Heat Rising: A KinKaid Wolf Pack Story (2 page)

“So what is it that you’ve been keeping from me?”

Landry flinched, but managed to swallow the last gulp of his beer without choking. He twisted in his seat at the bar and gave his partner his best
what the fuck are you talking about?
look.

“Don’t even try that face on me. I’ve known you way too long for your innocent look to work. You’re full of shit and you know it.”

“Damn, mutt.” Landry plopped a hand over his heart. “You wound me.” Kaleb had been his best friend since they were kids, and he really did know him too well. Keeping any secrets from the male was hard as hell. In a way, Landry was kind of surprised Kaleb had allowed three days to pass since the wolf culling by the Gregorsons on the KinKaid border before bringing up his omission. The guy wasn’t known as one of their pack’s best enforcers for his charm alone. Kaleb could be relentless when he wanted
.
Still, the male’s strength, brilliance and skill didn’t make him a mind reader.

Thank God.

For Landry had no intention of ever discussing the screw-up that had landed him and the Gregorson’s lead enforcer—the alpha’s younger brother, Arick—in bed.
Shit.
It had been six months ago, yet Landry still squirmed in disgust over his idiocy. During their first few hook-ups at the fetish club Landry sometimes frequented, he’d had no idea who the male had actually been. But that small aspect didn’t make the mistake sit any easier inside his gut.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Kaleb tore the label from his beer, fisting it before tossing it into the empty peanut bowl on the bar. “You never said a word to me the other night about having recognized one of the scents at the kill site. One would
think after we’d discovered a wolf culling on our territory you would have mentioned that important factor.”

“I didn’t think it was relevant.” Landry raised his empty in the bartender’s direction, signaling for another round.

“You didn’t think it was relevant?” A deep rumble vibrated off his friend’s chest.

“No. I didn’t,” he added, his tone hard. “
We’d already drawn the logical conclusion that the Gregorson pack was behind the attack. I only added the additional confirmation for our alpha’s benefit.”

The bartender arrived with two more Buds, stifling whatever retort Kaleb had been about to deliver. Perfect timing.

“Thanks.” Landry nodded at the dark-headed barkeep as the other man snagged the ten-dollar bill off the wood and collected their used shot glasses from an earlier round of whiskey. “Keep the change.”

“Thanks. Let me know if you need anything else,” he added, flashing a grin, his pale blue gaze lingering on Landry, suggesting more than alcohol was on the menu. Landry couldn’t help the smile tugging the corner of his mouth. The guy was cute.

“God. You’re such a man-whore.” Kaleb shook his head.

“Fuck you.”

“In your dreams.” Kaleb smirked.

“You’re not my type.”
Liar.
Kaleb was exactly Landry’s type, except for the annoying fact he was straight.

“Please,” Kaleb drawled. “Everyone is your type. That’s why Rosa will never let you anywhere near her.”

Landry internally flinched, his hold tightening on his beer. The booze was going straight to Kaleb’s mouth. His partner wasn’t wrong, though. Kaleb knew Rosa had a piece of Landry’s heart. He should, because the other male had it just as bad for her, though he would deny his feelings went that deep. Landry cared for her more than she’d ever know because Rosa deserved better than a bastard male like himself with so much damn baggage a 747 would be challenged for takeoff.

Landry slapped his friend on the back. “Like you’re on her short list for a mate. All she’s willing to give either of us is a right cross. Not to mention you broke her best friend’s heart last year.”

“The female knew what she was getting into before she crawled into my bed.” Kaleb shook his head, auburn strands of hair falling into his face. “I told her I didn’t want anything more,” he stated, his words starting to slur.

Landry suppressed a grin. Kaleb was over six foot-two and one badass wolf, but the male was a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

“I would have only ended up hurting her even worse if we’d kept seeing each other.” He tilted his head in Landry’s direction. “She would have started talking about the future. And I’m just not cut out for that domestic kind of shit.” His voice croaked. “I refuse to turn into my parents. Don’t you think Rosa knows that?” He grabbed his bottle for another swig, beer sloshing over the top and onto his shirt and jeans. “Shit.” He hissed, brushing a palm over his damp clothes. “She has to understand.”

“Yeah. I’m sure she does,” Landry conceded and wrapped an arm around his inebriated friend. This close, the cedar and mint scent of Kaleb’s skin and hair, invaded his nostrils like a strategic attack force on his libido. His cock responded to the onslaught, going rock hard.

Landry bit back a groan. Only two people in the world held the power to crawl under his skin and subvert the tight reign he held on his control—Kaleb and Rosa. Problem was, both were miles beyond his reach. Untouchable as the moon, and just as beautiful, bright, and bigger than life. Yet, no matter how much he wished otherwise, neither would ever be his. “It’s been a long night. Let’s get you home.”

Around midnight, Landry rolled his black SUV through the gates
protecting the several thousand acres of KinKaid territory that sat within the Cascade Mountains. He followed the winding road deep into the property until he reached his partner’s brick and stone cottage. The small two-bedroom structure sat near the rear of the KinKaid lands, its backyard buffered by the sheer rock face of a mountain. Quiet and isolated, the place matched his best friend’s persona perfectly.

Kaleb was the Daltons’ only son. One of the pack’s wealthier families who enjoyed spending their evenings all suit-and-tie amongst the other social elites. Kaleb loved his family, but he’d despised growing up on display as the Daltons’ prize offspring and burdened with the stress to fulfill all their dreams. So, it wasn’t hard to understand the other male’s strong affinity for his privacy—out of the pack and his family’s prying eyes.

Hell, after spending every day while growing up wishing he could hide the black stain on his own family—or just erase it all together—Landry could certainly relate to the need for solitude.

Landry pulled his vehicle onto the gravel drive, the stones crunching beneath the twenty-inch wheels. Kaleb had passed out on the return trip, his face pressed into the passenger door’s glass. Landry grinned at the sight, finding it hard to bring himself to reach over and wake his friend. He’d be happy to sit there until dawn just watching him.

The male was irresistible. Only Kaleb could manage to pull off sexy in his drunken-passed out state. His friend was oblivious to just how destructively handsome his looks were.

A thick fan of dark lashes rested on Kaleb’s cheeks, his generous mouth hung open. A slight snore reverberated from his throat with each inhale and exhale. Landry barely resisted leaning over to lick the full swell of the other male’s lower lip. Maybe he’d slide the seat back, straddle the other male’s thig
hs, positioning just so until Landry could release his pounding dick from behind his zipper, then…

Landry’s breath hitched at the thought. His pulse raced. Shaking his head, he attempted to erase the mental image as if his brain were an Etch-A-Sketch.
He glanced back over at his unconscious partner.

Good luck with that, Michaels. You’re never going to get the guy out of your mind.

“You’re home.” Landry reached over and shook his partner.

“What?” Kaleb dragged a palm over his face, blinked, and straightened. “Ah, shit.” He hissed and ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back over his forehead. “Where’s the damn semi that hit us?”

“Back at the bar,” Landry said. “His name was Budweiser and his co-pilot was Jack.”

“You’re hysterical.” Kaleb sneered, then popped the door, exited, and weaved around the front of Landry’s SUV. Apparently, the nap had done little to help sober
him. Kaleb stumbled up the two steps to his door, and Landry cut the engine. He couldn’t be sure the male would actually make it to his bed without a broken limb.

Landry left the vehicle, hustled across the lawn, and up onto the porch before Kaleb had managed to pick the correct key for the lock
. He peered over Kaleb’s shoulder and tapped the gold one between the other male’s fingers. “That one.”

“I know.” Kaleb shooed Landry’s fingers away. “I got this.”

“Okay, okay.” Landry flipped his palm up in surrender. “Just making sure you get inside.”

“I’m a grown male,” he slurred. “I think I can get in the door of my own house.” Kaleb stabbed the metal into the slit and twisted. The door clicked, and he shouldered the door open. “See,” he stated, sounding proud of his accomplishment and spun in Landry’s direction. Except along the way, Kaleb’s eyes crossed under the sudden movement, and he tilted sideways.

“Whoa!” Landry quickly grabbed Kaleb by the arm and righted him. “I got you.”

Kaleb lifted his head, his blue eyes doing their best to find Landry’s. “Thanks, man.” He patted Landry’s biceps. “You’re the best friend ever.”

Landry lowered his lids, forcing the hard feel of the other man’s body out of his mind. “Yeah,” he managed to get out and opened his eyes. “I know.” Landry guided Kaleb across the threshold, flicked on the light switch, and kicked the front door closed behind them.

Side-by-side, they trudged toward the back of the house and Kaleb’s bedroom. Once there, Landry directed Kaleb toward his mattress, and the enforcer toppled over onto the bed with a
humpf
. Fully clothed, the big guy’s size twelve’s hung off the side, and up top, his right arm had plopped over his face. He was out cold.

Landry inhaled deeply and scrubbed a palm over his face.
Shit.
The mutt reeked of spilled beer. He lowered his arm.

“Damn. I can’t leave him like this,” Landry mumbled to himself. No matter how bad of an idea this probably was, he couldn’t leave his partner to wake smelling like a brewery in day-old clothes. With a shifter’s enhanced olfactory system, breathing in the stale aroma first thing in the morning would not be a pleasant surprise.
And his jeans still looked damp. How nasty would those feel to wake up in? Besides, if their situations were reversed, Kaleb wouldn’t walk out on him without first making sure Landry was comfortable.

“Okay,” he said and sighed. “Let’s get you undressed.” Landry bit back a groan.

The boots were the easy part. Landry had those off in less than two minutes and stashed by his friend’s closet door. Back at Kaleb’s bedside, he stood over his friend, staring at the belt wrapped around the other male’s waist and swallowed hard.
Yeah. The size twelves had been a breeze.

On a deep breath, Landry leaned over and plucked the end of the leather from where it lay nestled under the belt loop and tugged the strap back, releasing it from the buckle. Every beat of Landry’s heart roared inside his head. With his thumb and forefinger, he worked the button free, then went for Kaleb’s fly. Beads of sweat popped on Landry’s forehead and rolled down his temples. God, this was insane. His fantasy had come to life but somehow had twisted into a tortuous game of
try not to look and definitely don’t touch
.

He
tugged on the zipper, and the denim parted, revealing a pair of black boxers beneath. Landry swallowed, and the air inside his lungs he hadn’t realized he’d been holding burst forth. Unlike himself, the other male wasn’t commando.
Thank God.

Landry liked to believe he was the master of his control, but if what he’d found beneath the male’s jeans had been different… He shook his head.
The very idea too tempting to dwell on in his current state. It was a test Landry was glad he didn’t have to endure.

Reaching around Kaleb’s hips, Landry
dug his fingers into the other male’s waistband. “Come on, mutt.” Landry wrenched on the denim, rocking them back and forth to inch the material down Kaleb’s hips and legs.

Kaleb groaned and squirmed.
Fine copper hairs covered the male’s creamy white, hard thighs and calves. Landry tugged Kaleb’s jeans off, and the side’s of his thumbs brushed the surface of his friend’s skin.
So damn soft
. A shiver raced over Landry.

Focus!

Just get the guy out of his shirt, feet under the blankets, and tuck him in.
Simple
. So why did it feel like he was about to scale Mount Rainier—barefoot?

Clamping down tight on his jaw, Landry eased his fingers beneath the hem of the unconscious male’s T-shirt. Smooth skin stretched taut over steel abs greeted him, and it was as if all the blood drained from his brain, making him lightheaded. Landry’s eyelids shuttered.

Get the damn thing over his head then get the hell out!
He pulled the material north, revealing the sweetest eight pack he’d ever seen. Granted, the sight of Kaleb without a shirt wasn’t new. He’d sparred and worked out with the bare-chested male more times than he could count, but seeing him like this—sprawled on top of the crisp white sheets…