“If you try to buy that coffee, I swear to God, I will spank you right here,” he said. “I’m an Alpha. Are you trying to unman me?”
“As if I could,” she said, dropping her hand.
“Thank you,” he replied smugly.
A group of shifter wolves from the Crystal Falls Country Club were stirring sugar into their coffee near the counter. They shot Karen looks of disgust as she walked up to the counter. “Better count the money in the tip jar after she leaves,” one of them said with a snicker.
“What did you just say?” Ty said loudly, turning to stare at her.
The woman’s face flushed. “Oh, Mr. Battle. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that she was with you,” she simpered. “How is your family doing? Please give my best wishes to your uncle.”
He stood there and stared at her steadily until she slunk away to sit at her table, with her friends scampering after her, glancing back at Ty over their shoulders.
“It’s no big deal,” Karen sighed. “I know why she hates me. My father stole from her family’s clothing store. Never got caught with the goods, but everybody knew that it was him.”
“It is a big deal. I can’t believe that you have to put up with this crap all the time.” Ty glowered at the group of women, who pretended to be riveted in conversation with each other while whispering amongst themselves and sneaking glances at Karen and Ty.
Ty was still scowling at him. To distract him, Karen held her coffee cup up in front of Ty. “Check this out. You know how Leah reads minds?” Karen said.
“Yep. Cool trick, although more than a little unnerving.”
“Here’s my magic trick.” She stared at her coffee and it began to bubble. She smiled ruefully. “I can heat up water! Seriously, the most useless trick ever. I suspect my brother can start fires by concentrating on things, although he denies it.”
“Why, Karen Padfoot, that clinches the deal. I am never letting you go now,” Ty laughed. “If our power ever goes out, I will need you to boil water for me.”
“Everyone’s gotta be good at something,” she said, pouring more milk in her mug to cool it down.
After they drank their coffee, they headed over to her office.
Mrs. Tufts arrived shortly afterwards – strolling in with her husband, who was holding her hand and beaming at her. Mrs. Tufts had done her hair, her nails were shiny and pink, and she was wearing a body-hugging dress that flattered her matronly shape and revealed a generous amount of cleavage.
“I can not thank you enough for what you did for us,” she said. “We’ve set up a getaway weekend for each other for the first weekend of every month, from now on, and date night every Friday. And my husband is treating me to a spa day every week. Isn’t he the sweetest?”
She glanced up at Ty. “Is this your young man? My, isn’t he handsome!”
“Er, well, he’s…” Karen trailed off in embarrassment.
“You must let us know when the wedding is! I want to send you a gift!” Mrs. Tufts burbled enthusiastically.
Karen blushed. Her and Ty? A wedding? Did they look like that much of a couple?
“So, I take it the divorce is off?” Karen said quickly, to change the subject.
“It sure is! All thanks to you, of course. You’re a Godsend.” her husband said eagerly. He quickly wrote her a check for her services – three hours of legal work.
“I just knew all those ladies at my sewing circle were wrong about you,” Mrs. Tufts added. “They said you couldn’t be trusted, because you’re a Padfoot, but I have very good instincts. And I was right.”
“She sure was! She’s the best!” her husband said happily. “I wish we could hire you at my firm, it’s just, you know…”
“I know,” Karen said. Maybe she should change her last name. Anything but Padfoot.
“You talked them into reconciling?” Ty said after they left.
“Yeah, yeah. Isadora thinks I’m an idiot too.”
“You’re a wonderful person, and an absolutely sucky divorce attorney. You could have totally milked that for all it was worth, and dragged it out for months, and billed for hundreds of hours. Have you thought about being a relationship counselor instead?”
“Shut up! So, sue me for doing the right thing.”
“My uncle said you did a really good job for him with those contracts,” Ty said.
“Thank you. I like contracts. They’re so much easier to deal with than humans.”
“We might be able to offer you something more permanent. We could use an in-house contract attorney. Don’t argue with me!” he added, as she started to argue. “It’s not charity. We’d make you work your ass off.”
“Well…” She really could use the work, but what would that mean for her relationship with Ty? What if he got tired of her, and all the chaos that came with dating a Padfoot?
“Speaking of your ass,” he said, running his hand over her butt and then cupping one cheek in his hand.
“Ty! There are people walking outside!” she hissed. Her office was right on the main drag, it was just after lunch, and there were a lot of people strolling past. She could see their shadows moving past them on the sidewalk, through the slatted blinds.
“Then I guess you’ll just have to be quiet.” He pulled her up against him facing him, one arm circling her waist and holding her in place.
“But – I can’t when I’m with you!” she pleaded.
“Shh. You’re making too much noise,” he smirked at her.
He pushed her skirt up and slipped his fingers inside her panties.
“Ty. Please, not here.. No – oh God,” she moaned, and arched her back, opening her legs to let him in. Dimly, in some corner of her mind, she vowed revenge on him. Later. Much later.
“You’re so wet. You smell like honeydew cantaloupe. I love it.” He pulled her panties down, letting them puddle on the floor around her ankles.
He began moving the pad of his thumb on her clit, rubbing back and forth, and tightening his arm to hold her firmly in place while she squirmed. “Mmm,” she whimpered, a swirl of heat in her belly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sank her face into his shoulder as the heat exploded into a roaring inferno. Her orgasm shook her, and she bit down on his shoulder to keep from screaming.
“Oh, yeah,” he panted. “Mark me as yours. Yes!”
“Your turn, baby.” She sank to her knees and quickly unzipped his jeans. He undid his belt and shoved his pants and boxer shorts down. His thick cock was ready for her, a white pearl of cum glistening on the tip. She leaned forward and reverently breathed in his musky scent, then ran her tongue over it.
“Take me in your mouth,” he groaned.
“In a minute.” She ran her tongue around the head of his cock, grasping the shaft firmly with her hand and moving it up and down.
“Wench. Tease me, will you?” He tangled her hair in his hands, and moved her head; she opened her lips and swallowed him, sucking him in eagerly. He pumped in to her mouth, and she sucked harder, caressing his testicles as she did. She lightly scraped her nails across the sensitive sack, and he groaned in pleasure as she did. Finally, he exploded, his cum a mixture of saltiness and sweetness.
They heard a pounding on the door, and she scrambled to her feet as he zipped up his pants.
“One minute!” she cried. She shot him a fierce glare. “I will kill you later! I swear!”
“You’ll try,” he taunted.
She rushed over and pulled the door open.
“Are you all right?” an older male bear shifter in a business suit asked, looking at them with concern.
“I’m completely fine,” she smiled brightly.
“Oh. I thought I heard yelling. I must have been wrong.”
“No yelling. It’s all good,” she said, with a big, fake smile pasted on her face.
When they left, she punched Ty in the chest, hard. “Do not mess with the kitty. I have claws,” she hissed, as he dissolved into laughter.
“I kno
w. I like them. You should unsheath them more often.”
Chapter Thirteen
Virginia crouched down in the underbrush, watching Riley and Leah. They’d snuck off again, and this time, she’d followed them. She had to know what they were up to, and why Riley always came out of the woods looking pale and sick, and then recovered within minutes.
It had happened at least once a day, all week long. Other than that, everything at camp had been going fine. They were getting along with the other campers, and Riley and Kimberly seemed to be spending a lot of time hanging out with each other.
As Virginia watched, the two of them threaded their way through the forest, with Leah clearly taking the lead. She knew where she was going.
Leah led Riley over to a bush, and pointed at it. He shoved his hands in to the bush and came out with a bluebird that was making pained chirping noises, and had a dangling wing.
As she watched, Riley closed his eyes and concentrated. There was utter silence, and then a minute later, the noises stopped and the bluebird flew away. Its wing had healed.
Riley leaned over and vomited into the grass. Virginia grimaced in sympathy. Being a healer was draining. Come fall, she’d be training full time with the pack’s healer, so she could control and guide her powers and learn to heal without exhausting herself to the point of illness.
She went back to the clearing outside of the cabins, and when Leah and Riley came out, she called Riley over to her. Leah waved at them and headed off to the archery range, where her archery class was just about to begin.
“What’s up?” Riley said.”
“Riley, I followed you into the woods just now,” Virginia said. “I saw you heal that bird.”
“You weren’t supposed to see that.” Riley looked up, startled.
“Why not, though? You just did something awesome,” Virginia said. “You’re a healer. Why are you hiding it?”
“Because I’m a guy,” Riley muttered. “Only women are healers.”
The light dawned on her. “Wait a minute. Is that why you think you’re gay?” she asked him.
“Well, yeah. Because only girls are healers. I tried to tell my dad once that I was a healer, and he said that I couldn’t be, because that would mean I was a homo, and-”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Virginia said indignantly. “Pardon my language, but your dad’s a dick. And he’s wrong. He’s the last person you should take advice from.”
“I know, but still. I’m like the only male healer in the world. I wish I were a shaman, instead. Men are shamans. Women are healers. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
“There could be others that you don’t know about, but even if you were the only one, you have an ability that can help your fellow shifters, and even non-shifters. You healed that bear’s foot the other day so it could run off, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Leah can sense when wild animals are hurt. She hears it, like a distress call. She takes me to them, and I heal them.”
“You know, that’s nothing to hide or be ashamed of. And by the way, I’m telling you, I see you checking out girls all the time, and I know that you’re not gay. It wouldn’t matter if you were, but you’re not.”
“But I am a weirdo,” Riley said. “It’s not just the healing. When I get mad, things catch on fire. I’m not even trying to do it, most of the time. Things just burst into flames.”
“So? That sounds like a handy tool. You’ll never need matches when you’re camping. You should train to be a healer,” Virginia said. “Really. Our skills are highly valued, and very necessary. Does Karen know?”
“No. She’s got enough to worry about,” Riley shook his head quickly. “You can’t tell her. Promise you won’t tell her.”
“I won’t, but you should think about telling her yourself. I know she’d be supportive, and she’s going to find out sooner or later.”
Riley shrugged and walked off. Across the field, Kimberly waved at him, and as he walked towards her Virginia thought his step was just a little bit lighter.
* * *
The club doors wouldn’t open for another hour. Ty was reading through a pile of paperwork at his desk when he heard a knock on his door. “Come in, babe,” he called. “It’s about time.” He hadn’t defiled his desk yet this evening, and he hadn’t spanked Karen for days now. He’d come up with an excuse to punish her, not that he needed one.
Evangeline walked up, looking delighted. She was wearing a tight, low cut red top and skinny jeans and heels.
Ty scowled at her, disappointed. Great, just what he needed. Evangeline was like a burr that stuck to his fur, clingy, impossible to shake off, and every bit as irritating.
“I thought you were Karen,” he said, making his voice distinctly unfriendly.
Her face fell, and she sat down in the chair facing his desk.
He shook his head. “I don’t have time to talk to you, Evangeline. I’m very busy,” he told her.
“You weren’t busy when you thought I was Karen,” she pouted.
“That’s right, I wasn’t. If you’ll excuse me now.” He looked pointedly at the door.
She ignored him, leaning forward in her chair.
“Ty, we need to talk,” she pleaded.
“No, you want to talk and I have no desire to listen.”
“I just don’t understand why you’re treating me like this. We had a great thing together,” she said.
“We had sex with each other a few times, six months ago. I made it very clear to you before we got involved that I wasn’t interested in anything else. You were dating other men at the time, I was dating other women, so I thought you had no problem with it.”
“We could have so much more,” Evangeline pleaded. She leaned forward, arching her back and thrusting her breasts at him. “I’ve been waiting patiently for you to come to your senses and realize what you and I could be to each other. I’d make a great Alpha’s wife. I have all kinds of ideas for how to run a pack, I’ve even been thinking about how we could set up our compound together. The property is fairly hilly, so-”
“Whoa! Stop right there!” Ty protested, rearing back in his chair. Good God, she’d taken leave of her senses. Virginia had warned him a couple of times that Evangeline was stalker-level hung up on him, but he hadn’t seen it until right now. “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel that way about you. And I can tell you, hearing about how your family has treated Karen and her brother and sister has killed any desire I would have even to be friends with you.”
She blinked hard, tears glittering in her eyes. “That is not fair,” she sniffled. “We’re trying to protect you and your family from them. They’re infamous. Did you know that Riley is a thief just like his father? A bunch of wallets have gone missing from the workshop, and Riley’s always out sneaking around in the woods outside of the campgrounds. When the counselors ask him about it he always comes up with some stupid story. Anthea told me all about it.”
“He’s a thief because he likes to be in the woods?”
“You know he’s up to no good, or he’d say what he was doing out there.” Her face had gone pouty and sullen. He felt his temper rising in him, itching under his skin. He suppressed a low growl.
“No, actually, I do not,” he said. “I go out in the woods all the time, myself. We do that. We’re shifters.”
“She’s blinded you to the truth, and she’s taking advantage of you,” she protested.
“Now, how exactly is she doing that, given that I invited her to stay with me?”
“Why are you doing this, Ty? She’s feline! If you mate with her, you know what that means? You can’t start your own pack! You’ll give up all that property you could have inherited! You might never have cubs, and if you do, some of them will be Lynxes!”
“I want you to leave. Now,” Ty said, shooting to his feet. “Don’t come back.” She went pale, swallowed hard, and got up, stumbling back away from him.
Then her pleading expression turned sullen. “You’re making a
mistake, and you are going to regret this.” That almost sounded like a threat, but what could she possibly threaten him with? It was laughable.
She stormed out of the office, and as she flung the door open, she saw Karen standing there and let out a startled scream.
She swung back to glare at Ty. “She was spying on you! I told you she can’t be trusted!” she wailed. Tears ran down her face, leaving a trail of gritty black mascara.
“She has no need to spy on me, because I have nothing to hide from her,” Ty said. Evangeline stormed off, to Ty’s relief.
Karen walked in, looking self-conscious. She was wearing her waitress uniform, and he admired her long trim legs as she strolled through the door. She had a faint, fading hickey on her neck from when he’d nipped her the night before, which made him smile. He liked leaving marks on her where other shifters could see them. They signaled his ownership, his possession over her.
She sat down, crossing her legs. “I didn’t mean to listen in,” she said. “Okay, that’s a total lie, I was eavesdropping.”
Ty shrugged. “I meant it, Karen. I’m not hiding anything from you.”
“Is what she said true?” Karen asked, a frown wrinkling her pretty forehead. “You couldn’t have your own pack if you were with me? You wouldn’t inherit your family’s property?”
“The Covenant that rules the wolf shifters says so, yes. If an Alpha wants to start his own pack, he must first be married to another wolf. If I marry outside of my species, then I lose my claim to that portion of land, and it would go to whatever Alpha is born into the Battle family after that.”
“Sounds like Evangeline had that area already redecorated for you,” Karen said, with a shaky laugh.
“Ha,” he said scornfully. “That was never going to happen. Besides, I didn’t necessarily want to start my own pack. I’m the boss of my own business here, and I like it. I enjoy the challenge, the creativity, the socializing, everything that goes with it. I love the atmosphere here. That, and friends, and family – that’s all I want.”
He looked at her. “When I say family, that includes you. I want you. I have ever since the first time I laid eyes on you. I’m glad we didn’t get together back then, because I was young and immature and I would have screwed it up, but I want you, and I will have you.”
Purr For The Alpha (A Paranormal Romance) (Timber Valley Pack) Page 9