by Vivian Arend
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly before placing her hands behind her head and diving into a tune.
"Do you want—?" He cupped her breast, and the words escaping her slid from out of tune into this breathless, gorgeous note. Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"
TJ shrugged. "It worked. And admit it—the lesson was pretty fun.”
"Wait until the next time somebody wants me to do karaoke. You have to come up with me, and they’ll end up with a porno show at the same time."
Not going to happen anytime soon because he wasn't ready to have anyone else see her O face. "Are you ready for a more advanced lesson?”
He pulled her to her feet so the fronts of their bodies rubbed. She caught him by the hand and whirled him into a dance around the living room, one that somehow finished with them mysteriously tumbling into bed. "Oh look at that. I have no idea how it happened."
TJ laughed. "Perfect. The acoustics in here are even better than the other room.”
Pam snickered. “I still can’t sing,” she reminded him.
He shook his head, nuzzling against her affectionately and making sure the truth in his words was crystal clear. “Your singing makes you happy, which makes me happy, and that’s all that’s necessary. Got that? Anytime, anywhere, I will sing with you.”
Her eyes sparkled like stars in the sky. “Thank you.”
TJ nodded firmly, and when she brushed her hands over his back and attempted to pull him down for a kiss, he made her wait. He reached over his head and dragged off his shirt before doing the same to her, then settled happily into her embrace. "Lesson number two starts now…"
Epilogue
Two years later, June, Haines Alaska
Jared Gilliland loved his life. Because, what was there not to love? He had a great pack to belong to, friends to help and to get into mischief with, and—
“Oh sweet heaven above the angels in glory and whoa and damn and I hear bells am I supposed to hear bells?” A soft, breathless nonsense phrase delivered in a light soprano from the young woman lying naked, collapsed limply on the mattress beside Jared.
They’d just finished enjoying some rather vigorous exertions, and her legs twitched against his thigh as she let out a mighty sigh.
He rolled to his side to stare down at her in amusement. "Happy?"
She didn't open her eyes. “Don’t know. Can't talk. Can't think. You killed me."
Jared laughed. “Don’t be dead. Considering it's only eight o’clock, it would put a damper on our fun as I am not into necrophilia."
Her lips curled a smile. "Holy moly, Jared, that was amazing."
"Thank you, I know."
"I'd poke you about having an ego, but it ain’t bragging if you done it.” Another sigh of contentment escaped her.
"I'll be right back," he promised, kissing the tip of her nose before rolling out of bed and heading naked for the kitchen.
He took his time, strolling slowly and checking out her apartment as he went—may as well give her a few minutes to recover.
She had a nice place. Neat, lots of comfy furniture with walls lined with bookcases full of knickknacks, books, and framed pictures with a lot of family and friends.
He stuck his head in the fridge and got them a couple of drinks, carrying them back to her bedroom.
The blonde had managed to pull herself to a sitting position, her sex-tousled hair and bright smile making her look mighty tasty. She reached out her hand eagerly for the glass he carried. “Oh, thank you.”
They downed the drinks, chatting for a bit. Laughter and teasing easy between them.
She leaned back on a pillow, suddenly more serious. “I hate to change the topic, but you do remember I’m not looking for a serious relationship right now.”
Jared nodded. “So you said. Me too—just fun.”
“Fun, and lots of orgasms.” A jaunty wink.
“Naturally, lots of those.” Jared tipped a finger under her chin. “No problem, babe. You mentioned that earlier when we met. I’m not going to get growly on you.”
She dipped her head firmly. “I’m glad. It’s just nice to not have to do the ‘meet the family’ thing every time, and have all these expectations, and wondering about where things are going. I just want to enjoy your company for a while.”
Jared was doubly glad. Doing a meet and greet with his family was not on the agenda—a total logistical nightmare for so many reasons. And the fact he was a wolf shifter and she wasn’t just added to the ‘this is not a long term relationship’ situation.
Not that he was totally opposed to the idea of finding a long-term. Heck, even his friend TJ had found his mate, which before it happened had to have been like a two out of ten on the scale of things most likely to happen.
Still, it had happened, and Jared was glad for his friend. But lightning rarely struck twice: the odds of Jared ever finding a mate were probably a million to one.
He shoved off his momentary gloom and slid a finger down her arm, watching as she squirmed. “Are you ready to enjoy my company a little more right now? Because I have this itch I need to scratch.”
She put aside her glass and reached for him, and the evening’s entertainment moved to the next stage. If he couldn’t have a mate, he could at least have a damn good time. Jared pushed aside the things he couldn’t control and worked the things he could.
Life was good. As good as it was going to get. And that was fine with him.
Inside, though, his wolf folded its tail under and pouted. Silly human.
The human side could lie all he wanted, but his wolf knew better. Fun was fun, he supposed, but a mate was more than fun.
Something was missing, and the beast wasn’t going to give up until he’d found her.
Mate. She’s out there…
I hope you’ve enjoyed TJ and Pam’s story, and their special edition bonus scene. Now it’s time to find out what mischief Jared and his wolf are about to get into! Get ready for WOLF LINE. It’s a cruise ship for shifters, and anything can happen—even falling in love…
If you’d like to meet some other sexy shifters, check out COPPER KING, where a billionaire bad boy bear has a wild adventure in Vegas with a very secretive young lady.
Please enjoy an excerpt from WOLF LINE, the fifth book in the Granite Lake Wolves series
Into the best-laid plans a little chaos must fall…
Wolf-about-town, Jared Gilliland, hides secrets within secrets, but his love of the female persuasion isn’t one of them. It’s woman-trouble that disrupts his quiet morning coffee near the harbor and ends with him on a cruise ship impersonating one of his pack mates. No worries. It’s just a new adventure to enjoy—until he’s confronted with someone who makes his inner wolf sit up and howl. Suddenly, Jared’s stuck in limbo; wanting to protect, needing to stay away.
Keri Smith joined her best friend for the shifter-only sailing of the Arctic Wolf Cruise. Her job is supposed to be trouble-shooter, so while she’s nearly positive the last-minute recruit sneaking aboard the tour is her mate, ix-nay on confirming that at least for the next ten days. Getting tangled up in mating lust would reduce her skills to nil. Avoidance of the sexy wolf for the duration of the cruise, followed by jumping his bones, seems the logical solution.
But when libidos are on the line, “logic” and “wolves” don’t go together.
Warning: Really? You need to be warned about the hot nookie and sarcasm? Yeah, it’s in here. Also, colourful cat shifters, lupine royalty, and wild adventures in cabins like you’ve never seen before.
Chapter One
The alternating colours of cream and coffee revolved like hypnotic artwork as a finger of steam rose from the surface of his drink. Jared Gilliland took a long sip and waited for the caffeine to soak through his system and kick his brain awake.
There was nothing better than enjoying an invigorating cup of java while relaxing on the premier harbour-view patio in all of Haines. He turned his face toward the early July sunshine, and contentment rolle
d over him.
Okay, the fact he’d had a wickedly pleasurable night the previous evening with a sweet young thing also had something to do with the lazy satisfaction in his limbs.
Life was good. A trifle frustrating at times, perhaps, but on the whole, damn good.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been up to something, just from your expression.”
Jared popped upright from his sprawl to discover his Beta closing in on the table. The massive man carried a tray covered with mugs. Behind him trailed a convoy of the Granite Lake wolves. Jared jumped to his feet and pulled a chair out of Erik’s way. “Who, me? Up to something? You’re just saying that because nine times out of ten, it’s true.”
Erik chuckled as he lowered his burden to the table. “I like that about you. Honest enough to admit your faults.”
“Well, now, I didn’t say it was a fault—creativity is one of my better qualities.” He dipped his head politely to Keil and Robyn, the pack Alphas, before glancing at the diminishing space around his table. “Umm, did you want me to leave?”
“Of course not.” Keil rested his hand on Robyn’s shoulder to hold her back for a second. “I thought you’d picked the best table in the place especially so we’d join you. You don’t mind, do you?”
Hot damn, no. This might not be as restful a morning as Jared had planned, but getting to spend time with the bigwigs of the pack was worth giving up a little R and R. “Happy to be of service. I’ve been fighting people off left and right to save this spot.”
Chairs settled in place, cups and goodies were passed out, and then there were seven. Jared might have felt more anxious if all of them weren’t so well known to him. From Keil and Robyn to Tad and Missy, who acted as Omegas for the pack, Jared had watched with admiration over the past two and a half years as they’d worked from within the Alaskan wolf pack to make it stronger than before.
Erik and his mate Maggie—he’d spent time with them on the trail during the wolf equivalent of the Amazing Race. It was tough to be intimidated by someone he’d crawled over rocks and splashed through creeks with.
“What’s the word on the renovations?” Keil tapped the table in front of Maggie. “And please tell me you’re not still trying to get the Teslin brothers to finish the plumbing for the new kitchen.”
“Hey, they have the skills. They’ve been a little distracted over the past couple weeks.” She shook her head and pointed at Erik. “It’s his fault.”
“Mine?”
“Yours. You gave approval for the contractor from the cruise ship to use the hall in the pack house for interviews. I can’t blame the guys for getting distracted when there’s been a constant stream of good-looking female wolves parading through the—”
Jared spoke without thinking. “Good-looking wolves?”
A sharp burst of laughter surrounded him, and he might have flushed for a moment. His reputation, well deserved, preceded him. He smiled sheepishly and grabbed a sip of his coffee. Lowering his cup revealed Robyn’s bright grin directly across from him.
They’d arranged themselves without thinking to make it easy for her to see their faces. Her skills in lip reading hadn’t changed when she became a full wolf, but somehow her deafness had become even less of an obstacle. She had an uncanny knack of analyzing people that allowed her to fit in easily with the hearing community. Of course, her willingness to slap down any out-of-line wolf might also explain why the pack remained on their best behavior around her.
Robyn spoke in sign language to her mate, and Keil laughed even harder. “I agree.”
Jared pressed closer. “What? I didn’t catch that.”
Keil tilted his cup toward Jared. “She was wondering why any of us are surprised to find your attention was caught by the idea of good-looking wolves. You’ve gone through the most amazing collection of females of anyone I’ve ever met. Before I met Robyn, I used to have a fair number…”
He trailed off as she crossed her arms, her expression changing subtly. Jared stifled his snort of amusement.
“…used to have all kinds of trouble finding a good woman to spend time with.” Keil folded his hands in front of him, resting his hamlike fists on the table. He smiled innocently at Robyn like a four-year-old, and not one of the scariest dudes in the entire state of Alaska, in human or wolf form. “There simply wasn’t anyone who could measure up to my high standards. I lived a sad and lonely life until you came into my world.”
She smiled and patted his cheek.
Erik shook his head. “We’ll all ignore the fact you just lied through your teeth.”
Maggie nodded in agreement, her blonde curls bouncing. “That would be less complicated, wouldn’t it?”
The teasing carried on for a while, and Jared basked in a different kind of warmth than he’d been enjoying at the start of his coffee break.
Pack was family, and his had turned into one of the best around. Granite Lake had changed for the better over the past couple years. The group of shifters surrounding him was powerful enough to keep even unruly wolves in line, but they did it in a totally personable and fun way. There were new members coming to Haines all the time now wanting to join. It wasn’t just a remote place to live anymore. The harbourside Alaskan town had so much to offer to the new breed of adventurer moving north.
Not that he longed for adventure. Nope. The quiet life was more than enough of an exploit for him. He supposed. The yearning inside for something more could be shoved aside for a while longer.
Someone poked him in the arm. “You found a job for the summer yet?”
Jared scrambled mentally, pulling himself from his doldrums. One of the unwritten pack rules was work or they’d find work for you. He’d kept his actual business connections on the sly for so long, everyone thought the principle still applied to him. “Of course.”
Tad waited.
“Well, strictly speaking, it’s not a job job, but I promised to help at the Heritage Village while the cruise ships are in port. You know, dressing up and—”
“Seducing the visitors? Oh, Jared, when are you going to grow up and get going with your life?” Maggie shook her head, but she was smiling too hard to actually be upset.
Busted. That was a sweet side bonus. “Hey, positive tourism is a good thing for Haines. I figure the happier people are when they leave our fair shores, the better chance they’ll return.”
“And the casual hookups aren’t something you mind, right?” All the men at the table stared at Maggie in undisguised shock. She rolled her eyes. “Damn sex junkies, all you male wolves. Okay, let me rephrase that. Aren’t you looking for something more than casual sex at some point?”
Jared waited a full five seconds out of respect before blurting, “No. Never. Like not ever.”
Six heads swiveled his direction, and this time even the guys seemed to be laughing at him and not with him.
“You’re going to be such a goner when you meet your mate.” Tad brushed his fingers through the pale curls at the base of Missy’s neck. Jared considered making a smart-ass comment, but thought better of it. Tad could use his freaky Omega spidey-senses and find out exactly how and why Jared didn’t expect to ever find his mate. And then there would be all kinds of questions and an inquisition…
From the pointed look he got from Missy, it might be too late.
Damn mystical wolf voodoo—keeping secrets from this group took more energy than hiding catnip from a bunch of cougar shifters.
Luckily, the Omegas were polite enough to not start scanning pack members without a reason like some out-of-control wolf TSA. She wouldn’t say anything in front of the whole pack, if she had caught his secret.
And secrets he had.
He adjusted his chair, hoping to fade into the background. Erik winked slyly then changed the topic. Jared made a mental note to buy a six-pack of the dude’s favourite brew and slip it onto his porch. Yeah, the Beta was one of the golden boys of the pack.
Actually, they were all fabulous.
He had no issues with any of the leadership. Life was grand, other than his itchy feet and his one little issue, and that was something no one could help him with, so it was less of an issue and more of a thing. Things could be ignored.
Conversation picked up again, and he relaxed, taking the time to examine the faces around him as they visited. He checked out the mix of humans and shifters crowded into the little coffee shop and the second-story balcony seating on this glorious July morning. Down on the street, two heftily built fishermen moved northward, coming from the harbour.
Why did they look familiar? He didn’t think they were shifters, and he didn’t usually hang out at the docks. Jared leaned forward and stared harder. They turned to look in his direction, and as he met their eyes, their expressions twisted from rather mindless to furious.
Jared glanced behind him. Nope. No one there the boys could be pissed at. Had Erik or Keil done something?
“Umm, anyone been annoying the locals lately? The pack got any unpaid bills at the fishmongers?”
Erik frowned. “What?”
“Someone down there is very interested in someone up here.” Jared pointed, and the entire table turned toward the street.
Of course, that was the moment Jared figured out exactly why the men’s features were familiar. The adrenaline that flashed through his veins was stronger than the kickback jolt from a dozen triple espressos—body instantly on edge, heart pounding. He snuck his chair back, planted one hand on the railing behind him, and threw himself over.
“Are you sure everything is in place?”
Keri crossed her arms and leaned on the wall outside the cruise ship’s command room. “At some point you have to get over this irritating urge to micromanage every single step of the journey. Tessa, everything is going to be okay. The cruise is fully booked. All the passengers have cleared the security check. Willis got the final staff we need in place—you can relax.”
Her best friend nodded, even as she rapidly puffed air. Keri looked around helplessly for a paper bag to shove over Tessa’s head. Hyperventilation wasn’t pretty to watch.