A Wolf's Mate (4 page)

Look where that
got you then and look what could have happened now. Smashed rental car, your
insurance paying for the damage, rates going up and for what? A mere fantasy
about a man. Keep your eye on the prize, Ava, keep your eye on the prize.

And
what exactly was the prize? Promotion and a good pension like he’d had? But unlike
him, she’d have loneliness in her old age.

No, Daddy, I’m
allowed
to dream once in a while. I’m older and
wiser now.

Ava
turned into the parking lot of her motel and grabbed her laptop and bag from
the back seat before getting out. She locked the door, rummaged around in her
bag for her key card and headed to her room.

Her
crotch was sore from the waxing. It was the first time she’d had it done and
she’d been hesitant at first.
However,
she’d glanced at Maisey in the locker room and seen her smooth as a baby’s ass
pubic area and asked where she got waxed.

The
young woman had
been hesitant
at first,
almost as if she’d caught her off guard and that Ava had embarrassed her for bringing
up the topic.
Finally
she’d told her she
had it down at the spa at Downward Facing Wolf. Maybe
 
a guy would be the first
 
 
to see
the great job the assistant had done on Ava’s crotch. And yes,Nick’s name did
spring to mind

Ava
opened the door and put her things on the bed before walking into the bathroom
where she flipped on the light. She took off her jacket and then slipped off
her pants and panties, staring at her crotch in the mirror.

The
area was still a little tender with a few raised red bumps. Was Nick truly
interested in her or was he just being polite in asking her out for a meal so
she wouldn’t be so lonely night after night? Shit, she was second-guessing
things again. Her work cell phone rang out so she walked back to the bed and
retrieved it from her bag.

“Hello,
Agent Spencer speaking.”

“Agent
Spencer, it’s Tim
Reedon
.”

She
sat down on the bed and fired up her laptop.

“Just
wondering how things are going out there in Montana.”

She
bit her lip. She’d actually been having more fun doing yoga than she had
working
at her assignment.
If you could call it that.

She
brought up the photo of the bear walking away from the camp. She was pretty
sure they were pulling a fast one on her. Sort of a baptism by fire in order to
progress into the higher ranks and echelon of the Investigative Bureau. She’d
interviewed the man who’d taken the shot. A man who’d been on a retreat and had
woken up to see their guide Dane Reynolds morph into a grizzly bear and run
away from the camp where they’d been staying. He’d sworn on every member of his
family’s lives that he hadn’t been drinking that night.

“It’s
the truth. He damn well changed right in front of my eyes.”

She
still didn’t believe him but then the Bureau had started checking
up on
Dane and some of his buddies and that’s
why she’d been sent to see what she could find out. Dane’s wife, Melanie,
currently attended Maisey’s prenatal yoga class. She’d been slowly questioning
her about
Melanie
but hadn’t garnered
anything worthwhile or odd, and Ava didn’t think she would.

“I’m
still investigating things here.” A few days ago she would have told him she’d
concluded her investigation and was ready to come home, but that was before
she’d met Nick. Now she was willing to hang things out a little so she could
get to know him a little better. Find out if he really was good looking and
decent to boot. He could be the type of guy who’d build her confidence back.

“I’m
attending yoga classes and I’m going to pretend to write stories about the spa
and some of its members which will include Melanie Reynolds who according to
our records was in the Witness Protection Program a short while ago.”

“Yes,
I’m aware of that and I hope you’ll conclude things by the middle of next week
because the chief is getting itchy about whether or not to leave this one open
or shut.”

Damn,
she’d have to stall things this end if she wanted to hang out with Nick.

“
Okay
sir, and I’ll call in again tomorrow.”

“Have
a good rest of the day, Agent Spencer.”

She
pressed the end call button and placed the phone on the bed.

It
wasn’t exactly proper protocol for an agent to get involved with someone while
on the
job,
but no Bureau rule said she
couldn’t accept a dinner invitation and if anyone asked, she’d gone with him to
fish for information. She laughed. She was pretty sure Nick would think the
whole thing pretty stupid. If it wasn’t sharing Bureau files with outsiders, which
was a no-no, she’d show him the photo of the bear. She could imagine his
reaction. He’d probably roll around on the floor and then say what a waste of
taxpayer’s money.

Montana
was full of bears. It was full of wolves too. Would someone report seeing a man
turn into one of those too? She flopped down on the bed. Another
thing that wasn’t on the
can’t do list was have
sex while away on assignment.

She
thought of Nick, of what she’d wear for their dinner date, and if she’d suggest
they come back here or maybe go to his place. She wondered if he lived in a house
or condo and what his bedroom looked like.

Chapter Five

Nick
wasn’t the “take her flowers on the first date” sort of guy so why he’d stopped
by the local florist on his way to picking Ava up, he had no idea. He’d like to
think that it was his way of softening her,
winning
her over so she’d give Downward Facing Dog some publicity with a nice article
in her business magazine. However, that hadn’t entered into his mind when he
walked into the store and picked out an assortment of flowers, including a few
red roses nestled in the middle of the
bouquet
.
He knew their significance but hadn’t asked the assistant to swap them for
something else.

He
put
his nose on the bouquet as he headed
to her motel room and knocked on the door. He heard the bolt being slid open
and soon he was looking at the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. He’d said casual
and she’d hit the bull’s eye with her black pants, red sweater, black boots. A black
and red scarf wrapped twice around her neck complimented the look. Nick almost
whistled but instead pulled his hand around from behind his back and presented
her with the flowers.

“These
are beautiful. Just what this room needs to cheer things
up.
You want to come in so I can put these in
water?”

“Sure.”

Nick
stepped inside the room and detected part human scent, part that sexy perfume
she wore. His nose twitched. He’d never really thought about how different a
human smelled compared to wolves and the other shifters. Good
thing humans didn’t have such an acute sense of smell
or they
might suspect something wasn’t right.

“These
really are lovely,” she said putting them in the water jug and placing it on
the table by the window.

“I’m
glad you like them,” said Nick.

“I
love them. Let me grab my jacket and I’m ready. I’m starving.”

He
spotted her laptop and wondered what she’d been writing and what her writing
style was like. Maybe she’d let him see some of her work later tonight. He was
an avid reader and in fact, read anything he could get his hands on, crime
novels, short stories, and also subscribed to countless magazines so it was
possible he’d seen one of her bylines. She grabbed her bag and they headed out
of the room. Ava locked the door and they made their way to the parking lot
where tiny snowflakes were swirling around giving everything that
holiday
feel despite Christmas being over
almost three months ago.

“Do
you ski?” she asked him.

“Sometimes.
I have a cabin up in the mountains so if I’m up there and there’s been a good
snowfall I usually head to the slopes.”

“Cabin,
oh that sounds so rustic and peaceful.”

“You
want to go see it one of these days? In fact, you’re welcome to stay up there
and do some writing, but I’ll warn you if it’s snowed you better have a four-wheel
drive to get around and plenty of supplies on hand.”

“I
think I’ll see it before I say yes or no.”

“Wise
decision,” he said, opening the car door for her.

He
got in, started the ignition, and turned the heat up a notch.

“So
can I ask where we’re going to eat?”

“Sure.
It’s a little hole in the wall type café that serves the best food in town.
Well, that’s my opinion.”

“Sometimes
the smaller places are better
than
the
bigger restaurants. Do you take all the ladies there?”

He
wouldn’t lie to her. “I’ve been known to take the odd one or two.”

“Hopefully
not at the same time,” said Ava.

He’d
always found humans had a dry sense of humor and up till now he’d found it
irritating but on Ava it was downright delightful.

Nick
headed toward the back road, the shortest way he knew to get to the Starlight
Café. He’d always liked the name. Maybe it was because when he thought of stars
and lights he thought of home. Not the home he had now but the planet that was
no more.

Starlight
Cafe now had a new owner, a single mom who’d befriended Charlotte Renner. Aiden
had told everyone that Charlotte had developed a craving for their Black Forest
cake and that they ate at the café a couple of times a week. He’d highly
recommended the pan roasted salmon but what bear shifter wouldn’t pick that?
His stomach rumbled just thinking about the meal ahead.

Nick
pulled into the strip mall housing the café. Lights twinkled in its window. Nick
turned off the ignition noting that the snow was coming down with more gusto
since they’d left the motel.

“Let’s
hurry in there,” said Nick, opening the car door for Ava. “I think the chill in
the air has made me ravenous.”

Ava
pulled her jacket collar up and Nick put
his
hand on the small of her back. Despite the cold, she felt warm and soft and he
wondered what it would be like to snuggle up close with her. Wolves loved doing
that with their mates.

The
bell over the door rang as they went inside. Candles were lit on each table,
the fire was ablaze, and just a handful of customers were dining there at the
moment. He hadn’t realized the new owner had turned it into such a romantic
looking and feeling nook.

Speaking
of which, Nick guessed by how Aiden had described her, this was her as she
approached them and smiled.

“Hi,
two
tonight
?” she asked.

“Yes,
and something by the fire would be perfect,” said Nick.

She
grabbed two menus and they followed her over to a table at the right side of
the fireplace. Nick pulled out the chair for Ava and then sat opposite her.

“I
take it you’re the new owner. I’m a friend of Aiden and Charlotte Renner,” said
Nick, taking one of the menus from her.

“Yes,
I’m Hannah Adams.”

Nick
held out his hand and Hannah shook it.

“I’m
Nick and this is Ava.”

“Hi,”
she said handing Ava a menu.

“The
salmon comes highly recommended,” said Nick, setting the
one-page
menu down in front of him. “Anything
else you’d suggest we try?”

“Well,
not many have ordered it yet, but the meatloaf is my favorite and it’s basted
with
a chipotle
sauce that I think gives
it just the right kick if you like something spicy.”

“Ooh,
that sounds good,” said Ava.

“And
I can highly recommend the smoked trout pate,” said Hannah.

“Okay,
let’s start with some of that and a bottle of white wine. That okay with you,
Ava?”

“Sounds
perfect.”

“House
wine okay for you?” asked Hannah.

“Always
love house wine,” said Nick.

 
“I’ll get that order started and let you look
over the menu.”

“That
all sounded so
good,
but I should get my
glasses out so I can see everything else that’s on offer,” said Ava.

She
dug around in her purse and pulled out her glasses and slipped them on. They
suited her and made her look intellectual and downright sexy with their
tortoiseshell frames.

“I’m
edging closer to that meatloaf,” said Nick. He was a typical wolf and anything
with meat in its name got his attention.

“And
I’m leaning toward the salmon.”

Hannah
returned with their bottle of wine and poured some for Nick to sample. He took
a taste test and nodded. “That’s really good. Your choice?”