Long Howl Good Night (Night Fall Book 11) Read online

  “No, but it’s easier.”

  He nodded, his smile fading. “I get that. It’s a helluva lot easier for me to do what I have to when I remember what you are.”

  She gasped, shamed, her gaze sliding away. “Guess that’s fair,” she whispered.

  His hands gently cupped her face and raised it. “We’re going to assume you did what you had to do in order to make it through every full moon. I’ll be honest and say it’ll be hard not to be jealous as hell of every man who’s had you, sugar.”

  Aila lifted her chin. “You can let me walk. Then you won’t have that problem. Wait for the next breeder to come along. Someone without a tainted past.”

  His jaw tightened then relaxed. He let out a slow breath. “I haven’t been a choirboy either. I have no room to judge.”

  “I’ve been a choirboy,” Kynan said, giving her a sexy squeeze, “but I have to admit, I like a bad girl.”

  Jack’s rueful smile made her relax enough she give him one of her own.

  “That’s better,” he whispered. “You’re a pretty little thing, Aila Mack.”

  The compliment warmed her. She blinked away the moisture welling in her eyes. “You two really do mean to keep me, don’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Do really mind all that much?”

  Aila swallowed hard. “Guess not. It’s not like we have to be in love to make this work, right?”

  Chapter Five

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  Kynan caught Jack’s gaze over Aila’s shoulder and shook his head. Damn fool woman. Did she think once a man sank a barb that his heart wouldn’t follow?

  Sure, they’d thought it would take a damn sight longer to get her to accept their bond. But here they were, still a few hours before morning, and her surly guard had cracked wide enough for them push through. Aila Mack was theirs. She’d all but given them her promise to surrender.

  Kynan felt a little off-balance, realizing he hadn’t been the one to seal the deal. That surly, obstinate, crude Jack had gotten to her. Yeah, he was disappointed. She’d always draw closer to Jack, always seek him first when she needed comfort.

  He’d been happy to anticipate filling that role, never once believing his brother would mind. How selfish did that make him? He was a hypocrite and had really thought he was the better half of this union. Mad at himself, he shoved aside those thoughts for now. Time to get down to the business of turning their woman inside out.

  He ran his hands from her shoulders to her sweetly curved ass, enjoying the way her back shivered. Crawling over Jack’s legs, he scooted toward her, coming close enough to rest his cock between her soft globes while he leaned over her to lick behind her ear and tug the lobe with his teeth.

  She moaned and threw back her head, canting it to give him access to her neck and shoulder.

  He nibbled and kissed his way along her creamy skin while his hands molded her waist. He rutted against her buttocks, enjoying the surge of heat and hardness the motion gave his loins. “Ever had a man fuck your ass?” Kynan whispered in her ear.

  “Mmm…um…”

  “Fuck’s sake,” Jack growled. “’Course she has.”

  Kynan grimaced, finding it somewhat funny that Jack was outraged at his question, knowing it reminded Aila of her sordid past. “Sorry. How ’bout we agree not to talk about anyone’s sexual past. We’re starting new here.”

  “Do you think I should feel ashamed?” Aila bit out.

  Fuck, could he step any deeper into the hole he’d dug?

  “It’s all right, sugar,” Jack crooned, his gaze gleaming with amusement when it met Kynan’s. “My brother’s just a little clumsy. He didn’t mean to insult you, baby. He just wants to know if you can take him.”

  “Oh,” she said, her voice softening instantly. “It’ll be all right. If he wants…”

  “Oh, I want,” Kynan growled. “There’s not a part of you I don’t find hot as hell.”

  Jack rolled his eyes as if to say, Laying it on a little thick, bro?

  Kynan clamped his mouth closed and reached for the tube of lubricant he’d hidden beneath the pillow earlier. He twisted off the cap then squeezed a generous dab on the tip of his finger.

  His gaze fell to her ass and her tight little hole. His cock jerked against his belly, and he was tempted to lube himself that instant and squeeze inside her. He’d gotten so hard watching Jack lock with her that he’d felt his entire body tense in rebellion because it wasn’t him.

  The thought of how badly he wanted to be inside her, how much he wanted her complete attention while Jack’s erection waned enough so they could ease apart, made him feel the need to unleash a little violence.

  Only that wouldn’t be the best start. Not when Jack had gentled her with his own brand of domination and violence. Fuck, he’d have to wait. He leaned to lick a trail up her spine. “When I scoot back, I want you to push off his chest, just enough that I can touch your clit, sweetheart.”

  “Jesus,” she said, lifting her butt as far as she could.

  “Push up a bit more. I promise you’ll like this.”

  She planted her hands against Jack’s chest and lifted her chest from his.

  Kynan reached around her and pressed his palm against her belly, cradling it for a moment, while he spread a thick daub of lube around her asshole. He rubbed it in circles, painting it, teasing her until he felt faint vibrations beneath the palm cupping her lower abdomen.

  Then he inserted his index finger inside her, just the tip at first, waiting while she contracted around him then loosened to let him slide deeper. He tamped down his own arousal, letting hers take precedence, focusing all his skill on reading the signs to know when to push deeper, when to roll his hand to ease her sphincter, when to insert a second finger.

  Her back arched, and she raked her pussy forward and back. Yeah, Jack was getting the benefit of her slow, rocking glides, but he was the one inciting her. He pressed on her belly, massaging it while he began to pump his fingers in and out of her ass, moving close enough his chest supported her when she arched backward again.

  She rubbed her head against his shoulder, rolling it. “Feels so good… God, Kynan.” Her asshole began to flex, tightening, easing, and tightening again, just as he knew her pussy must be doing. He sneaked two fingertips into the top of her folds, swirling to find her hard little knot then rubbing harder.

  She gave a soft sob and bounced on his fingers, the movement slight because of her restriction, but she opened her thighs wider and tried to lower herself more to take him incrementally deeper. “Please, Kynan. Please, do you know how good that feels?”

  “Tell me, baby.”

  “I feel like I could fly apart,” she said tightly.

  “Then do.”

  “I need just a little more,” she whined.

  “More what, sweetheart? More of this?” He swirled faster on her clit.

  “No!” She jerked her head. “My ass. God, I need you in my ass.”

  “Don’t you like the way my fingers play?” he said, grinning at her growing desperation.

  “Love your hands, your goddamn fingers,” she said in a rush, “but fuck… I need your cock. Please, please.”

  His brother gave him a little lift of his chin, the signal that freed him from his agreed-upon role as the gentle wolf in this seduction. He pulled his fingers from her ass and from her between her legs.

  Aila crumpled over Jack’s chest.

  His brother cupped her head, fisting his hand in her hair and gave her a hard kiss, while Kynan quickly lubed his cock. Then he grabbed her ass again, molding it, lifting it a little higher. He placed the tip of his dick against her tiny furled hole and pushed.

  A thin, plaintive wail and the tightening of her buttocks warned him to slow down. Breathing hard through his nostrils, he gripped a hip then fed his dick slowly through his hand, soothing himself while he eased more gently into her tiny puckered hole.

  Her muscles clamped around him, but he circled his hips, screwing slowly into her. W
hen he popped past the tight ring, he groaned in relief.

  Her head fell against Jack’s shoulder, and his brother cupped her head, kissed her cheek. “Relax, baby. Let him in,” he crooned.

  Since when had Jack become the nice wolf? But Kynan couldn’t think. He screwed a little deeper, savoring the sensation of her heat surrounding him. He pulled away his hand and pumped in shallow, easy strokes inside her. His jaw sagged at the incredible sensations. His breaths grew choppy. “Aila…”

  “S’all right,” she said, her words slurred. “Fuck me, Kynan.”

  Jack pressed another kiss against her cheek, then cupped her shoulders and pushed her from his chest. He nibbled her jaw, sucked on her earlobe, and all the while stared at Kynan, warning him with his glittering gaze to go easy.

  But Kynan didn’t think he could. Her sphincter tightened. Something snapped inside him. He lunged his hips, stroking deeper. Pushing her forward then tugging her back when he withdrew.

  She fucked Jack’s cock and Kynan’s, her back dipping and bowing while her cries thinned into broken howls. When she came, her muffled scream released him, and he pounded against her, letting loose in a flurry of punishing drives until his body tightened, his balls cramped, and he exploded.

  Spent, he leaned over her, pressing her harder against Jack’s chest, but he couldn’t move for a moment, could only drag air into his lungs in jagged rasps.

  Then a sound penetrated his blissful haze—scuffling footsteps coming from the living room.

  His gaze went to Jack’s, which narrowed in fury. He pulled free from Aila’s ass, grabbed a wad of tissues and rubbed his cock while he headed to the door, lifting a bat from behind it. He stood at the side, listening, while his brother’s breaths hissed between his teeth as he too pulled away from Aila.

  Silently, Jack reached for the handgun he kept beneath the bed and crept to the door, holding a finger to his lips for them both to remain silent.

  They didn’t dare look back at Aila, and Kynan hoped like hell she was hiding. When the bathroom door clicked, he relaxed and stepped into the hallway.

  Jack followed on his brother’s heels, slipping into the short hallway, following the sounds of the intruder as the bastard made his way through the living room. One set of footsteps was all he heard. The scent of one male, tinged with wolf musk, was all it took to tug his body into a partial shift. Hair sprouted, teeth pushed through his gums, but he forced himself to halt the transition, needing to think but wanting the extra strength the beast brought with it.

  With his hands gripping his gun, his finger on the trigger, the nozzle pointed downward, he kept close to his brother’s back, his focus on the threat. At the end of the hallway, his brother held up his free hand, cocked his head and sniffed the air to determine where the man slinking inside stood. Then Kynan lunged forward with his bat raised.

  Jack leapt around him, raising his arm to fire, but the intruder kicked, knocking the gun from his hand. Jack sprang for the man and took him to the ground. Low, hate-edged growls rumbled through the intruder as the two men rolled, grappling and slamming fists into sides. Both were evenly matched in size, both had shaken out a little fur to increase their strength.

  Jack had no doubts who their solitary intruder was. Instinct told him the anger roaring through his adversary was personal. The two men traded bone-crushing blows to their sides and chins. When teeth bit into his arm, Jack roared and slammed a fist against the other man’s temple.

  The cabin door crashed open; an overhead light flickered on. “Jack Parker,” came a feminine voice. “You can back off now.”

  Jack struck the man beneath him again then shook his head, the blood-haze fading, the beast retreating. Panting over his adversary, he glanced up to find a tall, slender brunette holding a weapon aimed at his heart. She was flanked by four men dressed in black SWAT gear. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Why, darlin’, I’m hurt you don’t recognize me,” she said, her Southern accent as thick as her honeyed sarcasm.

  Jack grunted and climbed off the unconscious man. “Samantha. I didn’t know you paid all your agency’s clients personal visits. I thought you’d call first.”

  Her head tilted, her almond eyes sparkling with hard-edged humor. “After all the attention this one little bitch has received, I had to come myself.” She nudged the unconscious man. “We’ve been waiting for this one to show his face. We’ve been tracking him ever since Aila became one of my girls.”

  Jack bit back a growl and stood, hands raised because she hadn’t lowered her weapon, and it was still pointed at his heart. One of her crew stepped toward Jack and kicked away the weapon he’d forgotten on the floor beside him.

  Jack drew a deep breath and glanced over at his brother, who was sprawled with another black-garbed man pressing a knee into his back.

  “This how you do business?” Jack said, anger beginning a slow build. “I’m surprised you ever have repeats.”

  She arched a dark brow. “Don’t be coy. You know why I’m here. The man you just knocked senseless is Joseph McLean. Aila’s husband.

  “Not my husband,” came a quiet response. Jack glanced over his shoulder to find Aila hovering at the entrance to the hall, a sheet wrapped around her body. Her gaze went to the man still unmoving at Jack’s feet. “We never consummated the marriage. Papers were never filed.”

  “Makes it less messy.” Samantha tilted her head toward the door. “We’ll give you a ride back to the city, Aila.”

  Aila hesitated with her arms wrapped around her middle. Her gaze slid over Kynan, who couldn’t lift his face from the floor, then landed on Jack. Her expression was closed and brittle. Just like every other time she’d been scared.

  Rage burned through Jack, and he took a step forward.

  Samantha tsked, and the men behind her raised their weapons to point his way.

  Jack looked back at Aila who still hadn’t budged. “Aila…?”

  She shook her head. “I told you he wouldn’t quit.”

  “Doesn’t matter. If he tries again, I’ll kill him. I’ll keep you safe.”

  “We’ll keep you safe,” came his brother’s muffled voice.

  Aila’s chin quivered. “I’m trouble. A hooker. You can do better than me.”

  “Aila, come on, baby,” Samantha said, her voice softer. “You don’t have to depend on any man to keep you safe. I’ll always have your back.”

  Her glance cut to Samantha. “How’d you know he was coming?”

  “Someone hacked our system. They opened your file, your datebook. As soon as we discovered the breach, I organized a team. We can take care of this scumbag, permanently, if you like.”

  Aila shook her head, gazing down at the large, burly body of the man who could have been her husband. “I don’t want him killed. Banged up a bit. But maybe just a warning…?”

  Samantha’s mouth crimped in disapproval, but she nodded. “We’ll have him delivered back to his clan.”

  “My clan…”

  “Not anymore,” Jack ground out. “Not if you want.”

  Samantha aimed a glare his way. “You’re from Dark Mountain. I knew this place bordered their territory, but we’ve had clients from that pack before. They didn’t cause problems.”

  “They didn’t find a breeder,” he said baldly, knowing that trying to pretend anything else was as important as that one fact would be a mistake.

  “That’s all you want, isn’t it?” Samantha snarled. “An incubator for your sperm.”

  “A mother for our children,” he said slowly, his gaze never wavering. “Is that such a bad idea?”

  “Women have choices, even Wolfen women.”

  Jack’s fists curled at his sides as his frustration built. “Whatever your beef is with wolves, you don’t know me. And you can’t make up Aila’s mind for her.”

  Samantha’s gaze was icy, but she gave a crisp nod. “That’s true.” Her glance slid back to Aila. “Sweet bitch, do you want a life of enslavement to this pair’s
needs, or do you want freedom to choose your own path?”

  Aila’s pale face looked haunted. “It’s not freedom, is it, when I have to seek a monthly fix?”

  Impatient with talk that wasn’t really saying a damn thing that was important, he turned to Samantha, the CEO of Howl at the Moon, and the one person who might sway Aila from making the right choice. “Can we have a moment—alone?”

  Samantha’s mouth tightened. “Aila, is that what you want?”

  Aila nodded.

  Samantha gave the guard atop Kynan a sharp nod. The guard rose then turned and gripped Joseph McLean’s arms to drag him from the cabin.

  Samantha was the last out the door. She glanced over her shoulder, her gaze raking Jack’s then Kynan’s naked bodies. “Nice, but sex only feeds one need.”

  When she closed the door behind her, Jack strode for Aila.

  Aila backed away, her pale face crumpling. “Don’t touch me,” she said, raising one hand.

  Frowning, Jack halted in front of her. “Because I have blood on my hands?”

  She shook her head. “Because I can’t think when you touch me.”

  Jack curled his hands into fists, which fell impotently at his sides. “Baby, we don’t have much time. You have a decision to make. I wish I knew how to say what you need to hear, but it all comes down to one thing. Choose us.”

  Her eyes hardened. “Because I’ll be cosseted?”

  “Yes,” he said, impatient when her chin lifted higher. “And protected.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not enough. I want more than you can give. More than I deserve.”

  “You want love,” he whispered.

  She nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I can make it through these liaisons because, for the most part, I don’t have to feel anything but lust and relief.”

  Jack swallowed the bitter lump lodged at the back of his throat. “Is that all you felt for us?”

  Her eyelids blinked; her gaze slid away.

  Jack sighed and took a step closer. This time she didn’t resist when he reached for her. He folded her against his chest, easing the quivers that vibrated down her body. “Shhhh. It’s all right, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”