Mountain Moonlight (20 page)

don’t we?”

“With my brother, yeah, I’m afraid so. But if  it’s any comfort, I believe he’s in love with you.”

Katya snorted. “That’s highly unlikely.  He hates me. He thinks I deliberately  seduced him to take him as my mate. Which, by the way, I didn’t. I had…a rough night  that night.  Then I drank too  much brandy  to numb the shock,  and one thing led to another.”

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Chantal  held up her hand. “You  don’t need to explain to  me. I  believe you. And trust me. I know Conner. If he didn’t love you, I wouldn’t still be  here. He’d have railed and complained and done whatever  necessary to get me on a plane out of here as fast  as possible. The last thing he’d want is my help.”

“And?”

“He asked me to stay. To help him figure  a way that he could work things out with

you.”

She found that hard to believe, and was irritated at the sense of  hope she felt at  Chantal’s statement. “He told you this?”

“Not in so many words, but that was the  gist of our conversation.  Trust me, Katya,he’s got it bad for you. All you have to do now is take the upper hand, and move in for the kill.”

Yes, she liked Chantal more and more  every minute she spent with Conner’scunning sister. She’d given Katya hope that  maybe her feelings for Conner weren’tunfounded. Perhaps their relationship  wasn’t completely doomed to failure.

If she could give a little, maybe Conner would too.

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Chapter Eleven

“Don’t you have business to attend to in San Francisco?”

For three days Conner  had dealt with Chantal underfoot, picking away at him until

he had no choice but to  sit down and listen  to her harp about his  treatment of Katya. He  tapped his fingers on the desk and waited.

“Of course  I have business in San Francisco. Well, moving in, anyway. The job  doesn’t start for another few weeks,  so until then I’m all yours.”

He looked to the heavens for intervention.  “Oh, joy.  I’m sure Mom and Dad wouldlove to see you.”

“Quit evading the issue. Pull your head  out of your ass and make some headway with Katya.”

“Katya is a stubborn, unreasonable pain in the ass.”

Chantal smirked. “Funny, she said the same thing about you.”

“That figures.” Lord, save him from his own family. “I’m doing fine.”

“You are not. You’ve made no progress at  all with the ministry, you can’t even get your foot in the door  and Katya won’t speak to you. Aren’t you two mated orsomething?”

“Yes.” Not that anyone could tell. The cold castle had become even more frigid over the last few days.

“I haven’t seen the two of you occupy the same room, let alone a bedroom, since I came here.”

“She’s being obstinate.”

Arching her brows, Chantal said, “So  are you. Meet her halfway, Conner.  Otherwise you’re wasting your time here. Her people won’t follow you if she doesn’t.”

Tired of hearing this same speech from his  brother and sister, he said, “Yeah, they  will. I’m alpha. They have no choice.”

“Haven’t you ever seen another male take over a pack?”

“Yeah. But it won’t happen here. I’m much  stronger than any of their males.”

“Famous last words.” Chantal examined  one long, red fingernail. “I’ll miss you

when they beat you to a bloody pulp in their takeover.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She stood and stretched, then headed to  the window. “Even now, they’re plotting

against you.”

“You watch too much television.”

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“I’m watching out the  window, you idiot.  There are at least a dozen males huddled  together, and occasionally glancing up here  at the office. Do you think they’re planning a surprise birthday party for you? Come  on, Con. They see how unhappy Katya is.  They’re worried about the future of their pack. They don’t see you as a leader. The  tension around this place is thick. Everyone’s worried about their future. If you can’t  gain Katya’s  cooperation and trust, how will you ever gain theirs?”

Fuck. He didn’t need this. He’d already  apologized once. He goddamn well wasn’t  going to do it again.

“You might be right. I do need  her. For cooperative reasons only.”

“Of course.”

She didn’t believe him, judging by the smirk she tried unsuccessfully to hide. Hedidn’t really care. He’d do what  he had to do  to gain Katya’s assistance in the planning efforts for the wolves, but that was it.  If she wanted him to touch her again,
 
she’d
 
damn well have to get on her knees and  beg, because he was no woman’s puppy dog.

Apologizing to her the first time had been  a critical error on his part. It wouldn’t happen again. He could live without his mate’s love. What the fuck would he do with love anyway? It just caused problems and he had enough problems to deal with.

“I’ll go talk to her.”

Chantal crossed her arms and graced  him with a satisfied smile. “Good.”

But on his  terms, not hers. He stood and  headed for the door. No time like thepresent to get the unpleasant business out of the way.

“She’s in love with you, you know.”

He stopped and turned. “No, she’s not.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“That means I’m not telling you how I know. I just know.”

He narrowed his gaze on his sharply cunning sister. “You made it up.”

“If you say so.”

Damn Chantal for putting that thought  in  his head. Did Katya  love him? How could she possibly have any feelings for him at  all, other than hatred? He’d pushed her away by not including her in  pack business, not once, but twice. He’d accused her of deliberately entrapping him into a mate bond.  It wouldn’t make any sense for her to bein love with him.

“Don’t screw with me, Chantal. I need to know.”

His sister shrugged. “Then you’re asking  the wrong person. Go ask Katya how she

feels.”

“No fucking way.”

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“Your choice, Con. Good luck. I’m going to  go soak in the tub.” She walked past  him and stopped, throwing her arms around him for a quick hug. Just as quickly, she  pulled away and said, “Not many of us are  fortunate enough to find someone willing to put up with us. I’d say you’re one of the lucky ones. What you choose to do with that  knowledge  is up to you, but if you screw up  again, you’re never going to get another  chance.”

She turned and walked out of the office,  leaving him standing there more confused

than ever.

How far would Chantal go to placate Katya? His sister would never do anything to hurt him that much he knew for certain. Their family was tight and always honest with each other. Brutally honest.

If he took what his sister said as truth, then  the game  changed considerably. Ormaybe it wasn’t a game at all, and he had  to quit looking like it as some kind of challenge he had to win.

Shaking his head, he went in search of Katya, formulating what  he was going to say when he found her. She was nowhere to be  found in the castle. Elena told him she’d

gone outside to enjoy the day.  It was unseasonably warm and she said Katya liked  to  take a swim in the heated pools. Armed with  directions to the water, he headed outside  and into the woods.

God, how long had it been since he’d shifted and run wild? It seemed like that was a distant part of his past, never to  be repeated again. Would he ever have that kind offreedom again?

The need grew stronger as he forged deeper  into the forest. Not paying the slightest bit of attention to the fallen logs and branches, he used his senses to step over anything blocking his path.

The air cooled considerably, the sunlight  partially blocked by the heavy branches overhead. Conner stopped and inhaled, closing his eyes when he picked up Katya’s scent.

He was amazingly in  sync with her, even  though they were at odds. Sucking in abrain-clearing whiff of air, he frowned when  he realized the air carried the musk of arousal.

Her arousal. Distinct, her sweet perfume  entered his senses and shot straight between his legs, readying his cock for mating.

So enticing, he’d follow her scent anywhere.

But wait. Why the hell was she aroused when she wasn’t with him? Fury rolled through him and a fierce possessiveness kicked in.

Godammit! Katya was
 
his
 
mate.
 
His
 
woman. No other man was allowed to  touch her.

If she was with someone else, he’d kill the guy. Taking more determined steps, he

followed her scent, churning branches in his way like a bear on a rampage.

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Yeah, he was on a fucking rampage, all right. God help  the man who touched her

because he wouldn’t be able to control himself.

Her scent grew stronger as he spotted a clearing ahead, charging in that direction

until he pushed through the thick branches and stopped.

The vision before him wasn’t what  he’d expected to see at all.

Katya was alone, naked, lying on the banks of a steamy pool of water, her fingers roaming between her legs. Her eyes were shut,  feet flat on the ground, knees bent, the position offering him a perfect  view of  her pussy. Moisture glistened around the swollen lips, seeping down the crack of her ass.

When she moaned he hardened fully, fighting back a desperate urge to divebetween her legs and lick up all that cream until she cried out,  her screams echoing through the forest.

Would she scramble away if he approached  her? God, he hated disturbing theerotic scene in front of him. Maybe he could linger quietly for a while and just watch.  Then again, with Katya’s lupine senses, she’d  figure out soon enough that he  was there.

Deciding to  meet her on equal ground, he  pulled off his jacket and shirt and shed his jeans and boots, then stepped out of  the woods and onto the soft grass.

He’d no more cleared the trees than she  stopped and opened her eyes, staring

directly at him. But rather than  jumping to  her feet and reaching for her clothes, she shifted up on her elbows and watched him approach, her face devoid of expression. He  had no idea whether she was happy or irritated to see him.

His desire was quite evident, hardening  further when her gaze focused on his  erection. He sat down next to her on the grassy bank.

“Still angry at me?”

“Fiercely.”

Shit. Okay, maybe a neutral conversation first, just to break the ice between them a  little. “Taking a swim?”

Her lips curled in a sardonic smile. “No, I was masturbating.”

He laughed. “So I noticed. Damn, Katya. That’s hot.”

“Glad you thought so.  Then again, I
 
had
 
planned to do it alone.”

That was probably his  signal to get up and leave. The problem was he didn’t want  her doing it alone. He didn’t want to do it  alone. His cock belonged in her pussy. Today, tomorrow, forever. It was time  to force thoughts of sex away and talk to  Katya about  their problems.

“Katya, we need to talk.”

She tilted her head to the side, looked  him up and down, and  shook her head. “I  don’t think so.”

He knew she’d make this difficult. “Look,  I know you don’t want to talk about us,

but we have to.”

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“You don’t understand, Conner. You’re right. We do need to talk. About a lot of things. But not right now. You walked in on  me  when I was close to coming. So like it or not, you need to take care of my immediate problem. The rest of it we’ll talk about later. Right now I’m horny as hell, my cunt aches  and I need you inside  me. I need to come.”

Holy shit. Maybe they were closer  to a consensus than he thought.

* * * * *

Katya chewed her bottom lip and waited for Conner’s response.

Suggesting he make love to her hadn’t been  on the top of her list when she’d seenhim walking toward her, naked and aroused.  She should have stood and ordered himto leave her alone so she could have her privacy. Her visions while masturbating had been of him doing exactly what he’d done—show up in the forest naked and erect, ready to fuck her like she needed to be fucked.

She realized that now was the time to either move their relationship forward, or end it completely. They may be at odds in  many areas, but sex wasn’t one of them. And that was a starting point to breach the distance between them.

“Well?” she asked, impatient for his response.

His lips curved upward. “I was at a loss for words.”