Realization crossed the Alpha female’s expression as she took in the lines of strain on Ally’s face. Shaya gave her a sympathetic smile. “Go before your head bursts.”
Frustrated at being literally dragged out of the lodge, Ally huffed at Derren. “I was handling it just fine.” He simply snorted at her. “And I don’t need anyone to walk me home.” She’d told him that plenty of times, but he always did it anyway, ignoring her mutterings. She’d like to say she was annoyed at having him insist on escorting her home, but she’d actually come to enjoy his company. Yeah, he’d initially been a misguided ass. But there was a lot to him that she admired and respected—especially that once his loyalty was given, it was absolute. After the betrayal of the Collingwood wolves, particularly that of Zeke, she appreciated just how important a quality that was.
As if thinking about him tempted fate, she received a text message from Zeke just as she reached her lodge. It was the same ol’ spiel he’d spouted in several of his other messages, and the whole thing was getting tedious.
Noticing that Ally’s expression had morphed into one that he hadn’t seen for a couple of days, Derren guessed, “Zeke?”
Her head shot up. “How did you know?”
“You only get that look on your face when it’s him.”
“Huh. Well, good night.” She had no wish to discuss Zeke. But Derren being Derren, he followed her inside the lodge and into the kitchen. Persistent little bastard.
She ignored his powerful body leaning against the counter as she made a single cup of coffee, communicating that his time was up. Not that she expected it to bother him. In fact, the harder she tried to get rid of him, the more determined he became to stick around. Derren wasn’t a person who could be handled.
He invaded her personal space, and Ally couldn’t help but tense. Not because she didn’t want him close, but because she did. And that wasn’t at all good, because he had the ability to reduce her body to a puddle of need. Each and every time his skin came into contact with hers—no matter how brief the contact was—his arousal snaked into her system and served to increase her own.
“Let me guess,” Derren drawled, barely holding back a growl at the idea of Zeke refusing to leave her alone. “He wants you to go back to the pack and he promises it will be different this time and that he’s willing to listen to what you have to say.”
She blinked. “Wow. That was good. Do something else. What am I thinking right now?”
“You’re picturing me naked.” Unable to help himself, Derren crowded her and skimmed his nose over the crook of her neck like he’d been aching to do all fucking day. “Your scent . . . It makes me want to bite you.” A voice in his mind told him to pull back, reminded him that she was another guy’s mate. His wolf growled at that, opposed to the idea of any other male possessing her. But it wasn’t just any male, dammit, it was Cain. And Cain was his friend and . . . “Fuck it, I can make new friends.”
Ally gasped in surprise as Derren’s mouth slammed down on hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth and stroking her own. One hand fisted in her hair while the other gripped her hip, keeping her body aligned to his as he crammed her against the counter. He was all she could see, feel, taste, and smell. Her body instantly responded to him; her mouth met his demanding kiss, her hands threaded through his hair, and she began grinding against his hard cock.
It was frantic, rough, and desperate; she’d never experienced anything like it. That scared her enough to make her shove him away—something that only worked because she’d caught him by surprise—and put some distance between them.
“Come here, Ally. I want you.”
Those words made her stomach clench. “Yeah? Well, after what happened with Zeke, the last thing I’m interested in is getting involved with anyone.” She wouldn’t set herself up for more pain.
“It doesn’t have to be more than sex.” But even as he said that, Derren knew it wouldn’t be an emotionless fuck. She was someone he’d come to respect, who’d earned his loyalty, and who even had some of his trust. None of that was minor for him.
She scoffed. “That’s what Zeke said in the beginning.”
Covering the space between them in one stride, Derren put a finger to her lips. “Don’t say his name.”
When he would have kissed her again, she planted a restraining hand on his chest. “You hate my kind, remember.”
He cupped her jaw. “I told you that I don’t feel that way anymore.” She’d changed the way he saw things. “I meant it.”
Ally believed him. How could she not, when his sincerity smoothed over her like the softest silk? Those eyes of dark velvet were glittering with a raw, vicious need—one that she could feel as surely as she could feel her own. She closed her eyes against the dangerous temptation of him, because one thing she’d never been good at was resisting temptation.