Free Wild Night by Nalini Singh Page A

resist a soft kiss on the fingertips he’d
nipped. Her scent was spring and earth and an intoxicating feminine warmth,
soothed his wolf as much as it made him wild.
    This time when he put her hand back in her lap, she kept it there. Kicking off
her heels, she ran her palm down the shimmering silver of her strapless dress.
Her
teeny tiny
strapless dress. “I’m gonna wear this dress again.”
    “I vote for that,” Amos said helpfully. “Shows off your legs.”
    “Keep your mind on your own damn legs,” Tai growled, though he knew Amos was
just messing with him.
    “Yeah, Amos.” Evie turned to scowl at the tall, dark-skinned soldier. “Only Tai
can put his mind on my legs.” She bit her lip. “Can you put a mind on legs?”
    Cadence was in hysterics now, while Amos solemnly replied that minds could be on
legs and his mind wanted to be on her legs. It belatedly dawned on Tai that Amos
was also very drunk; he just appeared sober. Cadie wasn’t much better.
    When he heard Amos growl, he used the rearview mirror to check up on the two.
Cadie was pretending to be a vampire gnawing on Amos’s arm, her blonde hair
falling around her face. Since Amos was laughing through his growls, Tai left
them to it, and answered Evie’s question about how many fingers she should have
on her hands.
    All three were asleep by the time he pulled into the garage under the SnowDancer
den high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He noticed that Hawke’s truck wasn’t
there.
Interesting.
He’d have to tell Evie when she was sober; she’d love the idea that Sienna may
have finally gotten under their alpha’s skin.
    Getting out, he went around to the back and shook Amos’s shoulder. The other man
came awake at once, his jaw cracking on a yawn. “We home?”
    “Yep.”
    “Cadie.” Amos tugged on her hand. “No more sleepy-time.”
    Waking on a groan, Cadence slid out through the same door as Amos, then threw
her arm around her bigger packmate’s waist. “Come on Mind-on-Legs. I’ll escort
you home.”
    Amos wrapped his own arm around her shoulders. “’ppreciate it. Think I’m drunk.”
    “No shit.”
    Watching the two until they made it out into the main corridors, where packmates
would help them along if they stumbled, he shut the door and went around to the
front passenger side. He opened it with care, undid Evie’s seat belt, then slid
his arms very gently around her.
    “Tai.” Nuzzling his throat sleepily, she wrapped her arms around him.
    “I’ve got you.” He nudged the door shut with his hip just as the truck Elias was
driving pulled in. Leaving the garage before the others tumbled out and
disturbed Evie, he carried her through to the den. Her long black hair tumbled
down her back and over his arm, her legs—gorgeous legs—dropping over his other
arm.
    She wasn’t wearing her heels. No matter. Any packmate who found them in the
truck would make sure the strappy shoes made their way back to Evie.
    Riaz passed him halfway to his destination, raised an eyebrow. “Indigo just got
back from her shift.”
    Oh fuck.
Evie’s
lieutenant sister was highly protective and she kept a sharp eye on Tai.
Rationally speaking, he couldn’t blame her—Evie was a sweet, gentle submissive,
while Tai was a strong dominant.
    Relationships with such a large differential between the two parts of a couple
weren’t common in the pack, and though dominants were taught to be careful,
mistakes did occasionally happen, with the end result being horrifying for both
parties. No dominant wanted to compel a submissive lover to say yes. No
submissive wanted his or her choice stripped from them by the primal drives of
the wolf within.
    Tai had been painfully careful with Evie. He’d taken baby steps, always watching
to ensure he had her full consent, that his dominance wasn’t forcing her
acceptance of his courtship. She’d finally lost patience and hauled him into a
kiss that blew his circuits.
    “I