Page 51 of Deadly Wolf Bite

“Don’t be long.” Mia hurries to her waiting car.

I give Elio instructions about our destination before joining Lexi in the car. She’s slid all the way to the far side of the seat and her arms are wrapped around herself. But she’s dry-eyed, and she’s stopped shaking.

That’s a good sign.

The moment the door shuts, I pour her a glass of orange juice from the car’s stocked mini fridge and hold it out to her. “Here. The sugar will help your nerves.”

She takes it and sips.

I nod at her to do it again.

She empties the glass and hands it back to me. “I’m not going to fall apart.” She must see something in my expression because she adds, “Again.”

Despite everything, my lips twitch. But my amusement fades quickly. “I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I never should’ve brought you to that meeting.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I knew he’d do something dramatic,” I say. “After my attack on the restaurant and our public engagement, he had to hit back somehow.”

“But Anthony had nothing to do with any of that. Why didn’t he go after you directly?”

My head begins to ache. “It’s part of the game.”

“That makes no freaking sense,” she says, frustration leaking out.

I exhale heavily. “Come here.”

Before she can move an inch, I scoop her into my arms and settle her on my lap. Part of me wonders if she’ll push me away, but she slides her arms around my shoulders and buries her face in my neck.

Her skin against mine feels so damn good.

And even though she’s not straddling me—and her body is a lot more covered—I think of that lap dance. The night we met. The way she seduced me. The way I fell for her the moment she told me to sit on that fucking couch and keep my hands to myself.

This time, I break that rule greedily.

With my arms wrapped around her, I rub slow, soothing circles over her back. My palm slides across the fabric of her dress then over the zipper, which I reluctantly leave intact. Sex would only help one of us right now. She needs comfort. And more than anything, I want to be what she needs.

I wind my fingers into her silky hair, gathering fistfuls of it then letting it go again. My chest presses against hers, my skin warming beneath the fabric of my shirt.

Being close to her, smelling her, touching her—it calms my wolf’s blood thirst in a way nothing else ever has.

“I’m sorry I screamed,” she says finally.

“Don’t apologize.” I draw her away so I can look into her eyes. “Seriously. You reacted like a normal person who hasn’t been desensitized by prolonged exposure to violence. The people who didn’t scream are the ones who should be sorry.”

She nods then lays her head on my shoulder again, snuggling in against my neck.

I hold her just like that for the duration of the drive, willing to admit this comforts me just as much as it does her.

And I need that comfort now. I thought we’d have more time, but Franco just ruined that idea. We need to move quickly. To become a pack—to strengthen my alpha power enough that I can take on both my father and Franco himself.

There’s only one thing I can do.

We pull up outside my apartment, and I ease Lexi off my lap and onto the seat beside me.

“Come on, we need to go.” I tug her hand, and we climb out of the car into the sunlight. My apartment building rises in front of us, but I turn away from it to address Elio. “We’re on our own from here.”

“Sir?”

---