The Beta (5 page)

A surprised growl rumbled from her werewolf as she left him in her dust. If he didn’t chase her, she’d go back there and kick his ass for being a dweeb.

He didn’t disappoint, though. The pounding of his running shoes followed her.

Racing around the corner, her boots slipped on loose gravel and she went down on her knees, scraping her palms as she fought for balance.

Rob caught her by the shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“Not the kind of hard chase I wanted to give you.” She chuckled and sat back on her heels, eyes level with his groin. He tried to assist her to her feet, but she shook off his hands. “I’m happy here.” She’d spent the afternoon regretting letting him out of her grasp last night. Robert wouldn’t escape so easily this time. She reached for the fly of his jeans.

He startled at her touch. “Here? Now?” The shock in his voice only drove her more.

“Of course.” She undid his button.

“Esther.” Desire and uncertainty warred as he spoke her name. He glanced over his shoulder. Here was the unsure gentleman she’d met last night, the one who stirred her devilish thoughts.

“We’re definitely doing this now.” She unzipped his fly, happy to find him already erect.

He gasped as she kissed his tip, running her tongue in slow circles until she moistened his head, then she blew over the area. She sensed a slight shiver course through his body.

“I’m not letting you get away this time.”

Slipping him into her mouth, she heard him whisper, “I’m not going anywhere.”

It was hard to grin with a cock in her mouth. With a slow pace, she slid him deep in her throat and withdrew, dragging her tongue over him. After a few strokes, Rob’s breaths became irregular and he moved his hips to her rhythm. She loved the power he allowed her to have over him. Not demanding anything from her and taking what she offered with enthusiasm.

Esther ran her hands under his t-shirt, over his abs, and around to his lower back. Digging her nails into his skin, she increased her speed and sucked him hard.

A groan resounded around them as he grabbed her shoulders as if needing the support.

The taste of his excitement dripped on the back of her tongue. She pushed him harder, faster until all she heard was his labored breathing.

“I’m going to come.” He tried to slip out, but she only pulled him closer, deeper. “Oh God.”

She felt his muscles tense as he came in hot spurts, his cries echoing in the dark alley as she swallowed him. His knees wobbled, and she steadied him with her hands as he slipped out of her mouth. “Easy.” She stood and wrapped her arms around his waist, a smug smile plastered to her face.

He hugged her close and buried his face in her hair.

“Let’s go back to your place.” She nudged him.

“Yes, that sounds good.” He placed a kiss on her neck, his hands traveling along her body. “Crap. I can’t. Not yet.” His warmth faded as he released his hold on her and zipped his pants. “I need to take care of a problem first.”

“Maybe I can help.”

“This is a pack issue. I need to take care of it myself.” He touched her face. “Why are you following me, Esther?”

“I wanted to apologize for taking your wallet. I remembered your address and went there this evening. That’s when I saw the women.” The lie came so easily to her lips. As a mistress of deception, the pain it caused surprised her. She blinked, unsure what to do next. Confess? What good would that do? Rob would leave her, no matter when she told him the truth. Better to live with a lie for a while and have him for as long as she could. “I got angry and followed you to the bar.”

“So jealous you wanted to shoot me?”

“Nothing’s more dangerous than a woman scorned.” She took his hand. “What’s your problem?”

“I have a pack member stirring trouble. A lot of trouble, especially for me. I need to take him down a peg or two.”

“I know some things about werewolf packs. Shouldn’t your alpha be disciplining the troublemaker?”

“Sure, if he was in town. It’s up to me while he’s gone.”

“You’re the beta?”

He frowned at the shock in her voice. “You sure know how to make a man feel good about himself.” He let her go and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I need to go.”

“Wait.” She grabbed his elbow. She was screwing up everything and really didn’t want to lose him yet. “You always catch me off guard by not being who or what I expect.” Standing in front of him, she blocked his path. With his unnatural strength, he could have knocked her out of the way, but he didn’t. “I’m not good with surprises, but I like that you’re different. Not like most of the men I know.”

“You’ve known a lot men, Esther?” His tone softened.

“Yes, but none of them compare to you.” She chuckled. “I’ve definitely never stalked any of
them
. Let me drive you. When you’re done, we can continue where we left off.”

“That would be nice.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. “I hope you realize I don’t have anything worth stealing at home.”

She gave him a small punch in the flank. “That’s not funny.” How could she blame him for that joke after her pickpocket routine? Robert was going to break her heart, she just knew it, yet here she was offering it like a sacrifice.

He flinched but laughed. “Just needed to clear that up.”

“Fine. We’ll go to my hotel room instead.”

“You’re from out of town?” Robert glanced at Esther as they walked out of the alley onto the sidewalk by the club. His strong arm gripped her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“I’m in transition.” She never stayed anywhere too long, but given the right incentive, she might relocate here. “We’ll take my car.”

“Fine by me.” He shrugged. “So, what do you do for a living then?”

“I hunt vampires.”

He laughed and squeezed her shoulders. “Good thing I’m a werewolf.” He totally missed the truth and thought it a joke. She swallowed her disappointment.

“Yeah.” Yet, she carried silver bullets in her gun tonight. Wasn’t she a bitch. “Here’s my car.” She unlocked the doors and got into the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

“Take I-Ninety. We’re going to a biker bar where my problem likes to hang out and see if he’s there.”

“Good, I could use a stiff drink.” She started the car and pulled out. “Are you going to fight him?”

“Probably. Can you stay out of it if I do?” He twisted in his seat to face her.

“Umm…if he’s going to kill you, I’ll need to shoot him. Otherwise, I’ll stay out of it. I understand the whole dominance games packs have to play.”

“Who
are
you, Esther?”

She glanced at him as he stared at her profile as if memorizing it.

“You kiss me, steal my wallet, shoot at me, follow me, then give me a blow-job almost at gunpoint. You’re either an escaped mental patient or someone really interesting.”

“I’ll opt for the interesting someone. And I shot because you were in beast form and I didn’t know who you were. Not to mention, you scared the crap out of me.”

“You weren’t that scared.” He tapped his nose. “Good sense of smell. What aren’t you telling me? Not every girl I meet pulls a thirty-eight out of her waistband.”

“You know your guns.” She took the on-ramp to the interstate. “I’m not the only one with secrets, Rob. I saw the way you moved when I pulled the trigger. You’re no-run-of-the-mill beta. Why does the Vasi pack need warriors?”

“You know the pack’s name?” He leaned in closer and sniffed.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Just double checking and making sure you’re not a werewolf masking her scent.” He cleared his throat. “Pure human.”

She weaved through the scant late night traffic. Their silence stretched. “So, are you going to answer my question?” The air in the car grew warm, so she kicked on the AC.

“Let’s agree to keep our own secrets for now.” He played with the vent, angling the air to hit him more directly. “Esther?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t trust you.”

She gripped the steering wheel tight. “I don’t blame you.”

God, he was getting under her skin. She wanted him to trust her. Shit, she wanted to enter that fucking bar and blow away his problem too. What a mess. She’d already decided to not take the contract on the Nosferatu. To accomplish such a task she needed to be in the game one hundred percent. Not have her head in the clouds over a werewolf and her heart dangling on a thread.

“Take this exit.” His voice deepened, and his eyes shone with that inner light werewolves got when their beasts were close to the surface of shifting.

“You all right?” She took the exit. If he shifted in the car with her, she’d probably crash.

“I’m fine. I’m in control. Just getting ready.” He rolled down his window and stuck his face into the wind. “Make a left at the light. It should be two blocks down. It’s called the Twisted Tire.”

She took the turn and made it past one block when Rob leaned his torso out the window in a sudden jerk.

“Damn, can you stop?”

“Did I miss it?” She pulled over and parked along the deserted street.

“No, I smell someone I know, and I need to talk to him too.” He opened the door and leaped out, then spun around. “Wait here for me?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

He grinned and ran down a side street.

Shaking her head, she leaned it against her steering wheel. He smelled someone? What an odd thing for her to just accept, or would be if he were human…which he wasn’t.
Esther, what are you doing playing chauffer for a werewolf and also not taking a contract that could take care of you for life?
She groaned. Could Rob be worth it? Something in her gut told her he would be.

* * * *

Robert jogged around the building next to where Esther parked. He watched the rooftops until he saw who he smelled.

On a four-story building a set of huge boots dangled over the roof’s edge. Not too many men had feet that size, and Daedalus liked a place with a view. Even if he fell, nothing would happen to him. Was it coincidence he sat here so close to where Talon hung out? Robert didn’t think so.

Climbing the fire escape, he reached the roof easy enough. “Hey.” He hopped onto the surface and trotted to the vampire. Sitting next to him, he leaned on his hands. They could see Lake Michigan as a big flat, black spot dwarfing the city’s edge. “Nice view.”

“Yeah.” Daedalus continued to stare at the city, an aura of dark foreboding surrounding him.

“You waiting on Talon?”

“I was, but I started thinking about Sugar.” He shifted his shoulder, then glanced at Rob. “She okay when you left?”

“Sam took her to the movies.”

He nodded. “You’re good friends. She deserves the best.”

“Go home, Daedalus. She should be back soon. Surprise her with something.” Two more days before Eric and Spice came home. They would know what to do. He needed to keep the pack and his small family together for that short amount of time. Should be an easy task but everything wanted to fall apart.

“I’ve got nothing left to give her, Robert. She can’t accept what I am, and I can’t watch her grow old and die. No matter what, I’m headed for heartbreak. It’s like watching someone cut off a piece of you. It would be better to do it quick and fast. Leave now before the pain becomes unbearable.”

“That’s stupid.” The moment the words left his mouth he knew he was a dead shifter. He did a backward somersault and avoided a slap to his noggin. “Listen before you decide to beat me to a pulp, D.”

“D?” The Nosferatu twisted.

“We’re buddies now, right?” He grinned at Daedalus who only stared back at him as if he’d grown two heads. “Don’t make any rash decisions.”

“I’m not,” he shouted. “Ever since I asked Sugar to cross over and become a vampire things have been heading this way.” He turned his back on Robert. “I’ve never
asked
a woman to cross over. Part of me wishes I’d just gone ahead and had it done. At least, I’d have the rest of eternity to make it up to her instead of a few decades wishing I’d done it when we first met.”

“She never would have forgiven you.” Robert didn’t want to sit on the edge of the building anymore. It would be too easy for Daedalus to shove him off. He might survive the fall, but it would hurt like hell, and the vampire was in an ugly mood.

“Time heals all wounds. Trust me on this one.”

“Then why haven’t you done it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s why I’m off my game. I—I care too much. It’s not a good habit, take my advice on this, Robert.”

“You want her to want this.” Robert ran his fingers through his hair, trying to yank a solution from his head manually. “You’re both so stubborn. You remind me of my parents, believing so much in your own ideas you’re willing to let it tear you apart.”

Daedalus rose from the edge and faced him. Anger radiated from him in waves.

Yet Robert’s mouth kept on its suicidal path. “I’d give anything to experience what you and Sugar have. There’s a solution, you just need to think outside the box. Isn’t there some other way for her to live longer instead of becoming vampire?”

“I don’t know,” Daedalus snapped. “Never thought about it.” He crossed his thick arms over his chest. “When did you get so smart about women?”

Robert chuckled. “I’m not. Just ask the crazy one following me tonight.”

“You’ve got a girl with you? And you’re up here?” The vampire leaned over the side of the roof and glanced at the street, then waved. “You call
me
stupid. She’s hot. Nice leather. Didn’t take you for the dominatrix liking kind.”

“Never mind her.” He edged to the side and watched Esther rush to the car. Great, the vampire spooked her. “Sugar still has a few decades before you need to make a decision.”

“You say that like it’s a lot of time.” A frown pulled at the corner of his mouth, increasing the darkness of his expression. “It’s not fair to her either if she won’t cross over, Robert. She should find herself a human mate. Maybe she could have children.”

Rubbing his forehead, Robert tried to wish away the pounding in his temples. “Don’t leave. It would kill her.” God, he didn’t want to have to live with a falling-apart Sugar. It would be like living with his mother all over again after his father left. “If you want, the three of us can sit down and discuss options.”