Join Me

Join Me

Nicole was breathing far too hard.
Her lips still tingled from the kiss, and her pulse raced as if it wanted to break through her ribs. Heat spread through her entire body, curling dangerously low in her stomach.
That was exactly why she slapped herself.
Hard.
The sting across her cheek finally brought her back to her senses.
Goddess, what the hell are you doing, Nicole?
That was Alpha Ace Carter.
The wolf every pack in the world feared.
The man who could destroy an entire pack in one night and sleep peacefully afterward.
So why had she been kissing him as if she had missed him?
As if she wanted more?
Yes, she had kissed him because of the guard.
That part made sense.
But the guard had left.
She could have stopped.
She should have stopped.
Instead, when Ace kissed her again, her body had reacted as if it belonged against his. As if it had been waiting for his touch.
And the worst part?
She had enjoyed it.
When his mouth touched her neck, a sharp shiver had gone through her entire body.
For a moment, Nicole could have sworn Zirah had stirred from her sleep.
'Let him mark you, Nicole.'
Nicole froze.
No.
She must have imagined that.
Zirah would never tell her to let a man like Ace Carter mark her.
Mark her?
Absolutely not.
Why not just spend the rest of her life with him and have his pup too?
Nicole almost laughed at the ridiculous thought.
Ace Carter was dangerous.
She needed to avoid him in this lifetime.
Stay away from him at all costs.
That was the plan.
She repeated the warning in her head as she placed both hands against his chest and pushed.
Her strength was almost nothing compared to his, yet Ace stepped back.
Nicole suspected it was only because he allowed her to.
She swallowed.
Even with space between them, she could still feel his touch on her skin.
The strange thing was, Nicole didn't hate him.
She probably should.
Ace had killed her nine times.
But she had never truly known him.
In her past lives, she had only seen him on the battlefield. Cold and emotionless, cutting through her men without hesitation.
Then there were the stories.
Terrifying stories about the Demon of the West.
The monster everyone whispered about.
The nightmare children feared.
Yet the man standing in front of her now didn't quite match those stories.
Even at the auction, he hadn't treated her cruelly.
He had followed her patiently.
He had even allowed her to cheat him.
Nicole's eyes narrowed slightly.
Was he planning something?
Was everything he did calculated?
And what was he doing in the Golden Shine Pack in the first place?
Ace Carter rarely visited other packs.
Nicole had too many questions.
She wasn't stupid enough to ask any of them.
If Ace realized she knew exactly who he was, she had no idea what he might do.
So Nicole forced a smile and lowered her voice, hoping her disguise was still convincing enough for him to believe she was a man.
“Uh... thanks, dude.”
The words sounded painful even to her.
“I owe you one.”
Ace raised an eyebrow.
Nicole immediately looked away.
Great.
Apparently, even his stare was enough to make her nervous now.
She needed to make the kiss seem normal.
Completely meaningless.
“About the kiss...” Nicole cleared her throat. “That's just a greeting.”
Silence.
She continued before common sense could stop her.
“That's how people in the Golden Shine Pack greet each other.”
Ace stared at her.
Nicole waited for him to speak.
Or kill her.
Finally, his calm voice echoed through the cave.
“By kissing people on the lips?”
Nicole nodded stiffly.
“Yeah.”
His expression didn't change.
“So you greet everyone that way?”
“Yes.”
“By kissing them on the lips?”
“No!”
The answer escaped before Nicole could stop herself.
She froze.
Damn it.
“I mean, yes. Of course.”
Ace continued staring.
Nicole somehow made everything worse.
“I kiss everyone. On the lips. All the time. It's completely normal around here.”
What was she saying?
“I was just happy to see another person in the mountains, so I kissed you. And we're both men, so...”
She gave an awkward shrug.
“Nothing serious.”
Nicole wanted the mountain to collapse on her.
Anything would be better than this conversation.
She finally forced herself to look at Ace, expecting anger, disgust, or murderous intent.
Instead, his attention had dropped to her mouth.
Nicole stopped breathing.
He was staring at her lips.
Without thinking, she ran her tongue over them.
His eyes followed the movement.
Heat rushed straight into Nicole's face.
Damn it.
She never behaved like this around anyone.
Why him?
Why did Ace Carter make her forget how to act like a normal person?
Ace finally looked away and ran a hand through his hair.
“What are you doing here?”
“I...”
Before Nicole could answer, Ace grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.
Her mind went blank.
Oh, gods.
Nicole stared before she could stop herself.
His broad shoulders and lean, powerful body looked as if some shameless goddess had spent far too much time creating him.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She quickly looked away.
“I came here to meditate,” she blurted.
“I see.”
That was all he said.
Nicole fidgeted with her fingers and glanced toward the cave entrance.
The guards were still somewhere outside. She could sense them nearby.
Leaving now would be risky.
And for some ridiculous reason, she also felt as though she couldn't simply walk away from Ace without him allowing it.
When she finally dared to look at him again, she discovered why he had removed his shirt.
There was a natural hot spring in the cave.
She hadn't even noticed it earlier.
Ace was already sitting in the water, steam drifting around him. His arms rested along the edge as water ran down his skin.
Nicole's gaze stayed on him a second too long.
Ace caught her staring.
She snapped her head away so quickly she nearly hurt her neck.
Where was she supposed to look?
He was half naked.
Possibly completely naked beneath the water.
And her stupid heart was pounding as if she had run all the way from the capital.
Control yourself, woman.
Don't look at him.
Don't look at the hot spring.
And definitely don't think about what might be under the water.
Too late.
Nicole's face became hotter than the steam.
She stepped backward.
“I'll give you some privacy. I'll wait outside.”
“No need.”
Nicole stopped.
Ace's voice remained perfectly calm.
“Since we're both men, I don't mind the company.”
Nicole slowly turned toward him.
“What?”
His face revealed nothing.
“Join me.”
Her mouth fell open.
“What?!”
Ace tilted his head.
There was something in his gaze now that Nicole couldn't read.
Then he spoke again.
Slowly.
Clearly.
“Take off your clothes and join me.”