Moves Like Jagger (Wolf Mates Book 4) (7 page)

Max sighed as he rose, zipping up his jacket. “You got it. I’ll send out an email to the pack and have everyone spread the word. Until then, thanks, man. You’re a great asset here in Cedar Glen. Can’t tell you how much better I feel having you here.”

Max took his leave as Viv sprayed the table with antiseptic, keeping Bobby tucked into her jacket as she cleaned it and laid a fresh blanket out for the rabbit.

As she set him on the table, his head lolled lethargically, making her bite the inside of her cheek.

“So what’s going on with the little guy?” Jagger asked as he washed his hands and grabbed his stethoscope.

She stroked Bobby’s brown ears. “Hector says he’s lethargic and won’t eat.”

Jagger got down to eye level with Bobby and used one large finger to stroke his fur. “Hey, little guy. S’up today? You have a bellyache?”

As Viv pulled the stool over to the table to help, she tingled all over at how gentle this enormous bear of a man was and how easy it was to fall right into working with the effortlessness they seemed to have.

As Jagger listened to Bobby’s chest then checked his teeth, he determined the rabbit had an abscess, which was causing his eating and lethargy issues.

Once Bobby was considered in the clear, she sighed at the sight of a man his size caring for something so tiny—caring enough that he hadn’t laughed off Hector’s fears or mocked his concern for his rabbit.

And as the snow fell outside with Scar snoozing at her feet, she was content.

Blissfully content.

* * * *

Viv rushed into JC’s salon, waving to her friend from across the room. As per usual with JC, she’d decorated the quaint pink and white salon for the holiday. Red and silver bows hung from each hairdresser’s mirror, swags of garland donned every corner of the pink-and-white-wainscoted walls, and soft white lights were threaded around the big picture window, blinking on and off.

Classical Christmas music played and most of the chairs were full, meaning JC’s fears she’d never build up a new clientele were for naught.

JC motioned her over to her chair where a gorgeous brunette sat, the cascade of her chestnut hair falling down her back and across the chair in waves, everything, from her neck to her legs, long and sleek.

One willowy leg, with a gorgeous red stiletto at the end of it, was crossed over the other, her foot bouncing.

“Hey, you! How was your first day as assistant to the hunk?” JC asked from her position behind the lanky brunette, where she was running her fingers through her hair and examining the ends.

Viv grabbed the chair next to the beautiful woman and smiled, unable to contain her fizzy joy. She’d spent the entire day with Jagger, sharing a pastrami and Swiss foot-long sandwich with him at lunch, wherein he’d teased that her appetite had better pick up the pace if she hoped to keep up with his enormous one.

They’d gone over his appointments, sorting and making calls to confirm as he made his rounds at some of the farms to check livestock and warn the farmers about a possible wild animal on the loose.

They’d talked. They’d laughed. They worked side by side like they’d always done so and if she didn’t tell someone how euphoric she was, she’d explode.

“It was pretty awesome.
He’s
pretty awesome. I can’t believe I keep using the word awesome. I sound like I’m still in eighth grade. There are a million other adjectives to spare regarding Dr. Sexy, but it’s what comes to mind every time I think about him.”

“And how often do you think about him?” JC teased, pulling a long strand of chocolate hair upward between her fingers and snipping the edges.

Viv blushed, unwinding her scarf and fighting hard to contain her girlish grin. “Too often.”

“I don’t even know who you are anymore, all lost in this dreamy haze of budding love. What happened to my hardcore non-romantic?”

“She hadn’t met the hunk yet?”

Viv was willing to concede that she’d never been so giddy over a man in quite the way she was over Jagger. It was useless to hide it. In fact, she didn’t even want to hide it. She wanted to bask in it.

JC giggled, brushing stray strands of hair from her client’s shoulders. “There’ve been quite a few boyfriends in your life and I can’t remember a single one who left you quite so enamored. So define this, would you? What makes him so different from all the others?”

The way he made her feel. The excited skip to her heart when he was near. The anticipation of really locking lips with him for the first time. All things she’d never been nearly as excited about with any of her other boyfriends.

Or maybe it was just as simple as she didn’t have to hide from him. Everyone she’d dated up to this point in her life had been human. She’d never have to explain the urge to shift, the need to run.

“I don’t know. But it’s only been two days since we met. This could wear off and it’ll be the same old Viv. Tossing men out of her life like she used to toss out the trash.”

“But the new Viv has a twinkle in her eye and a glow about her that’s absolutely adorable. I like the new Viv. You look happier than you have in a long time. Which makes me happy.”

The brunette smiled an amused smile, her red lips tilting upward in glossy perfection when her eyes met Viv’s. Green and almond-shaped, they were clear and bright, her skin smooth and polished.

Viv winced in her direction. “Sorry, I’m embarrassing myself. We’re over here yakking like two high school girls about a hot guy while you’re just trying to get your hair done in peace. Apologies.”

The brunette waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, flashing nails matching the color of her lips to a tee. “It’s Christmas—what better time to fall in love? Magic’s about this time of year. So, I don’t mind at all,” she said, her voice a sultry, husky timbre.

Viv slid from the chair and smiled back. “We’ve only known each other two days. No way it could be love this soon.”

The brunette’s lips curved into another smile as sultry as her voice. “Love happens when it happens. There’s no time frame.”

Her best friend bobbed her head with a wide grin. “What she said. No truer words.”

This wasn’t love. It was crazy chemistry, crazy connection, but it wasn’t love. Not yet anyway. But it sure felt like it could be something more than dates that led nowhere with men who only ended up making her angry when they’d complained about her devotion to rescuing strays.

“As much as I’d love to sit and talk about how silly and suddenly sentimental I’ve become, I can’t because I have to go. It was nice chatting with you.”

“Really? Why the rush?” JC asked.

“I have a date tonight, and lo and behold it isn’t with the cats and Netflix.”

JC batted her long eyelashes. “Ooo-la-la. It wouldn’t be date two with a hunk of a vet named Jagger already, would it?”

“I can’t believe you guessed,” Viv teased, still warm on the inside over Jagger’s suggestion they decorate her tree together. “He’s helping me get a Christmas tree and we’re going to decorate it.”

“Jagger?” The woman sat up a little straighter, re-crossing her shapely legs—legs that said she spent some time in a gym.

Instantly, Viv was alert. Did this stunning creature know Jagger? Just as instantly, she experienced a twinge of jealousy—something she’d never experienced. Not even when her ex-boyfriend Nick had cheated.

“Yep. That’s the name of the man I’m all but melting into a puddle of uncharacteristic-like goo over. Do you know him?”

She lifted her chin for a moment, but then she relaxed. “No. It’s just an unusual name. Very sexy,” she purred silkily.

Viv and JC exchanged a quick glance over her head before JC leaned down and said, “Let’s get you washed and I’ll walk my friend out. Blair? Could you give the pretty lady a wash and condition, please?” She pointed to the shampoo girl then grabbed Viv’s arm and directed her toward the front door.

“Who is she—because va-va-voom lady is va-va-voom,” Viv whispered under her breath.

“She’s definitely not going to make a man chew his arm off if he wakes up next to her, and I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before. She was a walk-in.”

Her sixth sense kicked in. “I thought hardly any strangers ever came to town? Didn’t Max tell me they were wary of new faces?”

“Well, it’s Christmas. Werewolves have family, too.”

Viv chuckled, pulling her jacket on, forgetting why she even cared. “I’m just trying to follow the rules Max set forth. Always be cautious of strangers.”

“That husband of mine is a good pack leader, but he borders paranoid. It’s Christmas, for heaven’s sake. To think other pack members won’t have family coming from out of town to visit is crazy.”

Viv nodded, her suspicion melting away. “You’re probably right. Okay, I’m out. So wish me luck.”

JC rubbed her friend’s arms with her typically easy smile. “Why ever would you, Viv The Vixen, need luck?”

Good point. “You know, I don’t know. I just feel like this is a little different…No, I take that back. It’s a lot different than my usual fare, and I can’t put my finger on why. I have a ton of theories, most of which kept me up last night. The only thing I do know is I get a little nervous, and giddy, worrying about screwing things up. Totally not like me, but there you have it.”

JC’s eyes went wide with obvious shock. “It must be love. I’ve never seen you like this, all off your game.”

Viv gave her a tight hug to hide her stupid grin. “It’s no such thing. Two days isn’t long enough to fall in love.”

JC leaned back in her embrace. “Says the woman who assured me a month was plenty of time to decide to mate with a werewolf.”

“That’s thirty days, not two. Now, no more talk of love. We haven’t even kissed-kissed each other yet. Maybe he has sloppy lips or kisses like he’s searching for your soul by way of the interior of your mouth. Now, I’m out.”

She pressed a kiss to her friend’s cheek and heard the sound of JC’s laughter as she headed out of the salon onto the curb to head home before she had to protest anything else.

As she walked toward the cluster of houses and cabins belonging to the Adams family, her step was light despite the cold and yet more falling snow.

No. It wasn’t love yet. But it was something. Something magnetic and tugging her toward a path she hadn’t yet traveled.

And it was invigorating.

Warmth bloomed in her belly once more.

She was going to see Jagger tonight—which left her just short of doing a Maria von Trapp from
The Sound of Music
right in the middle of the square.

Chapter 6

V
iv stood outside the cottage, shielding her eyes from the stray snowflakes falling as Jagger precariously balanced on the ladder, hanging twinkling lights along the A-frame’s roofline.

He’d decided that on top of decorating the Christmas tree they’d bought while sipping hot chocolate and strolling the rows of trees, she needed lights outside, too. After digging through the shed next to the cottage, where she’d remembered seeing boxes labeled “Christmas” when she’d stored the very few things she’d brought from Hoboken, they’d hit the jackpot.

So they’d thrown together a pot of spaghetti sauce, and some meatballs he’d made himself, to simmer on the stove, settled Scar in the living room by the tiny fireplace, where the BSB Boys and JT took advantage of his good nature, and set off outside to deck out the cottage.

Jagger had used his phone to queue up Christmas music, setting it on the rocking chair on the small front porch, the strains filling the air in swells and dips, then climbed up on the roof.

She winced as the ladder wobbled, wrapping her hands around either side of the aluminum to steady it. His tight butt, not far from her view, wasn’t making her mad either.

“You’re going to kill yourself up there, Doggy Doctor! Please be careful. What will the pets of Cedar Glen do if their only vet breaks his legs?”

Jagger barked a laugh into the night. “I’d hope their owners bring casseroles to aid my speedy recovery. Have you had Faith’s tuna noodle casserole? It’s almost worth an injury. I think I saw Jesus the first time I ate it.”

She grinned up at him as she handed him another strand of lights. “I have. She’s forced me to break every rule I ever had about eating a portion of anything bigger than the size of my head.”

He finished draping the last strand and made his way down the ladder, his strong thighs bulging and flexing as he went.

Grabbing the plug, he held it up with a smile. “You want the honors?”

Viv rubbed her cold hands together, driving her nose into her scarf. “Are you kidding? You did all the work. You do the honors.”

He pulled her to his side before bending to grab the extension cord and handing it to her. “On three, okay?”

She nodded and held up the extension cord, shivering against him, not entirely sure it was due to the cold. “One, two, three!”

The two ends connected and suddenly, the small cottage was a wonderland of soft white and multicolored lights, glowing cheerfully in the clear night.

They swayed gracefully from the A-frame’s roof, the glistening icicle lights twisting in the wind with a light tinkle. He’d bracketed the red front door with colored lights from top to bottom, wrapping them around a swag of evergreen at the top of the rounded arch.

Each shrub on either side of the door was adorned, too, covered in nets of lights that winked in the deep purple of the evening, and sparkling candy canes that lit up around their perimeters.

And the
pièce de résistance
—a lighted reindeer with a gold bow around its neck whose head bowed in a graceful dip.

For some crazy reason, tears filled her eyes. Maybe it was because her parents, who were Christmas lovers just like Jagger, despite their Jewish upbringings, were so far away, or it was just the time of year when sentiment ran high, but Viv found herself overcome with emotion.

She gripped his arm and whispered up at him, “It’s perfect—beautiful…thank you.”

Repositioning her so their hips faced each other’s, Jagger looked down at her. “It’s my favorite time of year. No one should have a dark house on Christmas.”