Guardian Wolf (Black Mesa Wolves #1)

With a single glance at the insanely hot cowboy leaning over the end of the bar, Lily knew to the ends of her toes he was trouble. The best, most devilishly creative sort of trouble.

“Good grief, Lils.” Her Packmate Sara sipped a third gin and tonic and eyed the cowboy with appreciation. “He's really gorgeous. I mean, really.”

Lily nodded, too rapt in her own appreciation to respond verbally. The cowboy was long. Strong. Dark hair, dark eyes, skin that whispered of the sun-drenched desert and a hard fitness. Deliberate intention coiled around him, fitting to his muscles and informing every graceful, unwasted motion he made, from signaling the barkeep to touching the brim of his black Stetson with his fingers. And what gorgeous, talented fingers they seemed. Lily bet they could play her up, down, and sideways, setting off little earthquakes she'd deliberately forgotten how to trigger. Mm... Her wolf reared up, eager for the heat of mating. The heat she had denied herself for way too long now.

Of course, right then the dark, sexy cowboy turned his head and looked directly at Lily. Molten gaze. Heated blood jangled through her nerves in time to the toe-tapping of the band's fiddler. The noise of the bar became a muted background as Lily stared back, the hunter in her refusing to give an inch. This interaction she recognized. He was a predator. Like her. And right now it was clear she was his intended prey.

Lily shivered. But not from the guilty fear that had gripped her for the past two years. Sudden desire tongued through her instead, curling down her spine and tickling deep inside. Realization shook her like that crazy thunderbolt she'd heard about and always laughed off. She wanted the wolf. For the first time in ages, she actually wanted to mate.

“He's your type, Lils.” Sara's voice broke through the roaring. “He's perfect. He's the one.” The last words dropped low, giving them a portent that snapped through Lily's lust-filled thoughts.

Abrupt coldness scissored her body as the memories slashed through. That cold guilt washed over her again and threatened to consume her. Dammit! No. She had to be the responsible wolf here.

“I can't.” She managed finally to wrench her gaze from the gorgeous cowboy and studied the smooth wooden tabletop instead. “No way. I won't let it happen again.”

With a precise, almost angry thunk, Sara set down her glass. Startled, Lily looked up into her best friend's serious eyes.

“Liliana Bardou, you listen to me. It happened, it was unavoidable, you dealt with it, and it's over.” Sara's voice was as firm as her expression. “It was something you had to experience for whatever hellacious reason, but it's over. And now it's time for you to take up arms again. It's time for you to regain your power, and the only way you're going to do that is with someone like him.” She jabbed an emphatic finger in the cowboy's direction. “Besides, you know he's Pack. You can't turn him by accident. He's already one of us.”

Still reluctant, Lily took a deep breath to reply. Sara beat her to the punch and went on.

“Lily, we're wolves, for crying out loud. This is what we do. Hot, wild beasts.” Sara's lazy grin punctuated her words, and Lily found her own mouth start to turn up in a smile. “We get down, because we like it, and because we have to. If you don't mate soon, Lils, you'll start losing your mind. And that will not be good.”

Although the thought could still make Lily blush a little, she knew Sara was right. Wolves had to unleash their intense sexual energy or it could overwhelm all their reason. As her wolf already threatened to do, bit by longing bit. She knew it was time, her wolf knew it was time. Hell, her Pack knew it was time. She had to resume her Pack Guardian duties. Her alpha expected that from her.

Lily slipped her gaze over to the gorgeous man once more and sucked in a sharp breath. He was staring directly at them. A raised eyebrow, a sardonic but bone-melting smile tugging his lips up...god. White heat zipped through her again and left her insides electric. Like the way she felt when she was on the prowl at night. The way she hadn't allowed herself to feel in these past two dead years. The scent of people crowding the bar, alive and lush with their needs and hopes, washed over her. And whispering through came the promise of a lusciously self-indulgent mating frenzy—if she allowed it.

Oh, yes, the undeniably feral tang of wolf. Lily's nostrils flared as she caught a whiff of all the potential delights, and the cold seeped away in increments. The cowboy was Pack. She couldn't possibly hurt him.

“Lils, you owe it not only to yourself, but to our Pack. We need you functioning again.” Sara's voice caught Lily's attention again with its firm reason. “Look...your brothers made me do this tonight. Take you here. They said it's time for you to meet someone. You've been ready. You just won't admit it.”

Even the cowboy's seductive promise couldn't keep indignation at bay.

“They what?”

Sara giggled before returning to her drink and settling back in her chair. She scanned the room as she had been doing since they arrived, checking out the available men for any possibilities of fun that evening. The local cowboys were hot, brazen, and sexy. Just Sara's inexhaustible style. Sometimes, Lily wished she could be that casual about it all. She used to be. Before.

“Knew that'd get you. Now, go get him.”