She nodded. “It really does. I think I’d love to try one.”
“That and a Colorado Cheese Board,” Shaw added as he leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table and leaning his chin on steepled fingers, looking at Robin with unabashed adoration.
Robin looked at the waiter. “And what’s on that?”
The waiter lit up as he told her, “Today’s cheeses are Gouda, Havarti, and our homemade blend. It’s accompanied by sliced salami, and it’s to die for, then there’s raspberry coulis, spiced pecans, olive tapenade, and assorted crackers. Doesn’t that sound yummy? And paired with the Bloody Marys it makes an excellent start to any meal here at the Chop House. I’ll get that going and be right back. Look over the menus so you can give me your order when I get back.” He dashed out of the room, leaving them all alone.
Shaw watched as Robin picked up the menu and her eyes went big. “Oh, this is so expensive, Shaw. I can’t…”
“Hush, you can order anything you want. I recommend the top sirloin for you. I always get the butcher steak. It’s way too big for a little thing like you, though.” He rubbed his bearded chin with his forefinger then sat back. “I’ve already been thinking about what office space would be best for you at our offices in Denver. Mine’s on the top floor. There’s one right next to it. Now, the same guy’s been in that one for some time now, and I think he’d love a change in the scenery outside his window. I think I’ll move him so he can have a brand new space and give you his old one.” He didn’t want her to think he was being mean to anyone. Even though he kind of was, as the man he was talking about happened to be one of his pack brothers, Grey, and had been with the company from the beginning. The view from that office was magnificent, taking in all of Denver and a good section of the Rockies too.
“That would be nice,” she said with a smile. “But do you think it’s necessary for me to have an office there?”
“Hell yes, it is,” he said then sat back, stretching his long legs under the table. His ankle grazed hers as he moved and he noticed how she jumped when that happened. “Sorry, the thing about legs as long as mine is that you have to stretch them out fairly often.”
“I get it.” Robin looked at the menu to busy herself even though she already knew what she’d be getting. “It’s like with muscular dogs; you have to let them stretch out a lot.”
He wasn’t particularly opposed to being compared to canines in general, but it would’ve been nice not to have been. “My muscles are a lot longer and bigger than any dog’s.” He found himself boasting.
Robin put the menu down to look at him. “I meant nothing bad by it, Shaw.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
The drinks and food came, and Shaw ordered the entrees for them both. “I’ll have the butcher steak, Pittsburgh style.”
The waiter made sure he knew what that was. “That’s charred on the outside with a cold red center.”
Shaw nodded as Robin grimaced. “You actually serve something like that?”
The waiter nodded. “Yes. That one’s a bit more done than our blue rare. Now that one looks like a raw piece of meat in my opinion, but there are those who can tell it has been on the grill for a fraction of a second.”
Shaw huffed, taking the waiter’s attention. He quickly found himself growing tired of this particular waiter’s vast knowledge of the menu and all the house recipes and such. “She’ll have the top sirloin.” He looked at Robin as he asked, “Medium rare?”
She frowned and shook her head. “Well done, please.”
Shaw shook his head. “No way. Medium at the most. You ruin steak when you overcook it, trust me. You’ll love it this way. And maybe one day you’ll love it the way I do.”
Robin made a little gagging gesture. “Don’t count on that, Shaw. But I’ll try the steak the way you’ve suggested. Medium it is.”
The waiter nudged her shoulder with his elbow, and Shaw’s wolf made a hellacious growl that no one heard but Shaw. “If it’s not done to your liking, I’ll take it right back and have it thrown on the grill until it’s well done.”
She smiled at the geeky thin kid, and he grinned back at her. And Shaw found his voice a little gruffer than he meant it to be. “So get to it, boy.”
The waiter hauled ass, as Robin looked at Shaw with her mouth ajar. “Shaw, a bit rude don’t you think?”
He tried to calm the wolf and himself down as he took a nice long drink of the Bloody Mary, wishing they’d used real blood the way he did when he made them at home. “Sorry.” The music had him thinking of a way to get her into his arms, and he looked up as if just noticing it. “Care to dance?” He got up and held his hand out to her.
She looked at him for a long moment. “I don’t know how to.”
“I can teach you.” He was overjoyed. He’d be the first man she’d ever danced with.
With a nod, she took his hand, and he pulled her into his arms. Holding her close, he swayed back and forth and moved his feet very little. “Oh, this is easy,” she said.
“Yes, it is,” he said. He didn’t mean the dancing. He meant holding her in his arms. He meant being with her. Unfortunately, his inner wolf liked it too. A bit too much and he found his head moving, his lips pressed against her neck with a sweet kiss that went from sweet to a bite in an instant.
It wasn’t hard enough to break the skin, but it was apparent what he wanted. And Robin jerked her body away from him, holding her hand to her neck and glaring at him. “I knew it. I knew you only wanted me for one thing. There’s no job. There never was going to be. You planned on getting me drunk then taking me home where you’d properly screw me, getting me out of your system. You played your card way too soon, Shaw. I’m leaving. Do. Not. Follow. Me.”
He could only watch as she fled from the room. His heart pounding, his wolf howling, and his mouth gaping.
Chapter 9
A week had passed with Shaw sending card after card, bouquet after bouquet, and chocolates galore, but still Robin wouldn’t answer his calls. He even sent over a contract about their business dealings, but she didn’t respond at all to it. He was at a loss as to what to do for the first time.
He and the members of his pack had taken to the road on their bikes to blow off some steam. When they pulled into the same park he’d met her in, he took in a breath of cold air, hoping to catch her scent. But he didn’t.
In frustration, Shaw growled, “Let’s take a walk in the woods.”
Falcon jogged up to walk a step behind his leader. His brown hair and golden eyes set him apart from the rest. All the wolf-shifters were naturally muscular, and all had an air of danger to them. “You’ve been out of it for a solid week, Shaw. What gives?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Shaw snapped at him as he jerked his head to look at his packmate. “And step back a bit. You’re crowding me.”
Falcon knew when to back off and now was the time to give his leader some space, even if he thought the guy needed some help. “Will do, boss.”
The next one to try to see how he could help their leader was the playful one of the bunch. Grey, who had ash blond hair and hazel eyes, came up to one side of him, leaving plenty of space between them. “I cleared out of the Denver office like you told me to, Shaw. I had it all redone the way you said to also. It’s good to go man.”
“You might as well move back in there. She’s not coming anyway,” Shaw muttered.
“She?” Grey asked. “So a she was going to take the office next to yours then? And now she’s not coming anymore. Who is this she, you’re talking about.”
Shaw stopped walking as snow began to fall lightly. He looked up, letting it fall on his face that felt hot with anger. “Not that it matters, but her name is Robin Winters. I offered her the COO position of a guard dog training company, and she turned me down.”
“Shit,” Grey said as he looked back at the rest of the pack who all shrugged. Shaw hadn’t told any of them a thing about the woman. “Is she rich already? Is that wh
y she turned you down?”
“No, she barely has any money. She turned me down because I came onto her. Or my wolf did. Damn! We both did.” Shaw threw his hands up to the sky and howled. Then he settled down a bit and looked down at the snow-covered forest floor. His voice, barely a whisper, “She’s completely human.”
His packmates shook their heads, knowingly. They all knew mating with a human was risky business. You never knew which way it would go. But Rafe wasn’t as sharp as the rest of the pack, and that had him asking his leader a question, “I don’t get what the big deal is here, Shaw. Who cares about some human female anyway? It’s her loss if she won’t give into you.” He blew his long dark bangs out of his face, his dark eyes roaming the woods as his mind went in another direction. “I think I’ll try to catch a rabbit while we’re out here. Some rabbit stew sounds awesome.”
Falcon was the brains of the bunch. He threw a mock punch at Rafe’s arm. “You didn’t hear what he said, did you, Rafe?” His golden eyes looked into Rafe’s. His brown hair blew in wisps around his handsome face as a slight breeze kicked up. “His wolf wants her too. You know how that whole thing can end, right?”
Rafe nodded then stopped nodding. “Wait.” He looked at Shaw with a puzzled expression. “You and your wolf want this human chick?”
Shaw nodded. “Not that it really matters, she wants neither of us. And I have to admit, the girl’s smart not to want anything to do with me. But I can’t get her out of my mind, and neither can my wolf. He keeps talking to me, bugging me to make things right with the girl, win her over, for both of us.”
Falcon shook his head. “You can’t let him control you, Shaw. You know that. A she-wolf will come around someday, and that ol’ wolf of yours will want her and forget about that human. Just you wait and see.”
“Yeah,” Brogan added. His blond hair glistened in the sunlight, his blue eyes shielded by dark glasses from the brightness. “We just need to get a female wolf-shifter so your wolf can have some fun. With him preoccupied with her, you’ll soon forget this human.”
Shaw didn’t think it would be that easy. “I wish something would give me some relief. It’s been too many days in a row with this craving building inside of me. I know where she lives and I’ve caught myself stalking her. How easy it would be for me to slip into her apartment and take her the way I want to.”
Falcon patted him on the back. His background as a lawyer helped him keep the pack members out of any trouble they managed to get into. “No breaking and entering, and definitely no taking a woman against her will, Shaw.”
“I know that!” Shaw barked.
Falcon took a step back, making sure to give Shaw his space. “Just felt you needed reminding of those little things.”
Taking large strides, Shaw began walking deeper into the forest. “I just need to run off some of this aggravation.” He started to run and the others followed.
Shaw took in the smells of the woods. He loved picking up scents. A squirrel was up ahead in a tree, a bird nestled in a nest not far away. Running always took him out of his own head for a while. But he couldn’t run forever. He had to come to some kind of terms with the girl. He had to have her in his life in some way.
Now that he’d really gotten to know her, he couldn’t go on as if she didn’t exist, even though he knew he should do just that. For her sake, he should forget about her.
But Shaw wasn’t the only being housed in his body. There was the wolf too, and that precocious creature wasn’t about to give up. He wanted Robin in a way he’d never wanted anything before. And Shaw knew when the next full moon came around, the wolf would take over and be in charge. When that night came, Shaw would be helpless to keep Robin safe.
Once they were deep in the forest, Shaw stopped and so did the others. He looked to Brogan for help. The shifter was the only one who could put his emotions away and do what he had to do. “Brogan, when the full moon comes again, I’m going to need you to keep my wolf away from the woman. It’ll mean a fight, but I know you’re more capable of handling that than anyone else.”
Brogan knew the fight would be long and arduous. Not a thing he found himself happy about. “Look, Shaw, this human, is she worth it? I mean, really?”
“She is,” Shaw told him as he nodded.
“Then why not try to date her a bit? I’m sure you’ve just come on too strong. You can fix this.” Brogan picked up a ball of snow and tossed it at his leader, hitting his leather jacket, making the snow burst apart. “And the last thing I want to do is get into a dogfight with your wolf. I know you’re worried about how it’ll all turn out. But you have to know that you must work with your wolf. If he’s scented her and found he wants her as his mate—fight it all you want—but you know what’ll happen in the end.” He glanced around at the others. “Sure, a she-wolf makes more sense as you’re a leader and all, but things don’t always work out the way that makes the most sense.”
“I think I could fall in love with this girl, Brogan,” Shaw admitted. “I’m not myself when I’m with her. I’m all rainbows and butterflies. If she fell for me and I did attempt to change her, I don’t know what it would do to me if she didn’t make it through the process. If she dies, I just don’t…”
Grey came up to Shaw’s side, interrupting him, “Hey, don’t think like that. Look, you have to be realistic, Shaw. You want this female human, and your wolf does too. If you don’t take her in your human form, you will in your wolf form. And she’s more likely to be killed if your wolf attempts to change her when he’s got all the control. You know that.”
Shaw nodded. “That’s true.”
Rafe threw a snowball at Shaw’s back, and Shaw spun around and picked up a ball of fluffy white snow, sending it Rafe’s way. Rafe laughed as it hit him in the chest. “Don’t worry, Shaw, we’ve got your back. We’ll help you win this girl over.”
The pack got into a snowball fight and laughed as they all played like children deep inside the forest. Their leader feeling much better about things, now that he understood it really wasn’t in his hands alone anyway.
Chapter 10
Shaw and his pack wasted no time putting their plan into action. The very next day they worked together, keeping an eye on Robin’s comings and goings. When they found her going to the park again for a training session with a few dogs, they all came together to help their leader get what he needed.
Shaw led them into the parking lot, taking in Robin’s sweet scent. Eight days without smelling her had been far too long for him and his wolf. He felt the wolf wake up inside of him as he breathed her in. Silently he cautioned the wild side of him to be cool. Last time they’d run her off. Let him take complete control, and they might just get what they both want. The wolf laid low, allowing Shaw to do what he needed to.
Robin heard the loud motorcycles as they came up to the parking lot. She rolled her eyes as she recognized Shaw right away. Looking at one of the three pit bulls she was working with, she said, “Now why would a man with all the money he has be involved in a thuggish motorcycle gang?” She looked at Shaw as he got off his bike, careful not to turn her head and make it obvious that she was looking at him. Her dark sunglasses hid what she was doing.
His thick legs, covered in distressed blue jeans made her feel hot inside. Her eyes ran up his body, taking in the way his black leather jacket covered his broad chest so perfectly. Ok, she had to admit to herself, he did look good wearing those kinds of clothes too. But she preferred him in the suit he’d worn when he took her to dinner.
She shook her head to stop thinking like that. The man was terrible, she reminded herself. He wanted her for one thing and one thing only.
The three dogs in front of her whined and lay down as all five men approached her. “Way to go, guys,” she admonished them. They all looked at her with eyes that told her they were sorry.
“We need to talk,” Shaw barked at her.
“I’m busy right now,” she informed him as she gestured to the dogs. “Can
’t you see that?”
Shaw chuckled. “They don’t seem to be in the mood to be trained right now. So you can give them a little break and come talk to me.”
“I can’t leave them alone,” she retorted.
“Let me introduce you to my friends,” Shaw said. “This is Brogan, Rafe, Grey, and Falcon, and they’d be happy to watch the dogs while we talk, Robin.”
She looked at the men who flanked both sides of Shaw. All were huge like he was and handsome as well. But Shaw was by far the best looking of them all. Mentally she chastised herself for even thinking the thought. “I don’t…”
Shaw pulled his shades down, looking at her over them as he interrupted her, “Please, Robin.”
She looked at the dogs. “I’ll be right back. Don’t give these guys any trouble, you three.” She wasn’t sure what had her going with the man, but there she was, doing as he’d told her to.
Shaw let her get in front of him, yet he directed where they were going, “Over there, behind that stand of trees.”
Robin slowed down a bit as she looked in the direction he’d pointed. It was secluded. No one would see them if she went where he wanted her too. “I’d rather not…”
He quickly stopped her. “I’m not going to hurt you, Robin. We’ve been alone for hours and hours before, why worry now?”
With a sigh, she kept going toward the area he’d told her to, and still she wasn’t sure why she did anything he said to. But she knew if he tried anything she could always scream for help. “Fine.”
Once they were behind the trees and out of sight, he took her by the arm and pulled his shades off, then he took hers off too. “You have to admit we have chemistry, Robin.”
His blue eyes pierced hers, and she didn’t know what to say. She did feel something when she looked at him, when they touched. “So what if we do? It doesn’t mean anything. Shaw, I don’t want to be another notch on your bedpost, and I know that’s all you’re after.”
Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance Page 61