“And what do you think of a woman who falls into bed with a man so quickly?” I asked.
He paused as if choosing his words carefully. “I think she’s a woman who knows what she wants. Humans are the only ones coy about the pleasures of companionship. If you’re afraid of your pack judging you, then be ready for the wrath of Cole.”
“What do you mean?”
A low growl sounded in his chest and he shifted his body, settling in. “Cole wouldn’t care if you bedded a man; you’re a grown woman and that’s your business. What he would care about is finding out that man was me. We have a history that goes back many years.”
I drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Maybe it’s time to leave the past behind.”
In the minutes that followed, we listened to the song of his pack. He tenderly stroked my hair, and that’s when I realized I was beginning to fall in love with Lorenzo. Not all the way—not all at once. Just a little bit. I used to think love was like falling into a swimming pool, but maybe it was as delicate and slow building as a drizzle that turned into a heavy rain. Right now it was drizzling.
I kissed his collarbone and traced my fingers over the crossbones of his dark tattoo, wondering how he really felt about us. Not how he felt about me, but how we seamlessly connected on a deeper level, beneath all the layers of ego and fear. Was he capable of love? How did I compare to his previous lovers? I wondered how dangerous it would be to open my heart to a man like him. I could end up like Rebecca, calling out to him from behind a closed door.
I scooted closer when Fox flitted through my mind.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, concerned.
Instead of answering, I curled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I tried to imagine all those years ago, Lorenzo saving me from my inevitable fate. Of him yanking Fox off my back and challenging him—fighting for my honor. Why couldn’t someone have saved me? Why did that one ugly thing have to mark my otherwise uneventful life? And worse, the wreckage left behind of lives destroyed, as if the fates wanted to punish me for something that wasn’t my fault.
Or was it?
I shouldn’t have gone with him.
I should have obeyed my father and stayed home.
Lorenzo’s face appeared, and his eyes went glacial. He wiped away the onslaught of tears as memories assailed me. “Fox made the mistake of disrespecting you.” His voice grew softer, dangerous. “He won’t be making that mistake again. Cole needs to know why Fox is after you. I’ll have a talk with him. The rest of the pack won’t find out unless you want them to; Cole must respect the privacy of his packmates. He needs to take care of that vagrant, wannabe Packmaster lurking about in the woods. As long as he’s free, none of our women are safe.”
He pressed a fleeting kiss to my forehead and rolled me over to his left side, tucking me close. Lorenzo understood my body and knew the positions that made me the most comfortable.
“If you had been in my pack, I would have slit his throat,” he said under his breath. “Your father made a mistake letting him go. He wouldn’t have been so lucky with me.”
Hearing a violent threat like that went against my very nature, but something strange transpired. His words made me feel bonded with him—protected. As if nothing could happen to me as long as I were with him. I’d never felt that way with anyone on such a personal level, not even Austin.
“What if Austin throws me out? I respect him, but he has to think about the pack’s reputation within the community, even if it goes against his personal beliefs. I could damage that, and he wouldn’t bounce back as easily because he doesn’t have the numbers. It would make it harder for him to acquire good men. I never thought my past would catch up with me and threaten those I love.”
“If Cole discards you, then he is a bigger fool than I took him for.”
“Thunder, can you stop rumbling for a little while?” I draped an arm over him and snuggled close, watching the rise and fall of his chest. “I want to sleep until the sun sets and then eat. Maybe later we’ll give your pack something to sing about again.”
His warm hand smoothed over my hip and a pulse of tingles roared through me. “Can we negotiate changing the order around?”
I kissed his chest and closed my eyes. “Chicken-fried steak sounds delicious.”
Chapter 13