Cut to the Chase (City Shifters: the Pride Book 4) Read online

  Cut to the Chase

  Layla Nash

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Connect with the Author

  Also by Layla Nash

  Copyright © 2015 by Layla Nash

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by Resplendent Media.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter 1

  I walked into the Council offices well after dark during the busiest time of night for the bar. I needed to be there, supervising the pack before they started tearing things up, but I'd heard hide nor hair from the other wolf pack in the city until just a few hours earlier. I didn't trust Miles Evershaw even the slightest bit, but sometimes the man had good ideas. If he reached out directly to me rather than through the Council intermediaries, he had his reasons.

  Light spilled from only one doorway in the dark hall, and I found Evershaw waiting in the SilverLine pack office. He read from a thick book, a history of something boring no doubt, but rose as I walked in. "O'Shea. Thank you for coming."

  "What's up, Evershaw?" I sauntered in like it was my office and he was the interloper, and dragged my fingers along the back of a fancy leather couch – leaving my scent behind to drive him nuts later. "Where's your minion?"

  "Todd?" Evershaw set the book aside as he watched me, the corner of his mouth turning up. The touch of gray at his temples made him look distinguished rather than old, but his real age showed in his eyes. Haunted. The other alpha poured a glass of whiskey. "He's on a date, actually." He snorted, shaking his head. "Imagine. Who has time to date?"

  "No joke." I took the glass he offered, pausing only to inhale the warm whiskey scent before sipping. At least Evershaw believed in spending money on the things that mattered – comfortable furniture and good liquor.

  Evershaw poured for himself, and then gestured at the couch and the seat he'd previously occupied. "Sit for a moment, O'Shea."

  I did, a hint of uneasiness bubbling up in my stomach. We'd never been in a room this long without threatening each other. The other shoe would drop eventually. The buttery leather creaked as I adjusted my legs, the high-heeled boot revealed as my jeans rode up. He studied it for a long moment, a hint of consideration in his expression, but I refused to adjust my jeans. Couldn't show weakness or hesitation, especially in front of him.

  Evershaw swirled the whiskey in his glass, though his blue eyes remained on me. "I won't beat around the bush, O'Shea. Neither of us has time to search for a mate. With the way this Council is going, the wolves need to establish an agreement to protect us from the felines and the other riffraff. The best way to do that is to combine our packs. You and I mate, and lead together."

  I blinked, staring at him. Waiting for a logical response.

  Nothing occurred to me.

  His eyebrows arched. "Well?"

  "You can't be serious."

  "Oh, I am." Evershaw watched me with his damnably blank expression. "There is no wolf in this city with the balls to ask you out, much less mate you, O'Shea. Unless you're hunting for a guy outside the city – and I know you're not, because all you do is work – you’re never going to get a mate. Never going to whelp some pups."

  "Not every woman wants kids, Evershaw. Check your judgments."

  "Fine. But you also haven't been on a date in years. This is an easy solution, O'Shea."

  My foot bounced again as I sipped the whiskey, needing a little liquid courage. I could cut the man down when he was being an ass or challenging me in front of my pack, but when he tried to hold a normal conversation, he put me completely off-balance. Which was no doubt his goal. "Easy solution for you, maybe. But I don't feel like giving up my pack, Evershaw."

  "We combine packs. You and I will be in charge." His long fingers drummed on the arm of his chair. "My pack is not accustomed to shared alphas. It will take some adjustment."

  "And what about Rafe?" I studied the glass of whiskey, stunned that I was actually halfway considering it. Evershaw offered a practical, simple solution to several different problems in my life. I wanted a mate, and eventually children, and someone to be my partner – but the other alpha was right. Very few men in the city would dare ask me out. He was an asshole, but if we established ground rules before getting married, maybe...

  "I don't give a shit what Rafe does." Evershaw got up and retrieved the bottle, splashing more whiskey into his glass before topping mine off. "But unless he's ready to be a beta, he's not staying in my pack."

  "He's my brother." I plucked at a loose thread on my jeans. "Which is why it would never work with us, Evershaw. Not just because I don't like you and find the idea of fucking you off-putting, but because you have no respect for family."

  "Off-putting?" He definitely smiled, though he hid it quickly. "You must suffer from a lack of imagination or experience, Ruby. Something we can correct immediately."

  My wolf bristled but I refused to react, only raising my eyebrows as I studied him. I took refuge in disdain, wrapping myself up in the chilly demeanor that had protected me all the way to being alpha of my own pack. "Evershaw, you're on dangerous territory."

  "Very well. I'm not going to beg you, O'Shea. But this agreement has an expiration date. I'll give you a week to consider it, and expect your answer then."

  "You have your answer now. I'm not going to mate with you, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you take over my pack."

  Those cold blue eyes watched me as I downed the rest of the whiskey and stood, leaving the glass on the small end table. I straightened my leather jacket as I looked down at where he sprawled in the chair.

  Evershaw glanced at his phone as it chimed, but when I turned to go his voice stopped me in my tracks. "I'm the only man in this city who understands you, Ruby. You might not like me very much, but at least I respect you. I know what it means to be alpha. I understand the pressure, the burdens, the demands. I respect what you've been able to accomplish. And I happen to think we would make very strong, very attractive children. Think about it."

  I stared at the door, glad my back was to him as his words punched through my chest. Maybe he was right. For half a second, I considered turning back, getting more whiskey, and letting him talk me into sampling the wares. It had been at least a year since I'd had sex, and regardless of Evershaw's technique, a strong breeze would probably be enough to get me off. I gritted my teeth and strode out the door without looking back.

  Chapter 2

  Carter sat at the bar at O'Shea's, nursing a beer as he watched everything going on behind him in the mirror. He didn't want to go back to the house. Between Logan and Natalia, Benedict and Eloise, and Atticus and Sophia, the mansion had turned into date night every night. Carter made a face and reached for another handful of peanuts. He was happy for them, of course, but that didn't make seeing the love
y-dovey cuddling and murmuring and kissing easy. Especially since he still didn't have the same.

  A commotion made him look up, and Ruby O'Shea tore into the bar with a ferocious snarl on her face. She slammed the door and strode toward the bar without looking at anyone. The pack members who lounged around the pool table cringed low in their seats and then slunk to the door. The humans populating the bar looked around, uncomfortable, then started asking for the check. Even if they didn't know O'Shea's was a pack bar full of shifters, the humans sensed the tension.

  Carter raised his beer to drink, trying to hide a smile as Ruby went behind the bar and started yanking bottles down left and right. He waited until a bottle of tequila landed on the bar in front of him before he cleared his throat. "Rough day?"

  She shot him a dark look. "Don't start with me, Chase."

  He just smiled. "Come on, Ruby. You're not going to scare me."

  Her teeth and a couple of her piercings shone in the light as she ducked to retrieve something from under the bar, then smacked a pair of limes down in front of him. A knife flashed and she had several wedges ready, along with a saltshaker. She leveled the blade at him. "You want to stay and crack jokes, Carter? Then you drink."

  "Line 'em up." He uncapped the bottle of tequila and filled the shot glasses as she set them out, and though he had no problem holding his liquor, he got a little nervous as the number of glasses reached into the double digits. "I just went on the third terrible date this week, so you'll have to work to beat that."

  Her dark eyes narrowed and she licked the side of her hand, pouring salt onto it before handing him the shaker. "Worst first and last date ever. Propositioned as a business deal. Since no other man in the entire city would ever ask me out."

  Carter winced. "Ouch."

  "Yeah." She licked the salt off her hand, tossed back a shot of tequila, and bit into a lime. He followed, the tequila burning his nose and throat and making him blink, as he turned on the stool to watch while she snapped orders at the few pack members that remained.

  When she returned, he caught her wrist. "Hey. You're killing business down here. Let's go upstairs."

  "This is my bar, I'll kill business if I want."

  It wasn't bravado. Something else bothered her, he could tell. Something to do with that whole 'no man would ask her out' thing, and that was too serious for her to admit in a public place, where her pack might sense weakness. Carter started pouring the shots back into the bottle. "You're too good of a businesswoman to do that. Seriously. Jules and the guys can handle things down here, and Rafe is out for the night. We can go upstairs and I'll tell you all about my awful dates."

  The conflict played out across her face, but whatever bothered her must have been pretty awful, because eventually she snatched the salt and limes off the bar, turned on her heel, and marched to the back staircase without another word. Carter took two of the shot glasses and the bottle of tequila, nodding to the bar manager as he followed Ruby. The manager sighed, "Thanks," and went about trying to get the clientele back.

  Carter tried to put how good Ruby smelled out of his head. She was Natalia's best friend and the alpha of the BloodMoon pack, and pretty well off-limits. But his lion grumbled and growled as he found her pacing in the large living room upstairs, arms folded tightly to her chest and the expensive high-heeled boots she wore clicking across the floor. The lion liked the idea of a wolf alpha to curl up with at night. Carter set down the tequila and poured her another shot. She threw it back without a word, then leveled a look at him that nearly stopped his heart. "So you're dating now?"

  He took his own drink and eased onto the couch after folding his jacket across the back of the chair. It had been a long damn day, bouncing between Natalia's restaurant and the Chase company headquarters to help Benedict. He put his feet up on the coffee table and yawned. "Logan's thing. He made me sign up with a matchmaker, so I've been on three blind dates in the last week. It's awful."

  She managed a grimacing smile. "Really? I would have thought the matchmaker had pretty good instincts for that kind of thing."

  "Oh, they all look good on paper." He rested his head on the back of the couch and stared up the ceiling fan, revolving in a lopsided circle. He glanced at her with a grin. "But on paper doesn't usually work out in real life, right?"

  "Tell me about it." Ruby paused long enough for more tequila, swigging straight out of the bottle. She paced more, hands tapping patterns against her thighs, and Carter watched her walk. She wanted to talk, wanted to admit something, but she held herself back. After some time, she faced him, hands on her hips. "Don't tell anyone this or I will end you. Got it?"

  He mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key. God, she was beautiful – all fierce and fiery, pure energy and movement. Long dark hair falling over full breasts and a narrow waist, but with generous hips and a fantastic ass that just begged to be spanked. He tried to focus. And her threatening him was more than a little bit of a turn-on, if only because he wanted to show her how he felt about idle threats.

  She took a deep breath, raking the hair back from her face, and started pacing again. "Miles Evershaw asked me to be his mate. Merge the packs, kick Rafe out, set up a power bloc against the rest of the shifters, and be mates. A marriage of convenience. A business deal."

  Carter poured another shot and set out a lime wedge for her. "Sounds romantic. I'm surprised you didn't swoon."

  She shot him a dirty look, but a hint of amusement gathered around her eyes. "Yeah."

  "So what did you tell him?"

  "No way in hell." She gave a frustrated growl and turned in a circle, searching the room for something he couldn't see. "He's an ass. And a control freak. He'd pretend up front that we would be equal, but I know him. There's only room for one alpha in his pack, and that's him. Everyone else is second. And I didn't bust my ass and fight half the wolves in this city to get where I'm at only to give it up for some dick."

  Carter bit back a smile, even though he sympathized. "You shouldn't have to."

  "No. And I'm not. Rafe and I made this pack. I'm not letting Miles fucking Evershaw run me off, or tell me there's no one else in the damn city who will date me."

  Carter's dislike for Evershaw grew exponentially. The guy was a manipulative dick. He tried to intimidate Ruby into giving in, acting as if she would be alone forever. Carter raised a shot of tequila in salute. "I can refer you to my matchmaker. Then we can both have disappointing dates and bitch about them afterwards."

  A smile definitely made an appearance. "Or not."

  She took a shot, and then collapsed onto the couch next to him. She rubbed her forehead, fatigue suddenly evident in every line of her body. She smelled delicious, some kind of vanilla perfume clinging to her despite the liquor and the smoke from the bar. He wanted to pull her into his lap and cuddle her. Protect her.

  Ruby took a deep breath and fixed him with a penetrating stare. "What's the matter with me, Carter?"

  "Nothing. Absolutely nothing." His mouth was dry but the words came easily, and he wouldn't have looked away from her even if the entire pack came up the stairs to end his life. "You are fucking perfect."

  "Then why is Miles Evershaw the only guy asking me out?"

  He eased a little closer, dared to catch her knee and squeeze it. Even though what he really wanted was to grab her thighs and drag her closer so he could rip off her shirt. "Because you're successful and powerful, and you know what you want. Because you have high standards and you're not going to lower them because you know you're worth it."

  Half of her mouth turned up. "That's what Nat would tell me. That's what women tell each other. Tell me from a man's perspective."

  Carter's mind raced and his heart thumped, wanting to show her a man's perspective. Talking about it wasn't enough. Maybe the tequila made her vulnerable, maybe it was Natalia's impending wedding and all the bullshit that went along with it that had the normally unflappable Ruby thinking about why she hadn't found a mate. He leaned forward unti
l they were nose to nose, but he kept his voice quiet so she had to ease forward even more, in order to hang on his every word. "Because you're in charge every minute of every day, men think you want that at home. In bed. And that makes them nervous."

  "Makes them nervous." Her lips parted and she seemed very interested in his mouth. He heard her heart racing, could scent the hint of interest as her body reacted to his. "But not you, apparently."

  "Because I know you don't really want to be in charge all the time." He smiled as she blinked and started to protest, and he touched the tips of his fingers to her lips, cutting her off. He leaned forward until she leaned back, giving way, and he braced his hands on either side of her shoulders, letting his knee depress the cushion between her thighs. He trapped her there, let her feel his weight, and dipped his head enough to nuzzle her hair. His voice dropped as he heard the thrum of her pulse. "I know you want someone else to be in charge when they take you to bed. You want someone to tell you what to do. Take away that burden of responsibility. Maybe tie you up. Teach you a lesson or two. And then let you saunter off to be alpha again, knowing you can't sit down because you got paddled for being a very bad girl."

  Her breath escaped in something dangerously close to a moan, then Ruby blinked the dazed look away and braced her hands on his shoulders. "That's not at all what…"

  "Don't lie to me." Carter grumbled a warning and rested his palm on her side, right against her rib cage. "I can hear your heart beating, Ruby."

  She looked up at him, tense as a coiled spring, and her pupils dilated until her eyes looked completely black. "Maybe I'm about to throw you across this room."

  Carter chuckled. But he sat back, unconcerned. Sometimes the game took longer than he wanted, but victory tasted better after anticipation. Before he got too far, Ruby's arms locked around his neck and she kissed him fiercely, demandingly. Carter waited only a moment before he kissed her back, fingers threading into her hair and tightening until he took control back. He pressed her back down on the couch and she moaned, writhing under him until the lion almost took over. He broke the kiss and retreated but kept her pinned, studying her expression as she panted, eyes wide.