Page 8 of Into the Fire: Before

“Only because it’s your ass that’s usually the one getting shredded.”

I rolled my eyes and tucked the board under my arm, leading the way out of our small storage unit. Brea locked up, and just as I opened my mouth to give her a heart attack (via suggesting I ride my way down the stairwell), my eye snagged on an unassuming brown door at the end of the hallway. It matched the one on our floor and, I assumed, the second and fourth floors too. We knew it led to a secondary staircase. For maintenance, maybe. We didn’t know for sure, though, since the doors were always locked.

At least they wereusuallylocked. This one hadn’t quite closed all the way, the latch resting on the edge of the doorjamb.

“Brea,” I whispered. She turned, and I nodded toward the cracked door. Toward the key still sticking out of the lock.

She pursed her lips in a silentoohof intrigue. “You suppose that’s where Sir McGrumpkins keeps the bodies?” she asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Or his secret collection of creepy dolls.”

“All with curls and bows, of course.”

“Perfect, silent, obedient little ladies, one and all.” I chuckled, though my reminder of Mr. Arceneaux’s less-than-stellar first impression put a scowl on my mate’s face.

Brea huffed, giving a small shake of her head before stepping back toward the main staircase. “C’mon, I’m starved,” she said, reaching out for my hand. I didn’t take it, though. A wicked grin stole over my face as I took first one sideways step, then another, toward the mystery door.

My mate leveled a stern finger at me. “Taryn,no.”

I took a deep breath, donning a serious mask as I stepped slowly within touching distance of the door. “I am approaching the door…”

Brea didn’t move. “Taryn Rose Maddox—”

“I am reaching for the knob,” I narrated as I slowly, with great exaggeration, did just that.

“Are you really that eager for another face-to-face with the Bad Sir?”

In response, I pulled the door open in slow motion. “I am stepping across the threshold.” Brea pinched the bridge of her nose, and I continued my narration. “I am officially standing in forbidden territory. Oh no. Phone the police. I must be stopped.”

“Yeah, something’s gonna stop, all right,” Brea muttered half beneath her breath.

I snorted, grin widening. If one of us was ever going to have a successful sex strike, it sure asfuckwould not be my horny li’l alpha.

I only shrugged, stepping further into the dark stairwell, far enough that I couldn’t hold the door open any longer and it creaked shut.

Well, almost shut. Brea caught it before it hit the jamb, glaring at me as she pulled the key from the lock on the other side and followed me into the dark stairwell. “You are going to be the death of us both.”

“Dying of adventure is better than dying of boredom.

I grabbed my alpha’s hand, brought it to my lips for a quick knuckle kiss, then pulled her toward the stairs. By the time we were climbing, she was right beside me—not behind—and giggling, just like me.

Brooks

Aheadachethatwasnot my own throbbed behind my eyes.

Shit. If Caine wasn’t able to block the pain from the pack bond, it had to be bordering on migraine territory.Again.

Between my shifts at the hospital, Lin’s million business meetings, and Caine’s generalCaine-ness, we hadn’t all three had a nice evening together in weeks. Or morning or afternoon, for that matter. At least Lin and I shared a bed. Though Caine crawled into it very occasionally—for sleep and fornotsleep—I missed him. I missed them both.

So (at mostly my insistence) we’d come up to enjoy the deepening dark of our private rooftop patio at the end of an exhausting week. The oppressive heat of summer hadn’t yet usurped the breezy warmth of springtime, and the evening air was sweet. Notes of honeysuckle from the gorgeous vines that climbed the buildings. Spiced apple from the small bottle of homemade moonshine in my hand. Crisp blackberry and decadent honey emanating from my mate.

Lin and I sat on one of three cozy sofas in comfortable silence. He’d been up since five this morning driving all over Farendale for building inspections and design consults and bank meetings. Fourteen hours later, his dark hair hung over his forehead and the top two buttons of his Oxford hung undone, but—bless him—he hadn’t even hinted at wanting to call an early night. The warm weight of his arm around my shoulders added to the bubbly feeling in my head from the glass I’d already polished off.

My heart sped as I imagined taking his cock into my mouth later in the evening. Fantasized about him taking mine, teasing me until I begged him to turn me around and—

A sharp stab between my eyebrows made me wince. Lin likewise frowned, and we both looked toward the edge of the rooftop, at the ominous shadow on the periphery of the lamplight glow. Caine stood there, arms crossed atop the four-foot brick wall that surrounded the patio. His black t-shirt stretched over tense shoulders as he stared outward into the deepening night.

So much for a relaxing Pack’s Night In.

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