Page 45 of Savage Trap

His eyes narrow suspiciously. “How large are we talking?”

“Extra extra. The guy I’m thinking of is six seven and two fifty pounds, but his hips aren’t much bigger than mine.”

Curtis makes a helpless squeaky sound. “Rub my nose in it, why don’t you?” Then he flutters his lashes. “Pretty please. Rub away.”

I just laugh and he takes a catalog from under the counter and pops it on top of the pile of purchases. “There’s a full range in here and online. But if your giant wants to come in to try a few things on, I’ll make sure the extra extra fitting room is free.”

I just smirk, trying to imagine his reaction if Arben Marku walked in here to check out his leather display.

Curtis promises to deliver our purchases to our hotel, so we wander for a while, before ducking into a nearly empty cinema. There’s something with lots of guns playing, so I tick off a bucket list item by blowing Link in the back row while he death-grips the popcorn. We leave before the final shootout, and walk some more until our stomachs start to rumble. We split a deep pan pizza that’s served straight from a hole in the wall, eye fucking each other until we’re both hard as stone.

I’ve barely wiped the grease from my fingers before Link’s tongue is in my mouth and he’s nudging me back into one of the many shadowy alcoves around the square. When soft grunts come from somewhere off to our left, he bumps my forehead with his. “Did you google best places to fuck in public, or is Chicago just this damn horny?”

I laugh into the soft skin of his neck. “I might have gone down a rabbit hole when I was planning this date,” I admit. “But this city is really into full service.”

He groans and bumps his hard cock against mine. “We don’t date enough. You need to drag me down a rabbit hole more often.”

I smile, leaning into his heat and wrapping my arms around his middle. Seriously, this man makes me a melty mess. “So, we’re going steady?” I tease. “That’s the technical term, right?”

He nudges my chin up, his gaze all black arrogance. “Babe, I owned your ass the first time you looked at me.” I want to scoff, but he snakes his hand over mine and drags it to the hard thump of his heart. “But you owned this. Same moment. I was fucking yours.”

Melt. Melt. Melt.

Just step aside and let me drip down the nearest drain.

But as much as I don’t want to burst the perfect bubble we’ve been in all day, there’s also a niggling pain in my chest. “Same, but it’s probably time to check back in with the others. The pack run’s tonight, and they’ll be waiting.”

He sighs and leans against the wall, but gives a reluctant nod. I don’t want to totally ruin the mood, so I pull out my phone and shoot a text off the Cam, asking him if the run is still on. He calls me instantly, the relief obvious in his voice. “Yeah, we’re just waiting on you. Everything okay? You’ve been really quiet today.”

I wonder if he’s tried to check in with me via our bond, only to get radio silence. Ever since my panic attack in the club, I’ve kept myself tuned right down, but I make a mental note to do better. “Everything’s fine. We just got caught up shopping.” Link smirks and I bump him with my hip. “Where are we going? We’re a few blocks away, but we can grab a cab and meet you wherever.”

“No need. Drop a pin and we’ll come by and collect you.”

I murmur goodbye, then turn and press my hips against Link’s. I can feel the tension in his body, but I know he needs this, same as me. Because if we can’t talk things out as civilized people, we might as well strip down to our wolves and give them a shot.

Elvi

I’m a ball of twitching nerves by the time we arrive at Busse Woods, a nature preserve in Arlington Heights, west of the city. Nate tells us it’s what they call a flatwood forest, with black ash, red maple, and white oak fed by the adjacent wetlands. There are plenty of paved paths for joggers and cyclists, but by the time we pull up in the hotel’s SUV, it’s after eight p.m. and the place is deserted.

As I scan the edge of the woods, I feel my stomach dip, although I didn’t really expect to find Arben waiting for us. With the stuff going down in Europe – and a liaison potentially on the way – my dad is in an emergency session of the council; and no doubt Arben’s back on the hunt.

I shiver as we pile out of the car. The driver has been told to take a nap; code for keeping his eyes shut and his lips sealed. But he’s left the headlights on, creating a pool of golden light in front of us. And when I draw Nate around into the glow, he watches me with so much trust, it makes my throat ache.

“We try this, but if it doesn’t work, we can just hang out,” I tell him, and when he gives me a hopeful nod, I look at Kelly. “Sunshine? Can you lend a hand?”

He gives Link the briefest glance before he joins us, and I wonder if they’re talking through their bond. They’ve been quiet all day, and while I know it’s important to give them space, it still hurts to see them so closed off. But Kelly’s hand is warm in mine as he grasps it. “Okay,” I tell Nate. “We start small and if it works, we can go bigger.”

He nods, but then glances over at the guys, who are leaning on the hood of the car and watching us. “I thought… Don’t you need one of your alphas nearby to make it work?”

I tilt my head, puzzled, but Rory gives a rumbling laugh, stepping behind me to kiss the back of my neck. “We’re lucky she loves our dicks, or she wouldn’t need to keep us around at all.”

I swipe at him, blushing hard, and Nate’s eyes go wide as he looks between us. “You mean… I thought you were drawing on your mating bond at the club.”

Link clears his throat and folds his arms. I expect him to say something scathing about how reckless I was, but instead, his voice slides down Cam’s bond. Are you sure you should do this? You’re getting very close to admitting we’re a fated pack.

I pause, thinking it over. Link might still be pissed at me, but when it comes to protecting our pack, his advice is always solid. Comes from being a paranoid obsessive who’s usually three steps ahead of everyone else. Can you think of another explanation we could give him?

He tilts his head, his eyes boring into mine for a second. Bloodline. Your dad is powerful and your mom is an unknown.

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