“
Luna left, too, with a cheery, “Thanks for the morning entertainment. That provided a better jolt than a cup of espresso.”
Then it was just Arabella, her brother, and the really, really big man, who had just turned his gaze on her.
Given his threats and violent solution, Arabella should have been quaking. At the very least staring at her toes lest she incur his wrath.
But the gentlest blue eyes caught hers, and his tone was soft and soothing when he addressed her. “You must be Arabella. I’m Leo, the pride’s omega.”
“More like enforcer,” Jeoff muttered, still rubbing his head.
“If you behave, then I don’t have to resort to my methods.”
“He started it,” Jeoff accused, pointing at finger at Hayder, who emerged from the bedroom clad in low-hipped jeans that hugged his corded thighs and a soft T-shirt that clung to his chest. “Hey, it’s not my fault you jumped to the wrong conclusion when I answered the door.”
“What else was I to think? You’re in my sister’s condo wearing only a rag.”
“Protecting her.”
“The same way you protected her last night when you took her out and flaunted her?”
“I took her to dinner.”
“What the hell do you mean you took her out to dinner? You put my baby sister in danger.”
“She wasn’t in danger.”
“They snatched her off the street!”
“And I got her back.”
The men glared at each, toe-to-toe, bodies bristling.
Leo, who’d seated himself on a stool by the kitchen island, cleared his throat. “Don’t make me get off this stool.”
The tension remained, but the impending violence moved down a few notches.
Seeming satisfied, Leo turned to her. “Coffee?” He addressed that to Arabella, holding out a cup he’d brewed from the machine on the counter.
With a wary look at both Hayder and her brother, she went toward him but then almost scalded herself when Hayder barked, “Baby, where are your pants?”
Oh yeah. She peeked down at her bare legs.
To his credit, Leo didn’t, but he did smile. “How about I add some sugar and milk to this while you find some pants? You look like you need something sweet.”
She couldn’t help but return his smile. “Yes, please.”
Still ignoring the other two men, she stepped past them to the bedroom, where she scrounged in a drawer for pants. As she dressed, she listened to the arguing. “She’s leaving with me.”
Her brother hadn’t relented. Neither did Hayder.
“Wrong. Arabella isn’t going anywhere.”
Ouch. She knew her brother wouldn’t like that.
She was right.
“Excuse me? You don’t get a say. She’s my sister, my responsibility. I’m taking her.”
Arabella stepped back into the living room. “What of the danger though, Jeoff? The pack is in town, and they’re looking for me.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“We already have. She’ll stay here with me where she’s safe.” Hayder crossed his arms over his impressive chest, looking much too determined— and sexy.
A certain brother wasn’t impressed. “As safe as she was last night?”
Hayder rolled his eyes. “Oh please. What part of ‘we had the situation under control’ can you not grasp? Leo, tell the wolf that Arabella was never in any danger.”
“I don’t lie to my friends,” Leo said as he re-handed Arabella her coffee.
She took a sip of the hot brew and sighed as she listened to the arguing.
When Leo patted the stool beside him, she hopped on.
For such a big man, he offered a strangely calming effect. On her at least. Hayder and Jeoff, on the other hand, just couldn’t stem their tirade.
“I was wrong to stick her here. So you can forget I asked.”
“Too late. She’s part of the pride now.”
“She’s a wolf, or have you forgotten? She belongs with her own kind.” Jeoff crooked his finger at her and inclined his head to the door.
Arabella didn’t move, more because Hayder’s next words froze her. “She belongs with me. Arabella is my mate.
”
”