“You haven’t told me how old you are.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the action.
“Why? What does it matter to you?” She felt as defiant as he seemed to think she was. She didn’t want to answer any more of his questions. He’d told her nothing about himself. Was this a job interview?
He inhaled long and slow and then stood. He spoke to the room at large. “Great. Just great. I avoid wolf crowds for all these years, and some tiny pixy half my age chooses this room of all the rooms in the building to pop into and suck the air out of my life. Ain’t life full of surprises?”
What the fuck? What was he rambling on about?
He was the most infuriating man on the planet.
“Be right back,” he stated as he walked toward the door. “Don’t move an inch.” He turned toward her, narrowing his gaze once more as though his look alone usually demanded no argument from most people.
She was inclined to agree.
He twisted the lock, opened the door, and stepped into the hall, shutting himself out of the room.
Seconds ticked by. A minute. Two. Kathleen sat in silence, waiting. Because he said so. And it pissed her off. Who was this man?
Finally, the door opened once again, making her jumpy. She exhaled when she saw who it was, not sure if she should be relieved or depressed to find the giant blond man reentering her space.
“I think the coast is clear. No one’s out there now. Whoever this Marcus is, I guess you sent him running.” He stepped toward her and handed her a card. “Here’s my card. Call if you have any problems. I’ll try to figure out who accosted you and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels as she took the card. “Are you with your parents?”
“Yes,” she whispered, somehow feeling about five years old.
“Well, go back to them right now. Don’t take any chances. Got it?”
“I’m not a child.” She felt the need to defend herself.
He smiled, a condescending look that could cut someone to the quick. “To me you are.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Kathleen stood and wasted no time stomping toward the exit. She hated acting like a brat, but fuck him and the horse he rode in on.
He was faster and beat her to the door, slamming his hand into the wood to hold it closed before she could turn the handle. “Kathleen, I’m not kidding. Do I need to escort you back to your family? Or can’t you follow that simple instruction without defying me?” He stood an inch from her. His body heat radiated toward her even without direct contact. She felt like she might swoon like some heroine in a historical romance novel.
Her reaction to this man infuriated her. His words made her want to slap him. His fine body squeezed the air out of her, leaving her mouth dry and her tongue tied.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to be kissed. Not just kissed, but mauled . . . by the stranger who’d just treated her like a toddler. Her pussy grew damp just with his proximity. And she hated her reaction. What the hell was the matter with her?
“I think I can handle it from here. Thanks,” she ground out. She stepped back to catch her breath when he didn’t move.
His huge palm still held the door closed, blocking her exit.
Several heartbeats passed before he spoke again, calmer this time. “I’m only trying to help. I can’t be sure this Marcus character is truly gone. Please be careful. And use my card if you ever need . . . anything.”
Why would she ever call him? It was absurd to even consider such an idea. She squeezed the card in her fist. It wadded and crinkled in her grip. Her sweaty palms would ruin it in no time at all.
“Goodbye, Kathleen,” he muttered as he opened the door.
She stepped quickly into the hall, not looking back as the door shut behind her, closing off the strangest event in her life. As she walked away, she looked over her shoulder. Had it been an illusion? Had she really just spent half an hour alone with the strange sexy god of a man who hadn’t given her his name or answered any questions about himself?
She glanced down at the wrinkled card in her palm.
Gabriel Albertson, M.D.
The Gabriel Albertson? The elusive son of the owners of this sprawling property where the gathering of all North American wolves was held every two years?
She’d heard of him. She’d just never met him.
A chill sent a shiver down her back. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she hurried down the hall to find her sister and parents before Marcus could get the better of her.
Chapter Two
Gabe leaned his head against the back of the door and took deep breaths.
Fuck.
His world just turned upside down in less than one second.
Kathleen Davis . . . The spunky girl with huge brown eyes and glorious long brown curls had slipped into the den and sucked the life out of him.
At thirty years old, Gabe thought all likelihood of finding a true mate was a thing of the past. In fact, after years of schooling and residency and working his ass off to get where he was today, he’d assumed it might finally be safe to reenter the social norms of the wolf community. He’d been sitting in the dark, drinking a glass of Merlot, and fortifying himself to join the weekend festivities.
This gathering of wolf shifters took place every other year, and his parents had hosted it in rural Oklahoma for two decades. Most of that time, Gabe had been in school. This year he’d taken a two-week vacation to spend time with his family, and he’d even allowed it to coincide with the gathering.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want a mate. Truth was, he’d grown rather lonely in the last ten years. However, he’d known since childhood his life ambition was in medicine, and he’d immersed himself in the human world after high school to ensure he met his goals without running into his mate.
Apparently all that hiding had been unnecessary, seeing as the pixie he’d just met surely hadn’t been out of diapers when he’d left for college.
Gabe groaned and wandered back across the room. He grabbed his wineglass, chugged the rest of it, and flopped back onto the leather couch.
He’d intended to join the ranks tonight and see if any woman caught his fancy. That no longer seemed necessary.
Kathleen Davis was his. Now all he had to do was wait for her to grow up. With her pastel sundress, her flat dainty sandals, and her makeup-free face, her innocence oozed out of her. She couldn’t be more than sixteen years old. And absolutely nothing like any woman he’d ever dated.
He groaned again.
And who the hell was this Marcus character who’d accosted her in the hall?
Gabe might not be able to claim his mate for several years, but he could at least look out for her and find out what the hell was up with the kid who’d tried to take her as his, even though she clearly wouldn’t be a match for Marcus.
Suddenly, Gabe’s pondering was disrupted when the door to the room flung open again. He straightened himself from his slouch and twisted his neck to see who’d entered. Had she returned?
The poised woman in the long flowing gown that fit her like a glove was most definitely not Kathleen. It was his mother, Caroline Albertson. “Gabriel, what are you still doing in here? I thought you were going to join us for the evening.”
Gabe stood. He had no intention of telling his parents about Kathleen just yet. The thought of them gushing over the far-off-in-the-distance arrangements would make him vomit. But he did want to know about Marcus.
“I’m coming. I was just enjoying a glass of wine. I don’t get to do that very often.” He smiled at her and hoped it looked sincere.
“I guess not. You’re on call way too many hours, Gabriel. I hope now that you’re joining a private practice, you can cut back a little and have a few days off now and then. You need to loosen up. You work too hard.” Caroline Albertson glided over to her son’s side and reached up to adjust his tie. “You’re all rumpled.” She smiled up at hi
m.
“I’m thirty, Mom. I think I can dress myself.”
“Of course you can. I’m just so happy to see you. You haven’t been home for even a visit in two years.” She patted his shoulder and stepped back.
She was right. He called as often as possible, but his life had been a whirlwind of craziness for as long as he could remember. He’d left home at eighteen to attend Texas A&M for undergrad and then headed straight into the medical program at Baylor in Houston. The medical center in downtown Houston was world renowned, and he’d grown to love the city and its people. He’d never left, completing his residency there in pediatrics and then taking a job at Texas Children’s Hospital.
This was the first time he’d ever taken two straight weeks of vacation and he intended to spend most of it roaming free on his parent’s property in wolf form. His opportunities to shift and run in the last decade had been few and far between.
“Do you know a kid whose first name is Marcus?” he asked his mother.
“Marcus? A kid? I don’t think so. There’s an older guy named Marcus. He’s about twenty-five and lives with his parents in Iowa. He’s mentally challenged and often behaves oddly. Why?”
Ahh, that had to be him. Somehow, Gabe hadn’t envisioned someone that old. His parents needed to keep better tabs on him if he was wandering around scaring girls.
“He’s frightening young women. Why is he running around here alone?”
“What? Are you serious?” His mother raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“Because one of them just fled this Marcus character and ducked in here to escape him.”
“Crap. Okay. I’ll talk to his parents. He’s usually harmless.” Caroline headed back toward the door.
Gabe followed her. “He wasn’t harmless tonight. In fact, he scared this girl out of her mind forcing himself on her.” If his mother was willing to take the reins on this one, Gabe was more than willing to let her. But he had every intention of ensuring his mother knew how serious he was.
She turned toward him as they stepped into the hall. “I’m on it. Thanks for letting me know.” She took off at a clipped pace, leaving Gabe in her wake.
Good. He needed a minute to pull himself back together before he entered the main hall.
He had no need to make himself available in the singles room. After fortifying himself for the experience for the last several hours, the idea was now moot. Kathleen Davis was his mate. He might as well join his parents and their friends at the adult gathering.
The entire gathering was a strategic arrangement so singles could meet and hopefully find their mate in other singles. Adults who were already mated met with other adults to discuss wolf politics and happenings all over the continent.
There was no rule that stated single adults couldn’t mingle with mated ones and vice versa. It was just understood that generally speaking, available wolves flocked to other available wolves.
Gabriel Albertson was no longer an available wolf and his mixture of relief and distress over the fact followed him into the great hall in search of his father.
Edward Albertson waved toward his son from across the room as soon as Gabe entered. Neither man was difficult to spot in a crowd. They both stood over six feet and sported blond hair that made people glance their way.
As he sauntered across the room as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Gabe caught the gaze of many relatives and friends, most of whom he could barely remember from years ago but assumed he should know if his memory were jarred.
“Gabriel.” His father patted him on the back as an introduction. Edward Albertson was surrounded by his friends, men he’d known most of his life and enjoyed reacquainting himself with every two years. “You all remember Gabe, right?”
They nodded and greeted him in kind.
His father went on to explain how Gabe had done in school and how successful he now was as a pediatrician.
Gabriel blushed and ducked away as soon as possible to grab a glass of wine from the bar. Now that his entire stance on this weekend was altered, he just wanted to indulge in a few glasses of Merlot and alter his thinking.
The moment he turned back from the bar, he scented her. Kathleen.
She was in the room. Why? Did she also know she was fated for him? Had she decided not to return to the singles room for the same reason he’d opted against it? He smiled to himself. Perhaps she’d actually taken his advice and made a beeline for her parents.
How was he going to endure her presence even for one minute? What he needed was to beg out and go for a run. The longer he subjected himself to the scent of Kathleen Davis, the more tortured he would become.
Chances were Kathleen had no idea he was her mate. She was too young. Unless the wolf claiming his mate was about the same age, Destiny had a way of keeping the younger one in the dark until reasonably appropriate. In this case, Gabe feared years of solitude while he waited.
Hoping to make a casual escape, Gabe sauntered toward the door, half holding his breath and keeping his head low as he weaved through the crowd.
Before he could reach the exit, a hand landed on his shoulder. “Gabriel Albertson. So good to see you.”
Gabe lifted his head to find himself staring into the eyes of a man he was sure he’d met, but couldn’t remember. Behind him stood the one and only Kathleen Davis. Shit. Was this her father?
“Sir.” He swallowed and kept his gaze locked on the man in front of him, carefully glancing only for a second at Kathleen.
“My daughter tells me you helped her out a while ago. Thanks. I appreciate your assistance. If I’d known Marcus was such a bully, I would have paid more attention. I’ve had words with his parents. They are taking care of the matter.”
“It was no problem at all.” Unless you count the fact that your daughter is my mate as a problem since I’m twice her age.
The dark-haired man reached out a hand. “Todd Davis. You probably don’t remember who I am.” He grinned and stepped aside to force his daughter to the forefront. “And you’ve met Kathleen.”
Gabe nodded at her. She stood with her lips pursed together, her gaze not quite reaching his. Was she holding her breath? Hmm.
Todd began to ramble about medicine and the economy. Gabe nodded appropriately while keeping half an eye on his mate as she attempted to stand still next to her father.
He almost chuckled when she crossed her legs and squeezed them together. The girl was not unaffected. She might not know she was fated to be his, but she did show signs that her body was reacting to his presence. How had he not noticed this earlier?
Because you were too concerned with your own cock to notice what was happening to your mate’s precious pussy.
When Kathleen twisted her head behind her to take a breath, he knew. She squirmed in discomfort. Todd welcomed another man into the conversation and introduced him to Gabe. Gabe flicked his gaze toward Kathleen and let it land on her chest. Her nipples were pebbled under the thin sundress and what must have been an equally thin bra.
He didn’t realize how long he’d been staring until she gasped and folded her arms across her chest.
He smirked and glanced back at the men. Let her squirm. He was enjoying her plight so much it overshadowed his need to flee the room and give her time and space—like five years and two states. Ugh.
How long had it been since he’d made a woman squirm with just his stare alone? He shook the thought from his mind and stood taller, straightening his facial expression. Stop it, Gabe. She’s too young for this line of thinking.
Eventually, Kathleen squeezed her father’s arm, leaned up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, and fled the room as though she were late for someplace she just remembered she had to be.
Gabe counted slowly to five to keep from being obvious and then casually excused himself from the conversation he’d not paid one moment’s attention to and followed his tiny sprite out of the room.
Her scent lingered in the hall, making it easy for him
to choose heading left. Only a few people meandered in the entryway. Several nodded at him, but he paid them little attention.
Why on earth was he following Kathleen? He needed to stop this madness and leave her alone.
Hell, she was probably in the restroom and if she knew what was best for her, she’d stay there and not come back out.
Except Gabe was currently ruled by his cock instead of his big head and he had no intention of letting her escape him again this evening.
If she knew she was meant to be claimed by him, he wanted to confront her on that now. No sense spending several years staring at her from the sidelines if she was already privy to the notion. Might as well get the initial confrontation over with and assure her he intended to be a gentleman while she finished high school.
He doubted he could wait much longer than that since his heart was pounding out of his chest, his palms were sweating, and his dick was leaking precum inside his pants. His demise was worsening by the minute, and he was perpetuating the state with his insistence on following his tender mate.
That thought made him moan inside. Gabriel Albertson was no ordinary lover. He was a Dom. Had been for years. Early in medical school he’d met a woman who was submissive in every way. He’d learned quickly that he loved ruling her, commanding her, making her beg for his touch. He’d never go back to vanilla again.
And now? Holy shit. Kathleen Davis was a sweet innocent girl. Even in a few years she wouldn’t be ready for his kind of dominance. The simple commands he placed on her in the den had flustered her. She’d smelled of arousal though. Did she have a submissive bone in her? Only time would tell.
Gabe leaned casually against the wall around the corner from the bathroom, pretending to check messages on his phone. He didn’t even know if the device was upside down or not. Nor did he care.
Since no one was looking, he adjusted his cock and squeezed it tight for a moment. He needed to come so bad, he wished he could stop time for a few minutes and hold the rest of the planet in limbo so he could jerk off without moving from his position in the hall.
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