Brick House: Blue Collar Wolves #2 (Mating Season Collection) Read Free Page B

he could take more than a step towards her, Sparky opened the office door. Sparky was the same age as her dad and had originally worked for Old Man Tyler – was, in fact, the only wolf Brick and House hadn’t been able to run off when they bought the place, even if he wasn’t officially employed. He’d known her since she was a kid, and Sparky was now looking at House, though he was speaking to her. “Mel, you got a unwanted guest in front.”
    Whatever signals Sparky was sending out had House bristling, and looking out the office window, even Brick seemed to catch on to something, his gaze locked on her from the shop.
    Whoever Sparky meant, she wouldn’t want them here and she needed to get this cleared up with a minimum of fuss and without House or Brick or Danny getting involved. “Excuse me, let me see what’s happening.”
    She walked out, and thank heavens neither wolf followed her. She wasn’t quite as thankful when the door opened up and outside was John, scum of the known universe and Danny’s father. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    She hadn’t seen him in five years and hadn’t gotten a dime in support from him at all during Danny’s life. Her whole policy was to leave him alone, because he was a vindictive bastard, and she wanted nothing more than to be free of him and not start worrying if he would start making noises about taking Danny. So why had he decided to show up now?
    He smiled at her, that same smile that had weaseled him into whatever he wanted in life, including into her pants and into her pussy without a condom. I’ll pull out baby, I swear. God, she had been such an idiot. There was no denying he was good-looking in a smooth way, very different from the rough strokes that categorized the wolves she had grown up with. Even House, as Hollywood-like as his looks were, had an animalistic quality that was undeniable.
    That smoothness had appealed to her when she had been about rebelling, about getting away from everything familiar, people and attitudes and values. She’d been too young to realize how important pack and familiarity was, and it wasn’t until she had to return with a baby in her belly and no money in her pockets, when the only people who cared what happened to her were the very ones she’d been running from, that she broke down and wept over the pointless rebellion.
    “We share a son. Can’t I come and say hi?”
    “No, you can’t.” Mel had to shut this down quick. What if Danny came out? What if John tried to go in to get Danny? Panic rose in her throat, panic she beat back and swallowed hard against. “Now, what do you want? You shouldn’t be showing up here.”
    How had he found out she was here anyway? Probably sweet-talked one of the girls around here asking about her, giving those dark, longing looks which had fooled her so long ago.
    “Do you have a break? Come and talk to me. I want to catch up a bit.” He tilted his head and gave it a small jerk, combining it with his smile, knowing it made him look approachable and earnest and all those things young girls craved.
    Mel didn’t want to head anywhere with him, but she also didn’t want to have any kind of discussion where Brick and House could overhear and realize what a stupid kid she’d been, to be caught up with someone like this. Without a word she began to walk to a small area on the side of the building, used for smoke breaks, but no one would be there now.
    After arriving she faced him, arms crossed over her chest and her best no-nonsense look plastered over her face, the one that had Danny spilling his misdeeds in seconds. “Please tell me what you came for without any bullshit. I can’t risk losing this job and I need to get back to work.”
    He snorted, pulling his head back, the smarmy charm disappearing from his face and cold craftiness replacing it. “Since I’m sure your job involves you opening your legs for the bosses in there, I don’t think you’ll be losing it by taking an