Gentry (Wolves of Winter's Edge Book 1)(25)

"Rhett will put out a kill order," Roman said from where he sat in the snow.

"Rhett can try to kill me." Gentry's voice was low and growly, like a  demon's voice. He stood with his back to the dark woods, fists clenched,  shoulders bulging against his tight sweater. "I'm not Dad."

"He killed Dad in an alpha challenge," Asher said, like that made murder all right.

Gentry shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. I think he killed him  human. I think it was a coup to take the pack and done in the shadows."

"What?" Roman barked out, horror etched into his face.

Asher muttered a curse and paced away, then back. "Do you have proof?"

"Not yet."

Asher linked his hands behind his neck and shook his head for a long  time as he stared off into the woods, but at last, he said, "So what's  your plan, Favorite?"

"To take back the town."

Asher and Roman let off twin laughs that echoed through the forest. "As a rogue?"

"No. As three rogues."

The smiles fell from both Asher and Roman's faces.

"Nope. Not doing this. Uh-uh. I'm leaving," they both said, stumbling  over each other's words. Roman stood and strode for the front of  Winter's Edge.

"Stay just until we can get a new alpha in place. Just until we can  avenge Dad." Gentry grabbed Blaire's hand as he passed and murmured,  "This involves you now, Trouble. Come on."

"And who do you suggest we put on the throne of the Bone-Rippers?" Asher asked over his shoulder.

"Tim. Nelda. Hell, Mila would be better than Rhett."

"Oh, good, a submissive alpha," Roman said sarcastically as he lengthened his stride. "She'll love that job."

"Okay stop!" Gentry demanded.

Roman and Asher gave matching snarls and turned on Gentry. They looked  terrifying, but when Blaire looked up at Gentry, he looked wilder than  all of them. Profile rigid, eyes glowing, face twisted in some fearsome  look she'd never seen.

"The Bone-Rippers will be at the Four Horsemen tonight. Eleven o'clock,  and they should be gathered. One hour there and then make your decision  whether to stay or go, and I won't stop you. I won't try to persuade  you. I'll let you go back to your lives, and we can go right back to the  way it was. Just … give me one hour before you decide."

Asher didn't give an answer. Instead, he let off a fierce growl, turned  on his heel, and made his way down the trail that led back to the  cabins.

Roman watched him leave, scratching his bearded jaw in irritation.  Finally, he ghosted Gentry a glance and muttered, "You're buying." He  made to leave but turned and jammed his finger at Gentry. "And I drink a  lot." And then he followed Asher's boot prints and disappeared into the  woods.

Gentry leaned heavily against a tree and scrubbed his hands over his  face. He let off a sigh, and his eyes dimmed. He looked haunted like the  woods that surrounded him. "I worked so hard to get away from this  place and stay gone. If I told you what I really want, you would run."

Blaire squared up to him, her boots sinking in the ankle-deep snow. With  just a moment of hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his middle.  "I'd rather you talk to me than not. That goes for always. I don't like  all the secrets. I like knowing what's going on. I like knowing you."

Gentry leaned down and kissed her gently, stroked his fingertip down her  cheek, then eased back and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You have  this safe life back home. You could leave now and nothing bad would  happen to you. I know you would be okay. You could find a normal man,  with normal human problems, and be happy. But when I think about letting  you go, everything in me buckles against it, Trouble. And the selfish  monster in me wants you to stay here and go through this fight with me,  bond to me, fall for me, and I want to make it to where you can never  leave. Where you would never want to. I want to make you so happy you  can't imagine your life without me in it. Something's wrong with me."

"It's not selfish, Gentry," she whispered, sliding her hands around the  back of his neck and standing on her tiptoes to hug him. "I want those  same things. All of them. I can't explain it, but you feel important.  No, that's not even a big enough word. You feel crucial. To me, to my  growth as a person, to my happiness, all of it." Before she could change  her mind, she blurted out, "I called a realtor about selling my house."                       
       
           



       

"What?" he asked, easing her back to arm's length. "So you can move here?"

"No! Oh, my gosh, no. That makes me sound like a stalker."

"Oh." Gentry frowned.

"Wait, is that what you want? You would want me to move to Rangeley? We've known each other for-"

"Don't. Don't point it out. It'll make me feel even more selfish."

"No, I am selling the house I shared with my ex-husband. I've been  clinging to it. Clinging to the idea of him. I failed big-time in my  marriage, and it was scary to move on and start over. So, selling my  house is a really big step for me. It's my goodbye to my old life, and I  have you to thank for it. You make me feel ready to move on."

"Good." Gentry gave a cocky smile and slid his hands under her jacket to grip her hips. "I'm proud of you."

"I like that you say stuff like that."

"Well, I like your freckles."

"I like your wolf-eyes."

His grin turned wicked, and before she knew it, she was tossed over his  shoulder like a log. He smacked her ass hard enough to sting. "I like  that."

"I like that you give me erotica books to read."

"Yeah? Did you read Chapter Four?"

"Part of it. Odine interrupted me mid-imaginary coitus."

"Ugh, she's the worst," he teased.

"She cock-blocked my imagination."

"I'll reenact the rest of that scene for you," he said in a growly, sexy voice.

"Wait, really?" she asked low, arching up so she could see his face. "I would really like whatever that entails."

"Well, not down to the letter," he said, letting her slide to his front  and wrap her legs around his hips. He kept walking like she was no  burden at all. "Desmund gave Sheela a claiming mark, and those are a  no-no with real life werewolves. A claiming mark from me would kill  you."

"Wait, what? Kill me, you say? What?"

Gentry frowned and settled her on her feet, then slid his big strong  hand around hers and kept walking without missing a beat. "I won't ever  do that. I won't bite you. You're safe with me. Wolf wouldn't allow it. I  know he wouldn't."

"Wolf?"

"He's separate. It's not supposed to be like that, but it's just how I am. There's human me and Wolf."

"So when you were sitting in the middle of the road today … "

"I was barely present. You were meeting Wolf. For him, you're it. You're everything."

"And for you?"

He flashed her a serious, green-eyed glance and murmured, "Same. You said you want to know everything."

"I do. The good the bad and the ugly. Lay it on me, wolf-man."

He chuckled. "True story, I've never talked to anyone as openly as I  talk to you. It's a relief. I was kind of glad you found out last night  and saw Wolf today. Feels good not having to hide from you. I've been on  my own so long, it's so damn nice to share things with someone I  trust."

"You trust me?" she asked in a mushy high-pitched squeak.

Gentry grabbed her ass hard and shook it a couple times as he growled  and nipped her neck gently. "I showed you my wolf, Trouble. That is the  biggest sign of trust with my people. Plus, you're fun to fuck."

She giggled as he sucked on her neck. "You have a filthy mouth."

"You like it," he accused. "You smell like you want sex when I talk how I  want to you." He kissed her hard and ran his hand up the back of her  sweater, unhooked her bra, then trailed his fingers to her front and  slipped his palm under her loose bra and squeezed her breast gently.  "Pretend you're a proper lady all you want. I like that. I like your  cute clothes, your make-up all done up, and those fancy snow boots you  lace up to your knees. I like that you try not to cuss, and that you use  big words. But you're bad just for me, aren't you, Trouble?" he  murmured against her throat. "You wear those sexy see-through panties  that say you want me to make you feel good." When he slid his hand down  the front of her jeans, Blaire arched back her head and gasped as he  slid his finger into her. "I fucking love the way you react when I touch  you. It's instant. You start shaking, and your heart starts pounding. I  can hear it. Can smell you wanting me. Fills my senses and makes me  crazy for you. Makes me lose my mind, and today was long, Trouble. I  wanna lose my mind. Will you take it for a little while?"