Devon silently cursed at her Prime’s agreement. Another familiar mind slid against hers, humming with warmth and amusement.
I must admit, watching you and Tanner interact is quite entertaining, said Adam.
Devon shot her anchor a glare. Fuck off.
Adam’s laughter floated around her head. He’s hot. All that alpha energy is totally flipping my switch—and yours. Admit it.
Admit it? She’d rather swallow glass. He’s a hellhound, I’m a hellcat.
Ah, forbidden love.
Biting back a curse, Devon glanced at her watch. “It’s been a while since I was taken. It’s possible that the broker’s men aren’t coming for me. Maybe someone tried telepathically contacting Maverick, got no response, figured something was wrong, and decided not to take any chances.”
“I had the same thought,” grumbled Jolene. “I’m just hoping I’m wrong. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep—I’ll call if anyone appears at the cabin.”
Nodding, Devon pushed to her feet. “Has my car been found yet?”
Jolene’s gaze turned inward, signaling she was communicating telepathically. Then her eyes came back into focus. “No, unfortunately. But it will be found.”
“I’ll drive you home, kitten,” said Tanner. He held up a hand when she went to object. “Haven’t we done enough arguing for one night?”
Devon snorted. “No.”
He smiled. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
CHAPTER THREE
She let him take her home. Mostly because fighting him on it only made him smirk and accuse her of being nervous around him. Asshole.
Riding shotgun, Devon couldn’t help but be excruciatingly hyper-conscious of every gloriously masculine inch of him. Tanner might get on her last goddamn nerve, but that didn’t stop her body from reacting to him—stomach knotting, pulse quickening, skin charging with a familiar sexual buzz that made her nerve endings tingle in awareness.
It was senseless to give herself a hard time about it. Her defenses didn’t stand even the tiniest sliver of a chance against all that alpha energy.
Maybe it was like calling to like or something, but her libido always did the mambo for fellow hellbeasts. They liked rough sex—there was often a lot of biting and clawing. That wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t venomous.
Devon often had to be careful not to bite her sexual partners, since she didn’t want them writhing in pain or being struck by temporary paralysis. But as hellbeasts were immune to each other’s venom, there was no need to hold back with them. There was something very freeing about—
“It’s not like you to be quiet,” he said.
“I’m thinking.”
“About me, right?”
Devon forced a snort. “You’re not that interesting.”
“Hey, it’s okay, kitty cat. I have plenty of impure thoughts about you. I can just imagine us in bed together … Reading. Watching TV. Playing UNO. Doing totally nonsexual things.”
“Do you ever wonder what life would be like for you if you weren’t such a fucking weirdo?”
“You’re not gonna convince me that you don’t like me, kitten. I’ve seen how you look at me. It’s not nice being ogled and objectified, you know. I need a little warmth, sensitivity, and connection.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come back when you’ve grown some pubes, pooch. We both know that could take a while.” He let out a throaty chuckle and, honest to God, her nipples pebbled. She wondered if the guy gargled grit or something—how else could he make his voice that gravel-rough?
Devon turned back to the window, relaxing slightly as she noted how close they were to her apartment building. She was mega tired and needed to crash badly. She also needed to breathe in air that wasn’t filled with the pooch’s scent.
“You always do that when you’re not the one driving.”
Blinking, she looked at him. “Do what?”
“Rest your hand on the door handle, as if you’ll leap out at any moment.”
Her little fists banging the car window, her breaths sawing at her dry throat—
Pushing back the memories, Devon licked her lips. Honestly, she didn’t like being in cars at all. Had found them confining since that day all those years ago. That was why she’d forced herself to learn to drive—it was about facing her fears. As the driver, she was in control, so it wasn’t so bad. But being a passenger always made her nervous.
For months after that terrible day, she hadn’t spoken a word to anyone. Had been terrified to go to sleep as she’d known the nightmares would take her. Had suffered flashbacks that seemed triggered by the smallest things. Had been unable to even look at a photo of her mother without wanting to scream.
Without Gertie, Russell, and her girls, Devon might never have recovered enough to live a life that wasn’t haunted by that day. The nightmares still came now and then, and she had the occasional flashback during periods of stress, but she was as close to okay as she had the potential to be. She’d even been able to have a relationship with her very fragile mother who, unlike Devon, had never moved past what happened.
“No response to that?”
“Was there a question?” She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping he’d let it go—this really wasn’t something she could stomach talking about right then. Seconds of tense silence ticked by, grating on her raw nerves.
Finally, after what felt like minutes, he sighed. “All right, we’ll drop it. For now. Tell me about you and Finn.”
Devon grimaced. That wasn’t exactly a cheery topic either, but it was better than the first. “Finn’s Prime of his lair and a very strategic businessman who’s built himself an empire over the years. He’s nowhere near as rich as Knox, but he certainly has money to burn.” He also didn’t think much of her line of work. Finn was all about logic, reason, and ballpark figures. To him, tattooing held no value and was a waste of time. He felt she could do better with her life.
“I know that much, kitten. I never asked about him, I asked about you and him. I take it you’re not close, since you refer to Russell Clarke as your dad.”
“No, we’re not close. Finn and my mother had a meaningless, one-night stand … and I was the result. She didn’t tell him about me. She didn’t tell me about him. Kept his name secret from everyone. I was eight when Jolene found out Finn was my father. She contacted him.”
“And then what happened?”
“Not much. I’d been living with Gertie and Russell for years by then. I thought of them as my parents, and I was happy there. Finn didn’t want to force me to go and live with him—in fact, I think it suited him just fine that I didn’t want to. His partner had left him, so he had a family to win back; it would have made it a fuck of a lot harder if I was living with him.”
There was a whole lot of information there, Tanner thought. But there was also a lot of holes. “How did your mom die?” he asked, his tone gentle. Nonetheless, she bristled.
“I thought you wanted to know about my relationship with Finn.”
Tanner felt his mouth tighten. His hellcat sure had a lot of no-go subjects. But after the day she’d had, he’d be a fucking asshole if he pushed her to open what was clearly a raw wound. “Finn has other children, right?”