A smile softened his mouth. “What, you’re wondering if maybe a girl once broke my heart, and I’m determined to avoid feeling that pain again? No. Nothing like that. There are a few reasons why I’ve avoided relationships. Mostly, I just don’t think it’s fair to start a relationship with someone unless you can be sure that you’ll be what they need.”

Mila pursed her lips. “I get it. While coming to terms with the fact that I’d never have my true mate, I stuck to shallow flings because I just wasn’t in an emotional place where I had anything to give. I’d have had no right to ask for a commitment from anyone.”

“And now you are in a place where you have something to give?”

“I think so.” She exhaled a heavy breath. “I’d say we should go sit out on the balcony and relax—it’s a real pretty view. But Vinnie’s paranoid that there could be a sniper waiting on a rooftop somewhere, pointing a rifle at my apartment.”

Dominic frowned, tensing. “Could they shoot through the glass?”

She shook her head. “All the windows and balcony doors in the building are bulletproof. Vinnie’s into illegal shit, remember? He wanted to be sure that no one in his pride paid for that.”

As something occurred to him, Dominic asked, “There’s no way that the person who put the bounty on your head did it to get at Vinnie?”

“It seems more likely to me that they’re trying to flush out Alex. Besides, Vinnie has a lot of contacts. If someone in his circle put a hit out on me, he’d have heard about it.” Pushing off the chair, Mila added, “I just need to finish unloading the dishwasher and then I’ll be back. Want a beer?”

“Sure.” As she passed, Dominic grabbed her hand and smoothly pulled her onto his lap. “Or you could just straddle me like this. Yeah, I prefer that.”

Mila probably should have pulled away, but she could almost feel his need for touch. Wondered if he even sensed that need himself. She found she couldn’t deny him.

They sat in silence as he smoothed his hands up and down her back, doodled patterns here and there, massaged her nape, dragged his fingers down her neck and along the curve of her shoulders. It was as if he was tracing her, memorizing the dips and curves.

All the while, he pressed soft kisses to her face and neck. His cock was rock hard, but he didn’t make any moves to seduce her. She got the feeling that he needed comfort more than he needed sex, so she let him have his way. Massaged his chest and shoulders until his muscles were no longer rigid.

Although the anger hadn’t quite left him, a growl of contentment rumbled out of his chest, and she had the feeling that it came from his beast. “Your wolf seems to have relaxed.”

Dominic raked his teeth down her throat. “He has what he wants now. He’s been hounding me all day to come see you. Touch you. Take you.”

Drawing back a little, she said, “I got the feeling you were saying a permanent goodbye to me this morning.”

“I was,” he admitted. “You tempt me to break my own rules, and that’s not good. But I was kidding myself when I thought I could stay away from you.” And then he closed his mouth over hers and sank his tongue inside. Before long, he had her naked and riding him right there on the sofa. He came like a fucking freight train.

They showered before tumbling into her bed, where he took her again after indulging in a long, thorough taste of her pussy. They fell asleep, but he woke sometime in the night, just as he always did unless he was in his own bed.

Not wanting to sneak out—and knowing she’d probably hear him if he tried—he lightly trailed his fingers down her arm and said softly, “Mila? Mila?”

Her eyes fluttered open. “Hmm?”

“I gotta go.”

“’Kay.” Her eyelids fell shut. “Leave the money on the nightstand, would ya?”

His mouth quirked. “After the stuff I did to you last night, you owe me money.”

She smiled but flicked her fingers. “Be gone. Some of us like to sleep.”

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and then rose from the bed. Having pulled on his clothes, he said, “I’ll call you later.”

“You don’t have my number.” Frowning, she looked up at him. “Do you?”

He just gave her a mysterious smile. “Later.” Ignoring his wolf’s growl of displeasure and his own desire to get back in that bed, Dominic forced himself to leave.

CHAPTER TEN

A week. That was all the peace Dominic got before Pierson struck again.

Perched on a smooth rock that was shaded by one of the trees dangling over the river, Dominic watched the kids of the pack play. Tao and his mate, Riley—a raven shifter who was also the pack’s guardian—were supervising the children. Trick and Dante were also there, kicking a ball around with Kye. Tao was carrying Dexter around on his back, while Sienna was trying to catch the leaves that Savannah, who was hanging upside down from a tree branch, was letting flutter to the ground. Lilah was pointing at some ducks that were swimming in the shallows, asking Riley numerous questions about the birds.

It was a tranquil spot on their territory. Shards of sunlight danced off the steady torrent as it splashed over rocks and crashed against a half-built beaver dam. Reeds nodded in the breeze that carried with it the scents of wildflowers, wet earth, and clean water. Wildflowers ran along the gravelly banks, where many algae-stained rocks sat—there was a little turtle resting on the one nearest to Dominic. The moment would have been relaxing if not for the reason his Alphas had called him out here.

Fucking Pierson had struck again. Another online article—this one more vindictive and disparaging. Rhett had discovered it an hour ago, and it had already been shared on multiple online platforms. That news was bad enough. But what his Alphas were now asking of Dominic only increased his anger.

His wolf was currently pacing, agitation in every step. He occasionally lashed out with his claws, showing no signs of calming. He also kept pushing to the surface just enough for Dominic’s eyes to flash wolf. The animal wanted the Alphas to see his displeasure.

Taryn and Trey were sitting on the bench opposite him, looking both apologetic and concerned. But there was pure steel in their words. They didn’t feel good about their decision, but they weren’t going to back down. Dominic had known them both long enough to be sure of that.

Leaning forward, Trey clasped his hands. “You know I’m making sense, Dominic. I was pretty sure that Emmet wasn’t done being an asshole—especially since his first article was considered by most to be fiction—so I’m not surprised that he’s pulled another stunt. But this follow-up article has me worried, because it’s all about you. Not him, not the pack, not shifters in general. Hell, Rosemary only got a brief mention here and there. He’s utterly focused on you now.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” said Dominic, his tone flat. The human had gone through a lot of trouble to dig into Dominic’s past, clearly searching for dirt. He’d managed to find out that Dominic’s mother had left his father and that Lincoln had died shortly afterward. But Pierson’s source of information either hadn’t known more or hadn’t been willing to talk in depth about it, because Pierson seemed unaware that Lincoln had turned rogue and managed to kill a few people before being killed himself.