by Milly Taiden
“What are you doing here?” Disgust rolled through him the moment he heard her attempt at sexy. Though it sounded like his mate, it wasn’t. And no matter how much they might look alike physically, she was not his woman.
“Staying the night.” She tried making her voice as husky as it came naturally to Karla. Only it was overdone on her. She took slow steps toward him and smiled seductively.
“I know that part. Karla told me. I mean, what are you doing sitting out here in the dark?”
She licked her lips. “I was waiting for you.”
“Why?” He was getting tired of the blatant way she looked at him. Like he was a piece of beef. Maybe it was because she wasn’t Karla that his wolf roared to the surface, angry. Or maybe it was because she was trying to move in on her sister’s man. Whatever it was, he didn’t like her. Didn’t like her scent. And he didn’t like the way she ogled him.
“I was just wondering what was up with you and Karli.” She took another step closer. He battled his animal for dominance. The wolf didn’t like her. In fact, the last thing he wanted was to be near her.
“That’s none of your business. You should talk to her about anything you need to know.” He turned away and stopped when she placed a hand on his arm.
“You know,” she whispered, “we can have fun. She doesn’t have to know anything.”
That did it. He whirled back to face her. Let her see the anger in his eyes. The glow of his wolf and his half shifted facial features.
“Don’t touch me.” He yanked away from her. “Don’t ever touch me. If you do, I won’t be responsible for what happens to you.”
She smiled. “Oh? What will the big bad shifter do to me?”
He knew she was scared despite her bravado. The beast liked the fear. He wanted to rip her belly and throat and eat her while her heart was still beating. She was pushing the line. Putting herself out there to get hurt not just with words, but by his wolf.
He snarled and jerked back. “I don’t like you.” Fury flourished in her gaze. “I don’t like your scent.” His voice deepened. “I belong to Karla. And my wolf will destroy you if you lay a hand on me again.”
She laughed nervously. Her pulse quickened and her fear overpowered the arousal he’d scented. The anger also grew. Its bitter scent seeped from her pores and burned the insides of his nostrils.
“Too bad.” She shrugged and grabbed a handbag from the sofa she’d been sitting at. “We could have had a great time together.”
Not in this lifetime.
She took her time leaving, but he could tell she wanted to rush. The tense way she walked and gripped her bag spoke for her. Once she’d walked out, he locked the door and headed for the shower in the guest room.
The bedroom was dark and quiet, but he knew Karla was awake. Her heartbeat tripped when he shut the door.
“Nate?”
He frowned. There was a tremor of insecurity when she said his name. “Were you waiting for some other sexy shifter?”
Her delicate laughter, much more reassured, melted his heart. “You really need to do something about that ego.”
His night vision allowed him to see her as clear as if there was a light on. Interest flared in her eyes. Her heated gaze roamed his naked torso down to the towel around his hips. He knew she had a good view of him from the light filtering through her blinds.
“When you look at me that way, it’s proof enough that I’m right when I say that.”
She cleared her throat. “Okay, maybe you are kind of sexy.” He grinned and dropped the towel, watched her lick her lips and then sigh. “Okay, maybe you’re more than a little sexy.”
Sliding into bed with Karla had to be the most amazing feeling ever. Every time it felt like he’d just found the perfect place to be. Home. With her. And whether there were children or not, he would never want to be anywhere else.
She’d stayed on her side of the bed. With a quick tug, he had her where he wanted her—in his arms, her head pillowed on his shoulder, and her breath caressing his neck.
“I heard the door,” she said quietly. “Did Kass leave?”
“She sure did.” And if he had anything to say about it, she’d stay the hell away from Karla. The woman was clearly vicious. He didn’t like her and neither did his wolf.
“That’s good. She was stressing me earlier.”
“About?” He didn’t really need to ask. He knew she’d been stressed the moment he walked into the room. Her distress had alarmed his animal. He’d scented anxiety and knew he had to find a way to reassure her or he’d never calm his beast.
“I don’t really want to talk about it.” She snuggled in closer, draping her leg over his.
This was it. He had to get her to talk to him. To open up some of those doors she locked all her emotions behind.
“I can tell you that I can’t believe you’re both related.”
She turned her face up to look at him. “Why?”
“She’s nothing like you. You’re a good friend. You care about people. She’s selfish, and she’s not interested in anything unless it concerns her. Nor does she care about hurting others.”
“We’ve been distant for a long time.” She started talking softly. It was what he’d hoped. For her to say something to give him a clue to the internal distress she suffered in her youth. It also explained why she had all that anxiety when it came to a relationship with him. “My family wasn’t the best when I grew up. Mom was…well, let’s just say she taught me what I don’t want out of life.”
“And what about your sister and brother?” He stroked slow lines up and down her spine. The tension seeped from her muscles after a while. She probably didn’t realize it, but it calmed his animal when he got her to relax.
“Kel has always been there for me.” He heard the approval in her voice. “He’s been the only person in the family who worried about me. Who wanted to make sure I was happy. He can sense when I’m upset.”
“Really?”
“Yup. But I don’t think Kass can. It’s like just something he and I share. A special brother sister bond that she was never part of.”
He lifted a hand to caress her long hair. It was still damp from her shower and curling as it dried. “Do you talk to your mother often?”
She laughed, a short bitter sound that broke his heart. “Not if I can help it. She’s never been interested in Kel or me. I don’t know how she deals with Kass. But the minute I was old enough to go away to college, Kel and I hit the road. Laura, my mother, was too busy clinging on to the current man in her life at the time.”
“What do you mean clinging?” He kept his question light. As though he wasn’t really trying to read between the lines of everything she said.
“My mother has a problem with men. I think I told you. She has never been able to have one hang around for long. They make promises, and they say they will stay.” He heard her swallow hard. “But all it takes is a few weeks and they’re gone. She’s gone to many lengths to buy love.”
“Did you say buy love?” His chest felt tight all of a sudden. He knew this had a lot to do with why Karla was emotionally distant. His mother’s words came back to him then. He had to start treating Karla like the woman she was, his mate. He’d have to think of a way, but in order for her to believe in his commitment, she’d have to see it.
“Oh yeah. She will spend every penny she has on her man and think that’s enough for them to stay. That buying them things will get her the love she craves. But I think it’s more of a power trip for her. Only it never seems to work. Kel thinks she’s mental, but I don’t.” She rubbed her cheek on his chest, and he pulled her tighter into his arms. “I think she just likes to be able to see if she’ll get away with keeping a man tied to her.”
He could understand how seeing that would make it hard for Karla to trust in a relationship. “But she had to have at least one long lasting relationship. What happened with your father?”
“He lasted. All of whatever long it took to get her pregnant.
Then he came around for bits of time and saw us. Never letting us get too clingy. He explained he had a family and we should understand that it was our mother’s fault for getting pregnant from a married man that couldn’t be around.”
Anger burned in his chest. He wanted to pound the low life to the ground. “He said you had to understand?”
“Oh yes. You see, he was only interested in an affair, but Laura went and got herself knocked up to tie him to her. He didn’t have time for more kids or a neurotic woman who was obsessed with spending all her time stalking him.”
Sadness floated toward him and the beating of her heart increased along with the pitch of her voice. That had to have been hard for Karla to live with. Pieces started to fit together. He understood why she’d been distant with him, but he wanted her to tell him.
“What do you think about us?” He continued petting her hair, loving the feel of the silk strands through his fingers.
“What do you mean?”
“You know how we are. I’m a shifter.” He kissed the top of her head and smiled at her sigh. “You’re my mate.”
She sat up in a rush. “You’ve never called me your mate. You said I was yours the night of the scenting ceremony, but you never said mate. I’d remember if you did.”
It amused him to see the shock in her eyes. As if he’d bite any other woman. “Mine is the same as me asking for your hand in marriage. Sweetheart, I bit you.”
“Not hard.” She frowned.
“Hard enough to make you mine.”
“I thought the bite would be deeper, harder?”
He laughed at her confusion. “No, I only marked you. That’s what the scenting ceremony is for.”
“But—but you didn’t say anything,” she insisted.
“No, I didn’t. Things got crazy after that. I wanted to spend time together, but I wanted you safe.” He pulled her back into his arms, missing the warmth of her curves over him. “The best way I can ensure your safety is to help Caleb rid of the rogues his uncle hired. They’ve been inundating the area of Caleb’s land and pushing into ours.”
“But—”
He worried when she continued to sound unsure. “Don’t you believe me?”
“It’s not that. I know how your kind works, Nate. I understand we’ve had this attraction going between us for a while. I won’t deny it. But how do we know this is something that’s even likely to work?”
“You have to trust your instincts, sweetheart.”
She was quiet for long moments. Long, nerve-wracking moments. “My instincts? Nate I’ll be honest with you,” her voice shook, “I haven’t ever been in a relationship that lasted very long. I’m not looking to put any man in a position where he feels he has to be with me. I don’t like pressuring anyone.”
“Who’s talking about pressure? I want to be with you.”
“It’s just that…you’ve been really busy lately.” He heard her swallow repeatedly. “You’ve been gone. I don’t want you to feel you have to stop what you would normally do to be with me.”
Sadness and fear seeped in waves of insecurity from her pores.
“I don’t have to stop anything. I have to adjust things. You’re my priority. You and our babies.” It became clear to him that she was trying to hide away behind her fears. To keep from taking the steps to be fully engaged in their relationship. His mother was right. She was afraid. But not of what her family’s past was. She was afraid of what could be between them. She was afraid of hope.
“You’re mine, Karla. Mine.”
“Only if you’re mine too,” she muttered half-asleep.
“That goes without saying, baby. I have one mate. And I want no other.”
He couldn’t understand it. Didn’t know how to fix it. Thoughts filled his mind as he held her until her even breathing told him she’d fallen asleep in his arms.
HE WAS IN the middle of running errands for his bar when he decided to invite Karla to his bar to get her involved in his business. He reached for his phone as he stepped out of his truck.
“Hi.” Her husky voice answered.
His chest constricted listening to her. She didn’t realize how much she meant to him, but he’d show her.
“Hi, beautiful. How are you?”
“Good. In the middle of a pop spelling quiz. Which will have a few words added to it if my kids don’t focus on their own papers instead of their neighbors,” she said in a tone meant for her students.
He smiled and rubbed a hand behind his neck. “Will you talk to me in that teacher voice later? You sound really sexy.”
“Nate!”
A chuckle burst free from his lips. “Okay, sorry. Bad Spot, right?”
She chortled. “Yes, bad Spot! What did you need?”
“I want you to come over to the bar sometime in the next few days. Just come by for a bit. Will you?”
There a drawn out silence before she sighed. “I guess I can stop by after dinner with the girls.”
“Great! I won’t keep you from your students. I’ll see you later, Ms. Alves.”
Her soft laughter tinkled through the line. “Later, Spot.”
“I HAVE A problem,” he admitted, watching his mother prepare the evening meal.
“I’ve been telling you this for a while, but you decided to be a hard head and ignore me.” She lifted a knife and waved it in his direction. “You should have realized this long ago. Karla has walls. You need to knock them down.”
He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Exhaustion pulled at his muscles. He’d been hunting all day. Through it all, he hadn’t been able to get the issue with Karla out of his mind.
“I have to find a way to get her to trust me. To trust us.” He growled in frustration.
Barbara slapped the knife on the counter. “Are you deaf? I already told you what to do.”
He frowned. They’d talked about Karla, but she hadn’t given him specific information on how to handle their problems. “When?”
She mumbled about kids never listening to their parents and then threw the vegetables she’d been cutting up into a skillet. “I told you to treat her as your equal. Shower her with communication. That’s one of the most vital things you can do for her. Sure, romance is great, but the reality is that if she had to choose between a gift and time with you, just getting to know each other better, I’d bet you she’d pick time. Talk to her about your business.”
“Thirsty Wolfe?”
“Why the heck did you pick that name, anyway?” She pointed a large cooking spoon toward him. “You all have some strange sense of humor with naming your businesses.”
“Mom…” He sighed in frustration, not wanting to upset his mother but wanting to bring the conversation back to the problem at hand. His mate.
“Anyway, yes. Tell her how it operates. Heck, ask if she has ideas on how to run it better. I heard she has a minor in business along with education. Why not help her feel more part of your life by really allowing her to make decisions along with you.”
“I invited her to the bar. She’s coming by tonight.”
“Great. Use that time to incorporate her into the business and get her opinion on things that matter to you.”
She was right. He could say whatever he wanted, but the truth was that until he gave Karla the opportunity to be the woman he needed, she’d feel like a part-time girlfriend.
“You’re a genius, Mom.”
She grinned. “I know. Took your father all of thirty seconds tied to my bed to acknowledge it.”
“Mom! I don’t want to hear that kind of stuff!” He tugged a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl in the center of the table.
“Alright! Alright! Go do your thing. Aric and your dad should be back in a few days, and I need to help Karla prepare the bridal shower. Poor Nicole has been busy with half her class being sick, I think she’s been making house calls daily. And the way she’s been sniffling, I think she’s got the bug too.”
He popped a grape in his mouth. “Y
ou sure she doesn’t have the same ‘bug’ Karla has?”
She sighed. “No. I’d be happy if that were the case, but she seems to have a summer cold.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. Your dream to see a bunch of grandbabies will come true sooner or later.”
Barbara smiled. A smile that said she was up to something. “Oh, I know. And it will be sooner rather than later.”
KARLA SAT INSIDE her car outside of Nate’s bar. Her phone buzzed. She had two text messages. One from Kel asking if she was okay, and one from Emma begging her to tell her what was going on with the bridal shower. She grinned and answered her brother that she was fine. Then she sent Emma a smiley face sticking its tongue out with the word “no” in caps and three exclamation points.
She glanced back up at Nate’s bar. The building was new with an old pub feel and look to it. Emerald-green paint covered the outside along with dark-brown accents. A giant, blinking sign showed off the bar name next to a howling wolf.
The Thirsty Wolfe. It fit his style.
Nate had asked her to come to the bar and get a better feel for it. She hadn’t believed him serious at first, but he’d sent multiple texts and left her a voicemail reminding her he’d be waiting for her.
She hopped out of the car with trepidation licking at her heels. The hum and clatter of conversation and laughter grew in volume as she neared the front door. A couple bounced out at the same time she headed inside. They smiled at her and held the door open for her to enter.
The place was packed, every table filled with couples and groups of people eating, drinking and being generally boisterous.
She noticed a group of men surrounding the bar, laughing and urging someone to hurry up because they didn’t have all night. Nate’s dark head popped up from below the counter and glanced at the entrance where she stood. He smiled and jumped over the counter toward her.
“Hey! Where’s my beer?” A guy yelled.
“Keep your pants on, Nick. I’ll be right back.” He threw over his shoulder.
Conversations suddenly stopped as Nate marched toward her.
“Hi.” She smiled, unsure what to do. They hadn’t really been in public as a couple, and she didn’t know if he wanted to give his customers any public displays of affection.