Wild Game (Wilding Pack Wolves 1) - New Adult Paranormal Romance (3 page)

“Why?” she asked in a breathless whisper against his chest. “Why do they keep doing this?”

Why were people trying to kill this amazing, beautiful woman? He didn’t have a good answer for that. Sure, the experiments that had been done on shifters like him had been exposed, and most decent folks were appalled, but some weren’t. And when a brave lady shifter stepped forward to run as the first openly shifter member of the House of Representatives… well, that just tipped the haters right over the edge. They doxed the River and Wilding packs‌—‌posted their personal information on a video on YouTube‌—‌and ever since, the threat of violence had hung over shifters everywhere. An asshole hate group had already taken credit for blowing up her father in a car bomb‌—‌what better way to terrorize the rest of the shifter world than to follow that up with a grisly death for his daughter?

“They’re evil bastards,” Owen said. It was the only explanation he had for some things in this world.

Her head started shaking again. Definitely a
no
. “I should never have come. I risked everyone’s life with this‌—‌”

He leaned back, not letting her go, but enough that he could peer down into her face. “Hang on now, you did a good thing here. This wasn’t nothing you did wrong. These haters are pure evil on the earth‌—‌
they
are responsible for this. If anything, this is my fault for not keeping a closer watch. That will not happen again.” It was slicing pain through him that somehow he hadn’t seen this coming… although a drive-by grenade toss wasn’t exactly something you could plan for. He hoped like hell someone had gotten a better look at the vehicle than he did‌—‌he couldn’t even identify the color to save his life.

Nova peered up at him with those big, dark eyes. “You’re going to protect me.” She said it like a statement.

“Yes, ma’am.” He wasn’t certain of much else except that.

The charcoal lining around her eyes had started to smudge, like she had fought back tears but lost the battle. Her lips parted, and her chest heaved against his. Her nearness like this… this was a dangerous thing. He should let her go. But no way would he release her until she was ready. She let go of her hard grip on his jacket and flattened her hands against his chest.

Then she took a breath and repeated, “You’re going to protect me.” But it was softer this time.

“Always. I promise, Nova.” His voice had grown soft because somehow… something had changed.

Suddenly, she slid her hands up his chest and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down. She lifted up on her toes, and it was clear she aimed to kiss him. It took less than half a second of her lips on his before he was definitely giving as much as he was getting.

His arms unlocked so his hands could press into her back and bring her closer. Her mouth opened to his, and he didn’t wait for any more invitation. He plunged in deep, tasting her, devouring what she eagerly offered. It was insane and intense… before he could get his head straight, he had her backed up against the cardboard boxes, pinning her petite armor-clad body with his. His hands plunged into her hair and angled her head to demand even more. He lost sense of everything‌—‌the time, the place, knowing this was neither of those. He just reveled in her tongue twisting with his, her teeth nipping at him, the small whimpering sound in her throat that was driving him mad. His body literally ached for more, his mouth watering to taste her everywhere. He was losing his mind in this kiss‌—‌

“Owen? Owen, report! Are you all right?” The earbud squawked in his ear, and he jerked back, suddenly breaking the kiss.

His breath was heaving, and her lips were swollen. It took him a full two seconds to come back to his senses and realize how completely messed up this was.

He slowly reached for the mic clipped to his collar.
Shit.
Had they heard all of that? “Uh… yes. Everything’s fine.”

“Strange sounds coming over your mic.” It was Murphy. “Thought maybe you were in trouble.”

Owen held Nova’s wide-eyed gaze. “No, we’re good. Probably a mic malfunction from the blast. Turning it off for now‌—‌audio still active. Notify me when ya’ll get the place clear.”

“Copy that.”

Nova’s gaze dropped, and she straightened her black body armor unnecessarily, smoothing her kiss-mussed hair back in place. That pink tinge had returned to her cheeks.

She’d never looked so beautiful as she did now, right after he had thoroughly kissed her. A tight feeling in his chest told him to stop, move back, apologize… all the things he had no interest in doing. Instead, he moved into her again, stopping just short of touching her. Or kissing her. Although he desperately wanted to do both.

“Next time you want to kiss me,” he said, still breathing hard, “remind me to turn off my mic.”

She shook her head in small rapid movements, looking everywhere but at him. “I can’t kiss you.”

He leaned closer. “Is that right? Because I’d say you definitely know how.” Why was she pulling back? Just because he was a lowly Army grunt? Or her bodyguard? Never mind that Owen had trampled over every line of professionalism there was… somehow, he didn’t think that was it. Hell, he had no idea why she’d kissed him in the first place, much less decided not to do it again.

“I just… can’t do this.” She put her hands on his chest again and pushed him away.

He backed up all the way to the far shelving, giving her a dozen feet of room. He’d heard about the Wilding females, and how they were beyond hot in the sack… but he didn’t know what to do with this kind of hot and cold. Actually, he didn’t know what to do with any of it.

She pointed a finger at him, but it was shaking. “This never happened. You tell no one.”

“Yes, ma’am.” But it stoked an angry fire in him. Clearly, he wasn’t quite good enough for her. Not that she was wrong about that, but it still burnt his shorts.

She folded her arms and retreated against the cardboard boxes again. Some of Owen’s anger dissipated in a wave of concern. What the fuck was he doing? Taking advantage of her distraught emotional state after she’d almost been blown up? Then feeling rejected because she didn’t want to carry on more in the back of the medical supply warehouse?

He really wasn’t that kind of asshole.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He kept his voice soft.

She nodded. But it was still shaky. “I just want to go home.”

Fortunately, Murphy chose that moment to speak up again. “All clear. Owen, you can bring her in. Or we’ll come your way. We’ve got alternate transport.”

Owen clicked his microphone back on. “Copy that.” To Nova’s perked up interest, he said, “Let’s get you home, then.”

He escorted her all the way back to the office, then home to her apartment, careful to keep his distance, just like before, and to betray nothing on his face or in his demeanor that would hint to anyone watching that anything untoward had happened in that medical supply warehouse.

But he’d be damned if he wouldn’t be replaying that kiss in his bed tonight.

She could have died.

Nova had gone back to the office, then her apartment, then spent most of the night not sleeping. She had gotten up the next morning, had her breakfast, met Owen at the door of her apartment, took a silent ride to Wylderide without speaking to him, claimed the entire pot of coffee from the break room along with her mug, and retreated to her office. 

Half the morning had passed, and through all of it, she’d had lots of thoughts. Thoughts about the new beta edition they were about to launch. Thoughts about how she was going to keep the pack together long enough to get it released. And, sneaking in every once in a while when she least expected it, thoughts about how she could’ve
died
yesterday… and none of it would’ve made a damn bit of difference.

Which made her think about that kiss.

The one that took her by surprise and set her body and soul on fire.

She hadn’t said a thing to Owen.
Shit,
she couldn’t even look him in the eye. She’d spent a month watching him watch her, dreaming about how hot he was with those
Yes, Ma’ams
and that sultry Texas accent and his military politeness… then she damn near attacked him in that warehouse. Then, just as fast, she pushed him away.

He was the wrong man. Thoroughly wrong. Wrong in every way.

And that had freaked her out so badly she’d done the only thing she could‌—‌the only thing she ever did with men‌—‌she shoved him away.

This… to a man who had just saved her life.

It filled her with a hot-cheeked shame that was all mixed up with the kind of heat that pooled between her legs. She was so messed up.

She could’ve died yesterday.

No, check that. She
would
have died if it hadn’t been for Owen Harding and his quick-witted reaction of just picking up the goddamn grenade and throwing it out of the car.
Jesus,
who did that? Who had the presence of mind to actually pull something like that off? If she thought he was hot before, with those broad shoulders and sexy shifter muscles, seeing him in action, literally saving her life, hauling her away to safety, reassuring her with his freakishly sexy body wrapped around her… well, it had been too much for her. She’d folded into him with the willpower of a crack addict. But his overwhelming hotness was a pretty shitty excuse for treating him the way she did afterward. She knew that. But if she kissed him again, she knew herself‌—‌one thing would have led to another, and she’d have been riding that cowboy faster than he could say
Thank you, ma’am.

The only right thing she did in that warehouse was tell him the truth‌—‌that she
couldn’t
kiss him. The wolves in her father’s pack had been angling to claim her as a mate for
years.
Since her father’s death, the jostling had only gotten more intense. The pack had no alpha now, and they needed one‌—‌Wylderide needed one‌—‌and she knew eventually she would have to take one of them as a mate. Or pick someone else who could bring the pack together. Right at the funeral, she had put them all on notice‌—‌she wouldn’t be taking a mate until she had properly mourned the passing of her father and given a solid think-through to the future of the company. That held them off, but only barely. And Owen Harding, her sexy bodyguard, wasn’t even close to the right pick. He was hot and brave and sexy as sin… but taking him for a mate would tear the pack apart. And destroy her father’s company. She couldn’t afford to be stupid like that… she had a business to run.

Nova gazed out the window of her office at the high gloss of sun on Seattle’s downtown. Almost dying tended to put things in a different perspective. Living in the moment‌—‌like that moment when Owen pressed her up against those boxes and kissed the hell out of her‌—‌made sense when you’d just snatched life back from the gaping maw of death.

But the crazed anti-shifter hate group that killed her father would be very happy if she lived recklessly for today and let her father’s company come crashing down as a result. No matter what, she couldn’t let that happen. They were terrorists, and she’d be damned if she would let them win, not on her watch. She wasn’t a soldier‌—‌not like those brave men she spent the day with, hopefully giving them a little respite from the price they’d paid to defend their country‌—‌but she knew that giving in to this hate group and what they wanted was flat wrong.

What
she,
Nova Wilding, wanted didn’t matter.
That
did.

Nova tore herself away from the window and sunk down into the oversized leather chair at her desk. She’d locked up her father’s office right after the funeral‌—‌his chair was the only thing she had pulled out before sealing it off. She couldn’t even begin to think about going through his things. As far as she was concerned, they could leave everything as a shrine to the way he had built this company from scratch. The darkened, shade-pulled windows of his office reminded everyone, including her, why they were pressing on with the release of
Domination
on schedule. The chair she was sitting in reminded her even more, every day, that he was still there in spirit with her, holding her up, encouraging her. She knew he would have released this beta on time if there was any way possible to do it. She was just as sure that he planned for her to pick one of the fine wolves he had collected into his pack over the years as a mate so she could take over his company someday.

It just wasn’t supposed to be
this
day. Or any day soon.

The screen in front of her blurred with sales projections, social media management, advertising budgets, a shitload of other stuff… why couldn’t she just stick to coding? Or game development? That she understood. This, the business part… she grew up with it, but the details were all still new to her.

She dropped her head into her hands. How was she ever going to pull this off? It had been a month since her father was murdered, the deadline for the release was looming, and she had never felt more lost.

That’s what kissing Owen really was about‌—‌forgetting all of it for a moment. Now she was back to reality, and somehow, she had to make reality work. She was trying to sort through and figure out the spreadsheets on her screen when a tap came at the door.