Page 24 of Break The Ice

“You know what might make you feel better?”

“What?” he snaps.

“Talking to Kit. Finding out who that guy was and what he did that upset Kit that much.”

“He wouldn’t tell me.”

“Have you tried?” I shrug my shoulders. This feels like I’ve crossed a line I’m not comfortable with. “It’s your call, but it’s just an idea. Seems to me like if Kit knew you would be on his side, he’d be less upset.”

Wren glares at me. “Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”

I shrug, masking the fury his question incites. I walk to the door and lean on the frame, giving him a cool once over. “Kit was kind to me.”

Wren exhales roughly. “Me, too.”

“So, fix it,” I say and leave the room, only to bounce into Raider’s gigantic frame. He slams a hand across my mouth and pulls me into his room, shutting the door just before the sound of Wren leaving his bedroom and descending the stairs sounds, leaving me helpless and at Raider’s mercy.

I stare up at him, my skin tingling everywhere he’s touching me. This alpha is my undoing.

Raider leans down, brushing his lips across my cheek until he reaches my ear.

“What’s your angle?”

“Angle?”

“What are you trying to do here? What do you want?”

I put my hands on his chest and shove him back, but it doesn’t move him even a little bit. His chest is so hard and warm.

“I don’t want anything. You’ve got me prisoner, remember?”

“Except you’re more like a guest, and you’re happy here. What is your story, Ryann? What are you running from?”

I shudder at the way he drags out my name. All of a sudden, I can taste him again. I can feel the stubble on his jaw brush against my face. His peppermint scent and taste, though faint, is there in my memory.

“My story is simple. I’m a traveller who came here by chance.”

“Where are your things?”

“My things?” I ask in a daze. It’s so hard to think.

“Where are your belongings?” he rasps, and I shiver and press closer.

He wedges a thigh in-between my legs as one hand slides down to my hips, anchoring me to the spot.

“My things? I left them?”

“Why?” he nips my earlobe.

“Because…”

“Because?”

“Because,” I break out of the trace just before I can utter the damning information. “Let me go, Raider. I’m not telling you shit. You should apologize to your pack.”

He steps back, obviously knowing we’re done, and he’s lost his chance. But I can tell he’s not going to give up. This is just a reprieve.

“And if you ever pull that shit on me again, I will personally crack those babies and roast the fuckers over a fire,” I spit and gesture at his balls.

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