Authors: Savannah Stuart
Unbelievable.
Fate was a cruel, cruel bitch and she’d certainly had a lot of fun torturing Marisol in
the past year. Well, no more. Mate or not, she didn’t care. It was only biology after all.
Her body might want the man and the wolf, but she didn’t love him.
Considering what he did for a living, it was doubtful she ever would. She threw
him a cool look. “So what if we’re mates? I have a choice in the matter, you know.”
He muttered something she couldn’t understand. It sounded Greek, but she
thought he was Cuban. Or at least that’s what she’d learned through the grapevine. So
many of the club-hopping South Beach girls wanted a piece of him. He was obviously
rich and powerful, but he got that money through the pain of others. Marisol had only
watched him from afar or else she would have known he was a shifter long ago.
She wasn’t sure if that would have made a difference in her approach or not. Now
she’d never know.
“Have dinner with me,” he growled, taking her by surprise with his demand.
“Are you asking or ordering?”
He cleared his throat and she was under the impression that this was incredibly
difficult for him. “Have dinner with me tomorrow night…please.”
She set her drink down. “Maybe. Where are you going to take me?” She actually
planned to say yes. Now that she realized how easy it would be to get to Perez through
him, it was her only choice. Still, she wanted this sexy wolf to sweat it.
“I’ll cook for you. My place.”
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Worth the Risk
She bit back a retort. Somehow she couldn’t see this big man wearing an apron. He
probably had a maid. “Are your sweaty looking thugs going to be there too?” She tilted
her head in the direction of one of the men she’d seen hovering around him earlier.
His head swiveled around then he glanced back at her. It almost looked as if he’d
forgotten they were there. “It’ll just be you and me,
kardia mou
,” he murmured.
She wasn’t sure what the foreign words meant, but they sure as hell weren’t
Spanish.
Interesting.
“If you think you can handle me all by yourself, I guess the answer
is yes.” She uncrossed, then re-crossed her legs and took pleasure at the low growl she
heard start to form in his throat. He had to smell her desire, no doubt about it. “You
better watch yourself,
wolf
, or you’ll change in the middle of this club.”
She’d only been kidding, but his breathing became more labored and when she saw
a flash of his canines, her heart beat an erratic tattoo against her ribs. Arms dealer or
not, he was her mate and something primal inside her shifted. She had to protect him.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” She slid off the stool and grabbed his hand, ready to
bolt down the stairs she’d come up not long ago.
He had other plans. Stephan motioned to the men in suits to stay then practically
dragged her toward one of the EXIT signs. Once they were in the private stairwell, he
finally spoke, but his words were hoarse. “I have a car waiting out back.”
Something told her they weren’t going to make it that far. So she did the only thing
she could think of. Pressing her body against the full length of his, she wrapped her
arms around his neck.
He didn’t need any more motivation than that. His hungry mouth slanted over hers
with a rough intensity. As his tongue rasped over hers in erotic little strokes, she
allowed her body to meld against his very hard one.
She could feel the raw energy racing through him. All the hard lines and muscles of
his body pulsed with excitement. The power of it rolled off him and coursed over her.
Sometimes the urge to change could be overwhelming, but she hadn’t had an issue
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Savannah Stuart
controlling it since she was a pup. And something told her Stephan rarely had a
problem with control either.
She didn’t want to want him as much as she did, but her body betrayed her mind.
Heat and cream flooded her panties as he nudged her legs open wider with his thigh. It
had been so long since she’d let a man—or shifter—touch her, it was a wonder she
didn’t combust on the spot. Even though it was ridiculous, he felt somehow familiar. As
their tongues and bodies intertwined, she inhaled his earthy scent.
When his cock pressed insistently against her lower abdomen, she moaned into his
mouth. One of his big hands trailed down her back until it settled at the curve of her
behind. He moved the material of her dress out of the way so that he gripped bare skin.
An inaudible sound tore from his throat as his fingers dug into her. She could feel
them both getting out of control so she pulled her head back and opened her eyes. He
was still breathing hard, but there were no signs of pointy canines and while his gaze
was heated, his eyes didn’t have that wild, uncontrollable look about them anymore.
“Are you okay now?” she asked. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she was okay. Her skin felt
on fire and all they’d done was kiss. There was a surprising ache between her legs and
she hated the sudden urge to throw herself against this man.
“If I tell you no will you keep kissing me?” A trace of humor laced his deep voice,
but his words were hoarse and forced.
Despite her desire to feel nothing for this man, Marisol could feel the corners of her
lips pull into a smile. “You’re not like what I expected,” she murmured before she could
bite the words back.
His dark brows snapped down. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged out of his embrace and put some distance between them. “I
know
what you do for a living, Stephan Vasquez.”
Something indefinable flashed in his eyes, but it was gone so quick she couldn’t put
her finger on it. Hell, she couldn’t even smell the man’s emotions. He was obviously
very adept at hiding his true self.
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Worth the Risk
“You don’t know as much as you think you do,
kardia mou
.”
She rolled her eyes and forced her protective wall back up. This man was nothing to
her. He was a means to an end. Once she completed what she’d come here to do, she
didn’t care if she lived or died. And she certainly couldn’t allow some wolf to get in the
way of her plans. “If you’re fine, I’m leaving. This club is giving me a headache.” Even
though they were in the stairwell, the walls reverberated with the techno music inside.
“I’ll give you a ride.” He took her by the arm in a possessive grip and started down
the stairs.
She had no choice but to follow, but there was no way she was letting him give her
a ride. “I’ll take a taxi home, but thank you for the offer.”
He grunted something under his breath as he held the door open for her. It emptied
into an alley where a black SUV limousine with dark tinted windows waited. Before she
could attempt to argue, he’d opened the back door and practically shoved her inside. “I
told you—”
The door slammed behind him. “You’re mine, and I take care of what’s mine.”
The slam lit the pilot light on her temper.
Arrogant bastard.
“We might be mates, but
I haven’t submitted to you,” she snapped. And it was unlikely she ever would. The
words remained unspoken but echoed through her mind. She was prepared to die to
kill Perez, and she couldn’t allow herself to be mated. Even if he was an arms dealer, to
knowingly bond would be cruel to Stephan. Not all shifters mated for life, but
werewolves did, and it was very rare to get a second chance if one mate died. If Perez
figured out who she was, he would no doubt kill her and Stephan would likely never
have the opportunity to mate again.
When she slid a few inches farther away from him, her dress shifted against the
plush leather seat and revealed more skin. As if connected by a magnet, his eyes
immediately strayed down.
She’d worn the skimpy red dress to get attention. Of course, she hadn’t wanted it
from Stephan. She’d wanted it from Antonio Perez. The man was almost impossible to
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get to and she’d known she’d have to flash a lot of skin if she wanted to get invited to
one of his parties. Now she had an even better way to get to Antonio and she wouldn’t
have to pretend to be interested in him. If she was Stephan’s woman, he would have no
reason to question her. “How long have you been doing business with Antonio Perez? I
thought you dealt in weapons.” And word on the street was that Perez dealt in drugs—
legal and illegal. Both bad businesses, but they weren’t exactly the same beasts. For
whatever reason, drugs brought more heat from the law in Miami.
A slight frown marred his handsome face. “How do you know about that?”
She shrugged. “Everyone in the South Beach circuit knows. You’ve been seen with
him at all the clubs.”
“Why haven’t I seen you around before?”
Marisol inwardly cursed at how smoothly he changed the subject. “I’m not exactly a
club girl. I was just out tonight with friends.” It wasn’t a complete lie. She’d been
visiting clubs all over Miami for the past year trying to find a chink in Perez’s security.
The only time he ever let his guard down was around pretty women. So she’d
befriended party girls. She didn’t want the focus on her so she asked another question
before Stephan could continue. “What pack are you part of? I haven’t heard of any
Vasquez’s living around here.”
“What
have
you heard?” He scooted an inch closer so their knees touched.
She started to answer when the window separating them from the driver rolled
down. “Mr. Vasquez, where am I taking you?”
“My place in Key Biscayne,” he ordered.
“No—” He pressed a finger over her mouth.
After the window rolled back up, she pushed at his shoulder. “You can’t just take
me prisoner. And you never answered my question. What pack do you belong to?”
“I’ll answer your questions later.”
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Worth the Risk
“No. I want answers now. If you’re not part of the Lazos pack, who the hell are
you?” He was obviously an alpha, but something told her he wasn’t an
Alpha
. He didn’t
run his own pack. No, he seemed like more of a loner. She’d heard that the Lazos pack
made their home in Miami, but she’d never formally introduced herself to any of them
or even sought them out. Miami was a big place and as a lone wolf, it had been easier
than she imagined to blend in.
“You know about them?”
“I know that Miami is their home. I haven’t met any of them. Are they okay with
you being here?”
A small, knowing smile touched his lips. The action immediately softened the harsh
planes of his face. “I’ve spoken to their Alpha and he’s allowed me to stay here as long
as I respect his territory. Why haven’t you introduced yourself?”
“I…truthfully, I hadn’t planned to stay in Miami so long and I just never got around
to it.”
“Don’t you have any respect for our rules?”
He was one to talk. “Why are you taking me to your home?”
He sighed. “Are you always so difficult?”
“Only when I’m being kidnapped,” she muttered.
He was silent so long she wasn’t sure he’d respond. Finally he spoke. “Do you want
to go home? I’ll tell my driver to turn around right now.”
She considered his offer for a moment. The truth was, she didn’t mind going home
with him. The closer she got to Stephan, the easier it would be to make her move
against Perez. The nagging voice in her head shouted that betraying her mate was one
of the lowest things she could possibly do, but she ignored it. Her family was dead
because of Antonio Perez and if it was the last thing she did, she was going to put him
in his grave.
Resolved, she hardened her heart and stared out the window. “I’ll go with you.”
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Stephan shut the office door and fished his phone out of his pants pocket. His boss
was going to be pissed when he realized he’d ditched his team, but he didn’t want
anyone knowing about Marisol. That included
everyone
he worked with. Luckily he’d
convinced his boss to hire a private limo company as part of their cover. And that
company just happened to be owned by his Uncle Cosmo.
He was taking a big risk bringing her to one of his family’s beach houses instead of
the place the DEA was using for this operation, but he needed absolute privacy. His
cover house was bugged in every room and he’d made sure Antonio Perez knew about
its location. Letting the other man think he knew of his whereabouts had gone a long
way in establishing trust between them.
Sighing, he dialed the number.
Reuben Woods, Director of the DEA’s Miami division, picked up on the second
ring. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I can’t talk.”
“Coleman said you left with a woman. Who is she?”
“I can’t say.”
“What the fuck does that mean, you can’t say?”
“You’re just gonna have to trust me. Saturday is still a go, so make sure a team is
ready.”
“We are. Are you under duress?”
“
No.
Trust me.”
“All right. Check in with me tomorrow morning.”
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Worth the Risk
Stephan disconnected then took the battery out of his phone. Woods was a good
guy, but Stephan had only worked with him a couple times and he couldn’t take the