Force of Temptation
Page 42

Well, whatever.
Feeling eyes on her, Harley looked to see Nat, Kim, and an old woman staring at her like she’d pissed in their shoes. Yeah, it was safe to say that Nat and Kim hadn’t joined the Mercury Pack in accepting Harley. But the more she’d watched Nat interact with people, the more Harley had decided it would be wise not to take a single thing personally when it came to that woman. She seemed to detest all people equally with the exception of her children. She might be polite and respectful to those around her, but that didn’t mean she liked them.
As for Kim . . . well, she still seemed to have her sights set on Jesse and, as such, saw Harley has an interloper. But why the old woman standing with Kim and Nat was scowling at Harley, she had no idea. “Who’s that?” Harley asked.
Trey sighed tiredly. “That would be my grandmother, Greta.”
“Or, as I affectionately refer to her, ‘the antisocial, psychotic, prudish agent of Lucifer,’” said Taryn, to which her mate sighed again.
Harley vaguely remembered Shaya and Ally mentioning that Trey’s grandmother was very possessive of him, his Beta, and his enforcers—referring to them all as “her boys” and disliking unmated females around them. Roni was the only female she had accepted.
Something about the way Taryn was glaring at Greta made the woman choose that moment to march over. She did a double take at the sight of Savannah. “Will someone get that child down, for goodness sake!” Greta shook her head at Riley. “You have no control over her at all; you let her go around attacking people.”
Riley crossed her eyes. “She only hurt one person—that was you. And all she did was bite you. Get over it.”
“Greta, this is a kids’ party,” Trey reminded her. “Tone it down for once.”
Lifting her chin, Greta sniffed haughtily. Then her eyes landed on Harley and narrowed. “I’ve heard about you. I respect your father and I respect that he avenged his son, but I don’t respect your actions. You’ve put good people in danger by coming here. Clive would be very disappointed in you.”
Harley snorted. Here was yet another person who didn’t know the real Clive Vincent. Her cat unsheathed her claws and wiggled them.
“Greta,” drawled Jesse. “This has nothing at all to do with you. Stay out of it.”
“I’m disappointed with you, Jesse,” Greta told him. “I would have thought you were more protective of your pack than to take a risk like this. Although I respect Clive, I don’t respect his pride. She’s just like them—selfish. How can you not see that? For God’s sake, she spent most of her life around drugs, alcohol, partying, and bar fights.”
“It builds character,” said Harley.
“Then she went off to live with a bunch of rich, high-and-mighty humans,” Greta went on. “Why should you lot be the ones protecting her when she’s got them?”
Harley gave her a smile filled with mock pity. “Your parents didn’t hug you enough when you were a pup, did they?” Before Greta could speak again, Harley asked, “What’s it to you anyway? You’re not part of this pack.”
“No, but my Roni is. My other boys didn’t find themselves a decent mate, but Marcus didn’t let me down; he’s mated with a good, strong female who’s a loving mate and takes care of him.” She gestured at the couple.
“Ow! Stop hitting me with spoons!” Marcus whined at his mate.
Roni hit him again. “Stop trying to cut the cake!”
Harley turned back to Greta. “I see what you mean.”
Flushing, Greta humphed. “You’re no better than her.” She stabbed her finger in Riley’s direction. “She moved to our pack for sanctuary, knowing it could bring trouble our way. Some people are just selfish through and through.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Look, Gretchen—”
“It’s Greta.”
“I don’t care,” said Riley.
Greta looked back at Harley. “See, selfish. And rude. She’s not—”
“Buffet’s open!” Shaya called out.
Just like that, Greta’s scowl fell and she turned to Trey with a shark’s grin. “Ooh good, I’m starving.”
As the woman walked away, Harley said to Jesse, “And I thought Lily was dramatic.”
Jesse snickered and guided his mate to the long table, where they both filled their plates with food before finding an empty bench. As they ate, he watched her, admiring the almost orgasmic looks she displayed after every bite. She was a female who enjoyed her food and made no apologies for it. As conversation went on around them, Jesse licked barbeque sauce from the corner of Harley’s mouth. “Watching you eat makes me hard,” he said in a low voice.
She chuckled. “Then prepare to stay that way for a while because I’m having seconds.”
“So am I.” At the buffet table, they grabbed another plate of food and then returned to the bench. Dominic—a Phoenix enforcer and born flirt—was in their spot, so Jesse just stared at him until he moved, laughing.
“When are they cutting the cake?” Dominic asked Jesse.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Why?”
“I called dibs on the lion.”
Trey frowned at him. “The animals are for the kids to eat.”
Dominic blinked. “What’s your point?”
Sighing, Trey shook his head. “Have you met Jesse’s mate yet?”