by Desiree Holt
“Does he have any family you know of? Did Cathy meet them?”
“She said his parents were dead and he was an only child.”
“Convenient.” Cale couldn’t keep the sarcastic edge out of his voice.
“I thought so, too,” she agreed, “but she was in love and didn’t want to hear anything from me. I guess he’s nice enough. Just not my cup of tea.”
Cale leant forward, casually resting his elbows on his thighs, doing his best to put this woman at ease. “So. Why don’t you give me the story in its simplest form? Then I can ask questions and we’ll fill in the blanks.”
“I wish I had a whole story to tell you.” She caught her lower lip between even white teeth.
Cale’s inner wolf growled again, scrabbling to get out. It wanted those teeth scraping its cock and biting its nipples. His cock immediately swelled to painful thickness, pushing hard against his fly.
Great. Just what I need. She’ll think The Sentinels sent her a sex maniac.
Cale shifted in the chair and crossed his legs, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. He held his coffee mug loosely in his hands, hiding his crotch. It gave him the best position to hide this erection that had sprung to life unbidden.
“Just tell me what you’ve got.” He tried to make his voice as encouraging as possible.
“Cathy was the client coordinator at The Gates Foundation. It was her job to process grant requests, vet the applicants and send out the monthly reports to donors.”
Cale raised one eyebrow. “That’s a pretty big foundation. Isn’t that a lot for one person to handle?”
“She had an assistant,” Linnea said. “Plus she shared a secretary with two other people. And she was great at it. She really kept up with her work.”
“How long had she been working there?”
“Almost three years. She’d kind of floundered around since college, working for an accountant for a while, then for a promotion firm handling client accounts. But somehow she wasn’t ever really satisfied and she happened to hear about this job from someone. She applied and they hired her.”
“Okay. Tell me about the day she disappeared.”
Linnea’s face crinkled in distress. “See, that’s it. I don’t really have anything to tell you. We were supposed to meet for dinner that night. At Monte’s on the Riverwalk. Late, because I had a case to prep for.” She twisted her fingers together. “I got there at eight and waited for her. Cathy sometimes got caught up in stuff and lost track of time so at first I wasn’t too worried.”
“How long did you sit there?”
“Until eight thirty. Then I called her cell phone but it went straight to voice mail. I tried her number at the foundation but there was no answer. Same at the condo where she lived with Jim.”
“Then what?” Already he didn’t like the sound of things.
“I kept trying everything until nine o’clock. I finally got hold of Jim, but he’d just walked in the door. He hadn’t heard from her, either. He checked to see if she’d left a message on the answering machine but there wasn’t anything there, either.”
Cale took a swallow of his coffee. “Then what?”
“Jim said he was going to run by her office—he was a lot closer—and to meet him back at the condo. If either of us heard from her in the meantime to call the other. But there was no one at the foundation offices when he got there. Everything was dark.”
“Did you call the police right away?”
She nodded. “But you know they’ve got this stupid twenty-four hour rule. No one’s considered actually missing until then. I found the home number for the director but his wife said he’d had a late meeting somewhere. And Cathy never turned up.”
Cale turned it all over in his mind. “Have you spoken to the director personally?
“Oh, yes. I went there the next morning, early. Gray Fisher was stunned when I told him about Cathy. Said she was such a dependable person. But he hadn’t seen her since the day before. He repeated what I knew, that she was out seeing clients.”
“So she’s just disappeared without a trace.” Cale was already getting a bad feeling. Cathy Porter didn’t sound like the kind of flake who would just pull a disappearing act. Or be into something that skated the edge of illegal. He’d know more when he checked further, but he had to agree with Linnea. Something was definitely off here.
“Right.” She took another long sip of her coffee. “Just…gone like smoke. Even her car. That’s what’s so weird. Where’s her car?”
Cale frowned. “Are you telling me the police didn’t look for it? I’d expect that to be at the top of their list.”
“Oh, they put it on their list as a vehicle to be on the lookout for, but it never turned up.”
“What about talking to the people she saw during the day?”
“Jim and I did it together, and the police said they’d talked to everyone, too. Some place called The Hope Centre was the last place she stopped, but they said she left about five thirty.”
“And Jim? Tell me more about him. Could they have been having problems and your sister just didn’t want to say anything to you?”
Pain slashed across her eyes and Cale’s heart twisted for her. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know. He and I don’t exactly get along too well. He thinks I try to influence Cathy too much, and I think he resented how close we were.”
Cale stared into his coffee mug thoughtfully. “Well, she didn’t just evaporate into thin air. I can promise you that.”
Linnea ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “The police keep trying to tell me she’s just run off someplace and she’ll turn up eventually. Then they give me the fish eye as if I’m hiding something.” Anger flashed in her eyes. “You’d think as well as they know me my reputation would count for something. Keep them from having those kinds of suspicions.”
“Listen, I’m not trying to make excuses for them, but you’ve probably tried enough cases where that was the case.”
“I know, I know. You’re right.” When she looked up at him again her eyes were filled with so much pain it actually hurt him to look at her. “But Cathy isn’t a flake. She’s twenty-eight years old, not some rebellious teenager. She’s a dependable person with a responsible job. She wasn’t into anything illegal with or without me. If she’s disappeared it’s because something’s happened to her.”
“I hate to ask this, but have the police checked for Jane Doe bodies?”
Linnea nodded, a tear spilling from her eye. “Fortunately there wasn’t one with her description. Not even in the surrounding counties.”
Cale could see that the longer she talked the more agitated she got. He set his coffee mug on the table next to him and moved so he was crouching in front of her. He took her mug from her fingers, then wrapped his hands around hers.
“Let’s take a break for a few minutes. Then we can go over the names of the people where she worked and any of her friends you know.”
“Okay. I don’t know many of them but I’ll tell you about the few names I have.”
She curled her hands into the palms of his. Unexpected heat shot through him straight to his groin, and at once his cocked swelled and pushed against his jeans.
Holy shit! Get hold of yourself, Martin. You’re here to help the woman. Keep it in your pants.
What made it worse was looking at her and realising she’d felt the same thing. Or something close to it. Just what he needed. Brian and Regan would kill him.
Gently he put her hands back in her lap and moved back to the chair. Damn! If he got that hot just from touching her hands, what would it be like…
He flexed his hands, working to regain control of himself.
“Do you have a list of all her friends, co-workers? Her boyfriend? Something with all their addresses and phone numbers?”
“Yes. In my contacts list on my cell phone.” She started to get up. “I can get my phone and copy everything down for you.”
He put up a hand to stop her.
“Let’s make it easy on you. What time do you have to be at the office in the morning?”
“About eight thirty but I can be a little late if I have to.”
“All right. Can you come by our office first? I can have Brian transfer everything to a burn phone. Then I can use that to start contacting people.”
“Yes. I can do that. I can be there at eight, if that’s okay.”
“I’ll call Brian when I leave here and give him a heads up.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Chapter Two
They sat in silence for a long moment. Cale knew he should leave but somehow he couldn’t make himself get up out of the chair. And Linnea was staring at him with a strange expression on her face, as if searching for something to say.
“You look like you have a question. Spit it out.”
Her lips curved in a half-smile. “You might get mad at me.”
Cale laughed softly. “Darlin’, it takes a lot to get me mad.”
Still she stared at him.
“Go on, Linnea. It can’t be that bad.”
She inhaled slowly, then eased the breath out. “You’re a Sentinel, so does that mean…are you wolf?”
Of all the things he’d expected her to ask that was the last one. Yet it made sense, if she knew about Brian. And the rest of The Sentinels.
He nodded. “Yes. I am. Does that bother you?”
Something flashed in her eyes. Was that desire? For the animal? His cock flexed and strained against his jeans.
Down, boy.
“No.” Her tongue peeked out to wet her bottom lip and his cock nearly pushed its way through his zipper. “It fascinates me.” Her tongue moved again. “Could I ask you a very personal question?”
Personal? Now what?
“Sure. Go ahead.” He forced himself to sit calmly in the chair.
“I don’t dare ask Regan. I wouldn’t stick my nose into her private life, but…I mean, she and Brian have such chemistry between them. When you…mate? Is that the right word? Do you…have sex in both human and animal form?”
She looked so embarrassed yet fascinated that Cale wanted to laugh but he held himself in check. She’d obviously been giving this a whole lot of thought. And the idea made his cock even harder.
“We only mate in animal form with another wolf. But many of us are married to humans and it doesn’t diminish our feelings if we cannot mate as wolf.” And, because she’d opened the door, he said, “And the sex is still off the charts.”
If possible her face turned even redder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be asking you this.” She looked down at her hands. “It’s just that…well, Regan always looks so happy. So fulfilled. More than any of my other friends who have, um, normal partners.”
Cale chuckled softly. “I’m sure she is.”
“And…and…” She stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the night as if unable to face him while she talked. “You’ll think I’m totally shameless when I tell you this, but other…regular…men don’t seem to appeal to me anymore. I keep wondering if maybe I’m meant for…something more.”
Cale’s heart thudded. He’d felt an instant attraction to Linnea the moment she’d opened the door. All his senses had gone on high alert and he’d ruthlessly suppressed them. Now he wondered if Fate hadn’t somehow arranged for him to meet this human. If perhaps she’d turn out to be the mate he’d been seeking so unproductively. Brian and Luke had made very successful marriages with humans. Was that what was supposed to be in store for him?
He swallowed a smile, thinking how unlikely a candidate this delicate-looking female was to have such driving curiosity about the wolf.
“We could test your theory and answer your questions very easily,” he told her.
“Oh?” She still had her back turned to him. “How would we do that?”
“Two ways.” He wasn’t getting out of the chair until he had his answers. “I can shift, if you like, so you can see if the wolf calls to you. Or we could…make love.”
Have sex. I should have said have sex. I shouldn’t give this any more meaning until I know what’s going to happen.
Linnea turned to him, her porcelain skin suffused with a flush that was definitely not embarrassment. “Could we do both?”
Cale pushed himself from the chair and walked slowly over to where Linnea was standing. He rested his hands on her shoulders, lightly, letting her adjust to his touch. His wolf sought her emotions but detected no nervousness or anxiety, only heated anticipation.
Holy shit! Talk about a gift from the gods.
“Are you sure that you want this?” he asked, studying her face.
She nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve thought about this from the time you called. I’m not just some curiosity seeker, Cale. This has been in my mind ever since Regan met Brian. When she told me she was taking my problem to The Sentinels, I hoped that whoever was sent to me would be the one, just like Brian was for her.”
He blew out a breath. “All right, then. But we should go someplace away from this window. And I’ll have to take off my clothes first. Will you feel uncomfortable seeing me naked?”
Her smile nearly undid him. “Isn’t that what I’m asking for?” She put her hand in his, and electric charges sizzled along his nerves. “Come with me.”
She led him up the stairs, down a short hall and through an open door into what was obviously her bedroom. Large and airy, it was filled with light, simple furniture—a king-size bed with a soft blue coverlet, a small arm chair covered in some blue floral pattern with matching curtains at the windows, a night stand and a long dresser opposite the bed. The carpet beneath his feet was thick and plush.
Linnea sat in the small chair, hands folded primly but eyes avidly eating him up. “I’m ready,” she told him. “Is there something special you need?”
Cale almost laughed at the contradiction between her posture, her words and her look, but he was afraid she’d take it the wrong way.
“No. I’m good.”
He never took his eyes from her face as he stripped. First came the boots and socks, placed neatly next to her chair. Then he unbuttoned his shirt slowly, his gaze never leaving her as he shrugged out of it, folded it and placed it at the foot of the bed. The buckle on his jeans clinked as he undid his belt and pulled it through the loops, wrapping it slowly around his hand and placing it next to his shirt. Next he stepped out of his jeans. When she realised he’d gone commando and saw his long, thick cock spring free, her eyes widened and she licked her lips. That tongue was going to be the death of him. He wanted it licking his cock and his balls and…
His penis throbbed as the images flooded his senses, her small body kneeling in front of him, fingers around this thick length, that fascinating tongue licking and lapping.
Shit, Martin! You’ll come just standing here if you don’t quit it.
When he was completely naked he stood in front of her, letting her eyes roam over him from head to toe. She reached out a hand as if to touch him, then yanked it back.
“It’s okay. You can touch,” he told her.
“After.”
“After?”
“After the shift.”
He nodded. “All right, then.”
He closed his eyes, centred himself, and called up his wolf. He felt his muscles stretch and his bones elongate, his face morph and his ears flatten. The blood raced in his veins and heat suffused his body. And seconds later he was wolf, tall and broad-chested, with a solid black coat.
He stood proudly for a moment, head lifted, nostrils flared as he caught the strong scent of her arousal. Slowly he padded over to where she sat and waited patiently to see what she’d do.
Linnea stared at him for a long time. Finally she reached out a slightly trembling hand and caressed his head. When he stood perfectly still for her, she slipped her fingers through his fur, sliding her hand over his shoulders, his band and his flanks.
“You feel so soft and powerful at the same time,” she said in
an awed voice. “Your coat is like fine silk but I can feel the muscles beneath it.” She exhaled slowly. “You are a magnificent animal, Cale Martin.”
Cale moved his head and licked her chin with the tip of his tongue. She laughed, but heat flared in her eyes at the same time. When she leant forward and placed a soft kiss on his muzzle, his heart tripled the pace of its beat. It took every bit of his control to hold himself motionless while she ran her hands over him.
At last she sat back, her mouth curving in a smile, and Cale shifted back to human form.
Now what?
The situation was usually reversed—the shifter carefully revealing himself or herself to the human, hoping for acceptance, hoping for a physical relationship. Linnea was not only the complete opposite of other humans, but she was already ten steps ahead of him. He wanted to be sure she was completely comfortable with him, but when she reached out her hand again and wrapped her small fingers around his cock, fire streaked through his groin and his balls tightened. She stared at the swollen shaft, then licked her lips in a movement that nearly undid him.
He looked down and saw that a thick drop of fluid sat on the slit. Linnea bent forward and swiped at it with her tongue, running it over the sensitive surface again and again. He closed his eyes and let the pleasure take him, soaking up every hot pulse, every sizzle of electricity.
Jesus! How long was he supposed to hold still here? Everything seemed to be happening at warp speed here. Something he had in no way expected when he rang the doorbell tonight. But here it was, carrying him along like a runaway train, and they’d hardly gotten started. He’d always prided himself on being in total control of a situation, but this woman just did it for him—reached inside where he lived and made him catch fire. Made every thread of restraint threaten to snap. He wanted to let that soft, clever tongue lap at him forever but he didn’t want to finish before they even got started.