A Wolf's Mate (2 page)

“Besides
staring at her, and yes, getting a hard-on, I’m not really interested so don’t
go to any trouble on my account.”

“She’ll
be back here tomorrow because she’s scheduled for a massage at one p.m.
followed by a waxing down you know where,” said Maisey pointing to her crotch.
“Now there’s a thought to leave you with. Ava on the spa table, legs spread
wide apart and getting her pussy area waxed.”

He
almost came right then and there. Maisey looked at his crotch and laughed.

“Yep,
thought that
image
would ease your
erection.” She patted him on the arm again and headed out of the classroom.

One
p.m. tomorrow. Suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take just another look.

Chapter Two

Ava
headed out of the showers and wrapped the towel around her. She’d purposely not
looked directly at the hunky guy standing in the doorway of the yoga classroom.
He looked too sure of himself and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction
of knowing she was checking him out. She’d learned a painful lesson early in
life that good-looking men were nothing but trouble. They should be avoided at
all costs. So how come she was thinking about this one almost an hour after
first setting eyes upon him?

 
She knew why. Dark hair, tall, muscular, and a
strong jawline which was always a good sign. And one hell of an erection. Yes,
she caught a sly glance at it. What woman couldn’t be tempted by a good-looking
guy with a hard-on? The
question that had burned
in her brain for the last hour
was had she caused it?

He’d
certainly been checking her out. Ava had first spied him when she’d bent over
to get into her downward facing dog pose and looked between her legs to see him
propping up the doorjamb.

There
were other attractive women in the class, some a good fifty pounds lighter than
her,
but hunky, self-assured man with
huge
erection hadn’t been checking out anyone
else but her. How did she know that as a fact? On the job training in being
aware of all situations at all times. Do it or die, her instructor had once
told her.

She
pulled her jeans and sweater out of the locker and slipped on her underwear. While
she wasn’t in town for pleasure, that didn’t mean she had to live like a
cloistered nun.

Ava
stepped into her jeans and zipped them up. She’d protested about being sent out
to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Been pissed when she’d been handed
an assignment that reminded her of something from the old TV show
The X-Files
while others got more plum
assignments. However, she’d soon learned that all was not lost. She’d found
this place that had one of the greatest yoga instructors she’d ever met. And
judging by all the women’s pubic regions she’d slyly spotted while they’d been
changing after showering, this place offered the best waxing job on earth. Now
the icing on the cake was she’d spotted the best-looking guy she’d ever seen,
and if her instincts were
correct,
there
was definite interest on his part.

She’d
never had sex while on assignment but then she’d never run into a guy like
good-looking, self-assured man with
huge
erection before. She flicked the back of her left hand with the index finger
and thumb of her right one. She was getting ahead of herself here and needed to
come back down to
earth
. Good looks meant
proceed with extreme caution.

Ava
headed out of the locker rooms and walked by the reception desk. Okay, she was
only human and yes, she was looking for him. He was nowhere in sight, which was
good right? Just like not buying the tub of ice cream and the bag of Doritos in
the first place? Don’t have them in the house so you can’t get tempted.

The
cold air smacked her in the face as she headed outside. Inside had been toasty
warm and she’d just wanted to curl up and read a good book. Pulling her coat
collar up around her neck and ears, she made her way to the parking lot.

She
opened the door on the rental car, grabbed the brush she’d purchased for
cleaning the snow, and went to work clearing the dusting that had fallen while
she’d been at her class.
Finally
she got
in, turned on the ignition, and put the heat on full blast. She rubbed her
hands together in front of the grille.

It
had been a year ago since Mike had called time on their relationship.

“You’re
married to your job and I’m always going to come second.”

He
was right. She’d worked her ass off to get where she was and it was to make up
for lost time.

A
whole year without sex.

Good-looking
guy sprang into her mind again. Yeah, she wouldn’t mind doing the wild thing
with him.

Chapter Three

Nick
circled the parking lot of Downward Facing Wolf. He’d already parked, left, but
was now back again. He knew he should be working. Looking for his next great
investment instead of keeping his eye on this one. Maisey was doing a fine job
with that and he had nothing to worry about. However, that wasn’t why he was
hanging around the place for the second day in a row.

Damn it.

He
finally gave in and pulled into one of the employee parking spaces in front of
the building. The clock on the car’s dashboard told him that Ava AKA sexy human
with cute ass would be in the spa section of Downward Facing Wolf getting massaged.
He looked at his hands,
imagining
them
roaming over her skin, thrilling her, exciting her, and hopefully making her
beg for more.

Nick
shook his head. Not even a woman of his own kind had ever worked him up quite
like this. He turned on the ignition ready to leave, and this time leave for
the day and not come back until the end of the week when he usually visited
Maisey to see how things were going.

Nick
turned off the car’s engine.

Shit, these
humans get into your mind
. Craziest thing was he hadn’t even talked to her
yet. For
all
he knew he could be
fantasizing about a total bitch.

He
jumped when he heard someone tapping on the car window. It was Maisey. He pressed
the button and the glass slid downward.

“Didn’t
you see me? I was right behind you. What the hell were you doing? You pulled
out of the lot, and then you came back in. You looked like you’d not only lost
your way but your mind too. What’s going on?”

“I
forgot something, but then I realized I had it after all,” said Nick.

Dear
God,
the lies were rolling off his
tongue. Is this what humans caused you to do? They made you become an idiot who
lied to your best friends?

“Ava
is now having
her
massage
,” said Maisey. She had that grin on her face again. The one
that said I know you better than you know
yourself
.

“Who?”
asked Nick.

She
reached inside the car and slapped his arm. “You know who.”

He
snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah, now I remember. The human in the blue
leggings.”

“Why
don’t you come inside and I’ll introduce you once she gets done with her
treatment?”

“No,
I have lots of other things to do.”

He
was nervous like a teenager with a bad crush and knew he’d probably get
tongue-tied
the first time he spoke to her.

“Yeah,
like drive in and out of parking lots all day.”

Maisey
had the car door open before he could protest.

“Come
on, I have a feeling that I can finally fulfill my promise of finding you a
woman. You know how I hate letting people down, so this will make me very
happy.”

“Maisey,
I appreciate your effort, really I do, but I’m not interested in dating a
human.”

“Sure
you are and no one’s going to hold it against you. Look at all the bear
shifters now happily married to their humans and some with babies on the way.”

“We
wolves are different.”

“No,
we’re not and don’t use it as an excuse. Now out you get before I have to drag
your
cute ass out of this car.”

One
of the reasons he’d chosen to back Maisey’s business idea was her tenacity and “I
won’t take no for an answer” attitude. A bit like a
dog,
or her in case, a wolf with a bone. Yeah, members of the
canine family could be downright stubborn at times. Himself included.

There
was no fighting it so he’d just do as she asked. Nick got out of the car and
followed her inside the building. The spa section was directly ahead.

“I
have to get one of the rooms set up for the prenatal yoga
class,
but I’ll be right back, so no running
away,” said Maisey.

She
was bossy, but sometimes that quality was all that was needed to succeed in the
business world. He sat in the reception area and pulled out a magazine. This
actually would be the perfect time to run and escape, but he knew Maisey. She’d
hunt him down which was
real
easy for a
wolf. It’s what they did best. He shook his head, knowing she had a heart of
gold and only meant well. He heard Jill’s voice talking to another woman in the
spa area and he guessed it was Ava.

“You
want me to slot you in for next Tuesday?”

“Perfect
because I have my yoga class at one p.m.”

“Okay,
you’re all set. Vicki should be ready for your waxing if you want to go to the third
door on the left.”

Waxing.
Yeah, human women needed to be waxed in their nether regions. Lucky thing for
the business because it was one way for Downward Facing Wolf to make some extra
money.

He
flipped the page and spotted Jill walking out. She smiled at Nick and soon settled
on the chair next to him.

“So
what brings you here?” she asked.

“Waiting
for Maisey. Impromptu business meeting. You’ve been busy. I mean I just
overhead you finishing with a client and that she’ll be back next week.”

“Oh,
you mean Ava.”

“Is
that her name?” Nick flipped another page, trying to act as casual as he could
but wolves were smart and
coy
, and he
should know better than anyone else that you couldn’t fool one.

“You
do know you’re blushing?”

“It’s
kinda warm in here today. Maybe you have the heat cranked too high.”

She
patted him on the knee. “Business meeting my ass. You do know Ava’s
a human?”

“Sure
I do.”

She
squeezed his knee. “I actually think you and a human would be perfect. She’s
just your type.”
“And what exactly is my type?”

“Curvy,
career girl, knows what she wants and doesn’t stop until she gets it.”

“Really.”

“You
know if you sneak through the curtains over there you might catch a peek of her
being waxed.”

He
pictured that in his mind’s eye and it made him instantly hard.

“That’s
a naughty idea,” said Nick throwing the magazine over his crotch.

Jill
smiled just as Maisey came back.

“So
did you know that our alpha wolf here has his sight set on a human?” asked Jill.

“I
did and I’m going to help the process along. Well, would you look who’s here,”
said Maisey.

Nick
looked up to see Charlotte Renner and Melanie Reynolds waddling in with their
yoga mats under their arms. Maisey had talked them into attending the
prenatal
yoga class. She’d never taught it
before,
but they were her guinea pigs of sort.
She immediately rubbed both their bellies.

“Hi
Nick,” said Charlotte.

“How
you feeling?”

“Big
and clumsy.”

The
whole group was now eagerly awaiting the first half-shifter and half-human
babies. Even he was curious about what they’d look like.

“Could
you get Dane to give me a call because I’m having trouble with some computers,”
Nick asked Melanie.

“Sure
will.”

Dane
was their computer whiz and now working at the same elementary school as
Trent’s wife Emily, yet another human.

“I
just have to introduce Nick to one of my yoga students and I’ll be right with
you if you want to head along to the class…she’s a human,” Maisey added.

Charlotte
winked at him.

“I’m
impressed,” said Melanie. “We could offer you some pointers.”

Nick
stood, knowing he was in dangerous territory. Four females, two of them
pregnant, definitely meant estrogen overload and he needed to get out of here,
but Maisey kept her hand firmly planting on his arm. He was guessing Lucas was
teaching her how to read minds.