Page 10 of Destined Predator
And Jesus, if he wasn’t imagining Rhett getting hard, and himself peeling down the zip of his jeans to take out Rhett’s cock. It would be big, and juicy. “So, how about it?” he almost whispered. “Wanna go again, just you and me this time?”
The air between them thickened, scent curling sweet and dangerous. Casey’s smirk faltered for half a heartbeat, from the sharp twist of need that surprised even him. This wasn’t the usual flirt. Rhett made his blood hum, like the first breath before a run.
“It was practically just you two this time.” Greg’s voice came out harsh, breaking whatever spell Casey was weaving.
“Casey?”
He liked the way Rhett said his name, in his deep voice. He raised an eyebrow. That tiny movement did it—snapped the last thread of Rhett’s composure. Casey could practicallytastethe shift in him; fear burned off, replaced by defiance, by curiosity.Destiny didn’t whisper. It bit. And right now, Rhett Tucker was bleeding temptation.
“Can I see you out back for a minute?” Rhett finished.
There was nopleaseand it didn’t come out like a request, nor did the way Rhett jerked his head toward the rear exit and hauled ass that way.Rear. Ass.Casey gave himself a mental head shake.Paging Dr. Freud…
The cool night air hit him like a slap, all clean pine and old smoke. The saloon noise dulled behind them, leaving only the rasp of their breathing and the slow drag of tension winding tight between them.
Casey followed, out through the fire door to the smokers’ patio, where, as soon as he was outside in the corner under the overhang, Rhett rounded on him. Casey figured that if he’d been anyone else, Rhett would’ve slammed him up against the wall.Not gonna happen.Not when Casey preferred to be the one doing the slamming. He held eye contact until Rhett dropped his raised hands. That was new—most men blinked first. Rhett didn’t. Even flustered, the rancher met him steady, the same way he might stare down a storm he couldn’t stop.
“What thehellwas that in there?” Rhett gritted out. “All that talk about handling the rods and fingering the balls and slamming one in the hole and whatever the fuck else crap you came out with or were meaning?”
“Don’t cuss. Warned ya about that before,” Casey replied automatically, while trying to pick apart the notes in Rhett’s voice. He heard confusion and disbelief as the loudest, which went some way toward helping him get the rancher’s measure. Rhett wasn’t bold and brash, for all he was big and broad, and he wasn’t exactly coming on to Casey. This needed a different approach.
The words came out easy, but the truth was his pulse had gone wild. Something about Rhett standing there—big, pissed off, and too close—hit every nerve wired for dominance. He wanted to see if the man would fight him or fall for him. Maybe both.
“That?That would be me flirting. With you,” Casey threw in, in case of doubt, because he sensed a lot of doubt in this man.
“What?” Rhett stumbled back a step. “You were coming on to me?Me?Who you called ‘a foul-mouthed, short-tempered, narrow-minded hick’?”
His perfect but partial recall had Casey smirking. “I did,” he agreed. “You left out that I also said I want to fuck you…which still stands.”
Rhett didn’t reply, but not for lack of trying. He opened his mouth, and, when nothing came out, closed it again. Which was when it struck Casey. Rhett wasn’t…well, he was out, but not experienced.
“You’ve never been with a man?” he asked, before he could stop himself. “But that supermarket guy…”Is his first date with a man.The words sounded as loud in his head as if someone had spoken them in his ear, and his skin crawled at the thought of that blond surfer dude being Rhett’s…first.
“…is all wrong for you, and you know it,” he finished, a slow smile tugging at his lips. “You ain’t gonna let him fuck you, when you know I’m a better man for you.”
“Better…man?” Rhett repeated, staring hard at Casey as if trying to see his shifter form. His eyes flared, as though he caught a glimpse of it. Casey hadn’t been aware of any of the subtle flashes of power he gave off as an alpha, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been one. Any humans that caught one tended to feel uncomfortable, like prey did before a predator. Like the hare they’d chased earlier. But Rhett didn’t look uneasy.Interesting.
And talking of, Casey hadn’t shifted that long ago, which meant his senses were still a little coywolfy. Enough, anyway, for him to detect Rhett’s scent—which was Rhett’s alone.
“What— Are yousniffingme? Why?” Rhett sounded more curious than scared and didn’t step back when Casey crowded his space.
“Just checking that you haven’t let anyone else tap this,” he replied, bringing his hand around to Rhett’s ass and copping a feel. Mmm, meaty and muscular, the butt cheek filling his palm nicely, and then some. Casey’s favorite.
“What business would that be of yours?” Rhett asked slowly—and not attempting to free himself from Casey’s hold.Even more interesting.
“Because I’m gonna be your first. You know that, right?”
He didn’t know what Rhett would have answered, because a blond figure pushed itself through the door and a California-tinged voice demanded, “What is goingonhere?”
“Greg.” Casey’s smile turned razor-sharp. “Funny—you always show up right when things get interesting.”
Chapter Five
“Really?” Greg snapped. He looked from Casey to Rhett. “Well? Either of you got an answer for me? In case you both went deaf, or didn’t catch it, my question is ‘what the hell is this?’ Oh, not just out here”—he waved a finger around the patio space—“but in there as well, with you two?”
Rhett wished he had an answer. On paper, there was nothing going on between him and Casey. They’d met, what, three times? Not many more. They barely knew each other! But while there was nothing going on between them…there was plentybetweenthem.
“Well, sugar? Aren’t you gonna answer the nice man’s question?” Casey drawled.
