“I’m not your type,” she again insisted.
He didn’t deny it, since it would only insult her intelligence. “And yet, I want nothing more than to strip you naked and have my wicked way with you.” She said nothing. “You want me as much as I want you, Roni.” Pulling up inside the concealed parking area, he leaned toward her. Raw need pulsed between them, drawing him closer. “Admit it. I dare you.”
Roni was no coward. Had he been anyone else, she would have admitted the truth. But with Marcus, she couldn’t be sure that this wasn’t just harmless flirting. Uncomfortable with the way he was staring at her, she dropped her gaze . . . and it fell on his mouth. That sinful, erotic mouth that was most likely very talented.
When she didn’t answer, Marcus persisted. “Roni?”
“Sorry, I was just imagining putting a moth in your mouth. I saw it in a movie once.”
He had to smile. “I’ll let you live in denial a little longer,” he told her as they exited the car—though if her brother and Beta weren’t due to enter the lot any second, he might not have been so well behaved. “But we both know that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
She huffed as she followed him up the steps that were carved into the cliff face. “You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
Opening the door wide, he smiled at her. “You like that.”
He was right, she did.
CHAPTER FOUR
Once the entire hunting party was seated at the kitchen table, Rhett began to talk as he flicked through a pile of papers.
“Okay, the name of the jackal pack in question is Glacier, consisting of only ten jackals. The Alpha is Sergio Milano and, according to the proverbial paper trail, he’s thirty-five years old, lives above the successful Italian restaurant he owns—which is basically the only territory his pack has—and drives a silver Lexus. He’s also unmated, very powerful, and the most respected of the jackal shifters. Dig deeper, and you’ll find that he also enjoys smuggling weapons for humans in his free time.”
“Sounds delightful,” commented Taryn dryly, glancing at the photo of said Alpha that was being passed around. “Do you recognize him?” she asked Trey.
He studied it closely. “Never seen him before.” He was surprisingly composed, but Roni had to wonder if it was more of a case of “the calm before the storm.”
“Any indication that he’s into human trafficking?” asked Dante.
Rhett shook his head, which seemed to relax Taryn slightly.
Roni frowned as Marcus draped an arm over the back of her chair and loomed over her shoulder as she studied the photograph of Sergio. The close proximity had her senses going haywire, particularly as his mouth was near the sensitive spot behind her ear, and his hot breath was playing havoc with it.
“Well then, let’s go talk to Sergio.”
Marcus stiffened. His Alpha had sounded so cool and casual, but there was no way Marcus was buying that act. Trey had a notorious temper and his wolf tended to turn feral during battles. “We can’t go in there, all guns blazing.”
“I know.”
“You’re too calm. I don’t like it.”
Trey’s smile was feral. “Of course I am. I’m about to watch the life bleed out of the fucker who’s responsible for trying to kidnap Kye.”
Now that was the Trey they all knew and loved.
Dante sighed. “We don’t know that this guy’s responsible. From what we can tell, there’s no motive.”
“The Alpha sent a request for an alliance via the pack web five months ago,” Rhett informed them. Pack webs were social networks. Much like a person’s Facebook page might be exclusive to their friends—enabling only them to write on their “wall”—a pack’s web page was exclusive to the members of their pack. And just as people could check out the Facebook profiles of others, packs were able to view the profiles of other packs through the webs. “Maybe Sergio wasn’t too happy that we turned it down.”
Ryan snorted. “Everyone turns down alliances with jackals. Even other jackals don’t like to mix with them because they know how untrustworthy their own kind are.”
“It seems a little extreme to go after your kid because you didn’t agree to an alliance,” said Derren.
“My thoughts exactly.” Taryn folded her arms across her chest. “Like Ryan said, jackals hardly ever make alliances. They wouldn’t have been surprised that we turned it down.”
“But they may have felt offended,” Nick pointed out. “Alphas have been known to do shocking things when their pride’s hurt. Still, I’d have to agree that going after Kye seems extreme in this context.”
“Then I guess we need to visit the Glacier Pack and have a chat”—Marcus gave Trey a pointed look—“with the Alpha.”
Trey rose from his seat, his grin a little . . . well, evil. “No time like the present.”
When they pulled up outside Milano’s Italian restaurant in the Phoenix Pack’s gold, nine-seater Chevrolet Tahoe a few hours later, Roni was beyond irritated. She had spent the entire time crushed between Marcus and the window, and he’d spent the entire time teasing her with subtle touches, sensual smiles, and hot stares—the asshole.
“Smells good.” Marcus inhaled the aroma seeping from the restaurant. “Do you think they’ll let us eat here afterward? I’m hungry.”
Roni snorted. “You’re always hungry.” She’d never known anyone to eat so much yet look so good.
Marcus smiled as Roni slipped a lollipop into her mouth. It made her look deceptively vulnerable and harmless . . . like a little schoolgirl.