She downed the rest of her beer. There wasn’t enough liquor in the entire bar to drown her sorrows tonight. But dancing with a hot, attractive male might make her feel somewhat better and forget the sight of Tanya’s hand on Stephen’s ass.
Kate placed her hand in Damien’s and jumped from her barstool. Ignoring the crowd’s stares, she didn’t dare glance in Stephen’s direction. It wasn’t as if he would notice anyway. He was too busy with Skankarella. And so what if he did see her? She was a damn grown woman. Stephen had no claim on her, and she definitely didn’t have one on him. She was tired of playing the good girl and pining after a man she could never have.
Melding into the group of gyrating shifters on the dance floor, she allowed everything else to fall away around her. Her focus was on the strong male who moved in close behind her and settled a firm hand on her hip.
Chapter Three
Stephen managed to extricate his arm from Tanya’s grasp. He ignored her ridiculous pout and cuffed Jace’s shoulder.
“Man, it’s good to see you.”
Christ, he’d never been more thankful to see his friend than he was at that moment. For at least an hour, he’d tried to ditch the woman with the death grip on his arm who squeezed his ass each time he attempted to take a shot.
Once he’d entered the Den without Kate, the damn she-Wolf had taken it as an open invitation and latched on. Of course, he hadn’t missed Kate’s glares from the bar. For her not wanting him around, she damn sure hadn’t appreciated Tanya’s free hands. Stephen silently pleaded with Jace to understand and spare him from the damn nuisance of a woman who just wouldn’t take the numerous hints he’d thrown at her.
Jace pasted on a charming smile. “If you don’t mind, Tanya, I need a word in private with Stephen.”
Stephen heaved a sigh of relief and sidestepped Tanya before she could plant a kiss on his cheek. Her face contorted with annoyance, and she stormed off, her sights no doubt locked on the next unsuspecting Wolf. He grabbed his beer from the edge of the pool table and downed a healthy swig. When he turned to face Jace, he fell under his friend’s scrutiny.
“You want to tell me what the hell’s going on?”
“Not a damn thing. Trust me, I’m still working on your stubborn-ass sister. That”—he nodded toward Tanya—“was not my idea at all.”
Jace chuckled. “Yeah, Tanya’s determined to snare herself a mate by any means necessary.”
“Ha, you think? I could’ve never told. She wasn’t exactly subtle about it.” Stephen swallowed a mouthful of beer. “Besides, I already have a mate.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that working out for you?”
“Nothing a little more time and a smooth hand won’t remedy.”
Jace roared with laughter and tipped his head toward the dance floor. “You mean like the one Damien has?”
Stephen whipped around, and his jaw almost hit the ground. At once, he zeroed in on Kate and Damien. Their traitorous friend’s hand rested on Kate’s lower belly as he grinded against her ass. And his mate just let the sly bastard practically dry hump her.
Oh, hell no, this shit wasn’t happening. There was a certain code in their pack. No one was allowed to touch another Wolf’s mate in such a manner. And the entire pack knew Kate was his by now. It wasn’t as though he’d kept it a secret.
A surge of anger pushed through Stephen. He threw his arm out, slamming his bottle of beer against Jace’s middle, and stalked onto the dance floor toward Kate. The sight of her wiggling her firm ass against Damien’s crotch set Stephen’s blood on fire. Inside, his Wolf urged him to make Damien pay for the insult. Shoving down instinct, he focused his attention on his mate.
Stephen strode up to the dancing couple without a word. Instead, he snatched Kate away from Damien and threw her over his shoulder. She cursed and jerked in his arms, but he carried her into the ladies room, meeting the wide-eyed stares of two of the pack’s females.
“Ladies, can I have a moment of privacy with my mate?” He barely registered the gruff voice as his own.
The pair giggled and scurried from the restroom, whispering to each other. He flipped the lock on the bathroom door then set his mate on the bathroom counter. Before one enraged word left her throat, he slammed his lips over hers. Roughly spreading her legs apart, he moved in between her thighs, shoving his hard, denim-covered erection against her center the same time his tongue plunged inside her mouth.
Far from the reaction he expected out of her, she arched into him and wrapped her legs around his waist. She sank her fingers into his short hair and ground herself against the bulge in his pants.