Play of Passion

CHAPTER 37

Afterward, she lay crushed under hard male muscle, almost certain her heart would regain a normal rhythm sometime in the next century. Curving one hand around the back of Drew’s neck as he lay slumped over her, his chest rising and falling in gasping breaths, she nuzzled at the side of his face. “I do believe I’ve just been royally tumbled.”

His lips curved against her. “Tumbled?”

“It seems like the right word. I feel like the country maid who got her skirts thrown up over her head.”

“Next time.”

Biting lightly at his ear, she rubbed the now bare heel of one foot over his buttocks, enjoying having him all to herself.

For a while, they just lay there, soaking in each other’s scents. When Drew did move, it was only so he could spoon her body with his. “Indy?”

Catching the oddly solemn note in his voice, she ran her hand over the arm she was using as a pillow. “What is it?”

“I’m sorry.” It was a stark statement. “I shouldn’t have done what I did in front of the others. I won’t do it again, no matter how hard I have to fight my wolf.”

She didn’t brush off the apology this time. Because it was important. Not simply what he’d said—but that he’d said it after she’d already come back to him. “You were right about something, too,” she said, opening herself up in a way she’d never done for any other man. “You might be younger, but you are very much a dominant male. I’m sorry if I made you feel—”

“Hush.” A kiss on her neck. “We’re good.”

God, he was so generous, he’d spoil her terribly if she let him. “No,” she said, “let me finish. This mule-headed woman might not say it again.”

A husky chuckle, but he didn’t interrupt her this time.

“In spite of what I told myself, I’ve been burying my head in the sand about you,” she said with brutal honesty, “because it was easier to deal with this thing between us if I stripped you down to just the younger, less dominant male.” So long as he was that, she could justify maintaining a subtle emotional distance under the masquerade of caution. “I won’t be doing that again. I’m going to learn to deal with you exactly as you are.” And that man, she thought, was more than a match for her wolf.

He ran a hand over her hip, the touch warm and affectionate. “You know this means I get a free pass on certain actions that are likely to drive you insane.” Light words, and yet there was a grain of truth in them.

Stroking his arm, able to feel the caress of the crisp hairs beneath her palm, she said, “No free pass. I’ll get mad. I might even yell.”

He hugged her closer to him. “That I can take. Hell, I like arguing with you.” A kiss on the curve of her shoulder. “But I won’t let you put up those walls of ice between us again, Indy. Fair warning.”

“What do you mean ‘let me’?” she asked in a tone that she knew was disgruntled. “You call bombarding me with roses, kisses, and adorable soft toys ‘letting me’? I’m not even going to mention my cell phone or the closet.”

A chuckle. “Yes—now imagine how much worse I can get.”

Unable to resist smiling, she shook her head. “You’ll probably come up against the ice walls again in the future,” she said, knowing herself. “But you have full permission to do your worst.”

His laughter was warm and open. “Snuggle closer to me.”

“I can’t get any closer.” But she pressed deeper into him, her wolf still sprawled out in abandon inside of her from their recent loving. Andrew Kincaid, she thought sleepily as Drew continued to run his hand over her hip, his breath steady against her hair, had some serious moves.

He also had an endless supply of energy.

She woke in darkness to his nibbling kiss along the line of her neck, his fingers playing between her thighs. Melting, she pulled his head down for a kiss. When he lifted up her leg and slid into her, it made her nerve endings sizzle with delight.

It was a lazy loving this time, Drew rocking her to a long, deep orgasm before coming in a pulse of heat inside her.

Andrew knew he had a smug arrogance to his step when he walked back into the den with Indigo by his side, but he couldn’t help it. He was so damn happy, the joy bubbled through his veins. Even when Indigo gave him a scowling look that said “behave,” all he wanted to do was grin and shout to the world that she was his.

And he was keeping her, mating dance or no mating dance.

“What’re you doing today, Lieutenant?” he asked after they’d gotten changed.

“I’m going to check up on Silvia.”

Andrew had looked in on the girl the previous day, happy to see that she was conscious and well on the road to recovery. “I’ll come with you. Lara’s certain now that she won’t have any long-term injuries.”

“Damn lucky, given the height she fell from.” Wrapping an arm around his waist, she said, “Did the cats’ little healers have anything to do with it?”

Andrew shook his head, curving his own arm around her shoulders. The “little healers” were two very gifted children—whose talents DarkRiver had only divulged to a tight group in SnowDancer because the kids often came to play with their friends in the den, and the wolves needed to know to keep them away from the infirmary. “Everyone’s in agreement that those two need their childhood,” he said. “I think the cats have decided to put them off-limits until they turn eighteen.”

“Good. Pups need to be pups.”

“And,” Andrew added, “might be, the kids can’t heal all physical injuries. Lara and the DarkRiver healer are starting to think their gift may be linked directly to traumatic brain injuries.”

“Makes sense,” Indigo murmured, “since the Psy are so cerebral.”

Andrew nodded in agreement as they neared the infirmary. “There goes Brace.” The boy was heading in the other direction.

“I hear he’s been skipping classes to go sit with Silvia.”

“Boy’s got it bad. Teachers are letting it slide for the moment since he’s normally such a good student.” Smiling at the way she walked close enough to him that their bodies occasionally brushed, much as courting wolves walked in the wild, he drew in the scent of her skin—which now carried his own so deep and true, there’d be no more talk of it fading.

Indigo shot him a warning glance when they headed out of the infirmary after visiting Silvia. “We’re doing the outside run with the novices today. Riaz is helping me.”

His wolf snarled, but Andrew wasn’t stupid. She was waiting to see what he’d do. Maybe it would’ve been better to pretend he didn’t still want Riaz’s blood, but he wasn’t about to lie to the woman he wanted by his side forever. Showing her his teeth, he said, “Then I’ll make sure I’m not in the vicinity.”

Indigo paused in the corridor. “You’re going to behave?”

“Maybe.” He let his wolf rise to the surface. “We both know who and what I am. Therefore, we both also know I don’t think too straight when another male is near the woman I consider mine. So I can’t promise you completely rational behavior, but since you let me tumble you so thoroughly, I will try.”

Indigo’s lips twitched a little. “Awful man.” Gripping the lapels of his white shirt, she tugged him down for a kiss.

A passing packmate whistled at them and was ignored.

“Try hard.” She let him feel the prick of her claws before she let go. “What’re you doing today?”

“I had a message on my phone to see Hawke when I returned to the den, so he’s probably got a job for me.”

Frown lines marred Indigo’s brow. “When are you supposed to head back out again to do your rounds of our territory?”

“A couple of weeks.” He hated the idea of being away from her for that long. Especially since they were finally really, truly bonding. Because, though strong, that bond wasn’t yet set in stone. “I might be able to rework things, come back to the den on a more regular basis.”

Indigo’s gaze was dark when she looked at him. “What you do, it’s important, Drew. Don’t shortchange the pack because—”

“Shh.” He kissed her this time. “You make me happy. A happy Andrew is a more productive Andrew.”

Indigo rolled her eyes. “When was the last time you lost an argument?”

He pretended to think about it. Then, leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “A few hours ago when you refused to stop the car and crawl into the backseat with me.”

Not long afterward, Andrew stared at his alpha as they stood looking down over a beautiful green valley. “Huh.”

Hawke raised an eyebrow. “Not quite the reaction I was hoping for.”

“Just a little unexpected, that’s all.” He took a moment to think about the proposal. “Why me?”

“Adam likes you,” Hawke said, naming the leader of the WindHaven falcons as he leaned against a large fir, his hair almost pure silver in this light. But it wasn’t a silver that shouted of age—no, it was the silver of precious metals, unique and startling. Especially given the other man’s wolf-pale eyes. “You okay with taking it on?”

Looking away from his alpha, Andrew paced to the edge of the cliff. “Sure. I mean, I’ve got no problem acting as liaison with the falcons, but won’t Adam be talking to you directly on most matters?”

“The big things, yes,” Hawke said. “But, as with DarkRiver, there are going to be matters that don’t need an alpha’s attention, but do need to be looked at by someone senior.”

Andrew nodded. As alpha, Hawke had a thousand things on his plate. Delegation of some responsibility was key not only to his own sanity, but to ensuring the health of his pack; that many strong wolves with nothing to do would be a recipe for disaster. “Why not ask one of the lieutenants?”

“They’ve all got heavy responsibilities already . . . and we both know you could be a lieutenant if you wanted to be.”

Andrew shook his head. “I couldn’t do what I do if I was.” He needed to be seen as approachable by even their weakest and least confident, not someone who was automatically identified as part of the pack’s power structure.

“It would make your relationship with Indigo easier,” Hawke said, and Andrew knew it was a question.

“No, it wouldn’t. The basic issues would remain.” His age, the fact of her higher dominance. “Out of curiosity—when did I hit your radar as a possible lieutenant?”

“I always knew you had it in you,” Hawke said, surprising him. “That’s why I originally had you stationed as the sector leader in San Diego, and you more than delivered. Your work over the past ten months has only been the icing on the cake. But I’m ruthless when it comes to the pack. You were useful to me exactly where you were.”

“You, ruthless?” Andrew put a hand on his chest, feigning a heart attack.

Hawke’s grin was sharp. “Adam says the liaison on their side will be Jacques.”

“I met him. He’s okay.” A little quiet, but after growing up with Riley, Andrew could deal with that fine. You just had to poke at the quiet ones until they spoke up. “Who’re the cats using as their liaison?” Because Andrew would have to work with him or her.

“Nathan,” Hawke said, naming the most senior of DarkRiver’s sentinels.

“We should probably set up a meeting to nut out some basics.” Pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he rocked back on his heels. “I’ll try and hook us all up for a quick comm-conference when I get back to the den.”

Hawke nodded and pushed off the tree. “I’m going to run up to the northern edge, see how things are going.”

“Any further indications of Psy interference?”

“No. And the techs have found no other buried objects of any kind.” Deep grooves appeared on either side of Hawke’s mouth. “But Judd called with some information last night. He’s heard whispers that suggest Henry Scott wanted—still wants—our land to use as a staging post for an armed take-over of the entire city.”

“Wouldn’t they be too far, physically speaking?” Andrew asked.

“Yes, but evidence indicates they have several teleport-capable telekinetics in their group.”

Andrew thought about it. “Yeah, that could have worked.” SnowDancer land was remote enough that any invading army wouldn’t be immediately noted from the city. “Especially if they’re considering surgical strikes, rather than a full assault.”

“You really need to start sitting in on the lieutenant meetings,” Hawke said. “Since intel is your job.”

Andrew nodded. When he’d first taken on this position, it had only been about keeping a finger on the pulse of the pack, but the network he’d constructed now meant information of all kinds flowed through to him. “I’ll have Indy give me a heads-up before the next one.”

“Good.” Hawke reached down to pet a wild wolf that appeared out of the trees. “Judd found something else, too—looks like Pure Psy has commandeered a remote mountain village to use as its gathering place for arms and supplies, and as a training ground.”

“What’s he recommend?”

“Leaving the operation in place. He says he can keep an eye on them—and it’s better to know where the vipers are hiding.” Hawke’s face was without mercy when he looked up. “That way, we can hit them hard if the Scotts do move to strike against the city, disabling a large part of their strength at a critical time.”

Dismissing the group of her people that she’d brought outside for a meeting on how best to cover—in the long term—the wider patrol area necessitated by the Psy incursions, Indigo picked up a bracelet that had slipped off someone’s wrist and was about to head back up to the den herself when she caught an unexpected—but not unknown—scent on the wind. Her wolf was already crouching to leap in welcome when Matthias walked into the clearing. Giving a whoop, she flew into his arms, wrapping her legs around his hips.

Not many men could’ve stood firm against the impact of her welcome, but since Matthias was built like a tank, he just caught her, giving her one of those small, quiet smiles that had fooled many a woman into thinking him shy. Half an hour after that and most of those women had probably found themselves sprawled naked under him.

“What’re you doing here?” she asked after giving him an affectionate kiss.

Eyes as dark as mountain skies at midnight met hers as he squeezed the arm he had around her hips. “I’ve been hearing some mighty surprising rumors about you, darling.”

“Is that right?” Arching an eyebrow, she unhooked herself from his body and took enough of a step back that she could look up into his face.

Matthias wasn’t only built like a tank, he was taller than every other male in the pack, coming to something like six feet six. All of which would’ve made him a threatening-looking package but for that amazing face; a haunting mixture of Spain, the Far East, and the warm dark of his mother’s home-land of Tanzania, it had a way of making people forget just how lethal he could be.

But Indigo had known him too long to be bamboozled—and right now, she was very aware of the teasing light in those eyes of liquid night. “And what exactly,” she drawled, “have you been hearing?”

“Something about you setting up house with Riley’s baby brother.”

She knew it was a deliberate dig, meant to get her to give up information, so she plastered an innocent expression on her face. “Really? How interesting.” The hairs on the back of her neck rose at that moment, and she suddenly realized she could scent another male getting ever closer.

“Yeah,” Matthias said even as she was turning on her heel, “so I thought I better come on over and make sure you hadn’t forgotten who you belonged to.”

A growl of rage filled the air an instant before Drew’s body slammed out of the forest and into Matthias’s, taking the male lieutenant down to the ground.