by Milly Taiden
At least if she had on clothes, she’d be able to talk to the wolf without watching his strong body make her hormones dive into a lust-induced coma.
The fight had taken place much closer to Belinda’s cabin than she would have liked. They were there in moments. She knocked on the door, but there was no noise from inside.
“Everything okay?” the wolf asked.
She frowned and turned to him, knocking on the door a second time. “I’m not sure. I came by a few days ago and they had plans to be here.”
He pulled her back and turned the knob, forcing his way into the cabin before her.
“Hey! Did it ever occur to you that I should be the one checking in on them, not you?” she hissed at him. “They know me.”
He gave her a lopsided grin that did all kinds of naughty things to her heart, not to mention her girly parts. “Next time we do this, you can get the door first, princess.”
She growled and followed behind him. Jerk. He was so full of himself. That was the problem with him. And now she had a clear view of his tight, round ass and all she wanted was to slap it. Oh, for fuck’s sakes, was this ever going to end?
The cabin was empty. She couldn’t scent either Belinda or Cat. Everything was tidy and organized as usual. She glanced around, wondering where they could have gone.
“I’ll check the kitchen,” she mumbled and left the wolf to check the bedrooms.
Small, efficient, and everything in its place. That’s how Belinda liked her house. When Andi got to the refrigerator, she saw a note with her name on it held up by a giant pineapple magnet.
She tugged the note and read.
Hi Andi,
Sorry to have left in a rush. I was too worried about Catherine. The truth is we’ve had a few of the older boys come by, some of the men, too, making advances as her heat neared. I know a lot of women mate young, but Cat, she’s not mentally there yet. I’ve taken her to my cousin’s place for a few weeks. She’ll pass her heat there and visit with other females of her age.
I’m sorry I didn’t stop by to see you before we left but it was a rush decision and I knew you’d come by and check on us. Thank you for all you do.
Love,
Belinda.
Andi folded up the note and sighed. Thank god. Josh and his friends wouldn’t have been able to get to Cat anyway. This gave her some peace of mind.
“I didn’t find anyone,” she heard the wolf say behind her.
“They’re gone.” She turned around to face him but didn’t expect him to be so close. Less than a foot of space stood between them. She glanced up and stared into his stormy blue eyes. Her breath came in fast spurts. “Come on, I know where we can find clothes. Don’t touch anything. I don’t want them to come back and find blood on their stuff.”
She slid past him, careful not to touch him. Touching people had never been a problem for her, but her body already had a hard time with him so near. Her lioness wanted him and she had too many things on her mind to add sex and lust to the mix.
“You say the sweetest things,” he joked.
People didn’t joke with Andi. She was the leader, the boss, the motherfucking person in charge. This wolf, he was pressing all her buttons and saying things to deliberately make her snap at him.
They left the cabin and went around back to the shed with clothes. She got the key hidden in the bottom of the birdhouse and opened it up. She rummaged through and found a plaid shirt and some shorts she could fit into. Then she glanced at him. He was big…all over. The lioness in her purred, and she was disgusted with the animal. Looks were not everything. So what if he looked like a sex god? That meant nothing.
Oh, it means a lot. A body like that, I can ride him like the stallion he is. Stupid cat.
“You okay?” he asked, another one of those ‘I’ll fuck you so good you’ll forget your name’ grins on his lips.
“Yeah, why?” she huffed and started searching through the men’s clothes for him.
“Usually when someone growls, it means there’s something wrong,” he chuckled.
Bastard. “Just tell me your size, and I’ll find you something to wear.”
He told her and she managed to get an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt one size too small. Walking toward the river had always been something she enjoyed. The peace and quiet and seeing nature. Not so this time.
Being this wound up next to anyone hadn’t happened since she’d been in college. Her old roommate, Betsy, and Betsy’s boyfriend, Ward, had a very open relationship. Ward had a friend, Seyer. He’d been coming on to Andi since the moment they met.
At the time, Andi hadn’t realized just how open Betsy and Ward were until she walked in on them having sex on her bed with Seyer sitting in the common area, waiting for her reaction. Andi wasn’t sure what they’d been expecting, but she was positive it wasn’t for her to stand there and continue watching them.
Once they realized she was there, they’d gotten a bit awkward and Andi ended up pulling Seyer into the dorm room so she could get her rocks off, too. Watching the other couple fuck while some random guy ate her pussy had been one of the only times Andi had done anything fun. Anything free.
“You’re a leader. You’re a Prima. You’re in charge.” That’s what her mom had always said to her. So basically, she wasn’t going to have a life, and a whole host of people depended on her. She was, however, allowed to have a super active sex life and get her freak on in whatever ways she wanted.
But because pride males were so possessive, she had to go out of her way and find humans. Human males were weaker physically so she had to control her animal. Especially when she was in heat.
You could break one so easily. That wasn’t what she wanted.
This wolf was making her want things by just being next to him. Her lioness pushed to be let out. To get closer to his animal.
“You’ve got nice land over here,” he broke through her thoughts with that sexy southern accent again.
“Thanks,” she said and moved up the pace so they could kill those last few yards keeping them from the cool river. She’d spent too much time with this guy and she wanted back in her bubble.
“Finally, she says the word.”
She drew her brows down and glanced at him in confusion. “What?”
“You finally told me thanks.”
With a shake of her head, she dropped their clothes by the edge of the river and ran in. A quick rinse and she’d be able to go about her day. The sun was already starting to set. She needed to get back to her office and handle Josh and his friends, but a quick dip wouldn’t do her any harm. In fact, it would probably help her clear her head of the wolf.
She came up from the cold water taking a deep breath. Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. This wasn’t unusual for her. A lot of pride members thought she might be on the curvy side because she over ate, but it was just her body. She ran around enough and worked damn hard at keeping up with her fighting techniques to be a lot slimmer.
“Goddamn, this is some cold as fuck water,” the wolf sputtered once he came up for air.
She laughed at the beastly look on his face. Someone didn’t like the cold. “What’s wrong, wolf, not a fan of water?”
He shoved his palm over the surface of the water and sent a flash wave toward her face. She giggled and turned away. “I thought cats were the ones that didn’t like water.”
She snorted. “As you can see, that’s a myth, not a fact.”
“So then, what are facts about felines?”
That they shouldn’t want a wolf, she almost said. Her lioness made her keep her mouth shut because they’d both look stupid if she did.
“Doesn’t matter,” she cleared her throat and rubbed water over her face to remove the icky dried blood off her mouth and chest. Once she no longer tasted the metallic taste of blood, she rubbed her arms, then her hands together.
“How many prides live around here?” His bright gaze kept her in a trance. His dark hair
clumped into wet spikes, but that beard did things to her that were probably not legal. Her clit throbbed, watching him rub his fingers over his face. He really did the wet god look well.
“A few. You from the south?” He had to be with that accent. She expected him to break out in ma’am and y’all at any second. Not that it would be anything but sexy on him.
His lips curled in a sinful, panty-shriveling smile. “No. My mother was from the south.”
“You sound like you were born and raised there.”
He shrugged and surveyed the area around them. “I guess with a few of the pack members who I always spent my time being from there, it was something I caught.”
She started wading out of the water until her feet reached the ground. The clothes were strewn over the rocks and broken branches. She picked up a shirt and covered herself, then shrugged on the size-too-big shorts and turned to face him. He was still in the water.
“Careful going home, wolf.”
“Wait―”
She didn’t wait. Really, there was no reason to. He was off-limits and her life was too busy and crazy to add more to it. She ran home, back to where she needed to be. Away from the temptation of the wrong type of shifter. An alpha one at that.
NINE
Andi marched into her house with an angry lioness hissing and snarling inside her. Staying there and wasting her time on the wolf was useless. She had shit to do and that wasn’t helping.
“Oh, no. What happened?” Naya asked as she walked into the kitchen. “You look like shit.”
“Gee, thanks,” she growled and stripped out of the wet clothes.
“No, what I mean is…okay, fuck what I mean. What happened?” Naya stopped stirring the pot of stew and turned to her, eyes wide with surprise.
“Josh and three of his friends.”
Naya’s features went dark with anger. “Are you kidding me? That asshole did not really do that to you.”
“Oh, he did. And his friends were ready to take Cat for themselves while the ass ‘claimed’ me against my will.”
Naya’s eyes went even wider than before. “What the hell?”
“Let me take a shower and I’ll be right back. I promise I’ll tell you all about it. I need to get into dry clothes and feel half human again.”
“Go, dinner is almost done. We can eat and talk when you come back.”
She ran up to her bedroom, slammed the door shut, and glanced down at her scratched up hands. They didn’t even hurt. During fights, scratches and bites were normal in the pride. Usually she didn’t have to fight men, but there were times even they needed to be reminded who was in charge.
She opened the shower to warm water and jumped in. The pulsing drops helped ease some of the soreness from her muscles and relax her. Her mind went back to the wolf. Mine.
Oh, no no no no no, girl. He is not yours. Yes, he is.
She debated with the animal until she realized how stupid it was. It wasn’t like the wolf was going to come knocking at her door asking her out. After her shower, she put on a pair of sweats and a tank top. The only person to see her at this point was Naya and she was her best friend. She sent a text message to her guards to find Josh and his friends. Tomorrow would be soon enough to deal with them.
Laughter reached her as she descended the stairs. She frowned. Someone had shown up when she’d been in the shower. She marched into the kitchen, ready to tell whoever it was she wasn’t in the mood for visitors but stopped short when she saw him.
“And here she is,” Naya grinned. “This is the lovely Miranda.”
She didn’t need him to turn to know who it was. The golden brightness in his eyes told her how much his wolf was at the surface. Join the crowd, buddy. Her lioness had taken that moment to try and push her way out.
“Ms. Colilla,” he said with that rasp that turned her legs to jelly. “It’s nice to formally meet you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked point blank.
“Andi!” Naya gasped. “Stop being so rude. This is Mr. Kasen Steel. He was sent here by Gerri Wilder.”
Andi’s stomach did a flip and for a second she thought she might pass out, something she’d never done in her life. What the fuck was going on? “What do you mean?”
“He’s your, um…match.” Naya blinked at Andi, saying all the things with her eyes that she couldn’t with her mouth. Like how damn hot he was and how lucky Andi was to be matched up with him.
“There has to be a mistake.” For fuck’s sakes this had to be a joke. Mrs. Wilder didn’t give her the impression she liked messing with people, but what did Andi know? There could be a first time for everything.
“I assure you, princess, there’s no mistake.” Kasen grinned wider than he had before. A dimple showed on his right cheek and she became angry with her cat when the bitch told her to lick the small indentation.
“You can’t possibly want to be matched up with me,” she growled. “This has to be a joke. And not a funny one at that.”
“Listen, Andi,” Naya gave her a pointed look and motioned for her to sit her ass at the dinner table. “Why don’t you sit down, have some food, and talk to Kasen here.”
Andi cursed under her breath but sat to dinner. Hunger was probably part of her bitchiness, the other part was the unwanted attraction to the wolf.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Naya,” Kasen said with a sly grin.
Asshole. He clearly knew how to work his charm.
Naya placed a green enamel cast iron pot of stew on the table along with a basket of rolls and a smaller pot of rice. “All right, you guys. Dig in.”
Andi filled her bowl with stew and rice and grabbed a roll, too. If she was going to die by carbs then let her at least enjoy them.
“So, Mr. Steel, you’re a wolf,” Naya grinned. “I would not have expected that type of match for my Andi.”
Kasen broke off a piece of bread and chewed it slowly, as if thinking of his words. “I was told Gerri is very unconventional in her matchmaking.”
Andi snorted. “I’ll say. She got us all wrong.”
“Andi!” Naya sighed. She turned back to him. “Are you okay with a lioness as a mate?”
Andi glanced up at him, wanting to know the answer to that question, too. Not that she cared. Nope. She couldn’t care because once she went to see Gerri in the morning, she’d explain she needed to find someone else. Kasen Steel might be gorgeous, strong, and alpha, but he was also incredibly arrogant. Andi would kill him within a week if they were a couple.
He’s already mine. No, he was not, and her lioness needed to get her shit together.
There was a moment of silence and Kasen didn’t take his eyes off her. The look of pure lust he gave her wasn’t one she was used to. Sure, as a Prima, men wanted her for her position. When she went into heat it called the males in her pride to mate. That shit got annoying fast. Human males were a lot tamer. They didn’t get turned on by a woman’s pheromones like shifters did.
“I would be perfectly happy with any female shifter as a mate as long as she were the right one for me.”
Great answer. It also told her nothing. Naya didn’t think the same as Andi by the wide smile on her face.
“That’s such a smart way to look at this, Mr. Steel.”
He picked up his iced tea and winked at Naya. “Please, call me Kasen.”
Andi’s lioness snarled and she had a hell of a time containing the sound in her throat. “So, if you hired Gerri to find you a mate,” Andi began then after thinking about it for a moment, said, “Why do you need a mate?”
He ate a bite of his food before answering, which meant she got to watch his jaw work. She got to stare at his lips and the fuzzy beard she wanted so badly to rub her face on.
“It’s time. I want a family.”
She made a face. “That’s it? You want a family?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there are plenty of women in your pack ready, willing, and able to bear your babies. So why hire a service?”
He licked his lips. Good god, that should be all kinds of illegal. “I don’t want just any woman. I want someone special.”
“Like with an extra toe special?” she joked. Her blood heated every time he stared at her, and between his looks and the heat of the food, she could use a second shower to cool down.
Naya giggled and shook her head as she ate.
“I wouldn’t turn a woman away for extra anything,” he winked at her. “Especially curves.”
Oh, he was good. Like, really good. Andi wasn’t a stick figure and she was sure not as curvy as her mother had been due to the amount of training she did, but she wasn’t as slim as a lot of the lionesses in her pride.
“Mr. Steel,” she started.
“Please, call me Kasen.”
Dammit. She didn’t want to, but fine. “Kasen, as you can see, I’m a very involved Prima. I lead my pride and I’m active in every important decision that takes place. If it impacts anyone’s life, I will make damn sure that they know they have choices. I have zero tolerance for drama. None.” She picked up her drink and swallowed to cool herself down. “You seem to be on top of your pack, as well. Clearly, Mrs. Wilder made a mistake in matching us together.”
“Maybe,” he shrugged his big shoulders in that too tight T-shirt she’d given him. His arms alone made her want to ask him to hug her. “Maybe not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you ever take chances, Miranda?”
“Andi,” she said before she realized she’d given him permission to use the name her friends and family called her.
“Andi. Miranda is still a beautiful name.” He smiled at Naya when she passed him another roll. Oh, brother. Her friend was a goner. The look of teen adoration in Naya’s eyes was getting on her last nerve.
“Well?” she prompted him, trying to figure out what the hell he meant.
“I think you shouldn’t be so quick to judge that this is a bad match.”
“Oh, come on,” she laughed. “You can’t be serious. We’re polar opposites.”
He raised a brow and an evil brightness lit in his eyes. “Opposites attract.”