Page 39 of To Challenge a Wolf

“The sight of him in broad daylight was pretty awe-inspiring for the wolves at first, but he took on that form a lot duringtraining sessions. I guess we’re all used to him now. But this is the first time he’s shown himself to humans in his pack.”

Humans in his pack…and her. Surely Rhett hadn’t forgotten Vivian wasn’t. Surely Malachi hadn’t either.

A minute later Rhett left the group, then came back wearing his own clothes, including a white V-neck tee that clung comfortably to his physique. He couldn’t be more attractive if he tried. So annoying.

All around her, the air seemed to release a gradual sigh as the pack mingled and settled in the main space of Rhett’s cabin, which though full was large enough for all of them. Vivian, having met them all today—how was that possible?—couldn’t be sure of what she sensed. But now that the immediate emergency had ended and the four-month threat was defeated, their collective relief seemed to be a physical presence in the room. Along with it came a quiet collective weariness.

She should take her leave soon, but first she took hold of Rhett’s hand and tugged him to the guest bedroom that hid the entrance to the safe room. It wasn’t true privacy, if any wolf chose to eavesdrop. But whatever.

“So,” she said, “you’ve got a safe room under your house.”

He smirked, already recovered from the vulnerability of three seconds ago. “If that shocked you, I’ll be disappointed.”

“Oh,thatdidn’t shock me at all.” She pointed to the keypad. “Care to enter the passcode?”

Rhett blushed to his hairline and down his neck into his shirt. “Oh.”

“Zero three one seven. Jeremy had forgotten it, so Aaron told him. Clearly. In easy range of human hearing.”

“Yeah, well. I couldn’t usemybirthday. Obviously bad security choice.”

“So you used March seventeenth.”

“They’re just numbers, Viv. I used numbers I knew I wouldn’t…” His blush deepened, which seemed to infuriate him. He bared his teeth at the keypad on the wall and paced to the other side of the room, angry again when he reached the wall and couldn’t get farther away from her.

“Numbers you wouldn’t forget,” she said. “A birthday you hadn’t forgotten in a decade.”

He flashed his teeth, but the sneer was see-through now. “I’ve got a good memory for numbers.”

“So you use my birthday as a passcode, but you want me to go home tomorrow. You want me to be happy you’re not dead but never give you another thought for the rest of my life.”

“Yes. That’s what I want,” he snapped and…charged toward her.

Well, fine then. She could charge too. She met him in the middle of the room, angled her face up to his to glare him down, as if that ever worked. “Rhett, if you think for one minute that I—”

He circled his arms around her, pulled her close to his chest, and kissed her. His mouth was hard on hers, molten hot, precise and skillful and hungry. So hungry. For her. Vivian’s toes curled in her shoes. Her nerves seemed to curl with the electricity that zipped through her whole body. Rhett. She was kissing Rhett. She was on fire, and it was his fault, because he kissed her as if she were the only woman he had ever desired in his whole life. She leaned into him as her knees went weak, as she became a cliché she’d often mocked. Rhett. Her fingernails raked down the back of his shirt. He pushed his fingers through her short hair, and her scalp tingled at his touch.

She wanted to keep kissing this wolf forever.

Ten

She was in his arms. Kissing him, molding herself to him, digging her fingers into his back. Their kiss was flammable and instantly addicting. He would never stop kissing Vivian. For the rest of his life, he would hold her just like this, kiss her just like this, protect her with his life and—

She ran out of breath before he did. She ended the kiss, but instead of stepping back, she cuddled up to him, cheek to his chest, and curled both hands in the back of his shirt. She gave a happy little hum that reignited the fire in his veins.

“Viv,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“That was…”

She let him go and backed up, so fast his hands came up on reflex to steady her. “If you say that was a mistake, I’llknowyou’re an idiot.”

Where was her sense of self-preservation? She knew him. He pushed his hand over his hair, and a voice from the living room reached him, though Vivian’s hearing would miss it.

“Sothat’s it,” Corbin said. “No wonder she ignored my overtures at lunch.”

The heat in Rhett’s blood froze over in an instant. He imagined himself throwing a full-strength punch at Corbin’s smug face.

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