He cursed, but it was so low she couldn't hear what he said, except for, "I'll drive."
"But…" She sucked in a breath when he grabbed her upper arm and all but lifted her into his SUV. "They're expecting me."
"Well they're getting
me.
" He shoved the SUV into gear and reversed out of the driveway.
"Well, at least Sheena will be happy," she mumbled under her breath.
He cut her a look but remained silent until they got on the road. "Do they always call you?"
She hesitated.
"Ria."
Why bother denying it? He'd know she was lying, anyway. "Not always, but yes, they call me often."
A tense silence filled the cab of the vehicle. She looked at him. His jaw was locked. He seemed to get grimmer with each minute that passed.
"Why are you angry? This is the way things work."
He shot her an inscrutable look but otherwise remained quiet.
Ria couldn't sit still. She tucked her hands between her legs to keep them still as she watched the headlights of the cars on the road go by. They pulled up outside of the strip mall that housed the bar. The parking lot was full, and a group of people stood on the sidewalk, laughing, talking, having a good time. One of them was hunched over on the curb, undoubtedly about to lose most of the liquor he'd consumed. Ria quickly focused on something else.
She was undoing her seatbelt when Drake reached over and placed his hand over hers. "Wait here."
"But..."
"Stay here, Ria."
She watched him walk across the asphalt, weaving through the parked vehicles. Here, in the darkened cab of his SUV, Ria could drop the pretense of not being interested. In fact, she savored the way he moved swiftly and smoothly through the night, toward the neon glow of the Orange Grove's entrance.
Music blared as he opened the door and disappeared into the bar. She wondered if Sheena and her friends were still doing shots. The last time Ria had gone to pick them up, she'd had to coax one of them down from dancing on the bar. Maybe Drake would fare better.
Light and noise spilled out into night once again as the door opened, illuminating the palm trees that dotted the sidewalk. Drake strode out, hustling a disgruntled Sheena and crew across the parking lot. Fortunately, Sheena remained upright but the other two were just about falling down. Ria put her hand on the handle, ready to help, but Drake's glare stopped her. She watched as Drake unceremoniously poured the other two into the back seat.
"So, you called the big man on us," Sheena snapped. Alcohol had obviously impaired her judgment if she was talking like this in front of her Alpha.
Ria opened her mouth to reply, but Drake slammed into the SUV, cutting her off. "I was at her house when you called."
That shut up the females in the backseat. Ria kept her gaze steadily ahead as she asked, "Did you pay the tab?"
Drake cursed and jumped out, heading back into the bar.
"What did you do now, Ria?" Sheena slurred drunkenly from the backseat. Ria hazarded a glance in the rearview mirror. The other two were passed out cold. "How is it you always manage to piss off Drake?" She snorted and leaned forward between the seats. "I heard something interesting today. You were making out hot and heavy with some dude at the office." Sheena's laughter rocked the car. "I can't believe it. You."
"Sheena, how much did you have to drink?" Ria was desperate to turn the conversation away from herself and Drake. It was bad enough that the guys had seen Drake kissing her. It would be worse if she had an affair with Drake and it ended. Especially if Sheena knew. Sheena would be sure to remind Ria constantly that she didn't have what it took to keep an Alpha like Drake satisfied.
Not that she was going to sleep with Drake. No, she didn't want to go through that heartache. Not when everyone would know about it.
The door opened. Drake slid in, in a darker mood than before. The tension filled the cab of the vehicle as it rolled over the hot tarmac, the dark broken by the occasional street lamp and the lights from the strip malls. Ria almost envied the two sleeping girls who couldn't feel the anger filling the vehicle. Drake didn't speak for miles, until he neared Sheena's apartment. "Since you're the one that's awake, relay this message to your friends in the morning. I want you in my office tomorrow. All three of you."
"Aw, Drake."
"I don't want you back in that bar again." His voice got deeper with each word. Sheena, even in her state, had the sense to keep her mouth shut. Her Alpha's anger was clearly enough to start sobering her up.
Drake pulled in the parking lot of the Pack-owned apartment complex. This time, Ria ignored his look and hopped out of the SUV into the cold Florida weather. He snarled at her, but Ria held her ground. Sheena exited the backseat first, eyes down and head averted. Ria looked on in amazement. This was the most submissive she'd ever seen the female.
Ria closed the doors of the SUV as Drake and Sheena wrangled and carried each of the severely intoxicated females up the three flights of concrete steps. Ria made a note to call the superintendent. A few of the exterior lights were flickering.
Wind cut through the breezeways, causing Ria to shiver. Ria stepped forward to relieve Sheena of the keys to the apartment. The door swung open and Drake wasted no time depositing his burden on the couch. Sheena, on the other hand, headed straight to the bathroom and deposited her Pack mate in the tub.
"She throws up." Sheena said by way of explanation.
Drake grunted a response and led Ria out of the apartment, but not before shucking his jacket and dropping it onto her shoulders.
"Tomorrow." He pulled the door closed behind them and hustled them back to his SUV.
Ria waited until they'd pulled away from the girls' apartment before she spoke.
"They're adults."
"Yes, and they should behave like it. You pick them up every Wednesday and Friday night?"
Her face flamed. "I don't always…"
"You do. Why are you always available?"
"I'm not always available."
"The bartender knows who you are and has your phone number."
Ria defended herself. "That's best for the Pack. I'm usually home."
"Why aren't you out enjoying yourself like they are?"
"I'm not into going out."
"That's not true. I've seen you out before."
Dread filled her. Dancing in the dark, surrounded by people who didn't know her name, was her guilty pleasure. Not even James knew that every so often she slipped away from her lonely home and the demands of the Pack and lost herself on a dance floor.
She kept her gaze on the darkened landscape. The wheels of the vehicle turned off the asphalt and onto her strip of a driveway.
Ria gathered her courage, miserable as she was to know her privacy had only been an illusion. "How long have you been following me when I go out at night?"
***
Great, now Drake knew he looked like a stalker. "I saw you dancing at Vida."
Vida was one of the few dance clubs she'd frequented, and since one of the Pack mates owned it, they always called him when Ria crossed the threshold.
She was watching him warily from the other side of the cab.
"You were at Vida? Why?"
He hesitated, then went for it. "I went to see you."
"Me?"
He caught her incredulous glance. "Yes, you."
She bit her lip and turned her head away. He cursed silently, her scent of fear and confusion filling his head. He needed to go slow, but his wolf was howling for her.
"Why would you be looking for me?" Her anger was building, the scent slowly rising to wipe out the fear.
"I thought I was pretty clear this afternoon."
"I'm not a plaything, Drake. Go find another girl."
His vision went red. "Who said you were a plaything?"
"Isn't it obvious? You wouldn't look at me if I weren't convenient."
Drake flexed his hands. He forced himself to ease up so he wouldn't break the steering wheel. She hopped out of the SUV. He turned off the vehicle and stalked after her. She'd already closed the door to her house.
"Ria." He could hear her breathing on the other side. "Open up."
He put his palm to the door. He could take the door of its hinges, but scaring her wasn't in his plan. If he'd had a plan. Right now, he was winging it. The sound of her breathing propelled him into action. She was standing with just a few inches of door between them. "Ria. Open up. I watch you when you dance because you don't hide from me then. The only problem I have is that every other man in that club gets to see you, too."
He rested his forehead against her door and waited, surrounded by her scent and her things. A wind chime made a delicate sound every time a slight breeze blew past her porch. Just when he thought she would turn him away, he heard the tumblers of the lock disengage. He lifted his head and moved forward as she opened the door.
"What do you want from me?" She stood with her back to the wall, hand still on the door knob. Drake reached out and closed the door.
He didn't bother with a verbal reply. He swooped in, caging her body and claiming her mouth. She tensed, then melted against him. He groaned in triumph as heat coursed through his body. He wanted to lift her and wrap her legs around him. He did just that.
Her head fell back, and he feasted on her neck, enjoying the feel of her erratic pulse and the scent of her rising arousal. The knowledge of just how much she wanted him made it difficult for him to gain control of his wolf. His wolf wanted to claim her. Here, now, and to hell with the consequences.
The need to taste her rode him hard. He inhaled, and the scent of her drove him wild.
"Which way to your room?"
Her eyes were unfocused as he dove in for another kiss.
"Your bedroom?" he asked.
"The living room." She panted against his mouth.
The living room it was. His inner wolf didn't care.
***
Drake growled against her mouth. Ria's body felt as if it were a flame. When Drake made that sound, she melted for him. Something about that rumble that began in his chest caressed every nerve in her body, making her want more. He pushed her shirt up and began to nip at her belly. Consciousness began to surface as the cool air hit her stomach. Drake was working on her pants.
Oh no.
She pushed at his shoulders and somehow managed to be amused and exasperated when he wouldn't budge.
"No."
He looked up, his eyes glowing with the kind of heat she'd hoped for. Had hoped for, for years. Now, she was turning it down. Once she'd had him, he'd grow tired of her and move on to his next female, and then the next, until one day, he found his mate. Pain rolled through her at the thought.
He inhaled, frowned and sat up. "What did you just say?"
"No."
He moved away from the couch. "Are you telling me you don't want me?"
She looked away and hated the weakness that made her voice tremble. "No."
"That seems to be your favorite word tonight. If you want me, then why are we stopping?"
Ria let herself get angry. It was better to be angry than to give in to the need she felt for him. "Oh please. Don't try and tell me that I'm irresistible to you."
"You are." He was beginning to look frustrated now. "You've always been."
That hurt even more. "Give it up, Drake. Why me? You could have found anyone else to bed. Hell, you were at Pack Circle this past week. I'm sure that there were a bunch of unattached females who were interested."
"They are not you." He enunciated each word carefully, although he was growling now.
She took a good look at him. The wolf was out.
"Next, you'll be telling me I'm your mate." Ria pulled her shirt down from around her neck. "This is low, even for you, Drake. What? Did you forget that I know all about mating?"
"What if that's what you are?"
"I'm not. Werewolves tend to mate with other wolves."
"What about your parents? Your father was a wolf."
"An anomaly. I'm one of the few humans in the Pack."
"Half-human and an integral member of our Pack."
"So I'm a freak. I'm half-werewolf with none of the benefits." She finished smoothing down her shirt. She rose.
"Ria, they trust you to take care of the pups. Our young are the most important members of the Pack, and no one in the Pack would hand them over to just anybody."
"No, I'm just a convenient babysitter, and I understand that it's my fault."
Ria skirted the edge of the sofa. If she could just get him to follow her, she'd lead him right out her front door. His large, warm hand closed over her shoulder.
"Look at me."
She did, making sure to meet his gaze, while moving backwards, drawing him closer to her goal.
"You are not a freak. Just because you're half human and half wolf, it doesn't mean that you're worth any less."
"Tell that to the Pack."
"It also doesn't mean," he continued, as if she hadn't spoken, "that you can't be my mate."
She'd succeeded in maneuvering him to the door. It was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, but she wouldn't miss something she'd never had in the first place. She drew in a breath and ran her hand down the wooden door to the knob.
"Ria."
She pressed the thumb lock, and pulled the door open.
"Please leave."
***
Please leave
. The words echoed in his head. He hadn't left her driveway just yet. He couldn't make himself. He'd wanted to pick her up and show her exactly how he felt. Problem was, he would have damaged his chances with her.
He'd backed away once, letting her go to college when he'd wanted her for his own. He'd given her a chance at a normal, everyday life. Ria may not have known it, but when she had chosen to return to the Pack, he'd known the time to claim her had come.
The scent of her fear and frustration when she'd asked him to leave had caused him to freeze. He was hurting her and he wasn't sure how he was doing it. The blank look in her eyes had made him want to tear something apart. That wouldn't solve his problem, either.