“Hello, Mrs. McCall.” Her voice was soft and smooth and made his cock twitch. “Thank you for asking.”
She listened for a moment, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers as she did. “No, I don’t have a headache.” She listened for a while longer, answering yes and no to what he was sure was a litany of questions about concussions and hyperthermia.
She was fine now, he had no doubt. If she hadn’t been he would have taken her to a doctor that first night.
“Yes, Mrs. McCall. He’s been the perfect gentleman.”
His eyebrow rose at her prim and proper tone. He grabbed his crotch and cupped his now rapidly expanding cock and mouthed to her again. “I’ll show you perfect.”
He laughed softly when her face did turn that bright shade of red.
Logan stood not two feet away in a pair of very old jeans and nothing else. Every muscle, every silken inch of his chest and shoulders and arms were there for her to see. To enjoy. She mentally licked her lips, wanting to run her tongue over every exposed inch. Her gaze dropped below the waist of his jeans. And every unexposed inch. Her pussy clenched and she wondered what was causing the sudden spike in her hormones.
Katie needed a cold shower and she needed one now. The damn sexy wolf was going to be the death of her—if she was lucky. She tried to concentrate on what his mother was saying.
She started when a large hand took the phone from her and the heat of his body brushed against her back. “Mom, we’ve got to go now. I’ll call you when we get home.”
Home. He’d said when they got home, as if they were going back to the city together. Oh, wouldn’t that be wonderful?
He dropped his phone on the counter and before she could turn around, he’d wrapped his arms around her and his mouth was nuzzling the side of her neck. “You are so damn beautiful, Katie.” She leaned her head back, giving him as much access to her throat as he wanted. She realized she’d done that quite a few times this weekend. He didn’t disappoint her. Nibbling along the side, he moved his mouth across her heated flesh. From beneath her ear, down her throat. He lingered where her neck and shoulder came together, biting down softly as he moved. She groaned. Why did that feel so damn good?
Logan could barely contain his wolf as he held Katie in his arms. Her skin was warm and smooth and perfect. She smelled like flowers and sunshine layered over sex. An intoxicating blend of earth and desire designed to drive a wolf to his knees. He was so close to mating her, it was driving him crazy. He’d dreamed of taking his mate for so long he wasn’t going to rush, but he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity either. He kissed her throat right where he would mark her as he knotted inside her, claiming her. She moaned in pleasure, responded intensely to his touch, and he liked it. A lot.
He grinned, feeling happier than he ever had. Satisfied. Content. If he wolf wasn’t so damn horny and wanted to fuck this woman like crazy, he knew the animal would be purring like a kitten just from the taste and scent of their mate.
He wanted to make her his in every way. His hands roamed over her body, stopping here and there to explore and arouse. Even after the many times that he’d loved her these last two days, he knew she still had hang-ups about her body. He felt it in the slight tensing of her muscles when he touched her a certain way. He regretted that he hadn’t found her sooner, before she’d built up this armor around her.
He loved her fucking curves and if it took him a lifetime, he’d prove that to her. A wolf wanted a woman who could nurture and protect their young. It was an inherent, primal drive. He, as a man, wanted a woman he could hold without fearing he would hurt her. A woman, lush and plush, ready for his body. Accepting of his size. Unafraid of a man’s strength.
She pushed back against him and his cock responded to the feel of her ass, jerking and throbbing. He knew the time had come when he needed to explain things to her. More specifically, he needed to explain mating.
He was afraid next time he thrust his cock inside her that he wouldn’t be able to control his wolf. He’d already made love to her without explaining more about the knotting.
His phone rang again and he groaned. He buried his face in Katie’s neck, waiting for it to go to voice mail. He sighed in relief when it did. “I think it's time we took this to the bedroom, don’t you, baby?” He pressed his rock hard cock between the cheeks of her ass. “Unless of course you want me to bend you over this counter and take you from behind.”
She giggled and pressed back against him again. He took that as a yes. Before he could bend her over, the phone rang again.
“Damn it.” He reached around her and grabbed his phone. He knew who it was on the other end before he even looked at the display. “What is it now, Mother?”
Yeah, he had a tone in his voice, so sue him. He also had the boner of all boners in his pants and wanted to fuck his mate. Now!
“Don’t you take that tone with me, Logan McCall.”
Katie was still in his arms and close enough to hear what his mother was saying and giggled. He lifted his lip and snarled at her just a little, which made her giggle again.
“I know I’m bothering you, sweetheart.” He heard a snort from his father and realized his mother had him on speaker phone. No doubt his father knew exactly what his mother had interrupted.
“It’s okay, Mom. What’s wrong?” When he realized what his mother was saying, his happy mood dissipated.
“I’m worried about Hunter.”
Logan’s gut tightened. If his mother was worried about Hunter that meant his younger brother hadn’t shown up yet. And he had landed in Chicago over forty-eight hours ago. He didn’t know how to tell her that without worrying her more. It was supposed to be a surprise, a belated birthday present of sorts for her since Hunter hadn’t been able to come home then.
“I’ll find him, Mom. Don’t worry.”
“I knew you would, Logan. You’re a good boy.” Logan rolled his eyes at his mother’s compliment. No grown man wanted to be called a good boy by their mother. Katie was looking at him with smiling eyes. Now if she told him he was a good boy, especially after he’d licked her to orgasm—
“Logan, are you listening to me?”
“I am now, Mother,” he answered in a droll voice.
“Good. I won’t worry anymore if I know you’re going to find Hunter.”
“I promise.”
Logan sighed and disconnected the call. He put his chin on Katie’s shoulder, still hugging her to him with his arms around her waist. Her arm curved around his head and she ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp in a calming way.
“I’ll make us something to eat, while you find your brother.”
He kissed the back of her neck as he let her go and stepped back. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe when she was away from him. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Taking his phone from the counter, he dialed Hunter’s number. It wasn’t unusual for Hunter not to answer his mother’s phone calls. Hell, he’d done it on many occasions himself. The phone rang and he was just about to give up and call Hunter’s sergeant at arms when he answered.
“Are you okay, bro?”
Katie cracked six eggs into the glass mixing bowl, then decided if she wanted anything to eat she better crack a couple more. She added some milk and salt and pepper. Her wolf had a huge appetite. And not just for food. She smiled, thinking about their time together. It had been perfect.
She sat the egg mixture aside, deciding to wait until Logan got off the phone before putting them on to cook. Spying some ripe tomatoes on the window ledge, she sliced one, remembering how good they tasted with eggs when she was younger.
She kept busy, not wanting to eavesdrop on his conversation with his brother. It was difficult to do since he was just a few feet away. She looked at him and he smiled.
“No shit. You’ve found your mate, too, didn’t you?” Now those words caught her attention. For a moment her heart swelled. He’d insinuated they needed to talk yesterday morning.
Had he… were they…?
Then reality slammed down on top of her like a two-ton truck as she continued to listen to his side of the conversation. He was telling his brother how it would be if he ever found his mate. Not that he had found his mate. She turned away, tears filling her eyes. By rote, she poured the eggs in the pan and added cheese. She stirred the spatula through them, turning them into a big lump of eggs and milk and cheese and not the fluffy omelet she’d had in mind.
Her chest hurt and she realized it was from holding her breath, trying not to make a sound. To let out a sob.
“Are we ready to eat?” Logan’s hands clasped around her shoulders and before she could calm herself and blink away the tears, he was turning her around. She couldn’t look at him. Not yet. So she buried her face in his shoulder.
“Hey, hey, baby. What’s wrong?”
The soft tone in his voice only made it worse and more tears filled her eyes. She’d known the flip side of spending time with Logan this weekend was the sharp cut of pain that would happen when they parted ways.
“Fuck.” He cursed, realizing immediately how she had taken his conversation with his brother.
Katie stiffened in his arms and tried to pull away. “Let me go, Logan.”
“No.” He picked her up and carried her to his bed. There was only one way this conversation was going to end. With his cock in her pussy and his teeth buried in her neck, her blood coursing down his throat as he mated her once and for all. They’d fucking figure out everything else later.
He threw her down on top of the silk comforter and she immediately tried to move away. He grabbed her ankles and pulled her back into the middle of the bed. “Not so fast. It’s time we had a talk.”
“I don’t think so. I heard everything I needed to when you were talking to your brother.” She sat up and tried to claw her way out of his hold. When she couldn’t, she laid back down with a heavy sigh, as if all the fight had gone out of her.
He lowered himself on top of her, maneuvering their bodies until he was between her legs, his groin pressed hard against hers. He held his upper body off hers so he could see her face.
“You don’t have to break it to me easy, Logan. I’m a big girl as you very well know. The weekend is over. I have no intention of making a fool of myself by expecting anything else but the good time we’ve had.”
“Just what kind of man do you think I am?”
“A playboy.”
“Not that again,” he sighed in frustration. “I’m not—”
“What’s the point of trying to deny it?” she interrupted. “You are one of the most eligible bachelors in Chicago.”
Logan groaned, knowing the magazine article that had appeared a month ago had come back and bitten him in the butt. He cursed Jarod for ever getting him into that mess. It was supposed to have been him in the magazine as CEO of McCall Holdings, not Logan. If he’d known it would get between him and his mate there would have been no way in hell he would have done it.
He remembered Hunter’s accusations just now about hunting pussy and cringed. She hadn’t heard that, but she had heard his response. He had been searching. Searching for her. “Maybe I have been a bit of a playboy in the past. But only because I was never satisfied with any woman.” He leaned down until his eyes met hers. “And do you know why, Katie Wilson? Because I hadn’t found you.”
Damn him, Katie thought, her heart ready to melt at his feet. No man should be able to look that sincere when he was mouthing lies to a woman. He was Logan McCall. He had the entire female population of Chicago salivating at the thought of him. “That doesn’t—” She started to argue again, then gave a little yelp as his mouth crashed down on her. It was hard, almost mean, in its possession of hers.
“I knot when I come inside you,” he said when he came up for air. He was pleased to see she squirmed at his words, meaning she was remembering the sensation of him, hard and wide inside her, stretching her pussy until she screamed in pleasure. “Do you know why? Because a male wolf shifter only knots inside his mate.”
He waited for the words and their meaning to sink in.
Katie didn’t know what to think or how to feel. She had so many emotions and sensations running through her, she felt like a circuit board that had been short-circuited. Nothing made sense. Was there something else between them than just the sexual satisfaction of a lost weekend? She had felt a pull, a connection almost from the beginning. She’d attributed it to the situation—being stood up and snowed in.
Dare she hope? Dare she dream? When was the last time she’d believed in the impossible?
Mates?
Where the hell was the instruction manual for something like that?
Mates. She repeated the word again and felt the truth in it. They were mates.
And it scared the living crap out of her. She wasn’t meant to be the love of a man’s life. Especially not a man like Logan McCall. She was too plain, too ordinary, and too damn curvy. Sure, her dream of having a husband and children might come true one day. Somewhere out there was a man who might be willing to settle just to have the same things she wanted. Companionship, children. They’d do the deed and have a child. No fireworks, no toe curling orgasms. And certainly no knotting.
Her pussy throbbed thinking about that hard ring of flesh that stretched her soooo good. And then when he rocked back and forth. Sweet heavens.
How could he possibly want a non-adventurism virgin to share his bed, share his life? He deserved more than what she was.
Her parents had not been the best of examples for happily-ever-after. They’d fight and forget they even had a child for long periods of time, too absorbed in their own lives to care. Since she’d moved out on her own, she knew they rarely thought about her anymore.
She knew that was part of her commitment issue. If her own parents didn’t care what was happening in her very boring life, then why would someone like Logan McCall be interested in the life and times of Katie Wilson? And want to be a part of it.
No man had ever touched her the way Logan had. She wasn’t just talking about the fine way he had of stoking the fire down below, no, he seemed to genuinely care about her. He showed concern for her well-being, had expressed anger when she’d been wronged her and made her believe she was the sexiest thing since crotchless panties were introduced in the first Fredrick’s of Hollywood catalog, the lingerie company before Victoria had ever made an appearance.
She stopped struggling and looked up at him, her brown eyes darker than ever. “I’m not sure what you want from me.”
“I don’t want anything from you, baby. I just want you.”
Katie felt her body go weak and her pussy weep at his words and the dark throb of passion running through his words.
But why? Why did this gorgeous man—no, wolf shifter—want her?
She was nobody’s prize. Oh, she wasn’t butt ugly, nasty or made a man want to bark at her. But she was ordinary. So very, very ordinary. And Logan McCall was extraordinary, even without being a shifter.
“Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, Katie. I know it’s not going to be something I like.”
Katie looked up to see that his eyes had narrowed and his face had hardened. “Women love you.” How else could she put it?
“I love you, Katie. What’s the problem?”
She clenched her hands into tight fists. “What’s the problem? The problem is that any woman who is foolish enough to allow herself to get involved with you would have to carry around a stick just to beat the bitches off of you.”
Logan threw back his head and laughed, which did nothing to ease Katie’s agitation. In fact, it made it worse.
The past few days being with Logan had been heaven and hell. Being close to him was too sweet for words. Too hot for explanation.
She’d lost her ability to believe in happily-ever-after long ago. But with Logan that fairy-tale had started to be rewritten. She could see the ending unfolding before her. Not all sunny days
and smooth sailing, but days that would be shared and experienced together with a man who truly loved her. Could, in fact, not live a happy life without her.
What was she going to do? The roads were clear, she could easily get in her car and drive away, drive to the city and be swallowed up in its vastness. Disappear. But she’d still have a broken heart.
Or, she could reach out and take a chance on love.
Feelings she’d told herself she’d never feel were bursting inside her, filling her so full she didn’t know which ones to grab. She wanted to taste that sweetest pleasure she knew was waiting for her should she succumb to his whispered words of love.
Her mind might still be listing the reasons why this was not a good idea, why a wolf couldn’t possibly want her forever, but her body had stopped listening. She wanted him. Needed him.
Who cared a damn about reason?
“Please don’t walk away from me again. Let me show you that I am your knight in shining armor.”
In the time it took to blink, they were face-to-face, their mouths just inches apart. The slow yielding of her body and the parting of her lips were was all the answer Logan needed. His lips were warm and firm and Katie felt as if she’d come home. He didn’t try to deepen the kiss. She didn’t know if he was savoring the experience or maybe he was afraid she’d get scared again if he came on too strong.
Just as she was on the point of begging him to deepen the kiss, his mouth parted and he touched the tip of his tongue to her lower lip, pressing firmly, urging her to open to him. She was more than willing. He thrust his tongue between her teeth, then pulled back. She knew he was waiting for her to make the next move. She brushed her mouth over his, and he opened to her, welcoming her tongue inside, accepting her kiss as if he needed it too, as if he’d waited forever.
She savored the taste of him. The familiar, dark flavor that was already embedded in her memory, in her soul. She thought she would recognize that taste, that texture and intensity for the rest of her life.
Alphas for the Holidays Page 121