“What? No!” He dropped one hand from my shoulder to rake it through his hair as he looked down at me, horrified. “I’m just… You were on the fence. I don’t want you to think I’m pushing a physical relationship for my own personal benefit.”
“Ah. I didn’t think that, actually. Never even crossed my mind. You may be a brute at times, but you’re far too honorable for that kind of manipulation.”
He froze. “Seriously, that was your read? You barely even know me.”
I shrugged one shoulder, letting my face fall back against his chest, indulging in a deep inhale of his woodsy, campfire-and-toasted-marshmallows scent before I answered. “Part of my job is assessing people in a split second. Who’s a threat, who’s not. You’re a protector to the core. Your sister, for one. Your pack is a close second. I can’t imagine a scenario in which you would purposely bend the truth with a woman to get in her pants. Too dishonorable.”
He stared down at me, agape.
“Am I wrong? Have you been lying to women to get some tail? Do I need to kick your ass on behalf of the female population once my ovaries are no longer trying to strangle me from the inside out?”
He squinted, annoyed at the suggestion that I could kick his ass. “No, of course not. And I love that you think you could take me out, but… let’s be realistic here.” He winked, his usual self-assurance back in full force now that we were on safer ground.
That wink. That shit-eating grin with that motherfucking wink.
“Oh, it’s likethat,is it? Mister Big Bad Alpha thinks the poor widdle beta female can’t possibly take him down, hmm?”
“I wouldn’t have put it like that, but you’re not the only one who trains. And I’ve got at least a hundred pounds of muscle on you. Facts are facts.”
“Wooooow. Facts are facts, huh? Name the time and place. You and me, we’re going to spar and settle this once and for all.”
He laughed again, this time full throated and deep, all hints of his earlier embarrassment long gone. The sound sent sexy tingles straight to my core. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?One of us”—I eyed him pointedly at the implication it would be me—“is going to end up with bruised pride.”
I snorted. “You’re going to end up with more bruises than just to your pride. Besides, physical contact is good, right? Less pain while the heat is coming. There’s no rule that says that contact has to be sexual. It could absolutely be beating the brakes off you in the sparring ring, couldn’t it?” I paused, letting the moment stretch and him dwell on it a little longer before going for his jugular. “Unless, of course, you’re afraid.”
A grin spread across his lips, slow and sweet like honey. “Why, Firecracker, I believe that’s a challenge if ever I heard one.” He leaned down, tightening his arms around my back so there was no escape, not that I wanted one. His lips hovered barely a centimeter from mine when he spoke. “I accept.”
Chapter 22
Valens
“Tomorrow morning? Sparring ring behind the castle?” she pressed, wanting to nail down the specifics with almost breathless intensity.
“You’ve got yourself a date.” I wanted to seal the deal with a kiss on those delectable lips of hers, but at the same time, I didn’t want to press faster than she was willing to go, heat forcing our hands or no. She seemed much more at ease with a physical challenge than a physical caress. So, I’d give her what she wanted.
Maybe the key to her heart all along was a little physical combat? Thatwaswhen my wolf had first laid claim to hers now that I thought about it.
But damned if I was going to be an easy mark. If she wanted to test me, I’d give her all I had. No holds barred.
The thought had me grinning even as we separated, her to run to the kitchens for food now that she felt better, me to step into my bedroom to return Lucien’s call that I’d so abruptly dropped when I’d seen Elodie, huddling against the wall in pain.
My cell phone had a big-ass dent in the side of it, but the call went through just fine. He picked up on the first ring.
“Sorry about that. What’s up?”
Lucien snorted. “You’re going to have to give me more of an explanation than that. You literally picked up the phone, said ‘one second’ while you stepped somewhere quiet, and then?—”
“It was Elodie. I… would like to keep the details private, but she needed me. Urgently.”
There was a long pause, and I held back a grimace. Lucien was a good Alpha, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t see me dropping him and making him wait for a callback as a sign of disrespect.
“Understood. Is she okay?”
Relief flooded me, as time and time again, these wolves, this Alpha, proved to me that they were everything the Vargas hadn’t been.
“She is now, yes. We’re actually going to spar in the morning.”
Lucien loosed a low whistle. “I used to think you were smarter, but I’m starting to question that. You think it’s a good idea to fight with the woman? There’s no possiblegoodoutcome, is there?”
