When Lust Rules (4 page)

Brock snapped his teeth. “Are you calling my niece a liar?”

“Stop acting like an ass, Brock,” Luken growled. “You know
damn well I’m not. It’s as if you are looking for a fight today.”

Brock gave a chilling smile. “Oh there will be a fight
today.”

Luken crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And why are
you so sure of that?”

Brock inclined his head in Kendall’s direction. “Because if
he wants any chance at my niece he must earn it. I won’t just let her go into
some relationship where she won’t be protected.”

Luken ground his teeth.
Fucker really wants me to knock
him out
. “I protect what is mine.”

Brock laughed. “You don’t think I see it? Alpha is written
all over that boy. He won’t always be with you, Luken.”

“That may be, but he’s nowhere near ready to be released any
time soon and you know that as well. So exactly what are you proposing?”

Brock tipped his head in Kendall’s direction once more as he
stripped off his jacket. “If the boy wants a shot at my niece then he has to
take me on.”

“What. The. Fuck. Ever. Ain’t happening.” Luken laughed.
“He’s a fucking kid.”

Kendall growled again.

Luken ignored him and continued. “I knew there was something
wrong with your head and getting your jollies on attacking young just proves
it.”

Brock roared. “Ain’t shit wrong with me unless you count my
wanting to protect what’s mine. Age doesn’t make a damn to me when I’m
protecting mine.”

“I’ll do it,” Kendall shouted over the growls tearing from
each alpha’s mouth.

Brock smiled and stood tall. “No fear. Smart or stupid?
Guess time will tell. But you won’t fight me today,
pup
. Our time will
come later. But Gage has staked a claim on Selena. The mate bond hasn’t formed
yet, but we have faith that it will. He also shows alpha potential, and unlike
your pup over there, I trust him to guard Selena with his life.”

Kendall let loose a low rumbling growl of warning.

“They’ve been dating for the past six months,” Victor chimed
in.

“He better stay the hell away from my mate.”

Luken held up a hand to stop Kendall’s protest. “Kendall
will fight Gage. The winner gets a clear path to court your niece, and others
are warned off her.”

Brock traced his tongue over his top teeth. “Deal.”

Luken turned and grabbed Kendall by his upper arm, steering
him away from the others. “You ready to bring it?”

“More than you know.” Kendall yanked at the tie, pulling it
loose before taking it over his head. “Just the thought of that blond fucker
near my mate makes me want to kill him. When I saw them in the woods he was
about to kiss her—Selena. Such a pretty name. You should see her, Luken. She’s
beautiful.”

Luken suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the
love-struck teen. The girl could look like the ass of an elephant—not that she
did—and he would still think her the most beautiful thing created if she was
his mate. “Well, this fight ain’t to the death. You’re going to have to pin him
and grip his throat without executing the final blow. Keep your head and don’t
let your emotions control you.”

Kendall stared into Luken’s gaze. “I will win this.”

Luken gave a stiff nod of approval and stepped back as
Kendall finished disrobing.

Julie stared at the number on the notepad, a sigh of
frustration escaping her lips. She wanted to call Luken. It was her night off
from the bar and she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do than spend it
with him. But if she picked up that phone she knew what she was signing up for.
The talk.

Surely he wouldn’t be greedy enough to want details. Well,
at least great amounts of detail. She could tell him she’d been in a bad
relationship and divorced. He didn’t need to know about the drugs, deaths and
forced sexual encounters. It was all in the past.

She picked up the receiver mounted on her kitchen wall and
began to punch the numbers. The phone connected and began to ring. She inhaled
a shaky breath as she waited for Luken’s voice to sound through the earpiece.
What she heard made her pulse jump.

“Yeah,” Luken answered.

The sound of animals gone wild nearly drowned out his voice.
Growls, yelps and the gnashing of teeth continued in the background. “Oh my
God, Luken, what is that noise?”

“It’s nothing. But can I call you back in a minute?”

Another male voice crooned in the background, “Hell yeah,
Kendall. Fuck. Him. Up.”

Julie blinked, shocked as she said, “Sure.”

The phone disconnected and she numbly hung up the receiver.
“Holy shit!” She looked at the phone on the wall as if it would spout answers
to what the hell was going on in the background. Suddenly she remembered in the
news a few years ago, a story about a football player in trouble for dog
fighting.

She groaned and leaned against the counter, covering her
face with her palms. Damn, she could pick them. First a drug lord now a
dog-ring leader. Was that even what they called them? Hell, as if it mattered
what the infamous “they” called them.

Her hands dropped down to her sides. Maybe she was getting
carried away. Maybe he stumbled upon some incident, or maybe it was the TV or
something. She looked up at the ceiling. It wasn’t fair to judge him so quickly
without even giving him a chance to explain.

But did she want to risk spending more time with him and
getting attached to him if he were in fact doing something illegal?
“Seriously!” she shouted at the ceiling. “Can’t a girl just get laid without
all the drama?”

Problem was she didn’t want to just get laid. She wanted a
relationship. No matter how bad the scars were from her previous one, she still
wanted to hold on to the possibility of finding her forever. But forever didn’t
include a man involved in illegal activity. She didn’t want any more close
brushes with the law.

She stared at the phone, wondering what she should say when
he called back. She could either cut it short and say, “Lose my number,” or she
could still invite him to dinner and give him a chance to explain.

* * * * *

Luken shut the passenger side door of Javin’s truck after
helping Kendall into the seat. It had been one hell of a fight between the two
teens, but in the end Kendall had arisen the victor. But Gage sure as hell
managed to get some hellish injuries in. The teen would be sore for days. But
Luken admired Kendall’s strength and determination. He fought well.

Brock agreed to supervised visits in his den with Selena
twice a week. As much as the other alpha irritated the shit out of Luken, he
trusted his word that no harm would come to Kendall and his escort during those
visits. Kendall would need that time to get the female used to him and give a
chance for the mating bond to snap firmly into place.

As Javin climbed inside and started the engine, Luken headed
for his own truck. Before he reached the door he heard another vehicle approaching.
He turned in the direction of the sound and saw Konrad’s black lifted truck
pull into the clearing.

Luken waited as Konrad exited and approached. It had been a
few weeks since he’d seen his best friend and ex-alpha. Konrad looked happy.
Apparently his recent mating suited him well. “How did you find me?’’

Konrad laughed. “I heard this crazy story about this
wet-behind-the-ears alpha who managed to piss off Brock. Naturally I thought of
you,” he replied.

“Ha ha. Bite me.”

“I think I’ll pass. I reserve my biting for Tyra these
days.” Konrad cast him a shit-eating grin.

Tyra was his beautiful mate. A spirited wolf with long dark
hair. “How is Tyra? Adjusting?” Tyra had a few issues with embracing her inner
wolf. Luken hoped it was getting easier for her.

“Like a champ.”

Luken leaned against the bed of his truck and crossed his
arms. He knew Konrad hadn’t tracked him down here over the skirmish with Brock.
As much as his friend liked to give him shit, Konrad knew he was capable of
handling his own. “So what really brings you out here?”

“Javin might have said something about you being tense.”

Luken ground his teeth. When he got home he planned to kick
the shit out of the other wolf. “It’s nothing.”

“Is it a woman?”

Damn Konrad for reading him so easily. “It’s nothing you
need to concern yourself with. I don’t answer to you anymore.”

“Hey, I may not be your alpha anymore, but I’m still your
friend. And even though Javin can be a pain in the ass, he called me because he
is worried about you. Not that you will slip up or anything, he just knows if
either of us can get something out of you it’s gonna be me. So what has you so
twisted up?”

Luken let loose a growl of frustration. “Do you remember
that waitress you tipped to get Tyra to wait on us that night at Harry’s?”

Konrad’s brow furrowed. “I think so. Little blonde gal?”

“Yeah. Her. Well, I asked for her number that night before
we left, and I’ve kind of run into her a few times since.”

Konrad’s brows snapped up. “Really? Isn’t she human?”

“Hence the problem. I know there are a few wolves out there
who mess with humans on occasion, but it’s a hit ’em and quit ’em kinda thing.
And Julie’s not like that. At least not for me.”

“Whoa. Are you talking about changing her?”

Luken stabbed his hands into his hair, holding his head for
a second as he growled again. “Yes. No.” He pinned Konrad with his stare. “I
don’t fucking know. There’s just something about her that calls to me.”

Konrad gave his head a shake as if he were trying to clear
away confusion. “Wait a sec. Are you saying she’s your mate? I’ve never heard
of that happening with a human, and I’m fairly certain it’s impossible. It’s
our wolves that form that bond.”

Luken gave him a
duh
look. “I know that. And I’m not
saying she’s my mate. I’m just saying that for some damn reason I’m drawn to
her.”

Konrad released a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Yeah. I hear you. Maybe I should just stay away from her.”

Konrad stood next to Luken, his back against the truck.
“That’s something you need to figure out. You can change her. The full moon is
only three days away.”

Luken looked over at his longtime friend. They’d been
through many things together. And as much as it pissed him off that Javin
ratted him out, he knew deep down that both wolves cared about him. “And what
if she’s not my mate?”

Konrad inhaled a hissed breath between clenched teeth. “Now
that could be a problem. If you change her, then it probably needs to be for a
less selfish reason. Maybe because she wants to become one of us. But no matter
what you do, you will need to make sure you can trust her completely in case
she decides against the change.”

“What made you decide to change someone?”

Konrad shrugged one shoulder. “Different things. Mainly a
deep gut feeling that told me they would be at home in my pack. You are going
to have to learn to trust your instincts in a new way. It’s not always going to
be easy.”

Luken felt something deep down inside concerning Julie. He
just needed to figure out if it was more than lust. “I won’t make the choice
anytime soon. I need to spend more time with her. Get to know her a little
better before I let the wolf out of the bag.”

With a laugh, Konrad pushed away from the truck. “You do
that. I better get back to my mate. She promised to do awesome sexual things to
me before I left.”

Luken covered his ears. “Don’t want to know how sexually
twisted you are.”

Konrad chuckled as he walked to his truck. Luken let loose a
laugh of his own as he fished his cell from his pocket.

* * * * *

Julie sat on the sofa waiting for the phone to ring, still
unsure of what she would say. An hour passed before the wall phone chirped
loudly. She dashed across her living room, reaching over the counter for the
phone. “Hello?”

“Hey, Julie. Sorry, I was busy with something when you
called.”

There was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone
in the background. Whatever had been transpiring during their last phone call
was over. “I heard dogs or something in the background. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. So what did you want when you called?”

Well, he definitely wasn’t offering up any info willingly.
Maybe he would talk about it if she went ahead and invited him over? Hell, who
was she kidding? Like she had ever really considered not inviting him. She
closed her eyes, a little disgusted with her weakness where Luken was
concerned. “I was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner?”

“Sure. I can be there in about an hour. Would that be okay?”

She could whip up something in that time. “Yeah. An hour
will be fine. I hope you like chicken.”

“One of my favorites.”

“Good. I’ll see you then.”

“Okay.”

She hung up the phone and quickly set to work prepping the
food. She had a fifteen-minute marinade for the chicken breasts and could throw
some potatoes in the oven to bake. There were plenty of fresh greens in the
fridge to make a salad. She swore she was a rabbit in another life, because she
kept the fresh veggies stockpiled.

She set to work on the meal, sneaking in a quick shower,
makeup job and hairdo. There wasn’t time to debate on an outfit, so she snagged
a blue sundress that buttoned all the way down the front. It was simple, but
pretty.

With haste, she set to chopping the veggies for the salad.
The garlic-and-rosemary chicken scented the house with a mouthwatering aroma as
it sizzled in the pan. As she tossed in the last bit of veggies in the salad,
she looked at the clock. Luken would arrive any minute.

As if on cue, the doorbell chimed. She turned off the burner
and wiped her hands on a towel, trying her best to ignore the nervous churning
inside her belly.
Please don’t let him be a dog-ring leader
.

With quick steps she made her way to the door, unlocking the
dead bolt before twisting the knob. She couldn’t help but smile as she opened
the door and looked at Luken. He leaned casually against the door frame, a
bottle of wine in one hand and flowers in the other. He was turning on the
charm and she knew she didn’t stand a chance. His long hair flowed over his
broad shoulders like black silk. She wanted to touch it—run her fingers through
it. The smile he bestowed on her had her heart fluttering in excitement. He
wore a dark-blue V-neck T-shirt that showed off the smooth tanned skin of his
neck and upper chest. Blue jeans hung low on his lean hips and ended at his
running shoes. “Come in.” She stepped back and allowed him to enter, closing
the door and locking it behind him.

Luken stopped and faced her. “Something smells wonderful.”

She smiled. “Rosemary-and-garlic chicken.”

He closed the distance between them and ran the tip of his
nose up her neck. “No. It’s you.”

Her eyelids fell to half-mast as she sighed. His lips
brushed the tender skin behind her ear. Before she could lean into him he
retreated.

“After you.” Luken gestured for her to lead the way.

She blinked a few times to clear her head and started toward
the kitchen. A fortifying breath entered her lungs. He was dangerous to her
senses. She still didn’t know if he was into anything illegal. As much as her
body craved his touch she had to be more sensible about the whole thing.
“Everything’s ready.”

She had set out two place settings on the bar, forgoing the
candles because she didn’t want it to look as if she expected a romantic
interlude. She needed to know things about him, and he undoubtedly wanted info
about her. So she kept things as casual as possible.

Luken handed her the flowers and the bottle of wine. She
couldn’t help the giddy feeling it gave her. He took a seat on one of the bar
stools and she entered the kitchen to get everything situated, making quick
work of putting the flowers in water and serving the food.

Julie took her seat next to Luken and poured the wine. He
cut into his chicken and took a bite. She smiled as he made an appreciative
noise.

He swallowed. “You can cook for me anytime.”

She laughed. “Is that the only thing you want me for?”

Luken took a drink. “Well, I’ll have to see what else you
are good at before I can answer that.”

She gasped and tried to bat him playfully on the arm, but he
grabbed her wrist with lightning-quick reflex and pulled her off her stool and
against his body. A wave of desire crashed through her as she inhaled a
staggering breath. Her tongue snaked out to moisten her lower lip a second
before his lips were on hers.

The kiss was slow and sweet, flavored by the grapes from the
wine and far more intoxicating. She wanted more, but he severed the contact and
lifted her, placing her back into her own seat. Neither said a word for a few
seconds, but Luken finally broke the silence.

“I’d like to keep you for kissing too.”

She couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her lips. She felt
young and free again. This man was dangerous. She’d better start questioning
him soon, before she fell hard and convinced herself she didn’t care about his
background.