Page 69 of Shadow of Death

A minute or so later, he spoke like he’d just come out of a fog. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Varic looked at Petro and then turned and smiled at me.

“I guess this meeting is done, then,” he said.

Petro did nothing but nod.

We walked out of the clubhouse, and the pack members looked beyond us, seeing Petro moving about the building, looking healthy and alive, then went back to whatever they’d been doing.

Varic’s men stared, waiting for us to join them.

“We’ll be there in a minute.” Varic took my hand, tugging me along with him out of sight.

He had my hand. Could I kill him?

No. Don’t even think of that.It wasn’t like I was even near Kicks. I kill Varic and Kicks might be dead minutes later. There was a reason they sent him out with a group of enemy shifters on these false trips every day. He wouldn’t even know what was coming before he was dead. No, we’d find a way to get out together.

Varic tugged me along until we were on the back side of some sort of garage, out of sight of everyone else. He had his hands on my hips now, steering me backward until I felt a wall at my back.

“I don’t know how you did that in there, but it was amazing.” His voice was filled with awe. My plan seemed to be working, but maybe too well. I’d wanted him to be relaxed, not infatuated.

“Just trying to help.” I kept my back planted to the wall, hoping he didn’t move any closer.

“Do you realize what we could do together? My father always thought Kicks was so special. The way he’d favor him whenever Kicks deigned to come and visit. My father was so blinded by him that he didn’t seeIwas the strong one. The smart one. The one he should care about the most.” He ran fingers across my cheek as he stared at me. “But you see it, don’t you? You came here with him and yet you know I’m the better man. That’s why you did that back there in the clubhouse.”

He truly believed everything he was saying. I’d given him a few breadcrumbs and he’d somehow built them into a gingerbread house. He wasn’t just a mean son of a bitch, he was delusional, maybe pathologically so.

And I’d use every neurotic part of that twisted brain to my benefit.

“I do. I see it. You’re so much stronger than him.” I put my hands on his chest and then looked down coyly. “But we can’t letKicks know. I feel bad for him. I want to let him down gently. If he thinks I chose you, he’ll challenge you for sure.” I saw the flicker of anger in his eyes and course corrected. “I know you’d win, but it would be bad for the pack to see brother kill brother. We need to be smart about this. I’ll find a way to end it with Kicks and send him back to Arkansas.”

“That’s good,” he said, his gaze fixated on my lips.

“What about Athena?” I said, looking for a distraction, anything that would keep him from kissing me. “I’m human. I won’t be able to give you shifter babies.”

“Then we keep her around, but you’ll know you’re my number one,” he said. “Athena can give me children, but I want tofeelyou.”

I wanted to gag on those words, but I couldn’t.I put slight pressure on his chest. “I can’t have your scent on me or Kicks will know.”

His hands caged me in. “I’ll be patient, but I need a taste of you, to know what I’m waiting for.”

He pressed against me, his lips covering mine, and thrust his tongue inside my mouth. It took everything I had not vomit and appear to return some glimpse of interest. It was almost lucky that he had me pressed against the wall so I couldn’t pull away from him, or I might’ve done it in spite of my plan. Every instinct in me said to fight off his advances.

“Varic?” His men were calling.

He leaned back, his voice husky. “I knew you wanted me. Even when we first met and you acted as if you didn’t, I couldfeelthe attraction.”

I nodded, at a loss for words. He was deranged. He thought that I returned his lust.

“Varic, you okay?”one of his men said.

“Some of these guys are like having nursemaids,” Varic said, laughing. “We’re coming,” he called out.

No, not nursemaids. Just not as delusional as he was. Varic might see what he wanted, but not all of his men did.

Aunt Elara hurried over to me as we got back to the estate.Her nostrils flared as she got closer. “Kicks is already back, and you’d better shower or do something.”

I made it to the bedroom, hoping I’d beat Kicks there with enough time, but he was already walking out of the bathroom, fresh from his shower. He stopped a few steps into the room, looking at me and then breathing deeply. I’d hoped to be able to shower and change my clothes before he got back, but it was too late. Kicks had smelled Varic’s scent on me.

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