Grinding for the Coyote Read online

  He would let his packmate know the score, but as of now he was out. These hyenas were about to enter a fight with a creature that never backed down. It would be a battle to the death, and he wanted no part of it.

  Chapter Nine

  Adalyn rolled or tried to roll onto her back the next morning as her alarm clock screamed from the bedside table. Her bare back came flush up against Samarra’s chest and her lips curved into a smile.

  She’d stayed after fucking her into exhaustion. Adalyn didn’t know when she’d last spent the night with a lover.

  “Turn it off, Adalyn,” Samarra ordered grumpily.

  Adalyn reached over to slap the clock and groaned. She was sore? That dildo had been so good though.

  Warm lips pressed against the back of her neck and sharp teeth lightly scraped her skin as Samarra’s hand closed around her waist and pulled her back.

  “Morning,” she murmured in Adalyn’s ear.

  “I can’t believe you’re still here.”

  “This was the only place I wanted to be last night.” Samarra’s breath fanned her ear, heating her skin.

  Adalyn shivered and put her hand on Samarra’s. “Is that a fact?” She hoped it was. She’d dreamed about having Samarra in her bed, waking up next to her.

  Sam kissed the side of her neck. “You have no idea what you do to me,” she whispered.

  “I hope it’s something like what you do to me,” Adalyn said softly.

  “What is that?” Sam caressed Adalyn’s belly before palming a breasts and pinching the nipple sharply.

  Adalyn gasped. “Something like that.”

  Sam turned Adalyn onto her back and leaned down to take her mouth while her hand lightly stroked Adalyn’s stomach before drifting lower. Adalyn moaned softly and pushed her fingers into Samarra’s hair.

  “Uh-ahh, Samarra.” She rolled onto her back and Samarra pushed a fingertip inside her already slick entrance. Her breathing came harder. “Mmm.”

  Sam trailed kisses to her breasts and licked over a tightly furled bud. She sucked and then laved it before moving on to the twin. As she treated the other to a long lick Sam pushed two fingers into Adalyn’s pussy and let her thumb press against the tight bundle of nerves of Adalyn’s clit. Adalyn’s hips came off the bed with a gasp of pleasure.

  Adalyn mewled as Sam’s fingers fucked in and out of her slowly while her mouth teased and tormented her nipples. She thrust up impaling herself on the long fingers and caressed Sam’s arm as she gave herself over to sensation, drowned in it.

  “Yes.” She was already so close and the pads of Samarra’s fingers hit her sweet spot and her body tightened.

  “Not yet,” Sam murmured and withdrew her fingers. “I want to come with you.” She climbed onto Adalyn and ground her clit against Adalyn’s.

  Adalyn moaned and draped one leg over Sam’s hips and arched up to meet her slow grind. She gasped as bliss shot through her and slid her hands up Sam’s back as Samarra pushed herself up onto her elbows.

  “You’re so perfect, Addy,” she said roughly. “Every inch of you.”

  She kissed Sam’s shoulder and scraped her nails down her back as she began to thrust against her urgently. Their clits came together with wicked precision, sweat dewed her skin and sounds of wet sex played on the air like a soft melody.

  “Oh fuck!” Sam cried.

  “Yes.” Their bodies moved in a frantic dance. Adalyn raked her nails down Samarra’s back as she was swept up in the throes of passion. She let out a scream as one hard grind sent her tumbling headlong into a white-hot orgasm. Colors danced before her eyes and a low growl mingled with her own harsh breathing.

  “Oh baby,” Sam murmured moments later as she collapsed on Adalyn and rolled onto her back taking Adalyn with her. She nuzzled the side of her neck, her tongue flicking out sending shards of pleasure shimmying through Adalyn.

  Adalyn lifted her head and hair tumbled around them forming a curtain as she met Samarra’s gaze and grinned. “I thought only men were this horny in the mornings.”

  “I can’t speak from experience,” Sam murmured. “Are you?”

  “A little bit. I had two boyfriends.” She wrinkled her nose. “I thought there was something wrong with me that I didn’t like boys, so I put forth a real effort to like them.”

  “How’d that work out for you?”

  “Not too well,” she answered.

  “Why not?” Samarra asked stroking her back.

  “I just like the way women smell and the way they feel. I especially love the way they make love. Add a strap-on—I’m a sucker for a strap-on. I don’t know why.” She laughed, slightly embarrassed.

  “Mmm. I can tell how hot you are for my dick,” Sam teased and then kissed her. “What about kids?”

  “I’m not sure,” Adalyn admitted softly. Her childhood had been crap, and her mother had told her enough times that children ruined everything.

  “You still have plenty of time to think about it.” Samarra pushed Adalyn’s hair aside and kissed her shoulder. “What are you going to do with the rest of your life? Not dance?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know.” She’d thought of where to go from here, but her life was still uncertain. She didn’t think she could plan for a future with the possibility of Joelle hunting her down. “I’ve been thinking about going back to school to be an accountant.” She only had two years left on her degree. She’d done all the bookkeeping for her boss in addition to being his secretary.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Sam said. “You’ll be good at it.”

  “I know. What about you? What do you do?”

  “I own part of the club,” Sam told her. “And I’m an accountant and investment broker.”

  “Really? An investment broker? “

  “It’s fascinating work, and I love numbers,” she said. “The fact that I can really work from anywhere is perfect because I love to travel.”

  “Alone?”

  “I usually have Sydney with me,” she said. “If I had a long-term girlfriend I’d take her if she was available.”

  “How many of your girlfriends have you taken on trips?” Not that she was angling for anything, but it would be nice to know she’d be invited if Samarra went on a trip anytime soon.

  “I don’t do long-term,” she said.

  “Oh.” She’d guessed as much. Samarra just wanted to use her for sex. Well, wasn’t that all she could do right now too? “I guess when you said you only wanted to spend some time with me it was an euphuism for a brief fling, but you should have told me you were one of my bosses.”

  “It’s not an issue, Adalyn,” Sam murmured.

  “Right.” She rolled out of Sam’s arms and climbed out of bed. Her chest tightened and she went cold all over. Goddess on Olympus, she should have followed her first mind no matter how much she’d wanted Samarra last night. “I have a full day.”

  “Is that your way of telling me to get out?” Sam asked softly.

  She turned to see Sam sitting up on the bed, regret zigzagging through her at the chill she’d heard in her own tone. Adalyn started to apologize as her gaze caught on the tattoo on Samarra’s upper back. The slash marks were flanked by intricate designs of bind runes, and beautifully drawn animal heads. They were like the ones on her arm.

  Used correctly bind runes be used as focus or in magic. They could be used to change reality and perception he’d been told but her mentor had never had a chance to educate her in that magical art.

  Fascinated by the lines that seemed to tell a story, she wondered if Samarra was a witch or had just chosen the runes randomly because they looked cool. She started to mention them, but her gaze slid lower and Adalyn’s eyes widened. Samarra’s gorgeous skin was decorated with red scratches from shoulder to waist. She winced.

  She’d never been that wildly turned on by a woman in her life. And she wanted Samarra again even now just looking at her.

  “Samarra, I—your back—”

  “It’ll heal, Adalyn,”
she said coolly and rounded the bed.

  She moved with such grace and ease with her nakedness Adalyn envied her. But her body was gorgeous lines and planes of hard muscle and sinew that were a testament of the pride she took in her looks.

  “Give me a few minutes in your bathroom, and I’m out of here.”

  Adalyn heaved a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. She hadn’t meant to hurt Samarra, but she didn’t really want to sit around talking about her future plans with a woman who wasn’t including her in hers.

  Adalyn opened up a drawer and yanked out shorts and a camisole top. She pulled them on as the water started to run in the bathroom and stalked into the kitchen. She washed her hands and dried them, clenching them in the towel.

  Getting involved with the boss was a bad idea every time because if things ended badly and they just might —“Then, I’m going to get fired.”

  “Not unless you really fuck something up in the security room.”

  She squeaked and jerked around to find Sam leaning against the doorframe looking too damn good even in rumpled trousers and blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The top two buttons had been left open revealing the lean column of her throat.

  “I paid too damned much for that equipment,” she said and then grinned before pushing off the frame and walking over. Sam stroked a finger along Adalyn’s jaw. “Addy, don’t be so dramatic.”

  Was she reading her mind?

  “Uh, I—what are you talking about?” she asked quickly.

  Samarra shook her head. “I’m not going to fire you if this is as far as things go. Kicking you for kicking me to the curb would be childish and immature. I may as well be holding you down and raping you, and I don’t want any woman that way.”

  She nodded wondering if she could trust that.

  “I’ll see you later,” Sam said. “Lunch?”

  “No.” Adalyn shook her head. “I really do have a lot of things to do today.”

  Sam studied her, and she thought she saw disappointment flicker in her eyes.

  “I’ll see you at the club tonight,” Sam said. “When are you getting your car back?”

  “You don’t have to drive me home,” Adalyn said coldly. “I know how to take care of myself. Please, get out.”

  Sam studied her coolly. “I was just thinking how tiring it must be for you to take the bus all day. I was going to suggest you let me drive you around, but I guess that’s a no. See you around.” She turned and trekked from the apartment, closing the door quietly behind her.

  Adalyn exhaled a frustrated breath and rubbed her neck. “Why is life screwing with me, Goddess?”

  Chapter Ten

  Her phone rang, and Adalyn frowned and hurried to the living area to grab the handset from the coffee table. “Hello?”

  “Miss Wolf?”

  Adalyn went icy all over, and she tightened her grip on the phone so much her knuckles ached. “You have the wrong number.”

  “This is Detective Sang. You might remember me from the Reacher case,” he said. “Detective James was killed last night. He’d been investigating the fire that destroyed the house you were renting.”

  “You have the wrong number. My last name is Snow.” Oh no. No.

  “We’re reopening the investigation into your boss’s death, and I need you to come down for a few questions.”

  “You have the wrong person. My boss is very much alive.” The shrillness of her voice punctuated her sentence.

  “If James found you, so will whoever tried to kill you,” he assured her. “You need to come back here where we can protect you.”

  She was shaking now, barely able to keep the phone to her ear. What she needed to do was vanish again. Dye her hair, cut it short, and leave the country. She’d make enough money in four days to get a ticket out of here, but she needed money to live on. With what she had already, she’d need at least another week’s worth of salary to get out of town and support herself for a week.

  But what if she couldn’t find a job?

  Hell, she needed a passport too and shots. It would take too long to get things in order. She’d have to work a week and then move to another state to get things taken care of from there.

  “Did you hear what I said?” he asked.

  “No, but it’s irrelevant because you have the wrong number.”

  “Detective James thought you were in imminent danger and if he’s right, Miss Wolf, your killer already knows where you are. Do you want to take that chance?”

  She hung up and fought back a scream as she threw the phone across the room. It smashed into the wall, and she exhaled shakily.

  “No. No!” She hissed out. “Calm down.” She paced. You’ll be fine. She won’t burn down the apartment building. Just a week and she wouldn’t spend too much time outside. She’d make sure her cab was waiting before going outside.

  The doorbell rang, and she started. It was probably one of her neighbors. Adalyn forced her feet to move even though she trembled inside. By the time she got there, all she found was a box. She picked it up and took it inside. The pretty wrapping made her smile but it faded fast as she regarded it warily.

  Samarra hadn’t had time to arrange a gift for her. That was probably the last thing on her mind anyway.

  Adalyn lifted the lid slowly and black roses stared up at her dull and grim. From one side, a folded sheet of red rose like a tongue licking out.

  Roses are red,

  Violets are blue,

  Flowers for your funeral too.

  ****

  “I talked to Jenner last night,” Sydney told Samarra who was going over a client’s stock portfolio. “He’s got a packmate doing surveillance on them.”

  “Anything we need to worry about?”

  “Daffodil, she’s one of Marjorie’s pals, met with Sorrento last night,” Sydney said. “No bugs so he has no idea what they talked about, but Sorrento’s chief of sentry did tell him they had inherited a piece of property off Old Mourning Port Road.”

  Right near their pack. There was probably about five or ten miles between their land and the old Henley place. It was spacious but not as big as theirs or even the other pack’s property.

  “Oaklyn met with him and Sorrento wants to buy them out,” Sydney told her. “I’m going over there with Mallory later to talk to him.”

  “Did he request the meet?” If he had he was concerned. Oaklyn didn’t involve Mallory in his concerns unless he thought he might need her help.

  “Yeah. Once I see him I’ll know best how concerned he is about Sorrento,” she said. “Jenner is checking him out further. I think he’s as concerned as we are.”

  Sam closed the file she was studying and looked out of the large window of her home office at the rolling green lawn. There were trees in the distance but the leaves hadn’t begun to change colors yet.

  “I’ve been digging into Marigold’s past a little deeper,” Sydney told her quietly. “The initial report was just for a criminal background and things like that, so nothing popped.”

  “Now?”

  “Adalyn Snow doesn’t exist. Her social security number treks back to a dead girl named Madalyn Snow who died when she was six days old. The child’s mother’s dead as well, so I’m running a search on the name Adalyn. Mica said she’d be able to get access to facial recognition software through a friend who works in a forensics lab.”

  “Why are you checking her out anyway?” Sam demanded. “Mallory didn’t tell me she wanted further information on her.”

  She sighed. “Mallory didn’t really ask for this, but I decided to see if she had any connections to Sorrento,” Sydney explained. “Mal wants all the bases covered.”

  Sam growled at her. “She’s not working with those bottom-feeders!”

  “Because you fucked her? What better way to gain inside info on us than to put a girl in?”

  Sam got to her feet shoving her hands into her pockets. Adalyn didn’t act like a spy of any kind but that didn’t mean she wasn’t
. Maybe she was being coerced, or she was just playing hard to get to keep her off balance.

  “I told Mica to keep it just between us—she and I for now,” Sydney told her. “But I’ll keep you in the loop all things considered.”

  “She’s not even a temporary mate. She was a one-time thing and nothing more,” Sam said urgently. Temporary mates came and went in their lives. They were the sex partners the coyotes sated their needs with when they were in heat. Some called them lovers. Others called them temp mates because they were involved in long-term relationships with the individual.

  Those lovers had a special meaning to the pack and were often protected when danger stalked them. On the other hand, those lovers weren’t given all the rights and protections entitled to a life partner also called a mate.

  “That’s probably a good thing,” Sydney said. “I’ll see you at the club tonight.”

  ****

  “So, what happened with Samarra last night?” Leah demanded, her blue eyes staring with rapt attention.

  Adalyn rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened,” she said and curled her hand around her coffee cup. “We just had some wine.” Some wine and incredible sex. Now the woman was in her head. She couldn’t stop thinking about Samarra and that clove scent of her.

  “I think you’re hiding something,” Leah said with narrowed eyes.

  “I am not,” Adalyn exclaimed, feeling a bit uneasy as she always did when Leah looked at her like that. It was as if she was trying to see right into her soul or something.

  “There’s a bite mark on your neck,” Leah said as she pursed her lips. Humor lit her eyes.

  “You had sex with her didn’t you?” she accused.

  “Yeah, okay, we did.” And all she wanted was to do it again.

  “You skank.” Leah grinned. “So how was she? As good as she looks?”

  She laughed. “Better.” So much better than the sex she’d had with her in her day dreams. “Man she can kiss.” She could have come just from Samarra’s kisses.

  Leah leaned closer. “Ooo! Oh god, Valerie would just die if she found out you actually fucked Samarra.”