Carter sat at the bar at O'Shea's, nursing a beer as he watched everything going on behind him in the mirror. He didn't want to go back to the house. Between Logan and Natalia, Benedict and Eloise, and Atticus and Sophia, the mansion had turned into date night every night. Carter made a face and reached for another handful of peanuts. He was happy for them, of course, but that didn't make seeing the lovey-dovey cuddling and murmuring and kissing easy. Especially since he still didn't have the same.
A commotion made him look up, and Ruby O'Shea tore into the bar with a ferocious snarl on her face. She slammed the door and strode toward the bar without looking at anyone. The pack members who lounged around the pool table cringed low in their seats and then slunk to the door. The humans populating the bar looked around, uncomfortable, then started asking for the check. Even if they didn't know O'Shea's was a pack bar full of shifters, the humans sensed the tension.
Carter raised his beer to drink, trying to hide a smile as Ruby went behind the bar and started yanking bottles down left and right. He waited until a bottle of tequila landed on the bar in front of him before he cleared his throat. "Rough day?"
She shot him a dark look. "Don't start with me, Chase."
He just smiled. "Come on, Ruby. You're not going to scare me."
Her teeth and a couple of her piercings shone in the light as she ducked to retrieve something from under the bar, then smacked a pair of limes down in front of him. A knife flashed and she had several wedges ready, along with a saltshaker. She leveled the blade at him. "You want to stay and crack jokes, Carter? Then you drink."
"Line 'em up." He uncapped the bottle of tequila and filled the shot glasses as she set them out, and though he had no problem holding his liquor, he got a little nervous as the number of glasses reached into the double digits. "I just went on the third terrible date this week, so you'll have to work to beat that."
Her dark eyes narrowed and she licked the side of her hand, pouring salt onto it before handing him the shaker. "Worst first and last date ever. Propositioned as a business deal. Since no other man in the entire city would ever ask me out."
Carter winced. "Ouch."
"Yeah." She licked the salt off her hand, tossed back a shot of tequila, and bit into a lime. He followed, the tequila burning his nose and throat and making him blink, as he turned on the stool to watch while she snapped orders at the few pack members that remained.
When she returned, he caught her wrist. "Hey. You're killing business down here. Let's go upstairs."
"This is my bar, I'll kill business if I want."
It wasn't bravado. Something else bothered her, he could tell. Something to do with that whole 'no man would ask her out' thing, and that was too serious for her to admit in a public place, where her pack might sense weakness. Carter started pouring the shots back into the bottle. "You're too good of a businesswoman to do that. Seriously. Jules and the guys can handle things down here, and Rafe is out for the night. We can go upstairs and I'll tell you all about my awful dates."
The conflict played out across her face, but whatever bothered her must have been pretty awful, because eventually she snatched the salt and limes off the bar, turned on her heel, and marched to the back staircase without another word. Carter took two of the shot glasses and the bottle of tequila, nodding to the bar manager as he followed Ruby. The manager sighed, "Thanks," and went about trying to get the clientele back.
Carter tried to put how good Ruby smelled out of his head. She was Natalia's best friend and the alpha of the BloodMoon pack, and pretty well off-limits. But his lion grumbled and growled as he found her pacing in the large living room upstairs, arms folded tightly to her chest and the expensive high-heeled boots she wore clicking across the floor. The lion liked the idea of a wolf alpha to curl up with at night. Carter set down the tequila and poured her another shot. She threw it back without a word, then leveled a look at him that nearly stopped his heart. "So you're dating now?"
He took his own drink and eased onto the couch after folding his jacket across the back of the chair. It had been a long damn day, bouncing between Natalia's restaurant and the Chase company headquarters to help Benedict. He put his feet up on the coffee table and yawned. "Logan's thing. He made me sign up with a matchmaker, so I've been on three blind dates in the last week. It's awful."
She managed a grimacing smile. "Really? I would have thought the matchmaker had pretty good instincts for that kind of thing."
"Oh, they all look good on paper." He rested his head on the back of the couch and stared up the ceiling fan, revolving in a lopsided circle. He glanced at her with a grin. "But on paper doesn't usually work out in real life, right?"
"Tell me about it." Ruby paused long enough for more tequila, swigging straight out of the bottle. She paced more, hands tapping patterns against her thighs, and Carter watched her walk. She wanted to talk, wanted to admit something, but she held herself back. After some time, she faced him, hands on her hips. "Don't tell anyone this or I will end you. Got it?"
He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. God, she was beautiful – all fierce and fiery, pure energy and movement. Long dark hair falling over full breasts and a narrow waist, but with generous hips and a fantastic ass that just begged to be spanked. He tried to focus. And her threatening him was more than a little bit of a turn-on, if only because he wanted to show her how he felt about idle threats.
She took a deep breath, raking the hair back from her face, and started pacing again. "Miles Evershaw asked me to be his mate. Merge the packs, kick Rafe out, set up a power bloc against the rest of the shifters, and be mates. A marriage of convenience. A business deal."
Carter poured another shot and set out a lime wedge for her. "Sounds romantic. I'm surprised you didn't swoon."
She shot him a dirty look, but a hint of amusement gathered around her eyes. "Yeah."
"So what did you tell him?"
"No way in hell." She gave a frustrated growl and turned in a circle, searching the room for something he couldn't see. "He's an ass. And a control freak. He'd pretend up front that we would be equal, but I know him. There's only room for one alpha in his pack, and that's him. Everyone else is second. And I didn't bust my ass and fight half the wolves in this city to get where I'm at only to give it up for some dick."
Carter bit back a smile, even though he sympathized. "You shouldn't have to."
"No. And I'm not. Rafe and I made this pack. I'm not letting Miles fucking Evershaw run me off, or tell me there's no one else in the damn city who will date me."
Carter's dislike for Evershaw grew exponentially. The guy was a manipulative dick. He tried to intimidate Ruby into giving in, acting as if she would be alone forever. Carter raised a shot of tequila in salute. "I can refer you to my matchmaker. Then we can both have disappointing dates and bitch about them afterwards."
A smile definitely made an appearance. "Or not."
She took a shot, and then collapsed onto the couch next to him. She rubbed her forehead, fatigue suddenly evident in every line of her body. She smelled delicious, some kind of vanilla perfume clinging to her despite the liquor and the smoke from the bar. He wanted to pull her into his lap and cuddle her. Protect her.
Ruby took a deep breath and fixed him with a penetrating stare. "What's the matter with me, Carter?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." His mouth was dry but the words came easily, and he wouldn't have looked away from her even if the entire pack came up the stairs to end his life. "You are fucking perfect."
"Then why is Miles Evershaw the only guy asking me out?"
He eased a little closer, dared to catch her knee and squeeze it. Even though what he really wanted was to grab her thighs and drag her closer so he could rip off her shirt. "Because you're successful and powerful, and you know what you want. Because you have high standards and you're not going to lower them because you know you're worth it."
Half of her mouth turned up. "That's what Nat would tell me. That's what women tell each other. Tell me from a man's perspective."
Carter's mind raced and his heart thumped, wanting to show her a man's perspective. Talking about it wasn't enough. Maybe the tequila made her vulnerable, maybe it was Natalia's impending wedding and all the bullshit that went along with it that had the normally unflappable Ruby thinking about why she hadn't found a mate. He leaned forward until they were nose to nose, but he kept his voice quiet so she had to ease forward even more, in order to hang on his every word. "Because you're in charge every minute of every day, men think you want that at home. In bed. And that makes them nervous."
"Makes them nervous." Her lips parted and she seemed very interested in his mouth. He heard her heart racing, could scent the hint of interest as her body reacted to his. "But not you, apparently."
"Because I know you don't really want to be in charge all the time." He smiled as she blinked and started to protest, and he touched the tips of his fingers to her lips, cutting her off. He leaned forward until she leaned back, giving way, and he braced his hands on either side of her shoulders, letting his knee depress the cushion between her thighs. He trapped her there, let her feel his weight, and dipped his head enough to nuzzle her hair. His voice dropped as he heard the thrum of her pulse. "I know you want someone else to be in charge when they take you to bed. You want someone to tell you what to do. Take away that burden of responsibility. Maybe tie you up. Teach you a lesson or two. And then let you saunter off to be alpha again, knowing you can't sit down because you got paddled for being a very bad girl."
Her breath escaped in something dangerously close to a moan, then Ruby blinked the dazed look away and braced her hands on his shoulders. "That's not at all what…"
"Don't lie to me." Carter grumbled a warning and rested his palm on her side, right against her rib cage. "I can hear your heart beating, Ruby."
She looked up at him, tense as a coiled spring, and her pupils dilated until her eyes looked completely black. "Maybe I'm about to throw you across this room."
Carter chuckled. But he sat back, unconcerned. Sometimes the game took longer than he wanted, but victory tasted better after anticipation. Before he got too far, Ruby's arms locked around his neck and she kissed him fiercely, demandingly. Carter waited only a moment before he kissed her back, fingers threading into her hair and tightening until he took control back. He pressed her back down on the couch and she moaned, writhing under him until the lion almost took over. He broke the kiss and retreated but kept her pinned, studying her expression as she panted, eyes wide.
He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers before easing back. She started to follow him, ready for another kiss, but he tightened his hold on her hair and she inhaled sharply. Carter smiled, returned for another slow kiss. She tasted like tequila and lime and lust, a heady mix with threads of her own taste as well. Ruby bit at his lip, and Carter immediately withdrew. She arched, wanting more contact, but he kept his distance as he murmured, "Here's the thing, Ruby. I like being the one in charge, but I'm not looking for a fight. So whether or not we do this – that’s up to you. We'll establish a few ground rules before this goes anywhere, though, and make sure we're on the same page."
"You're saying you won't fuck me unless you get to tie me up?"
Carter shook his head and tapped the end of her nose. "It's not about restraints. It's about acknowledging what you want – what you need. But no, you're not going to intimidate me into sex, and I'm not taking you to bed tonight regardless."
Her full breasts pressed against his chest and Carter immediately regretted his decision. Ruby knew it, could feel his arousal, and undulated her hips against his in a deliberate motion that nearly finished him. Her voice went husky and low. "You sure about that, Carter?"
"Yes." He pushed up and got off the couch, adjusting his clothes as he poured another shot of tequila. He downed it, then picked up his jacket from the back of the chair. A bit of mindful breathing helped resolve the problem in his pants, and he faced her with a clear mind. "So here's the deal. I like you. A lot. And I think we would have an unbelievable amount of fun together."
"That might not be enough," she said, still sprawled across the couch. She looked ready to be thrown over his shoulder and carried away. Carter sucked in a breath and focused on his mantra. Had to stay centered. Control was important. Ruby cleared her throat and looked away, a flush rising in her cheeks. "Regardless of what I may…enjoy in bed, I can't have a weak mate. I can't have people think that…"
"So a lion would be a weak mate?" She flushed, about to rephrase, but he just held up his hand to cut her off. "What do you care what people think? You're the alpha. You can do what you want, right?"
"It's not that easy." She looked regretful, maybe sad. "It's never that easy."
"It could be." He shrugged, wondering if he needed to call Edgar for a ride before heading back to the house. The security chief worked late in the city, and after Carter killed half a bottle of tequila, driving might not be the best idea. And he sure as shit couldn't stay in the same house as Ruby – his resolve wouldn't last the entire night. "It's your choice, Ruby. If you want to talk more, let me know."
He forced himself to walk away despite the sound she made, as if she wanted to have the last word. He didn't look back.