by Dold, V. A.
Tim screamed and released her.
Anna ran for the door to the hall. Before she could get it open he was charging her. She waited until he was a breath away and spun out of reach sending him crashing into the door. He was momentarily stunned by the impact. Running the few steps to the kitchenette, her eyes swept the space for a weapon. Nothing, her only choice was to try to make it to the hotel hallway again. She turned for the door.
Without warning, his hands snaked out and wrapped around her neck.
She twisted to the side using her self-defense moves to break free.
Cade and Stefan exploded through the door, throwing it open so hard the crash sounded like a sonic boom in the hotel room. The impact of the door created a huge hole in the wall the exact shape of the door handle, it vibrated on its hinges as if quivering in fear. Cade’s eyes were blazing green and glowing brightly. His lips pulled back and his canines were extended, flashing dangerously as he roared and snarled in a red haze of rage. Stefan grabbed Cade into a crushing bear hug, using all his strength to stop him from ripping the stupid human to shreds.
Tim stood staring at Cade’s partial upper body shift. Anna wasn’t going to give Tim the chance to carry out his threat against her mate. She pulled her fist back and smashed Tim in the jaw with a right hook, sending him to the floor, out cold.
She shook her hand trying to ease the sting from the blow she’d dealt Tim as she turned to see Cade and Stefan no longer struggling by the door. They both went completely still for a moment, in shock at the sight of Anna punching Tim’s lights out.
Cade broke free from Stefan, snatched Tim off the floor by the arm and threw him across the room. Tim’s limp form smashed into the wall and slid to the floor. Before Stefan could stop him, Cade’s wolf took over, slamming Tim onto the table and hammering his head onto the wooden surface several times.
Stefan leapt into action. “Cade, you need to stop. You can’t kill him, not here.” Stefan had Cade in a bear hug again. It was taking all he had to hold his brother back.
Anna came out of her shock. “Cade?”
Hearing his mate’s voice triggered something in his mind. He gathered his control. Stefan released Cade to attend to his mate.
He opened his arms wide as she leapt into them. She buried her face in his chest and started to shake as the emotions of what had just happened flooded her. He carried her to the couch and held her.
A storm of men ran down the hall, as the police appeared on the scene. One of the neighbors must have called 9-1-1 when they heard the battle raging.
Shaking with fury, Cade glanced at the nearest officer. “Get that piece of shit out of my sight before I rip him apart.”
Stefan spoke quietly in the hall with another officer, giving his statement. Cade and Anna needed time alone.
Once the scene cleared and Anna was safe, Cade spoke with the officers. He made sure they had everything they needed for their report. The last thing he wanted was her at the police station facing another nightmare.
They ignored the officers as they left, and held each other. He slid his hands under her shirt and rubbed small circles slowly all across her back needing to sooth her and also calm his wolf by touching her, skin to skin. Needing more contact with his mate, he rubbed his chin across the top of her head. Gently, he took her right hand, the one she had punched Tim with, and kissed each knuckle leaving no skin untouched. Then he kissed her cheek where she had been punched. “I will get ice for that, mon amour.”
He stroked a lock of hair from her face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“I’m fine. A little shaken but not hurt. I’m tougher than I look.”
“I almost killed him when I saw his hands on you. If Stefan hadn’t been here, I would have been calling my lawyer to defend me on murder charges,” he confessed.
“You came through that door like an avenging angel. I’m not sure the wall will ever be the same.” She grinned. “Sure you went a little wolfy, but in the end you held it together. I’m proud of you and your control. I’m sure other shifters given the same situation would have shredded first and hidden the body later.”
“You really laid him out, cher,” he said grinning.
“I grew up with older brothers, so I learned to throw a punch.” She laughed.
Her brows knit together as she thought about what all had happened. “How’d you know to come back to the room?”
“I heard you wondering what Tim was doing here and felt your anger.”
“I’m so glad you did, I’m not sure I would have made it out of here alive if you hadn’t come back.” she said as she snuggled into his lap.
“I will always come for you. I’m so sorry you were hurt at all, I promised to keep you safe and I failed. I promise to be more diligent but I also think we should look into classes for you. Maybe karate or some other form of defense. As much as I always want to be the one who saves you, you proved today we may need a backup plan.”
“I‘ve thought about taking a class like that. I think that’s a really good idea. And who knows, I might just learn some new moves to use on you. By the time I am a black belt I will know all kinds of new ‘things’.” She waggled her eyebrows in emphasis.
Chapter 9
Night fell on the city and they still sat together on the couch.
“Do you feel like ordering or going out?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.
“Room service sounds perfect. I don’t want to go out again tonight.”
“I need a shower before we eat. I’ll only be a minute, and then I’ll call down for dinner,” he said as he left the room.
He strode into the living room as he called the kitchen on his cell phone, ordering their dinner. Toweling his hair dry, he joined her on the couch.
Sighing, she rested her back into his side.
He loved to power lounge holding her this way. Wrapping an arm around her, he cuddled her close and laid his cheek on the top of her head.
“I meant to tell you, I need to be on a building site tomorrow morning first thing. It’ll take me some time to get there so I may be gone when you wake up. I will be gone all day but I would like to have a fun night on the town when I get back. Does that work for you?” Cade asked.
“I have a busy day tomorrow as well. A fun night sounds perfect.”
He smiled into her hair, without warning, he sent her the feeling of love and contentment then waited for her reaction.
She was grinning and her eyes were shining bright as she twisted in his arms. “Was that you?”
He tried to feign innocence but didn’t pull it off at all. They both laughed.
“I wanted to show you a few more things you’ll be able to do as my mate. Sending feelings as well as words is one of them.”
She grinned even bigger. “That’s so cool! All the things shifters can do are so cool and being able to do them too is going to be so fun. What else will I be able to do?”
He sent her a picture of the way he saw her when they were snuggling on the bed and she had been sleeping peacefully the other night. In his eyes she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He wanted her to see herself the way he saw her.
She gasped as the image appeared in her mind. He watched her search his eyes and saw a hint of disbelief in her gaze. She obviously still had doubts about her attraction for him. Is that truly the way you see me? You can’t really see me like I’m some great beauty.
Yes, mon amour, that is exactly the way I see you. You are the most beautiful and sexy woman I have ever seen. Your softness and curves drive me wild.
She snuggled into his arms, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. You do realize I think you are the hottest, sexiest man I have ever seen. When I dreamed about you, I thought I’d made you up. You were so perfect, there was no way you could be real.
“I have been wondering about something. How were we able to dream about each other when we’d never met? I don’t understand how that was possible.”
Rubbing hi
s cheek against her hair. “I have heard rumors that when a shifter or his mate has particularly strong magic, they can experience visions like ours. I inherited the powers of the gypsies and voodoo through my mother. The additional magic in our family is why we are so strong among the shifters. Perhaps our connection is extra strong and our souls were reaching out for each other.”
He sent her the feeling of his fingers caressing the side of her face.
First she jumped slightly and then she squealed with delight. She twisted out of his arms so she was facing him again. “You so have to teach me how to do that!”
He busted out laughing. What a delight she was to him. Teaching her their ways and their magic was going to be such a pleasure.
“I’ll give you lessons after we’ve eaten dinner. I hear the waiter coming down the hall.”
Her mouth literally dropped open. “You can actually hear something like a person coming down the hall? Will I be able to hear like that too?”
Chuckling he nodded. “Yes, you will.”
The waiter set their dinner on the dining table, lit a romantic candle and poured glasses of wine before he excused himself.
Cade held her chair and then went around the table to his own seat. Lifting his glass for a toast, he gave her the sweetest smile she had ever seen as he tapped his wine glass with hers. “Here’s to new beginnings, my beautiful woman, and the blessings of fate.”
They both sipped their wine and enjoyed a scrumptious meal prepared to Cade’s specific orders. The hotel restaurant had all the foods he enjoyed most, charbroiled oysters, seafood gumbo, seared scallops, and a mouth-watering steak with sour cream smashed bliss potatoes. He looked forward to sharing them with her. This was a feast!
He scooped gumbo from his bowl, offering the spoonful of steaming deliciousness to her. “I want to feed my mate.”
She grinned before she wrapped her lips around the spoon.
Picking up her fork and knife, this might be fun, she thought. Choosing the scallops, she cut off a bite and offered the morsel to him. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he accepted the tasty bite.
Next he cut steak to feed her. She leaned forward and accepted the perfectly medium rare bite.
Taking advantage of the moment he decided to approach the subject of mating with her. “Cher, I love taking care of you and providing all of your wants and needs. I would love nothing more than to do so for the rest of our lives.” He gazed at her with a very serious expression bordering on apprehension. “I hope someday you’ll agree to complete the mating ritual with me. But I’ll never pressure you, the choice is yours when you’re ready.”
No more was said about the mating ritual as they enjoyed the rest of the meal.
She had never been treated so special by anyone. They continued to feed each other until the meal was finished.
“Would you like dessert?” Cade asked.
A glorious cheesecake and a four-layer chocolate cake sat on the wet bar across the room. She looked over at the choices and groaned, “I can’t eat another bite right now.”
He came around to her chair and helped her rise. He was always a complete gentleman to her she thought. Placing his hand on her lower back, he steered them to the couch, sharing the rest of the wine from dinner while watching television.
He was languidly lying with his head in her lap, rumbling from her touch.
She realized she was stroking his hair like you would pet a dog. She pulled her hand back, hoping she hadn’t insulted him in any way.
“Don’t stop, bébé, I love to be touched and stroked. Shifters may seem human, but we have a lot of wolf in us too, and the wolf craves touch.” That gave him an idea. “Would you like to see my wolf? You only saw a leg yesterday. Would you like to actually meet the animal?”
She practically squealed with delight. “Can I? Is he like the wolf in my dreams?”
He stood and surveyed the room. For what he had in mind, the bedroom would work best so he took her hand. After he seated her on the edge of the bed he stepped back a couple paces. Then in a heartbeat, where he had stood, was now a one hundred sixty pound black and silver wolf.
Holy mackerel! You’re HUGE!
Walking toward her slowly, he wagged his tail so he wouldn’t scare her. When he was close enough to touch her he set his head on the bed next to her leg, allowing her to initiate contact. Cher, you can pet me, I won’t bite.
“Geez! You could’ve warned me you could still talk to me as a wolf. Dang, you scared about five years off my life.”
His wolf chuffed a laugh at her reaction. She stroked his head and scratched his ears. Her touch pleased his wolf and he rumbled his pleasure.
She had grown up with large dogs, and she loved to pet them and give them back scratches, especially between the back hips where a dog can’t reach to get that one itch which drives them crazy.
She scratched his neck, then all down his back, giving him special attention between his hip bones. He was in wolf heaven, he honestly didn’t think it could get any better. Then she slid off the bed to sit on the floor with him and gave his wolf a full body hug. He adored this woman plain and simple.
He waited until she was in just the right position and shifted back to human. He had her on his lap in a flash right there on the floor. “You never cease to amaze me. I can’t wait to meet your wolf.”
“I’ll be able to shift and everything too?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s all part of the magic in the ritual. You’ll receive magical powers like I have and a wolf guardian. I bet you have a sexy russet colored wolf that is sassy as hell.”
“Speaking of color, I noticed your wolf is the same color as the highlights in your hair. Is that a coincidence?”
“No, all shifters have hair which contains the color of their wolf mixed in.”
“What are all the magical powers shifters have?”
“There are several generally known powers. Shifting into a wolf and possessing the ability to dress or undress with a thought, instantaneously. In the shifter community, we jokingly referred to it as ‘poofing.’ We also heal ten times faster than humans and we can move so rapidly, the human eye can’t detect us. You already know mates can talk telepathically and send caresses and feelings of emotion through the use of magic. Plus, each shifter is born with one additional gift. The ability manifests during childhood.” Cade suddenly found a speck of lint on the carpet very interesting.
“What’s your additional gift?” she asked.
“I don’t usually talk about it. It’s kind of embarrassing.” He poked at the lint again.
“I’d like to know, if you’re willing to tell me.”
He blushed a bright red. “My gift is a genius level intelligence.”
“What can you do with that?” she asked.
“I can solve any puzzle or code. I naturally see a pattern emerge if there is one. That’s why I analyze all the family investments.”
“Why don’t you like to talk about it? I think your gift is really cool.”
“It sounds arrogant to say you’re a genius,” he said as he raised his gaze from the floor.
“Okay, let’s think of a new name for your gift then. We could simply call it code breaker,” she said smiling. “The next time someone asks, tell them you’re a code breaker.”
“I like it. I’ll do that.” He smiled again. Anna could do that for him, she was able to see a problem and solve it easily, without drama.
She cocked her head, her expression telegraphed she was thinking about something.
“Does it hurt when you change?” she asked.
“Not at all, you think the change and allow it to happen. It’s instantaneous, one minute you’re human and the next you have the body and senses of a wolf. But you’re still in control of your thoughts and body at all times.”
Cade realized now would be a good time to teach her how to shield her thoughts. “I should give you a lesson in building walls in your mind. If you guard your thoughts, I’ll only
hear what you direct at me and nothing else. I love your thoughts, but I don’t want to invade your privacy.”
“Okay, what do I do?”
“It’s fairly simple. Picture a wall surrounding your mind. Any wall, stone, brick, you decide, and see it rise up as a protection so strong it can’t be breached.”
She closed her eyes and pictured a solid brick wall. “I think I have it.”
“Think something really loudly but don’t direct it at me.”
She sang loudly in her mind.
“Did you think something?”
She clapped her hands. “I did it!”
It was 9:00 p.m. when Cade’s phone rang. She quickly learned Cade was a pacer when he spoke on the phone. Some people are incapable of sitting still during a call, and apparently he fell into that category. The caller was his mother inviting them to a family barbeque so they could meet Anna. She was a little nervous to meet his family, but from the conversation, she knew meeting them was important to him.
Ending the call, he stopped in front of her with his hand extended. She took it without question, curious to see what he had in mind.
“We haven’t finished our date.”
She frowned. “Date?”
“Our private dinner,” he said grinning. “There is one thing that would make this night complete. Dessert.” His eyes shone with heat.
“You’re right, it’s still on the bar,” she said teasing him.
It was obvious to her, he had ideas other than eating cheesecake with a fork. She made to step toward the bar when she was brought up short by his arms snaking around her. She squealed and laughed as he trapped her to his body.
“I have a different dessert in mind. And I’m planning on savoring every lick and nibble.”
Her eyes shone with excitement turning very green and her heart began to race. The way he devoured her with his gaze, it was intense. The stark desire in his eyes made her shiver. His eyes slowly lowered and left a trail of heat in their wake. The look was possessing. Passionate. Hungry.