by Milly Taiden
MATED BY NIGHT
NIGHT AND DAY INK
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
New York, NY 10456
http://millytaiden.com
Mated by Night
Copyright © 2014 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Willsin Rowe
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden December 2014
Chapter One
“Stop it!” Anabelle Cruz ordered the cat inside. First week on the job and her animal was driving her up a wall. She’d been lucky enough to have her cousin Kiara get her a job at Night and Day Ink. But so far, all she’d gotten to do was try to figure out a temperamental copier and buy coffee for the elusive boss that refused to acknowledge she was around. To make matters worse, she was getting close to her heat. Oh, she could handle it for a while but it wasn’t going to be comfortable.
She kicked the copier for the fourth time, hoping the damn machine would finally work. New lights blinked on and off on the screen showing a paper jam in a location she’d already cleared.
“Fucking hell!” She didn’t even bother stopping the hiss that passed her lips. It was late and the only person left in the office was Stephanie who was mated to her cousin’s bosses, Bryan and Brent Day.
“Hey there, you okay?” Stephanie yelled from the entrance to the copier room. She held a cup of coffee in one hand and a sticky note in the other.
“I may have to quit this job if we don’t get a new copier,” Ana replied. She blew the hair out of her face and stood, wiping her hands with a paper towel.
Steph sighed and handed her the cup. “Here, drink this. It always helped Kiara get through the worst of her day.”
“I don’t understand. Why am I stuck with the Phantom of the Opera?” She grumbled.
Steph leaned into the side of the copier. “Well, you could ask to work with another of Royce’s step-brother’s, but they’re traveling and not around right now. Callum is the only Night around that needs an assistant.”
“I can be a receptionist. Hell, I’ll join the security team if it will get me someone to actually help during my shift.”
Steph passed her the purple sticky note. “Sorry, he asked me to tell you that he was leaving and if anything urgent required his attention to give him a call at this number.”
Ana gritted her teeth. Her cat rubbed under her skin at the first whiff of the wolf’s scent from the sticky note. Frickin’ A. Just like her damn tigress to want a wolf she couldn’t have. Her boss and one of her cousin’s new in-laws. Just fucking great.
“Thank you. So what is it about me that Mr. Night doesn’t like?” The question slipped out. She shouldn’t care, but the bastard wolf ignored her and it made her feel all kinds of insecure.
She knew she didn’t dress in typical professional attire, but nobody did at Night and Day. Her red and white polka dot dress with waist cinching wide belt and red peep toe stilettoes were as dressed up as she ever got. Yes, she was a big girl that loved to dress pinup style, but she had more than enough curves for the outfits. Besides, Ana loved her body and she didn’t mind showing off her curves. Kiara had gotten Royce to put her on a few of their flyers as their model. Her tattoos had all been done at Night and Day. Maybe Callum didn’t feel she did a good job. Whatever it was, she needed to find out what the hell he had against her.
“Maybe he just doesn’t need an assistant,” she said and sipped on the hot latte.
Stephanie followed her out of the copier room back to her desk. “Honey, Night men are so internal. I have worked for Royce for what feels like forever and it took me a long time to figure out what he was saying in his cryptic words and messages.”
“But you’re helping Bryan and Brent now,” Ana said.
Stephanie grinned, her smile showing her adoration for the two men. “Yeah, but only until they’re back from their honeymoon. Once they return we go back to each other’s bosses or nobody would ever get any work done in this place.”
Definitely. With Stephanie involved with both Day men and Kiara mated to Royce, it would be highly distracting for everyone to have their mates working directly for them.
“So what am I supposed to do about Mr. Night?” She said, not using his first name even though she adored the name Callum. She’d only seen him a handful of times. All from a distance and in a room filled with men. The result had been a very agitated tigress inside Ana and many nights of rubbing herself on her sheets. She pursed her lips. The heat hadn’t even hit her fully for her tigress to do that. It made no sense.
Stephanie threw a long lock of hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you come to work at times it will be easier for you to get a chance to talk to him?”
She frowned. She was in the office during her assigned hours, but had offered to come in and leave at whatever times necessary. Callum didn’t seem impressed with Ana. His messages to her were always brief and he never asked for her to bring him anything. Usually it was a passing it off to someone else. Heck, she’d yet to be in his office.
She got an idea. It might be a bad one, but at this point she didn’t give a shit about getting into trouble. She had to do something. She needed to get to know Callum. The best way to do that would be to go into his office and familiarize herself with the projects he was working on. She knew he handled the acquisition of new shops, so that meant she needed to go read through the pile of emails and files on his desk. And whatever else was in his office.
“You’re right!” She grinned. “That’s what I’ll do.”
“That’s the spirit,” Stephanie grinned. “Okay, I have to go. My boys are down the street at a bar, but they’re going to be calling me soon to take me to dinner. I have some files to take care of before I go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You got it. And thank you again.” She said as Stephanie dashed toward her side of the floor.
Stephanie stopped and turned to wave. “No problem. Just remember that Night men are very internal. You gotta get him to talk.”
Right. Talk. Easier said than done.
Chapter Two
Callum cradled his whiskey tumbler. It was his fourth or fifth and had done nothing to calm the hunger inside him. Hunger for one hot little cat who sat right outside his office door. He leaned back in the quiet bar corner outside the building.
Bryan and Brent glanced back and forth at each other and then stared at him. “You know, we’ve seen this before.”
“Seen what?” He asked the Wonder Twins. At least that’s how everyone at Night and Day referred to them.
“The signs. You’re wanting someone and we think we know who it is,” Brent said, picking up his glass and bringing it to his lips.
“If you’re anything like Royce, than you have the hots for Anabelle.” Bryan grinned. “Not that anyone could blame you. We’ve had multiple employees ask to be at her next photo shoot so they can get a glimpse of the curvy model in lingerie.”
A growl slipped past Callum’s lips. His animal didn’t appreciate knowing other men wanted the tigress. With the bountiful curves and beautiful pinup look, she made him hard with a single smile. Her beautiful caramel complexion always glowed with health and life. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he searched for her s
cent the moment he entered the building.
It was like a cat and mouse game. She didn’t know it, but he needed to know she was around. Close enough that he could soothe the animal inside with a whiff of her cat. He’d caught glimpses of her coming and going throughout the day. Usually from behind. And what a behind she had. He had stared at her more than once, watching the sexy sway of her hips and the wiggle of her bottom in those curve-hugging dresses she loved to wear.
Usually he tried to stay away from her. From her scent. That delicious combination of wild animal and warm woman were driving his wolf insane. Not to mention making it damn hard for him to focus on acquiring the upcoming building. She was close to her heat and he could think of nothing more than taking her for himself.
“She’s in heat and needs to be with a person ready to mate. That’s not me.”
“Why not?” Brent asked. He tugged off the tie he’d worn to the meeting the three had with the seller of the property Night and Day wanted to buy.
He didn’t want to explain why he didn’t want to have a mate. The Day brothers didn’t need insight into his previously messy personal life, but he chose to enlighten them with some information.
“I had a mate once before.”
Bryan frowned. He leaned forward in the booth. “Well, where is she?”
“Gone.” He didn’t bother adding how or why. That wasn’t something they needed to know.
“I’m sorry,” Bryan said. “Losing a loved one can be hard.”
He didn’t stop them from thinking his previous mate had passed away. She was dead in every sense of the word. Even if he didn’t mourn her.
“I can’t be Ana’s mate. So I think you need to give her to someone else. Her heat is coming and she’ll need to be away from the shops or you’ll have a fucking riot on your hands.” Fucking hell it twisted his stomach in knots to think of her no longer being right outside his door. At an arm’s reach. He knew it was the right thing to do. He was a loner, no longer interested in the mate and family life. He’d tried that. It hadn’t worked. If he wanted to fuck, then he’d go to one of the Wolfe clubs and hook up with someone there. His friend Mason always had a large number of single shifters ready and willing to help him relax his animal.
“She’s not going to be happy. She just started this week at the office. Usually we keep her as a floater for our models. We get a lot of hits on our social media pages when we post photos of her shoots.”
They would too. Ana was gorgeous. Big brown eyes framed by long thick lashes. A tiny nose and bow-shaped lips always covered in red gloss. Then there was the tiny mole at the corner of her mouth. Every photo of her smiling, she’d come out looking like a sex goddess.
To make her already delectable body even sexier, she had a right arm sleeve tattoo of beautiful colorful flowers in a new watercolor style. She had multiple tattoos that were constantly showed off in the catalog. From the ones behind her neck down to the ones around her feet.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk,” he said, hating the role but used to it in life. “She needs to go work with someone else. But first give her some time off to get over her upcoming heat.”
The last thing he wanted to hear about was Ana hooking up with one of the employees. She should be in his bed. Fucking hell why did he have to want her? Why now. He’d spent years ignoring relationships and mate talk. Until he’d seen Royce and Kiara together, he hadn’t even given it another thought. When he discovered Maria’s true colors, he’d known he would never be the same again.
“But you’re going to be traveling soon. Won’t that make a difference?” Brent asked. “She is hard-headed like Kiara. I don’t see her wanting a vacation. She just got back from spending time volunteering.”
Unwanted interest lit in his chest. “What was she volunteering at?”
“Helping build an orphanage in Africa. She only just got back like a month or two ago. It’s why you hadn’t seen her around the office before then. We work around her schedule for photos. But she says she’s taking a break from travel and is going to be around more.”
He didn’t want her around. Not messing with his animal. Having him desire things he’d shut down years back. She was too young. Too innocent and he could easily destroy her faith with his bitterness.
“Put her somewhere else,” he said, taking a gulp of his drink. “I have no need for her.”
His wolf roared inside. The animal hated the idea of being away from Ana. If he was honest, Callum did too. This wasn’t about wanting a mate. It was about keeping his sanity. Her scent was driving him to rethink things he’d decided against. Like finding a new mate. Like the idea of happily ever after he’d once thought he’d have with Maria was possible.
His sex drive didn’t give a fuck what he’d decided on. His cock definitely didn’t care that Callum no longer wanted a mate. He wanted Ana. Her curvy body spread and ready for him to eat. He’d been tortured daily. Smelling her tigress’s heat and visualizing her on his sofa, her pretty dress lifted up to her waist to show him her slick pussy. Oh, how he’d tortured himself with the mental images.
Ana’s scent was like a new drug for Callum’s animal. It breathed life into the desperate urges he’d tried to ignore. Like wanting to kiss Ana’s sexy lips. Or wondering if the tattoo he’d seen in one of her photos ended anywhere near her pussy. The vine of pretty blue flowers and butterflies started at her left shoulder and curled down her side. It continued to her hip and made a dive into her panties. He’d been dying of curiosity wondering if it ended before or at her pussy.
“Well, we’re leaving.” Bryan glanced down at his cell phone. “We promised Stephanie dinner at her favorite restaurant and she is very particular about food. Feed her or die is her motto.” He slid out of the booth, waiting for Brent to follow. “So we’ll see you tomorrow.”
Callum watched his friends leave. He leaned back in the booth and stared into his glass. There. He’d done it. He’d ignored his instinct of taking Ana for himself and got rid of temptation.
The waitress picked up Bryant and Brent’s empty glasses. “Can I get you anything else, handsome?”
He looked up, watched her push her breasts out in the low cut tank top and smiled. “No, thank you.”
Disappointment flashed in the woman’s eyes as she turned to walk away. He knew she wanted him. Could smell it on her the moment he’d walked in. While at another time, he’d have considered taking her offer for a quick release of pent up arousal, he knew that wasn’t the answer now. Sitting there thinking about Ana wasn’t going to solve anything either.
He left enough money to cover their drinks and the tip. As he stepped out of the bar, he remembered the file he would need for the morning meeting was on his desk. He had some notes to make. Dammit, he’d have to go back to the office and pick it up. At least he knew Ana wouldn’t be there.
Chapter Three
Ana grabbed some of the files from her desk, glanced down the hallway to ensure nobody was coming and quietly slipped into Callum’s office. The moment she stepped foot in there, the tigress purred. She pushed at the skin and wanted out. The scent of him lingered in the office. Pure male and dangerous wolf. The combination made her bite her lip to keep from groaning. She really needed to start taking her heat medication sooner than ever it seemed.
Callum’s office was dark woods and black leather. She walked around his office, her steps muted by the carpeting. She walked over to his desk and pulled his chair back. His scent was even more powerful there. The leather of the seat squeaked when she sat down. He still had the latest file right on his desk. She opened it and read for a few minutes, but the potent scent of him in that area managed to distract her from the task at hand.
“Why does he have to be the one you want?” She hissed at the cat. The animal pushed under her skin as if to remind her she wanted him too. Callum wasn’t all tattooed like the Day brothers. He was much more like Royce. A typical business man who wore slacks and button-down shirts. With those gorgeous dark eye
s and spiky cut hair, he was hot. But when you added the few times she’d caught him grinning or his eyes glowing with the animal, she’d been a goner. Sexual arousal to the billionth power.
She sighed and leaned back on his chair, caressing the arm rests at her sides. She needed help. All her brain focused on was the he’d been there before. His body sat on that chair and his scent was still on his desk. She picked up the pen he’d used and lifted it to her nose. Yeah, it was official. She needed therapy and a serious dose of hormonal control. Disgust over her inability to control her own body filled her. Slamming the file closed, she picked it up, along with the notebook and pen she’d brought with her and headed for the sofa on the other side of the office.
Sitting at his desk was messing with her head. It was pushing her to want things she really should not at the moment. A mate. A wolf. They didn’t play well together. She scratched, he bit. Great combination in bed, but not with wild animals.
She spread the papers around her on the sofa and started taking notes. Her mind drifted on the idea of her mating with Callum. Why oh why did she do it to herself? Why couldn’t she just find a nice tiger to give her a litter? She knew it was that. She wanted babies dammit. But why did her bitchy cat want to focus on a wolf? Wolves were not for tigers. It was a match made in hell.
She leaned back and closed her eyes. Callum’s scent continued to drive her tigress wild. It was hard enough to get her stomach to stop flip-flopping and to control her erratic heartbeats.
“Stop torturing me,” she begged her tigress. “He’s not for you.”
His scent grew thicker around her, more powerful. Her pussy went slick with need. The damn cat inside her reveled in his scent. She purred in the back of her throat, the sound low and soft.
“That has to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Her eyes snapped open to clash with a golden gaze no more than a few inches for her.