you let me know? Guys can be pretty clueless.” He chuckled softly. “According to Lily, I’m one of the worst.”
Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Annie finally looked up at him and said, “I couldn’t. You were Lily’s. At least that’s what I thought.”
He’d sort of figured the same thing for most of his teen years. He’d been Lily’s, though she’d never really been his. It was easier than thinking for himself. Easier than going against what the pack appeared to have agreed upon. “That’s what everyone thought, because that’s what our parents wanted. Lily and I do love each other, but we figured out a long time ago that it’s the love of very dear friends. We’re not meant to be mated.” He laughed. “Trust me, we both know it would never work.”
“That’s what Lily said.” She shrugged. “I don’t think I really believed her, but if you’re agreeing . . .”
“Sweetie, Lily and I will never lie to you. What she said is the truth. Another truth? I want to make love with you, Annie. Tonight, not just because our need is strong after the shift, but because you’re finally opening to me. We’ve got a connection like I never imagined. I want to keep it. Hold it close. Build on it.”
“I want that, too. I want you.” She looped her arms loosely over his shoulders. “I never thought you’d be interested.” She kissed him, and it was sweet and perfect, just an innocent kiss, but it left his blood boiling and his cock rising to press even harder against that hot and secret place between her thighs.
He stood up, still holding Annie close but feeling pretty stupid when he realized he was blinking away tears. “Believe me, Annie. I’m interested. Way more than interested.”
Then he carried her to the same soft, grassy spot where she and Lily had made love. Kneeling on the flattened patch of grass, he waited while she unfolded her legs from around his waist and sat. He knelt in front of her. Held her hands in both of his, and the solemnity of the moment had him pausing, thinking of what they were about to do. In more ways than he could possibly imagine, this was a first time for him, too. “I’ll do my best to make it good for you. I promise.”
Her fingers squeezed his, and she took a long, deep breath. “Alex, I’ve loved you since I was little. I never thought I’d have the chance to say that. Never expected we’d ever be able to do this. It’s already good.”
He leaned close, and kissed her hard and fast. “Wonderful. Then let’s make it better.”
10
Sebastian stood on the well-lit front porch of the huge Cheval home and wondered if he was making the most foolish mistake in his life. He’d come here without invitation, without a plan of any kind, but when he’d finally called Lily’s office, when her circumspect assistant working late on a Friday night would only admit Lily was visiting family, Sebastian knew he had no choice.
It had been easier than he’d expected to get a flight out of the city, and the closer he’d gotten to Lily’s Montana home, the better he’d felt about his decision. The rental car had been waiting and the front gates to the Cheval estate wide open, almost as if he were expected. He’d parked behind a large garage, out of sight of the house.
He wasn’t hiding on purpose. He wasn’t going to hide from anyone, especially from Lily’s mother and father. He knew they were home because he’d watched them drive in just a short while ago. Another couple had been with them, but they’d entered the huge, sprawling house through separate doorways, and he imagined they must all live here together.
One of his father’s favorite rants was about the blatant immorality of Chanku, the fact that they swapped mates and had indiscriminate sexual encounters, that they were nothing more than animals.
It was hard to deny they were animals—beautiful creatures of the wild, choosing their forms at will, and as far as Sebastian was concerned, what consenting adults did behind closed doors was their own damned business. No matter their morality, Lily’s parents had raised a pretty amazing daughter.
With that thought foremost in mind, he raised his hand to knock on the door. It swung open before his fist connected with the intricately carved wood.
Startled, he stepped back. Lily’s father, the very famous and yet somewhat reclusive Anton