“I wasn’t—I didn’t—you’re the embodiment of a big bad wolf.”
I threw my head back to laugh.When I looked down again, Marcus’s lips were a bit pouty and his forehead was pinched, making him look adorably shy, maybe embarrassed.
I waited until he met my eyes before I spoke again.“I’m making a run to the hardware store.Maybe even get some more geraniums just for the fun of it.Wanna come along, Little Red?”
Marcus snorted.“I need some tea first, and off this floor.”
“Under-floor heating’s nice though, right?”I asked with a grin before I got to my feet and pulled him up with me.
“Right.”Marcus’s eyes wandered down.“Suuure…”
The poor thing got a serious case of tomato head.I’d have shrugged it off, except for some reason, that red-cheeked look made me want him all the more.I would have liked to take his hand and lead him over to the cuddle puddle, strip him, lick his dick, his balls, his hole.Maybe he’d have even let me.Except we all needed him to not just want to be here with us for the sex but, well, forus.
So I regretfully put my pants and shirt back on, and Marcus watching me made me want to preen and strut around the house and around town like a goddamn peacock.
Linc walked into the kitchen, took one look at our gorgeous mate, another at me, then did his scowling thing to hide the smile that wanted out.He wasn’t prudish by any stretch, but his family just wasn’t the type to shift in the open or ditch clothes around the house.He’d loosened up about that considerably since moving out here with us, but sometimes I could swear that particular stick up his butt had left scars.
He cleared his throat and went about making a fresh pot of coffee while I handed Marcus his tea.
“Remember there might be a hunter in town, Dom.”
“Thanks,” Marcus said when he took the mug from my hands.Poor thing could barely meet my eyes.
“Anytime.”
I risked brushing my knuckles over his cheek.He didn’t pull back, although his cheeks went tomato all over again.
Marcus took a deep breath.“What’s with that hunter business?Don’t you get them on a regular basis?”
Linc leaned against the counter, his arms crossed.“We get hikers and climbers a lot more.This looks like someone who is out to hunt our kind.”
“People?”Marcus’s eyebrows shot up his forehead.
“Werewolves, Little Red,” I told him.
He sipped some of his tea, and I could see his shoulders release some tension.“Meaning some people do know, but they don’t like it?Or are werewolves a lot more bitey than you guys’re letting on?”
Linc gave Marcus a level look.“When you or those you love are threatened, you fight.That’s true for humans, werewolves, and every other creature living on this planet.Hunters sprang up a few hundred years ago, along with the werewolf legend.Their goal is eradication, not self-defense.Why else shoot a regular wolf?Wolves aren’t aggressive; they try to avoid people wherever possible.”He tilted his head.“There have been cases where entire families have been murdered by hunters, including the children.”
Marcus went still.Then he dropped his gaze.“Sorry.I didn’t mean—sorry.”
Linc pushed off the counter and cupped Marcus’s cheek.“It’s fine.I didn’t mean to be so reactive.I just want you to be careful, okay?Even if I know thinking about getting hunted down by people with guns shouldn’t be on anyone’s mind.”
Marcus shrugged.“Well, I do like true crime, and I wish I could say it’s never happened before.”
Linc drew circles against Marcus’s skin with the pad of his thumb.It was distracting.I liked watching Linc and Ell sometimes, and the thought of watching Linc and Marcus was even hotter than that.Linc always enjoyed taking his time with a partner, and he could be really giving.
Linc smelled what the sight was doing to me, so he let go of Marcus, pulled me close, and kissed me in that sloppy, stormy way I liked.
“Ooh…” Marcus said as I let Linc take my mouth.“Oh!Wait.Guys with guns.”
“Some might use a crossbow, but yes,” Linc said.
“The dead wolf was shot with a gun though.Between the eyes,” I said.
Marcus cocked his head.“Guns make noise.Doesn’t that carry in the woods?Like, don’t get me wrong, I’ve never held or fired a real gun, so I don’t know what they sound like, but you know what I distinctly remember while I was stumbling through those fucking woods the other day?Nothingas loud as a gun going off.If I’d heard that, it would’ve freaked me out to no end.”
Linc’s eyes narrowed.“They could’ve used a suppressor.Then again, the shot could’ve gone off where the echo wouldn’t carry.Acoustics can be misleading in this particular part of the forest.”His nostrils flared.“To think you were out there at the same time as hunters…”
