by M. L. Briers
He could sense the anxiety within her. The small amount of fear that rolled off her aura and reached out to him, heightened his animal instincts to search for danger and protect her, but it was his own actions that were causing her restlessness.
“Slow down!” She finally gasped. Bringing his eyes towards her. Kate’s brain noted the movement of his head and she tore her eyes from the road ahead and flicked them in his direction, doing a double take between him and the road in disbelief.
“Watch the road…” The sound of her voice had notched up a couple of decibels and he grinned inwardly. Payback was a bitch, he told himself, with one eye on the road and the other on her. “The road!” She reiterated with her eyes and head swinging wildly back and forth, from him to the outside world.
“I get the feeling you are something of a control freak? Would I be right in that assumption?” He drawled out, knowing the turn for his land was ahead and slowing down only enough so that he didn’t flip the truck when he took the corner wildly.
The shriek from her lips as the truck took the corner on two wheels and her side lifted in the air slightly meant he couldn’t conceal the chuckle that ripped through him.
The fingers of her good hand were curled into the bag of peas and the loud pop of the bag bursting had her shrieking again as little green balls escaped the confines of the bag and ran over her lap, the chair and the floor of the cab.
The ice cold water from the melted peas seeped through the towel and over her jeans and she gasped with awareness, a moment before she turned her dark gaze on him and drew a breath into her ample lungs.
Dex cursed inwardly with the sight of her getting ready to release another tirade of abuse in his direction.
“You immature, irresponsible, degenerate of the worst kind. You have no thought for anyone or anything…” She squealed when Dex found a reasonable sized pot hole to drive through. The truck bounced as he expected it would. His passenger bounced in her seat as he expected she would, and her breasts caught his gaze as they also bounced, just like they would if she was riding him and he got in a good thrust with his hips…
Dex growled to himself as he ripped his eyes away from her chest and back to the road. He hadn’t considered that, but damn, what that did to his penis as it swelled and twitched in his jeans. He swallowed down the sudden dryness in his throat and eased back on the accelerator.
“You are an accident waiting to happen…” She was still in mid tirade when his ears decided to connect back up with his brain and her words slapped him in the face.
“I’m an accident waiting to happen? Pot- kettle sweetheart.” He couldn’t contain the growl within his tone, and he didn’t want to. “You’re a walking disaster area. You should come with a health and safety warning! But I’m the accident waiting to happen?” He bit out on a half chuckle of disbelief.
Kate went to open her mouth in retaliation, but her eyes caught sight of the large wood built cabin nestled into the surrounding woods and stopped in mid thought. The place was amazing.
The layers of wood where needed to build the framework and support the structure were just that, a frame for the panels of glass that dominated the domicile, opening up the inner building to the lightness of day and the openness of nature. It was breathtaking.
“Pull over.” She breathed out in excited rapture at discovering an architectural dream in the middle of nowhere.
Dex pulled the truck to a stop, but Kate had already taken off her seat belt and popped the door open before the vehicle came to a complete halt. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she stood by the open door and gazed up at the cabin.
Her eyes feasted on the wraparound porch and then up to the balcony above that took up three quarters of the width of the structure. God, her heart sung a happy tune from just looking at it.
Dex came around to her side of the truck and took up a position where he could watch the animation on her face. Resting his butt against the cold metal he folded his arms across his chest and enjoyed the view of her, just as much as she seemed to enjoy the view of the cabin.
The sheer excitement she felt glowed in her features, her eyes swooping back and forth to take in the whole building, as she wallowed in delight. It was a good ten minutes before she remembered that he was there.
“Is this where you got your ideas for the cabin’s you’re going to build?” She flicked her eyes towards him and then went to flick them back to the cabin, but the whole macho man, rugged sex god image he conveyed leaning back against his truck, kept her locked on him for a while longer, as her eyes appraised him in much the same way that they had the building.
“Sort of.” He admitted. And she met his gaze, immediately snapping out of her appraisal of him and turning back to the cabin.
“It’s… wow!”
“The porch goes all the way around the downstairs and there is another balcony around the back for the master bedroom. The windows on the other side are just as extensive…” He informed her and she spun her eyes back to him, chaffing at the bit.
“Do you think the owner would mind if we walked down that way to take a look?” She motioned to the clearing that ran around the house and towards the back garden.
“The locals are a pretty easy going bunch around here.” Dex pushed off from the truck and started walking towards her, but she had already shot off towards the clearing on fast legs and he increased his stride to catch up to her.
He heard he gasp in another breath as she came down the side of the clearing and took in the back view of the house. Her heart was skipping its own beat in her chest as she sighed.
“What I wouldn’t give to walk out on that balcony first thing in the morning.” She said as much to herself as to him.
Dex leaned in from behind and breathed his words against her ear. “Is tomorrow morning too soon?” The sound of his deep seductive tone swept through the length of her body, igniting her awareness of his closeness and setting a shiver off to run the length of her.
“God no…” She breathed out on a sigh of desire for both the thought of waking to that view and the way her body responded to his closeness. And then the proverbial wet slimy slap across the face of realisation dawned on her and she turned on her heels to look up at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“You’re the owner.” It wasn’t a question and the way the sexy grin spread from one ear to the other across his face made her heart leap inside. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him on a wince.
“So. What would you give to wake up to that view in the morning?” He teased. His lips back next to her ear.
“You are a pitiful excuse for a human being, has anyone ever told you that?” She wanted to be snide about it, but she couldn’t. She could see the funny side of what had happened, even if he had kind of led her on by not declaring ownership right away.
“That’s not answering my question.” He teased and she cocked an eyebrow and stared back at him over her shoulder.
“Your question doesn’t deserve an answer.” She spun back to give the property one final look of longing before she set back off for the truck, leaving him to tag along behind her, mulling things over.
She noted the fact that she had left the passenger door wide open in her enthusiasm to see the property up close and personal and she flicked a few peas onto the floor before she slipped back into the passenger seat and yanked the door closed just as he seemed to be making a beeline for her door.
Dex pulled open the back door and reached in for her case. It took her a whole few seconds to turn and note that he was hauling her stuff from the car and a deep frown etched into her forehead.
“What are…?” That was how far she managed to get before he slammed the back door closed on her question and turned on his heels back towards the cabin.
Kate puckered her lips and considered his actions. It took her a long moment to connect the dots before her eyebrows shot up on her forehead in a desperate attempt to reach her hairline, and she startled to aw
areness in her seat.
Her heart thumped, straining at the bit to escape her chest as the heat of excitement and anxiety washed through her. She was out of the car and following him towards the house a moment later.
“I’m not staying here with you.” She called to his back, her legs struggling to catch up with him as he took long, fast strides towards the stairs leading up onto the porch.
“Sure you are. It’ll save me the effort of having to drive to the guest cabin in the mornings.” He grinned wildly to himself. He wanted to turn back to look at her face, he wanted to see if there was a look of horror, terror or something else that gave her emotions away. But he kept his eyes forwards and took the stairs as though they weren’t even there.
Kate stopped and looked about her at the desolation she found herself in. It was one thing to agree to be lodged in a private cabin in the middle of nowhere. It was another entirely to be staying in this guy’s house, alone, in the middle of nowhere.
After all, he did remind her of a predatory wolf where she was concerned.
“Mr Thornton…” She said aloud, not budging from her spot as he reached for the front door and pushed it open. Mr-Tall-Dark-And-Way-Too-Handsome-For-My-Own-Sense-Of-Self-Preservation. She cautioned within her own mind and waited for him to turn to look at her.
When he did, he found her standing at the bottom of the porch steps, her eyes flaring fire and her body language telling him that this might be a step too far for her to swallow.
“I have a spare room.” He informed her with all of the chivalry he could muster in his tone and watched her balk at his words. Trusting little soul, he told himself with an internal grin.
“You also have a guest cabin, or so I was told.”
“This would be easier…” He motioned to the house and she balked again.
For who and for what? She sneered inside her own head. “Mr Thornton…” She started again, but he cut over the top of her.
“Call me Dex. Kate.” He placed her case down just inside the doorway and motioned for her to come to him. But when she made no effort to move a single step he sighed.
“Mr Thornton…” Third time lucky, she told herself and he shrugged his shoulders before turning on his heels and disappearing inside, leaving her aghast with disbelief. “What the f…?”
“Who’s that?”
Zoe bounded up to her older brother and tried to peer out of the doorway over his shoulder, but she couldn’t see around him, and he wouldn’t let her sidestep him. His arms forming a blockade to keep her in place.
“That little sister is Miss Kate Brown…”
Zoe perked up her enthusiasm to get a better look. “Oh the lady contractor person. What’s she like?” She enthused, causing him to step first right and then left to block her advances.
“Infuriating to the point of distraction, sexy to the point of destruction, and unfortunately my mate.” Dex’s somewhat caustic tone did nothing to dampen his sister’s natural state of curiosity. But when she heard the word ‘mate’, she almost exploded with glee.
“You’re what?” Her eyes widened, her smile beamed, and she had bobbed and weaved and then finally ducked under the steely cage of his arms, and was off like a wolf after a rabbit towards the open door.
“Zoe!” He hissed in annoyance, rolling his eyes and turning on his heels without a hope in hells chance of catching her before she launched herself out of the door and onto the porch.
Kate saw the young woman appear in a rush of enthusiasm. Stopping dead in her tracks as she somewhat inspected Kate where she stood. The grin on her face and the amusement in her eyes, told Kate absolutely nothing that was going on within this girl’s mind.
Dex joined his sister a second later. He growled down at her with a subtle blend of warning and anger, and Zoe turned her eyes up to her brother.
“Nice job. Way to go.” She whispered as she elbowed him in the ribs and he growled as the pain shot through him.
What was it with females and inflicting pain? He wondered briefly before turning to look down at a curious Kate.
“My sister Zoe. Zoe this is Kate.” He wanted to get the pleasantries out of the way as quickly as possible, and then maybe bounce his sister on her backside down the road to give them some peace. That was until Zoe decided to bound down the stairs and wrapped her arm around Kate’s.
“Are you staying with us? Because it’ll be nice to have a woman around the house for once. My brother’s ok, as brother’s go, but you can’t beat a conversation with another woman. Am I right?” Zoe gave her the pleading puppy dog look that melted Kate’s heart and resolve the minute she set eyes on it.
She immediately felt sorry for Zoe’s predicament. A young woman, in her late teens having to live with Mr-Testosterone, probably wasn’t the best environment for her feminine needs.
“Well I…” Kate started, but Zoe swept right over the top of her as she started walking them up the front steps towards the porch.
“He means well, but since our parents died, well female company has been sparse to say the least. Do you know what I mean Kate? I’d be really happy to have you around for a while…” And there were those pleading eyes again, along with that beaming smile that begged her to say yes.
Dex watched his sister work with admiration for her sheer guile at manipulating his mate’s maternal instincts. His sister might be only nineteen, but boy could she turn on the charm when she wanted too.
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents Zoe, but…” Kate didn’t notice how she was being led up the proverbial garden path, or past him and into the house.
“Thanks Kate, it’s been hard. I really miss my mum, she was always so easy to talk too. Dex tries his best, but he is a guy.” Zoe rolled her eyes and gave her that knowing look and Kate nodded her head in empathy as she disappeared further inside, leaving Dex standing on the porch with a huge grin spread across his face.
By the time Dex wiped the smile off his face and followed the women into the house Zoe was already enthusiastically showing Kate around and Kate seemed to be lapping up the scenery. He listened from the hallway as they chatted and laughed, going from room to room downstairs as Kate was treated to Zoe’s particular brand of welcome.
Dex ended up in the kitchen. He knew they would end up in there eventually and decided that if he had already started dinner, it would be impolite of Kate to refuse to eat with them.
Zoe seemed to have the right idea. Underhanded just might work better than any other tactic with his mate, and he’d try whatever it took to get the woman to stay. It would save him having to woo her from afar.
By the time they arrived in the kitchen Kate seemed to be totally relaxed in Zoe’s company and for the first time since he had met her, she didn’t appear to be tense.
“So the kitchen has all mod cons. And even our resident chef hard at work making dinner…” Zoe teased and Dex got the message. He only normally cooked when he had too. Usually Zoe was the one slaving over a hot stove, and he caught the gleam in her eye as she pulled out a stool for Kate and slipped up onto her own.
Kate sat down and made sure her eyes took in everything except him.
“Coffee ladies?” Dex asked already turning towards the dark brew and reaching for the mugs.
“You should stay in my room Kate. It’s at the front with a balcony to die for.” Zoe gushed and he turned to see Kate shaking her head.
“Oh no Zoe. I’m staying in one of the cabins.”
“The cabins? Those cold, damp smelly old things?” She lied. “Dex, what’s wrong with you? You can’t let Zoe sleep in one of those…” Zoe blasted him with both barrels like she really meant it and Dex made a mental note to put out feelers and test her emotions every time he had a serious conversation with her in future. Because his sister was a damn convincing little actress.
“Well…” That was as far as he got because Zoe was not done berating him.
“Mum and dad would be ashamed of you, treating a lady like Kate like that.”
“No Zoe. Your brother offered for me to stay here, but…” And that was as far as Kate got.
“Well then. That’s sorted.” Zoe brightened, giving Kate her best puppy dog look. “You can stay in Dex’s room at the back and he can sleep in the guest room. His room has the biggest balcony and the best view.” Zoe wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She would sit there and talk Kate’s ear off all night if she had too. Kate was Dex’s mate. This was her home and this was where she was going to stay from now on. Zoe reasoned.
Kate shot a look at Dex as he walked back to the counter with mugs of coffee in hand. A shrug of his shoulders told her that Zoe would not be tamed.
“You’re welcome to my room Kate. I have so much work that by the time I’m finished I just need a pillow under my head and I’m asleep. It doesn’t really matter where I sleep.” He lied through his teeth, and Zoe turned away and grinned wildly as her new sister hummed and hared beside her.
“Why don’t I show you the upstairs Kate? Dex’s room is to die for, you’ll love the view…” Zoe was already up on her feet and tugging at Kate’s sleeve to join her.
“Sure.” Kate agreed allowing herself to be railroaded back out of the kitchen leaving Dex chuckling to himself.
He guessed there was going to be a price to pay for Zoe’s help, but he was only glad to pay this ransom. He had his mate just where he wanted her and now all he had to do was let the calling take hold and the rest would take care of itself.
“What’s for dinner, Dex?”
Riff yanked his muddy boots off at the backdoor and stomped across the kitchen on sock clad feet. He’d learnt his lesson about walking mud through the young female Lycan’s domain the last time, when she chased him out with a boom and he had ended up with a box of crackers and a hunk of cheese back at his own place. He wasn’t about to make that mistake again.
“Does it matter Riff, you’d eat it no matter what it was.” Dex eyed Riff’s sock clad feet and couldn’t help but smile. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Riff wasn’t old, not by Lycan standards, but he’d been around the block a few times and Zoe had him trained just the way she liked it. He might have been Zoe’s Beta, but she had him right where she wanted him with those puppy dog eyes that she’d turned on Kate earlier. God help Zoe’s mate when she found him, he’d be putty in her hands.