She moaned as she moved. “My gosh, everything is stiff and aches.” She batted at his chest gently. “What did you do to me, babe?”
His laugh was deep, as he felt very pleased with himself for affecting her so much. “You weren’t complaining last night, now were you?”
“No, I suppose I wasn’t.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the mouth.
He kissed her back but then had to stop as his desire for her grew, and he wanted to show her what a good man he could be. Shaw wasn’t just great in bed, he could be great in so many ways. And he wanted to give her a taste of eternity with him as her mate.
“Okay, I’m going to draw you a nice hot bath, complete with rose-scented bubbles.” He winked at her. “I bought that and some other goodies for you the other day, hoping you’d come around and realize you can’t possibly live without me.”
Robin’s grin made him smile as she whispered, “You never gave up hope, huh?”
“Never,” he shook his head, making his dark hair bounce around his handsome face. “You were made for me. You just need to get that through your head. Anyway, I’ll get that bath going, and then I’m going to make you the best breakfast you’ve ever eaten.” He kissed her cheek then let her go before rolling out of bed.
Robin watched him stroll away from her. “Man, I hate to see you go, but I sure do like to watch you do it.” Her eyes were glued to his chiseled back features. “What an ass!”
Shaw felt a surge of pride as she ogled him. The girl was falling fast. In no time at all, he’d make her his. Christmas was only a couple of days away. Maybe that would be her Christmas present.
After getting her bath ready, he went back for her. Finding her splayed out over his side of the bed, he caught her taking in a deep breath as she nuzzled her nose into his pillow. She moaned a bit and moved her legs beneath the blanket. His scent aroused her, he could tell. Everything was working in his favor. Soon she’d be his, and the chasing would end.
She gasped when he scooped her up into his strong arms. Robin wrapped her arms around his neck as she laid her head on his chest. “How is it that you—a man who can turn into a wolf—makes me feel so safe and secure, Shaw?”
“I guess because I love and adore you.” He kissed the top of her head. “And one day you’ll be able to turn into a wolf too. If you play your cards right, that is,” he added, acting as if there was a chance in hell he’d drop her to take another female as his mate. The thought was laughable, and he found himself laughing out loud.
“What the heck are you laughing about? What you said wasn’t that funny,” Robin asked as she pulled her head up to look at him, confusion etching her expression.
“Oh, nothing.” He gently placed her in the water.
“Oh, baby, this feels and smells fantastic,” she moaned as she sunk into the sudsy hot water.
“Good. Now you soak while I wash your hair for you, then I’ll leave you to soak some more while I cook for you.” He sat on the edge of the old-fashioned claw-footed bathtub and poured some shampoo he’d gotten just for her into his palm. Giving her a little nod, he had her dunking her head under the water to get her hair wet then he massaged the strawberry scented shampoo into her wet locks.
Robin couldn’t help but smile as he rubbed his hands through her hair. She felt like a queen as he pampered her. She had no idea how nice a thing like this could feel. It was a thing she could get used to, and she couldn’t lie to herself about that.
But how could she ever get past the fear of being bit? The fear of dying? The fear of living life as a wolf-shifter? The fear of living a life without Shaw in it?
There just didn’t seem to be any way to turn that wasn’t cloaked in fear.
After rinsing her hair, Shaw kissed the top of her head. “I love you, baby girl.”
Robin ran her hand up, caressing his cheek before he moved away from her. “I love you, Shaw.”
He sighed and got up. “I’m going to throw on some clothes and go make breakfast. You can put on one of my T-shirts when you get out. I’ll put one on the bed for you.”
She turned to watch him leave, still loving to watch his naked butt as he walked away. She moaned as she said to herself, “Oh, those muscles!”
The man was built like a god. All muscular and all man.
Robin’s mind and heart were doing battle as she soaked in the tub. One wanted to rule over the other and Robin was left by the wayside as her internal organs had a fight, the likes of which she’d never experienced before.
Most of her wanted Shaw. But then again, a huge part of her, the part that controlled everything else, wanted to stay safe. Even if that meant losing the man she loved.
As she lay there, she felt like crying. She’d never known love before, and this felt better than she ever dreamt it would. How could she walk away from something this real, this much like heaven?
Chapter 22
Christmas Eve day had Robin at the park, doing a training session with three German shepherds. One woman had had the dogs, who were brothers, since they were puppies. She’d been suckered into taking the last three remaining puppies by a young girl who’d been stuck with the task of selling her female German shepherd puppies. She told Robin she just couldn’t resist the little girl’s blue eyes that beckoned her to keep the boys together forever.
But, being boys, the three were fighting for the top-dog spot and things were getting out of hand. Robin was having a time with the young dogs as they ran around the park. She was trying to tire them out a bit, so they’d stop picking at each other long enough to let her do some real training with them.
Robin had stayed the nights with Shaw but went home every morning so she could tend to her own work. Despite his advice for her to take him up on the offer of the dog training program, Robin still didn’t want to get into a business deal with the shifter unless she was going to become his mate. She knew now, without a shadow of a doubt, she could never be around him if she wasn’t with him. But her fears still hadn’t given way to allow her to accept his proposal.
After a grueling workout, Robin and the three dogs sat down. She fell to the ground right along with them, and they all panted as they tried to catch their breath.
As Robin lay there, she noticed the dogs all roll onto their stomachs, putting their heads between their paws. A shadow moved over her, blocking the sun’s light.
Robin shielded her eyes as even with her dark sunglasses on, the bright rays emanating around the tall figure made it impossible to see who’d joined her, uninvited. “Hello,” she ventured. “Can I do anything to help you?”
The figure moved, and Robin found it was a tall, lithe woman. Her striking red hair looked like silk as it hung in a long braid over her left shoulder. The woman was gorgeous, and her smile was bright as she looked at the dogs, instead of at Robin. “Hi. I just came here to take a little walk and saw you with these gorgeous animals and had to come over. May I pet them?”
Robin looked at the dogs who seemed paralyzed and knew immediately why that happened and what this woman was.
A she-wolf!
“I suppose that would be okay,” Robin said as she sat up, sitting cross-legged.
She was surprised when the woman, who was wearing tight blue jeans and a sweater, sat down next to her the same way. “Thank you. Are these boys yours?”
“No, I’m their trainer. I don’t own any animals. At least not yet. I moved here only a few months ago. Living in an apartment isn’t the best place for a dog. Not the kind I like anyway.” Robin leaned back on her hands and wondered why the she-wolf shifter had come to her. She knew it had to be for more than just the dogs. Then it hit her: she had to be smelling the wolf Robin knew Shaw undoubtedly had left on her. She tried hard not to be afraid of that fact. She didn’t want the female to smell fear on her.
“So you train dogs then?” she asked. “Oh, I’m Enya, by the way. And you are?” She looked at Robin, her eyes going all over her body. Robin knew she was sizing
her up, but for what, she wasn’t certain.
“Robin. And yes, I train dogs. That’s what my career is.” Robin watched as Enya reached out, touching one of the dogs. His eyes closed as she moved her hand over his head.
At least they seemed to be okay with her. Not afraid the way the other dogs had been of Shaw. Robin thought to herself that maybe—if she did let Shaw change her—then she and this female could be friends.
“It must be nice to know what you want to do in life. I’m in between careers right now. I’ve been practicing medicine for years now and have grown bored with it. I’m seeking a new adventure in my life. That’s the reason I’m here, in Loveland. I’m seeking to become more domesticated. Tired of living alone and having the single lifestyle.” She sighed and seemed kind of sad.
So Robin asked, “And you know someone here you’d like to start seeing? Is that it?”
“I don’t know him yet. But our fathers know each other, and they’ve been talking. I went back home to live with my family after closing down my practice in Montana. My melancholy was seen by my father as a yearning for my own family.” She looked at Robin. “Do you have your own family, Robin?”
She shook her head. “No. But I’m kind of young yet to be feeling the way you are. Not that you’re old by any means. Maybe I should rephrase that. I’m a bit immature yet to want what you do, I suppose.”
But Robin did kind of want that. She wanted to be with Shaw. She wanted to be his mate and have his babies. But was just too afraid to do that yet. Eternity is one very big commitment after all.
“I may not look old, but I’m no spring chicken. Not that I ever worry about my age, but I do worry about finding the right man to live my life with. The right man to raise children with. You know?” She moved her hand to pet the next dog, who also closed his eyes when she touched him.
It made Robin wonder if she was sending them some telepathic message, talking to them by using her mind. And it made her wonder if she did turn into a creature like Enya if she could do the same.
Robin knew she couldn’t ask the she-wolf about any of her internal questions. From what Shaw had told her, no mortal was to know about shifters. Just saying that you knew they existed could get you killed.
“If you don’t know the man your father has set you up with, how do you know he’ll be the right man for you?” Robin asked.
Enya shook her head. “I don’t know that he will be the man for me. But I know he’s a good man, a powerful man. And I have to meet him to give us the chance to see if we have that spark.”
“And if you don’t?” Robin found herself asking. “Will you just move on then?”
“Well, you see the man I’m here to meet and I are of the same race. A rare race from Europe. Sometimes people from our race can make a connection form even if there are no initial attractions.” Enya grinned. “That can be quite fun actually.”
Robin had to know what she was talking about, as she was certain the rare race Enya spoke about was the wolf-shifter race. “How can you force a connection when there are no initial attractions?”
“Sex, of course.” Enya laughed. “Lots and lots of it.”
“Oh,” Robin said as her cheeks heated with a blush. “Yeah, I guess that could do it.” Her embarrassment waned as her curiosity took over. “But the sexual attraction aside, how do you know you’ll get along? You know, like the same things? Have similar interests?”
“That kind of stuff isn’t that important to most members of my race, nor me. We come together to copulate more so than anything else. You know, make babies. And the male has his role in their lives and the female has her role in their lives too.” Enya moved on to petting the third dog, and Robin saw him close his eyes the same way the others had.
She thought about how much easier it would be to train guard dogs if she could communicate with them the way it seemed Enya was doing. Another pro on her lists of pros and cons of becoming a shifter.
The list was getting a little more one-sided with the addition of telepathy with animals. When you added in all the pros that came along with Shaw himself, Robin had to admit, she’d miss out on far too much if she didn’t take Shaw’s offer.
“That kind of a relationship sounds as if it could get stale to me,” Robin said as she tried to continue their conversation. “If you ask me—if you and this guy don’t have a connection—then you’d both be selling yourselves short by trying to build a marriage and a family. I can tell you from experience, as limited as mine is, that I’d never settle for anything less than pure, unadulterated, one-hundred-and-ten-percent, pure love.”
“And have you found that yet, Robin?” Enya asked with raised brows.
Robin nodded. “Yes. But I have some issues with fear that have us in limbo right now. He’d love nothing more than to move forward, but it’s me who keeps holding back.”
“And what is this fear you have?” Enya asked, as she looked perplexed by the notion of fear stopping one from anything, especially love.
“It’s not a thing I like to talk about, Enya. Too personal, you know?” Robin asked, knowing she couldn’t disclose what her fear was to the woman she was certain was a shifter.
With a nod, Enya went on, “I don’t have any worries about the man I’m going to see. If I grow bored of his personality, his face and body will always entertain me. The man is more like a god than a mere human.”
“Wow,” Robin said. “And he lives here, in Loveland. What would this Adonis be named?”
“Shaw Lykan, the owner of Luna Enterprises. Have you ever seen him around?”
And with that, Robin nearly fainted but managed to shake her head. “Nope, can’t say I have.”
Enya smiled and got up. “It was nice to meet you. I should be on my way to find the man my father says I should make mine, and quickly before another female does. Wish me luck?”
All Robin could do was nod and wave. “Bye.”
The air had gone out of her as the gorgeous she-wolf sauntered away to go meet the man she loved.
Chapter 23
Christmas Eve had Shaw wrapping one of the many presents he’d bought for Robin. He placed it under the Christmas tree he’d put up earlier that week. The pile had grown big. He knew Robin would chastise him for buying so much, but he didn’t care. Let her whimper a bit, he liked when she did that too.
He liked everything about the female. Loved more so than liked, if he was to be honest with himself.
Shaw was pulling out all the stops. He had a gorgeous ring and planned on asking her to become his on Christmas night. The day would be spent opening presents, eating great foods he’d had brought in from all over the world. He was going to throw everything at her at once, inundating her with his love and affection before asking her to become his that very night.
He had put the Christmas tree up in one of the living areas he rarely used so that Robin wouldn’t see the abundance of presents. He left the room and headed to the kitchen to see about dinner. He’d hired a chef to make them a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner that Robin would never forget.
“Hey, Chef Ram, how’s it coming in here?” Shaw asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Great, I’ve got the duck in the oven, the roast beef is resting as we speak. That will taste divine on top of the salad made from the fresh greens you had flown in from California. I’ve got my homemade dressing in the fridge already.” Before the man could go on any further, Shaw’s cell rang.
He lifted a finger as he nodded for the chef to keep cooking then left the room to take the call from his father. “Dad, Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, son. How’s it going out there?” his father asked.
“Great. Better than I ever expected. This Christmas will be one to be remembered.” Shaw took a seat on a leather sofa in the next room, looking out the window and loving the view. Snow-covered ground ran for a hundred yards before the forest rose up, then a mountain rose behind the trees.
“If you think it’s
going well now, just you wait until you see what your dear old dad sent you,” his father chuckled. “You can thank me later.”
“For what?” Shaw asked, feeling confused. “Did you send me a present? Because nothing has come in.”
“What I’ve sent you has two legs to carry itself to you. I can’t wait until I see the two of you together. I expect you both to come see me this time next year, and I want to be meeting my first grandchild from you then, Shaw,” his father said, and Shaw had a terrible pain in his gut as he had a very good idea what his father had sent him.
“Dad, please tell me that you haven’t…”
His father cut in, “Jake Stone and I have known one another forever. When he came to me and told me his gorgeous daughter, Enya, was back home, doing little else than staring out the window, he knew she was yearning for something. Something she’d waited so long for, she forgot what it was.”
“It’s not me,” Shaw said. “I don’t even know this female. Why drag me into this, Dad?”
“Because you’re an eligible bachelor, Shaw. Why not drag you into this?” His father cleared his throat, taking on an air of authority with his son. “You haven’t met her. You don’t know if she’s the one for you or not. And even if you two don’t have an instant attraction, the way I had for your mother, then you can work on making one. Won’t that be fun?”
Shaw knew how things worked in the shifter world. Some found their mates and knew it immediately. Others didn’t find anyone and looked to other shifters to make a union with. In Shaw’s opinion, those unions weren’t nearly as stable and happy as one was when you scented the right female for you.
“Dad, I’ve found my mate.” Shaw bit his lower lip as he knew his father wouldn’t be pleased with who he’d found.
“Wonderful. I had no idea. Enya will understand then. You two can let her know I didn’t know about this. Tell your mate I’m terribly sorry. This would’ve never happened if you had just told me about this.” His father paused as it began to sink in. “Wait, why haven’t you told us about this? What’s wrong with this mate of yours? Is she barren? Is she from a pack we don’t like? Is she hideous and you’re ashamed you honed in on such an ugly duckling? Because we would never judge a book by its cover. You know that. Look at your brother Tony’s mate. She looks like a Neanderthal, but we still accept her. Their kids are cute, and that’s all that really matters, right?”
Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance Page 67