Whiskey and Wolves: Book One: Shifters and Sins Read online

  Noelle jerked her chin for him to follow. He slipped out of the room. Noelle left the door open a crack and followed him into the living room.

  Heat flared inside him and his wolf paced through his head. Soft colors, children’s toys, pictures on the wall. The entire house was a home. He wasn’t used to being in such a space. He’d expected to want to run every single time he visited and helped with Sienna, but the unease churning in his stomach stemmed more from the expectation of the feeling than the urge itself.

  Fresh panic lodged in the back of his throat. The place had begun to feel more than temporary. His pushback on his wolf’s desires was less frequent, not as forceful, like he knew he lied to himself when he silently claimed he’d be gone in days.

  Dangerous. Noelle and Sienna had mired him in their lives. His presence made them targets.

  Noelle studied him with eyes almost as unnaturally bright as a shifter’s. “You don’t need to sit out there all night. We have a couch.”

  Jensen snorted. “Woman, the elements aren’t my concern.”

  “No,” she huffed a laugh. She ran her fingers through her hair, brushing the mass back so it fell to one side of her face and exposed her neck. “No, I suppose they aren’t. Must be nice to have a built-in fur coat.”

  Jensen nearly groaned. She couldn’t know what that meant. The submissive posture, giving herself up to him. His fingers itched to reach for her.

  He slashed his eyes away from her before she could see the gold of his. “You should get to bed. I’ll stay up. You’ll be safe.”

  She let go of a soft breath. “I don’t think I’m going to sleep a wink.”

  The sweet scent of almonds and vanilla filled up the room. Pulled him under and threatened to drown him. He needed to get clear.

  Except, he didn’t want to. His wolf pushed him closer. His own desire made him want to be bad. The good and honorable thing would be to take up a sentry position on the porch, but knowing she tossed and turned in her bed... That was a temptation he couldn’t pass up.

  “You play poker?”

  “Not the strip kind, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

  Jensen swept his eyes down her frame and right back up, lingering at the juncture between her legs, her waist, her breasts. Fuck, she was hot. Her pupils were wide when he returned his slow perusal back to her face. Red splashed across her cheeks. But she didn’t look away.

  He shrugged. “If it’s off the table.”

  What? He was a man, and she smelled delicious. Right then, amusement tinged her sweet scent despite her rolled eyes.

  “I think I have a pack of cards around here somewhere. And probably some buttons. I don’t exactly run a betting house.”

  She disappeared into the hallway. Jensen cocked his head and listened to the sounds of her rustling around in a closet. She returned a moment later with a worn deck and plastic tub.

  He followed her into the kitchen and pulled out her chair for her. With a gracious nod, she took a seat and let him push her into place.

  Manners. She was a nice, decent woman who deserved a man with manners. Besides, the small gesture let him get close enough for another whiff of her scent and a tiny brush of his fingers against her shoulders.

  He took a seat at the corner, angled just enough so their knees bumped against each other. Noelle shifted away the first time, then relaxed at the second. The heat of her warmed him. A slow burn started in his leg and worked through his body, searing the awareness of her into his every nerve ending.

  Jensen reached for the pack and dumped out the cards into his hands. They were bent and old, corners rubbed smooth. He quickly shuffled them and dealt the first hands while she divvied up a pile of mismatched buttons.

  “We haven’t really talked about how you’re taking this,” she started.

  “Or what you’re feeling about it. I don’t want to ruin any routines you have in place.”

  “Tonight? Don’t worry about it. She asked you to read. I was happy to get the dishes done while someone else entertained her.” Noelle peeked at her cards and tossed a button between them. “I never expected to be sitting here with you. Especially after... Well, you know.”

  He couldn’t forget. He’d fucked his way across several states, but she’d haunted his dreams for half a decade. One night was all they had. Nothing more, nothing less. But she stuck with him. Her scent, the feel of her skin under his palms. Hell, even how she felt around his cock.

  Jensen shifted in his seat to ease some of the pressure from his zipper. “Just looking for a little one night stand, eh?”

  “Yeah, basically,” she turned her face away from him, shaking her head slightly with a silent laugh. “Isn’t that what everyone does after a bad breakup? I was always of the cut my hair and burn his stuff sort of girl. Figured I might as well try out the rebound track at least once.”

  A quiet growl rumbled in his chest. “Was he bad to you?”

  She stayed silent for a moment. “He never hit me, if that’s what you mean. He didn’t need to, I guess. The words were enough. He made me feel small and insignificant. Little things added up. Questioning my clothes, my hair, my friends, how much I talked to my mother, what I ate. I hated going home after my internship and I hated getting up in the morning because he’d start all over again. I’m ashamed at how long it took before I had enough, but I finally left and moved back here.”

  “There is nothing wrong with you.” His wolf snarled at the ex of her past. Little boys—not real men—treated their females like objects to control. The asshole didn’t know what a strong woman he had on his hands. Or maybe he did, and felt threatened.

  Noelle shot him a pleased smile. “I wonder what would have happened if I’d gone anywhere else that night. I’d been warned not to go to that bar. All the rumors said it was filled with animals. I never thought that was a literal description.”

  “Common trick, before we were outed. Put just enough truth in the lie that no one will really inspect. And keep to trashy bars in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Well, it worked. We moved here when I was already in my teens. I never suspected anything other than weirdness from this town. I went through the last two years of high school, moving away for my teaching degree, then coming back home without a clue. Sienna opened up my eyes to an entirely different world. And not just because she was a wolf some of the time.”

  “Was it hard?”

  “It wasn’t a walk in the park, that’s for sure. Honestly, it’s been harder the last year than when she was still an infant. At least then it was easier to hide the sudden appearance of a wolf pup in the stroller.” Noelle frowned at the button he pushed forward, then added one of her own. “You couldn’t have appeared at a better time. Thank you for helping. It’s been nice seeing you two bond.”

  Jensen’s wolf chuffed with pride at her approval.

  “Now you’re here, playing poker with me while our daughter is asleep in the next room, and I hardly know anything about you.”

  “Mmm, those aren’t good bedtime stories.” He reached for the deck and laid out three cards between them to start the next round.

  Noelle canted her head, green eyes filling with sadness. “Will you tell me?”

  He rolled his shoulders to relax the tension there. He’d wanted to rip apart any Slayer that came within a mile of Noelle and Sienna, but it was memories of growing up that truly bothered him. He couldn’t hit those into submission. “Not much to tell. My old man was an enforcer in his pack. Good, upstanding people. Any step out of line was a reflection on him.”

  “And you didn’t stick just a toe over the line, did you?”

  “No,” he grinned wolfishly. “I jumped miles over it.”

  “Rebellious Mr. Wolf,” she laughed.

  “You don’t know the half of it.” He matched her button bet. “The harder he pushed me to be his perfect copy, the more I misbehaved. I ran with the rough pups. We fought and ignored curfews and stole booze for rowdy parties in the woods.
School was made to be skipped and rules existed just for breaking.”

  “Let’s hold off on telling Sienna that’s a possibility. Ever.”

  Jensen chuckled. “Agreed. She can stay in school and be as smart as her mother.”

  A light dusting of red washed over Noelle’s cheeks. “I guess it was an easy jump from delinquent to bad boy biker?”

  Jensen slowly turned over the next card between them.

  “The last fight I had with my old man was the day I bought my first bike. Earned with my own money, mind you. I had a nice side hustle selling booze and cigarettes to the other miscreants.” The joke didn’t misdirect her. Green eyes still pinned him in place and demanded his words. “He kicked me out while my mother sobbed into her hands behind him. Said I’d never amount to anything, and he was done bailing me out. I was on my own from that day forward and couldn’t call the pack home. I followed his prediction up on a grand scale.”

  He eyed her across the table. He’d never felt so naked in his life. But she needed to know. He had to let her see everything. Redemption wasn’t in the cards. He’d stem the problem with Sienna, but he couldn’t stick around.

  “I was on my own for maybe a month before I joined the Vagabonds. That little show the Slayers put on the other day was nothing compared to my old pack. We didn’t have a place to call home; we made one wherever we stopped. We’d sent them packing the night you walked into the bar, in fact. Brawled until they gave up and ran.”

  “Why did you leave?”

  “Because—” Jensen blew out a harsh breath. His wolf snarled at the mass of pain that still hadn’t healed. Viho hadn’t released them. They’d snapped that connection by force. The wound was still raw, even knowing the move was the right one. “Because my alpha wasn’t worthy of the title. Because I couldn’t watch innocent people get hurt. People in this life, they know what to expect. Everyone else is supposed to be off-limits.”

  “Did you steal?”

  Jensen nodded. “Ripped off others like us. Sold what we stole back to them. Sold our blood, too. Shifter blood isn’t as powerful as vamp blood, but it gets the job done.”

  Her throat worked. Her eyes dropped to the table, then flicked up to study him from under thick lashes. “Have you killed?”

  “You’re better off not knowing the answer to that,” he answered flatly.

  “I don’t think I am. You’re here, trying to be a father to our daughter. I need to know what you bring to the table.” She swallowed again, raising her face and holding him in a steady look. “Have you killed?”

  “Beaten. Maimed. Put down. Running with a pack isn’t like the human world. Everyone in the life knows rules are to be followed and the punishment when they aren’t.”

  “That doesn’t seem like such a bad code,” she murmured.

  “I’m not a good man, Noelle,” he warned in a low voice. “I’m trouble. I bring trouble. I don’t want that splashing back on you and the life you have here.”

  Even if he wanted a fresh start with a job that required him to wear a necktie and a scheduled day to mow the lawn, he couldn’t have it. The Slayers had made that clear with their eyes on Noelle. Past crimes, past contacts wouldn’t be easily forgotten. Even the wolves that left the Vagabonds with him had ganged up to fuck with his new life.

  She crawled her hand forward until hers rested on top of his. “I think you’re too hard on yourself. A bad man wouldn’t have walked into this mess willingly or left the previous one behind.”

  “A good man would have left that all behind years ago,” he objected. He flipped his hand and caught her fingers in his. He slowly rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “Maybe I just wanted a change.”

  “Well,” she started, voice low and throaty. Her eyes ducked, but she still watched him from under her thick lashes. “Well, is there anything you’d put down roots for?”

  Noelle swam in his vision, the younger version he’d had for a night and the older one right in front of him. She’d birthed their child, raised her into a confident, challenging pup. A couple extra pounds, a few fine lines, and experiences he couldn’t begin to imagine had matured her. Like a damn good whiskey, she’d grown better with age.

  As silence stretched between them, Noelle pushed to her feet and slowly rounded the corner of the table. She moved to cup his cheek, green eyes meeting his. “You’re a good man. I’m sure you’ll find where you belong one day.”

  Disappointment laced her scent and Jensen wanted to rip the world apart.

  His hand shot out and landed on her hip. He tugged and spilled her across his lap, his other hand snaking around to cup her neck. Her eyes blew wide with shock just as he claimed her lips. One slow sip exploded her taste on his tongue and he growled in pure pleasure.

  She tasted fucking amazing.

  Noelle gasped, her lips parting, and he swooped in. The teasing taste turned into a tangle of twisting tongues, nipped lips, and breaths caught in the back of throats. Her fingers curled into his chest, the tiny bite of pain forgotten in her soft moan.

  Exhilaration shot through him, curving up and down his spine. His wolf whined, growled, jumped in backflips.

  Mate.

  In his arms.

  He knew where he belonged. Disaster to stay there, but right then, that moment, he didn’t care. He had her in his lap, her taste on his tongue, her whimpers in his ears.

  One night. He could pretend to be a good man with a good future for one night.

  His wolf howled in victory.

  Chapter 9

  Noelle was lost. Memories of a night years ago were brought to the front of her mind by the harsh man kissing her within an inch of her life. His tongue twisted and stroked against her own, sliding her further into a state of molten heat that melted her down to nothing but desire for his touch.

  He trailed a hand up her side, over her ribs. He cupped her breast and squeezed, teasing her further. When he plucked her nipple through her shirt and bra, she moaned. His thick erection pressed under her ass and the hard hand still on her hip ground her against him.

  Bad man, he called himself. She saw the good hidden in his eyes. He’d been the quiet one the night she went to the bar looking to forget her hurts. Jeers and whistles and plainly stated innuendo greeted her ears, but he was the sole one to stay silent. She’d met his eyes across the room and picked him right then.

  If what he said was true and he wanted change in his life, was it too much to hope that he’d be happy with their little family?

  Jensen eased back, nipping at her lip. His eyes, pure gold at that moment, searched her face.

  Almost six years and she still burned under his gaze.

  He looped his arms under her knees and around her back and stood.

  Down the hall. Her heart beat a wicked pace against her breastbone. Through her bedroom door. Her mouth went dry.

  He laid her gently on the bed. “Noelle,” he growled.

  Eyes locked on his, she nodded.

  He reached over his head and yanked his tight t-shirt off his body. Gold eyes found hers again as the shirt dropped to the floor.

  “Fuck, gorgeous, do you know how much I’ve wanted to do this?” he gritted out. He toed off his boots, eyes still watching her.

  Noelle swallowed hard. Jensen was permanently etched in her brain as the hottest man she’d ever sleep with. The years since her first all-access experience had been more than kind to him. Black lines and patterns decorated his tan skin. A light dusting of dark hair disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. He wasn’t the bulkiest man in existence, but he was packed head to toe in powerful muscles that bunched and flexed with his every breath.

  And right then, he looked at her life she was the prize of a lifetime.

  Her fingers shook when she brushed them over the button on her jeans.

  “No.”

  The sharp growl stilled her movement. His knees pressed into the bed and he leaned forward, his fingers bunching up the hem of her shirt. He dragged her shirt up,
slow at first, revealing an inch of skin at a time. His growl returned with a rumble as soon as he reached the bottom swell of her breasts and he whipped her shirt off in an instant.

  He pressed her back to the bed, mouth finding hers in a quick kiss before blazing a path across her jaw and down her neck. He rolled his hips, thick erection rubbing right between her thighs. “I wanted to undress you slowly,” he said, his low voice sparking goose bumps up and down her arms. “I don’t think I can wait.”

  Noelle caught a helpless noise in the back of her throat. Holy heck, the man knew exactly what to say. Heat churned in her core at the pure desire dripping from his lips.

  “Don’t, then,” she dared.

  Jensen chuckled darkly as he bit the side of her breast. “You make my wolf want to show you who’s in charge when you get mouthy.”

  She dropped back her head when his teeth grazed against her nipple. Quick fingers reached under her and unsnapped her bra. Noelle untangled herself and threw the thing to the ground.

  “That’s what you like, isn’t it?” His hands smoothed over her skin, following the path of his mouth. “Knowing who’s in control? Who’s going to make you come?”

  “Yes,” she whimpered. The noise caught in her throat when his fingers curled into the waist of her jeans. A small dip below the fabric, he dragged his fingers from her sides to the middle and popped the button.

  Down and down. He trailed his mouth over every inch of skin he exposed until she was completely naked.

  He paused, sweeping eyes from her toes to her face. Open admiration tugged up one corner of his mouth into a dirty smirk. His heated gaze was enough to burn off any self-consciousness that lingered in her.

  Jensen knelt and yanked her closer to the end of the bed. His breath tickled against her skin and he bent over her stomach and licked a slow line up each of her stretch marks. “These are fucking gorgeous,” he said in a thick voice. “Sexy as fuck.”