He misses. His throat swallows hard and his heartbeat pounds a thunderous beat in the chest. I can hear it racing despite the crowd and spot the bead of sweat on his upper lip.
It’s always nice to remind people that I’m someone you do not want to mess with.
I grin and blink, breaking off the challenge between us and he curses.
That’s right. You fucked up.
It’s my turn so I grab the ball and without any fanfare, I shoot it into one of their three remaining cups. Liu swears again, downs the cup, and hands the ball to Isa.
She smirks at me, completely in her element, and lands the ball in our final cup. Jordy moans beside me but I know it’s all for show. He couldn’t care less whether we win or lose. It’s all a game for him. He lives for this kind of shit even if he tries to claim otherwise.
Slowly, making sure to keep my eyes locked on hers, I lift the cup and down the remaining liquor.
“You lose,” she says, her satisfaction clear.
“I did. Guess you better go grab me that bikini of yours,” I tell her.
“Mine?”
I nod and suck in my bottom lip with a nod. “Yeah, vanilla. I want yours.”
“You can have mine,” one of the chicks beside me says.
I lift a brow. “And you are?”
She looks surprised I don’t know who she is, but why would I?
“Sabrina. Sabrina Hampton. I have second period with her,” she reminds me, angling her head toward Isa. Recognition clicks back to when I told her to watch out for my girl. Guess I do know her name after all.
I shrug. “Well, Sabrina Hampton,” I say, “Thanks. But no thanks. I want Isa’s. Only hers will do.”
Sabrina pouts and Isa rolls her eyes. Her annoyance is sexy as hell. “Whatever. Andale pues.”
I don’t think she realizes she told me to hurry up in Spanish, but I like it. I like that it rolls off her tongue like it’s natural. It probably is. And I really fucking like that Liu has no idea what the fuck she just said. It wasn’t anything sexy. There was no hidden meaning there. But he doesn’t know that.
I make sure to shoulder check him as I shove past to follow Isa. “Watch it, Liu,” I say so low only he can hear. “I wouldn’t get in my way.”
His jaw locks and I wait, making sure he gets my meaning.
It takes longer than I like, but eventually, he nods. Good.
I follow Isa through the crowd of people, shoving against bodies when they get too close. This is why we don’t open up our cabin. I don’t like people in my space. It agitates my wolf, making my hackles rise and my temper flare.
She leads me back to a bedroom and as soon as I step inside the dimly lit room, I shut the door. I exhale in relief and Isa laughs. “Not one for crowds?” she asks.
“Not one for idiots,” I retort.
She smiles and digs through her bag until she retrieves a black two-piece swimsuit. The bottoms are taller, like they’d go past her hips, and the top is a thick band that ties in the back. Interesting. “No slutty string bikini?”
She shakes her head. “Not really my style.” She holds her hands out, but before I accept it, I pull off my shirt and let the fabric fall to the floor before unbuckling my jeans.
She sucks in a breath. “What are you doing?”
I can’t help my grin at her freaked-out tone. She’s a wolf. She should be used to this sort of thing. When I look up and see her eyes locked on my abs, heat simmers in my chest and my dick twitches. Her gaze rolls over me with blatant interest and my smile widens. I shove my jeans down, leaving my black boxer briefs on and then step out of the jeans, discarding my socks and shoes along with them.
“Like what you see?” I ask, holding my hands out wide with a wolfish smirk on my face. I know I look good. Her expression only confirms in.
A delicate hand reaches out as if to touch my tattoos and I wait, eager to feel her hands on me though I can’t explain why. What is it about this girl that draws me to her?
My right arm sports a half sleeve filled with an intricate Aztec totem signifying each of our Pack Clans. Wolf, Cat, Feloidea, Muridea, Canidae, and Bear. Beneath the totem read the words, ‘Perdono al que roba y al que mata, porque quizá lo hacen por necesidad, pero nunca perdono al traidor.’ I forgive the one who steals, and the one who kills, because perhaps they do it out of necessity, but I never forgive the traitor.
Isa traces her finger over each letter, her lips barely moving as she whispers, “Family through loyalty.”
I nod having grown up hearing the same words. “It’s what forges Pack bonds.”
Her smile is small and sad, and I have to fight against the urge to comfort her. She isn’t one of mine. She isn’t Pack. I put instinct aside and do nothing beyond wait as she turns her attention to my remaining tattoo. An Aztec devil mask on my left collarbone, that climbs up my neck and down over the top of my bicep and pectoral.
My gaze heats as I watch her eyes drink me in and my wolf senses the need coursing through her. It isn’t strictly for physical contact though I can tell she craves that as well. But beneath desire is the need to belong. Her fingers trail over the edges of the design in a gentle caress. I’m not sure she realizes she’s still touching me.
I breathe in her scent, cataloging each individual smell. Vanilla, cinnamon, and chili. It’s sweet yet seductive and carries a punch of spice at the end. It suits her perfectly. As soon as the thought
