FRANKIE’S HEART WAS pounding so hard she could feel the pulse in her neck. Silence hung in the air as the room filled with palpable tension.
“My name isn’t Francesca. Francesca is my mother’s name.” She cleared her throat and fought down the bile rising in her stomach. “My real name is Frankie. Frankie Amato. I’m the Rochester packmaster.”
After several long moments the men’s utter shock and confusion passed. Frankie watched in horror as Jace’s face tightened with rage. Rage she knew was directed straight at her.
Jace snarled. “Get out.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“Not you.” He turned to David and Shane. “You two, get out.”
David stepped toward him. “Jace, keep your cool, man. We—”
Jace growled. “Out.”
David and Shane left the apartment. As the door closed behind them, Jace turned toward Frankie. The already constricted feeling in her chest tightened in a sharp pain. She’d expected nothing less than pure, unadulterated anger from him. But the expression painted across his face contained more pain than anger. His emerald eyes revealed his true feeling: betrayal.
“Did it amuse you that I didn’t know your real name? Your real job? When did you plan on telling me the truth, huh? Not before we screwed, obviously? Before or after I trus—” He paused, then cursed. “Damn. What am I talking about? I sound like a woman. You don’t owe me anything. Forget about it.”
“Jace, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you’re a hunter. Even though you said you wanted to partner with the pack now, I thought you might kill me if you knew I was the Alpha, the packmaster. It seemed like too sweet a chance for a hunter to pass up. Once you let me go and we started working together, I didn’t know how to come out and say it. But why does my role as packmaster have to change anything? Why does it matter?”
He laughed, showcasing his disbelief. “Why does it
“If you were okay with who you thought I was, why aren’t you okay with me being packmaster?”
He spun around so he wasn’t looking at her and ran his fingers through his gorgeous auburn hair. What she would give to run her own fingers through it...
“I wasn’t okay with it.”
“You sure seemed okay with it when you were screwing me.” Frankie gritted her teeth. She knew it was a low blow, but she didn’t care.
Jace froze. His whole body stiffened before he straightened and squared his shoulders. Before she knew what was happening, he slammed her against the living room wall, grinding his massive cock against her as he wrapped her legs around his hips.
“You’re right,” he growled into her ear. The heat of his breath sent shivers down her spine. “I am perfectly okay with screwing you.”
His soft lips trailed down to her collarbone, and she sucked in a harsh breath. She was already wet for him.
“Jace...” His name came out in a breathy voice she hadn’t intended.
His chest pressed into hers, holding her against the wall as his hands trailed down the curves of her body. He rubbed one rough-tipped finger under the edge of her shirt, and she melted. Soft lips and rough, masculine hands.
“Is this what you want?” He slid his hands under her shirt and snaked his palm underneath her bra. He rubbed her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.
She gasped and dug her hands into his hair. Forcing his head toward her, she kissed him hard. Their tongues intertwined in a sensual rhythm. What he could do with that tongue of his... He sucked on her bottom lip, and she felt herself coming unhinged. Her whole body relaxed into his.
He pulled back and broke lip contact. His eyes burned for a moment, then he shook his head as if to clear it. Slowly he released her and stepped away. “If I can’t expect the truth from you, don’t expect anything from me. Once this is over, I’m done cooperating with your people, and if any of you step out of line, I
He walked out of the apartment. Frankie wrapped her arms around herself and tried to ease the chills rushing through her body. Her stomach twisted into a knot. She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. Pulling her legs to her chest, she rested her head on her knees.
JACE STORMED DOWN the stairs despite the pain in his leg and out into the street. David and Shane were standing outside, talking in low voices. When he burst out the front door, they both glanced in his direction. Shane rushed inside, but David stood his ground. Jace perched on the edge of the stoop, reached inside his coat for a Marlboro and lit up.
The sweet smoke filled his lungs, but nothing could calm him now. He thought back to the other night when he’d found Francesca...Frankie...whatever...in that alleyway, the way she’d reacted to the sight of his gun. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t even count how many things had gone wrong since then. Where was his head at?
In between her sweet legs, that was where.
His dick hardened as he remembered how her body felt pressed against his. The taste of her lips. A deep growl rumbled in his chest, and he sucked hard on his cigarette in a vain attempt to drown out the memories. If he was going to get her out of his head, he would need something a lot stronger than a cigarette.
“You need a minute to yourself or can I pick your brain?” David said from behind him.
“Be my guest.”
With some careful maneuvering, David lowered himself down to Jace’s side and nodded at the cigarette. “That’s gonna kill you some day, you know.”
Jace dragged in another long smoke-filled breath. “Now you sound like her. Besides, it doesn’t affect me as much as it would a human. You know that.”
“What’s going on with you and her, J? You’re usually more focused than this.”
Jace shrugged and blew out more smoke. “I don’t know.”
Sighing, David rested his elbows on his knees. “She’s beautiful, and she’s gotten under your skin.”
Jace ignored him and flicked away his ashes. They sat in silence for several minutes before Jace cleared his throat. “She’s a werewolf.”
“I know. So?”
“She’s Rochester’s packmaster, David. I hunt her kind for a living and she’s one of the head honchos. How the hell am I supposed to do my job when I’m sleeping with the enemy?”
“Since when have you cared about playing by the rules? At the rate you’re going, unless you bring this asshole’s head to Damon on a silver platter, you’re out, and even then, you better pray on bended knee that he has one forgiving bone in his body. You lied about your bloodline so you could be a hunter. Why start sweating the details now? Do as you please. You have nothing to lose.”
“When did you get so lenient about the guidelines, Mr. ‘Be at the Meeting on Time and Don’t Disrespect Damon’?” Jace mocked.
David crossed his arms over his chest, and a grim look tightened his features. “Since Damon forced me to choose between my job and my friends.”
Jace stubbed out his cigarette and clapped David on the shoulder. “Thanks for having my back.”
David relaxed a little and leaned back against the door. “You owe me big-time, like ‘sacrifice your firstborn child’ big-time.”
Jace chuckled and offered David the flask from inside his coat.
David refused but tapped his forefinger against the metal. “Take a large shot of that before we keep talking. You aren’t buzzed enough to discuss this yet.”
Jace didn’t need to be told twice. He swallowed three large gulps, nearly draining the flask dry. The warm liquid sloshed down his throat.
“You know that you seriously need to consider taking her offer, right? About learning how to shift?” David said.
