“You’re busy,” Renee said.
“I know. It’s great, isn’t it? Especially considering the café was dead a few months ago. Kendall cooks amazing food and the word has spread.”
Renee nodded, a fixed smile in place. The warning bell on the door rang for a new arrival. It was one of the men from the previous night. The one with the long black hair. His gaze swept the café, alighting on her.
In seconds, his long strides brought him to her table.
“Hello,” he said in a cheerful voice. “This place is busy. Would you mind if I share your table?”
Hell, no. This wasn’t a good idea. “Of course.” Politeness compelled her to do the right thing. Once her coffee arrived, she’d drink fast and make her excuses.
He towered over her, and Renee puffed out a breath of relief when he sat. Even then, his big body dominated their corner of the café. Not that he was fat or overweight. Renee sensed if she poked his chest or belly, the tight muscle might buckle her finger.
“I saw you in the bar last night,” he said.
Renee couldn’t tell much by his drawl. Most people reckoned she bore a hint of an accent but couldn’t place it, which wasn’t surprising since her New Zealand mother and American stepfather had moved all over the world, dragging her with them.
“My name is Matto Taktuq.” He extended his hand.
“Renee James,” she said, accepting his handshake. His hand bore calluses. A surprise because he and his brothers were businessmen. Filthy rich, since she recognized the surname. How did a millionaire get hands like that?
“I hear you’re a pilot.”
Renee shot him a look, concern stealing her breath. “Who told you that?”
Her abrupt reply held a hysterical edge. Even she heard it as her words settled between them. The truth, since she’d heard about Hunter’s death, she kept waiting for a bullet to strike and cut her down too.
“We were chatting with Tim last night after you left.” Matto’s expression remained impassive. Businessman cool.
Renee’s panic subsided. Of course, they had. Tim was an outgoing guy. He’d never met a man or woman who wasn’t a friend.
Emily arrived with Renee’s coffee and muffin plus a menu for Matto. By the time Emily left, Renee had regained her equilibrium. She sipped her coffee, and when Matto studied her instead of his menu, she knew she had to say something.
“Yes, I fly helicopters for the same company as Tim.” There, she’d done polite. He could return to his menu and she’d eat and run.
“Tim suggested we take a flight while we’re here.” Matto flashed a smile—a flirtatious and practiced one that quickened her heartbeat and, to her chagrin, left her breathless.
An idea popped into her head. She shoved it away, but like bad trouble, the notion lingered. Was he trying to flirt with her? You should let him, a little voice whispered. Weirdly, the wee voice sounded like Hunter. Renee swallowed, yanked her gaze from his handsome face with its sculpted cheekbones and intriguing dimples. The morning stubble and the smiling brown eyes. His long black hair. She swallowed a second time. He looked way too healthy and alert for this time of the morning.
“You’re one of those morning people,” she blurted. “Disgustingly cheerful and wanting to spread the joy around.” And now she sounded plain rude. “Sorry,” she apologized almost immediately.
He studied her intently, and Renee picked up her knife to dissect her blueberry muffin. Move along. Nothing to see here. She wasn’t pretty. Her face wasn’t symmetrical enough for that. Her nose was a little too big as was her mouth. A sexy Julia Roberts mouth, Hunter had informed her. Not that they’d ever used their mouths on each other. Hunter had been her best friend and clashing lips would’ve been plain weird. She bundled her brown hair into a tight ponytail most of the time. During her soldier years, she’d kept it short to make it difficult for others to grab her by the hair. But Hunter had always told her she had a great smile, and she beamed with her entire face. He’d told her one drunken night, when they were celebrating a successful mission, that she could pull any man she wanted. She knew about makeup stuff to make her eyes big. All she needed to do was smile and a man thought of sex.
She’d punched him, but the next time she’d dressed to go out for the night, she’d taken heed. Hunter had been right. Men liked her smile. Heck, maybe that was why she’d failed the previous evening. She hadn’t bothered to try. The truth—not much fueled her smiles these days.
Renee cut her muffin in the other direction and picked up the smallest portion. She popped it into her mouth.
“Do you have any recommendations for breakfast?” Matto asked after she’d washed down the bite of muffin with more coffee.
“Everything is tasty, hot and plentiful. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but if I ever order breakfast, I go for a blackboard special.”
Matto who had slanted his chair, so he had a view of the entire café, glanced at the blackboard. “Blueberry pancakes. My favorite. I wonder if they’re as good as the ones my mother makes?”
“Only one way to know.” Instinct had her practicing a smile, and heat gathered in her cheeks when he cocked his head and stared.
“Would you go out to dinner with me tonight?” he asked abruptly.
Renee stared, her coffee cup halfway to her mouth. “I can’t afford to pay for another dinner out.” In her haste, she’d spoken the truth and wished she hadn’t. She set herself a strict budget and saved as much as she could. Next year, she hoped to go to New Zealand. She’d get work easy enough and hopefully outrun the man who’d placed a target on her back. They’d gone after Hunter, and she wasn’t dumb enough to consider herself bulletproof.
“It’s a date. I’ll pay for your dinner.”
“Why?” Renee cringed. Good grief. Talk about uncouth. This man rattled her, and he kept drifting into her head. She needed to keep her wits about her. Perhaps she’d go home and change into her running gear. She hadn’t run for two weeks.
Matto grinned. He placed his order when Emily arrived. “Another coffee for Renee too,” he said after ordering a stack of pancakes and a side of bacon.
“No, thanks. I’m going for a run before I head to work.”
Emily hurried to the next table to take another order.
“I’ll pay for your dinner because I want to spend more time with you. You intrigue me.”
“Why?” Renee shoved muffin into her mouth since her mind stuck on the same question—a cringe-worthy one—and she was making a fool of herself.
“Do you usually interrogate the men who ask you out on a date?” He smiled, which made her stare. His smile did magic things to an already handsome face, digging those dimples deeper.
“I, no,” she admitted. “Thank you, I’d enjoy having dinner with you.”
“There, that wasn’t so difficult,” he teased.
Silence fell between them, and Renee sought something to say to ease the tension tightening her chest. She came up blank and shoved more muffin into her mouth instead.
“We have a tour booked for tomorrow,” Matto said. “We’re heading out on the tundra to see polar bears.”
“They’re amazing. It’s a privilege to see them in the wild.” Renee’s conversation came easier now that he’d introduced a neutral topic.
“What time do you finish work?”
“Around five or six. It depends on flying conditions and what jobs we get in.”
Matto nodded. “All right. How about if I book dinner for seven-thirty? Is that time enough for you to change and do whatever you women need to do? My sister says we never give her enough time to put on her makeup.”
“Seven-thirty is fine.”
“Where do you live? I’ll pick you up. Will you wear heels? I love the way a woman looks in high heel shoes.” His brown eyes glowed with humor and a hint of heat.
“You are the strangest man,” she said. “I own a dressy pair of shoes.”
“And your address?”
&nb
sp; “I live in the dormitory, owned by the company I work for. It’s on Melville Street, off Kelsey Boulevard.”
“Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together. “Ah, breakfast. I’m starving. Must be all the fresh air in Churchill.”
Renee finished her coffee and shoved away her cup and crumb-covered plate. “I’d better go for my run before it’s time to start work.”
“Okay, Renee. I’ll see you at seven-thirty.”
Renee nodded and stood. As she strode to the door, a gaze bored into her back. Matto. She forced herself not to look back. This date was a means to an end. A warm body in her bed to help her keep nightmares at bay. A short-term fling with fun and hot sex before they parted on affable terms. No muss. No fuss. Just how she liked her relationships.
Matto watched Renee until she vanished. His wolf wriggled beneath his skin. Sexual tension. Happiness and joy. Excitement had slid into his gut from the second he’d noticed Renee sitting in the corner of the café. He and his brothers had discussed her the previous evening, and they’d come up with what they hoped was a workable plan. It differed from their original one since their wolves had exerted a say in the debate. The one sticking point—their sister. Misty would not understand. Forgiveness—forget about it. She’d act the bitch and to hell with their fledgling relationship.
Yeah, Misty was the big, bad wolf standing in the way of happy times with Renee.
Matto set down his knife and fork and speed-dialed Kansas. “Hey,” he said when his brother answered. “Want to go for a run?”
“Two-legged or four-legged?”
Matto barked out a laugh. “Two. I met up with Renee in the café and invited myself to share her table. We have a date tonight,” he added smugly.
In the background, Dakota let out a string of curses, and Matto bit back his humor. He’d figured Dakota would listen in on the phone call. “Renee is going for a run this morning before she goes to work. One or both of you could bump into her, ask her to show you a safe place to run. I mean, you wouldn’t want to get eaten by a polar bear.”
Kansas snorted. “They’d have to catch us first.”
Ah, so the twins intended to implement his suggestion.
“I didn’t expect to enjoy last night,” Dakota commented in the background. “Calian’s idea was an excellent one, but I won’t admit that to big bro.”
“I had fun too,” Matto admitted. “My muscles are looser after the run, and my wolf is peaceful instead of half asleep or tense. Where is Calian?”
“He went for a walk. Told me he wanted to check out the place in daylight,” Dakota replied.
“I have the urge to run right now,” Kansas said. “Gotta go.”
Matto laughed and ended the call.
A faint movement had him looking up with a frown. The three men from the neighboring table had stood and approached while he had spoken with his brothers. He hadn’t noticed until now. Heck, Calian was right. Neglecting their wolves blunted their natural senses.
“You’d better not be thinking about hurting Renee,” one said in a hard voice. He had black hair and blue eyes.
Matto inhaled and tension slid through his gut. Shifters.
The two blonds standing alongside the man radiated protectiveness.
Matto followed an impulse. “My brothers and I met Renee last night. She interested us. Not in a creepy way. None of us have ever hurt a woman and we don’t intend to start now.”
One of the blonds leaned closer. “We’re watching you, wolf. You and your brothers. Renee is important to us. She’s a friend.”
“That’s fine. You won’t see anything out of order. What you will see is four brothers battling it out to win her attention. Our wolves want her.”
The three men relaxed.
“What are you?” Since his direct approach seemed to be working, Matto figured the honesty might boomerang back to him.
“Polar bear shifters,” the man said. “We don’t see many wolves around here.”
“We come in peace. Honestly. We’re thinking of building a luxury hotel up here.”
The dark-haired man pulled out a business card and handed it over. “Sax Hallsten. My brothers Tate and Ran.”
“Matto Taktuq. Your reputation precedes you. My brothers and I admire your work. What are you doing in Churchill?”
“We were born here,” Sax said. “We’ve built a lodge out on the tundra, but we’re lining up our projects for the next six months. If you go ahead with your hotel, we’d like to submit a tender.”
“Thanks. I’ll discuss it with my brothers,” Matto said.
Sax dipped his head. “We’ll probably see you around. Our mate works here, so we often stop by for meals.”
Matto stilled. “One mate for all of you?”
Sax grinned. “We’re lucky men.”
The three brothers left, leaving Matto to his breakfast and his thoughts. They all liked Renee. Their wolves had reacted to her even though their instincts had grown sluggish from lack of shifting. Was a relationship like that possible with Renee? And would she be amenable to the arrangement? Would his brothers? Something to think about and discuss.
It promised to be a busy day.
4 – Haunted By The Taktuq Brothers
Renee started her run at an easy pace to warm her muscles. Also, she had to be careful of polar bears at this time of the year.
“Hello, pretty lady.”
By the time she slowed and turned to identify the owner of the voice, two runners flanked her.
“I’m haunted by Taktuq brothers,” she muttered.
“What do you mean?” one man asked.
Her gaze flicked from left to right as she studied their faces.
“We’re twins,” one informed her. “I’m Dakota. He’s Kansas.”
“Did your brother tell you I was going running?”
“Which brother?” Dakota asked. “We haven’t seen any of them this morning.”
“We like to run,” Kansas said. “It makes a change to watch for polar bears instead of idiot drivers and city hazards.”
“True that,” Dakota agreed, flashing a broad smile that had her stumbling a step before recovering her stride.
“How can I tell you apart?” she demanded, charmed even though she didn’t want to soften toward the pair. Her instincts screeched at her to run each time she found herself in the same vicinity as these Taktuq men. Yet her other less sensible side suggested they’d warm her bed nicely. Ugh!
Kansas laughed. “Get to know us better.”
He and Dakota kept pace as she ran to the outskirts of town.
“Our friends and family can tell us apart without difficulty. They say there are subtle differences to clue them in,” Dakota explained.
“There are quite a few twins and triplets in Churchill. I often work for the Hallsten brothers. The two youngest are twins but they make things easy for me because Tate Hallsten has a scar on his chin.”
Kansas barked out another laugh. “We’re not that obvious.”
“Come to lunch with us. We can drink to our new acquaintance and to a greater understanding.” Dakota suggested.
His cocky grin turned her mind onto Sexy Drive. These two were as handsome as their youngest brother. With brown eyes, military-short black hair and solid builds, they were in their prime. They probably had to beat women off with a sharp, pointy sword. No, scratch that. The brothers likely urged women to step through the revolving doors of their bedrooms and gave them a number to keep the line organized.
“So, about lunch,” Kansas prompted.
“I’ll be at work. I start soon.”
“Dinner then,” Dakota persisted.
She smiled. “I have a date.”
“Dang it,” Kansas muttered. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No time for romance.” Renee slowed and jogged back toward town. It was time for the truth. “I have sex when I have an urge, instead of playing the mating game. Much less mess and emotional chaos.”
Her tw
o escorts didn’t comment, merely kept pace as she ran. She’d shocked them. Too bad. She didn’t do romance. First, it had been because of her time in the army. In the male-dominated occupation, she’d known to keep things to friends only and save everything else for her leave.
“How about dinner tomorrow night?” Dakota asked. “The three of us.”
“You still want to spend time with me? When I admitted I don’t expect or want romance?”
“It’s just dinner, honey,” Dakota said. “We don’t have to braid each other’s hair.”
Renee spluttered—a surprised laugh. “I can’t see much braiding happening with your hair.”
“Dinner,” Kansas prompted as they reached Renee’s starting point and slowed.
“You really want to spend time with me?”
“We wouldn’t have asked you otherwise,” Dakota said.
“My date tonight is with Matto.”
“What?” Kansas scowled at her. “He worked fast.”
Dakota muttered under his breath, words too low for her to hear. “We’re asking you out for dinner the following evening. Please say yes.”
Renee wrinkled her brow. “You’re a pushy bunch.”
“We’ll pick you up at six-thirty tomorrow night,” Kansas said. “See ya later, sexy.”
Renee gaped after the twins. Difficult not to notice their hard physiques while they wore running gear. Matto hadn’t told his brothers she’d agreed to have dinner with him. Interesting.
She should stay away from the Taktuq brothers. Every instinct warned she should try, but they kept popping up like homing pigeons. And worse, they pushed every one of her buttons—each brother attractive and cocky. All attributes she liked in a man. Damn it all.
On the plus side, she didn’t have to face this temptation for much longer. Soon, the brothers would return to their regular lives, and she’d continue with her routine.
With a shake of her head, Renee opened the front door and marched through the common rooms to reach her bedroom. Work always helped her to forget the past. It was her place of safety.
Twenty minutes later, Renee entered Tundra Helicopters. She wore her uniform of navy pants, a white polo shirt bearing the Tundra Helicopters logo and a navy jacket to keep out the cold. A braid confined her hair, and she’d shoved her uncertainty and doubts to the back of her mind.
Renee's Mates Page 3