CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As Trick drove them through the perimeter gates of Phoenix Pack territory, Tao waved to Gabe, who was manning the security shack. His wolf let out a long breath, losing much of his tension now that they’d returned to their land.
The vehicle shook slightly as they drove up the rocky trail toward the mountain. Trick and Dominic had picked the six of them up from the airport in the pack’s nine-seater Chevy Tahoe. Having listened to the sequence of events that had occurred on Exodus Flock territory, they were supremely pissed on Riley’s behalf.
Although she’d wanted to say proper goodbyes to the flock, Riley had agreed to tell only her uncles and the Alphas that she was leaving. Sage and Ruby had claimed to be disappointed to see her go, but their relief had been obvious. They’d been good enough to let her say a quick goodbye to a mostly healed Lucy, though.
Her uncles had been genuinely upset to see Riley leave, but they’d also agreed that she should be far away from what was happening. Tao was glad of that, because her uncles alone had the power to change her mind. Thankfully, they hadn’t tried to. They had, however, threatened Tao with dismemberment if he didn’t keep her safe.
He turned to Riley, who was looking out the window, admiring the view of the lighted windows, arched balconies, and smooth stairways carved into the mountain up ahead. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she replied without looking at him.
“Such a little liar.” Who would be fine after everything that had happened? Taking her hand, he massaged her palm with his thumb. “You’re away from that shit now.”
She cast him a weak smile. “Not if it follows me here.”
Tao cupped the back of her head. “If it does, we’ll be ready.” As Trick pulled into the concealed parking lot at the base of the cliff, Tao unclicked Riley’s seat belt. “You go see the kids, I’ll update the Alphas and the rest of the pack on what’s been happening. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me.”
He kissed her. “Then let’s get moving.”
They all grabbed their duffels out of the trunk and jogged up the cliff steps. Inside the tunnels of the mountain, Jaime and Dante headed to their room while Makenna and Ryan headed for theirs.
Reaching a junction, Tao dropped another kiss on Riley’s mouth. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
Taking her duffel from him, she said, “Okay, tell everyone I said hi and that I’ll talk to them later.” With that she disappeared down the tunnel.
Once she was out of sight, Tao, Trick, and Dominic then made their way to the living area.
“I can’t even begin to imagine how mixed up she must be feeling,” said Trick. “You should be able to trust your Alphas and your pack with your life. I’ll bet she trusts only a handful of the flock.”
“The majority of them appear to be good people, particularly her uncles,” said Tao. “There are always bad apples. And the bad Exodus apples are sour as fuck.”
Dominic grinned at him. “At least something good came out of her trip. The two of you—”
“Are none of your business, so don’t start.” Striding into the living area, Tao found most of the pack lounging around. Taryn muted the TV, and everyone turned to face him.
“I got the short version from Dante over the phone,” said Trey. “Give me the long version.”
So Tao did. Like him, they were not only ready to burn shit down; they had no real idea what the hell was going on. “We need to tighten security.”
“We already did when Ramón started harassing us.” Trey slung an arm over the back of the sofa. “We haven’t let it slack, and we won’t until we get our hands on the shooter.”
Dominic folded his arms. “Are you sure they’ll follow you here?”
“I believe they will,” replied Tao.
“Is it possible that they deliberately didn’t fire any fatal shots?” asked Taryn. “Maybe the gunman doesn’t have the stomach to take a life, so they’ve settled for severely injuring their targets.”
Tao nodded. “That would make sense. After all, if this person did use Wade all those years ago, it was likely because they didn’t have it in them to do the killing themselves. Either way, they didn’t succeed in punishing Riley unless they count a graze on her arm as a mission completed. My gut tells me they’ll follow us. I told Sage to let us know if any of the flock suddenly have a reason for taking a temporary trip.”
“But can we trust that he’d tell us?” asked Trey.
Given everything that Ryan had quite rightly pointed out about Sage and his lack of action . . . “No. We just have to hope that he does right by Riley. Her uncles will definitely let us know if anyone leaves for any reason. They can be trusted.”
“Who tried to imply that Riley had one of us in the mountains, picking off their flock members?” asked Roni.
“I expected it to be Cynthia,” said Tao. “Ethan said it was actually the Beta female, Dana. Personally, I think she’s just scared because aside from Cynthia, her son is one of the only people left unharmed who should have been at Alec’s party. She needed someone to blame so she could feel that Duncan was safe. What Dana and her mate don’t seem to know is that Duncan was never invited to the party. For some reason he never told them that.”
“What kid wants to admit to their parents that they were the only one who wasn’t invited to a party?” asked Dominic. “If his parents are Betas, they most likely would have reprimanded Alec for not inviting him. And that would have been damn embarrassing for Duncan.”
Tao inclined his head. “When you put it like that, it’s not so confusing that he didn’t tell them. Anyway . . . if anyone at all agreed with Dana, they weren’t vocal about it. I’d expected Cynthia and Shirley to back her up if for no other reason than to piss off Riley, but Ethan said they didn’t.” Maybe they hadn’t wanted to risk that Riley might stay just to spite them.
“I’ve gotta say,” began Marcus, “I don’t like the flock much. Riley’s better off with us.”
Tao agreed with that. “As I told Trick and Dominic, the majority of them—especially her uncles—are good people.”
“Well, Ethan and Max are welcome to visit,” said Taryn, “but my hope is that Riley will agree to never go back there.”
Tao was hoping the same thing. “On to another subject . . . You said that Ramón’s backed off. Do you think he’s gone for good?”
Trey pursed his lips. “What I think is that he’s not a guy who’s likely to waste his time pestering us when his brother doesn’t have long to live. He probably sought the help of someone else. He won’t have liked that we refused him or that he had to back off, but he had no choice.”
Nodding, Tao said, “All right. I’ll be back in a while; I have something I need to do.”
“Before you go,” began Taryn, “I wanted to ask about you and Riley―is it just a fling?” Taryn’s eyes held a plea that said she hoped to God his answer was no.
“It’s more,” he told her.
She beamed at him before barking a laugh at Dominic. “Told you he’d come through.”
Dominic frowned. “I told you.”
“Not as I recall it,” said Taryn.
Jaime smiled again, rubbing her hands together with glee. “I’m glad you two are finally together.”
Yeah, so was Tao.
If there was one thing that could always make Riley smile, it was the sound of a child’s laugh. Since she currently had four kids bouncing on her bed, giggling and squealing, she had a big smile on her face. Her raven, relaxed and happy to be home with them, wanted nothing more than to shift and play with them.
“You’re making a mess of my bed,” Riley playfully grumbled. They just giggled again.
When she’d walked into their bedroom, Savannah and Dexter had launched themselves at her and peppered her cheeks with kisses. Lilah had waved and given her a picture of squiggles, which she’d then taken back and stuffed in her little pocket.
Kye had scowled and said, “I don’t like you anymore; you didn’t come back when you said you would.” Then he’d wrapped himself around her leg and said, “Okay, I forgive you.” The kid didn’t hold a grudge long.
As they’d followed her to her bedroom, they’d been full of questions.
Why had she taken so long?
Did she enjoy the party?
Could they go with her next time?
And, in Savannah’s case, was she still not allowed to bite Greta?
Finished unpacking her stuff, Riley balled up her dirty clothes and put them all in the canvas laundry bag. Just as she turned, Savannah leaped at her. Used to it, Riley easily caught her.
“You smell like Tao,” Savannah told her, nose wrinkling.
Riley smiled. “I do?”
“Did you kiss him? I’m never going to kiss a boy. They’re silly.”
“Boys are not silly.” Riley chuckled. Not all of them, anyway. “Having said that, I’m glad you don’t intend to kiss any boys. You can do that when you’re twenty-one.” Her raven wholeheartedly agreed.
Savannah leaned in and whispered, “Lilah tries to kiss Dexter, but he runs away.”
Hearing a playful hiss, Riley looked to see that the cub in question had unsheathed his claws. “Dexter, do not rip my sheets.”
Dexter snatched Kye’s candy bar and raced out of the room fast as . . . well, a cheetah.
Laughing, Kye shouted, “Hey, that’s mine! Give it, give it, give it!” His shout faded as he disappeared down the tunnels with Savannah and Lilah.
Smiling to herself, Riley closed the door, intending to take a shower. She’d just taken off her T-shirt when there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, she slipped the tee back on and opened the door, expecting the kids. But it was Tao. And he was carrying several bulging duffels.
He barged inside and dumped his bags on the floor. “Don’t piss and moan. We agreed we were together, and I’m not interested in living in a separate room from my female.”
Tao held his breath, waiting for the argument that would no doubt come. No one appreciated their personal space being invaded, least of all a dominant female shifter. If she were anyone else, he might have consulted her about it. But Riley thought way too much sometimes, she stewed over things that were really very simple, and he wasn’t prepared to wait. As he told her, he refused to live apart from his female. He wouldn’t leave, no matter how much she—
“All right.”
Thrown, he had no words for a moment. “All right?”
She shrugged. “I figure if you’re prepared to permanently sleep in the same room as someone with insomnia, you must really want to be here.”
“I do.”
“All right.”
“You drive me insane, Porter,” he growled.
“Why? I’m giving you what you want.”
“Exactly.” She wasn’t acting as he’d expected, and he didn’t like that she could take him off guard.
She threw up her arms. “I really can’t win in this relationship.” She paused. “Why are you now smiling like a loon?”
“You used the word ‘relationship.’” He’d wondered if she’d play the whole thing down, given how hard she found it to accept people in her life. But what was it that her uncle had said? “Once she lets a person in, they’re in.” And that meant Tao was in.
Baffled, she asked, “Is that not what this is? A relationship?”
Tao caught her to him and kissed her. “That’s exactly what it is.”
Riley blinked rapidly. One minute he was yelling at her; the next he was kissing the breath out of her lungs. “If you’re trying to keep me off balance, it’s working.”
“Good.”
Blowing out a breath, she asked, “What does the pack make of the mysterious shooter situation?”
He ran his hand down her ponytail. “They don’t have any better theories than we do.”
“Are they pissed I’m leading danger here? I told them when I got here that it wouldn’t happen.”
“They don’t see it that way,” he assured her. “They see it as you being home, where you’re safe. If someone follows you here, it’s because they chose to do so—anything that happens is on them. The pack’s not upset with you, they’re upset for you. And they’re pissed as hell at whoever shot at you. You’re a Phoenix member, baby. When you fuck with one, you fuck with them all.”
Relieved, she asked, “Did you ask about the whole Ramón thing?”
“Yes, he’s really stopped contacting them.”
“Maybe he’s found another healer who can help.”
“That’s what we’re figuring.” Tao settled his hands on her hips. “You know, I kept meaning to ask . . . what happened to Wade’s father?”
“He died in a duel. For some weird reason, Dean decided to challenge Sage for the position of Alpha. It was suicide, really. The guy didn’t have a prayer of winning.”
“If I had Shirley as a mate, I might be a little suicidal.”
“They didn’t have a great relationship. They imprinted when she was far too young and they sort of . . . grew apart, I guess you could say. He was a lot older than Shirley. Even though their relationship was strained, the breaking of the mating bond was hard for her. Wade got her through it. For all her faults, she did love him. She hung on for him.”
“I guess that’s probably the only thing that would make someone fight to live after they lost their mate—they’d have to have another person in their life they loved just as much or they’d let go.” Riley flinched, and he seriously wanted to punch himself right in the face. “Shit, I’m such an asshole.”
“It’s fine—”
“No, it’s not.” Contrite, he rested his forehead on hers. “I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t mean that your father couldn’t have loved you if he didn’t fight to live.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“Don’t ever think you weren’t enough for him. I’ve seen people grieve over the years. I’ve seen how easy it can be for them to become selfish while it’s happening. A person can get so wrapped up in their own pain that they feel alone, like nobody else can feel that level of pain. They forget that others are hurting too. Maybe your father just couldn’t find his way past the pain.”
“Yeah, that was probably what it was.”
Tao sensed she was just trying to placate him. “It’s okay to be pissed at him, you know. I am. You were enough for him, Riley. He just wasn’t enough for himself.”
Possibly, thought Riley. But Tao hadn’t known her father. He couldn’t know whether it was true, and neither could she.
Riley slid her arms around his neck. “Kiss me.” She needed to feel something that would chase away the constricting sensation in her chest. Needed to have no thoughts in her mind other than just how badly she wanted to come. And maybe he sensed that, because he kissed her like she was his last meal. Licking, biting, devouring her. Riley grabbed his hair and basically just held on as he devastated her mouth. Her blood heated, thickened. Her body pretty much melted into his, and a growl of masculine approval rumbled out of him.
Tao tugged out her hair tie, moaning as all that dark hair tumbled down her shoulders. “Fucking gorgeous.” Every nerve ending seemed charged by her scent alone, and need roared to life inside him. He would have kept it in check and tried to be gentle with her while she was hurting, but he could read her body, sense that she didn’t want gentle.
Fisting both hands in her hair, Tao snatched her head back and grazed his teeth down her throat. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of you.” It was the truth. He was addicted to everything about the little raven—her taste, her humor, her scent, the feel of her, everything. Clawing off her T-shirt and bra, he closed his hand over her breast and squeezed. “Fuck, baby, how do you get your skin this soft?” Using his grip on her hair to arch her body backward, he swooped down and drew her nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it with his tongue.
Riley moaned when he bit her nipple, stomach twisting as an ache raw and wild began to build inside her. The hand squeezing her breast slid up to collar her throat. The blatant display of dominance should have made her bristle. Instead it made her even wilder for him. She tore off his shirt and jeans with her talons just as he clawed off her own jeans. She bit into his pectoral just because. A growl vibrated up his chest, and she felt it right through her nipples.
He snaked his splayed hand down her flat stomach, feeling her taut muscles clench. He liked that. Roughly yanking aside her panties, he cupped her pussy. “This is where I’m going to be. In you. Taking you.” He needed it. He fucking burned for her, day and night. The hunger never went away, never eased. It was a dark, raw, vicious hunger that clawed and bit at him constantly.
“Don’t wait on my account.” Riley wrapped her fingers around his cock—it was hot and smooth, and pulsed in her hand. Keeping her grip tight, she pumped him hard, exactly the way he liked it.
He licked her lower lip. “I love this mouth. You know where I want it.”
“I know.”
“Give it to me.” It came out a harsh demand, but, shit, his cock was raging hard and it hurt like a motherfucker.
“Moving into my room, asking for me to suck you off . . . You’re full of demands, aren’t you?”
“I’ve told you before, I want everything I can get from you. Are you going to say no, Riley? Are you going to tell me I can’t have what’s mine?” He sucked on her bottom lip and pushed down on her shoulder. “Go on, baby. It’s my mouth. Let me have it.” His cock jerked as she slowly went to her knees. The sight alone had him close to coming. Keeping her hair bunched in his hand, he said, “Open.”
It wasn’t a spoken like a command, to Riley’s surprise. His voice was low, calm, coaxing, but also left no room for argument. She thought about defying him for the plain hell of it, but she knew he was expecting that. She liked catching him off guard, since he did it so often to her, so that was exactly what she did.
Tao drew in a sharp breath as she sucked him deep into her hot mouth. No preamble, no teasing flicks of her tongue, no defiant looks. And fuck, it was just what he wanted. She took him deeper with each pass, moaning and dancing her tongue around him. “Fuck, that’s it.” She hummed—the sound vibrated all the way from the base of his cock to the head . . . and his control left him in a rush.
Riley held on to his thighs as he fucked her mouth. The entire time he looked at her with eyes that gleamed with hunger, possession, and . . . something else. Something softer, something that made her heart stutter. She felt him swell in her mouth, knew he was close. Riley sucked harder and—
Tao pulled out. “One day I’m going to come in your mouth, but not today. I want inside you.” Dragging her to her feet, he caged her against the wall, snapped off her panties, and sank two fingers into her pussy. “Damn, baby, you’re soaking like you’ve never had cock before.” There was no more waiting. He had to have her. He lifted her, and her legs locked around him. “How much do you want me?”
In answer, she sank her teeth into his shoulder.
“Fuck, yeah.” He slammed home, burying himself balls deep in one smooth, possessive thrust that made her head fall back. Her pussy clamped around him, tight and hot and perfect. Cupping her ass, he pounded into her hard. His pace was brutal, relentless. Her eyes were wild, hungry. “Mine. Isn’t that right? I’m the only one who can fuck this pussy. Only me.”
Riley dug her nails into the hard muscles of his back. “You really do talk too much.”
Growling, Tao took her mouth again. The raw need spilled out of him, poured down her throat. He mercilessly hammered into her, swallowing every little moan she fed him, wanting more. He felt the telling tingle at the base of his spine, knew he wouldn’t last much longer, but he wanted her to come first. Still powering into her, he slid his thumb between her folds and rubbed her clit.
She shook her head. “I don’t want to come yet.” She didn’t want it to be over, but he rubbed her clit even faster. And when his thumb pushed on her clit just right, she fragmented as white-hot pleasure surged through her. She might have screamed, but he slammed his mouth on hers with a growl as he jammed his cock deep and exploded.
Hollowed out by how hard he’d come, Tao dropped a light kiss on her mouth. Languid, sex-dazed eyes met his, and his gut clenched. He rested his forehead on hers. Several emotions fought for supremacy inside him—emotions he didn’t know how to articulate. “You wreck me.”
She blinked. “Is that good?”
He smiled. “Oh yeah, it’s good.” It also spooked the shit out of him, but he didn’t have it in him to care.