He gave me a bewitching smile and headed to the door, sweeping a hand through his hair, which hadn’t moved an inch out of place. Clearly, he’d spent a lot of time on it, so I guessed it made sense to check it wasn’t misbehaving. He was impeccable, quite different from Coral’s beautiful, windswept chaos.
I guessed there wasn’t such a thing as a type after all, especially since I couldn’t fight the urge to watch his ass and the sway of his hips in those jeans. That unique scent was also still driving me crazy, drifting through his cologne and the fabric softener in his shirt. What would it be like to tear all that extra fragrance away and just bury my face in the skin at his neck and inhale the natural, sweet musk of his body?
My wolf started pawing relentlessly at my chest, eager for me to follow Keifer. He stopped briefly to check on Silas, and then pass him off to Bryce. When we finally reached the dancefloor, there were already a few couples dancing. They held hands or were wrapped around each other, intimate but not desperate, but they were fated mates or at least committed partners. The way I felt about Keifer right then, with his scent sinking into my skin, I knew I couldn’t take him in my arms. If I touched him, I’d be opening a door to my desire I wasn’t sure I’d be able to close again. To be safe, I kept my hands by my sides as we moved to the music.
I could feel my relationship with him changing by the second. It was strange, almost like looking at him through a kaleidoscope. I could see the same sparkly, bright blue eyes he’d had as an eighteen-year-old kid, like the day he and Jaxon both did a terrible job of pretending they weren’t drinking when I came home unexpectedly. Then a different light would catch him and I’d see the mature adult in him; Stacia’s father, and friend to many in our pack. He felt like an old friend and a stranger all at the same time. It was mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my attention off him.
As the sun set lower and the sky darkened, the pack began to prepare for our monthly full moon run. The music played on for those who would keep partying at the Lodge. Keifer and I kept on dancing.
My gaze ran over Keifer as he swayed to the music. He wet his lips, and a pleased grin spread across his face, like he was feeling the joy of moving his body. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, hoping I could escape the intense desire for a moment. Instead, it made it worse. In that darkness, and with the music drowning out all other sounds, I was overwhelmed by Keifer’s scent.
I shook my head and opened my eyes, and caught Jaxon staring at me from within the crowd behind Keifer. He quickly looked away, but not before I noticed concern on his face. I was about to go over to him when Keifer gripped my arm. He leaned in close and pressed his lips against my ear. His breath was hot, and I shivered as it ghosted across my skin.
“Do you want to get out of here for a minute?” he asked. Each word sent a thrill down my spine.
I nodded without hesitating. I led him through the crowd, across the grounds and out to a spot under the old oak. From here we could still hear the thump of the music, but also nature’s chorus of cicadas. The air smelled fresh, and the stars were beautiful through the leaves.
His smile was wide, and whether it was from dancing or some left-behind shyness, his whole face appeared flushed, even in the low light spilling from the Lodge and the moon.
“Thank you for dancing with me. I certainly think we turned a few heads though,” I said.
Keifer leaned back against the tree then glanced up at the leaves before looking at me. “Was that such a bad thing?”
“Setting tongues wagging? Probably not, but I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea.”
“Me or them.”
The way he said it, as if I’d hurt him a little, twisted me up inside. Did he feel the same attraction to me I felt toward him? It seemed so, but I wasn’t sure if I was bold enough to find out, but then he bit his bottom lip and his cheeks turned another shade darker.
“Actually, I don’t really care what others think, but I want you to know your scent has been driving me crazy all evening, and I’m not sure if it’s because I am going crazy or…” Or what, you’re my fated mate? The possibility hadn’t escaped me—I hadn’t gotten to my age without knowing a thing or two about how a mate’s scent could drive a shifter mad with need, but Keifer was so young.
“I’m sorry,” he said, after a while. “I’m on heat. I did take suppressants, I promise. It shouldn’t be that potent.”
Heat. Well, that explained a lot. No wonder he smelled so good even with him being on suppressants. It also explained the way he’d been reacting to me. An omega in heat also felt an intense desire to be fucked, and I guess I’d somehow triggered that need in him. I wasn’t actually sure why considering he had his choice of many other more age-appropriate alphas. I cleared my throat. “Well, it is. Potent. Very.”
“Really?” A frown broke across his forehead.
I didn’t say anything, just let my gaze rove over him the way I’d wanted all night. I took in the breadth of his shoulders, and how they tapered to slim hips. He had long legs I could easily envision wrapping around my waist as I plowed into his ass. But the best part of him was his eyes. He had the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen. They matched his shirt perfectly, and I wondered if he’d picked out the shirt on purpose to accentuate his eyes. Probably. Keifer certainly knew how to look his best. He swallowed, and my gaze caught on the bob of his throat, imagining how it would be to feel the shape of his Adam’s apple as it moved under my lips.
Suddenly, he moved so he was angled toward me. “I’ve always had such a crush on you, even when I was just a kid. It’s been driving me crazy, being this close to you and wondering if you still think of me as that kid. So that’s why I asked you out here, to tell you.”
My heart raced. I instinctively inhaled, reveling in his scent while wondering whether it could really be true… I shook my head. No. That crush he had on me back then was probably just some adolescent fantasy like every teenager had for some unattainable person in their lives, but as our gaze met, the desire he had for me seemed suddenly very real.
“Tell me what?”
“I’m not a kid anymore,” he said, his voice wavering just a little. His eyes shone big and wide in the rising moonlight. His throat bobbed again.
Without giving thought to my actions, I smoothed my thumb over the soft skin of his cheek and the well-groomed stubble on his chin. He leaned into my hand like he wanted more than just the brush of my thumb. I felt the warmth of his skin through my palm, and I traced the edge of his jaw with my fingertips. My touch was a little rough. A little desperate.
Ah, fuck it.
As the night breeze swirled his scent around me, I leaned in, guiding his face to mine, and kissed him.
My heart and my wolf soared together, tightening my chest as if something physical had gripped me. It was only a kiss, but it seemed every cell in my body lit up in response. His lips parted beneath mine, and I felt his hum of approval even as I heard a quiet moan of relief in the back of his throat.
For a few moments, there was only the two of us in the whole world. Probably would’ve felt like that for a lot longer if not for the howls of wolves as they began their run.
We parted, and I glanced up, seeing the moon and feeling its energy pulsing through me. Of course. Time had passed so quickly with Keifer I’d almost forgotten about the run. But now, I felt the moon’s energy yanking at me just as urgently as did my desire for Keifer.
I sighed and glanced at Keifer who stared at me through half-lidded eyes. I took his hand then slid my fingers down to smooth over the firm bone of his wrist.
“You have to go,” he said, even as his body said stay.
I nodded. “I’m not going to run as far as the others. In fact, I’ll probably stay close to the homestead. You’ll be looking after Silas at the Lodge, I suppose.”
“Mm-hmm.” He bit his lip, glancing at the few wolves lingering on the lawn. “Thank you, for tonight. It was good.”
“Yeah.” I wanted to say more but worr
ied I might embarrass myself. Catching the scent of an omega in heat shouldn’t have made me lose my head like that. In fact, I was almost grateful for the interruption from the pack now. If not for that, I didn’t know what I might have said or done. Still, it wasn’t just his heat pheromones that had caught my attention, I was sure of it. There was something else… Something I needed time and space to think about.
I held his gaze as I stepped away. It was more intimate a goodbye than actually saying it. I could see the longing in his face, unbridled and raw, and the image stayed in my mind even as I shifted. I looked back over my shoulder and saw his gaze still on me, his smile dazzling in the moonlight.
4
Keifer
The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table and nursed a cup of coffee while remembering the night before. I would have been blown away even if Greer and I had only danced—or even if he’d just spent all that time talking to me. As attractive as he’d been when I was a kid, he was even more gorgeous now, and my crush had only intensified over time, turning into full-blown adult lust, especially after last night. Greer had always set my heart racing, and now with the memory of his lips on mine… I took a deep breath, still feeling a little giddy and hot.
I stared at my phone, almost willing it to ring. I had no idea why. It wasn’t as if I expected Greer to call. I’d be surprised if he even had my number.
Holy shit, though. That kiss…
“I’m not ready!” Stacia suddenly announced, the surprise of it making me jump in my seat as she wheeled her red mini-suitcase into the kitchen. She had her clothes packed, ready to go to Jason and Trevor’s for the next few days, and I had my laptop in my bag, ready to head to the Cove Brewery to get those edits done after I dropped her off.
“Not ready to go to Dad and Trevor’s? You look ready.” I frowned. It wasn’t like her to put off her trips to their house.
“No, Dad. I’m not ready to sing, I’m just warming up. Listen.” She put her hands on her hips and let out a series of off-key melodies with a confidence I had to admire.
“Beautiful,” I said and gave her a small round of applause.
She pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “I just said practicing, Dad! You don’t clap for practice.”
“My mistake.” Although why she might need to practice walking around with a suitcase, I wasn’t sure. She spent nights with Jason and Trevor all the time, and today was no different. “Did you have fun last night?”
She beamed, tightening her fingers around the handle of the suitcase. “Yeah.”
“That’s great, honey. You must be tired today after playing with your friends last night.”
“Not really.” She’d adopted that phrase from me, along with the dubious tone I usually took on as I said it. Even after all this time, it still gave me a little flutter of happiness to see these little reflections of myself in my daughter. I didn’t imagine that would ever go away.
She climbed up on my knee, and I instinctively pushed my coffee away. It couldn’t scald her at this temperature, but still.
“I think Dad and Trevor are going to take me for a run tonight. You can come too, Daddy.”
“Sorry, honey I wouldn’t be able to keep up. You know, running on two legs and all. But I’ll always be back at home waiting for you instead. You know that, right?”
“Oh, right, two legs…” She giggled, but then sighed. “I wish you could be a wolf too, Daddy.”
I kissed the top of her head, not answering that particular statement. It wasn’t the first time Stacia had said that, and I’d always given her the same answer; that being human didn’t stop me from being a full part of her life. But it kind of brought up the question of whether it might stop me from being part of Greer’s. Some wolves struck up relationships with humans, of course. It had worked for Jason and Trevor, and several others in Timberwood Cove pack, but that might be different for an alpha like Greer, who used to lead the pack and was saturated in wolf culture. It was a culture I knew shockingly little about, even being enmeshed in it through Stacia and Jason.
I cleared my throat and shook my head. These thoughts were premature in the first place. He’d kissed me once, with no promises and no discussions. In the light of day, I couldn’t even be sure whether that kiss had been out of pity or some other motivation that wasn’t reciprocated desire. He certainly hadn’t seemed drunk, but he could have been.
“Daddy.”
I blinked as I realized Stacia was talking to me and pushing my phone into my hand.
It was ringing. No number listed.
I swallowed, moving back in my chair and lifting her down. “Thank you, sweetie. Why don’t you let me take this call, and then we’ll maybe watch a little television before you leave?”
She nodded. “Okay.” She darted off with her suitcase in tow. My heartbeat already felt as heavy as her footsteps, and I couldn’t wait until she had retreated all the way to her room before lifting the phone and answering.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Keifer.”
My chest tensed. It wasn’t Greer, which I was a little disappointed about. It was his son and my old childhood friend, Jaxon, which made me nervous as hell.
“Jaxon! Hey,” I said, wondering if I sounded as high-pitched and suspicious as I felt. “Great party yesterday. Did you have a good time?”
“Not as good a time as you did, apparently.”
I faltered, unsure what to say. I stared at my coffee cup. Even though I knew Greer wasn’t likely to call, I’d spent my whole morning thinking about what I’d say to him. What I hadn’t thought about was what Jaxon might have to say. Or what he might have seen. My guilt and my nerves kept me silent, even as I tried frantically to come up with at least some words.
“Keifer?”
I cleared my throat, hearing the irritation in his tone. “Do you want to meet up and talk about this in person? Maybe at Kay’s Diner? Like old times?”
I hoped the throw-back to our teen years would strike some nostalgia in his heart and soften him a little. But he didn’t answer.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked.
“I’m thinking about it. I always knew you had a crush on him, but this is kind of different to having a crush.”
I let out a groan as I blushed, propping my face in my hand on the table. I didn’t think he knew. I mean, Greer hadn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I said. That should be the first and most obvious thing. “If I thought you’d be upset, I would have kept my distance.”
“Right,” he said, sounding unconvinced. “If I heard correctly, you wouldn’t have been able to, he was the one pursuing you. I did tell him yesterday he should start looking for somebody new, but I don’t think I’m crazy for thinking it’d be somebody who wasn’t born after he was already a legal adult. Let alone one of my best friends.”
Greer had pursued me? Oh my god, that was… Shit, I didn’t know what it was. Apparently not good if Jaxon’s words and tone were anything to go by.
“If you want me to stay away, I will.” That’d be incredibly hard to do, but Jaxon and I had been friends for so long, and it wasn’t something I thought I could just throw aside, not even for Greer. “But I swear I’m… You know. I have good intentions.”
“No offense, but I suspect you mostly just have an erection.”
My ears burned and I took a deep breath to ease the feeling of humiliation in my gut. “No, that’s… Jaxon, that’s not how it is.”
“Isn’t it?” he asked, sounding more pissed. “Look, Keifer. We’ve known each other for too long for this shit. Everybody had stupid crushes when they were full of hormones. I get it. But I also know that if I was single and some fantasy from my teen years crossed my path, I wouldn’t be thinking about companionship, dedication, and commitment.”
“Jaxon—”
“Hear me out. You asked if I was mad, and I…” He sighed, heavy and hard. “I guess I’m not mad. Not really. I don’t even know what he’s thinking. But I sure wo
uld be mad if my dad got his hopes up for some kind of fairytale romance and you vanished after breakfast. You understand me?”
“Of course.” I stared into my coffee like it was a mirror.
“He’s fragile. I mean… Shit, obviously he’s a tank physically, but at the core of him, there’s a lot of hurt there. His heart’s done some heavy lifting over the years. It wouldn’t be fair for you to hurt him. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” I said, my voice taking on a somber tone. “I do. I wouldn’t want to hurt him either.”
Jaxon sighed again. “Just…do me a favor. Don’t rush, okay? Obviously, you really believe what you’re telling me. You’re a bad liar at the best of times, but… Even if right now you’re all rose-tinted and really convinced you’re in it for the right reasons, take a long time to think about it before you actually get involved. Make damn sure you’re not going to be over it as soon as you get off. ’Cos if that happens, I can tell you right now we’re going to have a problem.”
“I will, Jaxon. Of course.”
“I mean it, Keifer. If that happens, we’ll have a big problem.”
I swallowed. I wasn’t a wolf shifter, but I wasn’t an idiot either. I’d noticed how Jaxon’s alpha energy had increased since he’d become his pack’s leader. He was intimidating as hell.
“You have my word.”
He gave me a grunt in return.
Once we ended the call I managed to breathe a little more easily, and then I slid down in my seat. That had to rank as one of the most uncomfortable conversations I’d ever had, not least because it had me questioning myself. I groaned quietly and ran my hands through my hair.
I honestly didn’t think I just wanted Greer for one night. That wasn’t the way I operated, and my fondness for him was too old and deep to allow for a one-night stand. But what if I did just have some teenage craving to satisfy? What if I hurt him?
Life had served Greer a pretty nasty hand of cards in the love department. The loss he’d endured was immense, and I sure didn’t want to add to the burden. In all likelihood, if anything did happen between us, I’d be the one who ended up disappointed and hurt.
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