It was late March and already the temperature had hit over ninety degrees in south-east New Mexico. Nikki Stratton groaned as the air conditioner in her old Jeep barely managed to cool the interior of the vehicle.

Thirty-two years old and she’d been called home like a teenager. She resented the fact that she’d let her older brothers demand her appearance and was still disgusted with herself for not having put up a fight.

She continued to speed down the interstate toward her home town, both dread and anxiety sitting in her stomach. A new Alpha had been named for her Pack. Since she still maintained Pack status, she’d been beckoned home to welcome him and the new members he’d brought to join their family. That was what she supposed, anyway. Brandon hadn’t actually told her why he wanted her home. He’d just stated she needed to leave the next day. Justin, the middle sibling, hadn’t given any hint, either—had just told her the new Alpha would take over this week and she needed to come home.

It wasn’t even that she didn’t want to be there. She’d planned to take some vacation time and visit her siblings soon, but being ordered home left her feeling like a cub again. She loved her brothers, but sometimes they put the needs of the Pack ahead of their immediate family.

Her oldest brother, Brandon, worked as both the town sheriff and enforcer of the Pack. Her other brother, Justin, was a teacher, in public and in Pack life, too. Their wants and needs had been built around being able to serve their fellow wolves. Nikki just hadn’t been born that way. She liked to be free, to travel and to be on her own. Unusual for a wolf, yes, but not unheard of. Away from home, she’d not only met other wolves who felt like she did, but other shifters, too—felines, birds and even a very nice shifter bear family. Nikki felt more at home with them sometimes than with her old Pack.

Her family had never understood her independence, but at least they’d always supported her. She’d been lucky and couldn’t bitch too much about it. And she began to feel guilty and just a little childish about her feelings. Except…she liked her life. Now she worried that her carefully constructed way of living was about to change. Why else would she have to come home, with no choice in the matter? Brandon had never asked that of her.

The exit sign for their town came up and Nikki had to fight the urge to keep driving. She slowed to make the curved side road that would take her straight into downtown Lawton, a small, private cotton and farming community.

Little had changed in the year and a half she’d been away. She’d gone to the big city of Houston, Texas, at nineteen to attend college and had never returned. Oh, sure, she’d made certain that she returned every few years or so, but only to visit her brothers. Nikki was different from many of the others she’d grown up with. Instead of craving a mate and children, she was looking for excitement. She wasn’t ready to settle down quite yet. And living in Lawton would ensure that would happen.

The county line WELCOME sign drew a sigh from her. She felt like a different person in Lawton. Always having to defend her nomadic ways.

If she were as honest as possible, it felt good to know that she always had a place to return to. Yes, even if she never said it out loud, sometimes she missed her family.

Nikki let up off the gas pedal even more to drive in at the posted thirty-five miles per hour. She wouldn’t put it past Brandon to pull her over and ticket her if he caught her speeding. She chuckled to herself—it had, in fact, happened many times.

The library was closed already, reminding her that at six on a Sunday night, she wouldn’t have to worry about running into too many people. The café was open and had a half-full parking lot. But the other buildings—post office, salon, thrift store—were dark and locked up tight. Lights blazed to the right. Of course, the sheriff’s office stayed open twenty-four hours a day. Not that there was a lot of crime, but put a group of secretive wolf shifters in a community and there were bound to be several paranoid people. She happened to be related to one.

As if her thoughts had brought him out, the front door of the sheriff’s office opened and Brandon stepped through.

His dark brown hair looked to be several weeks past a trim and reached over his ears. His strong muscular shoulders and arms bulged from his khaki uniform shirt, while his long legs ate up the ground as he made his way to the street. He turned and his green eyes flashed as he spotted her vehicle. The grin he sent her was so much better than the pictures she carried that she couldn’t help but smile back.

He wrenched the door to her Jeep open before she’d even cut the engine. She slammed it into Park and turned the key right and he pulled her out and into his arms.

“Hey, sister,” he greeted her, squeezing tight.

“Bran!” she managed to squeak out.

He chuckled then set her on her feet. “Let me look at you.” He did the customary check she went through every time she came home. He ran his hands over her head, down her hair to her face, coming to a final rest on her shoulders.

He nodded. “You need to eat more, but you look good.”

Nikki rolled her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to say anything different.

Brandon grinned and threw an arm around her neck, yanking her close once again. “I was just headed to meet Justin for a bite. Now you can join me.”

She groaned. After driving for a day and a half, all she wanted was to rest.

“Oh, don’t complain. You need to eat. Then Justin can grab a ride home with you instead of waiting on me.” He slammed her vehicle door closed then led her away. It didn’t escape her notice that he didn’t lock it up—something she could never forget to do in Houston.

“Fine.” She let herself be dragged down the street, heading to the café she’d passed on her way into town. The stores she passed were new. Lawton now had a flower shop, tattoo parlor and dry cleaners. “New businesses?” There hadn’t been any of those shops in the entire time she’d grown up there. No one had ever moved there to open a business.

“Cameron started working with the new Alpha to bring his Pack members here before he stepped down. Cam wants us to be comfortable and see the plus side of adding to the Pack,” Brandon explained.

“How many shifters did we add?”

“Over fifty.”

She gasped. In a matter of a few months, the Pack size had doubled.

“It’s a good thing.” Brandon responded to her reaction. “Offered jobs to those in the Pack who needed them.”

He’d said that with more feeling than normal. Either he was still trying to convince himself or there were already problems. She’d have to talk to Justin about it later. Justin didn’t usually try to keep her out of what was happening, thinking he’d protect her, like Brandon always did. Not all the time, anyway. Her brothers couldn’t help it. Brandon had raised his two younger siblings since he’d been barely an adult. Their father had left them as soon as he felt they’d been old enough to be on their own. The loss of his mate had been just too much for him to live with.

She wanted to remember good times with her parents but as she’d gotten older, she found it harder and harder to bring up those memories. Brandon had been the one who’d attended her parent-teacher conferences. Brandon had bought Nikki her first pair of soccer shoes and later her first camera. Her older brother had been the dad she’d needed more than her real old man had ever been.

After having left home, Nikki had come to understand everything that Brandon had sacrificed for her and Justin. And thinking about this made the guilt from earlier return. Nikki needed to give Brandon a break. She knew that, but sometimes her brother frustrated her.

Just as they reached the door to the café, she was greeted with a shriek and yanked into the arms of another woman. Chuckling and glad she still remembered the scent of her best friend from childhood, Sabrina, she grinned, hugging back.

“Nik!” Sabrina held her close.

“Hey there, honey,” she greeted. “It’s good to see you.” Nikki meant the words, too. Part of leaving Lawton had meant not only being away from her brothers but also the friends who were just like family as well.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I was just saying the other day that you haven’t come to visit in forever. You haven’t even met little Julian yet.”

Since she was still being squashed, she gently tried to extract herself from her friend. Sabrina didn’t seem to want to let go.

“Baby, give her room to breathe or you’re gonna make her pass out,” Sabrina’s mate, Max, said, coming to her rescue and pulling her friend from her.

Sabrina laughed. “All right.”

Nikki smiled over at her friend. Sabrina had grown to be such a lovely woman. Short-cropped blonde hair, styled and sassy, fit her petite frame and her quirky personality. But it was the glow in Sabrina that warmed Nikki’s heart. She looked so happy.

“We have to catch up. Oh, we have so much to talk about,” Sabrina said grabbing Nikki’s hands.

“Oh, yes, and I’ll finally get to meet baby Julian and see Jesse and Jeremy,” Nikki agreed. She still talked to her oldest friend as much as she could, but with two busy lives, work, family and everything else, it had been too long. “Why don’t you bring the kids over for breakfast in the morning?”

“A breakfast cooked by someone else?” Sabrina asked with a smile. “We are so there.”

Nikki nodded and pulled her friend in for another hug. “Eight o’clock—don’t be late.”

Sabrina agreed then let her mate lead her across the parking lot.

“She looks so great,” Nikki told her brother.

“She’s happy,” he answered. “But I want to know why you’re not making your favorite brother breakfast?”

She slapped his stomach then pulled the door open. “Justin can eat if he wants to.”

Brandon growled and reached for her. She laughed and jumped out of the way, bumping into someone.

“Oh, sorry,” she murmured, peering up. And up. She was forced to tilt her head back to see the man in front of her.

“No problem at all,” he responded in a deep rumble that vibrated the air around her.

Her breath caught as she stared up at the man. Dark, almost black hair hung over his dark eyes. His lips tilted up at the edges in a small smile while he moved to the side. She didn’t even realize she had stepped closer until Brandon touched her lower back, breaking her attention on the stranger.

“RJ.” Brandon greeted the stranger. Nikki didn’t miss the tension in her brother’s body or his tone.

“Good evening, Sheriff.” The man nodded. “Ma’am.”

Nikki snorted. “Ma’am?”

Amusement shined in the stranger’s gaze. “Well, if I knew your name…”

“It’s Nikki Stratton,” she informed him, holding out her hand. She wasn’t worried about Brandon’s cold greeting. Her older brother’s protectiveness had always had him growling at her dates. This man deserved a real introduction instead of the shortness of her brother. “You must be new to town.”

He took it and winked. Electricity sizzled from her fingertips up her arm. She’d become locked into that dark gaze and her body tingled with need. His dark eyes had a sparkle to them. “RJ Cross. I haven’t seen you around here. Visiting?”

“You could say that,” she replied. Nikki was still a registered Pack member, so she wouldn’t call her coming home a visit, but she didn’t mind the flirting. “Although I do know all the good places around here, if you need a tour guide.”

“Is that so?” RJ’s grin remained wicked.

Damn, maybe I can ditch my brothers and—

“Now that everyone’s met, can we go eat?” Brandon snapped from beside her.

She sighed and removed her hand from RJ’s hold. Okay, maybe I can’t bail on dinner, but I’ll certainly go find Mister Tall, Dark and Handsome again. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around town,” she flirted with the stranger. She really, really wanted to see him again.

“Oh, I can almost guarantee it.” RJ looked over to Brandon and nodded. The smile was no longer present and the chill grew between the two men.

Interesting. Brandon usually didn’t allow his job to interfere out in public, but she got the feeling that he and RJ had had a few run-ins.

“Sheriff,” RJ said, while already walking away.

His spectacular ass in a pair of tight, worn blue jeans kept her attention until Brandon tugged on her arm. Nikki allowed herself to be manhandled into the café.

“Who’s that?” she asked once they’d stepped inside.

“Trouble,” Brandon replied. “You don’t want to get involved with him.”

“Get involved with who?”

Nikki turned to Justin and jumped into his arms. Justin, of course, embraced her, only stumbling a little. “Hey, bro,” Nikki said.

“Hi, so who were you checking out?”

“No one,” Brandon interrupted. “Do we have a table?”

Justin raised an eyebrow at her before giving his winning smile to the oldest Stratton. “Over here,” he said, guiding her toward the back.

Nikki was surprised to see the old restaurant almost packed to capacity. There weren’t a lot of places to eat out in town, but almost everyone cooked their own meals. Even more shocking were the number of new faces she didn’t recognize. Several people waved and called out a greeting as she passed.

There was definitely something going on that she didn’t know about.

Justin pointed to a booth and she slid in, with him following close behind. Nikki glanced up and saw that several old men at one table had stopped Brandon to talk. It wasn’t like the sheriff’s office wasn’t right across the street. They could talk to Brandon anytime, but by the looks of things, they had plenty to say.

“What’s that about?” Nikki nodded toward the group.

Justin picked up a menu and passed it to her. “There are a couple new dishes you might want to try.”

The non-answer was not a good sign.

“Justin?”

“Let it go.” Her brother peered around. “There’ll be plenty of time to talk, but here’s not the place or time.”

So he knew why Brandon had wanted her home. “Fine.” The menu had indeed been updated. It seemed like the White family had at last listened to the residents’ complaints. Nikki had always believed that the only reason the café was still in business was because of lack of choices. “This doesn’t look so bad.”

“New Pack members brought in some business. There’s now a bakery and coffee shop plus a family style restaurant. The Whites had to step up or lose their business,” Justin told her.

Nikki glanced around the crowded area. “It worked.”

Justin snorted. “This isn’t because of the food.”

“What’s that mean?” she whispered, leaning closer to Justin.

“But who’s here?” Justin advised. “All the busybodies of the Pack.”

That was true. While she received warm greetings from several of the Pack, she also received glares from a few of the older women. The ones who’d told Brandon that she shouldn’t be going off to college.

Brandon straightened before heading toward their table. Justin picked up his menu, hiding his face. Nikki guessed she’d have to wait to get him alone to grill him further.

“Order whatever you want,” Brandon said as he sat. “You’re too thin.”

Nikki rolled her eyes. She was in fact at a normal range on the weight scale. It wasn’t easy for a shifter to gain weight, anyway. Still, the complaint was common and, as she’d done in the past, she’d just ignore her oldest brother.

“So, Brandon,” she said. “How’re things going here?”

He glanced up at her for a second before peering around. “Fine.”

Okay, so she needed another topic—something safer.

“How’s the crime in town? Bust any bank robbers or million-dollar theft rings?” Nikki joked.

Brandon grunted as Justin folded his menu, sighing.

Damn. Nikki was running out of ideas on what they could discuss. Luckily, the waitress approached their table. Nikki wanted to get the meal out of the way as soon as possible, so she could find out what was going on.

RJ Cross turned to catch the final sight of the young woman until she disappeared to the back of the café behind her brother. The smile fell from his face once she walked out of sight. Without question, she was one of the most gorgeous women he’d ever laid eyes on. Her long dark hair had been streaked with blonde, which added an attractive touch. Her green eyes had sparkled and her slender body was just to his liking. But her being a Stratton was an added complication. He and Brandon Stratton hadn’t started off on the best of terms. In fact, the more he was around the sheriff, the less RJ liked him. Brandon had an attitude toward his entire family. RJ shook his head and started down the street to his shop.

His youngest brother had worked hard, getting RJ’s tattoo store front set up while RJ had been on his last mission. As he stood in front of the tinted windows with their scrawling script, he couldn’t help the pride that flooded him.

Finally, after years of serving his country and fighting for other people’s needs, RJ had a place that he could call all his own.

Being part of an exclusive shifter military unit hadn’t been bad. He still kept in close contact to the men he considered family, but the wolf shifter in him wanted to settle down and claim his own spot. RJ had done just that, joining his brothers in Lawton. Even if their welcome hadn’t been quite smooth, RJ was now home.

Instead of going inside, he walked to the rear where he had his Harley parked. The alley looked as clean as it had been that morning when he’d arrived, but RJ still took his time scenting the area. No one had been by. Good. He was more than likely being over-cautious, but until things around the town became more welcoming, RJ would need to be prepared for danger.

All three Cross brothers were making the rounds, trying to get to know the established Pack members, but RJ had his suspicions. He didn’t think the additional Pack was in for that smooth a transition.

One of the reasons he’d decided to stop at the café on his way home had been to show his face, make his presence felt. Now he was glad he had done. Running into Nikki Stratton had been a pleasant twist to the already long day. She hadn’t reacted the way most of the townsfolk had. If he had to guess, RJ would say that she’d not known he was part of the inner circle that had been brought into her Pack. Oh, I’m sure she’ll find out soon enough. Brandon Stratton would for sure inform his sister just who RJ was.

He climbed on his bike and started it up. The rumble and vibration under him felt good and he took off toward the main street. It was already quiet on the road that would lead him home. No other vehicles were out and most of the residents were behind the doors of their own houses.

The small community he’d moved to with his Pack was a pretty piece of America. The Pack had come from the mountains of Colorado, and he’d worried that his family and Pack members wouldn’t adjust well. The last eight years had kept him away more than he’d liked, but both his brothers had filled him in on Pack life every time RJ had called home. He might have been away, but RJ had never abandoned his family. Now he had as many new members as he had old. It would be interesting to see how the two Packs came together—if they ever did. Not exactly how RJ wanted to start his civilian life, but when Dylan had called, RJ couldn’t have said no.

His older brother had asked for him to come help him lead a new Pack and RJ had known it had been time. He’d met some great people along the way, but he’d wanted to see his family more. To be a part of something else.

The members of the Pack who had followed Dylan loved the town. Some had even made new friendships. RJ’s relationship with the incoming Alpha appeared to be what was keeping him under constant scrutiny. Even though he and Dylan were clearly very different men, the residents of Lawton were still unsure whether RJ belonged as well. He didn’t know anything but time that would help. That and when Dylan became Alpha, the Pack seeing Dylan as the good man and great leader he’d be.

The quick ride to the house he stayed at with his brothers ended, and he thought about riding around for a little longer. He enjoyed driving the long, empty roads throughout the territory, but he had business to take care of. Dylan would need an update on what RJ had learned. No doubt Dylan waited for him. RJ parked under the carport between the two trucks that had beaten him home. The lights were on in the front windows as he made his way across the wood porch. He let himself in, being greeted by the coolness of the air and the sound of a ball game on the television in the den.

Home. He could now come home to the house with his family instead of a sleeping bag in the dirt, like he’d spent so many long nights. RJ followed the noise to the doorway where he found his two brothers. Dylan was lounging in one of the leather chairs, legs spread as he slouched, drinking a beer. RJ’s younger brother had his head buried in a book sitting on one side of the large couch. He ruffled his ‘little’ sibling’s hair as he stepped beside him and dropped down next to him.

“Hey!” Ben grumbled, not looking up from his book.

RJ grinned meeting Dylan’s gaze. Ben hadn’t been much more than a lanky teenager when RJ had enlisted in the military. RJ had missed his brother becoming an adult. There had been more than a little relief that Ben remained the same kind-hearted, gentle and brilliant young man RJ hadn’t gotten to see a lot of.

Dylan smiled and shook his head. “How’d work go?”

RJ just shrugged. Opening a tattoo shop in a small town might not be very profitable, but he enjoyed his art and, in point of fact, didn’t need the money anyway. “Had a couple people drop by, but no new customers. I think they wanted to check out the new Alpha’s brother more than any art.”

Dylan nodded. “Give them time. The town will open up to us.”

The way Dylan said the words, so certain, helped ease some of RJ’s stress. RJ hoped Dylan was right, but that wasn’t his biggest concern. “I stopped by the café tonight.”

Dylan must have caught something in his tone, because he switched the game to mute and sat up straighter.

“I overhead two men talking about the ceremony,” RJ told him.

Beside him, Ben put his book down and turned toward him. Now he had both their attentions.

“They suggested there might be a challenge after the ceremony.”

Dylan sat back and RJ let the man think. The rumors about a challenge had started to build in the last few weeks. Now, just days prior to the ceremony, they had picked up even more. It had always been a possibility when Cameron King had asked Dylan to take over as Alpha that a challenge would come from someone who wanted the top position.

There were only two ways to become an Alpha of a Pack—to be appointed or to challenge the standing Alpha. Cameron King was an honest, kind and well-respected Alpha. Dylan was new to the territory. An unknown. “What bothers me the most is that the men talking had to know I’d overhear them. It’s like they didn’t care.”

“Any idea who’d issue the challenge?” Dylan asked, in concern.

RJ ran his hands over his face. This was the tricky part. He didn’t want to add to the gossip, but he had to protect his brother. “Talk is Brandon Stratton.”

Dylan didn’t look surprised. “I thought it would be. He’s the wolf closest to matching my strength. Cameron did tell me he spoke with Brandon when he started to think about stepping down. Let him know about me.”

RJ waited for his brother to continue.

“At the time Brandon didn’t want the position. Said he wasn’t born to lead and knew it.”

“Doesn’t mean he hasn’t changed his mind.” Ben spoke up for the first time.

Smaller than his two brothers, Ben Cross stayed the quiet and peaceful one. He’d been born with the ability to calm those around him. It was what made him such a good diplomat for the Pack.

“Yeah, it’s one thing to not want to be Alpha and another to have someone else come in and take over,” Dylan agreed.

“The thing is,” RJ said, “Brandon might not like it, but I don’t get the feeling he’s planning on challenging you. He hasn’t exactly welcomed me, but he doesn’t go out of his way to make up conflict. Other than the argument when I first reached town, he’s been somewhat civil. He doesn’t like me, but I think that has more to do with him thinking I’m some kind of asshole biker.”

“You are an asshole biker,” Ben commented.

“True.” RJ nodded then reached over and cuffed the back of Ben’s head. “But you don’t have to point it out.”

“Ow.” Ben frowned at him. “Maybe Brandon doesn’t want to be Alpha, but he’s being pressured. I could see how that might be making him uncomfortable.”

All three of them sat in silence, thinking their own thoughts for several minutes, before Dylan spoke again.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do until the challenge is issued. Just keep an ear out.”

RJ tilted his head in agreement. They had to wait. Nothing more to do, according to his brother. He might not like it, but it was Dylan’s call. At least on the outside. What RJ found out on his own didn’t have to affect Dylan one way or another. “I’m going to head up to shower.”

Ben picked his book up and sent him a wave of his hand, but Dylan still stared at him. “Is that all?” Dylan asked, his tone low.

RJ didn’t know how he did it. Dylan could tell when something was going on with one of them. He thought about telling him about Nikki but didn’t want to add to his brother’s worries. And maybe he wanted to keep her a secret just a little bit longer. He could still smell the citrus from her shampoo, feel the softness of her hand in his, and wanted to enjoy the moment before he had to deal with the tension between the two families.

“For now,” he answered his brother, keeping things vague.

“I’m here if you need me,” Dylan told him; reaching for the remote again.

RJ headed up the stairs to the first room down the hall. He liked being closest to the stairs in case of problems during the night. He had served as an Enforcer in his Pack as well as the specialized military unit he’d been assigned to. But after his latest mission to protect the feline Prince and the battle once he’d been rescued, RJ had needed some time off. Dylan’s call had been a welcome excuse to make the changes that he’d been thinking about for several months. He wasn’t the only one who’d been ready to leave. Luckily, the others in their unit had also made plans for their futures.

The first time that Dylan had told RJ about the opportunity in Lawton, RJ had been filled with a sense of pride in his brother.

Everyone could tell that Dylan had been born a natural leader, and when their Alpha had heard that Cameron King wanted to retire, he had suggested a meeting between the two men. Their Alpha, Craig, was a good man and had several sons who would be able to lead their Pack into the future. Dylan would never have challenged them if they ran the Pack with a fair hand and Craig knew it. Craig had been offered a position on the Alpha council and, as any good leader would, had suggested some changes. One of them had been for Dylan and Cameron to meet, Craig believing that Dylan should get the chance to lead his own Pack.

So Craig had urged Dylan to meet with Cameron and had even talked several others into joining the Pack Dylan would lead. More had come than any of them had thought. Craig had understood and encouraged them all. He wanted his Pack members to flourish, but with over two hundred shifters under his command, he knew there were some wolves who couldn’t reach their potential in such a large group.

Moving to the new territory had been a great opportunity for them all.

His room was dark and cool as he pushed the door open. He’d brought his furniture from the childhood home they’d lived in all their lives. He missed the old house, but having something to remind him of his past helped. He had a small apartment above his shop in town, but he had yet to do more than move in a couch, futon and odds and ends. It was convenient if he worked late or needed to grab a shower, but he liked being close with his brothers. Plus, until he knew all threat to Dylan had passed, he would be here.

He tried to picture Nikki there with him in his bedroom, which might have been a little ridiculous since he’d just met the woman, but it had been a long time since anyone had grabbed RJ’s attention. Even in his downtime, RJ was always with his unit. Their bonds ran deep.

At first sight, Nikki had woken that part of him that had seemed to have gone to sleep. Hell, his cock was still hard from just the brief touch of her hand in his.

He’d love to see how the rest of her body felt under him. His room, surrounded by the familiar scents of home, would be perfect. Would she find it too masculine, or would she see the beauty of the stained wood the way he did? The large four-poster bed dominated most of the north wall. He was a tall man at six-foot-five. He liked to have plenty of room to sprawl out. He could just see her spread for him in the middle of the bed. Legs open and inviting, arms stretched above her head, her body arching in need.

He yanked his black T-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor before he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots and socks. The desire he had clearly read when he’d locked gazes with her had tempted his control. And just the one slight touch they’d briefly shared had sent his blood boiling.

There’d be a lot that he could imagine doing with her. Like how soft her skin would be as he caressed and teased her toward pleasure. The moans and gasps he’d be able to swallow from her lips. Damn, just the images were enough to make him need to blow.

RJ stood but couldn’t resist dropping his fingers low to play with the zipper on his jeans. He wanted more than just her hands, though. Her mouth, with her easy smile, had been made for pleasuring a man. He groaned as he pictured her on her knees in front of him. Oh, yeah. He could almost feel the warm, wet tongue tracing his balls then sucking him in.

“Fuck.” He ripped off his jeans to stand stark naked, panting with need. He licked his palm then started to stroke himself, each rough tug drawing him closer to completion. It had just been his hand for too long, and now that he’d found a woman who called to both the man and wolf, he was ready to explode in an instant. RJ concentrated on each detail of Nikki Stratton as he urgently played with himself. Oh, he couldn’t wait to mark her with his mouth, his teeth and his cum. Bend her over the bed and pound into her while sinking his canines into the base of her neck.

The last fantasy sent him over the edge. His seed shot out as he pumped his cock and he almost collapsed at the intensity of his orgasm.

He dropped on the bed and smiled.

Complications be damned. RJ had something to look forward to. He’d need to learn more about her and why she’d all of a sudden shown up in town. That would give him time to ensure that he had complete control of the urges she wrenched from him.

If Nikki had come there to help her brother hurt Dylan or any of the Pack, he needed to find out. No matter how much he wanted the sexy shifter.