Warren released a heavy sigh of relief then thanked Alessandro for taking care of everything in his absence.
“The least I can do. Sleep well today. My guess is the shit hits the fan come nightfall.”
Warren bid him good-night then slipped his phone back into his pocket.
Kiara returned bearing two plates of enchiladas, swimming in sauce and covered in cheese. “These are beef. I hope you like them.”
He hadn’t eaten since midnight and nothing could have looked better. It had been a long, frustrating night. A good meal was exactly what he needed.
She passed him rolled up silverware. He unfurled the linen napkin then laid it on his lap. He picked up his fork ready to dig in, but he waited for her.
“Please don’t hold back on my account.” She rose from her chair. “I’m going to get something to drink. Want a beer?”
“God, yes.”
She chuckled as she headed back into the kitchen. He watched her go. She wore snug jeans that outlined her beautifully-shaped ass. She had curves all right and he was pretty sure he knew exactly what she’d look like out of her clothes.
He took he
r at her word and dove in. The first spicy bite was heaven. The second followed quickly so that one of three beef-filled enchiladas was gone by the time she set a beer in front of him.
He picked up the icy bottle and drank. She joined him, though she smiled before she started to drink.
His gaze fell to her lips surrounding the opening of the bottle. Desire fell on him like a hammer.
When she set the bottle down, she met his gaze. “What are you thinking about because as powerful as the smell of these enchiladas is, pretty much all my nose can detect is your scent, sort of storm and wolf.”
A soft growl rumbled in his throat. “You know exactly what I’m thinking about.”
She picked up her bottle and touched the opening with her tongue, then swirled around the smooth glass rim. He swore he’d never seen anything so erotic in his life and his leathers shrunk.
The teasing light in her dark brown eyes struck a chord so deep, he was on his feet before he knew what he was doing. He all but yanked her to her feet and dragged her into his arms. To hell with wondering if he should do this. “You’re mine tonight.”
He didn’t wait for her to protest. Instead, he kissed her, the way he’d been wanting to for the past few weeks, his mouth on hers, hard.
She opened for him and he pummeled his tongue inside, stroking her the way he wanted his cock inside her. She had strong levitation skills and used them to press her body against his.
He wasn’t about to disguise his arousal. He wanted her to feel it, to feel what he had to give her, what he knew would have her crying out.
He felt her shudder then pull back. She gripped his arms tight, squeezing and fondling his biceps. He was a wolf. He had a lot of muscle and he could tell she was the kind of woman who’d want to explore.
She lowered her chin, her eyes dark with desire. “We need to eat. Both of us. And don’t say anything cute right now or sexy. I’ve got staff in the kitchen who want to head to bed, so they need us to finish up.”
He nodded. “Right.” But he couldn’t let her go.
She disengaged first. She smiled and planted a kiss on his lips then gave him a push with both hands on his chest. It was such a friendly move, he took in a ragged amount of air and returned to his seat. He didn’t dare look at her.
He set to work on the remaining enchiladas, chasing every few bites down with the beer.
As soon as he was done and he saw she’d finished as well, he rose from the table. He picked up both plates and headed into the kitchen. Once inside, he saw three of her staff, all wolves, talking quietly and laughing at the end of a long, stainless-steel worktable.
One of them was saying, “You’ve heard this one, right? Three wolves walk into a bar…” When she didn’t say anything more, all three women busted up laughing. That was the joke. The wolves never came back out.
When they caught sight of him, their laughter died off.
Each eyed him warily then offered respectful nods of their heads. He knew their pack ranks as though emblazoned on each forehead. They would be low in any pack in part because of the abuse each had suffered. It wasn’t fair, but ranks changed as wolves grew stronger and healthier.
He addressed the woman in the middle, a sturdy-looking female with a direct gaze. She wore her long red hair in braids. “Just wanted to thank you for a delicious last meal. Appreciate you holding the kitchen for us. Where do you want these?”