“May I?” I handed him the file and watched as he flipped through the contents. “Hmm. It’s not enough. If I’m going to create the full database that she wants, I’m going to need a larger number of completed applications. I mean, this will get me started on the framework, but it won’t be ready to go until I have more to work with.”
I just shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s just been busy, or if she’s been having trouble getting people to fill out the application packets.”
He nodded. “The idea is a little strange. Most shifters are old fashioned when it comes to meeting their mates. Seems a little unconventional to do it online—like bucking tradition and all that.”
“Parker has complete faith in it, so if you have doubts and reservations, you’ll have to deliver them yourself. I’m not going to be that messenger.” Still feeling addled, I wanted to get away from him as fast as possible. “I’ll let you get shot with the Parker death ray.”
Dylan rapped his knuckles against the file and nodded. “Hard pass on that. Nice to meet you, Laila.”
“Yeah. You, too.” I was in my car and pulling out of the lot before I could even get my seatbelt on. If what I was feeling was my wolf reacting to a lion, I didn’t like it. I may have been new to the whole shifter thing, but that was prejudice, plain and simple, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t dislike someone just because of what they shifted into—the way they were born. Something they had no control over.
I hadn’t liked finding out that I was a shifter in the first place, and I didn’t like to be reminded of the fact. The whole ordeal had completely thrown my life into a tailspin. If I could wave a magic wand and go back to being just plain old human Laila, totally ignorant of the fact that there was a shifter population, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Feeling agitated, I gave up going by the hospital and went straight to Parker’s home instead. I turned onto Toucan Boulevard and took the second left onto Shipwreck Way. She and Maxim lived in the sixth house on the right, a beautiful home on the ocean built on stilts to keep it safe during the hurricane season.
I parked under the house and climbed the stairs to the front door. Letting myself in with my key, I headed to the spare bedroom she’d decided to turn into the nursery. The last time I’d seen the room, she’d just started painting a few different swipes of color on the wall to get a good sense of how each would look in the room. Excited to see baby Stella’s new nursery, I stepped into the room and froze.
“I am going to kill Parker,” I muttered the words to the empty room. Empty, as in e-m-p-t-y. No paint on the drywall, no furniture, nothing. Just swipes of sample colors.
With my hands on my hips, I looked around the bare room, still in exactly the same state as the last time I’d seen it, and groaned. She hadn’t gotten anything done. I wanted to scream.
Rolling my shoulders, I stiffened my spine and pulled my hair into a bun on top of my head. It was going to be a long night. Don’t worry, baby Stella, Auntie Laila will prepare you an awesome room for the best little munchkin in the whole world. Then I’ll murder your mommy. Justifiable homicide.
Fortunately, the paint and paint supplies were all in the closet, where Parker had left them, and the plastic drop sheeting was still taped to the floor, so I could just get started.
Three hours later, I’d gotten two coats of the pale yellow that Parker had chosen on the walls. The trim was left white and I was rambling on in my head about all that Parker was going to owe me. The walls needed more time to completely dry before I broke into the boxes of unassembled furniture and tried my hand at putting those together. I cleaned up and decided I would work on the next item on Parker’s to-do list while I waited: Gray Lowe, Sunkissed Key’s most eligible bachelor, who seemed to stir up carnal lust in women of all ages, from teens to geriatrics.
I locked up the house and headed back to Main Street. Gray lived at the opposite end of the island. His home on Bluefin Boulevard was just across the island from mine. I lived at the very end of Albatross Landing, on the water. My car wanted to turn right to head home, but I forced myself to drive farther up Main and turn onto Second Street, just so I could backtrack to Bluefin Boulevard.
Gray Lowe’s house had seen better days. The sand and weather had worn the paint on the wooden shake siding down. The beat-up old pickup truck under the house matched the ambiance of the house’s exterior perfectly. They looked like the possessions of a man who wasn’t big on material things. A whole lot different than Dylan, the lion. His sports car had been so shiny that I could’ve used it as a mirror.
As I climbed the stairs to Gray’s front door, I felt butterflies in my stomach, a sensation that increased with each step up. I paused for a second and frowned. Since learning that I was a shifter, there had been occasions when it seemed I was experiencing feelings that weren’t my own. I never really knew what to do with that. I didn’t know or understand the wolf inside of me. So if, at any point, what I was feeling was the wolf reacting to something, I didn’t have a clue as to what or why.
I had the packet of papers clutched in my fist as I knocked on Gray Lowe’s door, ready to get Parker’s chore done and over with. One more thing down and I could get back to focusing on spoiling my new goddaughter rotten.
6
Gray
I’d just sat down to dinner on my back porch when the doorbell rang. I contemplated ignoring it. Who came to the door at dinner time? The sun was already setting low over the ocean and most people were either partying or relaxing. Mostly relaxing. Tourist season was over and locals didn’t party as late or as hard as the tourists. I cast a long look at my steak. Fuck. It wouldn’t taste nearly as good cold, and reheating was a piss-poor substitute for something fresh off the grill.
“Coming!” I carried my plate with me to the door, so whoever it was would get the hint. If it was those damn Jehovah’s Witnesses again… Before I could even get the door open, the bell rang again.
Hand on the doorknob, I inhaled deeply, ready to rip someone a new asshole if that was what I had to do to be able to dine in peace. And the scent hit me: sugared pears, fresh cream, and a touch of cinnamon. My stomach growled, and my steak might just as well have turned to cardboard for all the interest it held after getting a whiff of that delicious aroma outside. Whoever was on the other side of my door had piqued my…everything. Even my brain was a little rattled. What was suddenly driving my senses into a tizzy? Some kind of gourmet dessert delivery service or something?
I yanked open my door to find that my visitor was the dessert. Swallowing a mouthful of drool, I felt my entire body respond to the woman standing in front of me. My wolf knew immediately who she was. She was the one—my mate. My first reaction was to be stunned—too stunned to move, much less speak. This was the very last thing on earth I expected. My second reaction was to drop to my knees and thank the heavens for the beautiful angel on my doorstep, so exquisite she could only have been sent from the celestial sphere.
Her hair was so pale a blonde it was almost white. She wore it piled loosely and messily on top of her head. Her pale blue-gray eyes were trimmed by light eyelashes and brows. Her lips…wow. Full, blood red lips, the bottom pulling her mouth into a natural pout. She looked out of place in her surroundings—a snow queen in Sunkissed Key. The contrast between her cool, porcelain beauty and the warm scenery around her made her look all the more ethereal. She was tall, curvy, built to set men’s hearts aflame. In a tight black outfit, smeared with what looked like light-yellow paint, she set fire to my very being.
“Gray?” She forced that perfect mouth into a friendly smile and wiggled a handful of papers at me. “Parker asked me to stop by and have you fill out the application for her mate matchmaking site, Cybermates.”
What a little demon my sister’s friend was turning out to be. I hadn’t wanted to fill out her forms, so she’d sent my mate to me.
“I’m Laila and I’m not leaving until you fill these out.” Her chin jutted out in a defiant gesture.
Fuck,
if I didn’t feel every cell in my body realign just to try to inch closer to her. “Well, I guess you’d better come in, then.”
I was dancing on a thin line between wanting to yank her into my arms and not wanting to come on too strong. One of us was going to have to address the whole mate thing, but I didn’t want to pounce on her right out of the gate like a complete animal. I could tell she was a wolf shifter. I’d wait for her to say something.
Skirting around me, she edged inside and scanned the room. Her eyes went to the empty shelves and then the furniture, which was at a bare minimum. “Did you just move in?”
“Not exactly.”
Her head turned back to me and she crossed her arms under her chest. The fabric of her shirt pulled taut when she did, tightening over her full breasts, daring me to look. “Just not big on decorating?”
I looked around my house and shrugged. It was pretty minimalist. “I guess not.”
Seeming to remember the purpose of her visit, she tapped the papers in her hand. “Where should we start?”
I had ideas. Kitchen counter, my secondhand couch, my back porch, my bed. I had plenty of ideas about where, and how, to get started. She didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as me, though. Her eyes focused on everything in the room but me. She didn’t seem to want to even look at me for more than a cursory glance.
Something about that just made me want to do something outrageous to get her attention, to make her focus on me. I wanted her eyes on me, I wanted her everything on me. I wanted to watch the fluttering pulse at the base of her throat go crazy because of me. It was like a silent dare had been thrown down and I was not one to avoid a dare. Not at all.
“I was just sitting down to eat dinner out back. Are you hungry?”
“No.” Her pale eyes dropped to my steak and her stomach growled loudly. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
I waved toward the back door. “Go. Get settled on the porch. I’ll fix you a plate.”
I did just that and stepped outside to find her sitting in my chair, knees bent with her feet tucked up next to her. “Here you go.”
She took the plate, careful not to touch my hand, and started to stand up. “I don’t want to take your only chair.”
I shook my head and leaned against the railing, facing her. “Sit. Please.”
Her eyes flashed, but she stayed put. Holding the plate on top of her legs, she forked up a hunk of meat. “I didn’t expect to crash your dinner.”
“Crash away. The way I see it, the longer you’re eating, the less you’re asking me about that stuff for Parker.” I cut off a piece of my own steak. “Oh, I forgot. Let me get you something to drink. Beer, wine?”
“Do you have any whiskey?”
I laughed. “Rough day?”
“You have no idea. But a beer would be fine, too. Thank you.”
I went in and grabbed a couple of solo cups and a bottle of top-shelf whiskey. I brought everything out and poured us each a double shot before settling against the railing, happy to watch her.
She took a long pull from the cup and relaxed into the chair. “I really should be ashamed of how I crashed your meal and then demanded your good whiskey.”
“Should be?”
With a sexy as hell glance up at me through her lashes, she grinned and shrugged. “It’s really good whiskey.”
That ache that had been in my chest for months loosened just a bit and I felt myself lean into her. “I’d be a fool to complain about a beautiful woman joining me for dinner.”
She was quiet for a few moments as she ate. I didn’t want to break the silence, so I just watched her. To be honest, I didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. It was strange. I’d only just been saying I wasn’t ready, and fate goes and drops off my mate right on my doorstep. I still didn’t feel completely ready, that hadn’t changed, but damn if I wasn’t trying to hurry up and get ready. When I’d told Grace I wasn’t looking for a mate, I had no idea at the time my mate would be the woman now in front of me—stunningly beautiful, sweet and delicious, and…fuck, I wanted to taste her to see if she tasted like sugared pears, too.
We each finished our meal and our whiskey before either of us bothered speaking again. I found myself content just to be near her.
“Okay, I’ve wasted enough of your time. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten a meal that I haven’t prepared myself. I thoroughly enjoyed that, thank you. Now, I should finish this questionnaire for Parker and get out of your hair.”
What? I was completely confused. She still wanted me to fill out the form and sign up for some online mate matching site? I wondered if it was a joke, but she seemed earnest, if not a little eager. How could she not know that I was already hers? She was a wolf; I could smell that easily enough. She had to have realized it as instantly as I had.
“Do you want to do this out here?”
Frowning, I shook my head. “Couch.”
She stood up and wobbled for a second before getting her balance and grabbing her plate and cup. “Sounds great. So, why haven’t you filled this stuff out for Parker, yet? Aren’t you looking for your mate?”
“No, I’m not. Not at all.” I grinned. No point in looking for a woman who was standing right in front of me.
I noticed her shoulders stiffen, but when she turned back around to me, her face was the picture of ease. “Well, Parker doesn’t care. Let’s get this over with.”
7
Laila
I was completely unprepared for just how hot Gray Lowe really was. Sure, I’d heard all the gossip about how handsome, how ripped, how charming, yadda yadda, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the full-body reaction I was having to him. He was…magnetic. Every breath I took seemed to bring me closer to him. Even sitting on opposite ends of his couch, I kept finding myself leaning toward him.
My wolf was still doing weird things, but once again, I had no clue what she wanted. I could almost swear that she was reacting to Gray just as much as I was. Not that I could blame her. He was beautiful to look at. I found myself wondering what he’d look like as a wolf.
“Need a refill before we start?”
I glanced over at the bottle in his hand and imagined drinking more, getting looser, forgetting what I was supposed to be doing. It wouldn’t be hard to let everything go and slide closer to Gray. His heated looks were more than inviting. I shook my head before I could throw myself at him like a shameless hussy. “I’d better not.”
He grinned, and a lone dimple on his right cheek sent flutters all the way to my vagina. His teeth were so straight and perfect and I found myself wanting to run my tongue over them. “You’re a wolf. I doubt you’re going to get drunk that easily.”
“It’s new. I guess you’re right.” I handed him my cup and rolled my neck. The day had worn on me, but I felt like I was sinking more and more deeply into the man next to me and as I did, the day was washing clean away.
“What’s new?”
I frowned, ticked at myself for letting the cat…er, dog…out of the bag without meaning to. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.” He winked. “Anything to avoid that thing you’re holding.”
I felt the strangest sensation then. I could’ve sworn my wolf was attempting to get closer to Gray so she could rub herself against the man. It was almost like she was whimpering for his attention. I shook off the feeling and dropped the papers between us. “I just found out I was a shifter a little over a year ago. The end.”
“Wasn’t a long story at all, was it?” He picked up the papers and put them on the ground in front of us. “How’d that happen?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t talk about it. Not with anyone other than Parker. And she and I hadn’t talked about it since the first day I’d found out. I could give him the bare bones of it, though. “I guess something happened when I was young that scared my wolf, so she hid. I only found out when Parker told me that I was a wolf. I guess she’d always assumed I knew because
, well, why wouldn’t I?”
“But you had no clue?”
Shaking my head, I pushed back the grief I felt. There was a hefty layer of bitterness there, too. I’d been normal before she told me. Things had been simpler then. “No. I didn’t.”
“So, I guess you’ve had a wild year, huh?”
“Not really.”
“You didn’t have any trouble learning your new senses and everything?” He’d leaned across the open cushion between us and was staring at me so intently that I felt my cheeks burn.
“I…I’ve been busy. I haven’t really delved into that side of me.”
“But you’ve shifted?”
“No. Not yet.”
Gray sat back against his seat and blew out a rush of breath. “Well, shit.”
Feeling suddenly inadequate, I bent over and grabbed the papers. “Let’s get started so I can get leave you in peace.”
He didn’t protest, so I pulled my pen out of my hair and looked at the first question. A sense of dread washed over me. I hadn’t actually read over any of the questions yet, and I had a feeling I was going to want to strangle Parker even more than I already did by the time I was finished.
“Are you currently sleeping with anyone?” I groaned. “Parker doesn’t seem to realize that some things are private.”
“I’m not.” He shrugged. “And I don’t get embarrassed easily. What about you?”
“Do I get embarrassed easily?”
“Are you sleeping with anyone?”
I snorted. “I’m not the one filling out the questionnaire. Second question. What do you imagine your mate to look like?”
“Next question.”
I glanced up at him and saw a curious expression on his face that I couldn’t pinpoint. “Okay. Third question. What do you like to do for fun?”
Shifter Starter Set Page 48