Shaya sighed dreamily, smiling. “Ah, good times.”
“Were they touching themselves, too? Or better still, touching each other?” Marcus looked as though he was genuinely trying to picture it.
“No,” replied Dominic, “but they were playing ‘catch’ with an unused butt plug. The one you got Jaime for her birthday simply because you’re odd like that.” Marcus shrugged. “At least she’s using it somehow.”
Knowing Dominic as well as he did, Dante easily guessed, “You joined in, didn’t you?” A smile crept onto Dominic’s face. “Yeah, okay, I did. It was fun.” Trick cocked his head as if listening to a distant noise. “Ah, I think that’s her coming now.” It was. There was no mistaking the source of that husky laugh. That was another thing about her that got the attention of both man and wolf. She had a voice that could liquefy rock. Didn’t matter though, Dante told himself. Didn’t matter how much of an appealing package she was. Didn’t matter how much his wolf wanted her. Didn’t matter how bitable her mouth was or how tantalizing man and wolf found her scent. Dante was not interested in having any type of relationship, no matter how casual, with Jaime Farrow.
Inhaling deeply, he braced himself for that beaming smile she always sent his way—a smile that he would never admit made his c*ck twitch. Marcus shuffled over, ensuring that there was an empty seat beside Dante, just as he did every morning. Traitor.
Arm in arm with her brother, Gabe—the other new addition to the pack—she entered the kitchen…and his jaw almost hit the floor. His wolf was pacing predatorily, made alert the moment he heard her laugh. In an outfit that emphasized delicious curves that Dante would never have guessed were hiding under the baggy clothes she usually wore, Jaime strode inside and greeted Grace before heading to the table.
Then she did something that she had never done before, something that had his wolf growling in irritation. She gave Dante the same brief, polite smile she gave to everyone else…and walked right on past him and sat between Dominic and Shaya.
Motherfucker.
Jaime pretended not to notice the surprised expressions directed her way. The pack shouldn’t be so shocked that she was considering Dante a lost cause. Sure, Jaime had a major thing for Dante, but damn it, a female had her pride. He’d made it clear through his indifference that he had zero interest in her. Chasing after a guy who didn’t want her was not Jaime’s idea of fun, no matter how hot said guy was. She could try her hand at seduction and see if he caved…Snort. She’d have more luck trying to nail jelly to a stone wall. Seduction wasn’t her specialty.
Besides, she’d overheard him talking to Trick last night. He didn’t think of her that way, he’d said. She wasn’t his type, he’d said. He liked his women slim, he’d said.
Superficial a**hole. As if those comments weren’t embarrassing enough, she hadn’t been alone when she overheard him. No, Shaya had been there to witness her shame. Groan!
Well Jaime had not dressed in her skintight New York T-shirt and her slim-fitting blue jeans this morning to show him that she wasn’t so chubby anymore thankyouverymuch. She had not put on a little more mascara, eye shadow, and lip gloss than she usually did. And she had not even once wondered if Dante would notice. Nope, not at all.
Seriously, though, who could blame her for wanting Dante as much as she did?
With his wide shoulders, broad chest, and solid arms, he had a build that screamed
“powerful,” “lethal,” “dangerous.” She had grown up around well-built males, had seen plenty of muscular bodies, but Dante was in a league of his own. His compelling, assertive personality made him seem as though he took up even more room than he actually did. He would have seemed unapproachable if it wasn’t for his heart-stopping, crooked grin.
Given how gorgeous females tended to flock around him, Jaime wasn’t exactly surprised by his aloofness. He wasn’t in a position where he had to settle for plain Janes like herself. Then there were the differences in their personalities. He was a stickler for rules, whereas Jaime saw them as suggestions. He had a strict moral code, whereas she had her own sense of right and wrong that didn’t always cohere with his—like something counted as cheating only if she was caught, and that vengeance was therapeutic. Dante was very much a planner, wanting to be prepared for every scenario so that he could be in total control. Jaime? She preferred to make things up as she went along, and she liked to take risks.
Unfortunately, neither her wolf nor her body saw these differences as important. Both reacted to him with an unhealthy amount of excitement that never failed to needle Jaime. Even when he was a kid—a small, scrawny, scowling, defensive little boy—he had fascinated her. He’d been regarded as
“the runt” by all of his older brothers, which meant they had made his life miserable. Kind of ironic that he was now the biggest of all of his brothers, even bigger than Josh, who was an Alpha. Ha.
Even though they had been total bastards to him, he seemed to have this inner strength that meant no matter what they did or how much they did it, there were certain parts of him that they had never been able to touch or scar. Growing up, she’d watched in total admiration as Dante had worked to make himself physically strong and fit until he was someone who was confident, capable, and one hundred percent comfortable in his own skin.
All these years later, there was still something about him that enticed both her and her wolf.
Maybe it was his piercing brindle-brown eyes or his cocky grin or the way he radiated confidence.
Or maybe it was because he was amazingly and admirably always in total control of himself and of his wolf. She got the feeling that control was important to him on some level, though she couldn’t figure why. In actuality, it was just as important to her. Not that Dante was even slightly aware of that.
The only person who knew of her problems was her brother, and that was the way she liked it.
Enticing though he was, there would be no more pining over Dante. No more wondering if his short, walnut-brown hair was as soft as she imagined. No more wondering if those big hands of his were as talented as she suspected. And no more wondering if he was as big in the downstairs department as he was everywhere else. But how could she not wonder about that? Come on, she was only human. Well, kind of.
Since the crush wasn’t only physical, it wasn’t going to be possible to make her craving for him simply disappear by force of will. Unfortunately. As Shaya had pointed out, though, Jaime could ensure that she hid it from him. She could fake indifference and lead him to believe she was over the craving, salvaging some self-respect. She could paste a smile on her face and appear to be the happiest she had ever been.
That was exactly what Jaime intended to do. She couldn’t allow herself to be reduced to a blubbering idiot by some guy. That was all he was—just a guy. And guys, as all women knew, must not be granted power over women and be able to rob them of their self-respect. That would create a total imbalance in the universe and could not be allowed.
So, determined to keep up her act, Jaime took some toast from the table and continued to pay no attention to he-who-must-not-be-thought-about. She had much more important things to worry about anyway. Like the reason self-control was essential to her.
Given that, maybe it was a good thing that Dante wasn’t interested in her. Although he was so easygoing that he could have been mistaken for nonchalant, he was, in fact, constantly alert and observant, absorbing every detail like a sponge. If he even slightly suspected that she was hiding something, he would harass her until he had answers.
“Sleep well?” Gabe, who was sitting opposite her, shoveled some watermelon in his mouth.
It sounded like such an innocent, casual question, but it went deeper than the others could imagine. “Fine, thanks.” Her smile seemed to satisfy her brother, as he returned his attention to his breakfast.
Shaya nudged her. “Are you doing anything this afternoon?”
“Nope, why?”
“Grace, Lydia, and I are planning to go shopping. We’ve decided to throw Taryn a surprise baby shower on Friday, so we need to get some stuff. Wanna come?”
“Sure.” Jaime liked their Alpha female. She had a wit that almost anyone would love, and Jaime admired her strength. The female had actually overcome her latency so that her wolf was no longer trapped within her—which had been unheard of until now.
In fact, Jaime liked every member of the pack…except for Trey’s maladjusted grandmother, Greta, who was especially hostile to the unmated females. In her crazy little mind, if a female was unmated, she was intent on ensnaring one of “her boys”—those being Trey and the enforcers. And no female was good enough for Greta’s boys, hence why she was so hateful toward Taryn. With any luck, Jaime would be done with her breakfast before the old woman appeared.
As a ginger cat abruptly sprang onto her lap, Jaime smiled. He rubbed his head against her chest, hinting for a stroke. As usual, she happily obliged.
“I’ve never heard a cat purr that loud. Hey there, Hunk,” Shaya cooed, giving his head a gentle scratch.
“What possessed you to call that ugly freaking thing Hunk?” Dominic grimaced. “I mean, he’s pudgy and shaggy and full of scars.”
“Hey!” Jaime dug her elbow into Dominic’s ribs. “He’s my chunky Hunk. Aren’t you, baby?
Ivy, one of the girls I work with at the dog sanctuary, found him about three years ago when he was practically on death’s door. Even though he was a cat, she brought him to the sanctuary to heal.
Fortunately, he healed quickly and could be rehomed. He decided, however, that he was coming home with me. Maybe it was because I took care of him while he was in that place, I don’t know.” Dominic’s smile was as flirtatious as always. “I’d have gone home with you, too. Would you have kept me?”
She rolled her eyes and turned back to Shaya while feeding Hunk slices of meat and tuna. “So where and when do you want to meet up?”
“I was thinking two p.m. at the mall. That good for you?”
“Great. I’ve never been to a baby shower before.”
“Me neither,” said Shaya, sounding excited, “but Lydia’s great with decorations, so she’ll know what to buy. Grace wants to stock up on cakes and other goodies. I’m in charge of picking the gifts and organizing the games, but I’ll need help, so that’s where you come in.” She leaned in closer and said quietly, “I totally approve of the new look, by the way. You should always flaunt what you have.”
“I’m not flaunting. I’m just making the point that because I don’t dress slutty and leave nothing to the imagination doesn’t mean I have a beer belly or something.”
“You should have seen his face when you walked in. I was half expecting him to drool.”
“It’s just the br**sts. My girls get everyone’s attention.”
“What’s with all the whispering?” Dominic asked Jaime.
“Can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.”
He gave her a mock scowl, then peered down and frowned. “Are those space pants you’re wearing?”
“Huh?”
“Because your ass is out of this world.”
Shaya and Gabe groaned, but Jaime laughed. She liked the blond pervert who constantly dished out cheesy lines and was too good looking for his own good. Considering he could bag a woman with just his smile, she had no idea why he even bothered with his lines. It was almost as if he wanted to repel them. She might have thought that he was g*y if she hadn’t heard from many females how talented he was in the bedroom.
“Want to see what I’ve got?” he asked.
“That depends, does it itch and is it contagious?”
He scowled again. “I’ll have you know that I’m not the slut you think I am.” Ignoring her snort, he tugged up his T-shirt, revealing an amazing set of abs and a gorgeous tattoo of a red Chinese dragon with its mouth open wide, just above his heart. The rest of the dragon’s body disappeared under the sleeve, and she guessed it was curled around the upper part of his bicep.
“That looks amazing.”
“It’s not done yet. I have to go for another sitting soon.”
“I love it. And it was a great excuse to get a look at that chest and those pecs.” His caramel-tanned skin was totally lickable.
“You don’t need an excuse, baby. Any time you want to see any part of this body, you only have to ask. Hey, did you hear about Dante’s little predicament?” Once Dominic had finished regaling her with his tale, Jaime gasped. “That bitch.” For a split second she forgot herself and was about to offer to personally deal with the dominant female.
A submissive wolf wouldn’t do that, a voice in her head reminded her.
Shaya nodded. “Yeah, well, payback’s a bitch, too. She’ll get what’s coming to her—
hopefully not as a result of our pregnant Alpha going crazy on her, though.” Having finished her toast, Jaime gently placed Hunk on the floor and rose from her seat. “I have to get to work. I’ll see you all later.” She was already late, which unfortunately seemed to be a personality trait of hers.
As she passed Dante, she couldn’t help but notice he was scowling at her. What the hell was his problem? It seemed that no matter what she said or did, he intended to be an ass.
Men. She had long ago concluded that it was impossible to find guys who were considerate and sensitive as well as hot. Well, impossible to find some that didn’t already have boyfriends of their own anyway.
Not willing to allow Dante to take up any more of her thoughts, she shrugged off the matter.