by Vivian Arend
“The careful and tender bit. I’m a cat. You could drop me and I’ll still land on my feet.” She straightened quickly and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, anyway.”
He stared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and changing the topic. “Something smells incredible in here.”
“Oh, that’s dinner. Just a minute.” She bounced over to the Crock-Pot and popped open the lid. When a rush of amazing scents hit her, she wanted to shout for joy.
Mark stepped behind her. “I thought you couldn’t cook.”
“I can’t. I bet it smells better than it tastes. Something’s bound to leap out of nowhere and kill us both.” She dipped the spoon into the stew to brave a try.
Mark caught her wrist and guided the scoop toward his own mouth.
Oh dear. “Don’t. What if I poison you?”
He blew on the steaming concoction. “I think we’ll be okay.”
She was tempted to cover her eyes as he closed his lips around the serving.
Mark stood and chewed carefully. She held her breath, waiting for something terrible to happen. He seemed fine so far, a happy hum emitting from his direction.
Then he opened his eyes wide and blinked, right before he fell to the floor.
“Oh, my God, Mark.” Tessa dropped to her knees at his side, reaching to check if he was choking. If she had killed him, she’d never forgive herself.
Only he rolled, and she was trapped, his teasing smile back in place as he pressed her under him. “Hmm, delicious.”
“You scared me.” She smacked her fist against his chest. She was going to kill him for real this time.
He leaned down and kissed her. “Sorry. How can I make it up to you?”
Tessa wrapped her legs around him and pulled his lips back to hers, kissing him madly. All her sleepiness had vanished, replaced by a whole lot of other things.
Including a deep rumbling noise that escaped her tummy. Drat—how sexy. A true sign of having missed lunch.
Mark laughed against her lips. “Good thing you made supper, and it’s a tasty one.”
“We’re not done,” Tessa warned.
His soft caress along her arm soothed her cat as they found their feet. “Did you have a good day?” he asked, grabbing them bowls and utensils.
She moved the stew to the table, shocked she’d managed to cook something edible. “I had a lazy day.”
“Those can be good.” Mark breathed deeply as he leaned over the food she’d scooped for him. “Wait until mid-January. We’ll have lots of lazy days when the sun goes down early, and it’s too cold to do much outside.”
Tessa shivered. “Firewood. Lots and lots of firewood stockpiled, right?”
“Of course.”
Dinner passed comfortably, her satisfaction rising at every sound of enjoyment Mark made. Suzy-homemaker she wasn’t, but feeding him? Whoa, she’d never imagined how gratifying that could be.
Or how erotic. Mark scooped up a spoonful and scarfed it down happily, a tiny smudge of gravy clinging to the corner of his mouth. Tessa reached out without thinking and touched her finger to the spot, cleaning it away.
He caught her wrist, holding her in place until her gaze met his. Then slowly, deliberately, he licked her finger clean.
She swallowed, hard. A buzz shot from where his tongue contacted her through her body all the way until she swore he had licked her clit.
Oh boy.
Where was this leading? They’d played around a couple days ago, but with her strange case of the sleepies, he’d been left hanging for far too long. She wouldn’t mind a little more action, either, even if it was far too soon to be committing to anything like being one true loves yet.
He released her hand abruptly, refocusing his attention on scraping the remaining bits of food from his bowl.
Tessa hesitated, not quite sure what his withdrawal meant. “Mark? Did I do something wrong?”
“You’ve done nothing but be yourself, and it’s killing me.” He lifted his eyes again. “I want you.”
Instant shiver—full-body, all-out physical response from head to toe. “I’m good with that.”
“Only, I don’t want just part of you.” He stared past her shoulder, his gaze unblinking as he continued. “You’re my mate, and my wolf thinks I’m nuts, but until you’re ready to accept me completely, I can’t… I thought I could, but I can’t make love without going too far.”
Her blood raced so hard a blackout seemed possible. “Too far?”
“Marking you. Mating you.” He pushed away from the table, opening space between them. “I know I said we could fool around, but I wasn’t aware how much being mates would get to me. Maybe if I were a stronger wolf I could handle it. Maybe if you weren’t right here—but don’t suggest you go anywhere else, because that would only be worse.”
Her mouth had gone dry. “You don’t want me around, but you don’t want me to leave?”
Mark rubbed his forehead. “I’m saying this all wrong, and I’m sorry. I’m trying desperately to give you what you asked for, which is time for us to fall in love. So we’re going to have to find ways to spend time together that doesn’t involve getting hot and heavy.”
Something twisted inside, and it wasn’t just her libido complaining. “Oh. Okay. That makes sense.”
Only having made him uncomfortable made her uncomfortable, and a change of mental game plan for the evening, well, sucked.
While playing Parcheesi or working on a puzzle wasn’t what she wanted, she had to respect his honesty. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Yeah.” He smiled wryly. “Want to go for a run?”
Wednesday
Tessa had deliberately set the alarm to make sure she’d get up in time. When it went off, though, she rolled over, on the verge of falling asleep again as Mark’s scent lingering on the sheets made happy little hormones dance in her veins.
At least until she remembered the reason she could smell him had nothing to do with wild romps. It was his bed, ergo, it smelt like him. No late-night orgasms, screaming out in pleasure or even basic cuddling had brought them together.
She forced herself to crawl out from under the covers, wondering what on earth was causing her to be so sleepy these days. Only, it wasn’t like exhaustion-tiredness. More as if she was too relaxed to want to bounce from task to task in her usual way.
The sounds of banging led her to the main floor where she found Mark swinging a hammer. Shirtless, his muscles flexing as he moved efficiently again and again, a light sheen of sweat slicking him up.
She clung to the raw wood two-by-four at the entrance to the room to stop from bounding in and jumping him, literally and otherwise.
Instead, Tessa cleared her throat. “Want some breakfast?”
He paused, lifting his head to flash her a wonderful smile that made her heart lift. “Good morning. Breakfast would be super. Hey, I picked up a new coffeemaker—one of those just add water ones. Give it a try. There’s a whole box of the decaf thingies it uses on the counter.”
“Thank you.” She shuffled awkwardly before turning away. Coffee, breakfast. Then, damn it, she was going to muster up the energy to help hammer boards.
On the second floor one of her sticky notes caught her eye, and she moved in closer to discover he’d written a comment below her suggestion for lighting.
Excellent idea. That will highlight the seating in this area. Well done.
Tessa stared for a moment before wandering the entire floor and reading the comments he’d added to each and every one of her notes. She carried this warm glow with her as she forced herself to keep moving into the day.
Thursday
Mark built five walls, three door casements, a couple of bathroom subfloors and roughed in the plumbing for the family guest bathrooms.
In the afternoon he split a cord of wood and stacked it in the woodshed.
Every time he rounded a corner in the paddlewheel and spotted Tessa hard at work on the to-do list they’d put toge
ther at breakfast, his need for her flared again, and every time he somehow managed to turn away.
Lying down for the night on the single bed in his Gramps’ room was a special kind of torture, knowing she was there, right on the other side of the wall.
Being noble sucked.
Friday
Mark finished the framing on what should have taken at least three weeks, and started on the wiring.
Tessa read through four different manuals regarding cooking for groups, planned sample menus for the B&B, took a nap, put together a couple of different promotional brochures, washed all the sheets and linens, took another nap, scrubbed and polished all the windows including the ones way up high that required her to balance on the top platform of the stepladder.
The email announcing her best friend would be back in town the next morning was the only thing that stopped her from going nuts.
Mark being noble? Sucked.
Chapter Eight
They stepped through the doors of the pack house, Mark a little wary about the upcoming meet-and-greet. Tessa held his arm, staying right beside him. The fact she was touching him, sticking close to his side made it easier.
I love my pack. I trust my pack.
He repeated the words mentally as loudly as he could to drown out the internal voice that whispered taking his unmarked mate—his beautiful, impulsive and sexy mate—into a place with a lot of shifter males was a bad idea.
The issue of her being a cat was high on the list as well, but his wolf was far more concerned about the other problem, go figure.
Tessa squealed with excitement, jiggling on the spot as her arm shot into the air, and she waved frantically. “Keri. There she is. Woohoo.”
A rush of relief struck at her enthusiasm—it was the first time in the past couple days that Mark could say Tessa had acted her normal energetic self. His mate was gone like the summer, vanishing between one blink and the next. Keri raced to meet her as well, the two of them tangling together in a huge hug as Keri’s mate, Jared, looked on with amusement.
Mark crossed the distance more sedately, but in time to hear the start of the conversation as the two friends curled up on the nearest couch and began catching up.
Jared stood behind them, leaning his hip on the couch. He poked Mark in the arm. “Well, fancy this. Keri told me everything, by the way. You and Tessa, mates, the cat thing.”
Drat. “Yeah.”
“You need anything, let me know.” Jared grinned. “Of course, now I have to wonder what would have happened if you’d made it to the cruise ship on time in July. It would have been you going crazy the entire trip.”
Although on the ship they wouldn’t have been under each other’s feet. “I’m sure it turned out for the best. You and Keri might not have met otherwise.”
“It’ll all work out in the end.” Jared patted him on the back. “Come on, let’s grab the girls a drink.”
Jared’s unexpected echo of TJ’s earlier words, the phrase Mark had taken as a mantra, helped calm the wolf inside. Mark leaned over the couch first, putting his lips close to Tessa’s ear for a moment as she talked with her best friend. “Sorry to interrupt. What do you want to drink, hot or cold?”
“Cold, please, but no—”
“No caffeine. I got it.”
Keri snorted. “He’s already got your number.”
Tessa stuck out her tongue.
The easy banter should have relaxed him, but Mark was too on edge to let his fears go. He squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll be right back. Stay with Keri.”
Tessa blinked at him, a question in her eyes, but she didn’t argue. “Umm, sure.”
He pulled himself away. Each step farther from Tessa felt forced. Painful.
“You’re cringing,” Jared pointed out.
“I can’t help it.” Mark looked around the room, eyeing all the lone wolves. Whispered conversations had already started in pockets. He swung his gaze between the two groups that seemed the greatest danger—the most interested in Tessa or the most disgusted to see a cat in their midst. “Everything in me wants to lock her up and hide her away until I know she’s officially mine.”
“That’s going to go over like a ton of bricks, from what Keri said about her friend.”
“Yeah, she’s…definitely not a wolf.” Mark caught the eye of the pack Alpha, and nodded politely. Keil winked in response then turned his attention to the room, and Mark relaxed a little.
If something did start up, he would defend his mate, but with the Alpha obviously on his side, the rest of the pack should think twice about misbehaving.
Jared chuckled softly. “Don’t try to play any Poker tonight. Your game face is crap.”
“If the shoe was on the other foot, you’d be a nutcase as well.” Mark motioned at the pack member working behind the bar. “Two waters with lemon.”
“I’d be a total nutcase,” Jared agreed. “And drinking something stronger than water.”
“Not until I know I don’t have to fight.” Mark turned to wait, keeping a direct line of sight open to the couch where their women chatted.
“Good point.” Jared coughed lightly. “Not that I think you’ll need it, but in case? I’ve got your back, okay?”
Nice. Up to now he and Jared hadn’t been close friends, just fellow pack mates and occasional drinking companions, but with their partners being bosom buddies, chances were high the four of them would be seeing a lot of each other.
He glanced over at the other wolf and held out his hand. “Thanks. Appreciate it very much.”
Jared accepted his handshake. “You’re okay. And since Keri’s already talking about all the barbeques and stuff she’s going to invite you guys to, you may as well know, with your reputation in the kitchen? You’re cooking.”
“With your pocketbook? You’re buying the steaks.”
His new pal laughed. “Deal.”
Mark twisted back to check on Tessa, shocked to discover he couldn’t see her. One of the single ladies of the pack had stepped between them. The tall woman flashed him a sultry smile as she trailed her fingers down his shirt buttons.
“Mark. Haven’t seen you in a few days. Nice you could join us.”
“Linda.” He caught her wrist to stop her wandering hands from going any lower. A week ago he would have welcomed her exploration. Today, her touch made his skin crawl. “What’re you doing?”
She took a deep breath, moving in close enough her hips bumped his, the full swells of her breasts pressing his chest. “Saying hello. You know, you don’t need to go slumming.”
His wolf snarled at the insult to Tessa. Mark would have pushed Linda away, but he never got a chance.
Tessa was there, slipping between them, her warm backside rubbing his groin. She crossed her arms and used him as a backrest. “Hands off. He’s mine.”
The thrill her words gave him didn’t change the fact everyone in the pack house was now paying attention, from leadership down to the lowest-ranked wolf.
Mark rubbed Tessa’s arms gently. “I got this.”
Linda didn’t back off. Instead, she raised a brow. “What do you mean, he’s yours?” She pressed in closer and sniffed. “I smell eligible wolf.”
There were more bodies surrounding them now, and Mark attempted to put Tessa behind him.
She was having none of it. She got right in Linda’s face. “Maybe your sniffer is broken.”
The other woman shrugged, reached past both of them and picked up a glass off the counter. She lifted it over Tessa’s head and tipped it over, soaking her with the contents.
Satisfaction poured from Linda as she tossed the glass aside and cockily crossed her arms. “Nope, my sniffer’s working just fine. Now I smell wet cat.”
He wanted to snap at Linda, but across the circle, his Alpha shook her head. Robyn and Keil stood at attention—well aware of what was going down. Mark fought for control, but obeyed as Robyn put a finger to her lips, telling him to keep his mouth shut.
If he�
�d thought not getting to be with Tessa intimately was the worst possible situation he’d experienced in his life, he’d been wrong.
Not defending his mate was by far the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
The unexpected cold water made her shirt cling to her, a soft drip, drip, drip falling from her hair to the floor. The entire room had gone silent as Tessa analyzed the situation.
She was no dummy. Tension had been high since the moment they’d walked in. Even as she’d enjoyed chatting with her BFF, she’d been aware of the discussion going down around the room.
She’d spotted the trouble-making woman well ahead of the attack, and planned her response. The ice water had been unexpected, but she wasn’t about to melt.
Tessa had even caught the little gesture by the Alpha—a lovely woman who had the smarts to deal with an unruly bunch of wolves on a regular basis, not to mention the big galoot of a mate at her side.
There had to be a reason Robyn wanted this battle to be Tessa’s.
Which was why she mentally considered options rapidly and discarded her first impulses. A straight-out physical confrontation wouldn’t prove anything. If she wanted to be accepted by these people, if she was going to not only run a business but mate with one of their own, she couldn’t begin by alienating them.
But she couldn’t be seen as weak, either.
So she went with the least likely to be expected option. She let loose an enormous, dramatic sigh. “You’re right. Wolves’ sniffers are a lot more efficient than cats’.”
Linda angled her head and gloated.
Tessa reached out and caught the woman by the throat. “He’s still mine.”
Her sudden move surprised them all, and a low grumble rolled through the crowd. “You haven’t marked and mated each other,” someone called out, hiding in the background.
Good point. Tessa let go of Linda’s neck, patting her cheek before nodding. “True, although in most of the world, a little spit and being someone’s chew toy do not make a relationship. But just so there’s no doubt. Yo, Keri?”
Her friend pushed into the circle. “Yes?”
“Markers. Please.”
Keri pulled her ever-present backpack off her shoulder and dug into the depths. “Any particular colour?”