“We’ll be leaving here in a couple of hours to head to the meeting with the Mediator,” Trey told her. “In the meantime I’ll be in my office, but there’ll be plenty of people around if you need anything.”
Yeah, all of whom are hoping I die a painful death very soon. “I wouldn’t have pictured you as the type to have an office.”
“I have investments in a number of different businesses and I like to keep an eye on them. Feel free to wander round or whatever.”
“I will once I’ve been for a run.”
The eagerness in her voice surprised him. “You still have that need even though you’re latent?”
“My wolf gets restless and uncomfortable if I don’t. She still craves that feeling of being free, the kind that comes from running with other wolves.” Although these wolves were only temporarily her pack, her wolf wasn’t affected by that.
Trey couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to be latent. He wasn’t sure who would have gone crazy first, him or his wolf. The fact that Taryn was not only sane, but free of bitterness and hatefulness demonstrated just how strong a person she was.
As he sat sipping the remainder of his coffee, he watched her chewing on a piece of bacon. Such a simple sight and yet he couldn’t move his eyes from her. There was such an effortless sensuality to her movements. Each one was graceful, almost fluid. The way she chewed her food and licked that carnal mouth had his cock so hard he could probably hammer nails with it.
Dante’s eyes were helplessly glued to her – something which Trey wasn’t pleased about, but couldn’t blame him for. Even his enforcers seemed to begrudgingly admire her innate grace. She really was the most sensual creature he had ever seen. The fact that she was totally without vanity and completely oblivious to how provocative she was only increased her attraction. She was truly nothing like any of the women he had been with in the past.
“Trey?!”
Definitely nothing like the female who was currently heading toward the kitchen. Once, he had fucked the woman once and yet ever since that night four years ago Selma had acted as though she had rights to him. He’d kind of hoped that she would have moved on by now, but apparently the universe thought it would be more fun this way.
“An ex?” Taryn was surprised at just how much the idea irked her.
“For her to be an ex, there would’ve been some kind of relationship to begin with.”
“In other words, she’s someone you used to fuck?”
“I like to think of her as more of a mistake.”
“Trey, is it true?” demanded Selma as she stomped inside with Hope at her side. Instantly Selma’s nostrils flared as she took in the other scents in the room. Her head whipped round to face Taryn. Trey watched as Taryn smiled warmly at her, but there was something dark in that smile, something that warned Selma to be very careful.
Taryn cocked her head at the females. Oh Lydia hadn’t been kidding when she said they were living tributes to Barbie complete with peroxide blonde hair, fake tan and an overabundance of make-up. The taller of the two lowered her eyes at the sight of Taryn, but Trey’s ‘mistake’ was mightily pissed. Good.
Selma’s focus quickly returned to him. “You mated her? You actually mated her?”
“Why are you so surprised? I told each of you about my plan at our last pack meeting.”
“Yeah but I never thought you’d really do it! She’s a Warner. And I just…I thought that you and me would mate.”
Several snorts snatched Trey’s attention. He watched as Dante, his enforcers, Grace and Lydia all exchanged glances that said Selma was obviously delusional.
Selma planted her hands on her hips. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
Trey held his hand out invitingly to Taryn. Smiling, she crossed the room and let him pull her onto his lap. “Taryn, Selma. Selma, Taryn.”
“Oh I’m just Selma to you now?”
She was only ever just Selma to him. Of course he had known that she was hoping he’d mate her and she would have the position of Alpha female. He hadn’t known that she thought she had a chance.
Taryn rolled her eyes. “I suppose this is the part where you enlighten me about how you’re his ex – perhaps even the love of his life – and then I’m supposed to feel insanely jealous. Sorry, but it’s just too early in the morning for me to muster that kind of response. Maybe you should try again later.” Though that wasn’t to say that Taryn wasn’t tempted to slap her purely for having touched Trey – as idiotic as that was.
“Seriously, Trey, you can’t honestly have mated her. She’s not even your type. I mean she’s thin. And mouthy. And small. Even her boobs are on the small side.”
“I have nice feet.”
“You’re not his type!”
“You mean because I can read and write?”
Selma flushed and stamped her foot. “Trey? Trey?”
Finally he spared the whining woman a glance. He’d only been half-listening to the conversation as he’d been too busy nuzzling Taryn’s neck, breathing in her exotic scent. As he licked over his claiming mark, a tremor ran through her.
Taryn gave him a sideways glance. “Trey, you really shouldn’t do that unless you want me to jump you while we have an audience.” The ass licked it again.
“Hello!” barked Selma, waving. She was a picture of jealousy.
“Oh sorry, did you say something?” asked Taryn innocently.
The ringing of Trey’s cell phone cut off whatever Selma had been about to say. Seeing that the caller was Ryan, he brought both him and Taryn to their feet. “I’ll be back in a minute.” With one last lick to his mark, he released her, relishing the flush on her cheeks, and left the room to take the call in private.
As if Selma wasn’t staring at her with utter hatred in her eyes and obviously planning her murder, Taryn leaned against the counter as she tackled her last slice of bacon.
“I feel sorry for Trey being stuck with you, even if it’s only for a few months. Seriously, Dante, what was he thinking mating a Warner?”
“You wouldn’t have liked her no matter who she was and we all know why.”
“Oh come on, Dante, if what I’ve heard is right then she’s latent for God’s sake.” God, the woman sounded like Brodie.
Taryn sighed. “You know, I really wish people would stop talking about my latency like it’s the second coming of Christ. I’m not the only latent shifter.”
Selma gave her a pitying look. “You have to admit that a latent couldn’t manage being an Alpha Female.”
“I suppose you would do a much better job.”
“Yes, I would. Even if this mating was real, it wouldn’t have lasted long. Once Trey and his wolf began to realize just how weak their mate is, their interest in you would have swiftly dwindled. They’d have gone looking for a female wolf who can complement them and their strength. And when that happened, I’d have been waiting.”
Trey was just ending the call when the sound of a loud crash hit his ears and had him cursing in surprise. He raced into the kitchen and stared, confounded, at the vision before him. Selma was very ungracefully splayed out on the floor after obviously having smacked her head against the wall, if the trail of blood was anything to go by. Everyone at the table had risen from their seat and was staring down at her, wide-eyed. And Taryn…well she was leaning against the counter calmly biting into a slice of bacon as if there wasn’t a woman moaning and bleeding all over the floor.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded. Taryn’s expression was perfectly serene when she peered up at him.
“She fell.”
The sound of muffled laughter had his attention returning to the table to find Dante, Grace, Lydia, Cam and Rhett chuckling so hard they were shaking. Although the others were silent, none of them – not even Hope – had been able to hold back an amused grin.
Taryn sighed. “I think I’ll go on that run now. Grace, that breakfast was excellent.” She then made her way around a moaning Selma, pointedly i
gnoring her. “Close your mouth, Trey, or you’ll catch flies.”
Still totally bemused and also a little horny as a result of her alpha vibes pulsating around her, Trey stared after her as she pranced out of the room humming a tune he didn’t recognise.
“Taryn’s one mean bitch,” said Dante approvingly.
“Trey, look what she did to me!” whined Selma.
He didn’t want to. “Dante, Tao, you coming?” Both rose from the table and thanked Grace before following him out of the room. “What was all that about anyway?”
“Just Selma being her usual irritating self,” replied Dante. “You should’ve seen the way Taryn picked her up and slung her at the wall. It was awesome.”
Tao nodded his agreement, albeit reluctantly. “That female’s freakishly strong for her size.”
Oh Trey already knew that from their battles last night. His lips curved into a smile as he imagined battling with her all over again tonight.
Taryn was in a better mood after her short run. The cold breeze on her face combined with the familiar scents of the forest had left her feeling refreshed and settled her wolf. Only then had she began to wander through the maze of tunnels to familiarise herself with what would be her home for the next few months. Three hours later Taryn was in the doorway of the living area, gaping.
A wander around had confirmed that not one inch of the place was anything but spectacular. There were four floors and each one of them featured dozens of en-suite bedrooms, a small kitchenette, and a laundry room. On the fourth floor where Trey, Dante and the enforcers slept was – in addition to a laundry room – a pool room, a game room, an office, the huge amazing kitchen and a large living area. The blend of modern and antique furnishings was a feature throughout the entire place, never once clashing.
She was nothing short of awed and had found something to gasp at in each and every room. But this room…whoa. The audio-visual system was state of the art, the decorative swirly carvings on the main wall were amazing, the many armchairs all looked comfy enough to sleep on, but it was the item in the center of the living area that had her attention. Is it a bed? Is it a sofa? The freaking thing looked more like a giant cushion.
There had been a sectional sofa in her pack house too, but it wasn’t anything like this. The black leather was clearly top quality and it could comfortably seat at least eighteen people. One end was a gorgeous chaise lounge while the other end had a recliner. It was so big and bulky that not only did her ass sink into it, but her feet didn’t even touch the floor. It totally dwarfed her. Suddenly she felt like one of the Borrowers.
Oh she could get used to this luxury. She wasn’t a materialistic person, never had been, and she totally agreed that money didn’t bring you happiness. Still, she’d rather be depressed wearing Prada than dirty rags.
“Comfy?”
Taryn looked at the doorway to see Tao there, scowling. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you resented me being comfortable.”
He shrugged. “I’m not convinced your dad will give us an alliance, which means we’ll have brought all this trouble on ourselves and not even get what the pack needs out of this mating.”
“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you kidnapped me, huh?”
“Believe me, if I could have talked Trey out of this, I would’ve, but I respect Trey and I follow his orders.”
“That’s nice. You can leave now. I promise your idiotic opinion will be noted.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw – something which seemed to be a habit with him whenever she was around. “There’s nothing idiotic about not wanting Lance Warner’s daughter in my house or around my pack. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, don’t they.”
“Hey, I have a suggestion, why not put a condom over your head – if you’re going to act like a complete dick then it makes sense to dress like one.” His mouth actually twitched at that, but Taryn just sighed and retrieved the remote control from the round pine coffee table. Switching on the T.V., she sought out the sports channels.
Tao came to stand beside the sofa. “You watch boxing?”
“I missed the fight between Jacobs and Leighton last night. I just want to watch the repeat then you can watch whatever you like.”
Frowning, Tao gingerly sat beside her. “Fifty says Leighton won.”
Taryn stared at him curiously then nodded. “Seventy says Jacob won by knock-out.”
Well this was a surprise.
On leaving his office, Trey had followed the trail of Taryn’s delicious scent to track her down. Considering how Tao had been treating her up until this point, the last thing Trey would have expected was to find the pair of them laughing and joking while watching boxing on T.V. Her response to Selma would have shown the pack that she wasn’t an easy target or someone who took any shit, but he hadn’t thought it would be enough to win anyone’s respect just yet. Clearly he had been wrong. He should have been glad about that. It was a good thing for her to have Tao as an ally. Strangely, Trey found himself wanting to punch his Head Enforcer for putting that smile on her face. His wolf…well, he wanted to gut him.
“Ready to go?”
She looked up at him, frowning at the strain in his voice. “Sure.” Her frown deepened when instead of walking on ahead of her with Dominic and Ryan he waited for her to reach his side. She noticed that Dante was smiling – the kind of smile that said he knew something she didn’t. Well whatever. Trey remained at her side all the way to the car and even sat with her in the backseat which, for some reason, had Dante’s smile widening.
Her wolf enjoyed having her mate so close, enjoyed having his scent cocooning her. Unfortunately, just as Taryn had feared, it was proving to be uncomfortable for her wolf when they parted for too long. She wouldn’t have thought that five hours counted as ‘long’, but her wolf had been restless and on edge until the moment he entered the living area. His presence made her automatically feel safe, reassured, and relaxed.
“Has your father been in touch with you yet?” Trey asked her.
“No. He’ll be too busy sulking.”
“You know there’s a chance he’ll turn up tomorrow with Roscoe, don’t you.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know.” She doubted he would, but there was still a chance.
“And you know what will happen if he tries to take you, don’t you.”
She wondered if he even realized that the hand of the arm he’d hooked around her headrest was now playing with her hair. “Even if he comes, it’ll only be Roscoe who’ll challenge you.”
“I hope you’re right. I want that alliance with your father, but there’s no chance I’ll be able to hold back my wolf if he tries to take you.”
The heavy dose of possessiveness in his voice had her lips twitching. What made it more amusing was that she could see how much the unfamiliar sense of possessiveness irritated him. “I did try to warn you that it wouldn’t matter to your wolf that we aren’t true mates.”
He shot her a glare. “Smart ass.”
“Aw, I love you too.”
He snorted and faced forward again, resisting the urge to nibble on her bottom lip. And the urge to kiss her. And the urge to lick over his mark. His wolf, on the other hand, liked all three of those ideas and was growling his encouragement at Trey. His wolf had…missed her. He brooded and fretted when he wasn’t around her, pushing at Trey to go hunt her down. Whenever he was around her, his wolf wanted to lick every inch of her and roll around in her scent. It was dumb and it was pathetic and it made Trey want to kick his wolf’s ass.
Eventually they arrived at a restaurant in the next territory that Taryn knew belonged to the wolf pack that the Mediator was part of. She also knew they wouldn’t be having the meeting inside the restaurant, but within the wooded area behind it – a place where many shifters had come to blows in the past when Mediation meetings hadn’t gone so well. Hopefully this wouldn’t be one of those times.
Seeing the tension in Trey’s shoulders as h
e opened her car door and the way he very reluctantly stepped aside, she smiled. “Your wolf doesn’t want me to go, does he? He doesn’t want me being around the naughty wolf.” The poor guy was in totally unfamiliar territory with all this protectiveness and possessiveness.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m glad you find this amusing.”
Knowing what would ease his wolf, she did what she hadn’t yet seen anyone do. She invaded Trey’s personal space, sliding her arms around his waist. Oh it could be said that she had been up in his personal space plenty of times while he fucked her senseless, but sexual touching and social touching were two very different things, two very different needs. And it seemed like Trey had conditioned himself to ignore the latter need. He stiffened for a few seconds and then his arms went around her, surprising her. Little by little the tension in him eased as he allowed his wolf to take solace in her closeness and her scent. “Ready?”