The Beta Read online

  “I don’t want payback. I want—”

  He scooted down between her legs, lifting one over his shoulder.

  “Oh, if you insist.” She gnawed at her lower lip and shifted her shoulders so she could lift her head.

  Meeting her stare, a fine blush rose on his cheeks again. He cleared his throat. “If I’m doing something wrong, tell me.” He gave her a devilish smile. “And if I’m doing it right, let me know.”

  Her breath caught in her chest. “Is this your first time?”

  “No.” He placed a kiss on her inner thigh, working his way north, and she’d forgotten what she’d asked. “But I’m not a player like most shifters.”

  He couldn’t have said a more perfect thing, and she was laying claim on his werewolf ass. Nosferatu be damned. No one would chase her off.

  She expected his first lick to be hesitant, but once again he surprised her.

  With a sure, steady stroke between her nether lips, Rob paid back the blow-job she’d given him. She never considered it a favor. She’d wanted to taste him and to let him know her desires.

  Resting his lean body on the bed, Rob looked like a man settling in for a good long time. Each lap got deeper and longer as he began to explore her inner secrets.

  God help her, she moaned and leaned her head back on the pillow, resting her cuffed wrists on the bed. He took his time and brought her back to the edge of ecstasy. Her breaths became ragged as she fought against her release.

  Running his tongue around her clit sent a jolt of pleasure straight to her brain.

  “Rob!”

  He latched on the area, sucking as he thrust his fingers into her pussy.

  She clung to the edge, not wanting to go over just yet, needing this moment to last as long as it could. It might be the last time he ever touched her.

  Chapter 9

  The bright, late afternoon sunlight drilled its way into Robert’s consciousness through his eyelids and woke him. Its warmth spread over his body, but as he stretched he realized the heat didn’t come from the sun but from the body pressed alongside him. He cracked open an eye.

  Esther lay plastered across his chest, one leg thrown over his and her only free arm around his neck. Her face was turned up toward his with her lips parted. A sweet temptation. Her taste still lingered in his mouth. She’d cried out his name as she orgasmed last night over and over.

  He’d released one wrist from the metal cuffs afterward so she could sleep more comfortably and was relieved she didn’t pressure him for more than he was willing to offer her. When it came to Esther, he walked a tightrope of indecision. Part of him wanted to believe her sincerity, the other part thought he should have handed her over to Daedalus.

  Any threat to the pack should be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. He ran a fingertip over her lush bottom lip. But was she a threat? She could be, but she could also be an asset. These last few days without Eric at his side showed him the pack lacked enough warriors.

  His beast stirred. All she needed was one little bite or a nice deep scratch from him in his beast form and she could be his forever. The pack instinct would keep her from being a threat.

  She moaned and pulled him closer, rubbing her face into his t-shirt.

  It was nice fantasy, but he’d never do it on purpose. His conscience would eat him alive if he did. If she stayed at his side, he wanted it to be her choice.

  The sharp ring of the pack cellphone startled both of them upright in bed.

  Esther yanked at her restraint. “What the hell?” Brushing the hair from her face, she blinked and watched him crawl off the bed and answer the call.

  He glanced at the caller ID and stifled a growl. “What do you want, Talon?” Robert sat on the edge of the bed with a very naked and soft Esther laying down in a daze next to him.

  “We need to talk. Can you meet with me?” Talon replied.

  “Yeah, I’ll be at the pack’s gathering hall in an hour.”

  “Fine.” Talon disconnected the call.

  The delicate touch of Esther’s fingers searching under Robert’s wrinkled shirt made him jump.

  “Why such a serious face?” She inched closer, hooking her fingers in his jeans. She looked perfect in his bed. Sleep tossed hair formed a dark halo around her face and the thin sheet gathered around her waist, her exposed breasts drawing his gaze. Her heated blue stare was full of come-hither-and-ravish-me. Nothing would have pleased him more than to spend the day buried inside her.

  But—there was always a but with Esther—he couldn’t trust her. Not with something as fragile as his heart. A woman like her probably ate men like him for breakfast. He rubbed at the dull ache in his chest.

  The action caused her gaze to drop, and she released her grip on his clothes. “Is there anything I can do to make things right between us?”

  “Probably not. I’ll always wonder if you’re being sincere or just playing a part to get what you want.”

  She pulled her cuffed arm, and the metal rattled against the wooden headboard. “I want you. Fuck, I screwed things up so bad. I wish—I wish…” She turned her face away.

  Those heartfelt words almost tore apart his resolve. But—he sighed and got a fresh set of clothes. There wasn’t time to shower.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I never finished last night’s mission. My troublemaking pack mate needs to be taught a lesson.”

  “You’re not going alone.”

  He chuckled at the command in her tone. Naked and cuffed to a bed yet still thought she was in control. He could really fall in love with a woman like Esther. “I don’t have much of a choice. It’s too early for Daedalus to rise, and most of my roommates are at work.”

  “Most. Who’s home? Take them.” She pleaded with her eyes. “Hell, take me. Cuff me to your wrist if you have to. I can still use a gun with one hand.”

  He changed clothes in the same room. She’d seen him naked before. He felt her gaze roam over his body. “My friend, Sam, is still here. He’ll watch over you.” He pinned her with a glare. “I’ll be very upset if anything happens to him while I’m gone.”

  The handcuff clanked as she tried to cross her arms over her chest. “Damn it.” She flung her hands to her sides. “I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

  He raised his eyebrow and wished he could believe her.

  “You should take me along. Don’t go by yourself.” She slid to the edge of the bed. “Please.”

  Lifting the key from the bedside table, he approached her.

  She grinned and offered her restraint.

  After unlocking the cuff, he grabbed hold of her waist and carried her to the bathroom.

  “Wait! What are you doing?” Strong and agile, she squirmed in his grasp.

  Dumping her on the cold tile floor, he pointed at her. “You want to earn my trust. You. Stay. Here.” He ran his fingers through his hair. His thoughts flickered to the antacids in the kitchen cupboard. “I have enough problems, Esther. Do me a favor and don’t add to them.”

  He gathered her clothes and tossed them in with her. Closing the door, he heard her grumbling under her breath, using his name in vain. With a shake of his head, he jammed the chair under the doorknob using his supernatural strength to ensure it stayed there. Bathrooms were meant to lock people out, not in.

  Cutting across the hallway, he checked on the computer tracker’s progress. It had finished tracing the email from Esther’s account to a third party’s account, but the kicker in his programming tracked it to the original sender.

  The results made him slump onto his chair. What the fuck? It had to be wrong. He re-typed in the codes again then re-ran the program. It should be finished by the time he got home. The results didn’t make sense.

  Taking the stairs two at a time he descended to the basement, hoping Sam didn’t have someone sharing his bed. It would be difficult discussing a prisoner in front of a stranger. He knocked on the bedroom door and it swung open.

  Sam stood in only a pair o
f workout shorts. A set of free weights lay scattered around the room, and the buff werewolf pulled out his earbuds as he turned off the MP3 player at his hip. “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. Get some action last night?” His voice dripped in sarcasm.

  Robert barked out a laugh. “Why would you think that?”

  “Tyler told me everything about the slayer you’re hiding. I peeked in on both of you when no one showed up for breakfast. I needed to make sure she didn’t try to off you again.” He winked. “You both looked nice and cozy in that narrow bed of yours. Too bad she’s a killer.” He reached over and smacked Robert across the head. “What are you doing? She should be locked in the bathroom.”

  “Hey.” Robert ducked the next swat and grabbed Sam’s wrist. “I need you to keep an eye on her, dickhead. She’s locked in the bathroom now.” Releasing his well-meaning friend, he sighed. “And for the record, she shot me by accident and I haven’t fucked her. Okay?” He glanced down the hallway at the vampire’s man-cave where Daedalus slept during the day. “Make sure that’s locked. I can’t promise she won’t try to kill Daedalus again.”

  “Sure.” Sam’s brow furrowed. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to get—something from the corporate office. I’m falling behind on work.”

  “All right, I’ll keep things tight here.” Sam offered up his knuckles that Robert bumped with his own.

  “I’ll call and check in.” Robert sprinted up the stairs, grabbed his keys and ran out the front door. On the stoop outside, he hesitated. The door had been unlocked. They always kept it secured. He glanced around, locked it, and then shook his head.

  * * * *

  Esther yanked on her leather pants and shoved her feet into her boots. What did Rob have against accepting help? She bet he didn’t tell anyone from his pack what he was doing, let alone take one of them along.

  Stomping to the window, she popped out the screen with an expert’s ease and set it on the floor. She didn’t have much time before he got to his car and drove off. The drainpipe held her weight as she shimmied down to a well-manicured garden.

  How could he think she’d sit quietly in that bathroom all day while his life was in danger? Dread squeezed her heart with its sharp claws. He probably thought she didn’t care.

  No matter what happened she needed to make sure Rob was all right.

  The brownstones all shared their side walls. There wasn’t any way to the front except through the house or around the back alley.

  She snuck to the sliding glass door on the stone porch. Pressing her body to the wall, she glanced into a large kitchen. The coast looked clear. She scanned the yard and ran to the toolshed. After finding two flat head screwdrivers, she returned to the glass door panel and popped it off the track enough to stress the latch lock mechanism. She shoved it open and squeezed inside, then shut it.

  Taking one silent step at a time, she crept to the front. When Daedalus brought her into the brownstone last night he’d tossed his keys on the front entrance table. She spotted and grabbed them. Two male voices carried from the basement. Her heart skipped a beat and froze for a second before she unlocked the front door. Hurrying to Daedalus’s sports car, she opened the door and got inside before Rob saw her.

  She got behind the steering wheel and watched Rob hesitate at the front door before locking it. He jogged to a sedan, pulling out a few minutes later.

  Following at a discreet distance, Esther kept the car within sight. They traveled to the interstate, then to an industrial park. The area appeared deserted, making it difficult to follow him. She needed to pull off the road before he recognized the vampire’s car.

  The move made her lose him. She drove around the park trying to figure out where the fuck he disappeared to. Hitting the steering wheel, she began to circle the warehouses hoping he parked in back of one.

  At the third building, she found the car next to a blue Jeep but both were empty. She parked and jumped out, automatically reaching for her thirty-eight special, but the Nosferatu had disarmed her last night. Popping the trunk open, she prayed to find a tool chest filled with weapons but only found a tire iron.

  Rob was around here somewhere, however, so was Talon.

  Chapter 10

  The warehouse door swung closed behind Robert. It echoed inside the empty building and shut out the fading sunlight, leaving him entombed in darkness. He flipped the switch, and the neon lighting came on.

  The Vasi used to gather as a pack here. Now, they met at a bar owned by a member in the downtown district. The warehouse held too many bad memories. When the Ayumu held Chicago the place was utilized for challenges and punishment. Frequently.

  Those things didn’t happen often anymore. Robert paced around the empty floor where Eric, his best friend, had taken a huge risk by facing the old alpha in combat. Eric had killed him. Continuing his tour down Nightmare Avenue, Robert passed the empty bleachers. He’d accompanied Eric that night into the arena as his beta, but he didn’t know what that responsibility had entailed at the time.

  Tonight, he finally got it. He needed to do the things to protect the pack no matter how it affected his conscience.

  Talon wasn’t leaving Chicago, and Robert needed to take care of this problem before Eric got home, for the pack, for himself, and for his best friend.

  Glancing at his phone, he considered checking on Sam and reminding him to offer Esther a meal. When he got home later this evening he’d probably need to wear some armor before confronting her. She’d been pretty pissed when he dumped her in the bathroom, and she didn’t like him meeting Talon alone or at least, she acted like it. Who knew with Esther? She may have been looking for an escape when she offered to accompany him.

  The sound of a click made Robert spin around. Talon stepped into the warehouse holding his hands out to his side. “Hey, Bob.”

  Robert sighed at the name. So Talon would choose the hard way of dealing with him. No truce would be found tonight. “What problem do you have with me, Talon?”

  “Not you specifically, runt, but the whole damn pack is turning into a bunch of pansies because of you and the Omegas. How long before some other pack comes in and takes over this city?”

  “Only if you consider law abiding as weak.”

  “We’re not human, Bob.” Talon crossed the room and confronted him. “Why should we follow their rules?”

  Robert hated the skip of his heartbeat as he met Talon’s glare. Fear had a distinct smell, and if his pack mate caught a whiff of it he’d think he won.

  According to Daedalus, a healthy dose of fear kept most warriors honorable, especially if doing wrong made them afraid. The fearless needed to be watched since they corrupted easily.

  Talon never carried the scent of fear.

  “I never said human laws. We follow the Accords like our ancestors did.”

  A sneer emerged on Talon’s face, a werewolf of few intelligent words.

  “If you called me out here for a challenge, then we’ll need some witnesses to make it official. I beat you once, I can do it again.” Robert kicked off his shoes and removed his t-shirt. Clothes became expensive when his beast tore through them every time.

  “I brought witnesses.” Talon whistled. The warehouse door opened, and two werewolves Robert recognized stepped in. They’d been chased out of Chicago last year for not conforming to the new laws and alpha.

  “Hey, Joshua and Charles. Long time no see.” Robert eased away, trying to assess the area for an escape.

  They spread out, blocking the only unlocked door. Each began to strip, a bad sign.

  His gut clenched. Three against one seemed like old-fashioned Ayumu strategy. “Eric would never consider you as a beta by using these tactics. Stop being a coward and challenge me properly.”

  Laughing, Talon removed his clothes as his companions transformed to beasts. “This isn’t about becoming a pack beta, Bob.” He grinned. “This is a message to the Vasi. The Ayumu didn’t die with Michael. We’re gathering.” With this sta
tement Talon transformed.

  Robert didn’t wait for an invitation. He allowed his beast free reign and it exploded forth, tearing out of his body. This fight required speed and agility, not controlled change like he was used to. The pain of the sudden transformation almost blinded him.

  Someone tackled his legs from the side, and he hit the concrete floor like a sack of potatoes. His head rebounded off the hard surface and Tweety Bird paid him a visit before he got twisted into a pretzel on his back.

  A set of teeth tried to clamp around his neck, but his reflexes saved him by tucking in his chin and rolling. With teeth and claw, they attacked him as a group.

  All those sparing sessions with Daedalus beating the crap out of him finally made sense.

  He never heard or saw the door open, not a footstep, or even a shadow. The first Robert knew of Esther’s presence was the sound of a skull getting cracked.

  Movement in the room stopped for a split second as the males counted heads and stared at one mean looking slayer wielding what looked like a—tire rod?

  She didn’t hesitate as she hit Joshua on the back swing with cold professionalism.

  Speechless by her appearance and inspired by her courage, Robert found the strength to heel kick the swaying Joshua, then roll onto Talon. Blood oozed from a multitude of wounds on Robert’s hide. He’d already lost a great deal when Esther wounded him and the healing had taken a lot of energy. One good night’s sleep and a sandwich hadn’t replenished his reserve, yet he still pinned the mangy mutt to the floor.

  All of Robert’s reluctance about killing disappeared as he watched Esther defend herself against the two other werewolves who’d recovered from her attack. He needed to keep her safe. With a roar, he launched himself, placing his body between them and Esther. He couldn’t bear it if she got hurt, and every instinct in his DNA cried to protect her.

  As their opponents circled them she placed herself at his back. “Stay close,” she whispered.

  They fought, attacked, and defended as if they’d been partners for years. Her speed and aim complimented his strength and agility. Together they weaved through their lethal dance, her with a tire rod and him with claws. Swing, thrust, block, and pierce. Their bodies knew each other, sensing the other’s next move until only Talon remained.