CHAPTER 11

Gio knew the question was rhetorical. Females tended to mark their males around the groin and obviously Duda figured that was the case with Danica. Rather than correct him, he allowed him to think that. He wasn"t sure why she hadn"t marked him. Oh she"d nipped him and scratched him a few times through the night, but it had only ever been in retaliation and it was never deep enough to even draw blood, let alone mark. His wolf didn"t like it, and Gio was pretty sure that her wolf wouldn"t be too pleased about it either. Maybe she would do it when the battles for dominance had eased, he mused. He didn"t bother asking himself why he even gave a shit. This mating stuff fucked with the brain. "How does it feel to have a female who won"t bow down to you?" Duda"s grin was roguish. Gio returned the grin. "It makes life interesting." Very interesting. "I don"t know how you can fuck a Hart," snarled Max. An unnerving growl filled the sudden silence and Danica"s wolf began pacing and releasing a growl of her own as if to back up her mate. Gio"s entire focus was on a fidgety Max. "Don"t. Insult. Danica. Again." Just like last night, the very idea of anyone insulting her made his blood boil. Keeping his head bowed, Max rose from his seat and stalked out of the kitchen. Gary gave Gio an apologetic smile and then followed after his son. "You"re right," Danica said to Michey who was taking Max"s now vacant seat, "he is an asshole." "We"ll be leaving here in a couple of hours to head to the meeting with the Mediator," Gio told her. "In the meantime I"ll be in my office, but there"ll be plenty of people around if you need anything." Yeah, all of whom are hoping I die a painful death very soon. "I wouldn"t have pictured you as the type to have an office." "I have investments in a number of different businesses and I like to keep an eye on them. Feel free to move around or whatever." "I will go for a run." The eagerness in her voice surprised him. "You still have that need even though you"re latent?" "My wolf gets restless and uncomfortable if I don"t. She still craves that feeling of being free, the kind that comes from running with other wolves." Although these wolves were only temporarily her pack, her wolf wasn"t affected by that. Gio couldn"t imagine how difficult it would be to be latent. He wasn"t sure who would have gone crazy first, him or his wolf. The fact that Danica was not only sane, but free of bitterness and hatefulness demonstrated just how strong a person she was. As he sat sipping the remainder of his coffee, he watched her chewing on a piece of bacon. Such a simple sight and yet he couldn"t move his eyes from her. There was such an effortless sensuality to her movements. Each one was graceful, almost fluid. The way she chewed her food and licked that carnal mouth had his cock so hard he could probably hammer nails with it. Duda"s eyes were helplessly glued to her, something which Gio wasn"t pleased about, but couldn"t blame him for. Even his enforcers seemed to begrudgingly admire her innate grace. She really was the most sensual creature he had ever seen. The fact that she was totally without vanity and completely oblivious to how provocative she was only increased her attraction. She was truly nothing like any of the women he had been with in the past. "Gio?!" Definitely nothing like the female who was currently heading toward the kitchen. Once, he had fucked the woman once and yet ever since that night four years ago Theresa had acted as though she had rights to him. He"d kind of hoped that she would have moved on by now, but apparently the universe thought it would be more fun this way. "An ex?" Danica was surprised at just how much the idea annoyed her. For her to be an ex, there would"ve been some kind of relationship to begin with." "In other words, she"s someone you used to fuck?" "I like to think of her as more of a mistake." "Gio, is it true?" demanded Theresa as she stomped inside with Cindy at her side. Instantly Theresa"s nostrils flared as she took in the other scents in the room. Her head whipped round to face Danica. Gio watched as Danica smiled warmly at her, but there was something dark in that smile, something that warned Theresa to be very careful. Danica cocked her head at the females. Theresa"s focus quickly returned to him. "You mated her? You actually mated her?" "Why are you so surprised? I told each of you about my plan at our last pack meeting." "Yeah but I never thought you"d really do it! She"s a Hart. And I just…I thought that you and I would mate." Several snorts snatched Gio"s attention. He watched as Duda, his enforcers, Michey and Lucy all exchanged glances that said Theresa was obviously delusional. Theresa planted her hands on her hips. "Aren"t you going to introduce me?" Gio held his hand out invitingly to Danica. Smiling, she crossed the room and let him pull her onto his lap. "Danica, Theresa. Theresa, Danica." "Oh I"m just Theresa to you now?" She was only ever just Theresa to him. Of course he had known that she was hoping he"d mate her and she would have the position of Alpha female. He hadn"t known that she thought she had a chance. Danica rolled her eyes. "I suppose this is the part where you enlighten me about how you"re his ex , perhaps even the love of his life and then I"m supposed to feel insanely jealous. Sorry, but it"s just too early in the morning for me to muster that kind of response. Maybe you should try again later." Though that wasn"t to say that Danica wasn"t tempted to slap her purely for having touched Gio as idiotic as that was. "Seriously, Gio, you can"t honestly have mated her. She"s not even your type. I mean she"s thin. And mouthy. And small. Even her boobs are on the small side." "I have nice feet." "You"re not his type!" "You mean because I can read and write?" Theresa flushed and stamped her foot. "Gio? Gio?" Finally he spared the whining woman a glance. He"d only been half￾listening to the conversation as he"d been too busy nuzzling Danica"s neck, breathing in her exotic scent. As he licked over his claiming mark, a tremor ran through her. Danica gave him a sideways glance. "Gio, you really shouldn"t do that unless you want me to jump you while we have an audience." The ass licked it again. "Hello!" barked Theresa, waving. She was a picture of jealousy. "Oh sorry, did you say something?" asked Danica innocently. The ringing of Gio"s cell phone cut off whatever Theresa had been about to say. Seeing that the caller was Hudson, he brought both him and Danica to their feet. "I"ll be back in a minute." With one last lick to his mark, he released her, relishing the flush on her cheeks, and left the room to take the call in private. As if Theresa wasn"t staring at her with utter hatred in her eyes and obviously planning her murder, Danica leaned against the counter as she tackled her last slice of bacon. "I feel sorry for Gio being stuck with you, even if it"s only for a few months. Seriously, Duda, what was he thinking of mating a Hart?" "You wouldn"t have liked her no matter who she was and we all know why." "Oh come on, Duda, if what I"ve heard is right then she"s latent for God"s sake." Taryn sighed. "You know, I really wish people would stop talking about my latency like it"s the second coming of Christ. I"m not the only latent shifter." Theresa gave her a pitying look. "You have to admit that a latent couldn"t manage being an Alpha Female." "I suppose you would do a much better job." "Yes, I would. Even if this mating was real, it wouldn"t have lasted long. Once Gio and his wolf began to realize just how weak their mate is, their interest in you would have swiftly dwindled. They"d have gone looking for a female wolf who can complement them and their strength. And when that happened, I"d have been waiting." Gio was just ending the call when the sound of a loud crash hit his ears and had him cursing in surprise. He raced into the kitchen and stared, confounded, at the vision before him. Theresa was very ungracefully dislocated out on the floor after obviously having smacked her head against the wall, if the trail of blood was anything to go by. Everyone at the table had risen from their seat and was staring down at her, wide-eyed. And Danica well she was leaning against the counter calmly biting into a slice of bacon as if there wasn"t a woman moaning and bleeding all over the floor. "What the hell happened?" he demanded. Danica"s expression was perfectly serene when she peered up at him. "She fell." The sound of muffled laughter had his attention returning to the table to find Duda, Michey , Lucy, Richard and Jeremy chuckling so hard they were shaking. Although the others were silent, none of them, not even Cindy, had been able to hold back an amused grin. Danica sighed. "I think I"ll go on that run now. Michey, that breakfast was excellent." She then made her way around a moaning Theresa, pointedly ignoring her. "Close your mouth, Gio or you"ll catch flies." Still totally bemused and also a little horny as a result of her alpha vibes pulsating around her, Gio stared after her as she pranced out of the room humming a tune he didn"t recognise. "Danica"s one mean bitch," said Duda approvingly. "Gio, look what she did to me!" whined Theresa. He didn"t want to. "Duda, Chris, you coming?" Both rose from the table and thanked Michey before following him out of the room. "What was all that about anyway?" "Just Theresa being her usual irritating self," replied Duda. "You should"ve seen the way Danica picked her up and slung her at the wall. It was awesome." Chris nodded his agreement, albeit reluctantly. "That female"s freakishly strong for her size." Oh Gio already knew that from their battles last night. His lips curved into a smile as he imagined battling with her all over again tonight.