blair was washed and dressed, she crossed to the nightstand and snatched the phone she’d placed on silent mode last night. She quickly skimmed through her notifications. Damn, she had dozens upon dozens of text messages, missed calls, and voicemails.

Just as she was reading the last of her messages, Luke appeared in front of her. “Exactly how many texts has Noelle sent you?” he asked.

“Surprisingly, none. She hasn’t tried calling either. She’s either sulking, or someone has convinced her to temporarily back off. To break it all down … My father and Donal are asking me to return to the pack. Embry is apologizing for trivializing my concerns. Antoine is saying I should question if I’ve truly made the right decision for me. Mitch is demanding I let him know if anyone from the pride is mean to me so he can come drop kick the fucker. Kiesha says she’ll miss me being part of the pack but also wishes me well. And several of the pack are wondering if it’s true that I’ve left for good—oh, and if you’ve claimed me yet.”

Luke hummed. “Forward the creepy email to Embry. Let’s see if it lights a fire under his ass. Just maybe he’ll redeem himself and properly act on it.”

Nodding, she sent the email to her uncle and then followed Luke into the kitchen. After they’d eaten breakfast and downed their coffees, Elle headed home while he and Blair began the short walk along the street toward the cul-de-sac where Tate and Havana, the Olympus Pride’s Alpha pair, resided.

Blair had met Havana once before. The devil shifter, who was relatively new to the pride, had been part of the group who came to Blair’s old territory to celebrate Vinnie’s birthday not so long ago.

A light breeze whispered over Blair’s skin and lightly ruffled her hair as she and Luke strode along the street, passing slim alleyways, cart vendors, a crowded bus stop, and the pride-owned businesses. Various scents filtered out of the open shop windows or doors—coffee beans, herbal soaps, fresh flowers, and newly baked bread.

Peeking through the windows of the stores, she saw that most were quite busy. She recognized a lot of the workers as being members of the pride. Some noticed her and waved, no doubt assuming she’d merely come to visit Luke.

Reaching the cul-de-sac, they headed to one of the cute little houses. It was Luke’s father who answered the front door. Smiling, Vinnie pulled Blair into a tight hug. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite bush dog.”

She felt her lips curve. “You really have to stop saying it like I’m a pet.” Drawing back from the hug, she eyed him. “You’re looking good, old man.”

He gave her a mock frown. “I don’t look a day over thirty.”

Behind her, Luke snorted. “You keep telling yourself that.”

“I will.” Vinnie glanced from her to his son as they stepped into the hallway. “You two still holding out on claiming each other?”

Luke’s lips thinned. “Not on purpose. We were … distracted.”

Allowing her mate to lead her forward with one hand splayed on her back, Blair entered the living room, where a bunch of people waited.

Tate came straight to her and rested a hand on her shoulder as he kissed her cheek. “Glad to finally have you in our pride. You remember my mate, Havana.”

“I do.” Blair smiled at the female. “How are you?”

“Absolutely fine.” Havana gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “But from the little Luke told Tate, I’m guessing you can’t say the same.”

“Some bad shit has gone down,” Blair confirmed. “But all is not awful—I’m now living with Luke, which is where I want to be.”

Havana’s face softened. “Whatever’s happening, we’ll be all over it, I promise. We’ll also be throwing you a welcome party, too—no, don’t argue, it’s pointless.” She gestured at the two females who stood off to the side. “I told you about my honorary sisters, right?” She pointed at a pretty Asian female. “This is Bailey.” Havana then pointed at the tall, curvy female beside her. “And that’s Aspen.”

Bailey tilted her head. “Havana’s right,” she said to Blair. “You really do look like you should have freaking angel wings or something.”

Aspen nodded. “And you really do have a piercing stare. I want one.”

Blair felt one corner of her mouth lift. “My father swears I was born with it.”

“Hey, Blair,” greeted a familiar male voice.

She turned, her smile widening as she spotted the Head Enforcer. “Farrell, hi.” She accepted his quick hug. “I heard you’re a dad now.”

“You heard right.” A proud smile lit his eyes. “You should pop into the bakery at some point. My mate will be glad to see you, and she usually has our boy with her so she’ll let you have a hold.”

River stepped forward and shook Blair’s hand. “Good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” she said.

An arm looped around Blair’s neck. “All right, stop monopolizing my mate’s time and space,” grumbled Luke.

Tate snickered. “Clingy bastard.”

Luke merely flipped him the finger and then led Blair to the sofa, where they both sat.

Blair looked at Vinnie. “How’s Damian?” she asked, referring to Luke’s younger brother.

Standing in front of the fireplace, Vinnie replied, “Oh, fine. We would have invited him so he could say his hellos, but Tate didn’t want many people present for the meeting.”

“So,” began the Alpha, perched on the arm of the chair that his mate had taken, “tell us what’s been happening.”

Both Blair and Luke began relaying the details of recent events, starting with the phone calls, the gifts, and Macy’s visit. They only got as far as their theory of how Noelle likely brought Macy to the pack’s territory before they were interrupted.

“I can’t believe your mom would do that,” said Havana.

Tate rubbed at his jaw. “I’m personally not surprised that Noelle broke her promise. It seemed inevitable that she would, since she didn’t succeed in chasing Luke away, and it was coming closer to the time when she’d have to step aside for him to claim and bring you here.”

“As for this Macy person,” began Bailey, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Aspen, “wow, that was harsh. Even if she only did it because your mom put her up to it, it’s no excuse for how utterly shitty that was.”

Blair nodded. “She didn’t deserve to die for it, though.”

A silence fell around the room.

“She died?” asked Tate.

“Yes.” Luke picked up the story from there, not stopping until he’d revealed every last detail.

Aspen puffed out a breath. “Embry had better do what he can to ID Macy’s killer, or her pack will likely go to war with his.”

“I think the email I forwarded him earlier might make him up his game,” said Blair.

“Would you mind reading it out?” asked Tate. “Luke only gave us a quick summary of it.”

“Sure,” said Blair.

Once she was done reading it aloud, Farrell let out a low whistle from where he leaned against the wall. “That’s some whacked shit. This person obviously believes himself to be in love with you.”

“That doesn’t mean he is, though,” River cut in. “Stalkers are often looked upon as pathetic, weak, socially inept people who have a tendency to develop silly infatuations and can get a little carried away. They’re often pitied and not thought of as particularly dangerous. But that isn’t always true.”

“Did you ever get the feeling that anyone had been inside your cabin while you were gone, Blair?” asked Aspen. “Did any of your things get taken or moved around?”

She shook her head.

“That probably would have been his next step,” Aspen hedged.

“Possibly. Not all stalkers exhibit the exact same patterns,” said River. “They’re not all cut from the same cloth. And the motivations for their actions can differ from person to person. Stalkers all have one thing in common—anger. They have a lot of repressed anger, and it’s not always directed at whoever they’re harassing. Sometimes the rage stems from a past event or the hurt they felt after being slighted by an ex.”

Pausing, River refocused his gaze on Blair. “This guy, the way he talks … he’s delusional for sure. And that’s bad. It means he lives in his own self-created reality. You can’t reason with people like that. They twist what they see or hear to fit the narrative in their mind and feed their own fantasy.”

“Why oh why do stalkers send weird gifts and stuff?” asked Bailey. “I never understood that. They can’t seriously think they’re going to successfully seduce someone by doing that, can they?”

“They’re not out to please or impress or seduce,” River explained. “They want to be on that person’s mind. They want their attention, and they’ll go as far as they have to in order to get it.”

Farrell looked at Blair. “He never speaks to you when he calls?”

“No,” she replied. “I don’t speak either. I hang up as soon as I realize it’s him. That’s if he doesn’t hang up first.”

“Good,” said River. “Don’t change that. Don’t talk to him—not even to tell him to go jump up his own ass. The worst thing you can do in a situation like that is attempt to fix it by speaking with him. You can’t give him feedback, positive or negative. Otherwise, it’ll feed into his belief that he matters to you. He’ll lovethat he’s getting to you; that he’s on your mind just as you’re on his. It would be better to change your cell number and be careful who you share the new one with. Change your email address, too. And if you’re on social media, temporarily close your accounts—give him no way to contact you.”

Blair dipped her chin. “I can do that. He’s never reached out to me through social media platforms before, but he might resort to it when he no longer has my cell number.”

Luke gently squeezed her thigh. “You’re safe in our building. The security measures are tighter than ever. He won’t get to you there.”

“Stay away from any places you frequent, like certain restaurants or whatever,” River recommended. “And if you have any routines, now is the time to change them. At least for a little while.”

“The only routines I had were based around my position of pack enforcer,” said Blair. “I’m no longer part of the pack, so …”

“You have to bear something in mind,” said River. “He’s not going to react well to being stonewalled. He’s going to hate that he has no access to you. He might become aggressive toward you.”

“I’d say that’s already a probability,” said Aspen, glancing from Luke to Blair. “You two will be mated soon. He’ll hate that. His fantasy is that she’s his mate.”

River scratched his jaw. “It’s not really as simple as that. What you have to understand about people like this is that they’re not truly in love. They’re not filled with soft, fuzzy feelings. What they feel is more like a black mania. They want to control the person they’re obsessed with. They want to take over every aspect of their victim’s life. He wants Blair, yes. He has deluded himself into believing that she wants him as he does her. He may view her as his perfect mate. But in truth, she’s more like a trophy to him.”

How lovely.

He turned back to Blair. “Stalking is essentially mental assault. A cat and mouse game. He’ll try to confuse you. Terrorize you. Isolate you. The end goal is to own you. To have the ultimate power over you. And if he can’t get that, he’ll instead seek to destroy you. That’s why you have to be very careful, Blair. Do not mistake him for some lonely, lovesick loser who’s more of a danger to himself than others. In this instance, the one person in the most danger from him is you—never forget that. Not even for a second.”