Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(9)

As she reached the doorway, Mason said, “I hope to see you again soon, Miss Drake.”

“Uh-huh,” she said without even looking at him.

Madisyn followed a growling Bracken to the elevator. He jabbed the “Down” button hard. Anger was coming off him in waves, stirring her cat’s temper and prodding Madisyn’s patience. She couldn’t blame him for being annoyed that his night had been interrupted, but she hadn’t asked him to come.

A mild itch raced up her arm just as little contractions racked her womb. Fucking ow. This shit often happened when she was around strong, dominant males—as if her body sensed they could take care of the touch-hunger. And Madisyn did the only thing she could do. She hid it.

The elevator doors opened with a ding. They stepped inside, and he was still growling. Patience gone, she burst out, “Would you stop?”

Bracken ground his teeth. “The smell of your blood is pissing me off.” It offended both him and his wolf that someone had hurt her. The beast wanted to hunt them down and make them pay, uncaring that they were females. “They should never have touched you.”

Did it surprise Bracken that she’d taken on three dominant bears? No. She was a fucking nut. Did it surprise him that she’d overpowered them all? Well, yeah, considering they were sows—female bears were known to be even more vicious than the males. Yet, she’d escaped the encounter with nothing more than a few shallow claw marks on her face. That kind of strength was a turn-on for any dominant male, and he was no exception. Neither was the goddamn tiger.

Madisyn blinked as he snatched Mason’s business card out of her hand and tore it up. “What is with you?”

“Like I told him, you don’t need his help. Where’s the rest of your group?”

“What group?”

“The people you came with.”

“I came alone.”

Bracken stilled. “You came alone?” His wolf snapped his teeth, because that meant she hadn’t come here on a girls’ night out. She’d come here to fuck. A muscle in his cheek ticked. “I doubt your boyfriend will like that.”

Surprised he knew she’d been dating anyone, Madisyn frowned. “That’s over.” And she was offended that he’d think she would cheat on anybody.

“So you came here to fuck him out of your system.” Which didn’t bother Bracken. At all. Really. His wolf? That was different. The only thing that kept the beast’s dark temper in check was that there was no smell of sex on her. “How cliché.”

Madisyn snickered. “Give me a holler when you want your balls back, Slater—they’ve been in my purse for a while now.”

Bracken’s mouth twitched. “I wondered where they were.”

Madisyn just sniffed. She wanted to be alone. Her skin itched, and her nerves were frazzled. Worse, the spasms in her stomach were getting stronger, which was a sure sign that her libido would soon kick into gear. And it did not help that he was right there. With his long legs, strong build, and powerful presence, he seemed to take up all the space around him and suck the air right out of the elevator.

She huffed. “Could you move over a little instead of eating up all my personal space?”

Instead of snapping back at her, he slowly arched a brow. Even growly, he was all cool and controlled, whereas she was snippy and on edge. That only frustrated her more.

“Someone ate a full bowl of Bitch Flakes this morning.”

“Dude, I ate two.”

The elevator doors slid open, and he caught her arm. “Let’s get—” He frowned. “You’re hot.”

She pretended to misunderstand. “Well, thanks, Slater. Gotta admit, I didn’t think you liked me. Although I have noticed that your eyes stray to my breasts a lot.”

Well, they appeared to be very nice breasts—small but round and plump. Bracken would wax the crack of his ass before he’d admit she was right. He snorted. “I’ve eaten chicken breasts that were bigger than your tits.”

“And I’ve worn heels that are longer than the dick you appear to be packing,” Madisyn shot back. She stiffened as her skin tightened and prickled unbearably, as if something was stretching it. Used to the weird sensations, she ground her teeth as she rode the wave. Suddenly, Bracken was looming over her.

“What’s wrong?”

She forced her back teeth to unlock as the sensations faded away. “Is that a trick question? I was just attacked by three sows.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re hurting.” His eyes swept over her. “Where?”

“I have a headache, that’s all. Are we going or what?”

Shooting her a skeptical look, he pulled her out of the elevator. She didn’t want him touching her—his grip felt like a brand, and she seemed to feel it all the way to her bones. She didn’t like it at all. But pulling away from him wouldn’t work. It seemed best to let him lead her outside. The sooner they were out of there, the sooner she could get home.

Madisyn expected him to walk in front of her to block other bodies from touching her. Instead, he walked at her side as they crossed the dance floor, his hand on the back of her head, his body keeping hers neatly under the shelter of his shoulder as if he were a bodyguard escorting a celebrity through a crowd.

People exchanged respectful nods with him and briefly glanced at her, and she knew they wouldn’t forget seeing her with Bracken. Knew they’d get the message that she was under his protection. She also knew that was exactly why he’d done it.