“To have a family.”
“To belong,” she corrected. “Even if just to one person.” Chloe reached forward to pour his drink. “It’s not something you’ve ever had to deal with.”
He’d been born into a ready-made support system. Even when his parents had been busy she doubted the darling heir to the pack had ever been alone. He’d have had playmates, companions, and friends.
“Wolves are never alone,” she said. “Pack before all, right?”
“True, we’re always with others.” His gaze flicked to hers. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t understand loneliness.”
Her breath froze in her lungs at the stark expression on his face. He might have had the family she’d always dreamed of, but Lisette had injected desolation into his idyllic life all the same. Maybe, even in a small way, he understood some of what she’d been through.
He tossed back his drink. “Your turn.”
“Do you think you’ll find someone?” she asked. “Eventually, I mean? Someone both you and your wolf approve of?”
Silence stretched as she waited for him to answer. Unnerved under his dark gaze, she said, “Three shot forfeit remember.”
“I think my wolf is capable of trusting again,” he replied.
She nodded, reaching for her drink.
“But it’s the man I’m unsure of.”
She paused, glancing back at him.
“That’s a sad statement, Kieran.”
“Lisette was a sad experience, Chloe.”
“You’ve been apart for years, though, right?”
“Over a century.”
“Then don’t you think it’s time to try again? To take a chance, but this time on someone worthwhile?”
“And how do I decide that?” he replied. “Consult an oracle I suppose.”
“Or trust your instinct. Aren’t you wolves supposed to be good at that?”
“In theory.”
“Surely in all that time you’ve met someone that interests you. Beyond the bedroom, I mean.”
“I know what you mean.”
Chloe toyed with her glass before leaning forward. “You found me because your pack was asking you for something they needed. Something you didn’t want to give. Maybe you picked the wrong path. If they needed a mated alpha so badly in order to stabilize the pack, maybe you need it, too. Ever think of that?”
“Every day,” he replied, raising her hand with the glass toward her lips. Dutifully, she downed the drink.
“Which duty do I follow? The one to my pack that would see me mated to the next available female wolf, whether I loved her or not, or to my destined mate who may or may not show up for another couple hundred years.”
“Or tomorrow,” she said. “That’s what we tell our members. Your mate may be centuries away or she may be right next to you. You never know until you try.”
He slid closer to her along the couch. “Right next to me, hmm?”
Chloe swallowed and turned away. “You know what I meant.”
“I do.” His fingers threaded through her hair, caressing the curling tresses.
She glanced back at him. “I’m not interested in being the next Candy.”
“I’m not looking for her replacement.”
“Then what are you looking for?” The words were a whispered breath.
“I think,” he murmured. “I’m looking for you.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Does it matter right now?”
No, her body cried. She wanted to leap and see where the current took her. Kieran was being more honest with her than he had ever been before. Surely that counted for something.
So what if she regretted her decisions, when whiskey was the deciding factor?
“Now that you’ve found me,” she said, shifting closer, “what do you want to do to me?”
A golden ring appeared around his irises. Awareness threaded through her. She was playing a dangerous game, one she would greatly regret in the morning. Whiskey courage or no, she wanted what she’d been fighting against since he first kissed her.
Chloe cast a leg across Kieran’s lap, moving to sit facing him.
“Yes,” he purred. “I want you like that.”
“Just this?” She ran her hands slowly down his chest. “Liar.”
The hard planes of his muscles tensed under her fingertips as his hands moved to cup her hips. Heat radiated from his skin, making her want to rip away the fabric and enjoy the body that lay beneath.
Sober, she might have resisted the desire, but right now she couldn’t quite remember why she hadn’t allowed herself to make the most of Kieran’s presence in her life.