Hearing a playful hiss, Riley looked to see that the cub in question had unsheathed his claws. “Dexter, do not rip my sheets.”
Dexter snatched Kye’s candy bar and raced out of the room fast as . . . well, a cheetah.
Laughing, Kye shouted, “Hey, that’s mine! Give it, give it, give it!” His shout faded as he disappeared down the tunnels with Savannah and Lilah.
Smiling to herself, Riley closed the door, intending to take a shower. She’d just taken off her T-shirt when there was a knock at the door. With a sigh, she slipped the tee back on and opened the door, expecting the kids. But it was Tao. And he was carrying several bulging duffels.
He barged inside and dumped his bags on the floor. “Don’t piss and moan. We agreed we were together, and I’m not interested in living in a separate room from my female.”
Tao held his breath, waiting for the argument that would no doubt come. No one appreciated their personal space being invaded, least of all a dominant female shifter. If she were anyone else, he might have consulted her about it. But Riley thought way too much sometimes, she stewed over things that were really very simple, and he wasn’t prepared to wait. As he told her, he refused to live apart from his female. He wouldn’t leave, no matter how much she—
“All right.”
Thrown, he had no words for a moment. “All right?”
She shrugged. “I figure if you’re prepared to permanently sleep in the same room as someone with insomnia, you must really want to be here.”
“I do.”
“All right.”
“You drive me insane, Porter,” he growled.
“Why? I’m giving you what you want.”
“Exactly.” She wasn’t acting as he’d expected, and he didn’t like that she could take him off guard.
She threw up her arms. “I really can’t win in this relationship.” She paused. “Why are you now smiling like a loon?”
“You used the word ‘relationship.’” He’d wondered if she’d play the whole thing down, given how hard she found it to accept people in her life. But what was it that her uncle had said? “Once she lets a person in, they’re in.” And that meant Tao was in.
Baffled, she asked, “Is that not what this is? A relationship?”
Tao caught her to him and kissed her. “That’s exactly what it is.”
Riley blinked rapidly. One minute he was yelling at her; the next he was kissing the breath out of her lungs. “If you’re trying to keep me off balance, it’s working.”
“Good.”
Blowing out a breath, she asked, “What does the pack make of the mysterious shooter situation?”
He ran his hand down her ponytail. “They don’t have any better theories than we do.”
“Are they pissed I’m leading danger here? I told them when I got here that it wouldn’t happen.”
“They don’t see it that way,” he assured her. “They see it as you being home, where you’re safe. If someone follows you here, it’s because they chose to do so—anything that happens is on them. The pack’s not upset with you, they’re upset for you. And they’re pissed as hell at whoever shot at you. You’re a Phoenix member, baby. When you fuck with one, you fuck with them all.”
Relieved, she asked, “Did you ask about the whole Ramón thing?”
“Yes, he’s really stopped contacting them.”
“Maybe he’s found another healer who can help.”
“That’s what we’re figuring.” Tao settled his hands on her hips. “You know, I kept meaning to ask . . . what happened to Wade’s father?”
“He died in a duel. For some weird reason, Dean decided to challenge Sage for the position of Alpha. It was suicide, really. The guy didn’t have a prayer of winning.”
“If I had Shirley as a mate, I might be a little suicidal.”
“They didn’t have a great relationship. They imprinted when she was far too young and they sort of . . . grew apart, I guess you could say. He was a lot older than Shirley. Even though their relationship was strained, the breaking of the mating bond was hard for her. Wade got her through it. For all her faults, she did love him. She hung on for him.”
“I guess that’s probably the only thing that would make someone fight to live after they lost their mate—they’d have to have another person in their life they loved just as much or they’d let go.” Riley flinched, and he seriously wanted to punch himself right in the face. “Shit, I’m such an asshole.”
“It’s fine—”
“No, it’s not.” Contrite, he rested his forehead on hers. “I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t mean that your father couldn’t have loved you if he didn’t fight to live.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“Don’t ever think you weren’t enough for him. I’ve seen people grieve over the years. I’ve seen how easy it can be for them to become selfish while it’s happening. A person can get so wrapped up in their own pain that they feel alone, like nobody else can feel that level of pain. They forget that others are hurting too. Maybe your father just couldn’t find his way past the pain.”
“Yeah, that was probably what it was.”
Tao sensed she was just trying to placate him. “It’s okay to be pissed at him, you know. I am. You were enough for him, Riley. He just wasn’t enough for himself.”
Possibly, thought Riley. But Tao hadn’t known her father. He couldn’t know whether it was true, and neither could she.
Riley slid her arms around his neck. “Kiss me.” She needed to feel something that would chase away the constricting sensation in her chest. Needed to have no thoughts in her mind other than just how badly she wanted to come. And maybe he sensed that, because he kissed her like she was his last meal. Licking, biting, devouring her. Riley grabbed his hair and basically just held on as he devastated her mouth. Her blood heated, thickened. Her body pretty much melted into his, and a growl of masculine approval rumbled out of him.
Tao tugged out her hair tie, moaning as all that dark hair tumbled down her shoulders. “Fucking gorgeous.” Every nerve ending seemed charged by her scent alone, and need roared to life inside him. He would have kept it in check and tried to be gentle with her while she was hurting, but he could read her body, sense that she didn’t want gentle.
Fisting both hands in her hair, Tao snatched her head back and grazed his teeth down her throat. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of you.” It was the truth. He was addicted to everything about the little raven—her taste, her humor, her scent, the feel of her, everything. Clawing off her T-shirt and bra, he closed his hand over her breast and squeezed. “Fuck, baby, how do you get your skin this soft?” Using his grip on her hair to arch her body backward, he swooped down and drew her nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it with his tongue.
Riley moaned when he bit her nipple, stomach twisting as an ache raw and wild began to build inside her. The hand squeezing her breast slid up to collar her throat. The blatant display of dominance should have made her bristle. Instead it made her even wilder for him. She tore off his shirt and jeans with her talons just as he clawed off her own jeans. She bit into his pectoral just because. A growl vibrated up his chest, and she felt it right through her nipples.