He faced the wall, willing his temper to ice. “You said you weren’t involved with the Villati.”
“Diskant…” He heard her weight shift from the bed, as if she were standing to move closer.
“Don’t, Pinkie,” he cautioned in a low, steady growl. “Stay where you are.”
She didn’t listen.
He felt her arms wrap around his waist, her chest pressing into his back. “Craig approached me shortly after my parents died. I met with him a few times and accepted the information he offered but when I got a bad vibe I decided that whatever it was he wanted it wasn’t worth the risk. Then Thomas stole something I treasured and sold it to Craig to pay off a gambling debt.” Diskant’s anger receded as she continued speaking, her fingers gently stroking his chest. “I made a deal to get it back but the meeting never happened.”
“Why?”
She released him, stepped around and placed her body between him and the wall. Gazing up, she rested her hand on his chest, over his heart. The frantic tempo immediately slowed beneath her palm and the tension left his body, causing the muscles under her fingers to go soft.
“The night I was supposed to meet with his liaison was the night I met you—the night you saved me. The next morning, after I left your home…” She shook her head, as if embarrassed by the memory and her decision to leave him high and dry. “I told Craig I was done. He tried to contact me but I threw away the phone he’d given me and refused to take his calls at the club.”
He brought a hand up and placed it over hers. “What does he want?”
“I don’t know but whatever it is, it’s not good. He knows that vampires attacked me that night in the alley.” Diskant’s hackles rose at the memory and when he growled softly she soothed him by rubbing her hand over his chest. “There’s something he’s not telling me. Something important. I tried to get him to talk but he wants to arrange a meeting with you before he’ll spill.”
Diskant studied his mate’s pensive face. Meeting with the Villati would cause an unavoidable shit storm. For the most part shifters had managed to fly below the radar and keep their secrets secret. It was too dangerous to have mortals sniffing around, especially when they liked to record things to pass down through the generations. That could very well change depending on what Craig Newlander wanted.
“It’s okay.” She finally broke the awkward silence. “We don’t have to meet him.”
He brought his hands to her hips and tugged her into his arms, keeping her close. Concern for her safety overrode everything else. If the bastard knew something important concerning his mate, he had to know what it was. Ava wasn’t a shifter and could be easily harmed. Since vampires were involved it was likely he would need to be on the offensive, keeping one step ahead.
“As soon as this thing with Emory is done I’ll make all of the arrangements. I don’t want you to worry about anything. From now on I take care of you.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble.”
“Never.” He cupped her chin and held her gaze. “It’s my right and privilege to see to your needs.”
She smiled wistfully. “Privilege, huh?”
“Damn straight.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her face into his chest and sagged in his embrace. Then he sensed her exhaustion. She was hungry, she was tired and she needed a good night’s rest. The bloodbonding was in full swing now. Soon she’d notice the changes that indicated she was bonded to a shifter. Sex was just the icing on the cake when you had enhanced strength, reflexes and longevity to look forward to.
“I’m going to go downstairs to get you something to eat. Dougan keeps the kitchen stocked so I’m sure I can find you something you’ll like.”
“I’ll go with you,” she murmured into his shirt, nuzzling him affectionately. The cat in him reciprocated the amorous display, rising to the surface as he brushed his chin over the top of her head and inhaled deeply, drawing her sweet, feminine fragrance into his nose.
Shifting his arms around her midsection, he turned her in his arms and started walking to the door. They traveled down the stairs like a couple of infatuated teenagers, sneaking kisses at each floor. When they made it to the final hallway he kept her exactly as she was—her back to his chest, her head beneath his chin—and grinned at the amused expressions of the pack members as they moved aside, giddy from Ava’s giggling as she wriggled back against his ever-growing hard-on.
Glancing to the left, he noted that Trey, Emory and Nathan were seated in the booth with an empty pizza pan between them. Another pizza was placed alongside the cleared tray, the steam rising from the cheesy surface indicting the kitchen was hard at work.
They came to the large double doors behind the bar and went through. As Diskant expected, several females were busy preparing meals for the pack. Most had traveled from their nearby homes to see to the needs of their brethren, including those who were still too young to mate. The moment they saw him and Ava, all activity stopped.
The women with prepared food brought the trays forward, bowed their heads and lowered their gazes. He waited for Ava to choose what she wanted but realized she had no idea how profound the gesture was.
Bending at the waist, Diskant put his mouth to his mate’s ear. “They’re showing their respect, Ava. Now that we are mated you command the same power within the pack that I do. They won’t eat or serve anyone else until we’ve chosen our meal.” Releasing her, he lowered his arms and stepped back. “Choose what you’d like.”
It wasn’t a normal introduction and for a moment he thought she’d hesitate, which wouldn’t have been a good thing. Respect in a pack was garnered from power, control and confidence. Without those traits you went directly to the bottom of the food chain. As his mate, and a human, it was understandable that she would be confused. However, at some point she had to proclaim her place in the pack.
“Take what you want,” he ordered. It was a tone he’d never used with her before, and he hoped she’d use her talent to understand his motive. At that moment he was an Omega giving his mate a direct command.
It was difficult to mask his pride when she stepped forward with her head held high and took a plate from the female to her left and helped herself to another tray from the female to her right. It was too much food for her but that was precisely the point. Right then she’d managed to convey her importance by making one very important choice. As the mate to an Omega, it was her right to lay claim to every single morsel she desired, even if she only intended to throw it in the trash on the way out the door.
Turning to him, she extended a tray. “What would you like to drink?”
Damn if she didn’t captivate him. Even now—out of her element amidst a kitchen full of shifters—she continued to show him just how complex and intelligent she was.
“Bring a pitcher of Killian’s and some bottled water to our room.” Diskant spoke over Ava’s shoulder to Katie, the bloodbonded human female on the left who was now empty-handed, as he accepted the tray from Ava. When he returned his full attention to his mate she was smiled and stepped past him, leading the way back upstairs.
This time she guided the way through the bar. He allowed her to take the lead, staying close enough that he could grab her if he was so inclined but far enough away that her independence made a statement to the pack. Whether she knew it or not she was assuming her role in their ranks, showing them that she was capable of standing on her own. They recognized that, appreciated and respected it.
They made it through the crowd and entered the empty hall. As her ass swayed on the journey up the stairs he imagined sinking his teeth into the creamy swells one at a time. He wanted to bend her over the bed and force her to take him in the most primitive way of his kind. There was nothing sexier than fucking a woman in the ass. The trust it required was absolute, the ultimate act of submission.