Big Wicked Wolf (Shadowpeak Wolves Book 1) Read online

  Shit. Months of living among the humans and not one of them had come anywhere close to affecting her like this.

  He took a step forward, and she tensed. Oh hell. Why was she provoking him?

  “I don’t care if you’re the only male wolf left on the planet. Move away from my car so I can go home.”

  He took another step toward her. She risked a glimpse up into his gaze, noting the way his eyes gleamed hungrily. She gulped but stood her ground. He might be a dominant werewolf and used to getting his own way, but Laney knew better than to let him know she was frightened— it would just spur him on.

  She wasn’t the scared child she’d once been. She might be smaller than most other wolves, but she never intended to be hurt again. Not without a fight, anyway.

  “I can hear your heartbeat quickening, sweet. Scared?” He closed the space between them until her chest brushed against his ribs. The top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulders.

  “That’s fury, not fear, and stop calling me sweet. I am not sweet.”

  “Really? Spicy then? Hmmm, I like that.” He reached out a hand and brushed her hot cheek with his fingers as Laney fought not to jump away. A tingle of awareness danced over her skin at his light touch, her body flushing with a simmering heat as she wondered what it would feel like to have him touch her in other places.

  “If it’s not fear making your heart beat faster, then you won’t mind if I do this.” He leaned down, his full lips covering hers as his tongue sweet-talked its way into her mouth. Damn, what a kiss! Every nerve in her body sat up and sang as his tongue caressed hers. He didn’t just kiss her mouth, he made love to it, and for the first time, Laney understood what a kiss was supposed to feel like. He kissed her as though he had every right to, and she was horrified to find that her wolf agreed with him. She couldn’t stop herself as she shivered and rubbed against him, a soft, sensuous body roll that had them both moaning.

  Then he moved, dropping his hand so he could play with her nipple, and just like that she snapped out of her lust-filled daze. Laney pushed him back, although she knew he only moved because he wanted to.

  “Don’t touch me. Who are you?” she snarled at him, using anger to hide how deeply he’d affected her.

  “Sorry, sweet, my name’s Cooper, Cooper Brady.” He performed a little bow while Laney thought furiously. She didn’t recognize his name, but that didn’t mean anything. She wasn’t exactly clued into werewolf politics.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked suspiciously, trying desperately to control her breathing. Damn, that kiss had left her feeling as though she’d run a marathon. Just as well she’d stopped him—she might have passed out if they’d gone any further. “Where’s your pack?”

  “Where is yours?” He smiled down at her lazily, and Laney had to work hard to concentrate—his smile had the power to turn her mind to mush. It would be so easy just to forget about everything else and lose herself in his kiss, his heat.

  “I asked first,” she replied petulantly, sexual frustration making her feel decidedly grumpy and childish.

  “All right, if you insist. I’m on a bit of a trip, just passing through on my way to visit another pack.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “South Carolina. You?”

  Laney breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way he could have anything to do with her pack. The only pack she knew of in South Carolina was the Lian pack, and they were well known for their liberal ways. Packs that subscribed to the old ways, like hers, wouldn’t have anything to do with them.

  “Not going to talk to me, sweet?”

  “Don’t call me sweet!” she said irritably. Laney didn’t care how good it sounded rolling off his tongue. She had a feeling if she let this rogue take a foot, he’d steal a mile.

  “Well, you haven’t told me your name, so what else am I to call you?”

  She frowned up at him. “You know what my name is, don’t pretend you didn’t hear it in the bar, and remember, I know how good your hearing is.”

  “Ahh yes, Laney. Isn’t that what the purple-haired slut called you?”

  “Urgh, she is not a slut!”

  His eyebrows rose in mock surprise. “Really? Could have fooled me. I felt sure that was her hand reaching for my cock when she ‘accidentally’ dropped a napkin beside my table.”

  Laney winced, aware that Ella had used that ploy successfully more than once. “I’m sure you were mistaken.” She tried to sound convincing.

  “Tut, tut, tut.” He shook his head at her, an expression of mock disappointment on his face. “There you go with the lying again, sweet. Give me your keys.”

  Umm, what? Did he think she was just going to let him take her car? Why would he even want her car? Did he really think she would just hand over her keys?

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m going to help you into your car, then I’ll follow you to your place.”

  Just who the hell did he think he was? Laney glared up at him, unimpressed as he narrowed his eyes down at her.

  “There is no way in hell you are coming home with me.”

  “You want me. I want you. And before you deny it, I can smell your arousal from here. I felt you respond to my kiss.” He took a step toward her, almost stalking her, forcing her to take a step back to avoid touching him.

  “Your body is wet for me. The scent of your arousal calls to me. The only reason I’m not buried balls-deep inside that luscious pussy is that I didn’t want to take you in a parking lot. But hey, if you don’t care…”

  He took another step closer to her, and she jumped back, banging into another car. Laney held out a hand out to stop him.

  “Stay right there, you—you arrogant asshole!” she ordered, wincing at the shakiness of her voice.

  “Arrogant, I’ll give you. But asshole? Only when I don’t get my way, but I’m going to get my way, aren’t I, little one?” His voice had dropped to a low croon, and she shivered as it shimmied along her skin, warming her blood. Who was she kidding? She wanted him, they both knew it. Why shouldn’t she take the opportunity? He had no idea who she was. A one-night stand might be just what she needed to get her sex life back on track. Well, not that it had ever been “on track”. She’d had sex once, and that had been a disaster. Her stomach knotted at the memory. Evan had been a sweet guy; he’d been kind to her. Even though the sex had been awkward, she’d cared about him.

  Then Zachary found out.

  The next day, Evan and his family went missing. Two days later, she’d left the pack.

  No, she couldn’t sleep with him. He was a dominant wolf. She didn’t know him. She certainly couldn’t trust him.

  “No.”

  His eyes widened. “No?”

  “No,” she repeated. “What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize the word?”

  Don’t push him too hard, Laney. He’s bigger than you, stronger than you, he could tear you apart, and nobody would ever find the pieces.

  “I’ve heard the word no. Means I just have to try harder.”

  “How about you stop trying and go on your merry way.” She waved her hands at him.

  “Are you shooing me?” he asked incredulously.

  “Yes, shoo, bye-bye, sayonara. Hasta la vista, baby.”

  “I like hearing you call me baby.”

  Was this guy for real? Because she was starting to think he was a few cards short of a full deck. He certainly didn’t act like any dominant werewolf she’d ever known. Usually, they were so serious and controlling. But then, with Zachary as Alpha there hadn’t been much to smile about. “You are just passing through here, right?”

  “Well, I certainly don’t intend to live here, sweet.” He rocked back on his heels, grinning down at her, his hand outstretched. “Keys.”

  Laney puffed out a breath of annoyance, hardly believing his arrogance.

  “I’m not sleeping with you!”

  He placed a finger in his ear and rubbed it back and forth. “I hear you
. I think the whole state heard you. You’ve got some powerful lungs for a little thing. Tell you what, let me escort you home. No ulterior motive. I’ll give you a peck on the cheek and then go back to my cold and lonely motel room.”

  She snorted. “Well, you’re persistent.”

  “It’s my middle name. Along with stubborn and charming.”

  “Big name you have.”

  “Matches the rest of me.”

  “Oh, dear Lord, save me. Fine. Follow me home.” It wasn’t as though he couldn’t easily track her through her scent anyway. “But nothing more.”

  Laney wouldn’t have much of a chance against him if he decided to hurt her, but she had her pepper spray and Taser. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Not ever again.

  “We’re never having sex.”

  He winked down at her, confidence written into every line of his body. “Never say never, sweet. You don’t know how irresistible I can be.”

  She snorted. “Got a high opinion of yourself, don’t you?”

  “I’m just a big believer in the truth. Keys?” He made the gimme signal with his fingers. He was not going to give up. With a sigh, she fished around in her oversized bag for her ring of keys. Goddamn it! She could never find anything in this sack, particularly with her hands shaking like a nervous teenager on her first date.

  “Ah ha!” Finally! She held them up, triumphant to have won the battle of “find the keys” in less than five minutes. Looking up, she saw Cooper frowning down at her, his jaw stiff with palpable tension.

  “What?” She lowered her gaze. She hated that he could so easily reduce her to a scared little pup. All arousal had fled in the face of his anger.

  “You do realize that while you stand here, alone, in the dark, fishing around in that knapsack, that anyone could attack you? Why the hell don’t you find your keys before you leave the bar?”

  She forced back her fear. “Sorry, Dad. I didn’t realize I was going to get a lecture. Have you forgotten that I’m a werewolf? I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself if someone attacks.”

  “And have you forgotten that there are other, nonhuman things that can attack you? Things that are much more dangerous than you.” His power threatened to smother her.

  Laney felt the urge to take a step back, but the car behind her blocked any movement, effectively trapping her, so she had nowhere left to go. His power beat at her, his anger almost sending her to her knees in supplication. But she refused to give in.

  She breathed in slow and easy, calming the wolf inside her. It felt the call of the wolf before her, so powerful, so potent. Finally, the power eased down, and she risked a look up to see him peering down at her in interest.

  “You done with the dominant shit?” she snipped, even though her insides still quivered, still wanted her to cower.

  He snorted. “Anyone ever told you that you’ve got a lot of attitude for a little wolf?”

  “I may be small, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you bully me. I had enough of that growing up from my pack.” She jumped in surprise when he suddenly grabbed her hand. Looking up, she found him frowning down at her intently.

  “Your packmates bullied you?”

  “Duh, of course, I’m the runt. You know, the smallest, littlest, most easy to pick on? Surely you have those in your pack.”

  “In my pack, those that are smaller and weaker are looked after by the more dominant of us, not bullied.” His voice was serious, hard. Maybe he thought it was that way, but she would bet those that were smaller and weaker had a different story to tell.

  She shrugged. “All this talking is wasting time. I’m heading this way.” She pointed to the left. “Try to keep up.”

  He held out his hand once again and waited until she reluctantly passed over her keys. Opening the driver’s door, he placed a hand on the small of her back and helped her settle into the driver’s seat. Before she could stop him, he’d belted her into the seat and laid a warm kiss on her lips.

  “Drive carefully. I’ll be right behind you.” With that, he closed the door and strode over to a sleek navy-blue car parked a few vehicles away. It took a minute for Laney to start up her old bomb. The car was never reliable. It usually took a few tries to get it going, especially when it was cold. Unfortunately, she had neither the money to fix it nor the knowledge to do it herself.

  Occasionally, her neighbor, Josh, helped her with it. He was due back from the city any day, but until then she was stuck with this weird rattle that appeared every time she went over a slight bump. Not to mention the excruciating whine of the fan belt, which she was sure could be heard clear across town. Eventually, she coaxed it into movement and drove the five miles to her small apartment. Parking, she moved quickly to her door, glancing around for Cooper.

  “Looking for me?”

  Suddenly, he was next to her, his shoulder brushing against hers. Laney searched for the usual panic that came from having someone so close, but it simply wasn’t there. Instead, his unique scent seemed to wrap around her, drugging her, making her limbs grow heavy while her insides trembled in anticipation.

  “You should have waited for me, sweet,” he scolded lightly. His hold was possessive, unbreakable. When he leaned down and licked her neck, her breathing quickened as a damp heat grew between her legs.

  Then he broke through the sensual spell by picking her up and placing her to the side of the door. “Wait here.”

  “Excuse me?” she asked breathlessly, watching as he quickly unlocked and opened the door.

  He spoke without looking at her. “Wait here until I check the apartment is safe. This doesn’t look like a good area of town.”

  He looked at her briefly with a frown, and Laney crossed her arms in a huff.

  “Paranoia, thy name is Cooper,” she muttered to herself as he slipped inside. But she stayed where she was. In truth, it felt kind of good to have someone protecting her. She’d been by herself for so long she’d forgotten what it was like to have someone worry about her safety.

  Just as she was wondering what the hell he was doing, he reappeared.

  “All clear.”

  She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. “I don’t have anything anyone would want to steal.”

  “I wasn’t worried about your things,” he drawled. “Sure you don’t want me to stay? I could guard your body all night long.”

  “While I’m sure that line works with other women, I’m going to have to say no.” She couldn’t help but be a little charmed by him. Okay, let’s face it, a lot charmed. Even though it was obvious he was used to getting his way; he hadn’t tried to force her to do things his way.

  But she couldn’t let down her guard. She knew not all dominant werewolves were assholes, her brothers weren’t. Still, he was stronger than her, more powerful, and there was no one here to protect her.

  She had to look after herself.

  He placed a hand on his chest. “You wound me.”

  “You’ll survive. Now, if you’ll excuse me. The shower is calling my name.”

  Even she was grossed out by her scent, a mix of smoke and fried food among other scents she didn’t care to think about.

  His face tightened, that amused look fading. “Why do you work there?”

  “Ahh, to keep me in the luxury I’ve become accustomed to, obviously,” she said lightly.

  “That dump?” He pointed behind him.

  She placed her hands on her hips; he was starting to lose some of his charm.

  “Where is your pack? Do you live here because they bully you? You can petition to move to a new pack. I can help you.”

  She simply stared at him for a moment. They didn’t even know each other, and he was offering to help her? Most wolves stuck to their own packs, they didn’t get involved in other pack’s business.

  “My pack and I don’t get along that well,” she was careful to stick to the truth as much as possible. “But I don’t wish to move to another pack.”


  “How far away are they? You don’t live here alone.”

  “Of course not.” There were Josh and the others in this apartment building. “They’re close enough for me to visit.” In the next state. But he didn’t need to know that.

  “I’ve never heard of a pack living around here.”

  Because there wasn’t. The closest pack was a few hours’ drive away. And most packs wouldn’t let their pack members live away from the pack, especially not a woman.

  “I haven’t scented any other wolves around town.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, the locals here don’t accept werewolves. My pack and I don’t get on, so I chose to move here to get some space. They’re close by if I need them.” She knew she was no good at lying so she was skirting as close to the truth as she could. Some wolves could tell a lie through bodily cues.

  He still looked suspicious. Time to get rid of him. Quick.

  “Well, good night. If I don’t see you again, it was nice to meet you.”

  His eyebrow rose. “Dismissing me, sweet?”

  God damn it, why’d she find his voice so sexy? It rolled over her skin, leaving goose bumps in its wake.

  “I need to shower and sleep. I’m tired. As you can see, I got home fine. Just like every other night.”

  “The dominants in your pack ought to be shot. Were you part of my pack, you wouldn’t be allowed to live here alone or work in that dive, or drive around unescorted at night.”

  “Luckily, I’m not part of your pack.”

  He ran a finger down her cheek. “You could be. If you wanted to.”

  His mouth descended on hers, hot and firm, the kiss commanding, dominant, arrogant, everything she knew he was. He didn’t ask, didn’t hesitate, his mouth plundered hers as if she belonged to him. A thrill of excitement went through her at the feel of him so close—he was hard, male, and very, very aroused. When she finally managed to tear herself away from him, she was breathing heavily. Her wolf protested, not wanting to let him go, which shocked her. Her wolf was even warier of dominant wolves than she was.

  But there was something about Cooper.

  “Well, good night,” she squeaked out, forcing herself to back into the apartment. She didn’t know what she’d do if he followed her inside. Probably jump on him, haul him to the bed and keep him there until this damn arousal was satiated.