Enticing Their Mate (Pack Wars #6)(16)

Sarah’s rigid discipline of remaining calm under extraordinary pressure collapsed for the second time in three days. Not only was she stunned, she had no idea if she should be wrapping an arm around Riley’s neck and a leg around his waist, or would it be better to push him away and act as if she’d never met him? Amy remained in the doorway with her mouth open.

Do what you want and lie about it later.

When Riley dragged his tongue along the seam of her lips, all rational thought disappeared. She’d woken up a few times during the night and dreamed about this exact moment. Ah, hell. She did what her body demanded. She kissed him back.

His erection made an indentation in her stomach and the sexual heat slammed into her so fast her breath caught. This was ridiculous. A man had never had an effect on her like this before, but then again, she’d never met a man like him—or Jay.

He broke the kiss. “Tonight? My place?”

How was she supposed to answer that? “Sure.”

He grinned, and as he headed out, Sarah stuffed the medicine in her pocket. Amy rushed in. “You’ve been keeping him a secret?”

If she believed that, Sarah would go with it. “Riley and I worked together at the old lab for a while. He was only there for a few weeks, but the sex was amazing.”

Amy grinned. “You go, girl. Word of advice, though. Be careful when Statler’s around.”

“Don’t tell me he caught you and Russ doing the nasty?”

“Almost. Russ can sense another werewolf a mile away, so we were able to move apart in time.”

“I’ll be sure to keep our relationship professional at work.”

“Smart. I came in to ask if you’d look at Belinda. She’s been having some abdominal pain.”

“That’s not good.” Right now, Sarah needed to make sure Amy didn’t suspect anything.

When she entered the other room, Belinda was holding her stomach. If Sarah had been held captive, she’d have faked an illness, too—anything to get out of there—but if Belinda was acting, she deserved an award. Shit. She hoped it wasn’t a burst appendix. Belinda would die without medical care.

“Where does it hurt?” The answer wasn’t going to come as a surprise.

“My stomach.”

“When did it start?”

“After I ate.”

She asked her a series of questions including the level of severity. As Sarah stood to find some medicine, she noticed Belinda’s wrists were bleeding from the restraints. “I’ll find some bandages, too.”

With each step, her hatred for Statler built. It didn’t matter that he’d stocked a small storage room with whatever medications she and a few others had been able to bring with them when the General had seized the lab. Statler was still uncaring and nasty.

The storage room was at the end of the corridor—the same hallway that housed Statler’s office. Walking quietly, she stepped inside the tiny room and scanned the shelves. After she gathered the bandages, she looked for something to help soothe Belinda’s stomach, hoping it was a case of indigestion.

The door behind her clicked open and she spun around, her heart nearly bursting.

“What are you doing here?” Someone would surely miss Riley and come looking for him. Thankfully, there were no surveillance cameras in the five by eight storage closet, but that didn’t mean they could stay in here and do wonderful things to each other’s bodies.

“I’m sorry if I upset you in the other room. I knew Amy was attached at the hip to Russ, and I didn’t know how to explain being so close to you.”

Well, that deflated her ego. “No problem. I told her that we dated at the lab.”

“I’m guessing Amy didn’t work there?”

“Right.”

Now that he’d said his peace, she thought he’d leave, but he just stared at her. Then as if she was watching a slow motion movie of someone transforming into a wolf, his incisors grew and his scruff darkened.

“Riley?”

* * *

Riley shouldn’t be there, but the moment he sensed Sarah was near, it was as if someone else had taken over his body. He’d always prided himself on being able to control his heart rate, his facial expressions, and his ability not to shift, but he’d never been tested like this before. Sarah did something to his equilibrium, and if he wasn’t careful, he could end up taking down this entire operation.


Because his kind only found their mate once in their life, he didn’t have any experience with this sort of thing. Jay seemed excited that Sarah was both of their mates, but there were too many pitfalls. Eventually, she’d find Jay easier to be with and then she’d tell Riley to take a hike. It was the story of his life.

Riley wasn’t strong enough, though, to walk away. If he could be with her just one time, he might be able to get her out of his system. One touch, one kiss, and then he could move on. Jay could pursue her and all would be good.

He cupped her shoulders. “I lied. I kissed you because I couldn’t help myself.”

Letting a woman know exactly what he was thinking probably wasn’t smart, but the hurt emanating from her eyes cut him deep.

“You couldn’t?” She glanced to the door, her gaze never leaving his face. “I’m honored, but we shouldn’t be here together.”