by Alisa Woods
He was undeniably hot, but he was rushing at her, and he was still a shifter. Olivia unlocked her quivering body and scrambled to grab one of the cattle-prod sticks the men had left behind. She held it in front of her to ward off the shifter and shrunk back against the wall.
He jogged to a stop just out of her reach. “Whoa! Hey…” He raised both hands into the air. “I’m not going to hurt you. Promise.” He gave her a lopsided smile that sent flutters through her lady parts, but she kept the stick trained on him.
“You’re a shifter,” she said, stating the obvious because her brain was blurry from everything that had happened.
“And you’re a human,” he said with a laugh in his voice. “I figured that out on account of an electric prod being your weapon of choice.”
Damn. Even his voice was drenched in hotness. And he was only partly right about her being human, but she certainly wasn’t going to point that out. Her hand was shaking, but she managed to keep him at a distance with the stick.
He relaxed his hands-up position. “Come on, now. You’re not going to hurt me with that thing.” He extended one hand toward her, palm up. “How about you just give it to me, we put it down, and we can call this whole thing done?” He edged a little closer, slowly reaching for the cattle prod like she was a skittish but heavily-armed deer, all while holding her gaze with gorgeous clear blue eyes as bright as the Seattle sky.
Her hand wavered, but who was she kidding? This man wasn’t going to hurt her. She let out a shuddering breath and handed the torture stick over to him. His face lit with a smile, and he tossed the cattle prod behind him, sending it clattering on the pavement. Hands now free, he dropped them to work at the buttons on his pants. He was standing far too close, and it was clear he was going commando underneath his tattered jeans. She swallowed and tried to look anywhere else other than the gorgeous man dressing in front of her.
Her desperate attempt didn’t go unnoticed. “Sorry,” he said, drawing her back. “Nudity is an occupational hazard.” His smile had morphed into a full smirk. “And you’ve got to be kidding me, trying to stop those guys with a phone.” He nodded to the device in her hand, which was now hanging limp at her side.
“I… um…” God, why wouldn’t her mouth work? Oh right. Because a Greek God was standing in front of her and… was he checking her out? His gaze was roaming her body, scouring and scrutinizing every inch.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his gaze finally reaching hers again.
Her cheeks flamed. He was just concerned about her, not hot for her too-plump body. Obviously. She was embarrassed she’d even conjured that thought. Had to be leftover tremors still rattling her brain.
She swallowed and managed to find her voice. “I’m fine.” But her voice squeaked, and he frowned in response.
He looked her over again, and then slowly leaned in to plant his hands on either side of her head, surrounding her with a mountain of muscles. She sucked in a breath and pressed harder against the wall. He wasn’t touching her, but she could feel the warmth radiating from his muscular arms. The scent of pine, warm earth, and the heat of the fight was on him. She should be terrified, struggling to get away, but instead she was overwhelmed by the raw sex-appeal rolling off him in waves.
“You’re not all right,” he said softly, peering into her eyes. “You’re in shock. You just witnessed a violent attack in an alley with dangerous men you don’t know. I’m sorry you had to see that, but it’s over now. You’re safe. And I promise I won’t let any harm come to you.” He dipped his head, leaning even closer. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded, somewhat erratically. But she actually did believe him—he could obviously kill her if he wanted, but instead, he was reassuring her. With his words. And his body. And his ridiculously sexy voice.
His smile returned, and he eased back a little, but still stayed close enough to make her chest hurt with how hard her heart was pounding.
“Thanks for trying to save me,” he said, voice still soft. “That was a very sweet thing to do. Brave and sweet. Also very stupid.”
She gave a small shrug, as much as she could with him so close. Because what could she do, walk away? “They were going to kill you.” His nearness was making it hard for her to breathe. Hard to speak.
His smile blazed brighter. “Actually, I had just gotten them right where I wanted them.”
That made her eyebrows hike up. “It didn’t quite look that way from this end of the alley.”
“You’ll just have to trust me on that.” The smirk was almost too much, especially this close, but then it faded. He leaned in fast and planted a light kiss on her cheek. “But thank you anyway,” he whispered in her ear.
Her breath hitched, and goosebumps ran races up and down her body.
She expected him to pull away, but instead, he seemed to be drawing in a breath with his lips still near her cheek. Was he scenting her? She had heard shifter wolves could do that—smell far more than any normal human. And maybe hear things, too. God, she prayed he didn’t smell the wetness pooling between her legs. When he finally pulled back, he peered at her, frowning. Like he had an unspoken question and was searching for the answer in her eyes.
“Can I kiss you?” His voice was soft and wondering.
What? “I think you just did.” She really, really couldn’t breathe.
His smirk blazed to life again. “That wasn’t even close to a kiss.”
Then he closed the few inches between them and pressed his lips to hers. They were strong and soft and hungry for her. His hands cupped her cheeks, lifting her away from the wall and angling her so his lips could demand more. A fire burst to life inside her, a burning heat that traveled straight from her mouth to between her legs. And when his tongue asked permission to taste her, she opened for him without thinking. He plunged in and kissed her so deeply and thoroughly that her legs gave out entirely—only his hand around her waist, pressing her body to his, kept her upright. When he eased back from the kiss, his breath was hot on her face, and his eyes were wide.
She was panting like she’d run a mile. Her body ached with the need for more. The last thing she wanted was for him to let go… but he did. His frown grew like he wasn’t sure what to make of her, or their kiss, or something.
He stepped back and held her at arm’s length, eyeing her shaky legs. “Can you stand?”
“I am quite capable of standing, thank you.” His smirk made her heated skin flame even more. She straightened her blouse, which was rumpled from the kiss. It was obvious how much effect he’d had on her. And that she hadn’t had anywhere near the same effect on him.
But she couldn’t help the thrill that ran through her body when he took her arm to support her. He gently shuffled them toward the street, then slid his hand down, taking her phone and lacing his fingers with hers. He blazed a smile that banished her embarrassment and tilted his head down the street.
“Why don’t you hail us a cab?” he asked.
It seemed a peculiar request—and besides, she couldn’t afford a cab—yet having his hand locked with hers steadied her. And somehow filled her with a sense of safety. So she raised her hand and signaled a distant yellow car. It took a while for it to amble over. When it arrived, the gorgeous man on her arm opened the door and gestured for her to step in. Then he leaned forward and produced a wad of bills from his tattered jeans to give to the driver.
“Take her home. And make sure she’s safely inside before you leave.” His voice was full of authority now. He glanced at the cabby’s license. “Markus Trenton, cab license number 4523974. If anything happens to her, I’ll be tracking you down and holding you personally accountable. Are we clear?”
The cabby’s eyes went wide, but he took the outstretched money. “Sure, man. Whatever you want.”
Then the shifter turned his blazing blue eyes on her and smiled. “Don’t do any more stupid things, camera girl.” He closed the door of the cab before she could protest.
It whisked awa
y from the curb. She sat there, stunned. He had sent her off by herself. And somehow had money for a cab, even though his clothes were full of holes, like the homeless men in the shelter. It wasn’t until a minute or two later that she realized… the shifter still had her phone.
Of course. She cursed loud enough that the cabbie glanced in the rear-view mirror at her. Mr. Hot Shifter had wanted her phone. The rest—the soft words, the heated kiss—was all just a diversion. She slumped back against the seat. Now she was out a job and a phone.
But that scorching hot kiss…
She gingerly touched her fingers to her lips. They were still swollen.
That almost made it all worthwhile.
The shower and fresh clothes didn’t erase her scent from his mind.
Not that Jaxson really wanted them to. His inner wolf was still sulking that he hadn’t followed up that blazing-hot kiss with something more substantial… and long-lasting. His beast would never understand what the man in him knew all too well—there would never be a mate for either of them. But it hadn’t been his wolf that had drunk in the sweet lips of that gorgeously curvy brunette in the alley. That was all on him.
And he was a fool for doing it.
Jaxson propped his feet on his desk, the bright Seattle morning making glare spots on the polished wood. He had ignored his brother Jace’s concerned looks on the way in and slammed the door to his private office behind him. Hopefully, that would hold off the debriefing on his failed mission while he sorted out this thing with the girl.
Why was he—and his wolf—so drawn to her?
Jaxson swiped open her phone for the tenth time… then swiped it off again. He shouldn’t rifle through her information. He should just delete the video, get enough to track down her address, and mail her phone back. As lead alpha of the River pack, and CEO of Riverwise, the private security business he shared with his two brothers, he had bucketloads of responsibilities on a normal day—never mind a failed mission, and the heat he was coming under to find a mate.
He didn’t have time for a mysterious girl.
If only she didn’t taste so damn good.
But that wasn’t really it—he’d had plenty of human girls. They were fun, but their skin had never sizzled his lips with some kind of hot magic when he kissed them. His wolf had never howled like it was being ripped apart when he sent one packing in a cab.
This girl was different. He just didn’t know why.
Jaxson swiped open the phone again and watched the video she took. He had to admit it looked pretty bad from her angle. Which only made him wince… but he had to put in a good performance or there was no way he’d infiltrate the operation going on at the homeless shelter. As bad as the video looked, the girl’s hand was remarkably steady with the camera. A grin stretched his face as her words shouted at him from the phone. I’ve called the police! And I’ve got you on camera. World-class bluffing from a girl with luscious curves and a smart mouth.
Okay, he could understand why the man in him would be attracted—but why had his wolf raged against his skin, demanding that he claim her right then and there in the alley? Jaxson scowled at the video, stopping it, then deleting it. If his wolf thought he had found their mate, then that was just one more reason to toss the phone and never look back. This brave, amazing girl didn’t deserve to get mixed up in his messy life… or his fate.
He dropped the phone in the wastebasket by his desk.
It stayed there for a full ten seconds before he pulled it out again.
Dammit.
He flipped through her pictures. No selfies, unfortunately. Just a bunch of shots of a restaurant and some guy with a professional-grade camera. Was she doing surveillance? Jaxson immediately disliked the cameraman—not least because he was reasonably good-looking and smiling way too hard for her picture. For her. His wolf snarled with a completely unreasonable jealousy. Jaxson was glad there was only the one shot of the guy.
The rest were pictures of the sunset over the bay, a couple seagulls, and an almost artistic shot from the inside of a room with a glass-and-steel-gridded roof. The orange glow of the setting sun had set the panes on fire, making a magical light show splash across the room. It took him a moment to figure it out, but he was pretty sure it was the Seattle Public Library.
The library. So she visits the library, does surveillance on the side, and tries to rescue tortured shifters in alleys.
Who was this girl?
A quick search brought up her name—Olivia Lilyfield—but practically no other personal information. It was almost like this was a burn phone. Her address book was nearly blank, but two of the entries were very illuminating. Cratchton at the Tales. Google said he was the editor. And the second—listed as Mark—had the cameraman picture as his profile. The third was simply listed at Xenon. No picture. Local number.
Cameraman. The Tales. So she’s a reporter. Even more reason to stay away… and yet, his fingers were itching to dial the number at the celebrity rag to see if he could track her down. Just to hear her voice. Make sure she got back okay.
Only he sent her home, not to the office. And there was no record of a home address on the phone. A simple search online would bring it up… he was already tapping out the search request when Jace flung open the door.
His brother let the door bang against the wall, then leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed, glaring at him. Jace was younger by two years, but he became an alpha in his own right when he joined the Army as a medic. His time overseas was… mixed. Jace had served his country well, but the scars he brought home were the kind that didn’t show on the outside… and that no one had yet been able to heal. Not that Jaxson hadn’t tried.
“Are you ready to admit what a tremendously bad idea that was?” Jace asked smugly. “Because I’ve got ten dollars riding on this, and it’s time Jared lost a bet.” Their older brother was a notoriously bad loser. Which only meant Jace took it as a personal challenge to have him lose as often as possible.
Jaxson was glad he had already erased the video. He stood and slid the phone into his pocket. “I didn’t get to find out. Got interrupted before I could get in.”
Jace frowned. “Interrupted?” He ran a quick look over Jaxson. “You’re still walking. Couldn’t have been too bad.” Shifters healed quickly, but he’d been gone less than an hour. “What happened?”
Jaxson sighed as he walked around the desk to face Jace. He crossed his arms and leaned back against it. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we’re no closer to getting inside. And the clock is ticking, Jace.”
“Yeah, I know.” His brother ran a hand over the scruff on his face, which made Jaxson wince. Another sleepless night, rolling out of bed to stumble into the office. Jace couldn’t keep going like this. But they had other problems they had to solve first.
“I can try going back in,” Jaxson said, “but not yet. It would be too suspicious if I showed up the next day, offering myself up for capture again. You may be right. We might have to tackle this head-on with a straight-up assault.”
His brother arched an eyebrow. “Jared will be pleased to hear you’ve finally come to your senses.”
Jaxson shook his head. It was risky, but he was running out of options. “When’s he getting back from the mountains?” Their older brother had taken the rest of the pack out to the Olympic Mountains for the weekend—for tactical training, weapons practice, the usual. Only with Jared as their CO, Jaxson was sure everyone would be limping into the office on Monday. If not outright taking a sick day to heal up at home.
“On Friday, he said would be in for interviews this afternoon.” Jace shrugged. They both knew Jared kept his own schedule. He had a darkness of his own to carry, one that no one could ever fix. Jace and Jaxson had long ago stopped talking about it—that was the only way they could keep Jared with them, and not have him end up a feral shifter anarchist in Idaho. They’d never see him again.
“Wait… interviews?” Jaxson asked, frowning. “Has Jared deci
ded to bring on a secretary?” He had hoped the paperwork might keep Jared engaged, spending more time in the office where they could keep an eye on him. But apparently not.
“Office assistant.” Jace made air quotes. “But yeah. I guess he decided it wasn’t so easy running payroll after all.” Jace smirked—that had been his job before Jared decided the youngest River brother was too incompetent to cut checks and invoice clients. Since then, Jared had done nothing but complain about pushing paper instead of running drills or spending time on the firing range. He was a sharpshooter during his time in the Marines, and that was where he spent most of his downtime.
Which really wasn’t good for anyone.
“This is the first I’ve heard that we’re hiring.” Jaxson held in the growl. “Who are we interviewing?”
“Humans.” Clearly Jace thought this was a mistake.
Jaxson did, too. “What? Did he just forget we’re an undercover shifter operation? Or that our clients are very sensitive about their personal information?” Riverwise Private Security had an A-list of clients that was very black-book. The rich and infamous of Seattle’s bustling new dot com celebrities understood very well how easily they could be exposed. And they entrusted Riverwise to keep that from happening. “What about Thea? She’s got a background in accounting, right?”
“Thea?” Jace looked like he was about to choke on his spit. “The hot daughter of the alpha of the Blue Mountain pack? I thought you had your eye on that smokin’ redhead in the Northern pack? She’s shopping for a mate now, you know. You better make your move, or you’ll get aced out.”
“We’re not talking about a mate.” Jaxson’s growl definitely leaked into his voice this time. “We’re talking about a secretary.”
“Office assistant.” Jace’s grin was a mile wide.
Jaxson bared his fangs.