A Wolf's Mate (7 page)

He had a secret.

Chapter Eight

The
wind swirled through his fur, ruffling it and allowing the cold air to bite
into his skin. He’d had his first taste of the problems arising when you dated
a human. He’d had sex so he needed to run as his wolf half. A shifter woman
could have run with him. After a good fuck like that, she’d have felt the need
too.

His
paws met with the ground and he ran faster, feeling the snow hit his pelt. This
was wonderful and so good to be out in the woods on such a chilly night with
the moon sneaking out from some clouds. It was what he was born to do. He
stopped, raised his muzzle into the air, and howled.

Two
wolves howled back, followed by what he guessed was a pack nearby responding to
his call. Not fellow shifters but real one hundred percent wolves. He’d seen
some up close near his cabin and they were often weary of him, obviously
sensing that he didn’t smell quite like them. He’d alerted this nearby
pack
and he wasn’t in the mood to be checked
out or possibly get into a battle with another alpha so he ran back toward the
spot where he’d parked his car.

Howls
broke the silence again and he moved in top gear until he arrived back at his
car. He relaxed his shoulders and chest and stretched allowing the slow
transformation back into Nick the man. He got into the car and sat thinking for
a bit. The sensible
thing to do
would be
to drive home and forget about Ava, the human who he still had the nagging
feeling was his intended mate.

Could
he forget about her?

She
fascinated him, he found her attractive, loved being around her, and not just
because of the great sex they’d shared earlier that night. He could have sex
with
anyone,
but he’d felt a connection
to her like no other woman he’d been with which meant mate. The woman you have
to stick with through thick and thin, no matter what’s thrown your way. It was
the code, the law, and that’s the way it was.

How
did the other guys who’d married humans work this out? He knew one
problem they’d encountered
was the deception.
They’d not come clean about what they were from the beginning of their relationships
and had almost lost their ladies. He wouldn’t make that mistake.

However,
what if he lost her before she hadn’t been offered the chance to know the real
Nick—
full-time
regular guy,
businessman
, and yes, part-time wolf?

What
if she hated wolves?

What
if she thought he was crazy when he told her the truth?

What
if she reported him to a doctor and they locked him up. He couldn’t let the
other shifters come to his rescue and put themselves in danger too.

Nick
turned the key in the ignition allowing the warm blast of
air
billowing out of the vents to warm him. He’d
break into the topic of shifters gradually to gauge how she felt about certain
things. Like dating a man who sometimes had fur on his body and wasn’t from
Earth.

That
all sounded worse than it actually was.

It
would be fine. If they were supposed to life
partners,
then it would all be okay, right?

Deep
in his heart he knew Ava was definitely worth taking a chance on.

****

Ava
had decided to take a shower after Nick had left. She guessed that maybe saying
he was going for a
run
was his way of
getting out of the awkwardness that sometimes arose when you’d slept with
someone and realized it was the biggest mistake of your life.

Definitely
not a mistake for her, but she knew all too well what men were like. Not quite
like the guy who’d fathered her son, but nevertheless males were fickle
creatures.

She
still hadn’t taken that shower because she’d been too busy thinking and
analyzing. Part of her job was to do that and sometimes it spilled over into
her private life. She realized that she was also doing all the thinking because
Nick wasn’t just a guy she’d met and fucked. She had feelings for him. She’d
felt some connection to him the minute she’d laid eyes upon him. It had never
happened to her before and that’s why she felt there was so much at stake.

He
could be
the one.
If that was the
case,
he needed to know the truth about her.
The real reason she was in the area and what she really did for
a living
.

She
needed to relax, to unwind, and not overthink all this. The scent of their
coupling hit her nostrils again and she liked it so maybe she’d hold off the
shower for a few minutes more. She fired up her laptop. After she’d washed,
she’d read for a bit and then try to get some shuteye. She clicked the Internet
icon and skimmed through the latest news. She yawned, stood, and was about to
head into the bathroom when she heard a knock on the door. Maybe it was someone
complaining about the noise from earlier. She’d never been so vocal during sex
ever before, but then again she’d never been fucked quite like that.

She
wrapped her gown around her and headed toward it, stood on tiptoes and peeked through
the fisheye in the door. Her heart beat faster and by the pull in her pussy she
was pretty sure it like her was also glad to see Nick standing there. He was back.
Maybe the “I need to go for a run” hadn’t been a lie. She unlatched the chain
and opened the door for him as he walked inside the room cradling two Styrofoam
cups with steam coming from them.

“It’s
freezing out. I found a place that was still open and got us two hot
chocolates. I’d like us to sit down so we can talk.”

A
man who hadn’t lied about his real motive in leaving after sex, a man bearing
hot chocolate, and what looked like a double serving of whipped cream, wanting
to talk. Didn’t sound like the type of guy who wanted to say
I made a mistake about tonight
. Those
cowards just fled.

“Okay.
You want to wait while I shower and I’ll be right with you?”

“Sure.
I’ll sit and watch TV if that’s okay.”

She
smiled. Yeah, she’d been wrong him.

****

Nick
settled into the chair, intending to watch the movie but he spotted Ava’s
laptop and it was switched on. He’d
accused
her of being inquisitive during dinner, but the
truth
was he was just as nosy. Maybe that’s why he liked her so much. He eyed the
laptop and then glanced back at the TV screen.

Laptop,
TV screen, laptop, TV screen.

He
heard Ava turning on the shower and knew he had some time before she headed
back out again.

 
Laptop, TV Screen, laptop.

Before
he drove himself crazy,
he
got his butt
off the chair and went to the bed where he sat himself down and pulled the
laptop onto his thighs. He clicked the mouse and it took it from the saver
screen to a photo of what some palm trees and a beach. Florida no doubt. Next
he clicked on documents, listening for any evidence of the water being shut
off
or even a door opening.

Nick
knew what he was doing was wrong but that’s who he was—bad alpha wolf through
and through. He clicked on the first document thinking it would be one of her
articles and he could get a feel for what she was like as a writer. Maybe after
the great orgasms he’d given her she’d be more inclined to write wonderful
things about Downward Facing Wolf. He smiled remembering her crying out and the
people in the next room banging on the wall.

He
clicked the mouse again.

Something
popped up on the screen. It was a document and had a photo embedded within it.

Holy
shit, it was Dane Reynolds.

He
inched the cursor down. The next
photo he saw
was of a bear walking away from a camp.
 

Also
Dane. He’d know that grizzly bear’s swagger anywhere.

Beads
of sweat began to break out on his forehead.

Why
did Ava have a photo of both Dane as Dane and Dane as his bear self unless she
knew the connection? She’d been asking questions about him and Melanie too.

He
clicked on another document.

Shit.
The letterhead. She worked as an agent in the Investigative Bureau. They were
in deep doo-doo.

Nick
began to read her report…

My initial
finding is that nothing seems to be out of the ordinary…

He
heard the water being switched off and then Ava singing Adele’s
Rolling in the Deep
.

She
had a half-decent voice but clearly she wasn’t here to write a story and she
wasn’t even a journalist like she’d told Maisey. She was obviously here to
check out Dane and possibly the rest of the group too.

He
had to play it
cool,
but he had to get
hold of Aiden and they needed to call an emergency meeting. He’d have to take
Ava’s mind off work as best he could until they thought out their next move.
She opened the bathroom door. The only
thing she
was wearing
was a smile and he knew just how he could get her to
concentrate on him and not her assignment.

Chapter Nine

Insatiable
would be how she’d
descr
ibe Nick Pearson.
However, she wasn’t complaining. She was sure her lips were swollen to double
their usual size caused by all the kisses he’d laid upon her. Her nipples were
now completely
numb
but in a very good
way. The guy knew how excite a woman’s tits with his tongue. He slid inside
her, filling her, stretching her pussy to the max while lurching over her like
a big bad wolf.

Why
had she thought of that image?

Maybe
her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe that’s what happened when you had
too
much sex?

Could
you have too much?

Nooooo.

Nick
picked up the pace, pushing her body farther up the bed, his cock hitting the
back of her pussy making her bite her own lip because it felt so damn good. She
tasted blood but didn’t disliking the metallic taste in her mouth. It was
almost downright erotic. She brought her legs up and crossed them over his
gorgeous butt, hoping that he’d realize by that gesture it was her subtle way
of insisting he go deeper and harder.

But
then he stopped moving.

“Get
ready for this baby,” he said.

His
voice sounded deeper, had some huskiness to it, and she loved the way he’d
called her
baby.
No one had called her
that before.

He
was using his cock like a vibrator again. This time the beats per minute were
off the charts. She dug her nails into his biceps, positive she was drawing
blood. A droplet of sweat clung from the base of his chin, suspended there like
it was trapped in time.
Finally,
as she
bucked against him, it fell onto her chest.

She
was pretty certain this was the sexiest man in the world and right now he
was
making her go cross-eyed. With the
level of
pleasure
he was inflicting upon
she wondered if it would be permanent but strangely didn’t care. Her legs
jerked as her orgasm built deep within her pussy. She pushed against him again,
crying, thrashing out, and sending one of the pictures on the wall falling to
the ground.

“More.
Give me more.”

Had she shouted
that demand?

Obviously
she had because there was more banging on the wall from her next-door
neighbors.

“We’ve
warned you once. Don’t you people ever stop with the sex?”

She
wanted to shout something back to them, like
what are you
not
getting enough
yourself
, but she was temporarily mute because another orgasm was on the
horizon. She bit down on her right hand trying to stifle the cry of joy, but couldn’t.
They were heading her way in fast succession now. Death by climax overload. Was
there such a thing? Would they find her dead in bed with a beautiful big smile?

Her
hand slapped against the top of the bed, bringing down yet another painting off
the wall, this
time shattering
its glass.
Her pussy was in a constant state of arousal now as she pressed her body up
into Nick’s causing him to start thrusting
again
and bringing about his own release.

She
was exhausted and couldn’t move. Nick leaned over and kissed her.

“Don’t
think I’m not the type who loves to stay and cuddle post sex, but I have to go
because I have an early morning meeting. Let’s get together again tomorrow
night. I’ll give you a call.”

She
was too weak to even say goodbye and before she knew, he was getting dressed
and then she heard the door closing. Ava was covered in perspiration, her
muscles ached, but she managed to swing her legs around to the side of the bed.