“Over clothes?” She screeches. “This is insane, Nash! Everyone here has seen everyone else naked before. Why is it such a big deal now?”
“It’s a big deal because I’m trying to run the damn pack! I can’t have my wolves swooning over each other anytime someone doesn’t have clothes on. We need some order, and this is the first step.”
“Bullshit,” she spews. “You’re just upset because your mate is fat and I’m not.”
“Actually,” I say, stepping forward and grabbing a fistful of her perfect blonde hair. “He’s upset because he gave you an order and you didn’t listen.”
Tessa squeaks in protest but from where I’m standing, she can’t escape from my grip.
“Red,” Nash begins, but I place my hand on his arm and squeeze, silently telling him that I’ve got this. I’m not freaking out. I’m not going to go all crazy on Tessa. I’m in full control of myself and, for the first time in awhile, of the situation.
“Clothes, Tessa. Wear them or you’ll lose kitchen rights, hunting rights, and even running rights. Once those are gone, it’s going to be pretty damn hard to earn back the trust of your fellow wolves.”
A few shifters murmur in agreement and she glares at me, but I’m not done yet. I give her hair another hard yank.
“It’s not a hard request. If you have trouble finding things that will fit you,” I eye her tiny clothes. “You can talk to Germaine and ask her to help you come up with something. She has a lot of great clothes available and if she doesn’t have something you can wear, I’m sure she would be happy to create you something from scratch.”
Ryder approaches and stands next to me. He doesn’t touch me, but his presence calms me. He reminds me so much of Nash. They have similar attitudes and statures, but Ryder also radiates a lot of strength. Part of me wonders if Nash realizes what a natural born leader Ryder really is. At some point, I imagine Ryder will go start his own pack. Leading is in his blood and there’s only room for one Alpha per pack. There’s no way he’d ever challenge Nash for leadership, but at some point, his ability to guide a pack is going to become too strong to handle without an outlet. Leadership is something Alphas tend to crave. When they don’t get that fill, they freak out.
“Trouble?” He asks, looking at all of us. In addition to being Nash’s beta, he’s also sort of Nash’s bodyguard, and mine, whether I want to admit it or not. I like knowing that even when Nash is gone, there are other wolves who will look after me. Aside from some of the females, I don’t have much to worry about when I’m alone in the pack.
“Not at all,” I say with a sweet smile. “Tessa was just leaving.” I release her hair and motion for her to go. Part of me expects her to whirl around and slap me, but that doesn’t happen.
Instead, Tessa shoots me a nasty glare, but turns on her heels and begins to walk away. Then she stops and whispers, loud enough for just me to hear, “This isn’t over.”
I know Nash and Ryder heard her with their sensitive wolf-hearing, but I don’t think any of the other wolves were close enough to catch what she muttered before she left.
“That’s it, folks, move along,” Ryder says to the gathered wolves. With groans, the group begins to disperse. A few shifters head to the kitchens to begin preparing the evening meal, a couple go to start butchering the fresh meat, and several head back to their private suites.
“Need me for anything else?” Nash asks Ryder, but Ryder shakes his head.
“Nope, she’s all yours,” he winks at me and disappears.
“Hav
e fun!” Karen squeaks from behind Ryder, and he looks surprised to see her. I had forgotten she was there.
“My lady,” Nash says. Then he swoops me into his arms and guides me back down the hall toward our suites.
Five
Nash
“Finally,” I murmur, carrying Red into the bedroom. I place her on the bed and strip off her clothes, kissing every inch of her skin.
“More,” she moans. “More.” Red thrusts her hips up, silently begging me to eat her pussy, and I’m happy to oblige. Hooking her legs over my shoulders, I grip her hips and pull her firmly toward myself. She shivers in anticipation as I begin to lick slowly. Starting with each lip, I nip lightly, sucking and biting as I gradually make my way up to her clit.
Then I lick around it, careful not to touch.
“Please,” Red begs, but I ignore her as I continue to lick and tease her body. This is what I want, what I need. This is what I’ve been dying for all fucking day.
“You and me, baby,” I murmur. “This is all I need. You’re so gorgeous like this, Scarlett. Baby, you’re so damn beautiful.”
“Nash,” she moans, and thrusts her hips up toward me again. I slow my pace, licking up and down her slit without touching her sweet clit. I can see it getting swollen, silently begging for my touch, but I haven’t had Red all to myself in what seems like forever.
I want to drag this out.
I want this to count.