“Little piece of advice, Cora.” His breath licked my skin and liquid fire raced through my veins. “If you play with fire, you’ll eventually get burned.”
My mouth went dry and my throat tightened. “Okay. I won’t do that again.” My voice was a breathless whisper.
He smiled against my ear. “Good girl.”
Oh fuck, now I was wet.
He inhaled. “Fuck, you smell like peaches. One taste won’t hurt, Cora.” His voice was a delicious purr. “In fact, it’ll feel so fucking good.”
Heat coiled in my belly, pushing low to throb at the apex of my thighs. I pressed my legs together to quell the ache.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” My voice was a husky whisper.
“Yes, you do that.”
He patted my ass, then retreated, taking his heat with him. I sagged against the sink. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I needed a cold shower. Stat.
Vita territory overlapped with Grimswood land, and the Vita Pack house was barely two miles away. We could have walked, but Leif insisted on taking the car.
We drove slowly down a narrow woodland track, bumping and rocking. “How are Sten and Toke?”
“They’re preparing to hand over to Tor and Rune. They’re keeping busy.”
“Have they seen Charlotte…since?”
His jaw flexed at the mention of her name. “I don’t know.”
Fuck me and my insensitivity. Just because he smiled and acted okay didn’t mean he was. If anyone knew about putting up a front, it was me, the queen of poker faces and acts.
I turned in my seat slightly. “How are you coping?”
He flicked a glance my way. “I’m okay, Cora. I’ll be okay. Arne was a good father. He was loving and strong and he died to protect my mate. To protect the world. I can’t be mad at that. I miss him. It hurts, but I can deal.” His tone was a little too flat to be believable. But I wasn’t about to push if he wasn’t ready to open up.
I slid my hand onto his thigh and squeezed. “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“I appreciate that. But Cora, you need to remove your hand before I crash this car.”
Shit. I yanked my hand away and he shot me a grin and a wink.
Damn, he was good at masking, but then so was I, so I didn’t miss the dullness to his eyes that hinted at his pain. And then that pain was inside my chest, dark and swirling, and fuck, it hurt so bad it made my eyes sting.
This was the real Leif. This was his grief communicated through our bond, and it was darkness and emptiness and…No. He wasn’t going to do this alone.
“Pull over.” My voice was gruff and urgent.
“What?”
“Pull over now.”
He swung the car to the left and put it in park. “Cora—”
I crawled over the gear box and into his lap.
“Cora?” Confusion painted his features.
“Come here.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight, pressing my body to his and giving him my strength. His hands remained at his sides for a moment and then he hugged me back, his arms crossing over my back and enveloping me in his unique scent. “Stop it. Stop hiding it and let it the fuck out. Please.”
“I…I can’t.” His voice was thick with emotion.
“Yes. You can.”
He tucked his face into the crook of my neck and took a shuddering breath. And then warm wetness kissed my skin.
He was crying.
Oh fuck, he was crying.
My chest ached with his tears, and my throat pinched with his pain, then my vision blurred with tears of my own. We remained like that for long, silent seconds, just holding one another as he vented his pain. The knots in my chest unraveled a little, the pressure ebbing.
Finally, Leif pulled back, looking at me with wet eyes. He brushed my tears away with the pad of his thumb.
His gaze fell to my mouth and my lips parted on instinct. “Fuck it.” He kissed me. A soft, tentative kiss, plucking at my lips with his like the intro to an epic tune.
Just a peck, this was just a—
His tongue flicked out to taste me and I lost control, deepening the kiss, taking his tongue and sucking on the mint and coffee flavors while my fingers reveled in the rasp of stubble across his jaw.
His grip on me tightened, fingers digging into me, and then he tore his mouth free, chest heaving, gunmetal-blue eyes dark and drenched with desire.
“Friend zone…” His breath kissed my lips in a goodbye.
I nodded mutely, grateful for his restraint, because in that moment, I had none.
He closed his eyes and brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “Thank you, Cora.”
“You’re welcome.” I climbed off his lap and settled back in my seat, keeping my eyes on the road ahead and willing my pulse to slow as he started the engine.
It was only when we were back on the track that it hit me.
I’d not only be meeting Leif’s mother and his sisters. I’d also be meeting all the women who wanted to fuck him.
An ugly emotion twisted in the pit of my belly.
Jealousy.
Great. Fucking great.
Chapter Four
Vita Pack was a community of houses built on acres of farmland. We drove past horses and cows grazing in fields, past a schoolhouse and a playground filled with children.
“How many wolves in your pack?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “A hundred in total I think, but the active pack is twenty-five strong. We patrol in units of five on rotation. The rest of the pack are civilians, and everyone has a role in the running of our community.”
“And can they leave?”
His mouth tightened slightly. “This isn’t
