“You want to tell me what happened?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure. Why not? I mean, who are you, but a complete stranger?” She looked him over, her own nostrils flaring. She eyed him, her gaze scraping along his torso in a way that made him want to flex his muscles and show off. He barely resisted the urge. “Werewolf,” she said. “What pack?”
“Earth,” he said.
“Earth, huh?” A smile flickered. “I heard you guys are a little kinky.”
“Kinky?”
“Yeah. That whole two alphas sharing one mate thing you have going on.”
“The alpha triad is an integral part of our culture, yes. It creates protection, harmony, harvest, and children.”
“Wow. No pressure there.”
She didn’t sound too enamored of the Earth Pack’s governing structure. Well, he’d deal with that later. “Tell me why you were tied up.”
“Well, Jack, the short version is that I disassociated from my pack, and they weren’t too thrilled with me leaving. Let’s just say their retrieval team is Douchebag City. One of their goons caught me and tied me to the tree.”
“Why didn’t he just take you with him?”
“I grabbed his junk so hard, I made him cry. That was after I scratched up his face and bit his hand.”
“Ah. So, he made the wise decision to tie you up and go get help.”
“Yep. And that’s why we should vamoose.”
“Let me take you to breakfast.”
The idea did not thrill her if the expression on her face was any indication.
“You can tell me the full story. I’m an Earth Pack mediator. I’ll negotiate your release and get you officially emancipated.”
She chuckled, but shook her head. “You Earths are adorable.”
Jack opened his arms in a beseeching gesture, giving her his most soulful look.
“Oh, you’re good.” She stepped forward, presumably to leave, but then her eyes went wide. She fell forward into Jack’s outstretched arms.
His hand slid up her thigh as she knocked him down. Jack wrapped his other arm around her waist and felt her hands clutch his shoulders. He smacked into the gritty beach so hard his lungs nearly collapsed.
Roxie lifted her head and glared at him. “Are you seriously copping a feel?
He flexed automatically on the nicely rounded flesh. “It appears so.”
Her green eyes were flecked with gold. She had ivory skin and a full mouth, the kind that begged to be kissed.
“You’re incorrigible,” she said, her lips quivering to prevent her smile.
“Yeah. I’m lots of other things, too.”
“Horny must be one of them.”
Her amused words infiltrated his lust-fogged thoughts. She was referring to the hard-on that pressed against her stomach.
“I’m very, very, very attracted to you.”
“Wow.” She rolled off and got to her feet. “Was the breakfast going to be in bed?”
“Only if you want it to be.” He stood up and touched her elbow. “Why don’t you let me help you?”
“Take off my clothes?”
“With your pack problem.”
“God, you’re cute.” She shook her head. “Fine. You want to know the deal? I’m the daughter of the Blood Pack alpha—the only pup born of my mother’s union with mate number one twenty-two years ago. I didn’t get any siblings because right after I was born, he offed himself in a dare contest. He got on a motorcycle and played chicken with a canyon wall. The wall won.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you want to be. I didn’t know him, and Mom moved on to mate number two, an asshat named Cody whose only decent skill was keeping my mother’s temper in check. He disappeared, and Mom lost her mind. I took the opportunity to get the hell out. That was a month ago, and I haven’t been back since.” She blew out an aggravated breath. “Being in the Blood Pack is bad enough for women. Being the daughter of an alpha is worse. I’m the prize in the Suitor’s Brawl.”
Jack absorbed her information, sifting through the various pieces until a picture emerged. “The Suitor’s Brawl,” he said. “Those events are quite … er, legendary among the other packs.”
“Barbaric and idiotic are better descriptions.”
“You came of age at eighteen … but you’re twenty-two now?”
“I avoided the brawl then because I went to college. It was a hard sell because the Bloods aren’t really thinkers. Beating the crap out of someone gives you a lot more cred than engaging in a reasoned argument. But I managed to sway my Mom. I promised to come back and be a good little pack member after I graduated.” She scrunched her nose. “The Bloods were violent, crazy thugs before I left—and when I returned, they had devolved into worse.”
“You evolved into someone better,” said Jack. “It must’ve been difficult growing up in such wild place.”