by Chant, Zoe
“Yes,” Garrett answered her. “That’s what has me worried. If they were humans, the police could deal with them. But if they’re shifters, they’re at least somewhat my responsibility. That’s my job. As much as I wish to God it wasn’t right now.”
Georgia laughed, a little shakily. “I understand. I do. Will you need to be gone long?”
Garrett raised his head, letting his dragon come forward, enhancing his senses even further.
Where are they? Where are the ones who have caused such havoc on our watch? His dragon was furious, spreading its wings, flames licking at the corners of its mouth. Our mate could have been hurt!
He scented the wind, hunting down any traces of the wolves – and found nothing. They had vanished, just like he’d feared they would. Without shifting and flying over the area he wouldn’t be able to find them, and there was no way he could do that in broad daylight with all these people around.
“I can’t find them for now,” Garrett admitted. “They’ve gone. But my boss, Hardwicke, told me that the owner of this resort is a shifter too. He’ll probably know which guests are shifters. He needs to be told about this, if he hasn’t been already.”
Georgia’s eyes were wide. “The owner of the resort is a shifter? I guess you guys really are everywhere, and we just don’t know it.”
“Most shifters mean humans no harm,” Garrett assured her as they made their way back up toward the resort. “We just want to live in peace. Naturally, there’s always a few bad ones –”
“Just like with humans,” Georgia cut him off. “It’s okay. I’m not frightened. It’s just – a surprise, I suppose.”
Garrett looked down at her, his heart feeling warm within him.
She’s amazing, he thought. Of course, he’d already known she was – but her calmness and ability to accept what he told her only made him admire her even more.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get this over with. And then…”
The heated glance Georgia gave him couldn’t possibly have been misinterpreted.
“Yeah,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips. “And then.”
Chapter 5
If Garrett had been able to go back in time and tell his eighteen-year-old self to choose literally any other job, he definitely would have. It was like hell to have to sit here waiting to be admitted to the resort owner’s office with his mate only a few feet away from him, and yet being completely unable to take her in his arms, pull off her clothes, and show her just how much she meant to him.
Well, not without getting both of them evicted from the resort for public lewdness, he supposed.
But as much as it might have seemed worth it in the heat of the moment, Garrett was pretty sure he’d regret it when it came time to explain to Hardwicke why he was home early from his vacation.
That was not a conversation he needed to have, he thought, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
The pretty secretary sitting behind a desk by the door murmured something under her breath into a speaker, and then looked up at him, smiling brightly. “Mr. Barston will see you now.”
Garrett glanced at Georgia. “You okay to stay here?”
Georgia nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”
It was strange how everything she said suddenly seemed to be so charged with suggestion, Garrett thought as he made his way across the room, hoping that the tightness in his pants wasn’t obvious. A second longer in Georgia’s presence and it would have become impossible to hide.
He opened the door and found himself in a sumptuous, wood-paneled office. An expansive desk sat before a massive floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, which was filled with folders marked ACCOUNTS, while the man Garrett assumed was Laurence Barston sat behind the desk itself. Over against the far wall was a massive terrarium filled with sand, rocks and grasses, a red heat lamp above it, though Garrett couldn’t see any kind of animal inside.
“Garrett Kolev, is it?” Barston stood, extending a hand, which Garrett took. “So you’re the agent Hardwicke sent up. We have an agreement about that. This place is a refuge for Shifter Patrol Corps agents who need a break.”
Barston was a large man, muscular but heavyset, his dark hair graying at the temples. His suit was clearly expensive, and he looked very much at ease with himself and his obvious money and success. Nonetheless, Garrett could detect a certain underlying tension in the air, and he didn’t like it.
“I’m sure Hardwicke appreciates it,” he said, hoping he was saying the right thing.
Damn it, I’m not used to this, he thought, frustrated. He wasn’t used to schmoozing or chatting people up. He didn’t even interview suspects all that often – his job was to track them down and bring them in. Other agents were responsible for the rest.
“So I guess you’re here about the little bit of trouble we had this morning,” Barston said, shaking his head regretfully. “Believe me when I say I can’t thank you enough for the part you played in stopping it. Things could have been much worse.”
Ahh, to hell with it, Garrett thought. He wasn’t going to try to be something he wasn’t.
“Yes, it could have been,” he said bluntly. “Someone could have been killed. Were the wolves who were responsible guests here?”
Barston’s eyes flashed a little, but he didn’t seem angry. “They were. Not anymore.” He laughed a little ruefully. “As of now they’re being escorted off the property. We try to do our best to make sure we don’t book unsuitable guests, but as I’m sure you can appreciate, Mr. Kolev, it’s not exactly an easy task.”
Garrett nodded. The resort couldn’t exactly ask guests to fax over a character reference before they made a booking.
“But you’re sure you got all of them? There were six. I saw them myself.”
Barston paused. “Look, I can see you’re concerned, and I don’t blame you,” he said. “We’re passing them on to the local Shifter Patrol agents as soon as they’ve cleaned out their rooms. Believe me when I say we have this under control. But perhaps our head of security can reassure you more than I can.” He pressed a button on his desk. “Jared, will you come in here a moment, please?”
A second later, a door on the other side of the room opened, and a massive, burly man, perhaps even bigger than Garrett himself, came through it. He glanced between Garrett and Barston. “What’s up, boss?”
“Garrett Kolev, this is Jared Crane, our head of security. Perhaps he can set your mind at ease.”
“Shifter Patrol Corps, aren’t you?” Crane said as he reached forward to shake Garrett’s hand. Garrett nodded.
“I’m an ex-agent myself,” Crane said. “Sometimes I still miss it.”
“But I happen to pay better,” Barston said with a laugh.
Looking Crane over, Garrett couldn’t say he was surprised to hear he was a former Shifter Patrol agent. He certainly looked the part, and a lot of agents went into private security after they retired. Although he knew he shouldn’t let it cloud his judgment, he had to admit he did feel more confident knowing that someone with a background in the Corps was handling things here.
“Who were those wolves?” he asked.
“Just some troublemakers on an end of year trip,” Crane sneered, shaking his head. “There’s always got to be someone who can’t play nicely. Usually nothing so severe as this – just people who get a bit pushy while waiting in line, or humans who can’t handle their drink causing a fuss. In those cases we just have a word with them and let them know if it happens a second time they’ll be asked to leave with no refund. But with something like this, there’s no first warning – it’s immediate removal.”
Garrett nodded, though the reference to waiting in line gave him pause. There didn’t seem to be enough people here to need to line up for anything.
“Are guest numbers down this year?” he asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.
Barston looked up at him as if surprised. “A little,” he said. “But not significantly. And these things happen. We budget for w
orst case scenarios.”
“At least it means there weren’t so many people around to be disturbed by the incident this morning,” Crane cut in.
“There were enough,” Garrett said. “And I didn’t notice many of your men around at the time, either.”
Crane bristled, and Garrett could sense his shifter form coming forward, angry. Not enough for him to tell what Crane shifted into, though.
“We can’t be everywhere,” he said, a low growl in his voice. “Most of my men were watching the lake, making sure everyone was safe on the ice, and the others were supervising things at the main hall. We would have been there only a second later.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes. He realized what he’d said hadn’t exactly been tactful, but Crane had become immediately defensive.
“Like I said, thank goodness you were there,” Barston said. “And like I said, the wolves have been removed. Isn’t that right, Jared?”
Crane continued to bristle a moment longer, before he visibly relaxed. “Yeah. They’ll be gone by now. We’ve recorded their names. They won’t ever be allowed back. You can check over the property if you’re not satisfied.”
Garrett paused, looking at Crane. The man was clearly still unhappy that Garrett had suggested his men weren’t doing their job, but he seemed sincere in his offer of letting Garrett check things over.
After a moment, Garrett shook his head. In fact, he would have loved to have done a fly-over to check things out, but it was impossible. There were just too many humans around for a dragon to suddenly appear in the sky over the resort.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” he said.
He had no reason to think Barston and Crane were lying to him, after all – he was certain they didn’t want troublemakers hanging around the resort. People wouldn’t feel safe to bring their families here with people like that hanging around.
“So, you’re satisfied?” Barston asked, his relief palpable.
Garrett wasn’t sure that he was, but he didn’t see there was anything much he could do about it. He was supposed to be here on vacation, and he couldn’t poke around the resort without ruffling feathers, or things getting back to Hardwicke.
He didn’t even know what he expected to find, anyway. More wolves?
And my mate is waiting for me, just outside those doors…
That was what finally made up his mind. Barston and Crane said the wolves were gone. If that was the case, then that was that. He didn’t think he could stand another minute more away from Georgia – not with things still unfinished between them. He knew he wouldn’t have a clear head until he took Georgia back to the chalet and claimed her properly, the way a shifter was supposed to claim his mate.
“I’m satisfied,” he said. “As long as the wolves are gone.”
“They are,” Barston said firmly. “But I appreciate your diligence. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Shifter Patrol Corps.”
Garrett didn’t care about the flattery, but he nodded to Barston nonetheless. He needed to get out of here. Barston and Crane had told him the Shifter Patrol Corps had the wolves now, and he had no grounds to go poking his nose in.
They’d better believe if I hear of so much as a lick more trouble, I’ll be poking my nose in everywhere, he thought, as he shook hands with the two men a final time, before exiting Barston’s office.
Georgia looked up as he came out into the waiting room, her eyes radiant as ever, but her expression slightly concerned.
“Everything okay?”
“I think so,” Garrett replied, keeping his voice low. “There was something I didn’t like about Barston, but maybe that’s just me.”
He shook his head. Barston had been a little smug, but he had that in common with just about every other rich businessman Garrett had ever met. It didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Georgia looked up at him questioningly, but his mind was already elsewhere – anywhere, in fact, that he could get Georgia alone. His eyes roamed over her figure, and her lips twitched as she noticed him looking.
“Can we get out of here, then?” she breathed, so low that he could barely hear it.
“Yes,” he said, putting his arm around her waist as together they hurried toward the door.
Chapter 6
Georgia barely felt the change in temperature as they left the resort manager’s office building and emerged into the wintry early afternoon sunlight.
The heat of Garrett’s body seemed to warm her – though to be honest, for the last twenty minutes she’d felt like she’d been wandering through a haze. She’d thought she might have been dreaming this morning when Garrett appeared on her doorstep, but compared with how she felt now…
He’s a shifter, after all. And he’s my mate.
The idea she’d barely let herself entertain this morning had become a reality. When she’d asked Garrett if he was a shifter, she’d almost believed he’d simply look at her with confusion and ask her what she was talking about.
If this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up.
She shook her head, forcing herself to focus.
Garrett’s fingers against her shoulder, the feel of his body pressing against hers as they hurried up the hill toward the chalets, the crunch of the snow beneath his boots – all of those were real. He was as solid as she was, and he was hers.
And I’m his, Georgia thought, turning her head to gaze at his strong, masculine profile.
She had never wanted anyone the way she wanted Garrett – had been wanting him, ever since the first moment she saw him, shirtlessly chopping wood by his chalet.
Somehow, even then, she’d known – and everything that had happened since had only confirmed it for her. Garrett was kind, strong, and brave. And she could accept everything he came with, if it meant they would be together forever.
“Your place or mine,” she managed to get out as they reached the gate to the path leading to the chalets. She could barely hear her own voice over the desperate pounding of her heart.
“Mine’s closer,” Garrett said, his voice a low, rich rumble.
“Yours it is, then.”
Georgia felt like she must have floated the last leg of their journey to Garrett’s chalet – certainly, she didn’t remember walking any of it.
It seemed like the next thing she knew, Garrett was slamming the door closed behind him, and then his lips were on hers, his tongue sweeping hungrily into her mouth, his warm hands cupping her jaw, his body pressed up against hers.
“Georgia,” he whispered, his voice husky with need when finally they broke apart.
Georgia felt breathless and dazed from the force of his kiss, utterly overtaken with her desire for him. Her back was pressed against the closed front door of the chalet, and Garrett’s firm body was against hers, the hard muscles of his chest against the softness of her breasts.
“There’s one thing I need to tell you before we do this,” Garrett said, voice soft and hoarse. “You said you know about shifters, and about the mated bonds they form.”
Georgia nodded, trying to focus and listen to what he was saying. “Yes.”
“But I need to make sure you understand what the mated bond means,” Garrett said. “Shifters… we mate for life. Once a shifter has found their mate, that connection can never be broken. And if we do this, our bond will be sealed. Forever.” He swallowed. “I have to know that you accept the bond, that you know what it means and it’s really what you want before we go any further.”
Georgia’s head spun. Of course she wanted this. Garrett was the most amazing man she’d ever met. He was great with Logan. He was smoking hot. He was kind, brave, and strong. And he wanted to be with her forever.
“Of course I accept it,” she breathed, running her hand lightly over his cheek and jaw. “I want it. I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything before in my life.”
Ordinarily, Georgia knew she might have felt a little embarrassed to say such things to a man, but with Garrett, it only felt rig
ht.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you ever since I first saw you,” Garrett said. “I didn’t sleep a wink last night – all I could think about was you.”
Georgia couldn’t hold back her soft laugh. “Well, that makes two of us, I guess.”
She moaned as Garrett’s thumb ran over her lip, her eyes fluttering closed. She supposed she’d have a lot more questions for him later – but right now, the only thing she wanted was to feel his skin against hers, feel him above her and inside her…
It had been a long time since she’d kissed a man, and between working and trying to raise Logan alone, she honestly hadn’t had much time to think about it. Now, she wondered how she’d gone without – though of course, she didn’t imagine most men kissed the way that Garrett did. His mouth was hot, his lips soft despite his weathered skin and stubble. His kisses were both gentle and demanding at once, his hands cupping her face and raising her lips to his.
“God, I want you so badly,” she breathed when he pulled back slightly, his breath warm on her face.
Garrett’s eyes flashed. She could feel just how badly he wanted her too, if the hardness at his groin pressing against her thigh was anything to go by. Her mouth watered at the thought of it – and she was already soaking wet between her own thighs, desire throbbing insistently through her stomach.
“Let’s go.”
Georgia didn’t have time to think before she felt his arms around her – but this time, instead of pressing her back against the door, he was picking her up, bridal-style, and carrying her as if she weighed nothing at all to his bedroom.
Their kisses were desperate as he lay her down on the bed before following her down a moment later, his hands tearing off her winter jacket and throwing it across the room. Her own hands scrabbled at his clothes, shoving his jacket off his shoulders before tugging at the hem of his t-shirt.
When she finally got it off him and tossed it aside, Georgia had to take a moment to simply marvel at the sight of his body – the hard, flat planes of his pectoral muscles, the tight grid of his abs. His biceps bulged as he supported himself on the bed above her.