Steel Beauty

Chapter Four

Belle stood there, shivering her ass off in the cold night air, and wondered what the hell was going on.

Rick, his arms crossed, stared at the gathered Pack intently. The Pack grunted, Rick nodded. Then there was silence as his gaze drifted over them.

Belle looked back and forth at the group of silent people, all of them eerily staring back at Rick. She could see the occasional person nodding, or in Gina’s case, sneering. Then Gina flinched and glared at Chela, who smiled smugly back.

What the fuck is going on?

She started tapping her foot, fidgeting the change in her pants pocket. She stared up, watching the stars twinkle through the break in the trees. She huffed out a bored breath.

“Belle?”

She turned to Rick, startled to see the Pack was gone.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Coming where?”

He looked shocked. “We’re heading back to the Lodge for drinks, to celebrate our mating.”

“Um. We are?”

“Yes.”

“When was this decided?” Belle could feel her temper beginning to spike, and it felt good. She’d never dared lose her temper in Halle for fear of losing her so-called friends.

And just look where that got me.

No, it definitely felt good to let go. Witness how Gina had gone out of her way to avoid her all day!

There were definite perks to this lack of anger management.

“Just now.” He looked genuinely confused, and a little concerned.

“You didn’t say anything.”

“I spoke to the Pack.”

Her eyebrows rose into her hair. “When?”

He stared at her intently for a moment, a look of shock passing over his face. “You didn’t hear me, did you?”

“When? ” She was moving beyond annoyed to seriously ticked.

Rick blew out a breath, running a hand through his hair. “C’mon. I’ll explain it on the way in.” He put a hand under her elbow and started walking. “I have a mental connection to every Pack member.”

“Yeah, so does every Alpha.”

“No. I mean, I can hear them, and they can hear me.”

“Of course they can.” She patted his arm soothingly.

“No, Belle. I mean, like telepathy.”

She stopped. “In their heads?”

“Yes.”

“Can you read my mind?”

“When I try to, or when you think something very loudly, yes.”

She growled.

He held out his hand commandingly. “Give me the air horn.”

Damn. She handed over the air horn with a frustrated sigh. “You never let me have any fun.”

His expression softened as she pouted up at him. “If I had known, I would have mentioned it earlier.

We’ve only been mated for a day.”

They started walking again. “So from now on the Pack meetings will be held verbally. Problem solved.”

“Problem not solved.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t hold the Pack meetings verbally.”

“Why not? Some ritualistic bonding thingie that you’re not going to explain because I’m a cat and I’d never understand?”

“Ritualistic bonding thingie?”

The indulgent amusement in his voice grated on her rapidly fraying temper. “Rick.”

He snorted, a smile flirting around the corners of his mouth.

“Why can’t you hold Pack meetings verbally?”

“Tradition holds that all Pack functions held by the Alpha be done mentally.”

She let her mouth move into her sweetest smile, mentally crowing at the worried look that crossed his face. “But I can’t hear you when you do that.”

“I know.” He patted her hand. “I’ll make sure to fill you in after the meetings.”

She could feel her teeth trying to grind together and did her best to relax. From his wince, she didn’t think she’d succeeded. “How am I supposed to function as Luna if I can’t hear you?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

They were almost at the Lodge. Belle smiled again, delighted when she felt him shiver under her hand.

“Yes. I’m certain we will.”

Belle felt insanely giddy as Rick carried her into their apartment after their mating party. The best part?

Gina and company had chosen to skip the event.

She was still humming “Little Red Riding Hood” as Rick took her straight into the bedroom. Dave was completely insane once you got a few mojitos into him. He’d actually gotten up on a table and begun to sing that. He’d been leering at Ben the whole time. He hadn’t stopped even when Ben turned his back on him and walked away.

“You, my Luna, are plastered.”

She giggled and aimed a kiss at Rick’s mouth. She hit his chin. “Oh, scratchy.” She reached up and stroked a hand over his cheek, feeling his beard. It felt good against her palm. She spared a thought to how it would feel on the flesh between her thighs.

Rick groaned. She wondered if he’d heard her thoughts. From the flush creeping up his face, she thought he might have.

She thought about it harder and felt herself getting wet.

“Bedtime, little kitty.”

Belle pouted as he put her on top of the comforter. “What if I’m not sleepy?” She shimmied a little bit, trying to entice him into the bed.

His eyes turned brown. “Belle…”

She sat up and slowly pulled off her sweater and dropped it to the floor. His gaze was glued to her fingers as she began slowly unbuttoning her blouse. She made sure to have her fingertips linger at her breasts as she pulled the shirt away from her chest. The shoulders slipped down and hung on her elbows.

She looked up at him from under her lashes and licked her lips.

He growled, his fists clenching. “You need to rest.”

“I can rest. After.” She allowed the top to fall off her, her hands moving to the front clasp of her bra.

“Did you know the chemicals released during orgasm can help control pain?”

His gaze left her breasts to collide with hers. A wicked smile was beginning to curl his lips. “So orgasms are good for you?”

She nodded, giving him her most innocent, come-hither look. She bit her lip and unclasped the bra, allowing her breasts to spill free. Her nipples were already beaded in the cool air. “And you don’t want me to feel any pain. Right, Rick?”

“What? Oh. No. No pain.”

His absent tone nearly made her laugh. She held the seductive pose with some difficulty. Her fingers slipped to the snap of her jeans. He whimpered as she drew the zipper down as slowly as she could.

She bit her lip to keep from grinning as he rushed to remove her boots. He stood and dropped them to the floor, staring as she shimmied out of her tight jeans.

He gulped as her bare pussy was revealed. She didn’t know if he’d forgotten she’d gone without panties that morning.

He nearly tripped over his own feet as he hastily ripped his own clothing off. She finally allowed the grin to break free as she leaned back against the pillow and began absently stroking her clit.

“Dear God, woman. Are you trying to kill me?”

She moaned in response, shutting her eyes as the sensation of her own fingers stroking her pussy began to overwhelm her. She wanted desperately to thrust her hips upwards to increase the sensation but knew better than to try it.

She felt the bed dip as Rick joined her. His big hand covered hers, stopping the motion of her fingers.

Now it was her turn to whimper.

“Allow me.” One long, strong, thick finger entered her, finding just the right spot to rub against. She gasped as she flung her head back against the pillow. He took advantage of her exposed neck, sucking and biting hard enough to leave a mark. The scrape of his beard only heightened her pleasure, sending shivers down her spine as his hand stroked her closer and closer to orgasm.

His mouth left her neck and worked its way down to her breast. He suckled her, harder and harder, matching the rhythm of his finger to the rhythm of his lips until she had no choice but to move against him.

“Uh-uh. Stay still.” His hand left her pussy to press at her hip, stilling her movements. “No pain, Belle.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

His wicked grin flashed across his face; that glorious red hair of his was golden brown, letting her know her eyes had definitely changed. “I’m going to fuck you until you don’t remember your own name, but only if you stay perfectly still.”

“I’m not sure I can stay still.” She reached up and brushed her hands across his furry chest. “Besides, you know how much you love it when I buck back.” She tempted him again with a glimpse of her tongue against her lips, loving how his grin faltered.

It didn’t take long for the grin to return. “You’re right, I do.” He picked her up, ignoring her squawk of surprise, and placed her feet on the floor. He turned her around, pushing her shoulders until her face was once again buried in the bedspread.

“Y’know, Fido, there’s more than one position. Even for a dog.”

“Belle.”

She could hear the laughter in his voice as he took hold of her hands, holding her down. The head of his cock nudged the opening of her pussy. “There’s the cowgirl position.” He sputtered a laugh as he began to slowly push inside her. “Then there’s the lap dance position.” He began slowly fucking her, nibbling on her neck, and she started to lose her train of thought. “There’s, um, missionary. Yeah, miss…oh, right there.”

He nipped at her neck sharply, causing her to see stars. She needed him to bite her in the worst way.

“Any others?”

“Others? Oh, right. There’s…can’t you go any faster?”

He slapped her ass and she yelped. “How fast would you like me to go?”

She began slamming back against him, setting the pace. “How’s this?” She panted.

“Good.” His voice sounded strangled. “Very good.” He began matching her stroke for stroke, building the fire between them. “You’re gonna make me come, my Luna.”

“Oh, God, Oh God.” She chanted with each thrust. “It’s so good.”

“Come for me, Luna.” He let go of one of her hands and reached between her thighs, flicking her clit as he bit down into her shoulder. He pierced her skin with his teeth, growling. She screamed, coming so hard his cock nearly got pushed out of her pussy.

His Wolf howled as his hips jerked, coming so deep inside her she swore she could taste him.

She barely felt him pulling out, picking her up, and placing her on the comforter. She was asleep within seconds, thoroughly sated, a contented smile on her lips.

Rick was surprised at how quiet things had been, considering how furious Belle had been the night before about the whole telepathic thing. Although the make-up sex had been amazing, he was surprised she’d decided to let it go. She’d gone to the restaurant that morning with a cheery wave and a smile after they’d finished breakfast. She even let him know she was planning on working through dinner. She’d made a face when he told her about the Pack meeting that night, but she’d agreed and, feeling that she’d somehow let him off easy, he let her go without any further interference. He got the feeling that perhaps the Pumas didn’t get together as often as the Wolves and made a mental note to discuss that with her.

And here she was at the Pack meeting, all bundled up warm and cozy. He’d brought her a lawn chair to sit in, hoping to ease the pain he knew she was in. He planned on taking her home after the meeting, tucking her in under a nice, warm blanket, and personally massaging every inch of her sweet, creamy skin.

He began slowly opening his mind, allowing the others into his thoughts. He could hear each of them quieting their minds, preparing themselves for his nightly speech.

“WHO LET THE DOGS OUT! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”

Rick flinched, his eyes nearly crossing, as the loud, grating music poured into his mind from…

Oh, Belle. You are in deep, deep shit.

He turned to find his mate curled up in the chair he’d brought her, her head bopping merrily to the tune coming from the iPod she’d turned on. She smiled at him cheerfully, waggling her fingers at him as her toe tapped the beat. He could hear her singing along in his head, especially the part where they sang, “a doggie is nuttin’ if he don’t have a bone”.

Rick did his best to tune out the annoying songs playing so loudly in his head, but he wasn’t certain he succeeded. “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window” was bad enough, but when the K9 Advantix flea and tick jingle started going on a loop he nearly lost his temper. After a while people began rubbing their foreheads and peering at him strangely. He wondered if he was beginning to shout.

He cut the meeting short, sending the Pack off to romp in the snow, and stalked over to Belle. She was still sitting there bopping to the music. This time it was an oldie by the Monkees called “Gonna Buy Me a Dog”.

Staring down at his wayward mate, he began to agree with the sentiment. A dog would be a lot easier to deal with than his woman.

He reached down and pulled the headphones out of her ears. Thankfully, the sound in his head muted along with the sound in hers. “Okay, Belle. Point made. Let’s figure out a compromise.”

“What are you talking about?”

He picked her up out of the chair and cradled her close. He’d come back for it later. “The Bimbo Barbie act might have worked on Simon, but don’t ever assume I don’t know exactly how smart you are.” He watched as she blushed, her eyes turning gold in pleasure. He wondered how many times men had focused on her beauty, not realizing the sharp mind behind those gorgeous green eyes and full, killer lips.

He stared towards the Lodge, determined to work a few things out with Belle before she drove him mad. “I promise I will try to figure out some way to satisfy both you and tradition if you promise to never play flea collar jingles ever again.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Okay, Rick.”

He climbed the steps into the Lodge, careful of his precious burden. “You’re still not getting the air horn back.”

She smirked, but the genuine laughter behind it was obvious. Belle was having fun. “You don’t honestly think that was my only one, do you?”

All he could do was shake his head as he carried her back towards their private elevator. “You are a damn dangerous woman.”

“You say the sweetest things.”

Despite everything, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud as she batted her eyelashes at him outrageously.

Rick had been upset when they’d gotten back to their apartment and found Ben standing outside their door, pain killers in hand. The Marshall had been rubbing his hip and wincing. Rick had immediately drawn a bath, undressed her carefully, set her in, and told her to stay put. She could hear him talking to Ben out front, but couldn’t quite make out the words. She decided to let it go, figuring if it was something important Rick would tell her about it before bed.

The hot water had done the job almost too well. By the time he returned to help her out of the huge Jacuzzi tub, she was mostly asleep. He’d dried her off, put her to bed, and settled in next to her. He’d put his big hand on her stomach, kissed her good-night, and pretended to go to sleep. He didn’t even try to seduce her.

She could tell something was bothering her Wolf. The tension took quite a while to leave his fingers. She couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong, but unlike him, she couldn’t hear his thoughts. When she tried to ask him, he’d laid his finger gently across her lips, shushing her quietly, before settling back down.

She placed her hand over his, stroking those long, strong fingers, and drifted off to sleep, determined to find out what was wrong as soon as possible.

Rick was gone when she got up the next morning. Whatever had bothered him the night before, he was apparently determined to keep it from her.

It seemed they were going to have to have another little chat about sharing.

She headed for the offices, ready to discuss things rationally. She was only carrying the air horn and pepper spray in case she ran into Gina again.

Really.

She smelled them before she heard them. Chela, Ben, Dave and Rick, all in Ben’s office. She made her way as silently as she could, wondering if she would find them all goofing off over video games or something. She’d seen the console Ben kept in his office the day she’d first come. Hey, if shooting space aliens relieves some of that stress Rick was carrying around last night, I’m all for him playing hooky. But we’re still gonna talk.

“We have to do something about this before Belle finds out.”

The controlled anger in Ben’s voice halted Belle in her tracks. Before Belle finds out what? She tried to think as quietly as she could, knowing Rick might hear her.

“God, I hate her.” The venom in Chela’s voice sent a shaft of pain through Belle’s heart, but her next words erased it. “How could Gina do this?”

“It’s the only way she could think of to get what she wants.” Belle had never heard this level of ice in Rick’s voice. Whatever it was Gina had done, it was bad.

“I tried talking her out of it, but she’s adamant.” She could hear the anger and sorrow in Dave’s voice.

“Not your fault, man. You can’t choose your family.” Ben’s voice was soothing.

“The hell I can’t. She’s no sister of mine.”

“The sad thing? She’s right. Protocol is on her side. As dominant female, she has every right to demand that Rick take a second mate to fill the slot of Luna since there’s a good chance his mate is permanently disabled.”

Belle listened to Chela’s voice with a sense of shock. Second mate?

Rick growled menacingly. “I would sooner fuck Dave.”

A low growl came from within the room. “Hey, no fighting over me, now. I know I’m such a prime piece of real estate, but, really.”

Dave’s weak attempt at humor didn’t seem to go over too well as Ben spoke up. “Knock it off, asshole.

This is serious. If Gina gets enough of the Pack on her side, Rick and Belle are screwed.” Belle’s eyes narrowed as she took a cautious step closer. “We could wind up with Gina being our Luna.”

Rick sighed wearily. She could picture him running his fingers through his hair. “This must be what she was researching in the archives. Damn it.” She heard a thump and wondered what Rick had hit. “How long?”

“Thirty days. If Belle can’t shift and accept the challenge Gina threw down by then, you’ll have to accept Gina as the Luna. It’ll be your duty as Alpha.”

“Don’t tell me about duty. I know where my allegiance lies.”

Belle felt numb. She stepped back, moving away from Ben’s office as quietly as only a Puma could, wounded or not. She took the elevator back to the third floor and let herself into the condo. She went to the phone, picked up the receiver, and dialed a very familiar number.

“Hello?”

“I need your help.”

Simon didn’t even hesitate. “We’re on our way.”

She hung up the phone and headed into the bedroom. She packed a small bag, waiting for the hurt she knew was going to come. She just hoped that what she had in mind would put Gina’s ambitions to rest once and for all.

And then she and Rick would have a little “chat” about duty along with the one about sharing.

Rick stared at the open closet door, the knife of pain twisting even further in his chest. Belle was gone.

He could feel himself beginning to lose it as his Wolf howled in misery.

“She can’t have gone far, not with that limp.”

Rick turned blind eyes to Ben. “She must have heard us.”

“Why didn’t you warn us?” Ben was scowling at Chela as he wandered the bedroom. He stopped suddenly, stared intently at something on the bureau.

“She did, she just warned us too late.” Rick didn’t want anyone blaming Chela for this. It was his damn fault. He should have told Belle about Gina’s bullshit move to claim him last night, but she’d been in so much pain he hadn’t wanted to bother her with it.

“I think Belle didn’t let herself feel anything until after she left.” Chela bit her lip, looking more like the woman Gina beat up on than the Omega she’d so recently become. “I’m sorry, Rick.”

“Not your fault. Mine.”

“No. Not your fault. No one’s fault. Take a look.” Ben pointed with his chin to the bureau.

Rick hurried over, eager to see what Ben did.

There, nestled in one of Belle’s silk scarves, lay her air horn. On top of that was a can of pepper spray, a small gold necklace, her diamond earrings, and a tiny soapstone sculpture of a wolf.

Relief settled in, so swift he felt dizzy. “She’s coming back.”

“How do you know?”

“She left her jewelry. She’s also letting me know she’s safe.” Rick saw the confusion on their faces.

“The air horn and pepper spray are still here.”

“Why does that strike me more as a threat than an attempt at reassurance?” Rick ignored Ben’s murmur, knowing deep inside he was right and Ben was wrong.

He fingered the aqua silk scarf, sniffing as Belle’s sent wafted from the fabric to tease his senses. “But, why did she leave? That’s the question.”

“Well, I can feel her now, and she’s upset. I think she’s arguing with someone.”

Rick turned to Chela. Her face was filled with strain as she struggled to connect to the Luna. “Do you know where she is?”

“No…other than she does feel safe wherever it is.”

The two men turned to each other. “Halle.”

Rick pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Where is she?”

“Hello to you too, Rick!” The cheerful voice floated through the phone.

“Emma, please. Where is my mate?”

“Which one?”

Ah, fuck. “My only.”

“She’s seeing Jamie Howard right now. Can I take a message?”

She’s seeing the Pride doctor? Fear pulsed through him. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Other than a mate who might be forced to shack up with a real bitch?”

“EMMA!”

“Okay, Jeez. No need to yell. And don’t growl at me, either.”

Rick sucked in a deep breath and tried desperately to calm his Wolf down.

“Oh wait, gotta run. Jamie’s coming for us. Bye!”

It took every ounce of Rick’s willpower not to throw the phone across the room. “She’s seeing her doctor.”

“Call him. As her mate, you have every right to know what’s going on with Belle.” Ben took the phone from Rick’s hand and dialed Jamie’s number.

“Give me that.” Rick took the phone back and listened to the options. When the receptionist came on line, he was practically frothing at the mouth. “Where is Dr. Howard?”

“I’m sorry, sir, Dr. Howard is preparing for an emergency surgery right now. Can I have him call you back?”

Rick hung up the phone without answering. “Emergency surgery?” Rick had a sinking feeling he knew what the “emergency” was. He pocketed the phone. “Get the car ready. We’re going to Halle.”

“You can’t, Rick. Gina will—”

Ben never finished the sentence. Rick’s hand shot out, wrapped around Ben’s throat, and pulled the smaller man closer. He bared his fangs as, out of the corner of his eye, his comforter turned from blue and red to blue and gold. “Get. The. Car. Now .”

“Yes, Alpha.” Chela patted his arm. He released Ben, who backed away, wide-eyed. “We’ll get right on that.”

Rick watched his Marshall and Omega run out of the room. He dialed Dave. “I need you to take over for a little bit. It seems something unexpected has come up in Halle, and I need to take care of it.”

“Yes, Alpha. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing happens until your return.”

“Thank you, Dave.”

He quickly gathered some things up and headed down to the lobby. He stepped into the car, ready to fetch his female and drag her back home by the top of her head if he needed to.