From there, it was on. Some of Davis’s blows hit their mark and all of Asher’s did. Back and forth, they pummeled each other with brute, shifter force. His stomach and ribs were sore, but he hadn’t taken any hits to the face. And he didn’t plan to.
It was time to wrap this up. Ella’s scent was driving him crazy. He just wanted to end the fight and talk to her. He’d forced himself to stay away from her office all day and his wolf was edgy, needing that contact with her.
As he caught a flash of honey-blonde hair out of the corner of his eye he made his first mistake. He turned to glance at Ella.
And saw her at the edge of the ring talking to Grady, the fourth male he’d defeated. The shirtless shifter was smiling at her and rubbing a hand over his bared stomach as he spoke.
Slam.
His head jerked back as Davis’s fist connected with his jaw. Son of a… Keeping his balance, he let his inner wolf absorb the blow and channel the pain as he turned back to the shifter.
Striking out, Asher slammed his fists into Davis’s face and ribs almost simultaneously. He kept pounding away, ignoring the blows from the other wolf that were growing weaker and weaker until finally the wolf held up his hands in defeat.
Sweaty and panting, Davis dropped his hands when Asher nodded, accepting the other wolf’s defeat. He held out a hand to the wolf and was relieved when Davis grudgingly smiled and took it.
A cheer went up from the crowd, but he tuned everything out as he searched for Ella. As if drawn by a magnet, he found her standing next to Lauren. But Asher barely registered her cousin or anyone else’s presence.
Ella was watching him with wide eyes, but he could see the desire lurking there. He hoped she’d liked what she saw. And he hoped she wanted to run with him tonight. He wanted to see her in her jaguar form, to see both sides of her. He stepped toward her, but jerked to a halt when he felt a small, feminine hand land in the middle of his chest.
Blinking, he realized three female shifters were standing in front of him, all smiling widely. The one with her hand on his chest let it drop, but smiled openly. Flirtatiously.
“We’re all grabbing drinks at Crescent Moon Bar now if you want to join us.” Oh yeah, there was nothing subtle about what she was offering. He could smell the female’s hunger.
While she was attractive, his wolf was instantly repelled. But she was a packmate and his new feelings for Ella didn’t mean he could be a dick to everyone. He cleared his throat and smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve got plans.”
Her smile fell a fraction, but she nodded. “Okay, some other time?”
He grunted noncommittally and turned to look for Ella when one of his challengers stepped in front of him.
“No hard feelings, man,” the wolf said, shaking his hand.
Asher nodded, and continued looking around the garage. When he saw that familiar honey-blonde flash before a set of elevator doors closed, he cursed. It didn’t matter that he’d just fought five wolves, his inner wolf was pushing at the surface, edgy. He wanted to go after Ella, but knew that wasn’t the right move.
While he knew a little about why Ella had left her pride, there had to be more to the story than she’d told him. Which hadn’t been much. And there had to be a reason why she was keeping him at arm’s length. The chemistry between them was scorching. There was no sane reason to ignore it. He planned to figure out why she was trying so hard to avoid him and to break down those damn walls she thought she could keep between them.
* * *
Asher stood in front of one of the many panels of video screens in the hotel’s security room.
“She does it again right here,” Davis said, shaking his head slightly as he paused one of the videos. Then he played it back.
Asher’s jaw tightened. He’d seen it the first time. The playback just annoyed him further. A human bartender at one of the hotel restaurants was skimming money and only on cash tickets. She’d print a ticket, then once the customer had paid, delete a drink from the ticket. And she was pocketing the difference. She didn’t do it often enough to be overtly noticeable, but over a long period of time that kind of cash would add up. Not that the amount mattered.
No one stole from the Kincaid pack.
Thankfully, this was a job for the police. “Make copies of all the times we’ve caught her on video for the cops. I’ll go ahead and call them.” As the newest head of security at the hotel he needed to establish a good relationship with local law enforcement since this definitely wouldn’t be the only time they called the police. Pack business, he or Max or Grant would take care of, but this was a human problem.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and froze when he saw Ella appear on screen. She was standing outside the security room talking to one of his guys. The sight of her wearing a formfitting sweater dress and black, knee-high heeled boots made his entire body ache for her.