Primal Possession (8 page)

By chance he’d met her when he’d been visiting her father’s estate for some “business” dealings. Some members of the Council had wanted him to buy weapons from Dimitri Saburova, her father and one of the most connected weapons dealers on the East Coast. After that first encounter with her he’d gone out of his way to see her any chance he could. It had taken half a year, but in between working various jobs around the country, he’d finally worn her down and she’d agreed to one date with him.

A lunch date.

But that’s all it had taken. Some days he wondered what the hell she ever saw in him. The woman was so far out of his league it was painful.

He’d been screwed up ever since she’d left him, but tonight he was going to see her. Had to see her. It had nothing to do with the Council ordering him to come to Fontana to check on the Armstrong-Cordona pack after all their recent troubles. And it had nothing to do with him being on a mission to sniff out members of the APL. He snorted at the acronym. Antiparanormal League. What a dumb fucking name.

As he moved across the dance floor, a blonde with huge, fake tits smiled drunkenly at him, but when he bared his teeth, she jerked in surprise and turned back to her friends.

He couldn’t see Kat yet, but he could smell her. In a crowd of a thousand he’d be able to pick her out. She smelled like roses. It was subtle, classic, and didn’t fit her personality at all. But that’s what her scent was. If he
even got a whiff of the stupid flower, visions of her overtook him. Not that he needed to smell roses to think of her. She’d overtaken his every waking thought since she’d gone. He’d even tried to fuck other women, but he couldn’t. His cock wouldn’t obey him. Just absolutely fucking refused to listen. It wanted Kat and only Kat, and after eight months of celibacy, he was horny as hell and desperate to see her again.

When the crowd shifted to the left, he saw her sitting on a bar stool talking to a short, cute redhead and—holy shit, Liam Armstrong. Hadn’t seen that tall bastard in a few years.

Liam knew he was there. Had probably known since he walked in. Jayce should have scented him too. But he’d been so focused on Kat that nothing else had penetrated his thick skull. He cursed himself. Whenever she was near, he was distracted. And that could get him killed if he wasn’t careful.

Liam made eye contact with Jayce as he continued moving through the crowd. The move was casual, but the tall wolf shifted his position and stood so that he was half blocking both women.

Part of Jayce wanted to pummel Liam for covering his view of Kat, but his most primal side gave Liam credit for protecting the females. Most males, even hardened warriors, were scared of Jayce. A trickle of unease rolled off Liam, but he wasn’t shitting-his-pants afraid like so many other wolves. And he was ready to fight if need be. Jayce wouldn’t admit it out loud, but that wolf’s stock had just gone up in his opinion.

Kat still hadn’t noticed him, so he paused by an empty high-top table near the edge of the small dance floor far enough away from the bar. He pulled out his cell phone. Liam was staring him down with a mix of curiosity and
aggression, but Jayce ignored the other wolf for the moment. He hit speed dial one, then waited and watched.

Kat laughed at something the redhead said, then glanced at her purse sitting on the bar. She fished out her phone. When she spotted his number, she glared at the phone, then tossed it back into her purse. The redhead asked something, but Kat just shook her head and waved a dismissive hand in the air with those long, elegant fingers of hers. Fingers that had raked over every inch of him.

It shouldn’t matter. He’d known the kind of reception he’d get from her. But seeing her outright reject him pierced him worse than any injury he’d suffered in battle.

Kat tucked a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear and nodded at the redhead. For a moment her glance flicked away and that’s when she spotted him. He pushed away from the table and didn’t pause in his determined stride.

For a fraction of a second her eyes widened in shock, but just as quickly she glared at him. She jumped off her bar stool, elbowed Liam out of her way, and marched toward him. Placing well-manicured hands on jean-clad hips, she covered the last few feet between them, mindless of the loser wearing an ascot who tried to get her attention.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Those pale blue eyes of hers held him captive. They flashed angrily and his entire body went on red alert. He loved it when she looked at him like that. Maybe he was messed up in the head, but he loved her angry. That anger usually translated to heat in the bedroom. Their makeup sex had always been off the charts.

He fought to breathe until she punched her finger in the middle of his chest and he realized she was still talking.

“When someone doesn’t return your calls, that means they don’t want to talk to you. Get it? I do not want to see you or talk to you.” Her words were practically a growl.

“I’m not here for you,” he said, keeping his voice intentionally devoid of emotion. His statement was sort of the truth. He wasn’t
solely
there for her. Well, tonight he’d come to the lodge for her specifically. He’d planned to visit the Armstrong-Cordona ranch in the morning. Since Liam was here, he lied in an attempt to salvage some of his pride. Pathetic.

“What?”

“I’m here to see Liam.”

“Oh.” She faltered slightly but she was still pissed. “Well, good, then. I see the man I plan to fuck tonight, so I’ll just see you later. Or better yet,
never
.” Without pause she stomped away.

Fuck?
Kat never talked like that. She rarely said the word, even when she was turned on. Hell, she rarely cursed at all. Blood rushed wildly in his ears. He turned to find her sashaying toward some pretty boy with a popped collar. His inner beast roared to the surface.

Jayce quickly looked at Liam as he forced himself to control his breathing. The urge to shift forms was powerful, but he shoved his inner beast back. “I’ve got to take care of something, but I’ll talk to you later. Tell your brother I’ll be at the ranch tomorrow morning around eight.” Jayce noticed that the redhead’s eyes widened in fear as she backed away toward the bar, no doubt because his eyes had likely changed from their normal gray to black, but he didn’t care.

Liam nodded in what almost looked like understanding.

Jayce didn’t waste time. He stalked up to Kat and Mr.
Preppy. The guy’s jaw dropped open and Kat opened her mouth, no doubt to blast him again.

“We need to talk.” He grabbed her arm, not hard, and he was surprised when she didn’t struggle.

She just glared at him for a long moment. Then she nodded. “You’re right—we do.”

Keeping his hold on her elbow, he continued out of the bar and made a sharp left. He’d seen a utility room down one of the halls when he’d done some earlier reconnaissance. It was unlocked, so he steered them both inside the small room.

Kat yanked her arm out of his grasp. “What the hell do you want?”

Ignoring her, he shut the door behind them. She rolled her eyes and plopped down on an overturned bucket. He flipped on the light. That’s when he realized she was drunk. More than tipsy and definitely on her way to getting tanked. Something she’d rarely done before.

Her eyes were glassy as she stared at him. “I’m waiting, Mr. Bossy.” She hiccuped and swayed on her seat.

The drunkenness explained why she wasn’t tearing him a new asshole for manhandling her. “You planned to
fuck
that guy tonight?”

She shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Depends how drunk I get. What’s it matter to you?”

“You matter to me.” It was one of the most real things he’d ever said to anyone. Especially a woman.

She laughed at him. “I matter? You’re so full of shit, Jayce. You like me well enough in the bedroom, but that’s all you want from me. I don’t know why you’re here and I don’t care.” Pushing up, she swayed again but clutched on to the metal rack against the wall. “It might surprise you, but men find me attractive and smart and
plenty of them would like to warm my bed at night. Unlike you, they don’t view me as some dirty secret.” She hiccuped again. This time louder, but her voice cracked on the last word.

Dirty secret?
What the hell was she talking about?

“Big, stupid enforcer can’t bondmate with his pathetic little human. Well, fuck you, Jayce! I’ll screw whomever I want, whenever I want. I’ve had plenty of lovers since we broke up and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

No she hadn’t. He’d have been able to scent someone if she had. She was still untouched by anyone but him. But the hurt and pain in her pale blue eyes were crystal clear. He didn’t understand it and he didn’t have the heart to contradict her. She was the one who’d walked away from him. She’d broken things off, then left town as if what they’d had together meant nothing. He’d called her so many times afterward it was embarrassing.

“Katarina.” He reached for her, but she swatted his hand away.

“Don’t touch me!” Her voice rose with each word as she sidestepped him toward the door. The agony she projected tore at his gut. He didn’t understand it but he wanted to take it away.

Kat had never hidden her emotions from him when they’d been together. Anger, lust, heat, passion, love—she’d projected everything freely. But never hurt. Not like this. She yanked open the door and practically sprinted away from him.

He pressed a hand to his chest. Something foreign and uncomfortable made his chest ache. For months he’d waited for her to reach out, to explain why she’d left. He’d thought she’d finally woken up and realized she was too good for him. If he hadn’t been so busy with Council matters, he’d have tracked her down long ago.
He knew they didn’t have a future together because he couldn’t bond with her, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t spend more time together. Just a few more years. That’s all he wanted with her.
A little more time.
He snorted to himself. He sounded fucking pathetic. No wonder she’d left him.

“W
e should go after her.” December slid her nearly full vodka tonic away and stood up.

Liam shook his head. Even if Kat had been sucking drinks down faster than December and was likely buzzing, he knew Jayce wouldn’t take advantage of her. “No. Jayce won’t hurt her. He…cares for her.”

“Who is that guy? He’s scary.” She shuddered.

That was an understatement. When Jayce’s eyes had changed color, Liam knew December would have had no doubt he was also a shifter. She’d seen it happen to him after he’d stopped that guy from trying to kidnap her from her store, so he’d explained that he’d been trying to control his wolf. From the confusion he’d witnessed on her face, he guessed she still didn’t understand what he meant, but he had plenty of time to introduce her to his world.

As December started to go after them, Liam placed a hand on her forearm, stopping her. She kept fidgeting in her seat and playing with her straw as she stared in the direction Kat had gone. “This is stupid. Kat’s my friend and I want to go after her.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. It had been obvious Kat and Jayce needed to clear the air about some things and Liam didn’t want to get in the way of that. “He’s the enforcer.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

Liam shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the right words. “He’s sort of, ah…He quells any problems that packs can’t handle on their own.”

“Problems?”

“If one pack encroaches on another pack’s territory or if a pack is into illegal activities and it’s affecting our relationship with humans, Jayce comes in and cleans house.”

“Why does that sound bad?”

“Because it is.”

“And he’s here to ‘clean house’ for your pack?” He could see the pulse point in her neck jump and even above the din of noise he could hear her heart rate increase.

“No. His visit isn’t about that. After the poisonings on our ranch and after Taggart’s death—”

“He’s dead?”

Damn it.
Liam hadn’t meant to let that information slip. His brother, Connor, hadn’t told the sheriff yet that he’d killed Sean Taggart, their old neighboring Alpha, in a sanctioned
nex pugna
. A death fight. Liam figured the sheriff probably already knew Taggart was gone, but even so, Connor hadn’t told anyone except the Council. And it wasn’t Liam’s place to tell anyone, even if December was his mate. Or intended mate, as it were. Pack business stayed pack business unless the humans got curious.

The Council and the human government were still trying to find a way to integrate their laws. So far, the humans let shifters take care of problems internally. If
shifters died or were murdered by other shifters, the human government saw fit to let them handle things on their own unless it directly affected humans. And that wasn’t often. Shifters and humans didn’t exactly run in the same circles.

“Ah, yes, but it’s not common knowledge.”

“Meaning my brother doesn’t know.” It wasn’t a question.

This was what hanging around females did to males. Now he understood why his brother got so distracted around his own mate sometimes. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Well, I’m not going to say anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She started to say something else when her eyes widened.

Liam turned and tracked her gaze. Kat was hurrying toward them with tears streaking down her face and from the way she stumbled, he guessed she’d had more to drink than he’d realized. They hadn’t even been there that long.

“Shit.” He didn’t know Jayce well enough, but if he and Kat were fighting, that was not a good thing. Jayce’s eyes had started to change earlier and if he was near his breaking point…Well, a pissed-off enforcer in a room full of humans was bad for everyone.

“Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?” December asked as Kat stopped in front of them.

“I’m fine. I’m going home but wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.” She grabbed her purse from the bar.

“Why don’t you stay with me tonight?” December asked softly.

Kat shook her head. “No. I just want to get out of here and sleep in my own bed, but you two should stay and enjoy yourselves.”