Page 3 of Fighting Fate (Monsters of London #4)

Dax

I tug Vince even closer, pushing down the growl that’s trying to rumble through my chest. My wolf likes him as much as I do, which is a lot, and surprising because so far we’ve only exchanged our names.

Vince sucks on my lower lip, then pulls back with a breathless laugh. We’ve been kissing for… I don’t know how long. Couldn’t come up with an answer if I were at gunpoint, honestly. Vince kisses the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, and even that thought flies out of my head.

I want him. I want him like I’ve never wanted anyone. He kisses the hinge of my jaw, tongue flicking out as though he wants a taste, and I whine. I’ve pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his trousers already, so it’s easy to slide my hand underneath and feel the hot brand of his skin against my palm.

Vince’s next breath comes out shakier. I’d worry more about how intense this all feels, but his arousal fills the air around us and besides, I can feel how hard he is against my thigh.

“Dax,” he murmurs, then shakes his head. He leans up and nips my earlobe before he says into my ear louder, “Dax.”

“What is it?” I turn my head, seeking his mouth, and he falls into another kiss. His arms come up around my neck and now we’re pressed entirely together. We’re still in the club. I need to remember that. It should be impossible to forget, but every time Vince’s mouth meets mine, it’s hard to focus on anything but him.

Vince doesn’t seem to care about whatever he wanted now that we’re kissing again. I like that. Usually, once I’ve found someone to take home, I’m ready to get down to it—having wolf senses can make us sensitive. That or my partner does. I know how I look. I know what people want from me.

But when I try to pull back, to ask, Vince makes this little annoyed sound and grips the back of my neck. I immediately melt into his hold, whining into his mouth.

He jerks his head back at that. My cheeks heat when he studies my face. Did he not like it?

“Yeah,” he says like he’s talking to himself. “Yeah. We need to get the fuck out of here.”

“We do?” Oh, yes .

Vince presses his mouth to my ear. “Unless you want me to fuck you in front of all these people, then yes , Dax. We need to go now.”

My hands tremble. I cast around, and Patch is off the dance floor now, chatting away to the wolf he picked up earlier. Like he knows I’m looking for him, he meets my gaze. He can’t hear the way Vince is panting against my throat and probably can’t see the way he’s rolling his hips against mine, but he smirks all the same and gives me a nod.

Yep, we’re good to go.

I take Vince’s hand and all but drag him off the dance floor. We slow down only once we’re outside, the night air chilly. Evan smirks from his post by the door.

“I need to make one thing clear,” Vince says while I’m trying to order us a taxi on my phone. There are usually some about, but we are leaving earlier than I normally would.

“What is it?”

“This is—” Vince takes a deep breath and lets it out, so I stop what I’m doing and look up at him. “One night. That’s all I do. One and done.”

Huh. A little of the wind goes out of my sails at that. It shouldn’t. I don’t know him, and we haven’t even fucked yet. I might want him gone in the morning.

It doesn’t matter. I want him now. I can deal with tomorrow… tomorrow.

“Yeah, okay.”

Vince grins. I order our taxi just as he saunters into my space again, taking my mouth easily. Fuck, he can have whatever he wants.

“Who knows,” he croons against my lips, “we might not even be compatible.”

In the back of my head, my wolf snorts—and so do I.

Vince laughs. His eyes sparkle. “Well, yeah. I don’t mean sexually.”

We kiss until the taxi arrives, though I’m careful to keep an eye on my phone while we wait. I usher Vince in ahead of me, which seems to take him by surprise. Once we set off, he takes my hand, running his thumb over the backs of my knuckles.

“You live alone?”

“No, I have a flatmate. Patch. He’s back there.” I gesture vaguely in the direction we’re driving away from.

“Is he coming home tonight?”

I shake my head. “He’ll stay somewhere else if he doesn’t pick anyone up.”

“So we’re kicking him out for the night?”

“Do you want him to hear you?”

Vince laughs. “Cocky of you.” He leans in to whisper, “I bet I’ll have you screaming louder than you will me.”

Heat surges through me, pooling in my belly. Vince runs his free hand over my thigh but doesn’t move to kiss me again.

Good thing, too. I don’t need to be banned from getting a taxi ever again just because I couldn’t control myself.

About halfway back, Vince makes a surprised sound and fishes his phone out of his pocket. He frowns and leans back, quickly replying to the text he just received.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he says. He puts his phone away and leans in again, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Just my friends checking in on me. Smart of them. I didn’t tell them I was leaving.”

“I—You didn’t?”

“You think I was thinking straight in there?” He snickers. “Like I’m ever thinking straight .”

I frown, looking down at him. “That’s not safe. Do they know—”

Vince brushes our lips together. “It’s fine, Dax. I’ve told them I’m okay. And besides…”

He trails off, eyeing me for a long moment. He doesn’t know about wolves, I’m positive, so he really shouldn’t be trusting me. Not that all wolves can be trusted, but still. He thinks I’m some guy who picked him up.

“I feel safe enough with you.”

I swallow hard, and when I breathe in next, I get a lungful of his scent. He’s not lying. Underneath the desire is a sweet thread of comfort.

My wolf huffs, and I pull Vince a little closer. Okay, yeah. There’s something about that I really like.