by R. E. Butler
Just as quickly as it appeared, his anger seeped away. He knew why. She didn’t want to scare him off. He’d been more open and honest with her than any other person in his life to date, and he’d told her everything that had happened between him and Brenda, his past relationships besides hers, and she had looked at him with both compassion and pity. He’d hated that look, the pity. He was certain she thought he was gun shy about relationships and was probably just waiting for him to realize what she was to him. He couldn’t be mad at her. He loved her. He knew that was as true as the fact that the sun would set tonight and rise tomorrow.
4:30 couldn’t come fast enough. He ate and worked on the bike, ignoring the chatter around him. He needed the time to think over how he would tell her he knew the truth. That it had been in the back of his mind all weekend.
The lunch was incredible. Even more than the food, was the thought that went into it, and now he understood why she’d wanted to take care of him. Because mates did that for each other. Apparently, even angels. The cooler was filled to the brim with food. Three chicken salad sandwiches, a thermos of sweet tea, and a plastic container of potato salad she’d made the night before. She had clearly kept some aside for him because he’d practically licked the bowl clean it was so good. And tucked inside a napkin were two squares of walnut brownies that she’d also set aside because there hadn’t been any left when he was finished.
He wanted to call her, to thank her for everything, but he realized he didn’t have her phone number, hadn’t even thought to get it because he had known he would see her after work. He put his head down and got back to work. It wouldn’t do to be caught slacking off. Jason hadn’t called for him, given him a hard time or read him the riot act like he expected, but that didn’t mean he wanted to call attention to himself. The guys in the shop with him clearly thought he was not in a good mood because they didn’t talk to him much outside of work things and that was okay. He was in a great mood, getting better with each pass of the minute hand that drew closer to him being able to see Karly. He was just damned annoyed that it was only Monday and he’d have to go another four more work days before he could bury himself in her for two days non-stop.
Karly. Karly. Karly. Mine. Mine. Mine.
“Taking off?” Jason’s voice stopped his hand on the front door at exactly 4:30. He clenched his jaw and turned, giving a blank face to Jason. He didn’t want to give him fuel to make him stay. He had no way to communicate with Karly if he was detained and he would hate for her to worry or think he wasn’t going to show up.
“Yeah, I’ve got plans.” He gritted his teeth against the words he just had to say, “Unless you need me to stick around.”
Jason’s head cocked to the side and he looked at him carefully. For what seemed like an eternity. “You look different.”
“Because I have to leave?”
Jason snorted. “No, you just look…not miserable.”
He chuckled wryly. “Yeah, well, getting something you’ve wanted for a long time will do that to a guy, right?
Jason half smiled. “I suppose so. I was going to give you a hard time about dodging plow duty but Michael’s already saddled you for two weeks on-call. Just make sure that you don’t fuck up the tow truck stuff. If you blow off even one call, you and me are going to have huge problems, new woman or not.”
Linus held up the cell phone that was the direct line for tow truck calls. “I won’t.”
“Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
He barely contained his joy at the development. Jason could have caused him all sorts of problems. Racing to his house, he showered and shaved as fast as possible without causing major blood loss, tossed on the nicest shirt he owned with the slacks his grandma had repaired and ran out the door. He planned to bring her home with him. After he told her what he’d figured out.
No, he hadn’t figured it out. His grandmother had to spell it out for him like a child, but still. He knew it now and he couldn’t have been happier. His eye caught a local florist in North Paddock, a few streets away from where she was waiting and he stopped and went inside.
The woman behind the counter smiled and straightened on the stool she was sitting on. She was older, his mother’s age perhaps, with salt and pepper hair cut short and half glasses on her nose. “Hello. Can I help you find anything?”
“I’m going to see the woman I’m going to marry. I thought I should bring her flowers, maybe? But I don’t know what kind.”
She stood up and looked thoughtful. “Let me ask you one question. Was it love at first sight or more you were friends first and now you love her?”
“Love at first sight.”
“Well, then there’s only one real choice.” She disappeared into the back through a swinging door. Several minutes passed and when she appeared she was holding a purple rose. He’d never seen one like it. “This is a lavender rose called Old World. I cultivated it myself. It’s rare, the color. It is used traditionally to express love at first sight, adoration. But it’s expensive. I can give you a dozen in a box, for,” she sighed and looked at the rose and then at him, “$120. Or I can do red for $50. I can promise you that women love flowers, period, no matter the color.”
“I’ll take the purple.”
“Okay, give me a few minutes.” She winked and disappeared.
He paced in the confines of the small shop, his wolf going crazy in his head to get to Karly. But this was a good thing to do. She deserved it. He’d been kind of crabby about leaving her at the apartment, and his beast wasn’t helping his mood. And he missed her. He’d gotten a taste of heaven and he wasn’t even close to being satisfied.
She came out with a black box tied with a dark purple ribbon. When she put it on the counter it sounded heavy on one end and she smiled, “I put a vase in for you, my treat.”
He pulled out his credit card. “Thank you.”
“Well,” she swiped the card and punched some buttons, handing it back, “I’m a sucker for love at first sight.”
He signed the receipt without looking at it, thanked her again, and took the box with him. In his truck, he caught sight of the receipt as he tucked it into his wallet and it only read $50. Surprised but pleased, he finished the short drive to Karly’s place.
Why was he so nervous? He knocked on the door, shifting the box in his arms. He felt like a teenager on a first date, not a full grown man seeing the woman he loved. The door swung open and his heart stopped in his chest and his wolf sat down and whined for the beauty in the doorway.
She was wearing a low cut dark blue dress that hugged her curves like it had been painted on, showed the top swell of her lush breasts, and barely reached the middle of her thighs that were mouth-wateringly bare. He forgot everything and just stared at her.
“Linus?” She laughed and pulled him into the apartment.
He nearly dropped the roses in an attempt to hug her, and managed to hold onto them and pull her into a one-armed hug so he could feel her against him. “I fucking missed the hell out of you, Karly.” He said, bending so he could put his face into her neck, worried the stinging in his eyes was going to turn to tears if he didn’t get a handle on himself. It just felt so damn right to hold her.
She squeezed her arms around him tightly. “I missed you, too.”
He pulled away slowly and met her willing mouth. She stepped backwards and he mirrored her until they were in the middle of the small front room. She pushed his jacket off his shoulders and he shifted the box of flowers in his hands as he wormed out of it and let it drop to the floor. Almost too lost in the heat of the kiss, if he hadn’t wanted to hold her with both arms he would have forgotten the flowers completely.
Reluctantly he pulled back. “These are for you.”
“Oh, thank you.” She blushed and took the box from him. He followed her into the tiny kitchen and watched her open the box. Her gasp and smile were enough to let him know he’d made the right choice.
She set the flowers
upright on the counter in the crystal vase. There were a lot more than a dozen in there; that woman had really done him a favor. Karly turned her sweet smile to him, “They’re just gorgeous, Linus, thank you.”
“No, you’re gorgeous.”
“Such a sweetheart,” her smile went even wider and a delicious dimple marked one cheek. “So, are you hungry?”
It hadn’t escaped his notice that the apartment smelled like an Italian restaurant. “Yes, but first,” he hooked his finger in the center of the low neckline of the dress, right between his two favorite breasts, and jerked her to him. “I learned the most interesting thing when I was at my grandmother’s this afternoon. An old legend of our people, a bit of history.” He held her close and smoothed his free hand down her neck as his other hand slid down the front of her body and curved to her waist, gripping her tightly. Her pulse fluttered under his thumb. Her heart was pounding.
“Oh?”
“Hmm. It seems like my angel isn’t just any angel, but mine. Just mine.” Her brown eyes went wide. “It’s true, isn’t it? It’s why I wanted to mark you, why I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re my mate.”
“Yes.” Her voice was breathy.
“Are you happy about that?” What would he do if she wasn’t happy?
“Of course. I couldn’t have picked a better match for myself, Linus.” Neither could he.
“And all your traveling?”
“I was looking for you.”
“You almost died.” His voice came out on a growl and his hands spasmed reflexively on her body as the scene in the woods appeared in his mind again.
“You won’t let that happen to me again.”
Fucking right. “You sure as hell aren’t spending another night in this place.” He’d never been much of a dominant person with females, but he felt the need to make sure she was safe with him. Period.
She cocked her head to the side and squinted at him, as if she were considering it. “Well, I don’t know. I kinda like this place.”
He growled and didn’t try to hide it as his fangs descended. She reached for his teeth and ran a finger down one canine. “Down boy. I was just teasing. Put these away until later.” She laughed and kissed him, flicking her tongue along a fang and it made his cock stand at attention, as if it hadn’t already been straining the zipper ever since she opened the door. A warm hand cupped him and he moaned into her mouth and pulled her closer. Was there anything on earth better than his woman?
He fisted her hair and pulled her away gently and her eyes were bright. “I hope you didn’t plan to get any sleep tonight, sweetheart.”
“Promises, promises.”
“I definitely don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep. Now, we need to talk, so let’s eat and get you packed.”
She grinned, “Yes dear.”
Another spectacular dinner later, he helped her with the dishes while they talked about her heritage. Angels were fascinating. He couldn’t believe he had ever thought it was just a legend, but he was apparently not the only one, or theirs the only pack that had lost hold of the traditions.
He was humbled that she’d been looking for him for over a year, but also that she had been thinking about him in the abstract form of her faceless mate somewhere in the world since she was 12. She was dedicated to finding her mate because it was her destiny. He couldn’t imagine being told at age 12 that he’d meet his mate and fall head over heels for her and that would be it. She wanted everything that he did – a loving home and kids –and he wanted to give that to her in spades.
The book she shared with him about her lineage was the last book in the series that was several hundred years old. She could trace her family line back for centuries. How many people could say that? Each chapter in the book was done by the angel when she met her mate that shared details of the journey to find him, their home pack and life together, and the names of their children and the packs they joined.
“So your brothers are full wolves?”
She nodded, running her hand fondly across the last page of her mother’s chapter, where her own name was written with a beautiful script and a sketch of angel wings surrounded it. “They’re all alphas, actually. Bren is in Ontario, Rico is in Washington, and Graise is in southern Florida. Almost all the males born to an angel are alpha powerful.”
“Are you, disappointed, that I’m only fourth?”
She closed the book slowly and put it on the coffee table, turning to give him a long look. “Linus, you’re my mate. You could be at the bottom and it wouldn’t change how I feel about you. You make me happy, you make me feel loved and safe and cared for, and the fact that you’re gorgeous and excellent in bed are just icing on the cake for me.”
He pulled her into his lap and kissed her, cupping her face to angle her mouth to his and filled her mouth with his tongue, tangling with hers while he held her tightly. He pulled back enough to lick across her lips and said, “I love you, Karly. Please be my mate.”
Chapter 6
I love you. Her sweet wolf had just told her he loved her. Three sweetest words in the universe, just for her.
She made sure that he could see the truth in her eyes. “I love you, too, Linus. And I already am yours. Completely.”
Another searing kiss that branded her soul. Another stroke of his large, warm hand. She captured his wrist as his hand started to move across the swell of her breast. “Unless you want to stay here tonight, we shouldn’t get carried away.”
He looked like he was considering the truth of the statement, and then finally stood up and put her down on the floor. “Yes, dear.” He parroted back to her with a slight bow at the waist.
“If you want to just pack for the week, I can bring you back here this weekend and we can pack up the rest of your stuff.”
She pulled a suitcase out of the closet. “I travel pretty light. I buy clothes as I need to for whatever area I’m in if the weather starts changing, and I donate my old stuff to charity. And I only get furnished places.”
He sat on the bed and watched her as she moved around the room between the small dresser and closet. “Did you ever work in the places you stopped?”
She hummed in her throat, “Sometimes. If I was in an area where there was more than one wolf pack, I would stick around longer, wait for that, I don’t know, tickle of awareness that I’d found my mate? So I picked up temp jobs.”
“So what did you do for money, if you didn’t really work?”
“My parents provide for me. They’re thrilled to get to stop the gravy train once we’re official.” She gave him a wink and he grinned.
“When can that be?”
“When can what be?” She paused in the doorway of the bathroom and looked at him.
“When can we be official?” Aw, sweetheart.
“Well, my mom said that we can come visit the pack in the spring and make plans then. And,” she showed him her bare fingers, “something’s missing from this hand anyway.”
He looked so happy just then, as if he’d been given a gift he wanted more than anything else in his life. She had already packed up her things after showering earlier, pretty sure he was going to insist she come home with him. It hadn’t missed her notice this morning that his wolf was giving him a hard time about leaving. She grabbed her makeup and girlie products and put them in the front pocket of the suitcase.
“Did you want to go anywhere this week or just stay in?” She asked, folding a sweater into the suitcase.
His brow furrowed slightly and he frowned and she moved to him and nudged his legs apart with her knees and cupped his face. “You can tell me anything, Linus. I won’t make fun of you or give you grief for anything you think or feel. Right here,” she motioned to the space between them, “is safe for both of us. It’s supposed to be that way.”
Emotions flickered through his eyes so fast she couldn’t get a read on any of them until the end, when he looked relieved. His hands kneaded her waist and he looked into her eyes, “I don
’t want to share you. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m ashamed of you or something and I’m not, I just, when the guys showed up yesterday and they were close to where you were in the bedroom I could barely keep hold of my beast.”
She ran her thumbs along his cheeks, “Okay. So we’ll stay in. I have to warn you, though, with this moving in thing: I will flip out if you leave the toilet seat up.”
He chuckled but it sounded forced. At her prompting, he said, “You really want to be with me, even after everything I told you about my past?”
She moved closer and hugged him, pressing his cheek against her shoulder. “I spent 15 months without a home. I teetered between being pissed off at the length of the journey and being terrified of leaving a place too soon or staying too long. There’s nothing easy about my life up to this point. I would have given anything to know you years ago, but I love the man you are now. So however you came to be who you are, I’m good with it. The more time we spend together, the stronger our bond will grow, and then you’ll lose those doubts. I couldn’t have picked a better man for myself than you.”
His voice was thick with emotion and he hugged her tighter, burying his face in her neck. “I’m just afraid you’re going to be disappointed in me.”
“Not possible.”
She kissed the top of his head and let him have the few minutes he needed to collect himself. She didn’t mind hugging him one bit. Ask her about her fantasies and she would say more often than not that they weren’t sexual, but about finding the man she was going to be able to love forever.
“You calm my wolf.” He said, kissing her neck.
He pulled back enough to let her see he was over all that emotion. “One of my charms.”
He let her go so she could finish packing. “I didn’t tell anyone in my pack about you. I mean, they knew you were in the house and that you’re human, but I guess you’re not entirely human, though. But you’re not wolf and that’s what they’d care about.”