Chapter One
‡
With a shake of her head, Aila Mack tousled her curls then gave her mouth one last swipe of lipstick. Nothing spelled “hooker” quite like cherry-red lipstick and a skirt so short a sneeze would show off the half-moons of her ass.
And that’s exactly what she was—for this weekend, anyway. As tawdry as that sounded, some things couldn’t be left to Mother Nature. Not if she wanted to maintain the life she’d fought so hard to live. Sure, working as an executive assistant to bank manager wasn’t what she’d dreamed of when she was younger, but the job paid her bills, and living hidden among humans kept her free.
She stepped out of her car, tugged down the hem of her black skirt, and vamped to the door of the mountain cabin where she’d been directed by the agency.
Light glared around the edges of the curtains; smoke billowed from the chimney. The remoteness of this particular client didn’t worry her. If things got a little rough, they could easily take the action out of doors.
After shooting one last glance around the moonlit clearing, she took a deep breath and knocked.
The heavy tread of a man’s footsteps sounded on the other side, and the door swung open. Aila glanced up…and up…locking gazes with one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen—not handsome in a pretty-boy way, but his angular, hard-edged features appealed like no other’s she’d ever seen.
Coal-black hair was brushed back from his forehead and fell well past his shoulders. Chilly blue eyes gleamed as his gaze slowly raked her body. A broad, muscular chest above lean hips and powerful thighs made her hopeful that, this time, she’d find her own pleasure in the mating. She was almost envious of the soft chambray shirt and wash-softened blue jeans that hugged his large frame.
He shifted to the side and silently waved her into the room.
All that brawn. Mmm-mm.
She wished he wouldn’t speak and ruin it.
Aila walked inside, set her purse on a table next to the door, and studied the rugged log walls and heavy, masculine furnishings. They suited the man.
“Any trouble findin’ us?” he asked, his deep voice softened by a Southern drawl that rasped across her skin like a caress.
Then she realized what he’d just said. Her head swung toward him. “Us?” she asked, her voice rising.
His frosty eyes narrowed. “My brother and I contracted you for the weekend.”
Her heart began to thud against her chest. “I wasn’t told there’d be more than one client. This’ll cost more.” Wear and tear from one lusty animal was bad enough.
His lips twisted, but he gave a sharp nod. “Come into the kitchen. Kynan’s makin’ dinner. Have you already eaten?”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, half tempted back toward the door and make a hasty escape.
His mouth stretched into a predatory smile that bared his white teeth. “Not hungry? Now, that’d be a waste, sugar.”
She snorted. How like a wolf…
Still, a job was a job, and she needed the hookup for more than the money. The full moon crept slowly across the sky, pulling her libido along in its wake and making it hard to concentrate when a healthy, attractive male was within arm’s length. She drew in his spicy scent and let the unique smell of his lupine pheromones feed the arousal burgeoning between her thighs. A crude reminder of the one part of her life she hadn’t been able to replace in the human world.
What would happen tonight wasn’t any mystery, but she didn’t have to end the chase at first scent. She wouldn’t offer him that satisfaction.
Without giving him another glance, she rolled her hips side to side, followed the unmistakable sound of a knife thudding against a cutting board, and left the hungry male growling in her wake.
Jack Parker blew a silent whistle and followed the woman who looked like any wolf’s wet dream into the kitchen. The skirt hugged her bottom lovingly, rising and dipping with every step, teasing him with a shadowy hint of cheek.
Since he’d already seen a picture on the website, he’d known the blonde was pretty, but he hadn’t expected her body to rate a ten on the heart attack scale. Heavy breasts, a slender waist, and best of all, long, sleek legs, shimmering with a light application of lotion that teased him with an image of those strong thighs clutching his waist while he fucked her.
Hell, just the scent of her feminine musk alone, not masked by any perfume, was enough to make him as hard as a tree trunk.
She halted at the kitchen door, and he cupped the notches of her hips to steady her as he plowed into her backside. “Whoa, there,” he murmured against her hair, giving her a nudge. “Didn’t want to run you down.”
Her head turned, tilting upward. Her sharp green gaze narrowed.
But he didn’t remove his hands. He’d paid good money to touch that hot little behind. His gaze lifted to Kynan, who stuck the knife into the butcher board then stood with a dishtowel over his bare shoulder and his jeans-clad hip cocked against the counter.
Kynan’s gaze ran slowly down then right back up the woman’s brick-house body. His brother seemed every bit as mesmerized as he’d been at first sight. That was, until he felt the chill of her frosty demeanor. Weren’t whores supposed to be friendly?
“Might help break the ice,” Jack murmured into her ear, “if you told us your name.”
“You can call me Aila,” she said, still sounding huffy.
“That your real name?”
“It’s what I’ll answer to.”
One of Kynan’s brown brows arched. “I’ll answer to Kynan.”
“And you can call me Jack,” he said, squeezing her hips and rubbing his dick against her backside again.
Her spine stiffened like a poker, which only made him grin. He hadn’t realized it until that moment, but he didn’t mind she wasn’t the friendliest bitch he’d ever met. He liked a woman with a bit of fire in her. Made the inevitable surrender all the sweeter.
He nuzzled her ear and followed when she bent her neck away.
“I just got here,” she bit out.
“Why waste a minute?” he drawled, giving her drumming pulse a lick. “Clock’s tickin’. Want my grand’s worth out of your hide.”
Kynan cleared his throat, no doubt wondering why he was acting like such an ass.
Jack couldn’t have put his reasons into words even if he’d wanted to. Everything about the woman sparked all his cylinders. His intense attraction complicated things. He didn’t want to think too much about what she felt, what she wanted. He wanted to lose himself inside her. She didn’t deserve more from him—and she shouldn’t expect it. Not selling herself as she was.
The thought of any she-wolf resorting to prostitution to hook up with a male during the full moon made him feel slightly sick. Aila could be his sister. He’d be furious if he ever caught Deirdre doing something as dangerous as this.
He pulled her in closer, smoothing his hands down her sides then up again, while he ground his thickening cock against her soft backside. A growl rumbled at the back of his throat.
Kynan reached out and snapped the towel at his shoulder. “Give her room to breathe. We have all weekend to get to know each other.” The sly arch of his brother’s brow said they had the weekend to turn Aila inside out and make her wish for a pack to provide for her needs on a full-time basis.
Lone bitches fought the natural order of things but always succumbed to hormones in the end. Independence wasn’t all it was cracked up to be in the harsh reality of a sterile human world.
Jack bit her shoulder then pushed her from him.
She whirled and wobbled on her tall heels, a fierce scowl screwing up her features.
Kynan moved in to steady her with an arm around her waist. “Easy there,” he said, his voice soothing her. “We don’t want you hurt.”
“Afraid you won’t get your grand’s worth?” she snarled.
“No,” Kynan said slowly. “I don’t want you hurt.”
Her gaze locked with Kynan’s, and Jack felt satisfaction warm him. Kynan could be her friend and make love to her.
He’d be the one to challenge her and fuck her brains out.
They had the plan all worked out. They’d have her every way a man or a wolf could. They’d remind her of what was missing from her day-to-day existence. A life among humans, dating men who politely asked her to open her legs, couldn’t compare to existence among a pack where she would be protected, her every need fulfilled.
A wolf promised a bitch so much more than respect. He’d give her what she needed. What she craved. Make her love it. Beg for it.
Jack rubbed his dick through his jeans and followed the other two into the living room.
“Any problems findin’ us?” Kynan asked.
Jack grinned. He’d asked her that same exact question before, but she hadn’t answered. Did she know how close to Wolfen territory she’d strayed?
Aila aimed a glare his way then forced a smile for his brother. “No, the agency’s directions were clear.”
“Was it a long way to come?”
Suspicion darkened her expression, and her gaze narrowed—this time on Kynan. “I didn’t tell you where I started, but it’s why you’re paying mileage, too.”
Since he didn’t want Kynan being the bad wolf, Jack snorted, hoping to distract her. “Everything has a price?”
Her chin lifted, but her expression turned from hard to sultry in under a second, making his lust quicken. “Some things are all-inclusive,” she said, her voice husky. “I won’t make you choose an act from a menu.”
He licked his lips. “We can do pretty much what we want?”
“So long as I can walk out of here on my own on Monday.”
Jack’s chest lifted around a deep inhalation. He dragged her sweet scent deeper, letting it curl inside his chest. “That leaves us a lot of room.”
Her lush mouth pouted. “Let’s not pretend I’m fragile.”
He barely suppressed a deep, rough growl. He wished he could dip down and smother those lips, but he held back, knowing the trap was already set. Instead, he would savor watching her fall under their complete control. “What’s the matter? Human boyfriends not rough enough?”
Her lips tightened into a thin, stubborn line. Apparently, her life outside this cabin wasn’t up for discussion.
Kynan raked a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “How about a drink before we get to know each other?”
“Sure,” Aila said, turning her body toward Kynan in a gesture meant to tell Jack she was ignoring him for the moment.
Fine with him. Meant he could look his fill without having to do it politely from the corners of his eyes as Kynan was.
Kynan might be playing nice, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as ready to jump her bones, too.
The moon was rising high, and Jack felt the elemental pull. Testosterone spiked, hardening his body. Blood surged, filling his cock, readying him for a rut.
By the sharp edges of Kynan’s cheeks, he had to be feeling it, too. Kynan’s brown eyes darkened and swept down the woman’s body again. This time, it wasn’t a subtle glance.
Yeah, Kynan had to be every bit as hungry as Jack was to take Aila to the floor and ruffle her spiky fur.
Kynan crossed to the bar and opened the fridge, returning with a glass of red wine for Aila and a beer for Jack. Then he snagged another beer between two fingers, and a napkin, before taking a seat on the couch beside the woman.
Jack sat in a deep leather armchair, content for the moment to watch. His gaze slid from her shoulders to her ass, noting how her skirt had ridden up beneath her. He couldn’t help a smirk that lifted one side of his mouth. Her bare bottom had to be warming the leather couch. He’d noted the narrow bands of a thong at her hips when he’d felt her up.
He wondered how strong the moon tugged at her arousal and whether she was wet. Some women, barren women, could resist the monthly curse. A wolf was lucky when he found one ready for a howling.
Kynan handed Aila the napkin with a slight smile, and her eyelids dipped for just a second before she blotted away her red lipstick. How did his brother do that? Get her to follow his instructions without even saying a word?
Jack drew on his beer, trying to catch the train of the conversation. She was relaxing at last, sitting back against the couch instead of looking ready to bolt for the door. What had Kynan just said to her?
“How did you find the agency in the first place? It’s not like they advertise,” he asked her.
Aila waved a hand. “A friend of a friend. She told me there was another way to live.”
“So, you hire out to strange men?”
Her expression remained neutral. “Once a month, yeah.”
“Do you take repeats?”
She shook her head. “Never. I don’t want a relationship. I’m not looking for a pack. This is less…messy.”
Kynan’s brows lowered. “But it’s dangerous.”
“Howl at the Moon is pretty exclusive, and as Jack, there, probably found out,” she said, darting a hard glance his way, “membership isn’t an easy thing to land. They do background and credit checks—and they keep track of the girls. Expect a call sometime during the weekend. They’ll want to talk to me to make sure everything’s fine.”
Kynan glanced at Jack, giving a subtle blink of his eyes.
Jack didn’t know whether to believe her or not, but it didn’t really matter. By the time the agency dispatched someone to find them they’d be long gone.
Sliding his arms along the cool leather arms, he propped his feet on the coffee table and crossed them, pretending to relax while he studied the woman whose life he was about to change forever.
Kynan suppressed a grin at Jack’s lazy pose. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although his brother stayed silent, the lack of movement and his deepening of his breaths betrayed his intense reaction to the woman.
Their buddy Jaime hadn’t been kidding when he’d described the woman he’d hired the previous month. Not on the prowl for a mate of his own, he’d still been in need of a “fuck-fix” far from home. However, he’d followed due diligence afterward, sending the bed sheets to Dark Mountain’s best noser for confirmation.
The woman was a breeder—her fate sealed by the fact her womb was fertile. She should know better than to think her life was her own when clans were desperate for cubs.
After her status had been confirmed, the Dark Mountain clan leaders had met in secret to discuss what should be done with Aila Mack. Not her real name, they were sure, because no lupine Macks existed anywhere in North America.
Her origins were a mystery, and she’d been careful to cover her tracks. They’d followed the money trail through Howl at the Moon, but after bouncing between international accounts, they hadn’t been able to pick up the trail to find her.
This had been the leaders’ best solution. Send out a team to bring her in. Send the men who would be her mates to ensure she was handled with care and sensitivity.
A cautionary warning his brother Jack seemed unable to remember. He’d acted like a dog ever since she’d walked through the door. He’d sniffed and pawed.
Kynan was surprised, because Jack prided himself on control. Usually, no one got to him, but this curvy little woman really pissed him off.
Perhaps it was because she’d whored herself out, and they’d have to live with her past. Or maybe his problem was she didn’t appear to have a submissive bone in her body. Something that would be like a red flag to Jack. The man liked being in charge.
Or maybe he didn’t like the fact he had to share her.
If that were true, Jack would have to get over it. There were too few fertile females, and they were lucky the clan alpha, Alex Weir, had decided not to follow the old custom of spreading his seed among all the breedable bitches. Now, hunting season was wide open for the rest of them.
Finding females had proven tricky—until they’d discovered Howl at the Moon, run by a mysterious she-wolf to help other females maintain their independence from pack governance. As crazy as that concept seemed to the Dark Mountain wolves, dozens of females from all over the eastern region had signed on, seeking anonymous fucks to feed the monthly frenzy.
The clan had to find a way to keep secret the knowledge that they were infiltrating the club’s membership to scope out and steal women. Aila was the first fertile woman the pack hunters had found. Their first tempting target.
Kynan noted the tic at the side of Jack’s left eye and knew his brother was holding back by a thread. Time to make a move.
He set his beer on the table and reached for her glass.
Aila’s chin lifted, but she allowed him to take the wineglass and set it aside. Then he stood and held out his hand.
She hesitated only a moment then offered him a tight smile and slid her soft, slender hand inside his. With one firm tug he drew her into his arms, only to allow her to pull away and wrap false confidence around her stiff shoulders. She thought she was in charge of her destiny.
Kynan felt a moment’s remorse that her wishes couldn’t be honored. For the sake of their species, they would steal her freedom.
Without looking back at Jack, he led Aila down the short hallway to the bedroom.