Sera huffed out a laugh and eased away to study his face. “For a legendary seducer, your pants are seriously hard to get into.”
Julio tugged her off the counter, holding her upright when she would have fallen. “I know the value of timing. Is that so bad?”
“No.” Not when her knees were this wobbly. She’d let him throw her onto whatever surface he wanted for as many limb-melting orgasms as made him happy. “Let’s go swimming.”
His fingers skimmed her nipple. “Like this? Naked?”
A tiny shift of her hip rubbed her up against his erection, and fuck. Impressive might not do his dick justice. “Holy hell, Julio. If you pull that thing out, you’re gonna need to handcuff me to something to keep my hands off it.”
He slapped her hand playfully. “Fine. I’ll wear trunks.”
Pity. Leaning in, she nuzzled his throat with a laugh. “If you want to distract me, slap my ass.”
He slid his hand down over her hip to her ass, but he offered her a squeeze instead of a slap.
“Plenty of time, sweetheart.”
Plenty of time, and if he gave her enough of it, she’d scare him off with just how bent she could be. She was, after all, a freak, so much of one that even the mating frenzy couldn’t keep Josh from eyeing her with barely masked disdain.
She wasn’t ready to look into Julio’s eyes and find disdain instead of warm affection. She wasn’t ready for this magical vacation from her life to be over before it had really started. So she smiled and kissed his chin, then spun away and bolted for the open back door. “Meet you in the water.”
Chapter Seven
The big guy in town wasn’t hard to spot. He wasn’t actually particularly big, but he surveyed everything in the small roadside bar as if he owned it, a dead giveaway.
“Time to play nice,” Julio murmured to Sera and began to lead her across the dim, smoky room.
The Lost Highway was a damn far cry from most of the other bars in Panama City Beach, laser-lit dance clubs where college students went to get drunk and laid. This place seemed to cater to a slightly older crowd, the kind with black tattoos faded to blue and Harleys instead of Honda Civics.
And Sydney Rowe was at the middle of it all.
During Alec’s tour of the Southeast region the previous summer, Sydney had been reserved and cool. Things were fine, he’d said. Never better. Carmen had been sure he was hiding something, but it turned out to be more of a pattern than an isolated occurrence. No one trusted them, so no one opened up.
Part of the reason for Julio’s visit. He stopped at the table and stretched out his hand. “I’m Mendoza. Thanks for meeting me.”
The wolf’s gaze flicked over him before shifting to Sera. His eyes narrowed in confusion as his nostrils flared, and Sera stiffened.
But Sydney didn’t say anything, just thrust out his own hand and clasped Julio’s with enough strength to be a warning, but not a challenge. “Last time a council member rolled through here, he was looking for increased tithes.”
Alec had done nothing of the sort, and Julio knew it. He shook his head. “Not me. I’m on vacation.”
“In Panama City Beach?” Both of Sydney’s eyebrows swept up, as if he were waiting for the punch line. “Thought your kind went to Greece. Aren’t we kinda tacky for you?”
Sera bristled. “I think you’re confusing tacky and rude.”
Julio kept his gaze on Sydney. “He’s wondering what the hell we’re doing here, that’s all.”
The corner of the man’s mouth twitched up. “Your coyote looks like she’ll bite my balls off if I don’t invite you to sit.” A jerk of his head, and the two men on the opposite side of the table cleared out. “Snarly subs are fucking adorable, huh? Who can say no to them?”
Julio didn’t answer. Instead, he held Sera’s chair and then took his own. “We didn’t want to blow through your town without letting you know we were just here for a visit. Nothing permanent, and nothing ominous.”
Sydney’s gaze flicked to Sera again. “Nothing permanent for either of you?”
It took Julio a moment to pick up the unspoken threads and weave them together. “She’s not my dirty coyote secret, Rowe. Sera’s a friend.”
She bared her teeth at Sydney. “Yeah, everyone knows his kind keep their barely legal mistresses in Switzerland.”
“By the dozen,” Sydney replied easily. “Damn, Mendoza. They weren’t lying when they said Alec Jacobson and his crew roll sideways. You’re not much like your uncle, are you?”
“Not a damn bit. Relieved?”
“More than a little. No offense, brother, but your uncle’s a nasty motherfucker.” Sydney lifted one hand and flagged down an exasperated waitress who tucked her blonde hair behind her ear as she stopped next to the table. “Get ’em whatever they want,” Sydney said.
“Beer,” Sera said without hesitation. “Thanks.”
“Make that two.” Julio gestured at the bar. “This your place?”
“Yeah, it is.” Sydney sent the blonde on her way with a shooing gesture that earned him an irritated growl in return. “Lynn there keeps it running for us. I’ll tell her to open a tab for the two of you while you’re here, if you want a safe place to drink. Most of the pack hangs out here.”
The air was heavy with the scent of wolf, but it was impossible to estimate how many. “What kind of numbers do you have around here?”
“Fifty, give or take. That’s counting most of the panhandle as mine, though. Which I do.” He grinned. “A lot of ’em live on a few acres of land I’ve got northwest of here. Easier, since we don’t have all those fancy clinics and bought cops that you lucky bastards in New Orleans enjoy.”
“Sera’s dad and my sister are traveling around, setting up more clinics,” Julio told him. “I can’t help you with the cops personally, but a friend of mine got his criminal justice degree from FSU. I’ll ask Jackson if he knows anyone.”
Sydney tapped his fingers against the table. “Just like that, huh?”
Here we go. “In case you haven’t heard, it’s my job. Some people don’t care so much about that, but I plan to do it.”
“Uh-huh.” Sydney sat back as Lynn returned with three beers. She set them on the table without a word, and Sydney drained half of his before meeting Julio’s gaze. “My wife and I have held this pack longer than your girlfriend here’s been alive, kid, and the only thing the Southeast council’s ever offered us is an open hand, waiting for our money. Having it go the other way could take some getting used to.”
Julio expected nothing less. “Take your time, so long as you’re civil about it.”
Sydney rose, retrieved his wallet and pulled out a business card. “It’s for the bar, but if you call Lynn, she can put you through to me, day or night. I’ve got to head out on business for a couple hours, but you two are welcome to stick around. They fry up some mean hot wings.”
“I think Sera had her eye on one of the pool tables.” Julio stood and took the card. “I appreciate your time.”
Sydney nodded, then tilted his head. “Walk me to the door, huh? Lynn’ll keep an eye on your girl.”
Some things couldn’t be said in front of someone who wasn’t alpha. Julio squeezed Sera’s hand and followed Sydney toward the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Your uncle…” Sydney rubbed at his beard. “I can’t say if he started the rumor, or if he’s letting it linger. But Bobby down in Miami told me he’d heard this whole coup you and Alec Jacobson pulled was just a front. That Cesar Mendoza is still calling all the shots.”
“Goddamn it.” It sounded like the sort of thing Cesar would do, to save face if nothing else.
“John Peyton witnessed the challenge himself. Do you really think he’d stand for that?”