Forbidden Attraction (17 page)

“What has he done wrong?” Heidi cried out, backing up from Bob until she felt Nicolo against her backside. “If I had been away with a
lunewulf
, or even an American, you wouldn’t be so outraged. How dare you judge him simply by his breed!”

“Heidi,” Nicolo growled from behind her, sending chills rushing over her skin. His baritone grabbed Steve and Bob’s attention too. Both of them straightened, looking up at him. “Disrespecting your pack leader isn’t the answer here.”

He stepped around her, but then turned and touched her cheek. “Go get some sleep. We’ll discuss this outside. Lock your door after we leave.”

“Nicolo.” She didn’t want him to leave, not like this.

He wanted her to turn and leave them, but there was no way she could let these werewolves fight over her while she stayed out of it.

Nicolo cupped her chin, stroking his thumb against her flesh and ignoring the growl that erupted from Bob.

“Do as you’re told, little bitch. This will be settled.” His dark gaze warned her to obey him.

She sucked in her breath, inhaling him deep into her lungs. Tears stung her eyes and she’d be damned if any of them would see her cry.

“Do as you’re told,” he repeated with a deadly whisper.

It was obvious that Nicolo wanted the others to see, as well as smell, his mark on her. A bitch obeyed her male. No matter that she despised that tradition. She glared at Steve and Bob, then turned around quickly, leaving the three of them standing in her living room. The second she heard her lock click, she raced back to her front door, pressing her ear to it so she could hear.

“I don’t want to see you in this territory again,” Bob said.

She heard them march down her porch steps and dug her fingers into her palms so that she wouldn’t yank her door open. Tears stung her cheeks. It couldn’t end like this.

No one told her whom she could and couldn’t see. No one!

“He’s marked her,” Steve announced. “Go see for yourself, Bob. His scent drips from her pores. Tell me what kind of werewolf would do that to a bitch and then drag her back to her den and leave her.”

“I honor her by returning her to her pack.” Nicolo’s low baritone gave away his growing fury even though she couldn’t smell it. “I would be nothing more than a mutt if I fucked her and then kept her at my den. The right thing to do was bring her to her pack and then discuss the matter with you.”

“There will be no discussion. If you don’t leave my territory right now, you’re a dead werewolf,” Bob yelled.

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Heidi couldn’t take it any longer. She yanked open her door, her muscles screaming in protest when she almost slid down her porch stairs and raced into Nicolo’s arms.

“Bob! You can’t. I will see him again. You can’t stop me.” She wrapped her arms around Nicolo’s thick body, burying her face in his chest. “Please,” she whispered, fighting to think of the perfect thing to say to prevent this nightmare from continuing.

Rough hands ripped her away from Nicolo. She saw him tense, lunging toward Bob, who threw her to the ground behind him and then moved into Nicolo quickly.

“This is your last warning, Malta werewolf.” He didn’t back down when Nicolo looked ready to leap. “And Heidi, if you don’t get your ass inside your den right now, I swear I’ll find you a mate before sundown tomorrow.”

“Do that and I’ll leave this pack. I swear I will.” She slid on the snow when she tried to stand and her inner thigh muscles cramped on her.

Steve tried to help her and she slapped him away from her.

“You despise him for being something you don’t understand. But you’re making it smell real damned clear that we’re no better than barbarians. When was the last time you ever found a mate for any bitch?” Heidi couldn’t control her temper, and in spite of the fact that she was sure Bob spoke in anger, she pushed her luck speaking to her pack leader like this.

Nicolo stepped around Bob, who surprisingly didn’t stop him, and picked her up off the ground. Once she stood though, he turned his back on her and faced Bob. There were several other members of her pack she hadn’t noticed until now. Bob had brought reinforcements, obviously thinking he might need them to restrain a Malta werewolf.

Nicolo stood inches taller than all of them. But with four male
lunewulfs
ready to attack if needed, it would be a bad fight.

“I will seek you out again,” he told Bob and, ignoring the other males, he walked to his truck. “Heidi means something to me. You will accept that.”

No one commented. Nicolo climbed into his truck and started it, taking a moment to stare at her before pulling away from her den and leaving.

“He’s not a bad werewolf,” Heidi cried, hating the tears that wouldn’t quit falling.

“Everyone head out,” Bob announced, waving at her pack members. “And you’ll all stay quiet about this. I won’t have Heidi’s reputation tarnished because of this.”

Once again, he was the quiet-spoken pack leader she’d always known. When he turned to her, she swore she smelled compassion on him. She slapped tears from her cheeks, suddenly feeling the cold and shivering violently. Every muscle in her body constricted painfully and she wasn’t sure she’d make it into her den without making it clear how badly she ached.

“Heidi, it would never work between you and a Malta werewolf. Neither of your packs would accept you. I won’t have you hating your life over a fling like this.” He took her arm, guiding her up the stairs and into her den. “Damn it. His scent is embedded in you. Please tell me you didn’t mate with him.”

89

Lorie O’Clare

“Obviously what I’ve done, or why I did it, doesn’t matter to you.” She wrapped her arms around her waist once she stood in her living room, still shivering too hard to stop. Emotions and the cold had her legs wobbling enough that she could barely stand.

“I’m sorry that I threw you to the ground.” He smelled of frustration, but if he thought she was mad simply because he’d turned into a brute, he wasn’t as smart of a pack leader as she’d given him credit for in the past.

“I asked him to talk to you.” She tried reasoning with him. “Bob. I’m twenty-nine years old and for the first time in my life, I’ve found a werewolf who matters to me. I didn’t ask for him to be another breed. But he is. If I’m okay with that, you should be too.”

Bob sighed, then scrubbed his crew cut with the palm of his hand. When he scowled, a small scar at the side of his mouth puckered.

“His pack is dangerous. That isn’t prejudice, but a fact. Nicolo Spalto is the littermate of their pack leader.” His knowledge impressed her, but of course he would know what there was to know about a pack that bordered their territory. “The werewolf would kill any of your breed to benefit his own pack. He would attack, take out our territory, if he believed Malta werewolves would gain from it. Think about it, Heidi.

You are
lunewulf
. You would defend your breed with tooth and claw. Am I wrong?”

“You know I would.”

“Of course. And if Nicolo is the great werewolf you claim that he is, he would do the same for his breed. The two of you aren’t compatible. I know this hurts right now, but give it some time. I won’t expect you in the office tomorrow. It will take a while for his scent to fade from your skin anyway. But I’ll stop by once the pack is up and see how you’re doing.” Bob patted her on the shoulder, like the matter was settled, and then left her alone in her den.

Once again, the tears streamed down her cheek.

She walked into her bedroom and collapsed on her bed, not bothering with her clothes or even to pull down her blankets. What would it take to show Bob she was willing to take a chance with Nicolo?

Hell. All she asked was that the two breeds suddenly put all their hostility aside and get along. Her heart broke while she shook with tears. Crying never solved anything, but she couldn’t help herself. So much would have to happen just so she could date Nicolo. Neither one of them were asking to set up a den together—just see each other again. Maybe she would want to mate with him for life, and according to their traditions, mating in their fur did bind them together for life. But there was still so much she wanted to know about him. And it sucked big time that she couldn’t do that without her pack leader destroying her life, or worse yet, trying to kill Nicolo.

She wasn’t sure when, or how she managed to sleep, but suddenly she opened her eyes and squinted against sunlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds that covered her windows. She rolled over and groaned loudly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so sore. But then, when had she ever had so much sex in one day?

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Forbidden Attraction

“Little did I know I was fucking because there would be no tomorrow.” Her bitterness made her muscles ache more.

Slowly rolling out of bed, she walked stiffly to her shower. Hot, steamy water pounding her body sounded almost as good as coffee. She would do one and then get the other. Maybe then she could figure out how to get over her broken heart, or better yet, plot out a way to see Nicolo again.

To hell with Bob.

An hour later, she stared at her driveway—her empty driveway.

“Where the hell is my car?” she demanded after calling Bob and waiting for him to answer.

“It’s obviously got some problems. I had it towed to the shop this morning. Were you planning on going somewhere?” he asked.

Since he’d told her to stay at her den, answering his question would only get her into more trouble.

“I just wondered,” she said quietly.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Like shit. You?” she asked, squinting at the glaring snow that covered her neighborhood in drifts.

Bob chuckled, last night obviously not affecting his mood today. “If you start feeling like you’re on a leash, my mate offered to have you over today. Just call and one of us will come get you.”

“Thanks,” she said, not meaning it. She muttered her goodbyes and then pocketed her cell phone. Nothing could be worse than being caged, having supervised visits, and being escorted around on a leash.

And all because she’d found an incredible werewolf who just happened to be the wrong breed.

She kicked at the snow, feeling her inner thighs stretch. But the pain wasn’t physical today. Every inch of her hurt because she’d been wronged—judged for falling for a damned good werewolf who didn’t reach the standards of others who never even took the time to get to know him.

Heading back inside, she pictured Nicolo working alongside his pack members, doing physical labor of some kind. Just imagining him, his muscles bulging, that intense look on his face and his shiny black hair being lifted by a breeze while his dark skin glowed with sweat, warmed her enough that she swore the snow melted underneath her as she walked back inside.

She shrugged out of her coat and slumped onto the couch, staring at the turned-off television set. Normally, she’d be over at Bob’s den, working in the small room he’d turned into an office for all pack matters. And she still could go over there. Brenda, his mate, wasn’t all that bad to hang around with. But the conversation would be on 91

Lorie O’Clare

Brenda’s cubs, tending to her den and what the other bitches in the pack were doing.

Today, all the bitches would be gossiping about her. Why ruin Brenda’s fun by showing up and stopping the chatter?

Her cell phone pressed against her thigh and she dug it out of her pocket. Staring at the dark faceplate, she leaned back on her couch and kicked off her shoes. Nothing smelled worse than self-pity, and she wouldn’t allow herself to go there.

Straightening her legs in the air, she pointed her toes.
I’m strong and powerful.

Anything I want, I can have.

Yeah, right.

She dropped her phone on her belly and ran her hands up her legs, reaching for her toes. Nicolo had touched her like this, stroking her body and igniting flames inside her that still burned today. Her pussy didn’t feel tender today like it had last night, but a yearning lingered. Running her hands down her inner thighs, she stretched her legs, forming a V with them. The material of her jeans rubbed against her clit and she inhaled deeply.

I’m a sensual, sexy bitch. And I deserve the best!

The best came with a hell of a price. But now that she’d had a taste of him, smelled him every time she sucked in a breath, would any other werewolf do?

That question didn’t even need asking. Her pussy swelled, dampening her jeans.

“Nicolo,” she cried out, aching to be with him, to feel him inside her.

She had to be sick. They’d fucked like crazy yesterday. And now she lay here alone, imagining him entering her again.

Heidi closed her eyes, rubbing her crotch, which filled the air with her scent. She smelled Nicolo too, and undid her jeans, reaching her hand under the denim. Heat greeted her fingers and she stroked her pussy, spreading her cream over her sensitive flesh.

Nicolo’s cock was so damned huge—bigger than any werewolf she’d been with or imagined. And she loved how he felt inside her. Stuffing her fingers inside her, she willed them to be his cock, filling and stretching her, entering her until he hit that spot that made her entire body quiver. Just thinking about it gave her chills, and she sucked in her breath, dying inside without him.

Her cell phone buzzed on her belly and then rang. She jumped, heat spreading over her flesh while the scent of embarrassment tickled her nose.

She pulled her hand out of her jeans, wiping her fingers quickly and then grabbing her phone to check the number.

“Hello,” she said, preparing herself for the drill.

She almost smelled Tamara’s excitement through the phone. “Heidi. How are you doing? I heard all the news. Did that Malta werewolf hurt you?” the bitch said in one breath.

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“Of course he didn’t hurt me.” She wondered what Tamara had heard but didn’t doubt the pack grapevine had already grossly distorted the truth.

“Did Bob and Steve really chase him out of our pack?” she asked.