Training Their Mate [Pack Wars-Book 1] (16 page)

She placed a cube of pineapple in her mouth and
let the sweet juices wake her up. “I was hoping you might be able to find the time
to drive me to my car and then escort me home so I can get more clothes.”

“Sure. Let me call Randy to see if he can work
for me today.”

Inconveniencing him wasn’t her goal. “You don’t
have to do that.”

He smiled. “I’ll take any excuse to spend time
with a beautiful woman.”

Her stomach flipped. “Just any beautiful
woman?” She couldn’t believe he thought she was even pretty.

“No, just you.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

While she dug into her meal, Dante called this
Randy guy who didn’t appear to need much encouragement to come to work.

“Done. I can be your bodyguard for the day.”

That excited her. “I’ve been thinking.”

He shoved a forkful of eggs in his mouth then
washed them down with juice. He held up a finger while he finished chewing.
“Always a good idea.”

She loved his humor. “I want to learn to shoot
a gun.”

His cheer disappeared. “Sugar, I don’t think
that’s a good idea.”

She figured he’d say that. “Even if you, or
rather Trax captures Couch, he could have other members of his team follow up
on his desire to harm me.”

“I’ll admit there are a lot of Colters running
around.”

“See? What if after Couch is in prison, he
calls his men and tells them to come after me. I want to be ready.” This time
she held up a finger. “And don’t say carrying a gun is dangerous. I know it is.
That’s why I want to be prepared.”

He blew out a breath and leaned back in his
chair. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Really? And since I have to go back to work
soon, could I get a few of those werewolf-killing bullets?” She feared she’d be
spending her life looking over her shoulder wondering if one of Couch’s men was
out to exact revenge for her part in bringing him down.

He burst out laughing. “You are something
else.”

She hoped he liked her aggression, though Trax
wouldn’t. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“Let’s take it one step at a time. I’m afraid
the bullets we have won’t fit that peashooter of yours. Hell, I might as well
bring a spare gun of Trax’s. That way, if he’s willing to lend it to you,
you’ll know how to use it.”

“Thank you.”

He leaned closer. “I hope you’ll figure out a
reward for my generosity.”

“Absolutely, and as you know, I can be very
generous.”

#

“Have you ever been to a gun range?” Dante
finished buying two boxes of ammo for them at the indoor shooting range.

“No. Guns have always scared me.” Being indoors
seemed easier than outdoors as a wall separated them from the other shooters.

“Good. They should, but I totally get that you
want to keep a gun in your glove compartment in case Couch approaches you again.”

Or in
case I get pissed and decide to shoot first and ask questions later.

She remembered what happened the last time she
was in the car. Trax’s car had bulletproof glass, but hers didn’t. “What if
Couch sends someone else? Is there a way for a laymen to tell if someone is
really a you-know-what?” She had to lean close as the gunshots made it hard to
have a conversation.

For a second Dante tensed. “No.”

“Then how did you know Couch was a shifter?”

His mouth opened then closed quickly. “I saw
him shift.”

That made sense. “So if a Colter never shifted
in front of you, you wouldn’t know to keep watch on them. Right?”

He tapped her on the nose. “I thought we came
here to learn how to shoot.”

Dante had a smooth way of avoiding pointed
questions. For now, she wouldn’t pick. Maybe it was better not to know all the
details. “Okay, hot shot. Show me what to do.”

He loaded the ordinary bullets into Trax’s
spare gun. “Did you see how I did that?”

“Yes.”

He handed her the gun. “Keep your arms straight
and look down the site.”

She closed one eye and aimed but didn’t pull
the trigger.

“Let’s put on your ear protection so your ears
don’t ring all day.” He slipped the head gear on and stepped behind her. Dante
encased her arms with his and lifted them to eye level. Having him there gave
her so much confidence.

“Pull the trigger when you’re ready.” His voice
sounded muffled, but she could hear him.

She held her breath and shot. The recoil jerked
her back. Her arms would have lowered except Dante had supported them. She
turned around and lifted her headgear. “Can I see how I did?”

“We’ll look later. Keep practicing.”

For the next few shots, he guided her but then
stepped away. She’d gotten the sense
of the
gun and felt
good about her shots. Dante
held up his gun and fired shot after shot at his target. He didn’t flinch or
jerk.

After ten minutes, he stepped over to her side
and pressed a button. The target approached. “Hey, not bad.”

Four shots hit close to the center. Probably
the ones Dante had helped with. The rest barely hit the target or missed all
together.

“Let’s see your score.”

His adorable smirk said it all. He brought his
target near.

“Holy shit. You’re good.” Almost all of his
shots were in the center circle.

He brushed his knuckles against his chest.
“Actually, I cheated.”

“How?”

He showed her how to use the infrared sensor.
“Now when you aim, the red dot shows you where the bullet will go.”

“That’s so cool.”

Excited to experiment with this new feature,
she tried again. She lined up the red dot close to the center and pulled the
trigger. After about twenty shots, she pressed the button to bring her target
closer.

“How did you do?” He pulled the paper close.

She studied the results. “Not as well as I
thought.”

“It takes practice.”

Darn
. “What I need is a heat sinking bullet. Once I
take aim, the bullet locks on to the target and follows him around, even if he
tries to run away.”

Dante lifted the gun from her hands. “Perhaps
you’ve had enough target practice for today if you’re thinking about shooting a
retreating target.”

That made her laugh. “Maybe you’re right.”

“How about some lunch and a romantic walk on
the beach?”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

During the ride to the seashore, she rolled
down her window and enjoyed the November air. The humidity wasn’t often this low
and the temperature below eighty. Add in the slight breeze and a clear sky, and
she was thrilled to be far away from Harvey Couch and all that was bad.

“You want to go to the Pavilion for lunch?”

“I for one love their hamburgers, but my
cholesterol would double if I ate there very often. How do you stay so fit?”

“Pure thoughts.”

Dante always had an answer. He parked the car
in the lot, came over to her side, and opened the door. His chivalry was only
one thing she liked about him.

She rushed up next to him and tried to keep up
with his long strides. “Do you play hooky from your store very often?”

“With my brother as a task master? No, not
often. Though to be honest, I usually don’t have a reason to run out and play.”
He squeezed her hand.

They arrived at the restaurant and ordered at
the bar. Once their food came, they decided to sit outside and enjoy the fresh
air. The salt breeze refreshed her and she enjoyed watching the seagulls. They
squawked loudly as they dove toward the beach and picked up whatever food they
could find.

“Dig in!” Dante lifted his hamburger and before
it got to his lips, juice dripped down his hands. He took a bite. “Mmm, almost
as good as your pussy.”

Heat raced up her face. “Shh. There are
families here.”

He laughed. “If I was focused on what other
people thought of me, I’d never be happy.”

“I’m not worried about looking bad, but young
children shouldn’t be privy to our sex life.”

“Speaking of which, do you know what I plan to
do to you as soon as I get you back to our house?”

Just the thought of making love with the
awesome man had her nipples puckering and her pussy dampening. Before heading
to the gun range, he’d allowed her to pick up her car and had followed her
home. He totally understood that she needed to grab more clothes. While there,
she’d slipped on a thong and her sexiest bra. She hoped he’d like the outfit.

“How about you show me when we get back instead
of telling me. I like surprises.”

He laughed and several people at nearby tables
looked their way. “Eat up.”

They took a quick walk to the water, dipped in
their feet so they could say they’d done the beach thing, and headed back to
the car.

The quiet, sunny respite had done wonders for
her soul. “If I could afford it, I’d consider living on the beach.”

“Too much danger from wind.”

Hurricanes were a problem in Florida. “True.
Maybe renting a place for a month after hurricane season might be nice.”

“Indeed.”

He opened her car door and she eased in. She
didn’t miss Dante scoping out the area as if he expected trouble. Not wanting
to get into a debate about how he knew where these Colters were, she kept
quiet.

During the drive home, her imagination went a
little wild. Perhaps she could convince him to take her into the playroom. Even
though Dante didn’t seem the type to demand her submission, she might like him
to try.

Not long after they left the beach, he pulled
up behind their building and parked. He cut the engine.

“Ready for your world to rock?” He winked.

She so could get used to being with this man.
“Absolutely.”

As soon as Dante and she got into the house, he
plastered her back to the wall. “I’ve been dreaming of having you again all
day.”

“Me, too.” That was the truth.

How could these men have gotten under her skin
so fast? It was as if she was destined to be with them. She was never one to
believe in love at first sight, but with the way they took such good care of
her and protected her, not to mention the way they brought her to climax in a
few seconds, they were meant to be.

She broke the kiss and started to lift off her
shirt when Dante stopped her. “Let me.” He removed her heavy T-shirt over and
whistled. “Sugar, you came ready for me.”

“You like?”

“I more than like. I almost hate to take off
this lacy bra.” He dipped his head and tugged her close. His tongue traced a
path across the top of the pink lace and pinpricks of delight spread over her.

“What do you say we take this into the
playroom?” She held her breath waiting to see if he thought tying her up was
only for Trax.

His response was to pick her up. “You are the
woman of my dreams.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You know I’m a big fan of showing.”

He walked her to the playroom and placed his
thumb on the sensor. The lock unclicked.
 

She couldn’t wait for this adventure.

Chapter Fourteen

As soon as Dante set Liz down, he slid his
fingers under her bra and popped it over her tits. “I can’t tell you how much I
love these.”

“I thought you were more of a show-me guy.” She
grinned.

He laughed. “You got that right, but I need you
more naked. My cock can’t decide where to go since you have so many delicious
spots.”

She loved that he made her feel so special.
Since Dante wasn’t into being neat, she toed off her shoes and kicked them
toward the wall. He held her hands in one of his as if he wanted to take down
her pants.

“I have a better idea.”

He stepped over to the credenza and opened the
drawer. When he turned around, he had a soft looking rope in his hand, but she
couldn’t make out the material, just that it was long. The red lights sat on
the floor and illuminated the walls. They’d come on automatically when they
entered, which made it a little hard to see well.

“Turn around.”

She liked how his voice had lowered an octave.
He had her tied in no time. If she didn’t know better, she might have guessed
he’d roped calves in his past. He stepped in front of her.

Without saying a word, he unbuttoned her jeans
and slid them down over her hips. “Ooh, sugar, you did plan on seducing me,
didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, you came to the right place.” He walked
around to her rear and whistled. “I’m thinking I might have to take you in the
ass today.”