Already Freakn' Mated (2 page)

*

Jiao blinked at the imposing figure in front of her. Reeled actually, as his scent, a masculine thing comprised of wild animal and a sharp soap, tickled her nose. Roused her senses. Made her feline stir with ear pricked interest.

Who is he? What’s happening?

Through the cacophony in her ears – caused by her inner cat which yowled in excitement and clawed to get out – she thought she heard the stranger ask who she was. The smile he bestowed in her direction brought a tingle to parts south of her waist and she fought an urge to purr under his admiring gaze. Her cat, not restrained by human habit, didn’t hesitate, flopping down in her mind to contentedly rumble and roll in pleasure at the attention.

Who am I?
he asked.
Yours,
came to mind as a reply, but thankfully didn’t pass her lips. Luckier, she managed to stifle the meow of her cat before it left her lips. Before she could recover from the overwhelming presence of the stranger, or think of something intelligent to say other than ‘Um’, Sheng’s heavy hand came down on her shoulder and he rumbled, ‘Taken,’ as a reply. She tucked her hands behind her back lest she give in to her wild side’s impulse to swipe at Sheng for his rude answer.

Disappointment clouded the stranger’s face, a quick lapse that he instantly recovered from, his expression smoothing into a jovial smile. He took the news well. Too well, and it miffed her feline half. Even odder, Jiao found herself somewhat disappointed too. Surely she didn’t crave this unknown’s attention?

Gently, but firmly, Sheng tugged until Jiao stood behind him. Yet, because of the stranger’s great height, she could still clearly observe him at the door. Towering over her, which really didn’t take much with her short five foot three stature, he possessed sun-streaked brown hair, hazel eyes framed by dark lashes, impossibly wide shoulders, a friendly smile, and a scent she found much too interesting.

Of course, while she admired all this, Sheng gave the guy, the contractor he’d called for the basement, a hard time.

“You’re the handyman?”

“Yup. I’m Chris of Howling Good Reno’s at your service. You called me about getting the basement converted into a home gym.”

Ah yes, Sheng’s brilliant plan to placate her. Since he wouldn’t let Jiao shift and exercise her cat outside, he’d decided to give her a private option to morph inside. Given the amount of work involved, and Sheng’s ineptness when it came to power tools, he decided to hire outside help. The most highly recommended guy for the job stood at their door. He was also the most handsome man she’d ever met and the first to ever intrigue her cat.

Jiao’s teeth tugged at her inner cheek. If Chris got the contract, he’d end up at the house every day, working on the basement for as long as it took to complete the job. Weeks probably. Plenty of time to explore the strange reaction he evoked. If it were up to her, Jiao would hire him on the spot, but she said not a word, knowing Sheng would do the opposite if he knew of her interest.

A frown marred Sheng’s face, a look she caught when he briefly glanced back at her. “I expected someone older.”

Someone married, Jiao thought with a sigh. Sheng seemed determined to keep her away from men, all men. Single, married, young or old, fat and even human, he did his best to keep her secluded. Protecting her, he claimed. Keeping them both from discovery. He didn’t seem to understand they couldn’t live in hiding forever. Lies could only carry them so far.

Eventually – sooner rather than later if Jiao got a say – things would have to change. For six years they’d run and hidden from those who would take them back to their cloistered life. Frantic years spent looking over their shoulder, not trusting anyone. Relying only on each other without a friend, other than Patricia, an RCMP officer and shifter they’d befriended during their escape. Jiao tired of the subterfuge. Tired of living under the radar, in the shadows, never experiencing life.

But Sheng knew best. He’d gotten them this far after all.

Chris didn’t seem daunted by Sheng’s skepticism in his skills. “I’ve got years of experience. And references too, if you want them.”

“You did come highly recommended,” Sheng admitted, but grudgingly.

“What do you say you show me the space? Tell me what you need. I’ll do up a quote and then we can go from there.”

Sheng appeared torn, something about Chris setting off his radar, but then again, everybody set off his paranoia meter. Placing a hand on Sheng’s arm, Jiao said, “He’s one of us and Patricia approved him.” Sheng trusted Patricia. After all, she was the one who gave them a new life, new identity, and more.

Lips tight, Sheng shook his head. “Sorry. But I don’t think you’ll do at all.”

Then, her husband slammed the door in the contractor’s face.

What the hell?

Chris stared at the closed door, his jaw dropping as disbelief froze him. What was buddy’s problem? Did he somehow sense Chris’s interest in his wife? An interest Chris now felt sure was mistaken. He’d specifically requested, in his mind at least, to have a mate all to himself. Surely Fate heard him? Given his adamant stance on the whole subject of ménages –
not for me!
– it stood to reason, the female – hot and delectable as she smelled – didn’t belong to him. Nope. She was taken. Off the menu. Not his concern.

If he knew that, then why did his feet refuse to move? Because he had unfinished business, that was why. And no, it wasn’t his wolf’s demand to sniff her again that had him raising his fist to knock. Then pound as no one answered the door.

I deserve an explanation.
Or a valid reason, at any rate, for the dude’s rejection of his services. Services, he might add, buddy asked for. But it seemed Chris wouldn’t get an answer because the door remained shut.

Stepping back, Chris flipped a bird in the direction of a twitching curtain.
What an asshat.
He pitied the guy’s wife. It must suck to live with such a jerk. He also thanked his lucky stars he’d gotten the shaft because given his attitude, working for the dude would have probably sucked large.

On a happier note, he’d make the lacrosse game after all. Jumping into his truck, tool box tossed onto the passenger seat, Chris started the engine, the heavy rumble caused less by the dying diesel motor than the exhaust with its fist sized hole. As he shifted into gear, Chris turned his head to look one last time at the house where he’d gotten the rude treatment. A more hotheaded guy would have kicked down the door and beat the crap out of the little prick inside. Chris, though, preferred to think he could handle things in a more mature fashion. Holding the brake pedal down, he hit the gas, revving his engine and spinning his tires. The noise and smoke show, not to mention the probable tire marks, would hopefully annoy the Asian dude.

Keeping his eyes on the living room window, he hoped buddy would peek out so Chris could give him a single finger salute, but instead, the pretty Asian girl appeared, her head canted to the side. A smile curved her lips and she shook her head, as if chastising him.

Dammit. He was acting like a child, a petulant one who didn’t get his way. With a growl, he let go of the brake pedal and took off.

What he couldn’t escape? The dark eyes of the exotic female and her lingering, oh-so-yummy scent. Despite her taken status, his wolf rumbled at him to go back.
Ours.
Not likely. The woman was married which meant off limits. Out of bounds. No way, no how.

Despite that, he couldn’t muster any interest to call the blonde who’d so eagerly given him her number. He blamed it on his annoyance at losing the job. Tried to convince himself he didn’t bother offering to pick the woman up because it would make him late for the lacrosse match.

Liar. Liar. Wolf’s on fire.

In truth, he couldn’t call the big breasted blonde because a pair of dark eyes kept appearing in his mind, full of reproach. Wait a second. He didn’t owe anything to the Asian girl. Yeah, she was hot. Yeah, he would have liked to tap her. But, that wasn’t happening. Time to move on.

He scrolled through his contacts and found Brandy’s number. His finger, however, refused to push the button to dial. Even more messed up, his wolf growled at him. Him!

“I’m in charge here, buddy,” he reminded his canine half. “And I will call whomever I damned well like.” He mashed his finger on the call button. It rang once. His stomach tightened. Rang a second time. His entire mouth went sour. A third time, and at the click signaling she answered, he quickly pressed the red hang up button.

What just happened? Why did the act of calling someone else make him feel sick? It made no sense.

I need a beer. Make that a dozen.
And a chili dog, too, so he could forget the Asian couple – more specifically the petite hottie with the perfect mouth – and get back to normal. Well, as normal as possible for him considering his shifter status.

What he wouldn’t give for a full moon tonight and a run through the woods. Nothing like howling up a storm and chasing down a rabbit to make him feel better.
But I bet I’d have more fun chasing a certain cat.

*

Watching out the window, long after the handyman left, Jiao visibly jumped when Sheng laid a hand on her shoulder.

“You scared me,” she admonished, a twinge of guilt assailing her at having gotten caught staring.

“The immature idiot is gone, so why are you still watching?”

“A better question is why you acted like such a jerk?”

The hand slid off her shoulder with the accusation and she turned to regard Sheng as he paced the living room. Sparse, because of their recent move here, it contained a red pleather couch – because no shifter with an ounce of morality would own the real thing – a plush armchair in black crushed velvet – which attracted hair like crazy – and an oval glass table in need of cleaning. Again. She hated the damned thing. Stupid dust collector.

“I saw no point in wasting his time. I didn’t like him.”

His response didn’t surprise her. Sheng didn’t like anyone. Jiao rolled her eyes. “Gee, I hadn’t noticed. Still, it didn’t mean you had to slam the door in his face. He showed up at your request.”

“He wasn’t right for the job.”

“Why? Because he was young and good-looking?”

Sheng shot her a dark look. “Exactly.”

So shoot her for noticing.
Hello, I’m married not dead.
“So we can only use an ugly contractor, even if he’s not the best option for the job?”

Lips tight, Sheng glared, but didn’t reply.

“Wow. Can you say control freak? This is going overboard, even for you.” Throwing up her hands, Jiao stalked out of the room, but not without a parting shot. “Just so we’re clear, if we’re not allowed to have cute guys working in the house, then the same goes for cute girls.”

Although, on second thought, maybe if confronted by an attractive woman, Sheng, her husband these past few years would lighten up. Just because someone was attractive didn’t mean Jiao was going to rip his clothes off and betray Sheng. He should know her better than that.

Or at least that proved true up until now. Seriously, her instant attraction to the handyman defied all rational explanation. And even now that he’d left, despite his temper tantrum out front, she couldn’t quite shake him from her mind, or quell the reaction of her body. The things she wanted to do… Guilt suffused her.

I’m supposed to be a married woman.
Dissatisfied with her married life or not, though, didn’t give her the right to lust after another.

It was probably for the best Sheng turned the Chris fellow away. Having him underfoot, his sizzling presence a constant reminder of her attraction… Talk about a sure recipe for disaster.

Still, she felt bad at how Sheng handled the situation, and felt an even deeper chagrin that she wouldn’t see the handyman again, a fact her cat complained about, loudly.

But what could she do to change the situation? Or an even better question, how much longer could she keep up the façade?

Another new town. Another new life. But things still hadn’t changed.

Where’s the freedom Sheng promised me?

She understood his caution, but at what point did they stop constantly looking over their shoulders and start living? When would they finally call somewhere home?

The whack against the back of his head snapped Chris’s attention back to the arena and the game at hand. Craning his head, Chris scowled as he saw the culprit, his sister Naomi. Wearing a baby in a chest sling, she smirked at him.

“Hey, little brother.”

“What was that for?” He rubbed his noggin. Not that her little tap hurt. But still... For a girl who screamed loud and often about her delicate sensibilities, his sister possessed a rough streak.

“Pay attention to the game. My mates are playing.”

“So?”

A moment later the reason came clear as a missile sailed across the partition glass, the white, Indian rubber ball whistling past his head.

“That’s why.” Naomi grinned as she waved at Javier, number sixty nine on Loup Garou, Ottawa’s shifter lacrosse team. Chris could see her mate’s answering smile even through his helmet, which the league insisted they wear because of the occasional humans that came to watch – and because it minimized the blood on the floor.

“He did that on purpose,” Chris growled.

“Of course he did. I told Javier to snap a ball at you during the last intermission when I saw you staring off into space. And he always listens,” she bragged, sitting herself in the empty seat beside him. She shifted the sling she wore, not that the baby nestled within stirred. Somehow the little bugger snored, a blissful slumber with a thumb tucked in a little mouth, and this despite the screams of the crowd.

“Where’s the other one?” Chris asked.

“The other one has a name,” Naomi remarked in an annoyed tone. “Melanie is staying with Francine. She gets too riled up when I bring her to the games.”

“Too noisy?”

Naomi snorted. “Nah. Little Mellie gets mad when she sees people hitting her daddies and screams bloody murder, which in turn, upsets Ethan, and he ends up crushing the other team’s defense. Literally. I was asked nicely by the league to keep her away so that the opposing teams wouldn’t run out of able bodied players.”

“And you agreed?”

“Only once they hired me to manage the league finances.” Her bright grin at her maneuvering made him smile. His sister might lack the muscle to make people do things, but she possessed the smarts and right leverage to get them to give in.

“You know you’re evil, right?”

“It’s a gift. So hey, you never said what had you looking like a slack jawed idiot. Usually, at a game, you’re pressed against the glass screaming advice to the opposition.”

Yeah, he usually did. He liked doing it because it annoyed his brother in law Javier to no end. “Just thinking about a job I lost.”

“What? Someone didn’t hire you? Why not? Don’t they know you’re the best? Did you quote them too high? Wait, was it another one of those housewife’s wanting work done on their
personal
plumbing?” She arched a brow suggestively.

Chris choked. “You did not just accuse me of being a handyman pimp.”

“If the condom fits…”

“You have a foul mouth. And to think you kiss your children with it.”

“According to my mates, my mouth is perfect. And there’s nothing dirty about telling the truth.”

Damn her, but she had a point. Yes, he did great work, but yes, he often got ridiculous calls from lonely women who needed a light bulb changed, then gave him a tip, usually on their knees. However, he drew the line at married women – most of the time.

“Well, it wasn’t a wife wanting to hire me, but her husband. And he took one look at me, told me I was too young and slammed the door in my face.”

“He didn’t.” She almost whispered the words, her eyes wide with shock.

“He did.”

“Did you kill him?”

“I’m too classy for that,” he replied. He almost managed to say it with a straight face too, but Naomi immediately snorted, and he erupted into laughter. “Okay. I’ll admit, I might have clocked him if he’d opened the door back up. I had to content myself with leaving rubber marks in front of his house.”

“Want to go back after the game and egg his house?”

A chuckle left him as her suggestion brought to mind some of the pranks they’d pulled in their youth. “No. But thanks for the offer.”

“Anytime. But seriously, I wouldn’t worry about it. Sounds like the client would have been a freakn’ douchebag to work for. Probably a good thing you didn’t get it.”

“Tell me about it.” He knew that, agreed wholeheartedly, yet he couldn’t stop the dejection. “I don’t need that kind of hassle.”

“So why are you mooning about it?”

It occurred to him to deny her observation, but really, he was kind of gloomy. Without the job, how would he see the woman again? Find out why she drew him and his wolf. Should he tell his sister about his odd reaction to buddy’s wife? Get her opinion?

Before he could decide, the game ended with a final buzz and a roar from the crowd. The home team won again thanks to Naomi’s mates, or as she affectionately referred to them, ‘my dumb jocks’.

The baby chose that moment to wake with a stretch of chubby fists. Only a few months old and he looked around with a serenity his sister lacked. His nephew, Mark, inherited his daddies’ genes. Guess who took after their mother most? Chris’s mom liked to cackle that Naomi got just what she deserved in Melanie, a mini version of herself.

I hope when I finally settle down
and have
kids
,
the
y end up
nothing like me.
He didn’t think his paycheck could cover the damage.

But thinking of kids somehow brought his mind back to the Asian girl and his wolf sent him a thought.
Pups.
His wolf seemed to think she’d make the perfect mother, and damn him if he couldn’t easily picture a girl, a miniature version of her mother that would wind him around her little finger. And a boy, with a gap toothed smile and shaggy brown hair, throwing him a football and –

Smack!

The ball hit Chris in the forehead and snapped his head back. Game over or not, his damned brother in laws thought he should pay attention. Never mind they saved him from his own thoughts. Chris needed to vent.

With a growl, he leapt over the row of seats and tackled the players door into the arena. The impromptu chase and wrestling match with Javier didn’t really solve anything – the damned jaguar was light on his feet – but at least it changed his focus for a while. A fat lip, black eye and bruises all over worked as a great distraction – until he pictured his Asian lady kissing his booboos better. Naked.