Page 141 of Blood and Trouble

“Not a chance.”

“Some things never change,” I muttered. “Take them off, pet.”

She widened her eyes at the use of the honorific but stepped out of them, bending to pick them up and place them by the door. Now standing barefoot, she put her hands behind her back, trained to await further instructions.

My wolf howled, pleased with her willing submission. How had I ever gotten so damned fortunate to have her, to call her mine?

“You get one minute head start. When I catch you, I’m going to ravage you, no matter where we are.”

She balked and looked around. We were farther out on the property, surrounded by woods, but we still had neighbors. Talon’s cabin wasn’t too far away, certainly close enough to hear her if she screamed, and Moose lived just on the other side of the treeline.

“The pack…won’t someone see?” She bit her bottom lip.

“Better make sure you run in the right direction,” I teased, stepping closer so I could lean down to her ear. “The rest of the pack is up at the main house. No one will hear you.”

It was both a promise and a threat. No one was coming to save her, not from me, not ever.

“What’s your safeword, pet?” I asked.

“Paris,” she said.

I looked to Poe. “And yours?”

“Fiver,” Poe replied.

“Good. Now, go.”

She hurdled down the steps and raced into the woods, the fabric of her dress billowing behind her.

“You,” I said to Poe, and he raised his eyebrows. “If you catch her first, I’ll do whatever you want. Tie me up, edge me, torture me. If I catch her first, I’ll make you earn it.”

Poe licked his lips, the flush in his cheeks revealing just how much either scenario appealed to him.

“Do I get a head start, too?” he teased.

“Hmm, so greedy.” I grabbed his chin with my fingers on one cheek and my thumb on the other, forcing his face up to me. “But I am a merciful wolf, and you’re such a pretty boy. How can I resist?”

He nearly wilted, his pulse pounding against my palm, his loyalty and arousal spilling over our connection.

“Do you think you can win, pretty boy?” I growled.

“I sure hope not,” he whimpered.

With a little shove, I released him and jerked my chin toward the treeline. “Go.”

He pressed up to give me one last kiss before turning on his heel and taking off after our wife.

Sure, according to the state of Montana and the rest of the human world, I was only legally married to Ava Vanderbilt-Mitchell. But what the fuck did I care about human laws? In my heart, I was as much married to Poe as I was to Ava, and them to each other.

I smiled as I waited my remaining forty-five seconds, relishing the filthy domesticity we’d created for ourselves. The old Lycan would have hated it. Despite the primal play and the promise of having my deviant way with Poe, he would have turned his nose up at being so devastatingly devoted to only two people for the rest of eternity.

But that guy was a fucking lost cause, a man who called himself evil and drowned his emotions in a bottle of whiskey or between a stranger’s legs. The man standing here today had no room for that.

I counted down the last few seconds and descended the steps to the ground, inhaling the freshly mowed grass and the warm summer air.

Yes, this was peace. And I loved every second of it.

POE