the worst damn decision of their life, because Aric was definitely not in a merciful mood.
After Nicky's new girl had left him high and dry, Aric had grudgingly settled for Courtney instead. She'd done her best to keep up with him, and—as always—she'd done a decent job. But she just wasn't what he'd wanted, and their session had left him unsatisfied.
Still, he couldn't blame Courtney for his crappy temper. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't the new girl.
There was something about the slim, black-haired woman that had stuck with Aric. Even while he was grinding it out with Courtney, he'd been imagining the newcomer crying out for more beneath him.
And the notion that he'd been too much for her—that the thought of taking him between her legs had frightened her so much that she'd run away from a job—made Aric want her even more.
Even after he'd nutted deep inside Courtney, filling her to overflowing, Aric's blood was still running hot. He didn't feel any of the peace, the calming of his mind, that fucking usually provided, at least for a while.
He took Courtney back to Evander’s, handed over her wages, and said a mechanical goodbye, all the while resisting the urge to snap—if not at her, at someone or something. In this mood, he could easily pick a fight or destroy something, neither of which seemed like a good idea.
So he'd driven home, trying to move past the disappointing evening—right up to the point where he'd picked up the intruder's scent.
Then his general malaise instantly combusted into rage.
In the Boundarylands, nothing was more sacred than an alpha's property. A man's land was his life and his livelihood, and any attack on it was an attack on the alpha himself, to be met with the full force of his strength and righteous fury.
That hadn't stopped a half dozen confrontations with a variety of bad actors over the past year, when betas had become increasingly brazen in their incursions into the Boundarylands. Even the bloodbaths that resulted hadn't stopped more of them from coming.
This was the first time anyone had come onto Aric's land, however. Whoever it was, they were about to experience some hardcore alpha justice.
But the closer Aric got to the turnoff, the more confused he was by the intruder's behavior. They weren't securing a position or setting tripwires or explosives. There was no scent of cordite or gunpowder or propellant or chemical weapons. In fact, as far as Aric could tell, they weren't doing anything at all.
There was no movement, only the telltale signs of their presence—a foreign scent hanging in the air, the even rise and fall of their breath, the steady beat of their heart.
The mystery only grew when Aric roared up to the front of his cabin, only to find an unfamiliar car illuminated by his headlights, parked right in front of his door.
As Aric killed the engine, he realized that he had seen this car, a ridiculous little blue two-seater, before. It belonged to one of the newer omegas who had come to the Boundarylands in the last few months. Faith or Darcy or somebody—Aric had given up keeping track of them.
Aric got out of his truck and tilted his head back, testing the air. Whoever was inside his house wasn't an omega.
But she was female, her scent deep and mossy now that he was up close. And…familiar.
Aric shook his head in disbelief. He charged through his front door, any remaining doubt evaporating once he was inside. The scent that had driven him crazy in the parking lot, that had stayed with him all night, was undeniable—as was the sight that greeted him when he threw open the door of his bedroom.
The new girl—Jo—was curled up asleep in the center of his bed like a gift from the fates.
She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't even stir when the door bounced off the wall. Aric soon realized why: sniffing the air in the room, he caught the lingering fumes of potent alcohol.
Somebody had been digging through his cupboards and drinking from his cup.
And now she was sleeping in his bed.
A grin tugged at the corners of Aric's mouth. So his little whore—Jo—wanted to play Goldilocks? That was fine by him—though he hoped she hadn't been expecting Papa Bear, because she was about to get a heaping dose of Big Bad Wolf.
Aric briefly considered waking Jo up right away but decided to let her sleep a little longer. He didn't want her groggy and