She moaned. "What a great tongue you have."
He looked at her with twinkling eyes. "The better to eat you with." He nibbled down her belly.
Moisture rushed to the apex of her thighs just in time to meet his inquisitive, insistent tongue. Within seconds she was squirming and panting. He teased her clitoris with the ruthlessness of an animal.
She squealed as a climax jolted through her. He watched her, a wolfish grin on his handsome face.
"Ready?" He moved between her legs.
"Wait." She rested her hands on his shoulders. "After dressing like a cowgirl, I have a strange desire to ride."
He chuckled and fell onto his back. "Saddle up, sweetheart."
An hour later Vanda sat in bed relaxing and drinking from a bottle of cold synthetic blood. She stretched her legs, feeling the pull of sore muscles. She couldn't even recall how many orgasms she'd had over the course of the night. It had been one long delicious, forbidden night of sex, mixed with heart-wrenching confessions that made the lovemaking even sweeter.
She felt the tug of sleepiness. The sun must be nearing the horizon. She sipped more blood. Phil had brought it up to her in the loft. He'd washed up at the sink and gone to the cellar to put his clothes back on.
From the clunk of cowboy boots and clanking of pans, she could tell he was in the kitchen now. Her nose twitched, catching the smell of coffee.
She hoped morning had already come to Robby, wherever he was. Death-sleep would not only put him asleep, but also his torturers. His body would heal while he slept. She hoped his mind would, too.
With a sigh, she sat up and began to dress. She had just finished zipping up her jeans when she heard booted feet at the cabin's front door.
"Phil!" Brynley shouted. The door shook. The bolt was still in place.
Vanda heard Phil's footsteps approach the door. She slipped on the western shirt and fastened the snaps.
The door creaked open.
"Phil!" Brynley's voice was full of excitement. "You're an Alpha! It's so amazing! How on earth did you do it?"
"Bryn, we need to talk."
"We are talking. You wouldn't believe how excited the guys are. We were talking about it all the way back to the cabin, and the only thing we can figure is that somehow you managed to go Alpha on your own. Is that true?"
"I wasn't alone, but I wasn't with a pack either."
Brynley squealed. "This is so freaking fantastic! No one's ever done that before. Dad is going to be so—"
"Don't tell him."
"What?"
"I mean it, Bryn. Don't tell him. It's none of his business."
"Of course it is! Phil, every Lycan in the territory is going to want you for the next Supreme Pack Master. I can see it now. Dad will throw you a giant party to welcome back the long lost prince."
Prince? There it was again. Vanda padded to the edge of the loft. Brynley was back in her jeans, tank top, and open plaid shirt, but Vanda noticed a few leaves in her hair and a bloodstain on the shirtsleeve, as if she'd wiped her mouth on it.
Brynley's gaze shifted to the loft and her eyes narrowed. "She's still here."
"Yes." Phil crossed his arms. "And you owe her an apology."
Brynley snorted. "For what? Being myself?"
"For purposely trying to scare her away," he replied.
Brynley scowled at him. "I was doing her a favor. She needed to know the truth about you."
"Yes, I did." Vanda was tired of being talked about like she wasn't in the room. She grabbed her bottle of blood and floated down to the ground floor. "Thank you for scaring the crap out of me."
"Any time." Brynley smiled grimly. "So why are you still here? Can't you get a job in Hollywood? I hear vampires are all the rage right now."
"She's under my protection," Phil said. "This is my house, and it will be a sanctuary to Vanda whenever she needs it."
With a huff, Brynley stomped to the kitchen. She grabbed a cup from a cabinet and poured a cup of coffee.
Vanda sat at the kitchen table and sipped from her bottle. Another wave of sleepiness swept through her.
Phil strode to the kitchen. "Who were those puppies with you last night?"
Puppies? They'd seemed plenty big to Vanda.
Brynley sipped her coffee. "They're friends."
"They're underage." Phil sat at the table next to Vanda. "They're supposed to be with their pack when they shift."
Brynley snorted. "Since when do you follow pack rules? The boys can't shift with their pack. They can't even live with their families. Or go to school. They've been banished. I'm sure you understand how that happens."