VIENNAFrom the way that Chase storms off, it’s clear that something I said must’ve struck a nerve. Not that he’d admit it. The more I get to know him, the more curious I am about what he’s really hiding beneath all that false bravado- though it’s hard for me to have sympathy for someone who devotes so much energy into being a complete and total prick.I get that he has trauma, but these days, who doesn’t? I’ve got my own share of problems, but at least I’m trying to do something about it. Chase just wants to sit around and wallow in his own self-pity at the expense of everyone else. As someone actively trying to better their situation, I don’t have the patience for his brand of bullshit. I’m not going to walk on eggshells or tiptoe around him like everyone else.I climb out of my car, giving it a wistful glance as I look to Chase’s monstrosity of a truck parked beside it. Of course someone like Chase would talk shit about my car, given how shiny and new his own vehicle is. I saved up

CHASEMy boys and I roll into the Stillwater Tap shortly after 9 p.m. on Saturday, the large interior of the building already slammed with patrons and the scent of sweat, booze, and bad decisions hanging heavy in the air. The grey brick exterior of the building is deceptively dull compared to the atmosphere inside- on nights like this, the music is cranked up, the dance floor is packed, and the girls are dressed to the nines like they’re going clubbing in the city. This place is the local watering hole in Stillwater’s territory, and since Serena is Luna of the pack that resides here, her birthday celebration has drawn in quite the crowd tonight.A scene like this should excite me more than it does. I’m a teenage boy, I should be out on the dance floor drowning in a buffet of tits and ass right now, not slumped in the corner of the bar downing shots of cheap whiskey like it’s my fucking job. The truth is, only one thing has excited me enough lately to tug me from the fog of self-induce

CHASE So many things about Vienna Vega frustrate the hell out of me. The way she rolls her eyes whenever she sees me, like my presence has just ruined her fucking day. That little hair toss she does when she folds her arms across her chest in indignation. Her constant smartass responses to whatever I say, like she’s figured out exactly how to push my buttons. That ever-present flicker of defiance whenever I get close. But the worst, by far, is that despite all of that, I can’t stop thinking about her. It’s beginning to border on obsession. I keep thinking of those lips, so full and soft, and how perfect they’d look wrapped around my cock. How those big brown eyes would probably swim with flecks of bronze while she looks up at me, eyes glassy as I bump the back of her throat. I could twist that long black hair into a rope, wind it around my hand and pull. And those tits… I haven’t seen them bare yet, but the dress she was wearing Saturday night gave me a damn good mental image of wh

CHASEI groan as the insistent vibration of my phone against the surface of my nightstand rouses me from sleep, rolling over and flinging out a hand to grab for it. Still half-asleep, my clumsy fingers knick the edge, sending it sailing off the nightstand and clattering loudly to the hardwood floor. Damn it.Squinting my eyes open against the harsh assault of sunlight peeking through the curtains, I immediately recognize that it’s way too fucking early for me to be awake. Who the fuck would be calling me this early in the morning? My curiosity doesn’t go far, because I just squeeze my eyes shut again, not making a move to retrieve my phone from the floor. Whoever it is can fuck off until I’m ready to wake up.Drowsy thoughts wander into my mind as I throw an arm over my face to shield it from the light, registering the faint scent of raspberries and rosewater that lingers on my skin.Vienna Vega.So much for fucking her out of my system. Instead, I fucked her deeper into it, her lust-

CHASE “So I see you decided to keep the phone,” I grumble as I slide onto a stool at the lodge bar. Vienna’s eyes flicker up to meet mine, a spark of chaotic energy passing between us as soon as they connect. Her pouty pink lips tip into a feisty little smirk as she tosses her hair back and throws a hand on her hip. “Got my message, huh?” “Loud and clear.” I don’t tell her how I damn near dropped and cracked my own phone when it came through yesterday, opening it up to see those big brown eyes staring back at me, brimming with mischief and mayhem. The middle finger she was holding up may have been saying ‘fuck off’, but between the deviant expression on her face and the tantalizing peek at her cleavage spilling out of her white sports bra, it obviously failed to land. That selfie was sexy as fuck. She should’ve known that it wouldn’t push me away, but draw me in. Maybe that’s what she wants. “Why are you here, then?” Vienna asks, tone laced with annoyance as she arches a dark br