Moves Like Jagger (Wolf Mates Book 4) (2 page)

He’d asked if she was a
shifter
. But that didn’t mean he was one, or even that he knew everyone else in town was, too. She wasn’t going to risk exposing the people of Cedar Glen to cover her own butt.

“Max Adams? The were?” he asked affably as he stretched out on his stomach and put his chin in the palm of his hand in order to see her better, yet respectfully keeping his eyes on her face.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked into his, still unsure how he’d come upon this information.

She decided to feign innocence. “The
what
?”

“We’re talking in circles.”

“This is awkward.”

He grinned, and damn, it was amazing on a man who was so burly he made her cramped knees buttery. “Yeah. Tell me about it. Me fully dressed and you…well, not dressed at all. The least you could have done was put some clothes on. We hardly know each other.”

Her eyebrow rose as the metal of the crate dug into her cheek. “Who are you?”

“Jagger Dubrov. Cedar Glen’s new mobile veterinarian. Who are
you
?”

“Naked—I mean, Vivienne Hathaway. Cedar Glen’s newest cash-poor resident.”

“JC’s best friend?”

“How do you know JC?”

“She’s married to Max and we play pool together sometimes at his brother Derrick’s bar. She said you’d moved here to be closer to people who are like you.”

Well that. But mostly because her trust fund had been embezzled and she’d had nowhere else to go when her apartment building had gone into foreclosure, but whatever.

“People like me?” She feigned more innocence.

If JC and her husband’s family had taught her nothing else, they’d taught her discretion, and while this Jagger smelled delicious, she didn’t know if that was delicious man or delicious deranged. She still couldn’t pinpoint species with her nose very well.

But give her the scent of a can of tuna opening from five miles away, and she was a superstar.

Jagger swished his finger, his deep eyes sparkling. “We’re doing the circle again. You’re a shifter, obviously. I put a cat in the cage and woke up to a beautiful woman.”

She fought a smile. He thought she was beautiful. She’d twirl her hair if she could lift her arm.

Then she wondered what kind of shifter he was. Cedar Glen was made up primarily of werewolves, and, judging by the size of him, he fit the bill.

“Are you a shifter, too?”

“Yep,” he said on another grin that stole her breath.

“So not a mad scientist?”

“Nope. Just part of the catch-and-release program we’ve begun here in Cedar Glen. You know, I humanely trap feral cats, spay or neuter them, then return them to their colonies.”

He liked animals. Dreamy.

You’re naked—nightmare.

That was when it all came back to her. She’d been practicing shifting and running in the wooded areas surrounding Cedar Glen, the urge to shift overwhelming when living amongst people like herself. But it was the safety of Cedar Glen and its paranormal inhabitants that made it such a huge draw to someone like herself, who’d had very little practice shifting.

Shifting wasn’t easy in a populated place like Hoboken, and she didn’t know many of her particular kind to begin with in order to learn. She’d always done it in secret.

So last night, after she’d moved into the guesthouse at JC and Max’s, she’d decided to explore her new home and the next thing she knew, she was caught in a cage. The rest was a bit of a blur. Though, she was beginning to remember putting up quite a fight.

Then his good intentions with the catch-and-release program dawned on her. Holy moly, she’d just missed being spayed.

But it made her breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe not so mad scientist after all. “So you were going to spay me? That’s what the surgical suite was about?”

Jagger grimaced, his luscious lips thinning. “Yeah. Damn good thing you shifted. I was just about to take you over to the clinic in town that I share with the local MD. Can’t believe I didn’t smell you as a shifter. Sorry about that.”

Viv shuddered. She had to figure out this shift thing and get it right at least half the time or she was going to end up mounted as part of some crazy cat lady’s collection.

“I need clothes.”

He chuckled. “I guess that depends on who you’re asking.”

She fought a flirty snicker. “I really need clothes.”

“You sure do. You can borrow something of mine, if you’d like.”

Viv pointed toward her feet, to the latch on the door. “Would you mind?”

“Damn. Sorry. You bet.” He used a long finger to slide the latch over. “You get yourself out of there, I’ll go find you something to wear and take you home. That work? Or would you rather I call JC? Me being an alleged mad scientist and all.”

She found herself smiling even though she was naked. Not a mad scientist who wanted to play lab rat with her, super-duper hot, liked animals,
and
was willing to give her a ride home?

Um, yes, please.

But she played it cool—because well, naked.

“No. Don’t bother JC. She’s probably busy at the new salon. I’ll take you up on that ride, though, if you don’t mind.”

Jagger smiled at her again, still keeping his eyes on her face. “Done deal. You can use my bathrobe for the moment. Just gimme a shout and let me know when it’s safe to come back in.”

Viv watched him and his hunky ass as they exited his bedroom and flushed all shades of red.

As she managed to push her way out of the cage, un-crimping her muscles one by one, she looked at Scar, who looked back at her with expressive, sad eyes. “You could have told me he wasn’t a mad scientist looking for his next subject, you know. You might have also mentioned he was hot times infinity.”

Scar yawned and shuffled his wide backend up against the bed until he was flush with the wood floor, clearly unfazed by her words.

Viv scratched him on the head then rose to throw on Jagger’s bathrobe, leaving her swallowed in fuzzy plaid fabric and dunked in the scent of delectable man.

And then the ramifications of what had just happened hit her with another fact.

She’d been naked in front of the new local vet—one she’d likely see often with six rescue cats to care for.

He saw your no-nos. How will you ever look him in the eye again when you have to bring one of the brood in for shots? He’s the only vet in town. You can’t drive all the way back to your old vet in Hoboken every time Howie’s constipated.

Were there veterinarians on Mars?

That seemed like a safe place to start looking for one.

Chapter 2

“H
ide me!” Viv urged her best friend since childhood, ducking down behind the bar she was tending.

JC stopped humming a Christmas tune, peering over the top of the bar at her with a frown. “From?”

“The hot vet.”

“Who?”

“The hot vet who’s the size of a lumberjack.”

“Jagger? I know he’s big, but he’s harmless. Super-nice guy. Eats lunch here almost every day since he came to town. Eats a lot of lunch. But I promise he’s okay. I know you’re not used to this whole paranormal thing en masse yet, Viv, but don’t overreact. He’s just like you.”

“Said the woman who almost had a coronary when she found out her boyfriend was a werewolf?”

JC giggled at the memory Vi referred to and disappeared from sight, tapping the top of the sleek wood. “Lookie here, buddy. I’m a damn human. I didn’t know you people even existed. It’s a little different than being a paranormal who just needs some practice. Anyway, why am I hiding you?”

Viv peeked out over the edge of the bar at her friend and whispered, “Because…I had a mishap…”

JC’s blue eyes went sharp and probing. “Mishap? I know I should be afraid, but I’m going to venture into the deep end of the kitty litter anyway. What mishap?”

Viv sighed and rolled her eyes at her shame. “I was out last night in cat form, just exploring the woods and stuff, and he caught me and stuffed me in a cage and sedated me. I woke up this morning after I’d shifted back into my human form, twisted up like a pretzel in a dog crate,
his
dog Scar’s crate, preparing to be spayed as part of this catch-and-release program he does for ferals.”

Her face turned bright red again. She felt it creeping up along her cheeks, warming her skin with renewed humiliation. That ride from his house to hers, dressed in his T-shirt and sweats she’d had to hold up with both hands, wearing shoes easily six sizes too big for her, was the worst walk of shame she’d ever taken.

But she’d turned to him in his sparkly new vet van just before hopping out, stuck out her hand to shake his, thanked him and held her head high as she sloshed her way through the snow to her new residence, vowing to take her cats to Mars for veterinary care before she’d ever look that man in the eye again.

And now here he was. Oy.

“Oh and one more small detail. I woke up in the cage
naked
.”

JC’s lower lip trembled, her eyes tearing up before she burst out into laughter.

Viv pinched her hand. “Shut up! Don’t make it any worse than it already is.”

JC held up a hand while she gasped for breath. “Sorrysorrysorry! Let me catch my breath!”

“Not laughing.”

JC barked another laugh-snort. “It’s okay. I’ll laugh for you.”

Viv rasped an aggravated sigh. “Okay, so it’s funny. I’d laugh at you, too. Does he come in here a lot?”

She’d just begun to work at JC’s brother-in-law’s bar—aptly named The Bar—two days ago, so she wasn’t familiar with the regular clientele at this point.

“Like I said, he comes in almost every day for lunch. He’s a regular. Single, probably doesn’t cook much. Bet he’ll be in here more often now after this morning…”

Rising, Viv brushed her hair from her face and wrinkled her nose at her friend. “Oh hush. Seeing my fluffy ass naked won’t get me repeat offenders.”

“Really? I dunno, Viv. Looks to me like he’s headed your way, and he shows no signs of fluffy ass syndrome either.” She pointed with a perfectly manicured nail to the mirror behind the bar decorated with silver garland and Christmas balls.

Viv whipped around, horrified and confirmed Jagger’s big, sexy reflection strolling toward her. Letting her head hang low, she winced and did the only thing she could do.

Dove for the floor.

“Hey, JC! Good to see you,” he rumbled, deep and resonant over the Christmas music playing in the background.

Oh, that voice made her melty and weak.

“You, too, Jagger! How’s life treating you since the big move here?”

“I like it a lot. Everybody’s pretty friendly, loving the freedom to shift at will, too.”

“Funny you should mention that. I hear that’s a huge plus to living in Cedar Glen,” JC said on a giggle as Viv rolled her eyes at her friend’s obvious insinuation.

“You okay down there?”

Viv froze at the sound of Jagger’s voice just above her head, bracing her hands on the shelf that held the beer mugs, biting her lip to keep from irrationally screaming at him not to look at her.

“I’m good, thanks.” Her reply sounded wooden and stiff.

“Got a minute?” Jagger asked, his voice closer than it had been a moment ago.

“Sure. What do you need?”

He tapped her on the shoulder. “Well, first, I’d like to see your face.”

Damn.

She looked up to find he’d leaned so far over the bar, their faces were but inches apart, with his minty breath wafting in her nose. Up close, he was just as ruggedly handsome as he’d been from behind the metal bars of Scar’s crate.

Viv swallowed hard. She was no stranger to men. She’d had all manner of boyfriends in her almost thirty-three years—dates, casual lovers from time to time, two serious relationships.

But they didn’t see her naked before she said they could.

Jagger rested his square chin in his hand like he had when they were on the floor of his bedroom. “Are we still at the awkward, ‘oh, my God. You saw me without a stitch of clothing on’ stage?”

Viv couldn’t stop a snort as she rose. “Nah. Waking up in a dog crate in a strange man’s bedroom naked isn’t even a little awkward. It’s the complete opposite of awkward.”

“You mean comfortable?”

“Yep. I was very comfortable. You sure can pick a crate.”

He grinned, his eyes sparkling.

“So what’s up?” she asked, rather squeaky and pitchy, to the tune of more muffled giggles from JC.

“I was wondering if you’re busy tonight?”

“Do you need to practice your sedation technique on someone? Because I think you’ve got that squared away. Or is it tips on how to fit a fully grown woman into a dog cage that you seek?”

Jagger barked a husky laugh, sending a ripple of awareness down her spine. “Not tonight. Though, I will ask that you wear clothes so as not to hurt my delicate sensibilities.”

Now she laughed and shook her head, her cheeks hot all over again. “I’m sorry about this morning. I guess I never really explained. I wasn’t raised a shifter. I’m adopted. I found out much later in life I was different than my parents. So while I’ve shifted, I’ve never really had this kind of freedom, and scenting danger or another shifter is still kind of wiggy and off. In essence, I’m still learning. I wasn’t paying attention last night, and bam—I ended up in a trap. Totally my fault.”

He grinned, the smile lighting up his entire face. “Nah. I should be the one to apologize. I should have scented you, but you were wired for sound. I couldn’t calm you down and I was too focused on capturing and calming you. My fault completely.”

As the full effects of the sedation had worn off, Viv had begun to remember fighting him as he’d tried to settle her in the crate. She taken a good chunk of his arm and the evidence of her catching him on his cheek with a claw was staring right at her.

Her fingers went to his face to stroke the crimson scratch without thinking. “Oh, I scratched your cheek. I’m sorry.”

But Jagger grinned again, catching her hand in his and holding it while her pulse raced. “Hazard of the job. But I know how you can make it up to me.”

The warmth of her hand in Jagger’s much bigger one overwhelmed her, but it was a nice way to be overwhelmed. “Neosporin?”