The Mane Event (26 page)

“It was the only safe place I could think of.”

Brendon nodded, quickly deciding not to care where he was as long as this female was with him. “Fair enough.” He tugged at the ropes. “Think you can let me go now?”

Without a word, she walked around so she stood on his right side. Her hand slapped hard against his forehead.

“Ow.”

“You’re still feverish. Probably at the tail end, but I ain’t takin’ any more chances with you. I think I’ve chased enough lions around New York today. So you’ll stay put until that fever ends.”

Man, talk about pissed. He didn’t know what he did wrong, but he didn’t want her to be mad at him.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For whatever I did that pissed you off.”

Finally, she gave a grudging smile. “Well, at least you don’t try and bullshit your way out of things.”

Brendon glanced around the room. He didn’t know where he was or how he got here. All he had to anchor him during all this was this woman and her wonderful scent. “What day is it?” Something told him it was an important day.

“December twenty-fifth.”

Wincing, Brendon stared up at her.
That explains the whole pissed thing.
“It’s Christmas?” She gave a brief nod. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you’re stuck here with me and not with your Pack.”

Her face softened a bit at that and, to his surprise, she sat on the bed next to him, her head resting against his outstretched arm. Damn, but the woman smelled so freakin’ good.

“Don’t let it bother you none.” She patted his knee, then her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. “And would you control that thing, please.”

Brendon glanced down at his lap. His cock pushed hard and demanding against the sole white sheet covering him from waist to toes.

“That is not my fault.” He grinned. “That’s your fault.”

“It is not my fault. You have no self-control.”

“You were the one who touched me intimately.”

“I patted your knee.”

“See? Intimate.”

She laughed and shook her head. Baby-soft brown hair brushed his arm. “You’re an idiot.”

“Sometimes.” Brendon relaxed back, letting his arms hang a bit so they didn’t get tired. “Look, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me tonight. I know it wasn’t easy.”

She shrugged like she’d taken care of hopped-up-on-fever lions every day of the week.

“I guess I owe you a Christmas present, huh?” he asked.

“A Christmas present? For little ol’ me? What would you get me?”

“What do you want?”

She snuggled in a bit closer to him, and he threatened his cock with bodily harm if it even thought about rearing up again. She-wolves didn’t snuggle up to just anybody, and he didn’t want to scare her off.

“Let’s see—rich guy asking me what I want for Christmas.” She squinted at him. “You are rich, right? You’re not living off those Pride females, are ya?”

Not in this lifetime
. “No. I’m not living off them.”

“Oh, well then, that opens up so many possibilities. I’ve always wanted a Maserati.”

“A Maserati? Little tall for that, aren’t you?”

She turned glittering hazel eyes his way. “And what does that mean?”

“That you’re tall. Maybe too tall for the car.”

“That better be all you mean,” she muttered.

“No, I’m sure your feet can fit in there fine.”

“Now see! There it is. We are not to discuss my feet.” They both glanced down at the cowboy boots resting on the bed. Christ, those feet
were
big. But those boots she had on were sexy as hell. “They get me where I need to go.”

“How could they not?”

“You do understand I have no problem leaving your naked ass out on the road.”

“I understand.”

“So you be nice to me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now you are gettin’ me that Maserati. And jewelry. From that blue box place.”

Brendon forced himself to frown so he wouldn’t laugh instead. “Do you mean Tiffany?”

“Yeah. That place. I want diamonds and platinum. Necklaces and bracelets should do me fine.”

“You don’t really seem like the jewelry-wearing type.” She didn’t even have on earrings.

“I’m not. But I can sell it and put the cash in the bank.” She looked at him. “It seems wrong just to take cold hard cash from you.”

“I’m glad you have a moral standing.”

“I do. I haven’t killed you yet. Although it’s crossed my mind several times this evening.”

“Thank you for not killing me.”

“You know, you could forget about the car and jewelry if you did me one little favor.”

“Which is?”

“The next time you see a Pack, you don’t think to yourself ‘Hey, look at them dogs.’ You think, ‘Ahh. Wolves. The mightiest of the mighty. The bravest of the brave.’”

“I’d really rather buy you the car…and an island.”

She poked her elbow into his side; a lesser man would have definitely grunted from pain. “Bigot.”

“Cat hater.”

She laughed and Brendon nuzzled her neck with his nose. “You smell good.”

Swatting at his face as if he were a wasp, “Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. You’re not helping me keep my semblance of cool control.”

“Why would I?”

“Typical.”

He shrugged as best he could in his bindings. “I like you. I don’t feel bad cause I like you.”

“You don’t like me. Your fever likes me. I know once you’re through this you’ll go back to being an asshole cat.” Leaning close to him, her lips near his, “And won’t that be the fun morning-after for me.”

“We can deal with the morning-after later. Let’s talk about the here and now.”

“Forget it, Garfield.” She made to slip off the bed and his strength surged powerful and strong. He snapped the rope binding on his left arm and quickly grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

“Don’t go.”

“I knew I should have used the chains my aunt has in her basement. Why she has those chains I don’t wanna know.” She grabbed his hand and tried to pry his fingers off. “Now if you’ll get your dirty cat paws off me—”

With a short growl, Brendon snapped the rest of his bindings and had her under him in seconds.

To be quite honest, nothing had ever felt so right before in his entire life.

Once again she had to ask herself,
How do you get yourself into these situations?

True, she never should have sat so close, but he’d seemed quite lucid and she liked talking to him. There were few outside her Pack or family she had any interest in actually having a conversation with.

It definitely didn’t help that she really liked this man being between her legs. She liked it way more than she should.

Big fingers dug into her scalp and then massaged. Without meaning to, she growled, her body immediately responding. In fact, if the bastard moved two inches lower, he’d find her happy spot and her leg would start shaking. How embarrassing would that be?

“You…you need to stop.”
And I need to stop panting. And moaning
.

“I don’t wanna stop.” Those incredibly soft lips skimmed across her cheek. “And I don’t think you want me to stop.”

“Of course I want you to stop,” she groaned, her hands gripping his shoulders and pulling him closer. “I want you to stop right now.”

“Would it help if I said I can’t control myself?” He kissed her neck and licked it, a purr rumbling up from his chest. “My animal instincts have taken over and there’s nothing you or I can do about it. I’ve gone completely wild.”

“No one is going to believe—”

Shaw kissed her, cutting off her words and making her writhe beneath him while his hips pumped against hers. With a sheet and her jeans and panties between them, this shouldn’t have done much for her, but she moaned and gasped every time he pushed against her.

Ronnie spread her thighs wider, wrapping her legs around his hips, begging him for more without saying one word.

Shaw threaded his fingers with hers and pushed her hands over her head, pinning them there. The whole time they kept grinding their hips together, moving as if Shaw were inside of her. Fucking her.

He sucked on her tongue, and the sensation slammed into her clit and danced over her entire body.

She didn’t try and stop him anymore. She couldn’t.

Ronnie met each of his thrusts with her own until she felt an orgasm miraculously tearing up her spine and pouring out through her fingers and toes. Her grip tightened on his hands, her body arching into his.

“God!” he gasped against her mouth. “God!”

Then they were both coming. Both screaming and grinding against each other until Ronnie thought for sure she’d pass out right then. Pass out and give this man the biggest ego boost of his life.

While small spasms rippled through them and they fought to control their breathing, they clung to each other until Ronnie fell into an exhausted sleep.

B
rendon stretched and sighed. He’d never felt better. He’d survived the fever, his wounds completely healed except for some residual scarring. Plus he had a warm, wet woman he had every intention of spending the entire day in bed with. He just had to find out her name.

He heard movement from the corner of the room and turned over expecting to see his long-limbed She-wolf waiting for him. Preferably naked.

“Morning, sunshine.”

Sitting up straight, Brendon barked, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Mace Llewellyn grinned at him from the safety of his corner. “I’m here to bring you back to the city so you don’t overstay your welcome.”

“Where is she?”

“Where’s who?”

Brendon tossed off the sheet covering his naked body and stood up. “You know damn well who I mean!
Where is she?
”

With a bored sigh, Mace stood up. “I’m going downstairs. You’ve got ten minutes to shower and get your ass in the car. After that I’m heading back into the city and to Dez whether you’re in the damn car or not.” Mace walked out without another word, and Brendon stood in the middle of the room two seconds from roaring his intense displeasure at this current situation.

Quickly showering and putting on the sweat clothes Mace brought for him, Brendon followed the irritating bastard’s scent outside and into the black SUV at the corner. Without waiting for him to ask, Brendon gave Llewellyn directions to Marissa’s place. The hotel could wait.

They drove in silence until they hit the Long Island Expressway, then he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“What’s her name?”

“Who?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Llewellyn. Who is she?”

“She’s Pack and way out of your league.”

He already knew that. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t go for her. That he wouldn’t get her. Lions were smart. A female like that came along once in a lifetime. He wasn’t dumb enough to let her get away from him.

“What’s her name?”

“None of your business. Oh. Sorry. I meant
Miss
None of Your Business.”

Brendon rolled his eyes and stared out the window. He’d never been happier about the ending of his Pride life until this moment. Damn Llewellyns.

“So why were you in the hyena tunnels anyway?”

Tempted to say “none of your business,” Brendon decided to hold his rapidly growing temper. “I’ve been looking for my brother.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yeah. Younger. And a twin sister, too.”

“Really?”

Brendon let out a deep sigh. “Yes. Really.”

“I’m so…” After several moments, Llewellyn shrugged. “…not interested.”

“I know. But I appreciate you asking.”

“You’re welcome.”

Brendon watched Long Island speed by as Llewellyn broke several state and county laws rushing back to the city and, most likely, to his big-breasted woman.

When they hit the Queens Midtown Tunnel, Brendon asked, “Do you have any clients yet?”

“Clients?”

“Yeah. Your sister said you were starting a security business or something.”

“Missy told you that?”

“Yeah. Right. We have deep, long conversations, me and Miss. Allie told me.”

“Oh. Yeah. We’re pulling it together now. Why?”

“Want a client?”

“You want me to find your brother?”

“No. I want you to find out
about
my brother. The little shit is hiding something from me, and I want to know what.”

“Have you tried asking him?”

“When I actually talk to him. But he won’t tell me shit.”

“When was the last time you heard from him?”

“Every couple of days he leaves me a voice mail. Sometimes he’ll catch me on the phone. But he won’t tell me where he is. Last time I actually spoke to him was about two weeks ago. Then Petrov told me the night before he died that he saw Mitch at the Chapel. I was hoping he’d come back. That’s why I was there.”

“Okay. We’ll see what we can find out.”

“Thanks.”

“And we’re going to charge you out the ass.”

Brendon looked back out the window, wondering where his long-legged beauty was at the moment—and if she was naked. “Yeah. I figured.”

Ronnie patted her pockets, quickly realizing she didn’t have her room key. But when it appeared in front of her face, she wasn’t exactly surprised. The entire Pack had keys to each others’ rooms.

Pack living—definitely not for everyone.

Grasping it, she turned and smiled up into the handsome face of Bobby Ray Smith. “Thanks, Bobby Ray. Where’d ya find it?”

“At the hospital with your sweater and your jacket and your big fancy textbook.” He stared at her for a moment, then said, “You should have called us, little girl. As soon as things turned bad, you should have called us.”

“I handled it, didn’t I?”

“That’s not the point. You know how some get during the fever. Things could have gone very bad for you, darlin’.”

“I handled it.”

She loved Bobby Ray, but she had enough big brothers in her life. She didn’t plan to add any more to the list. “I’m tired, Bobby Ray.”

“Fair enough. Sorry if I pushed.”

Only Bobby Ray would think of that as pushing. To the Reeds that was general conversation over family dinner before the mauling started. “Don’t worry. If you’d really annoyed me, I would have gone for your throat by now.”

“I always wondered where your brothers got those scars on their necks from.”

“Are they coming out here?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“Probably. At least to visit before they decide. Splitting from a Pack is never easy. And my daddy will make sure it ain’t easy for them.” He nudged her with his shoulder, almost sending her flying through her hotel room door. “Don’t you want ’em out here?”

“I love ’em, but you know my kin. They crowd me. With them around, I’ll never get laid again.”

“You say these things to me, knowing it’s going to make me insane.”

She frowned. “Why should it?”

“Because you and my baby sister have been joined at the hip since before y’all could walk. What one did, so did the other. And I prefer to think of Sissy Mae Smith as virginal and untouched.”

He let her laughter continue until she literally began to roll back and forth across the floor, then he hauled her up and stood her back in front of her door.

“I don’t want to know—ever—what y’all have been up to since I went into the Navy.”

“And we have no intention of telling you, darlin’.” Ronnie wiped the tears from her eyes and let out a happy sigh. That had been the best laugh she’d had in days.

“I still don’t know why the Pack let you go. Y’all were too young to be out on your own.”

“They didn’t have any choice. Besides, we snuck away in the middle of the night. By the time they realized we were gone, we were halfway across the Atlantic.”

Bobby Ray stared at her for a moment. “If your brothers join my Pack, will you leave?”

Ronnie sighed. “I can’t say it hadn’t crossed my mind. I love them boys. You know I do. But my big brothers can be overwhelming men. When they’re around, I no longer exist. I’m just ‘baby sister of the Reed Boys.’”

“You know it won’t be like that here. With or without your brothers, Rhonda Lee, I want you as part of this Pack. You’re a mighty fighter and you are the one person who has a modicum of control over my baby sister. Most important, you’re a good person, Ronnie Lee. And a mighty She-wolf. Stay and be part of this Pack because you belong. We both know you do.”

She belonged. Not as daughter of Clifton Reed or baby sister of the Reed Boys, but because Bobby Ray Smith understood her worth. That meant more to her than anything ever had before.

On impulse, Ronnie went up on her toes and kissed him on his cheek.

“What was that for?” Bobby Ray smirked. “You’re not falling in love with me, are ya, Ronnie Lee? I don’t wanna have to break yet another young She-wolf’s heart, darlin’.”

Ronnie crossed her eyes. “You’re gonna make a great Alpha, Bobby Ray. But you’re an idiot.”

“It’s all right, darlin’. I understand.” He patted her shoulder. “So many have loved and lost me. I couldn’t expect you to be any different.”

“You’re right, Bobby Ray. I’m madly in love with you. My heart may never recover.”

“That explains it then.”

“Explains what?”

Bobby Ray scratched her head affectionately and walked off, tossing over his shoulder, “That reek of cat you’ve got all over you. Cheatin’ on me with some cat to push me from your thoughts and heart. Cat ho.”

Startled into action, Ronnie darted into her hotel room and made a beeline to the shower, ignoring the pile of Christmas presents waiting for her and tearing off her clothes as she went.

One thing for Bobby Ray to notice such a thing, but if her fellow She-wolves smelled a big, arrogant, delicious lion all over her, they’d never let her live it down.

Brendon’s twin sister opened her front door, her eyes going wide at the sight of him.

“What in holy hell—”

“Don’t ask.” He pushed past her and walked into her apartment.

“Don’t ask? How can I not ask?”

Dropping facedown on his sister’s couch, Brendon said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I guess not.” He could hear her settle in her favorite king chair, her feet on the ottoman in front of it. “After getting your ass kicked like this.”

Brendon’s head snapped up and he glared. “I did not get my ass kicked. I got ambushed. And they had guns.”

She frowned. “Hyenas or wolves?”

Brendon grabbed a pillow, resting his head on it. He did love his sister’s furniture. They had the same taste when it came to their comfort. “Not in this lifetime. There’s no hyena or wolf alive that can do this to me. No, it was lions.”

“Lions? Lions had guns? Are you sure?”

“I was sure when they had the barrel pointed at the back of my head.” His sister fell deadly silent, and Brendon looked up again to see the rage on her face. Crap. He didn’t mean to get her this pissed off. Once pissed off, it was hard to rein his twin in. “Rissa, calm down.”

“Calm down?” She stood up. “I wanna know who did this to you. I wanna know right now.” Then Marissa Shaw let loose with a litany of curses that reminded Brendon that although his family swam in money now, it hadn’t been long ago when he and his sister ran the streets of Philly causing more problems then seemed right considering their age at the time. It took a lot of work to get to this point. A lot of work to change the Shaw name from lower level lions to prime breeders.

Brendon sat up, but before he could say anything, his sister slapped her hand against his forehead.

“Ow.”

“Do you still have the fever? Christ, when did this happen?”

“Christmas Eve, and I already went through the fever.”

“Christmas Eve?”

“Okay, you really need to stop repeating everything I say. It’s getting on my nerves.”

“It’s the twenty-sixth.
Where the fuck have you been for
—”

Brendon put his hand over his sister’s mouth. “If you’ll shut up for two seconds, I’ll tell you.” He hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but now he had no choice. It was either that or listen to the rants of a crazy lioness.

She sat on the coffee table in front of Brendon. “Start talking.”

A long hot shower turned out to be exactly what Ronnie Lee needed to calm her nerves and her worries. As she brushed her teeth and combed out her wet hair, she realized her time with Brendon Shaw had only been a fluke. A momentary loss of sanity. No matter where Sissy and she may have traveled over the years, they always made it home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This turned out to be the first year she’d ever spent a holiday away from her kin or her Pack.

Lonely. She felt lonely. That’s all. But in a few more days it would be New Year’s Eve. She’d hang out with her Pack at some swank party in the hotel, get ridiculously liquored up, and this shitty holiday would be long behind her.

So, as of this moment, she would stop feeling sorry for herself and forget this particular, cat-related incident ever happened.

Giving herself a brief nod in the mirror, she headed back out to the bedroom and her open suitcase. She dug through the pile of clothes until she found a worn pair of baggy cotton shorts and a loose T-shirt. She pulled them on, shook her wet hair out, and headed toward the door.

With keycard in hand, she walked across the hallway and knocked on the opposite door. In less than a minute it opened and Sissy Mae Smith grinned at her friend. “Well, hey, darlin’. How did last night—ow!”

Ronnie twisted Sissy’s nose until her friend bent to the side, then she slapped her hand off, hitting Sissy’s nose in the process.

Turning on her heel she stalked back to her hotel room. And as she slammed the door she could hear Sissy’s laughing response, “I
knew
you’d like him!”

“And that’s the whole story,” Brendon finished.

For several long moments his sister stared at him, and then she said, “You let a dog take you to Long Island?”

Brendon’s head dropped forward. “That’s all you have to say?”

“What else is there to say? Other than I thought you had better sense than that.”

“What about Mitch?”

“What about him? He’s a scumbag. I keep telling you that and you keep ignoring me.”

“Our baby brother may be in trouble. How can you not care?”

“Like this.” Marissa stood up and started to walk away. Brendon grabbed her arm.

“He’s our kid brother, Rissa. We protect him like we protect each other.”

“He’s a thief and a liar and hangs around degenerates. He’s not our problem. Now do you want a soda or not?”

“Not.”

“Fine.” She pulled her arm away and went to the kitchen, returning with a Sprite. “You want something to eat?”

“No.”

“If you’re saying no because you’re pouting, you might as well give it up because your hunger will win out. It always wins out.”

Dammit. She was right. Brendon felt starved for food, like he hadn’t eaten in months rather than a day or so.

“Fine. I’ll eat. But I still think you’re being cold about all this.”