It was really her own fault, she thought with a soft moan. She should have known better than to accept a dare from Bracken Slater, but it had sounded so simple.
She’d woken to find him leaning a little against the headboard, knees bent, feet flat on the mattress. She’d barely gotten out a “Good morning” before he lifted her, set her atop his chest, and angled her so that she was leaning back against his thighs with her pussy in his face. He’d dared her to just lay back and enjoy—no touching herself to speed up her orgasm, no trying to take over. She was just to relax and let him make her come. How easy did that sound?
Well, it wasn’t so fucking easy. Not when the guy eating your pussy had apparently learned every erogenous zone you possessed and had absolutely no issue exploiting them all.
He hadn’t just dived right in with an “I’m going to make you come” mind-set. No, he’d taken his time. Softly kissed her inner thighs, nuzzled her folds, blew on her clit, and licked at the creases of her thighs.
Just when she’d been about to threaten him with bodily harm if he didn’t get to work, he began to leisurely eat at her pussy. Used his arsenal of tongue, teeth, lips, and fingers to drive her to the edge of release . . . then he’d eased off. Again. And again. And again. And now he was pumping two fingers in her pussy while his lips were wrapped around her clit as he sucked it gently.
Little flames of desperation licked at her heated skin. Her body was strung tighter than a bow, dangling on the edge of a powerful orgasm. The heat of his mouth, the perfect pressure of his tongue, the light scrapes of his teeth, the feel of his fingers filling her aching pussy—it was all amazing. It was also too much.
Orgasm creeping toward her yet again, she jerked as he flicked her clit with his tongue. Then he was rolling that tongue clockwise around her clit. “Oh God,” she rasped. And now he was rolling it counterclockwise. “Bracken, I’m close. You need to let me come this time.” Her thighs quivered, her pussy quaked, her fingers dug into his outer thighs . . . and he stopped.
He licked his glistening lips. “I don’t think you’ve had enough yet.”
“I have! I totally have!” Madisyn gasped as he rubbed the flat of his tongue up and down her clit. “Deliver the goods, Slater.” But he didn’t. Fuck it. She was done with this. She tried to get up—might even have succeeded if she hadn’t somehow telegraphed her intent.
Tightening his grip on her hip, he withdrew his fingers from her pussy and spanked her clit. “Don’t fucking move.”
“I need to come!”
“And you will. When I’m ready. Or are you going back on a dare?”
Oh, he had her there. Every bit of pride in her bristled at the mere thought of accepting defeat. “No, I’m not,” she said finally.
“You lost my fingers for being impatient. I told you earlier: When I’ve finished eating this pussy, you can come. Not before.”
Barely holding in a sob—yes, she was that desperate to come—Madisyn hissed between her teeth. He ignored her. Went back to devastating her with that blessed tongue: licking, swirling, flicking, and probing. Oh, he was as ruthless as ever with that mouth . . . that clever, carnal, exceptionally skillful mouth that she just wanted to slam her fist into.
Licking at her slit, Bracken hummed. “I fucking love going down on my baby.” Loved the taste of her. Loved her raspy little moans, the scent of her need, and how gorgeously responsive she was. His cock was so hard it hurt, but he was enjoying the feel of it cushioned by her delectable ass.
He circled her clit with his tongue, fluttered it through her slit, and then dipped it inside her dripping-wet pussy just enough to tease her. She let out an honest-to-God growl that made him chuckle. “Poor Madisyn.” Like most cats, she was all about instant gratification, and he’d found that his mate could be quite inventive with curses when she was forced to wait for what she wanted. So far, she’d called him everything from a mothershitting son of a bitch to a shit-for-brains sheepfucker.
Spreading her slick folds with his thumbs, he blew on her clit, smiling when her thighs shuddered. She wouldn’t last much longer before her orgasm closed in on her again, but he wasn’t ready to give up her pussy yet. So he licked and sipped and drank from her, savoring every drop of cream she gave him. At the same time, he pinched her nipples and squeezed her breasts, remembering how it had felt to fuck and then come all over them the previous night. The memory made his cock twitch.
Tremors soon began to rack her body as her pussy clenched around his tongue. Taking pity on her, Bracken asked, “Do you want me to make you come now?” He swiped his tongue through her folds, scooping up all that cream, and she let out a long groan. He gave her thigh a sharp slap. “You didn’t answer me fast enough. Let’s try that again. Do you want me to make you come?”
“You know I do, you son of a—” She gasped as his palm slapped her clit.
“Yes.” No sooner had Madisyn spoken than he gripped her ass and yanked her into him, burying his tongue deep in her pussy. She sucked in a huge gasp of air, close to sobbing in relief that he was finally going to give her what she needed. He pumped his tongue inside her, his fingers circling, flicking, and plucking at her clit. And she simply couldn’t take it.
She came loud and hard, head thrown back, spine arched, fingertips biting into his thighs, as wave after wave of pleasure fired through her quivering body. Utterly spent, she sagged against him, breaths sawing in and out of her dry throat.
Waiting for her to come down from her orgasm, Bracken idly danced the tips of his fingers over her swollen folds, tracing his signature. “You good?” He took her hum as a yes. “Sit on my cock, Madisyn,” he ordered. “Ride me.”
Opening her eyes, Madisyn met a gaze that glittered with sheer male satisfaction. His clever, sensuous mouth had kicked up into a wicked smile that got her hackles up. He looked far too pleased with himself. Well, he wasn’t the only one who knew a few tricks. Maybe it was time the cocky bastard learned that.
Straightening his legs, he stared at her expectantly. Instead of mounting him, Madisyn moved to kneel between his thighs.
“Baby, I told you to sit on my cock.”
“I heard you.” Madisyn shook her head when he reached for her. “I let you take the lead for a while. Now it’s my turn. Or don’t you want to come in my mouth?” His cock jerked, and she smiled. “Thought so.” Settling herself comfortably between his thighs, she fisted the base of his cock with one hand. “Don’t come yet.” She dipped her tongue in the slit at the head of his cock, licking up the drops of precum there.
Bracken swore. “Got a point to make, have you?”
Starting at the top-left side of his balls, she licked a W shape. “Oh yeah.” She sucked first on one ball and then the other. “You just lay back and relax.”
He’d expected her to do exactly as he’d done—spend time teasing him with light, easy touches on his less erogenous zones before finally turning her attention to his cock. He was wrong. She went straight for the kill. Her grip was perfect—firm, tight, and merciless—as she pumped his shaft with a slight twisting motion while her tongue expertly circled, licked, and lapped at the head. It wasn’t long, though, before she released his cock and cupped his balls, rolling them around in her hand while massaging his perineum with her finger.
She alternated over and over. One minute she was working his cock, humming and moaning as she sucked. The next she’d move onto his balls, and then she’d be back to his cock—only this time she’d concentrate solely on the head. She licked, sucked, stroked, nibbled, pumped, constantly changing her rhythm and speed so that he had no idea what to expect.
Palming the back of her head, Bracken watched through heavy-lidded eyes as, tilting her head, she licked and nibbled her way up one side of his cock. Her gaze flicked to his, dark with heat, and he felt that look in his balls. And then she deepthroated him. “Jesus, baby.” He sifted his fingers through her hair as she sucked hard. “You look so fucking hot right now. Eyes all glazed over, face flushed, cheeks hollowed, swollen lips wrapped tight around my cock.”
She swallowed around him, and Bracken spit out a harsh curse. He could feel the telling tingle in the base of his spine, knew he was close. “Make yourself come, Madisyn. I want you to come with me.” Her hand disappeared, and then she moaned loud around his cock. “Fuck yeah, baby, that’s it.”
Groaning, she frantically sucked, bopping her head up and down. Knowing what would throw her over the edge, he tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged. She hissed at the sharp pain, but then she was coming. Bracken pumped his hips, fucking her mouth in hard, feral digs. “Swallow it, Madisyn.” A blinding pleasure rushed through him from head to toe and seemed to shoot right out of his cock as he exploded into his mate’s mouth.
Totally sated, Bracken let his eyes drift shut. Panting, he lay there until he felt Madisyn collapse on the mattress beside him. Bracken blew out a breath. “Well . . . that told me, didn’t it?”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it did.”
He rolled onto his side and kissed her shoulder. “I think we should begin all our Saturday mornings that way.” At her snort of amusement, he smiled. “Hey, every couple should have their own traditions.”
“Hmm,” she responded, still limp.
“What time does Jaime’s baby shower start?” he asked, referring to the Phoenix Pack’s Beta female.
“It’s not until three. Oh, and you’re not coming.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because Jaime only invited the females.” The Beta was fed up with her mate fussing over her like she was an invalid, so she’d banned Dante and the other males from attending. As Madisyn was no fan of fuss, she totally understood.
“I can still go with you and just stay in the kitchen or something.”
She snorted. “You would not stay clear. You would think up a very good reason to come speak to me, which would encourage Dante to do the same to Jaime.”
Unable to deny that, he rolled onto his back.
“Don’t brood. I’ll be fine, Bracken.”
Looking at her, he brushed her hair away from her face. “I don’t like being away from you.”
“It’s just a few hours.”
Yeah, but any number of things could happen during that time. And honestly, his world turned dark when she wasn’t around him. He couldn’t explain it properly. She made him feel sparks of emotion that reminded him he was alive. When she wasn’t there, that familiar feeling of emptiness began to creep up on him. If he told her that, she’d stay without a doubt. But that wasn’t fair to her, was it?
“I won’t insist on coming,” he said. “However, I’ll drop you there and pick you up when it’s over. That’s the deal.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
“Good girl.” With one last kiss to her shoulder, he got up and headed into the bathroom. He heard her phone ringing as he did his business, but the call itself was short and sweet, because by the time he returned to the bedroom, she was frowning down at her phone.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting that call.”
“Who was it?”
“Vinnie Devereaux.”
Recognizing the name, Bracken stilled. “And just why does the Alpha of the Olympus Pride have your cell number?”
“Huh. Funny story.”
Standing outside the antique shop that belonged to the Olympus Pride, Madisyn felt a smile curve her mouth. It had been a while since she’d last visited, though she hadn’t been out of touch with the cats. They were an odd bunch, but that was part of why she and her cat liked them so much.
She’d been seventeen when she’d bumped into an older female from the pride. Ingrid, the Alpha male’s mother, had at first been curious to know if another pallas pride had moved to California without her knowledge. Upon hearing that Madisyn was a lone shifter, Ingrid hadn’t sneered at her. Instead, she’d invited her to come meet her pride, which had been happy to see another of their kind—probably because they were so rare that few ever came into contact with outsiders.
The Alpha, Vinnie—who had amazingly managed to survive the loss of his mate eight years ago—hadn’t offered Madisyn a place in his pride, but he had made it clear that she was under his protection and that she should call on him if she ever needed him. Ingrid had kept in touch with Madisyn and often donated things to the shelter. The woman also invited her to pride gatherings, some of which Madisyn had attended because it was nice to be around her own kind.
Vinnie had been very mysterious earlier when he’d called, asking Madisyn to come visit him at the store. Then again, he didn’t like talking over the phone. Probably because he believed the line was tapped by the human authorities that rightly suspected him of being involved in organized crime.
“I’ve driven past the place a few times,” said Bracken, standing beside her. “But I’ve never been inside.”
“As a wolf, you might not have been welcome,” she told him, eyes twinkling. “They’re not crazy about wolves.”
“You’re only telling me this now?”
Madisyn waved it away. “You’ll be fine. You have a good rep among all shifters. And they’re not biased against wolves—they like Makenna. Ingrid, the female I told you about, sometimes invites me to pride gatherings. I usually take Makenna as my guest.”
Bracken frowned. “So they’ll have you on their territory, and they class you as under their protection, but they never offered you a place in their pride?” Like she didn’t quite fit the mold for them or something? The thought annoyed him.
“They might have sensed that there was no point. I was happy with my life the way it was. And leaving the loner lifestyle behind would have also meant leaving Makenna—I never would have done that.”
She made a move toward the door but then stopped as she noticed something on the ground. Picking it up, she smiled. “Hey, I found twenty dollars. My good luck is at work again.”
Bracken sighed. “There’s no such thing as luck. There are, however, people who drop things on the floor—like money. You’ve never lost money?”
“No. That would be bad luck.”
Again, he sighed. “Forget it. Let’s just get this over with.” He grabbed her hand when she went to go inside. “I’ll go in first.”
“I don’t need a living shield here. I’m not in danger of the Olympus cats.”
Bracken’s instincts told him she was right, but he’d take no chances. Not with her. “You might trust these people, but I have no reason to, so I certainly wouldn’t trust them with your safety.”
The bell jingled as he pushed open the door and walked right into the scents of old cloth, musty paper, leather, and lacquered wood. The shop didn’t appear to specialize in a particular time period or theme. There was everything from thimbles and brooches to old chests and antique cabinets. Hell, there was even a wooden spindle. Most of the small items were set on display tables, while others were locked in cabinets. The old dolls freaked him out just a little, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
At the front counter stood a woman who was carefully wrapping a brass candlestick. She looked their way. Her face lit up when her eyes landed on Madisyn, and she held up a finger.
Sidling up to Bracken, Madisyn leaned close and said quietly, “That’s Ingrid. Vinnie leaves the running of the store to her.”
With her vintage clothes, old-fashioned updo hairstyle, and antique jewelry, the old woman looked like she’d stepped out of another century. “I take it she knows he smuggles money in the antiques,” Bracken said in a low voice.
“She knows.”
They slowly headed down the narrow aisles, shoes clicking on the hardwood floor. Among the sounds of customers chatting and cloth rustling was the ticking of the many old clocks that hung on the walls, along with oil paintings, gilded mirrors, and carved frames. The clocks weren’t in sync with each other, and Bracken knew all the incessant ticking would drive him crazy if he worked there.
Just as they neared the counter, Ingrid came dashing around the desk and crossed to Madisyn, arms open wide. “Well hello to you.”
“Ingrid, hi.” Madisyn accepted her hug, gently patting the woman’s back.
Pulling back, Ingrid cradled her face. “It’s so good to see you. Is this your man? Oh, he’s quite a dish.”
“Yes, this is Bracken.”
The woman offered him a charming smile. “Hello there, darlin’. I’m Ingrid; it’s a pleasure to meet you. Come with me. My boys are upstairs.” She led them through a door, into a narrow hallway, and over to a thin, curved staircase. Bracken could hear deep, muffled voices even from there.
When Madisyn went to follow Ingrid up the staircase, Bracken shook his head. “Me first, baby.” If there was danger up there, he’d be standing between it and his mate. She rolled her eyes but moved aside, allowing him to pass. Reaching the top of the staircase, he found himself in a small apartment.
Standing in one of the doorways, Ingrid urged him over. “You waiting for an engraved invitation or something, darlin’?”
With Madisyn close behind him and his wolf on high alert, Bracken crossed to the old woman. Three powerfully built males were scattered around a cozy living area, and all three stood as they entered the room.
The eldest locked on Madisyn instantly, and his smile was both warm and paternal. “Maddie.”
She stepped into the cat’s open arms. “Hi, Vinnie.”
Resisting the territorial urge to drag his mate away from the other male, Bracken studied the Alpha. Just as his father had told him, Vinnie Devereaux looked deceptively harmless and approachable. He also seemed genuinely pleased to see Madisyn, and it was clear he was as fond of her as Ingrid was.
Vinnie gave Madisyn a quick but thorough head-to-toe scan. “Looking well.” His eyes cut to Bracken, and his smile didn’t dim even in the slightest. “And you’re Bracken Slater. I’m Vinnie. These are my sons, Tate and Luke.” He gestured at the broader of the two tall, lean males. “Tate is also my Beta. And Luke is my Head Enforcer.”
Bracken exchanged nods with each of them, sensing subtle alpha vibes wafting from both males. They might not have the position of Alpha, but either of them could lead the pride at some point.
He frowned when they both took a moment to hug Madisyn. They didn’t appear to be deliberately poking at his possessive streak, and they didn’t look at her in a way that suggested they knew her intimately, but that didn’t stop jealousy from curdling in his stomach. Or stop his wolf from baring his teeth in warning.
Ingrid clasped her hands together. “Anyone want coffee?” She took their orders and then disappeared—presumably into the kitchen.
Vinnie gestured at the sectional sofa and then seated himself in an armchair. “No Makenna today?”
“No, sorry,” said Madisyn, unsurprised when Bracken sat so close beside her that there was barely an inch of space between them. The possessive hand he splayed on her thigh was no surprise either. “She has a meeting with her uncle today.” A man whom Makenna had met only a few years ago, but they were in regular contact.
“Damn,” muttered Luke, leaning against the wall. “She’s such a pretty little thing.”
“She’s happily mated now,” Madisyn reminded him.
Lounging on the other armchair, Tate shrugged one shoulder. “A man can still look. Right, Luke?” As if to prove that, he skimmed his gaze over Madisyn.
Bracken stilled, and his wolf snarled. “Careful.” It was a lethal whisper.
Laying her hand over Bracken’s, Madisyn shook her head at Vinnie. “Your sons are shit-stirring bastards.”
The Alpha nodded, grinning. “That they are.”
She snorted at the pride in his voice. “So why did you ask me to come here?”
“First, tell me how everything’s been going in your life.” Vinnie gave her a mock frown. “You don’t visit us enough these days.”
“Like you don’t already know everything that’s worth knowing.” Madisyn was well aware that Ingrid gave him regular updates on whatever she learned through their calls or her visits to the shelter.
“I knew you were tight with the Mercury Pack and under their protection. I didn’t know Slater here was your mate. Not until I had a visit from the Maverick Clan Alpha.”
Tensing, Madisyn swore, and her fingers curled into fists.
Bracken narrowed his eyes. “Archer thought she was once part of your pride, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” said Vinnie. “We’re the only pallas cat pride in the United States, so it’s not a stupid assumption to make. Unlike most other breeds of shifter, we don’t keep records showing our family trees, so he wasn’t able to double-check that assumption.”
“Why did Archer go to you?” Madisyn asked. “What did he want?”
Vinnie draped his arm over the back of his chair. “Basically, he’d come to see if I had any loyalty toward you. He’d assumed that I’d banished you, but he clearly wanted to be sure.”
“He wanted to know if you’d make a good ally for him,” Bracken guessed. “And to be sure there would be no repercussions from you if he was to harm her.”
“Exactly.” Vinnie’s gaze slid back to Madisyn. “He said you’re keeping a member of his clan from him. Didn’t say much about the sow in question; he was vague about the whole thing, as a matter of fact. He was hoping I’d know where you might have hidden her.”
“She’s not a member of his clan.” Interlocking her fingers with Bracken’s, Madisyn explained the situation.
“Bastard,” spat Luke.
Tate curled his upper lip. “A guy who pulls shit like that is no Alpha.”
Ingrid walked in with a tray of steaming cups that Luke quickly took from her and set on the coffee table. Humming what sounded like “Highway to Hell”—and yeah, that did weird Bracken out a little—Ingrid started handing out cups.
“What did you tell Archer?” Bracken asked Vinnie.
“Well, I thought about expressing how very disappointed I’d be if anything were to happen to Maddie,” said Vinnie. “Then it occurred to me that I might be of more help to her if I gave him the impression that I was in fact her old Alpha and that, out of some personal vendetta against her, I’d be willing to stand with him against your pack, if need be.”
Madisyn frowned. “You think this will really come to a full-on battle? His beef is with me.”
“True, but many people stand between you and him,” Vinnie pointed out. “The Mercury Pack has many, many allies. It’s closely tied to the Phoenix Pack, which has just as many allies. You might as well have a ten-foot-tall wall surrounding you. But Archer can’t let this go, can he? It’s bad enough that one little sow got away from him. If he can’t, at the very least, punish the person keeping her from him as a message to others that running will only lead to the death of those who help them, he’ll look even weaker. He can’t afford that if he wants to keep his position of Alpha of his clan as well as reign over the other clans.”
“This isn’t just about the sow for Archer,” added Tate, sipping his coffee. “It’s about showing just how far he’ll go in such a situation. He needs to keep those other clans in fear of him if he’s to continue maintaining control over them.”
Luke nodded. “You’re standing in the way of all that, Maddie. He thought you’d prove to be no problem, given that you were a lone shifter. But that changed overnight.”
“It wouldn’t matter if she wasn’t my mate,” said Bracken. “She’d still have the protection of my pack and the Phoenix Pack.”
“But not all your allies might have been willing to back you in a battle over a loner,” said Vinnie. “They will if she’s one of you—especially if she’s your mate. I don’t have to tell you that you’re a hero to many. That will make it harder for Archer to get the backing he needs. People won’t want to go up against you—some out of fear, some out of respect, some out of both. But there are those who will.”
“Like Archer’s MC chapters,” said Luke.
“Although the clans under his control likely despise him, they’d probably back him since they very obviously fear him,” hedged Tate. “And there are always mercenaries who’ll do anything to anyone for the right money.”
Vinnie rested the hand holding his cup on the arm of the chair. “Archer claims he doesn’t want war, just the whereabouts of Daisy, and maybe that’s true—I don’t know. But he’ll act soon, one way or another. Maybe in a productive way, maybe with the sole purpose to piss you off, hoping it will make you think that going up against him isn’t worth the bother. He can’t afford to be here long.”
“The more time he’s away from his territory searching for one clan member who’s managing to evade him, the weaker he looks,” mused Luke.
Madisyn rubbed at her temple. “I hate the idea of anyone going to war, but I won’t hand Daisy over to him. No way.”
Sitting on her other side, Ingrid clasped her hand. “No one would ask you to. I don’t know all the specifics, but I know enough to be sure that Archer is a bad one. If it comes to a fight—and my Vinnie believes it will—you have us.”
“You’re sure Archer bought that you’d side with him, not Madisyn?” Bracken asked Vinnie.
“He bought it,” the Alpha stated confidently. “Like I said, he already thinks I banished her from my pride.” Vinnie tilted his head and pursed his lips. “Cain told me a little about you.”
Bracken didn’t let his expression alter. “Did he?”
“When I heard you were Maddie’s mate, I called Cain for some info on you. I need to be sure she’s looked after. He assured me that you’d treat her well and that her safety would be your priority. Does he have that right?”
Both Bracken and his wolf bristled. “You don’t get to act all paternal and protective of her when you didn’t offer her a place in your pride.”
Vinnie’s mouth curled. “She wouldn’t have joined—I saw that straight off. But I did hold out hope that she’d mate with one of my boys.”
Bracken didn’t rise to the taunt. He simply stated, “Not gonna happen.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
Ingrid shot her son a reprimanding look. “Stop poking at the wolf.”
“Give me that back, you scrawny little freak!” a girl shouted.
The sound of footsteps thundering up the stairs made Bracken look to the doorway just as a teenage girl and a boy of about eleven came running into view.
Glowering madly, the teen snatched a pink cell phone out of the boy’s hand. “If you ever touch my phone again, Damian, I’ll puncture your lung with my heel! Why don’t you go play Dungeons and Dragons like the loser you are!”
He sneered at her. “You’re just mad ’cause Gran loves me more! And why wouldn’t she? You’re so dumb, Elle, you couldn’t find water if you fell out of a boat!”
Elle’s fingers retracted like claws. “At least I wasn’t born on a highway where most accidents happen!”
“At least I wasn’t dropped on my head repeatedly as a baby!”
“No, you were thrown at the freaking wall!” she hissed. “God, it offends me that you breathe!”
“You know what?” Damian pointed at her. “You’ve put on weight!”
Staggering back a step, she gasped in horror, hand flying to her chest. “You take that back!”
“Why? You gonna eat that too?”
“Satan’s child!”
“Flabby-assed bi—”
“Enough!” bellowed Vinnie.
Elle flushed, eyes slamming on the Alpha. “You always take his side.”
“Because he loves me more,” Damian taunted.
Vinnie didn’t bother pointing out that he hadn’t taken anyone’s side. Just watched as the teen and the boy stormed off in opposite directions. Sighing, Vinnie turned to Bracken. “If you and Maddie are going to have kids, don’t have more than one. Or at least wait a decade before having the next one.”
Bracken’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
Ingrid explained, “Pallas kits don’t get along well with their siblings if they’re too close in age.”
Luke pulled up his sleeve, showing a huge scar on his elbow. “Tate gave me that when I was ten. I ate one of his fries.”
Tate pointed to a scar on his neck. “That was courtesy of Luke when he was twelve. I went into his room without knocking first. Little bastard nicked an artery.”
“You startled me on purpose,” Luke accused. “And you did it because you could.”
Tate shrugged. “I was bored.”
Looking at Bracken once again, Vinnie advised, “Just stick to one kit, Slater.”
“We might not have any kits,” Bracken pointed out. “We could just have pups.”
“I still wouldn’t risk it,” said Vinnie. “You can tell yourself it can’t be that bad, but you’ll change your mind eight years down the line when you’re disciplining one kit for trying to kill the other in its sleep.”
Luke glared at his brother. “Not a night I’ll ever forget.”
Again, Tate shrugged. “That sound you made annoyed me.”
Luke’s brows snapped together. “What? Snoring?”
“Breathing.”
As the brothers proceeded to argue, Vinnie held up a finger. “One, Slater. Just one.”