“You would do that to your own daughter?” His throat tightened painfully.

“If she chooses a mongrel with a dirty language over her own people, she’s no daughter of mine.”

“She’s your daughter!” The reality of the situation rolled over him. Deep down he knew that no matter what he said, the old Alpha would never change his mind.

“She’s also a member of my pack. I have a duty to my people to protect them from outsiders.”

“I don’t want to harm you or your pack. I just want the freedom to be with Ana. I know she feels the same way about me. Don’t you care for her happiness?”

The old wolf laughed sharply. The harsh sound grated against Connor’s ears. “I know what is best for my daughter and you are not it. You have a decision to make.”

He opened his mouth to offer another argument but stopped. It didn’t matter what he said. He could see the resolution and loathing in the other wolf’s eyes. Connor hadn’t noticed it before—likely because he’d been so wrapped up in Ana. All he’d cared about was what she thought of him. Now he was in too deep to climb out of the hole he’d dug for himself. No matter what he did, it would hurt Ana in the end. He couldn’t ask her to make such a big decision. She was too young.

Connor turned and strode from the house. Anguish burrowed deep in his chest like a sharp, silver-pointed arrow, making it difficult to breathe, but he continued walking. And kept walking …

Connor jerked upright in bed. Immediately his eyes were drawn to the empty spot in the bed. Growling at the empty room, he punched his pillow. He hadn’t dreamed about that day in years. The memory of Ana’s father’s words and obvious disdain rolled around in his head. If only the old wolf could see him now. He’d not only taken over his pack, but he was going to mate with his oldest daughter.

The bitter thought tore at his insides. He shouldn’t give a shit what that old man thought. And he didn’t. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

He shifted against the sheets and stared blindly at the ceiling. Ana would be next to him tomorrow night.

Chapter 9

Ana quietly shut her bedroom door behind her. For some reason she almost felt like a stranger in the house. Which was stupid.

She’d been living here for decades, but sleeping here last night had felt almost wrong. It’s not that she’d missed Connor’s strong arms embracing her—because she hadn’t. And it’s not as if she’d missed the feel of his mouth on her lips. Because she hadn’t. Or at least that was the lie she told herself. So why had she woken up aching for his touch? His strong embrace?

She rolled her eyes at her thoughts as she headed downstairs. A steaming cup of coffee would ease her mind. Since no one else was up, she’d get to make it exactly the way she liked.

When she pushed open the door to the kitchen, she froze. Connor sat at the table in front of his laptop, sipping from a coffee mug. His brown hair stuck out in a few places, as if he’d just woken up. He looked adorable and sexy at the same time. He fixed those stormy green eyes on her and her knees went weak. A man didn’t have a right to look so good at this ungodly hour.

“What are you doing here so early?” The question came out harsher than she’d intended.

“Good morning to you too,” he murmured as he raked an approving, heated look down the length of her body.

When his eyes zeroed in on her breasts, her covered nipples peaked under his scrutiny. They rubbed against her sweater with painful awareness.

She gritted her teeth. It wasn’t fair that he had such an effect on her body. No doubt he knew it. The only thing that made her feel better about that was the lust she scented from him. “Sorry, I … never mind.” She grabbed her favorite purple mug and poured herself a hot drink. Inhaling, she savored the rich French-roast aroma and tried to ignore him.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked as she took a seat across from him.

“Perfect.” She doubted he’d believe her lie.

“I didn’t,” he growled.

She lifted an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

“You should have been next to me.”

She shrugged casually even though she felt anything but. “And you shouldn’t have lied to me.”

Instantly his eyes darkened. “I missed you last night.”

The abrupt admission made her pause. No doubt the words were sincere. He was hard to read sometimes, and forget about revealing any sort of emotions. The fact that he’d admitted something so simple shouldn’t matter, but it touched her in a way she wasn’t sure she was ready to come to terms with.

Still, she didn’t say anything. Her parents had never been big on outward affection, and while she’d respected them she wanted something different for herself. She wasn’t willing to take that risk with Connor, though. If anyone could break her heart, it was him. That wasn’t going to happen. She wouldn’t let it.

He continued staring at her. There were so many promises in his eyes, it made her abdomen clench with need. She could practically envision what he was thinking. Probably because she was thinking the same thing. Right now the thought of their naked bodies intertwined while he took her on the kitchen table sounded wildly right. Her nipples peaked even harder against her sweater, and Connor cracked a knowing grin.

“You all right?” he asked, his voice heated.

The question dragged her out of her fantasies. “What are you doing on the computer?”

“Business.”

Could he be a little more evasive? “You never told me exactly what you and Liam do.”

He shrugged. “Decades ago we sold some antique items that gave us enough to live comfortably, and recently we’ve made a few real estate investments.”

Antiques and real estate? “Hmm.”

His eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing. It’s just all very vague. And I don’t see you out antiquing with your brother. That’s a little too metrosexual, especially for someone like you.”

He frowned. “Metrosexual?”

She shook her head and bit back a smile. Of course he wouldn’t know what the word meant. “Never mind.”

His frown didn’t disappear. “I didn’t say I went antiquing. I said I sold some antiques. You think I can’t take care of our pack?”

Where did that come from? “Uh, no. I just wanted to know …”

He snapped his laptop shut and leaned back in his chair, all his attention focused on her. “What is it you want to know? I’ll answer anything.”

Everything you’ve been doing the past fifty years. She wanted to ask but was afraid of the answer. What if he’d left her because he’d found someone else? And what if the reason he’d come back was because she was his second choice? A weird ache burned in her chest. That kind of knowledge would sear a hole inside her that she didn’t think would ever heal. She rubbed her sternum as if it could dull the intangible pain before pushing her chair back. She cleared her throat as she tried to think of something semi-intelligent to ask. “Uh, I wondered if you were a boxers or briefs kind of guy.” The comment popped out so fast she couldn’t rein in her big mouth. She hadn’t meant to ask it—even if she did want to know the answer—but at least it had the intended effect on Connor.

He blinked once as he stared at her. His green eyes filled with not shock exactly, but mild surprise. His mouth parted slightly, and she smiled inwardly that she was able to take him off guard and hopefully push him off-kilter just a little. She felt unbalanced this morning and didn’t want to be alone in that.

Her tiny victory was short-lived when a grin spread across his face. “You want to find out right now?” he asked playfully.

She couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips. He’d been the first male she’d ever flirted with, and she found she’d missed the light flirty banter that had once flowed so freely between them. Even if she didn’t want to admit it. Still, it was tempting. “Sorry. No time this morning.”

He stared hard at her for another long moment before standing. “What are your plans for the day?”

She placed her cup in the sink. “I’ll be doing what I do every Monday: riding along the south end of the property. Checking on the cattle and the fences. We all take turns and—”

“Good. I’ll go with you.”

Alarm jumped inside her as he took a few steps toward her. “That’s not necessary.”

“I want to see what you do and get a better feel for the day-to-day workings.” He leaned past her as he placed his mug in the sink. When he did, his arm brushed against her shoulder and she had the sudden overwhelming—very annoying—urge to kiss him.

Looking at his lips, she licked her own.

“Keep looking at me like that and we’re not going to get anything done today.” There was a seductive promise in his deep voice. One she very much wanted to find out if he’d keep.

She averted her gaze. Suddenly light flirting didn’t seem so harmless. Not when so much sexual tension hung between them. So many unspoken things. She could feel her self-control slipping away and that scared her. If she gave in to him right now he’d hold all the power. She knew eventually they’d cross that line of physical intimacy, but it couldn’t be this morning. Not until she got her equilibrium back. “We should get going.”

“You sure about that?” The question was a seductive growl.

Am I? “Yeah,” she muttered.

“Then stop staring at me like that.” He laughed softly as he headed toward the door.

At least one of them had control.

“How did Vivian sleep last night?” he asked.

“Okay, I guess. She tossed and turned a lot, but after waking up once she didn’t stir the rest of the night. Or if she did, she didn’t wake me.” Ana had let Vivian sleep in her room last night. It couldn’t turn into a habit, but the little girl had practically begged, and big brown eyes were apparently Ana’s weakness. She hadn’t been able to say no.