A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing

Chapter 14

As a wolf, Finn concentrated on searching for any clues to the assassin’s whereabouts before he’d tackled Meara, and Finn had had to end his miserable life. He assumed the wolf had parked somewhere in the area, although considering how much territory they could cover as wolves, he might have traveled a long distance in that form without tiring.

But with all the searching Finn had done, he hadn’t located a vehicle that the wolf might have driven. Finn also checked the area where the wolf had been before he attacked Meara and discovered his trail, but still no clothes. Looking out to sea, Finn wondered if the man had come from that direction. As a SEAL.

It reminded him of earlier SEAL operations when he and his teammates had shifted into wolves to go in as a reconnaissance team, although no one else knew that Hunter’s team took on the form of wolves when conducting some missions. With their noses to the ground, they were able to sniff out mines, locate cadavers, and find the hostages much more quickly.

In forested regions, they’d take out the lookouts before anyone realized a pack of wolves was upon them. And in one case when the guard called out about wolves attacking when they didn’t exist in the region, the enemy thought the guard was drunk on duty, which worked well when another man was sent to relieve him of his job.

Exasperated, Finn loped back to the house where Paul waited for him on the porch, maintaining an outside vigil. It had been several hours since Finn had started on his run on the wild side. Bjornolf was conducting his deeper cover surveillance and hadn’t been seen in all that time.

Finn quickly shifted, then grabbed his pants and tugged them on. He pulled out his phone, saw that he hadn’t missed any messages, and frowned. It was time he spoke with Meara about this Cyn person, since Anna hadn’t bothered to contact him with any word about the man, which irritated Finn no end. He was not going to be relegated to outside guard duty for the duration of this mission.

Paul nodded at him in greeting at the front of the house.

“Did Anna talk to you about this Cyn character while I was running as a wolf?” Finn asked, his tone of voice couched in annoyance.

“Nope. She was waiting for you to return, figuring there wasn’t much news anyway, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything with the information. Hunter’s still on the plane, so we can’t call him and give him any update.”

Finn finished dressing and looked back at the house.

“No word from either of them,” Paul offered. “It’s been real quiet.”

“They’re all right, aren’t they?” Finn didn’t wait for Paul’s answer as he suddenly feared the worse. Heart thundering, Finn realized that while Paul had been watching the front of the house and Bjornolf was who knew where, someone could have sneaked in the back, taken the women by surprise and…

He slammed the front door open and rushed into the living room. Spying Meara curled up on the couch under a yellow quilt, he stopped abruptly. Paul ran into his back and quickly retreated a couple of steps.

Meara’s eyes were shut tight in sleep. A book rested on her lap, featuring a Highlander in kilt, his chest bare, wolf eyes glowing above. Heart of the Highland Wolf?

Finn stared at Meara in surprise, his heart nearly beating out of his chest, while his mind was still unable to reconcile what he thought might have happened with the serene scene.

Anna frowned at him as she sat on a recliner, sipping a cup of tea. “You wore her out,” she whispered, one brow arched. “All those late-night activities.”

Not wanting to go there, he asked quietly, “What did she say about Cyn?”

Anna smiled.

He gave her a disgruntled look and motioned for her to go with him to the privacy of the back deck. Paul had remained standing where he was, but seeing there wasn’t any trouble, he quietly closed the door and returned to his guard duty out front.

When Finn and Anna were settled on lounge chairs on the deck with the back door closed, Finn asked again, “What did she say about Cyn?”

“He was a SEAL, although she didn’t know that when she first met him. Hunter confirmed that with me. Cyn wanted to use her to get on Hunter’s team. Hunter didn’t like him for that reason alone, but something else bothered him about that man. He wasn’t as highly trained as the rest of you guys. And something else, maybe just some bad vibes. Hunter figured that was the end of it when Meara agreed, albeit reluctantly, not to see the man any further.”

An attack of possessiveness grabbed hold of Finn again. “Had she been seeing him?”

“According to Meara, she had met him at a bookstore in Sacramento. She recognized he was a wolf right away. He seemed real interested in her, and she liked his attention. She said Hunter kept her under his thumb so much that men were often afraid to approach her.”

Finn snorted. “Good thing, too.”

Anna rolled her eyes, definitely seeing the situation from a woman’s perspective.

“That weekend, she’d gone to Sacramento to shop, and while a couple of the pack members got sidetracked in a video-game shop, she met Cyn in the bookstore.”

Finn interrupted Anna before she got any further. “I’d think Hunter would have ensured that only his most reliable wolves stayed with her.”

“Chris Tarleton was in charge. He’s one of Hunter’s sub-leaders.”

“I met him at the morgue. He’s the one who is mentoring Rourke. And I imagine if she got away from Chris to see another man, he was pretty ticked off. Hunter would have chewed his ass also.”

“Right. Well, normally Chris is as responsible as can be, according to Hunter. Very serious-minded. But Meara took so long to read every back-cover blurb on the romance books before she picked the ones she wanted that he figured she’d be there for hours and no one would even notice her. How likely would it be for an alpha male wolf to spot her in the romance section of a bookstore?

Anyway, Cyn bought her dinner right after that and was a bona fide gentleman. He wanted to see her further so she mentioned him to Hunter the next morning, but Hunter threw a fit. Not only that, but he was furious she had gotten away from the pack members who were supposed to be watching her. He was especially angry with Chris because he’s a sub-leader and should have known better. So I’m sure Hunter gave Chris hell, as you suspected.”

Finn could imagine Hunter being that way. Not that he blamed him. Hunter had a pack to run, but he had been away a lot and had to rely on sub-leaders who wouldn’t let him down. “Hunter didn’t tell Meara why he suspected the guy wasn’t trustworthy?”

“No. Hunter didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He was afraid she’d feel bad if she knew Cyn was only trying to get into the family so he could be on Hunter’s SEAL team. That he truly wasn’t interested in her.”

Finn leaned back in the chair and stared out at the ocean swells making their way to the shore in constant rolling waves, white foam capping each like thick lace. “Why would he have wanted to be on our team so badly? Was it because he wanted to rescue his sister? He had to have known that his emotions would have been involved and could have adversely affected the mission. And why did Hunter have a bad feeling about him?”

“I don’t know. You know how he is sometimes. He just has a wolf’s intuition that something’s not right. Paul told me Hunter felt that way about the mission before you all landed on the beach, and then his instincts were confirmed when so many of the team were shot to hell.” Anna tapped her fingers on the arm of the lounger. “You’re not going to give her up, are you, Finn?”

He glanced over at Anna, surprised at the question when all along she’d acted as though he shouldn’t have anything to do with Meara.

She snorted. “Don’t give me that damned innocent look. You’re dying to have her, as much as she’s dying to have you. Even though Hunter told me to stay with her until he gets back, in essence to protect her from you and to protect her from herself, I’m not standing in your way. Not when I know what you’ll be like to live with in the morning. And I’m not even mentioning how Meara will be.”

He’d always liked Anna. She’d been a great asset to their team, but he appreciated her all the more now, glad he didn’t have to set her in her place if she hinted that he shouldn’t stay with Meara.

She gave Finn a thin smile. “Tessa called me on the sly after Hunter left on the plane to return to Portland. She said that Meara doesn’t share her room with just anyone. Male or female. When I asked Meara if she minded if I stayed in the same room with her, she politely declined. If I had insisted, I’m sure her wolfish blood would have fired up. So you see, you’ve made some headway where no one else has. And Tessa said if you didn’t stand up for Meara, she’d have a word with you.”

Finn shook his head. “I don’t even know Tessa. How in the world did a wolf convince Hunter to go on a honeymoon?”

“She wasn’t all wolf, exactly.”

“If she’s not all wolf, exactly, why does she think she can talk to me as if she is one?” He raised a brow at Anna.

“Maybe she has her own arsenal of weapons,” Anna said, patting her waist, “like I do.”

The door opened behind them. Finn turned to see Meara standing in the doorway, pushing straggles of dark hair out of her sleepy face. He damn well wanted to take her straight back to bed and have his way with her. Hell, the woman would be the death of him.

“So Cyn took you to dinner and was a gentleman, and you wanted him after that?” Finn growled at Meara, unable to stop the words as they spilled out of his mouth. What was it with him when it came to other men’s interest in her?

Anna rolled her eyes and vacated her seat. “I’m getting some sleep while the two of you talk about Cyn so I can take the night shift.” She gave Finn a look like she could strangle him, and then she shut the door as Meara glowered at him.

“Yeah, he was a gentleman,” Meara said.

“And that’s what you wanted. Some gentleman. Someone who would keep his hands off you. Who would say good night without a kiss or offer you one so benign that it wouldn’t scare you off. I know you only thought you liked him because he seemed safe.”

Meara glared daggers at him, but she didn’t deny it.

“You wanted a gentleman who was sin in name only. But he was using you to get on Hunter’s team, Meara. Only your brother didn’t tell you that, not wanting to hurt your feelings.”

Meara stared at Finn. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not lying. Hunter should have told you. We don’t know why Cyn wanted to be on the team so badly. Maybe it was so he could help to rescue his sister. Or…” Finn paused. “…maybe he planned some criminal act of sabotage. The reason is still unknown to us. But since that fiasco, several scenarios have come to mind. He wants revenge for Hunter saying no to both his being on the team and making something more of a relationship with you or maybe losing his sister. Maybe Cyn thinks you were the one who said no to seeing him further and hurt his efforts at joining the team. We don’t know. But Hunter shouldn’t have kept you in the dark about Cyn being a Navy SEAL and wanting to be on the team.”

“So… so you’re saying he followed me to the bookstore? Offered to take me to dinner? Made me believe he was genuinely interested in me so that he could get to Hunter?”

He hated making her face the facts, but the guy was no good for her. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. He might have been following you, waiting for the chance to get you alone. As soon as he saw that your escort had left you by yourself, he made his move.” Finn thought back to the book she’d had on her lap while she’d been sleeping in the living room. “Were you looking for romance books?”

“How did you…” She glanced back at the house.

“You were reading one before you fell asleep on the sofa. At least I figured that’s what it was since the cover featured a bare-chested man with a six-pack. So where did Cyn meet up with you? In the romance section? Looking to buy a book?” From what Anna had told Finn, that’s where Meara had been, but he had to hear the details from her and not just secondhand.

She parted her lips to speak, hesitated, and then said softly, “He said he was looking for science fiction and fantasy. I told him they were in the next aisle over.”

“Most likely clearly marked, too.” Finn gentled his tone. “Did he buy any books?”

“No. We got to talking and… well, I bought six romance books, but I didn’t even remember he was there to look for a book. After I paid for my purchases, he escorted me across the street to a steak restaurant. I guess I was so wrapped up in the notion of a wolf wanting to dine with me—and I didn’t have Hunter or one of his men watching out for me, knowing they might be checking up on me any second—so I jumped at the chance.”

She turned and looked out at the ocean and harrumphed. “And here I always thought that of all the men Hunter chased away, Cyn was the only one who wouldn’t have backed down. I thought he would eventually learn I was in Oregon and come to see me because he really did feel something for me,” she said in a silky, sultry way, her arms crossed beneath her breasts, raising them in an inviting manner.

Finn placed his hands on her shoulders and caressed lightly, still concerned she might be bruised from the earlier fight he’d had with the assassin on top of her. She tilted her chin up, her brown eyes challenging him. He leaned his mouth down to brush her lips with an unassuming kiss, barely skimming the softness, the taste of the orange-flavored tea on her lips, her light breath coming quickly as her heartbeat picked up its pace.

His hand caressed her neck with the barest of touches, and she shivered, her eyes misting with tears. Then he lowered his face to kiss her throat, to lick her soft skin, to sample her sweet lavender fragrance. That reminded him of when she had been buried in lavender-tinted bubbles and how much he had wanted to join her—and would have, if Paul hadn’t been around.

She stiffened slightly, and he captured her hands, unwrapping her arms from beneath her breasts and setting them around his neck so his hands could feel her breasts underneath the cotton tank top she wore. She moaned into his mouth as he stroked the soft mounds and felt the nipples extend. He touched and teased and captured one between his lips through the light fabric.

“God, Finn,” she breathed out.

He nuzzled her cheek tenderly. She caressed the nape of his neck and swallowed hard. He lifted her face and kissed her mouth, touching her lips with his tongue and probing until she opened her mouth to him, gave herself to him, and clutched at his neck to keep from slipping to the floor as the stiffness in her posture melted away.

Finn wrapped his arms around her and held her lightly against his body, which without his permission—as he only intended to comfort her in a damned gentlemanly way—was hardening with feral need. “I’m the only one who won’t back down from Hunter when it comes to you,” he said against her ear.

“Yeah, well, you talk big, but when you have to face him down…”

He smiled. “I have faced him down… on other issues, Meara. We don’t always see eye to eye.”

“But you’re not giving up your job, and well, it just wouldn’t work out between us.”

“Hmm, you may be right, but I’m staying in your bed tonight.”

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“All right?” he asked in a more appeasing manner, stroking her cheek, wanting her more than he had ever wanted a woman, and feeling tenderness toward her that he had never felt for any other woman. He sure as hell didn’t want her to be upset, but she had to know that Cyn most likely had ulterior motives for wanting to see her.

“And if Hunter arrives here in the middle of the night?”

“Only two people will fit in that bed. He’ll have to find his own bed to sleep in.”

She groaned, and he kissed her cheek. “Want something to eat?”

Hunter would arrive in the middle of the night. They might as well make the most of the time they had left with each other before Hunter interfered.

She twisted her mouth for a second, and then she smiled, her whole expression brightening.

Suspecting just what she had in mind, he shook his head. “S’mores later. You have to eat something more substantial first.” He took her hand and led her back into the house.

He wasn’t sure why he asked Meara what he did next, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “So what do you plan to do when you find your mate?”

She didn’t hesitate to respond. “Run the cabin resort. Maybe focus on finding a single female for poor Rourke. You know, the reporter who learned about Cyn’s sister. He needs a mate for certain.”

Finn stiffened.

“Not me. And well, when I find my mate, he’ll take me on a nice long cruise.”

“A cruise?”

“Yeah. Like Tessa’s idea of going to Hawaii for a honeymoon. We may not have church weddings, but I think honeymoons are the way to go. I’ve never been on a cruise before, and that’s where I want my mate to take me.”

“What if you get seasick?”

“I’ll just take something for it and stay in the cabin with my mate, curled up in bed with him so he can take my mind off the waves—or we can make our own waves.”

Finn had been on a lot of ships in his lifetime, but never a cruise ship. To think he could be on the high seas with Meara, sequestered away in a cabin for two. The scenario definitely played into his fantasies.

He looked into the fridge and smiled at all the steak. “Anna brought us some groceries.”

Moving in behind him, Meara slipped her arms around Finn’s waist and peeked around his shoulder. “Hmm, shrimp,” she said.

“And steak.”

“You and Hunter.”

He looked down at her. “You don’t like steak?”

“Of course I do.” She ran her hand over his hard stomach. “Beefsteak is my favorite. But I love shrimp, too. Do you want to grill it by the ocean? We could use that gas grill down below.”

“Yeah. I’ll let Paul know we’ll be down there, and he can watch our backs.”

She studied the bottle of wine Anna had gotten them and set it aside, then looked for a couple of wineglasses. Once she’d found them, she fished out a couple of plates and sighed. “Too bad we have to have an audience.”

Finn shook his head and pulled out his phone to call Paul. Having an audience was good, or he was bound to forget what he was here for—again.

Meara set an old comforter Finn said he’d found in the garage on the sand. Like a pro, he prepared the steak and vegetables, which she hadn’t thought he’d go for. Hunter liked to grill, never bothering with the vegetables, but she didn’t figure that meant Finn would grill, too. At least half of their male pack members didn’t cook.

She loved watching Finn flip the steaks with finesse as if she was in a fancy Japanese restaurant. Then she poured them some wine, thankful to Anna for being so thoughtful, and stood next to Finn as the breeze tugged at the collar of his shirt.

“Do you vacuum?” she asked, teasing in a casual way.

“Vacuum?”

She shrugged, thinking how even more perfect he would be if he wasn’t running off on deadly missions. Not only could he grill great impromptu meals, but he was a damned sexy lover. But if he also vacuumed, the chore she hated most, he would be a woman’s dream come true. It wasn’t the vacuuming, particularly, that she hated so much. It was that the vacuum spit out more than it sucked up.

“Never was part of my SEAL training.” He gave her an elusive smile.

“Hmm, well, maybe it should have been. Every man needs to know how to vacuum.”

“What about Hunter?”

She sighed. “I’m afraid he didn’t get any training, either.” But then she brightly added, “I’m sure Tessa has him vacuuming up a storm now, though.”

Finn flipped the steaks and said with a smile, “I can’t imagine Hunter vacuuming, sweeping, or mopping floors. He’d be good at giving the orders, though, pointing out spots that needed further work, a little more polish, a little more sweeping and vacuuming.”

She laughed. “Yeah, that’s Hunter all right. He’s also good at building fires to keep Tessa warm.”

Finn gave her a devilish look, and Meara felt her body warm considerably. “I’m talking about wood fires. The electricity was out during a snowstorm, and he had to keep them warm.”

Finn grinned broadly and nodded his head.

“By keeping the fire going.”

He chuckled.

She shook her head. She’d never known a man who was better at taking what she said innocently and turning it into sexual innuendo. She gave up trying. But then she began to think of what it would be like if her electricity went out in the middle of a snowstorm and Finn was with her. Would he spend a lot of time trudging down to the beach to gather firewood?

For certain, he’d take her to bed and ply her with hot kisses designed to thaw her out, his body rubbing against hers in the heat of passion.

Her cheeks warmed again, and he cast her a questioning glance. “Anything you want to share with me?”

“No. I’m ready to eat, though.”

He still looked like he was more interested in knowing what she’d been thinking about.

Within minutes the meat was browned, along with potatoes, zucchini, yellow summer squash, onions, and carrots. The steaks and shrimp had perfect grill stripes and had been seasoned with thyme, rosemary, and lime rind after being lightly coated with olive oil.

“Rare, right?” Meara asked, watching the steak as it sizzled.

Finn gave her a sexy smile. “Steak seared on the outside, nice and red and juicy on the inside.”

“Hmm, just the way I like mine.” She carried their drinks to the blanket as he brought their dinner plates.

To her surprise, he brought up the vacuuming issue again. “I take it you don’t care for the chore of vacuuming.” He sat down beside her as the sky over the ocean blossomed with pink and orange, the white clouds thinly stretched behind the setting sun, rays stroking the dark water.

“It’s just that my vacuum cleaner doesn’t pick up well. I end up moving the dirt around the floor as the vacuum sucks it up and spits it back out.” She took a deep breath and raised her glass to Finn’s. “To sunsets over the water, and to peace and prosperity everywhere.”

He drank some of his wine and raised his glass to hers. “To a beautiful wolf on a golden night. May you find happiness always.”

“Thanks. I try to.” Once she found the perfect mate to share it with, she would. Of course there would be bumps on the road to bliss, but still…

She watched the sun set as she ate the steak and shrimp and vegetables, also enjoying apple slices and red and green grapes, and washing it all down with sips of red wine. To top it off, they shared bars of chocolate, no s’mores this time. The meal couldn’t have been more perfect. And the company and the setting.

She thought about Finn and his declaration that he wasn’t into dating. Did he mean dating as in eating out at restaurants? They were nice, but she didn’t need five-star restaurant service to enjoy a night out. In fact, this was better than most dinners she’d had where she was waited on hand and foot. More relaxing. More atmospheric and appealing to a wolf. More conducive to a romantic liaison without tons of people in attendance. With Paul watching them, protecting them, she figured Finn wouldn’t kiss her at all.

She hadn’t had any nicer dates with a man than these impromptu affairs with Finn.

When Finn took the empty wineglass and plate from her and set them aside, she envisioned another kiss, hoping that he’d ignore Paul for the moment.

He didn’t give her a kiss, not at first. He gazed into her eyes as if he was doing some real soul-searching. Then he sighed and pulled at her to join him. When she did, he made sure she was nestled between his legs as they sat on the blanket and watched the last of the fireball sun melt away beneath the waves. She imagined it sizzling as the heat of the sun hit the water and the night air grew cooler.

Finn rested his chin on the top of her head and held her gently in his arms. When the last of the light was gone, he nuzzled her bare neck with his face and then caressed her cheek with his mouth, his hands shifting to her breasts. That made her wish they really were alone with the sound of the waves washing over the sand and the night breeze swirling around them.

“What did you think of us? The team?” Finn asked, his voice low and husky.

“I was too busy giving Hunter a hard time about the missions you all were going on after you left the Navy.”

“Paul swore up and down you favored him,” Finn persisted, “because you were always giving him a coy smile.”

“That’s not true. I didn’t pay any attention to him.” She felt her cheeks heat. Had everyone believed Paul’s teasing?

“Allan said you blushed whenever he caught your eye.”

She shook her head. “Not me. Ever.” When Finn didn’t say anything further, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Well, what did you say to the other guys about me?”

Finn smiled reminiscently. “That only I stood a chance with you because only I riled you so that you’d speak with me. Sure sign of love. I knew it was only a ploy to get me alone.”

“Yeah, right. So that I could have my wicked way with you? I’m sure they believed it as much as you did.”

For a long moment, he said nothing but caressed her neck and shoulders with his large hands. And then he chuckled. “If they didn’t before, they’ll believe so now.”

Later that night, as Finn relaxed with a sleeping Meara in his arms in the guest bedroom, he thought about the fun he’d had with her on the beach. Cooking the steaks and shrimp and watching the surf with the breeze in their hair had made him feel as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Like when he’d been a young man just out to have some fun.

He’d wanted to kiss her and hold her close, and he finally had allowed himself to do so, despite knowing Paul had to be watching them. He had tried to keep it just a sweetheart’s kiss, nothing too sensual, but with the way she’d leaned back in his arms and tilted her face up for more, he couldn’t help himself. He could never get enough of her.

Hunter would be on a rampage for sure as soon as he arrived.

After thinking how much he had enjoyed being with Meara, Finn closed his eyes and slept for a short while until Anna yanked open the guest bedroom door and said in a rush, “Hunter just drove into the driveway in case you want to make yourself presentable and… put some distance between you and Meara.”

Finn was torn between staying with Meara and seeing to Hunter.

“Stay,” Meara coaxed. Her voice had a sultry, sleepy quality as she tightened her arm around his as if intending to keep him in the bed with her by force if he thought otherwise.

“We’re sleeping,” Finn said firmly to Anna, tucking Meara tighter in his arms. “Close the door on your way out.”

“It’s your funeral,” Anna said cheerfully.

“I won’t let him kill you,” Meara whispered to Finn as the door clunked closed.

“Good.” He kissed her hair, the sweet fragrance of her shampoo tantalizing him. “I don’t care for funerals.”

He really didn’t think he could fall asleep, what with Hunter’s impending arrival, but as soon as he heard voices, he knew he couldn’t doze again.

“Where’s Finn?” Hunter asked gruffly from the direction of the living room.

“In the first guest bedroom on the right down that hall,” Anna offered.

“And Meara?”

“She was afraid of the dark,” Anna said very seriously.

“She’s with Finn?” Hunter asked, his voice irritated but with a hint of surprise.

Meara moaned. “She would have to tell him I was with you,” she said quietly to Finn.

He squeezed her in a warm embrace. “Good thing you’re afraid of the dark.”

“I’m not. And Hunter knows it.”

Finn shook his head. “We’ll have to come up with another story then.”

Meara sighed. “I’ll protect you.”

“Hmm.” Finn kissed her head and snuggled close with her. “Not to worry.”

Anna said to Hunter in a cheerful voice, “The master bedroom’s free if you want to sleep in there.”

“That’s all right,” Hunter said with dark promise. “I’ll just wait to hear the good news when my new brother-in-mating wakes to tell me.”

Finn let out his breath in a heavy exhale. This wasn’t going to be easy, because hell, he wasn’t even sure he knew what he was going to say to Meara’s brother when the time came.

When Finn finally decided he’d had enough of a rest and it was time to face Hunter, he left Meara to sleep longer in the bedroom or to hide away from Hunter while he had to deal with him. Finn took a shower, dressed casually in jeans and a plain blue T-shirt and a pair of sandals, and then walked down the hall to the living room to see a brooding Hunter.

He was the only one of the SEAL team who had let his hair grow long, and the windswept coffee-colored strands hanging to his collar softened his stern look. But his eyes, normally dark brown, were nearly black as he waited for Finn to make an appearance. His gaze had been focused on the front picture window but quickly shifted to Finn as he approached.

Finn noted that Anna must have gone to bed, and Paul was nowhere to be seen.

“We’ve got a bigger problem than dealing with my being with Meara,” Finn said, broaching the subject first, hoping to get the attention off him and Meara.

Hunter scowled at him. “My sister needs a mate. You’re leading her astray.”

Finn shrugged and remained standing, wanting to get a cup of coffee before he had any weighty, lengthy discussions about Meara or anything else. “Call it the courtship phase. If we decide we don’t get along well enough, no harm’s done.”

For a brief moment, Hunter seemed taken aback, as if he couldn’t see Finn courting any woman. Maybe because Finn never had.

“You aren’t right for her. She needs someone who’ll stay with her and keep her in line, not someone who is gallivanting around the continents, saving the whole wide world.”

“What about you and Tessa?”

“That’s different.”

“Really? I suppose time will tell since we haven’t been contacted for a mission since you got hitched. Then we’ll see if you’ll go or not. Then again, maybe it’s time for me to settle down.”

Hunter eyed him suspiciously. “Are you?”

Finn shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. She sure makes a man lose his sense of what’s important and what’s not.”

For the first time, Hunter gave him a sinister smile. Then it faded. “You haven’t met my mate. You might think I’ll run roughshod over you if you upset Meara, but you haven’t seen Tessa. She’s like a wolf with a mission when she’s got it in mind to right a wrong.”

“Anna said she wasn’t all wolf.”

“Believe me, she is.” Hunter took a deep breath and didn’t say anything for a moment as if he was coming to some conclusions of his own. Then he said, “All right, so what do we have concerning this case?”

“Two assassins who were human—run-of-the-mill guns for hire. Two others that were wolves.”

“I got a look at them. I didn’t recognize any of them, but Bjornolf’s running some prints on them.” Hunter frowned. “Because of the bruised eye and jaw that Bjornolf was sporting, I asked if he’d gotten injured when he took down one of the assassins, but he said he hadn’t. Some madly jealous wolf caught him unaware. Want to elaborate?”

“No.” Finn headed for the kitchen. “I’m getting a cup of coffee. Want one?”

Hunter followed him into the kitchen. “Sure. So what did Bjornolf do to Meara that you popped him twice for it?”

Finn knew Hunter wouldn’t take no for an answer about Bjornolf’s black eye. “He kissed her without her permission. Then he said he’d do it again with her permission.”

“Hell, Finn,” Hunter said, rubbing his hand over his jaw. “His regular job is killing assassins. And you socked him over Meara?” He shook his head, but he looked half amused and half pleased.

“Somebody had to do it.”

Hunter chuckled, and Finn figured he’d gotten into Hunter’s good graces to some extent. Hunter’s phone jingled, and he lifted it off his belt. “Hey, honey. Yeah, I got here just fine.” He looked at Finn. “No, I haven’t killed him yet. I need him still. And Meara likes him. What can I say?” He listened for some time, smiled a whole hell of a lot, looked up at Finn, and then said, “I’ll tell him. Call you later. Get some sleep. I’ll return as soon as I can. Love you, too. Bye.”

Finn handed Hunter a cup of black coffee. “Was it Tessa?”

Hunter took a swig from his mug. “Yep.”

“Did she have a word for me?”

Hunter looked sternly at him. “Yep.”

“And it was?”

“If you’re sleeping with Meara, you’re mated to her. No going back on the deal. Tessa’s words.”

“Ah.”

“Tessa’s serious.” Hunter finished his coffee, walked over to the coffeemaker, and poured himself another cup. “Her words have merit. In the old days, Meara would be a ruined woman, and to be honorable, you would have to mate her.”

“If we both wanted the same thing, yeah. In this day and age? No. That’s saying Meara even wants me. She has issues, you know.”

Looking damned surprised, Hunter stared at Finn. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Nothing that she’d talk about, but deep down she’s afraid of an alpha male who might exercise too much control over her. She would never do well with a beta who would roll over and play dead at her feet, but…” Finn shrugged.

Hunter sat down on the bar stool. “Is that what her problem has been all these years? I always thought she needed a beta to boss around.”

Finn straightened and looked Hunter in the eye. “Bjornolf said he was interested in her.” Finn studied Hunter’s expression, glad to see his eyes darkening with irritation.

“Over my dead body,” Hunter growled. “He’d be ten times worse than you.”

Amused at the comparison, Finn smiled.

“I mean, as far as his work goes.”

“I knew what you meant.” Finn refilled his coffee mug. “Bjornolf said he’d try to track down Cyn and see where he’s been these past six months. If he was in the SEALs, we should be able to come up with something.”

They heard someone walking through the living room. Hunter turned at the bar and looked to see Meara approach. Her chin was tilted up in defiance, but she still looked a bit unsure.

If Hunter took her to task for what had happened between Finn and her, Finn would give him hell right back.