Page 10 of Witch Undecided
Tor shrugged a powerful shoulder. “Not complaining, just warning Cora what she’s about to step into.” He met and held my gaze. “Female wolves are extremely territorial. You may be mated to their alpha, but you’re not one of them. You’ll have to work for their respect, to be accepted. It won’t be easy.”
There was a challenge in his eyes and my pulse kicked up. I loved a good challenge.
“Nothing worth having is ever easy.” I smiled. “Besides, I’m adorable.” I widened my eyes and pouted sweetly. “They’ll love me.”
Both guys froze before their gazes dropped to my mouth, lingering on my pout hungrily. Heat rushed up my chest to hug my neck. I should break up this moment, say something, stop pouting maybe? But the wicked part of me took over, allowing my tongue to peek out and sweep across my lips.
Tor sucked in a breath and averted his gaze, bringing his mug to his lips for a hearty gulp of his coffee.
“Fuck,” Leif said. “Friend zone, friend zone, friend zone.”
God, I was a bitch.
Leif cleared his throat and stood with a scrape of his chair. “I’m gonna take a cold shower real quick. We leave in half an hour.”
He ruffled my hair as he walked past, but my gaze was ensnared by Tor and my heart pounded hard because there was ravenous hunger in his gaze, feral and primal.
I stood quickly and crossed the room to the sink to wash up my mug. Break up the tension. This worked. Normal, menial tasks.
His chair scraped softly on hardwood, and my pulse kicked up a notch. He was leaving, that was all. Please be leaving, but the delicious prickle across my nape told me different.
His heat kissed my back and my pulse quickened further, leaving me with a breathless fluttering in my chest like a trapped bird. His large hands bracketed my hips as his lips brushed the delicate shell of my ear, sending shivers down my neck and across my chest. His fingers tightened on my hips and heat bloomed low in my belly. It took everything I had not to push my ass into his crotch and grind. Instead, I froze, muscles tense, mug clutched tightly in my hand.
“Little piece of advice, Cora.” His breath licked my skin and liquid fire raced through my veins. “If you play with fire, you’ll eventually get burned.”
My mouth went dry and my throat tightened. “Okay. I won’t do that again.” My voice was a breathless whisper.
He smiled against my ear. “Good girl.”
Oh fuck, now I was wet.
He inhaled. “Fuck, you smell like peaches. One taste won’t hurt, Cora.” His voice was a delicious purr. “In fact, it’ll feel so fucking good.”
Heat coiled in my belly, pushing low to throb at the apex of my thighs. I pressed my legs together to quell the ache.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” My voice was a husky whisper.
“Yes, you do that.”
He patted my ass, then retreated, taking his heat with him. I sagged against the sink. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I needed a cold shower. Stat.
Vita territory overlappedwith Grimswood land, and the Vita Pack house was barely two miles away. We could have walked, but Leif insisted on taking the car.
We drove slowly down a narrow woodland track, bumping and rocking. “How are Sten and Toke?”
“They’re preparing to hand over to Tor and Rune. They’re keeping busy.”
“Have they seen Charlotte…since?”
His jaw flexed at the mention of her name. “I don’t know.”
Fuck me and my insensitivity. Just because he smiled and acted okay didn’t mean he was. If anyone knew about putting up a front, it was me, the queen of poker faces and acts.
I turned in my seat slightly. “How are you coping?”
He flicked a glance my way. “I’m okay, Cora. I’ll be okay. Arne was a good father. He was loving and strong and he died to protect my mate. To protect the world. I can’t be mad at that. I miss him. It hurts, but I can deal.” His tone was a little too flat to be believable. But I wasn’t about to push if he wasn’t ready to open up.
I slid my hand onto his thigh and squeezed. “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
