“Remind me.”

“He kicks ass, is what it means. He’s a badass of the worst sort. On a personal note, he’s a good man who is as loyal as hell to the pack and he’s got honor. I hear he’s heaven in bed. I’d take him for a test spin if I were twenty years younger and not in love.”

“That helps a lot since I heard that castration threat from Uncle Omar.” Minnie chuckled. “Sarcasm just drips from your lips. Okay. He’s Elroy’s bastard son.”

Mika was shocked. Elroy was the alpha of the pack but he didn’t handle the day-today functions of the pack. That fell to Uncle Omar. Elroy and Omar were best friends and had been raised together. She knew Elroy had four sons but she’d never been allowed to meet them since Uncle Omar was so damn protective of her. He could control all pack males but those four.

“One of the four?”

“No.” Minnie’s voice softened. “He was born before Elroy mated to Eve when he had a short relationship with a human and she gave birth to Grady. Elroy didn’t know about that boy until the woman showed up with him when Grady was ten. She didn’t know what Elroy was until Grady started shifting. She freaked out the first time her son sprouted hair. That’s when she brought Elroy his son. She pretty much walked up to the door, told Elroy to take him, and abandoned Grady on the doorstep.

Eve had a damn fit and wouldn’t let Grady in her house. I know she’s my alpha bitch but that woman is heartless. It wasn’t Grady’s fault he was born to another woman, but she made Elroy have other pack families raise Grady. He grew up hard, Mika, so give him a break. He turned out to be a good man despite his shitty childhood.

Elroy acknowledges him and so do his sons but Eve is a nightmare when it comes to Grady. He’s still not allowed in her house or near her and she goes out of her way to shun him.”

Mika leaned against the counter. “That’s f**ked up.”

“It is. Now he’s got this shit job of protecting you, no offense. He’s got a bar to run but instead he’s stuck at your house and it’s going to hurt his business. I tried to tell Omar this was stupid but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“A bar?”

“Yeah. It’s his baby. He patrols two nights a week for the pack and he handles pack business during the day for the most part. The other five nights he runs his place. He opened last year. He’s doing well from what I hear and he lives in an apartment over the bar. He’s a good guy so don’t bust his balls too bad. He’s about as happy about being your guard as you are to have one.”

Sighing, Mika nodded. “Okay. I’ll play nice.”

Minnie chuckled. “He’s hot.”

She hesitated. “Yeah.”

“I don’t envy you. He won’t touch you though. He’ll want his balls attached to his body.”

“Would Uncle Omar really—”

“You bet your ass.” Minnie sighed. “He’s determined that you’re going to marry some nice human man.” She snorted. “Like that’s guaranteeing you a happy life. I’m telling you that I love him but the man has funny ideas about life.”

“Who said anything about marriage?”

“That’s my girl,” Minnie laughed. “Use condoms if you do go after that man and wash everything twice. Don’t forget our damn sense of smell. The last thing you need is to forget to wash your bedding and have my love step into your room.”

“It’s not happening.”

Minnie sighed. “Probably not. Grady will follow his orders to the letter since he is always trying to prove himself to his father and he’s under orders to not touch you. Call me if you need me.”

“Thanks.” Mika hung up.

The next two weeks were going to be hell if she had to spend them with Grady. She turned to face him when she heard him coming. She met his dark gaze as he stepped into the kitchen with her, seeing that he’d changed into a pair of jeans and a red tank top. She eyed his exposed arms and swallowed. The man had broad, tan shoulders and his arms were well defined. He definitely ate his Wheaties and lifted weights.

She blew out her breath. He looked mighty fine and totally f**kable. His wild hair called to her and she had the urge to run her fingers through it. He was one hell of a well-put-together package of hard-body male and his long hair was playing hell with her libido.

“Could you put your hair up?” She gave him a hopeful smile.

He frowned. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

She hesitated. Mika thought about lying to him but she wasn’t that type, admiring honesty most. “You look really sexy with your hair down and your body displayed but I’d be totally disgusted if you’d grease your hair back. How about it?” She gave him an encouraging smile. “I have cooking oil right over there by the stove. The greasier, the grosser.”

He lifted his arms and crossed them over his chest. His full, firm lips molded into a frown as those dark eyes seemed to go darker.

“I am not putting grease in my hair.” His gaze roamed down her. “And what about you? You’re wearing a damn skirt. Go put on baggy jeans.” She looked down at her skirt. “It’s decent when I don’t have it hiked up. It’s past my knees and it’s loose.” She raised her chin and met his gaze. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s easy access.”

She swallowed hard as an image of him making use of her easy-access skirt filled her with dirty thoughts. “This is going to be a damn long two weeks, isn’t it?”

“Hell yes.” He sighed.

She took a deep breath. “Let’s go grocery shopping. It’s not just me fending for food for myself anymore and I’m guessing you’d like to eat regularly while you’re living with me.”

His gaze raked down her body and then back up. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to do regularly while living with you.”

They stared at each other for a good minute. Mika’s body responded to him as her ni**les hardened and her belly quivered. “Shit. How many days do you give it?” He frowned. “I don’t understand the question.”

She grabbed her purse and passed within feet of him. “How many days do you give it before we end up in bed together?”

His jaw tensed and his dark gaze tore away from hers. “It won’t happen. I have my orders and I enjoy my balls attached to me. Let’s go, babe. We’ll take my Jeep.” She nodded and walked through the living room to the front door. She wanted him bad. “We’ll pick up condoms just in case.”

She heard him curse softly behind her but Mika didn’t turn to look at him. She smiled instead, her mind made up instantly that she was going to get Grady in bed. He turned her on and she knew intimately that he was good with his hands. No one had to know if they did have sex. They were going to be living together for two weeks until she left town and she was a realist.

She was single and free. He was single and free, judging by his earlier comment about how he’d be a single wolf in mating season who wasn’t getting laid. She walked out the front door as Grady growled softly at her. Her body reacted to the sound he made, reminding her of last night, and how hard he’d made her come. He locked the door and pointed to the Jeep.

“Walk and don’t look at me that way.”

She chuckled. “How am I looking at you?”

“You know,” he growled. “It’s not happening, babe. If I had known who the hell you were last night I never would have followed you to collect your debt.”

“I’m glad you did. I ran into two more men after you left me but they got a sniff of me and then just walked away.”

Grady cursed. “Fuck. I hope they weren’t pack. They know my scent and if they know who you are then it’s only a matter of time before Omar hears about it.”

“I’ve never seen either of them before so I don’t think they are.” Snorting, Grady shot her a glare as he opened the passenger door for her. “You never met me and I’m pack.”

She climbed into his Jeep and he carefully shut the door. She appreciated it that Grady was a gentleman. “Good point.”

Chapter Four

Mika was going stir-crazy as she glared at Grady. He was driving her crazy. Two days of living with that man would drive any woman insane. He barely spoke to her, he treated her as though she was diseased, he usually kept a room between them, and he was rude when he did speak to her. She had cabin fever since the man wouldn’t let her go anywhere. Grady’s shitty attitude was the last straw for her.

She walked into her bedroom, feeling his intense stare on her from the dining room where he was reading the paper. She shut the door and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was just past eight on a Friday night. No single person should be stuck at home. She was twenty-eight, not eighty-eight, and she needed a damn life. She was on vacation but instead she felt as if she were in prison.

She put on a pair of low-slung jeans, a button-down black shirt with some cle**age showing and black boots with three-inch heels. In the bathroom, she put on light makeup and brushed out her hair, deciding to leave it down. She met her blue eyes in the mirror and slowly smiled at her reflection. She wanted to raise some hell and drive Grady Harris crazy. He deserved it. It was only fair.

She left the bathroom and opened the bedroom door. Grady’s almost black eyes widened from across the room as he took in her change of clothing and appearance. He frowned as he slowly stood.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His voice was soft but there was a deceptive hardness there too.

“Out. I’m about to lose my damn mind. Let’s go.”

“It’s after dark.”

“No one is going to screw with me when I’m with you. I’m not asking you to take me to some wild damn party where we’re going to end up arrested. I just want to go out. This is my vacation, damn it, and I’m going crazy. I guess I could stay here to have some fun, instead of going out.”

“I want to stay here.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Mika slowly smiled. “Great. Take off your clothes.” His mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide again. “What?” he rasped.

“The only fun you and I could have here doesn’t involve clothing. I’m determined to have some fun and since you barely speak to me, that just leaves sex. Either take off your clothes, stud, or grab your Jeep keys. Your choice. One way or another, I’m not going to sit here again the way we did last night being bored out of my head.”

A low growl came from him as he stood frozen. She stared at him, watching his tense body. Her focus lowered to the front of his jeans and she couldn’t miss the noticeable bulge there. Grady had a serious hard-on. She grinned.

“Are we staying or going?” She arched her eyebrow at him. “That sexy growl thing you have going on and your obvious erection tells me that you’d rather stay in with me.”

“Let’s go,” he snarled, tearing his gaze from hers. “I’m not losing my balls over you.”

Sighing, she walked toward the door. “But what a way to lose them.” He growled at her again, glaring at her until they reached the Jeep. Even though he was pissed off he opened the door for her and then shut it. He was quite the gentleman, at least when it came to installing a woman in a vehicle. He slammed his door when he climbed in and studied her in the dim interior. “Where do you want to go?” She hesitated. “Why don’t we kill two birds with one stone? Minnie told me you own a bar so you could go in and get a little work done while I have a few drinks.” She saw indecision on Grady’s face but he finally nodded. “There will be wolves there but I have good security. We can go there but you are to stay where I put you. Do you understand?” He shot her a hard look.