by C. M. Steele
“Can I hold her?”
“Of course.” I hand the little baby girl to Maria.
“You’re good with babies,” Maria says.
“I’ve been around for a lot of new babies. Pack members are happy to show me their babies. Trust me when I say you’ll get all the cuddle time you could ever want, love.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough. I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and this never gets old.”
The baby starts to let us know that she’s hungry by hunting for Maria’s chest. “Hey, that’s mine.”
Laughing, Maria hands the baby back to Daphne. “He’s a bit possessive.”
“Just a bit,” Daphne teases.
“We’ll leave you to it. Take it easy. I mean it. The both of you. I don’t expect to see you around for a while, unless we come to visit. Understood?”
“Yes, Turner.”
We take our leave and I bring Maria’s hand up to my lips, kissing it as we wait for the elevator. “I dread and welcome the day you bring our little one into the world.”
“Dread?”
“I never want you to suffer, my love.”
“Thank you for finding me.” We share a brief kiss before the elevator opens up to the lobby. We walk out, smiling, knowing the best is yet to come.
It’s opening day and the guests are piling in, the restaurant is set up, and my mate is looking beautiful in a pair of snow pants and a coat. We’re going around welcoming guests and checking with the instructors who are already taking their first students.
“How are you holding up?” I ask Maria, sliding up beside her with my hand around her waist.
“I’m doing very well. It’s hectic, but I’m finding it entertaining.”
“Okay. Well, do you think you could work for the resort from now on?”
“What about Daphne?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean as my assistant. I don’t want you working that hard.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, baby. What do you want to do?”
“Do I have to decide now? Isn’t it going to be several weeks before Daphne returns?”
“You have plenty of time to decide. Have you called your parents yet?”
“I haven’t.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“They’re going to ask a thousand questions, and I’m not sure that I have all the right answers.”
“I suppose you do have a point. It’s not like your family would understand, but they don’t need to know that we’ve only just met. You can tell them that we’ve been dating for months and that we’re not rushing as fast as they believe.”
“That could work. What about the…”
“Excuse me, sir. I didn’t mean to interrupt, but the chief of police is here. He wants a word with you.”
“Sure. I’ll be down there in a few minutes.”
“The chief of police?”
“Yes. He’s probably just checking on the arrivals. It’s extremely busy, and his men have to double down on the patrols.”
“Okay. I understand. I’ll go with you. I want to meet the chief you mentioned before.”
We make our way down to the entrance of the main hotel where there sits a pudgy man in a police uniform with a bulky coat, useless when you have to apprehend a perp on the run. I already get a sense that he doesn’t care about his job.
"So who do we have here?" he questions with a little more interest than acceptable. I hold back my revulsion, making sure to keep my thoughts popping out every few minutes so Turner doesn't know that I'm practicing blocking him out.
"She's not for you to be staring at, Chief Anderson. Maria, the chief of police in White Wolf Ridge. Chief, my fiancée, Maria."
"Fiancée? That's quick. No one knew you were dating. That seems to happen a lot around here. Everyone gets together without much fanfare." There’s too much suspicion in his question that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
"And your point?"
"Nothing. I’m simply curious."
I don't like his suspicions.
Me either. That’s another reason why I want to get rid of him.
“So what can we help you with, Chief?” And he appears lazy.
“You know. I just came to warn you to keep us abreast of any incidents. I know the mayor’s your father, but there’s still law and order around here. I learned about the fight you covered up for your brother.”
“A little rough-housing between young men, and neither of them were really hurt. It’s nothing to press charges for.”
“It’s still an incident.”
“So some paperwork for you to fill out for nothing.” What a prick!
"Thank you for your reprimand, Chief. We have to keep everything in order before chaos ensues, but if there is an issue with the guests or staff, we'll contact the station. Then you can send someone prepared to make an arrest."
"I'll be quick to be here." Quick? My ass.
What a very nice ass. "Very well. Filling in as his temporary assistant, I have to keep Mr. Turner on track. Excuse us."
Always thinking about my body. What am I going to do with you?
Submit to my desires.
I barely let the men shake hands and then I hook my arm in the crook of Turner's and spin us around, walking without another word to Anderson.
"Wow. That was good,” I grunt. My mate’s a tough woman.
"I've dealt with many overinflated egos before. Some men put on a badge just to make up for their lack of manliness. It just rolls off him."
"You're talented, although I'd love to meet all the egos that insulted you."
"I don't think you want to, or you'd have a trail of dead bodies."
“I’d do anything for you, Maria.”
“I know, and that’s enough for now.” Her cell rings in her pocket, so she checks who’s calling but sends it to voicemail. I don’t like that shit. I trust her, but if she’s having a problem with someone, I want to be the one to deal with it.
“Who was that?”
“My dad,” she sighs.
“Why didn’t you answer it?” I already know the answer to that and say it. “Are you afraid of telling them the semi-truth?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I will do it after we call it a day at work. As soon as I figure out what to tell them.”
“I can handle it, but I know you want to do it, and I’m going to hold you to it.”
“Shit,” I grumble. Now it’s my phone going off. I pull it out and see that there’s a problem at the front desk. “Okay. Someone wants to speak to the manager.”
“I’m with you.” We walk to the front, and I keep my hands on my phone and not on my mate. It’s hard to avoid touching her, but I already have a disgruntled guest. We arrive up front to see a man I recognize immediately.
“Is there something I can help you with, Mayor Turner?” I ask, hoping it’s nothing serious because today’s been good so far despite all the hiccups leading to today.
“Well, hello, my darling Maria. It’s good to see you. And yes. Your mother is upset that you two have been dragging on marriage planning, and she sent me here to harass you.”
“Is that really why you’re here?” I have a sinking suspicion it’s not.
“Okay. I just wanted to see if you heard from your brother.”
“I haven’t spoken to him in two days. Why? What’s wrong?”
“He got into trouble in Lakeland, Florida. I’m on my way there. I wanted you to keep an eye on your sister. Your mother insists she come with me so we can talk to your brother together.”
“Of course, I’ll look after Aria. She can stay with us. I hope everything’s okay.”
“You know that Anderson came from Lakeland,” he adds pointedly. I know damn well what he means.
“Are you serious?” Does Anderson have anything to do with my brother getting into some shit, or has his hot head gotten the better of him? Damn it. I hope he’s okay.
; “Yes. I have a feeling he has a hand in whatever happened with your brother.”
“I’ll bury that bastard if he does.”
“I’m with you on that, son.”
“He was just here, reminding me that he’s in charge of the law, not me.”
“Do you think he knows?”
“No, he mentioned the fight Max got into with the guy from Wolfe Creek, which I wasn’t aware he knew about since we kept it a pack matter.”
“The bastard. When I come back, he’s out, but in the meantime, stay out of his way. I don’t want the fucker trying to arrest you for something. If he really becomes a problem, we’ll have to deal with him the old way.” I know exactly what he means and without a doubt, we’ll rip him limb from limb.
Maria gasps.
It’s the nature of the beast.
Oh, that’s not it. He must know about you all.
Do you really believe that?
Yes. Too many questions about the quick relationships, and now this. Someone needs to sneak into his home and find out all they can on him.
“Care to share with the class?” my father asks, guessing from our silence that we’re having a private conversation.
“We can talk when you get back. Be careful, and let me know what’s going on as soon as you can and if you need anything.”
“Okay. You two be careful and keep your guard up. We don’t need a repeat of what happened in Wolfe Creek.” We both nod, and then he pulls us in for a hug. I turn and see Anderson watching us.
“The bastard’s still here,” I mutter in a hush that only they can hear.
“Calm down, my love. Let’s get to work.” Her soft hand on my forearm does the trick again.
“Be safe, Father. We must get back to resort duties.”
“See you soon.” He walks off right past the chief without a word or any acknowledgement of the man.
9
Maria
Turner and I walk away without addressing the chief again because it won’t end well, so we pivot toward the bank of elevators. I know where my mate needs to go, and that’s to his office so he can get out some of the tension that has brought his wolf toward the surface. I can sense it, feel it as if it’s me with such Alpha energy ready to strike.
The second the elevator doors close around us, he locks it down from inside. Turner has me in his arms, crushing his mouth to mine, pinning me to the wall of the elevator. There are no cameras in this elevator because it’s his private one and only the three people on the floor can access it. He grabs the clasp on my dress pants and undoes it, pulling down my pants and panties before spinning me around to face the wall. In seconds, I feel the cool air hit my ass before his hand comes down and then he slams inside of me with a grunt. His fingers lace with mine as he presses them up above my head on the wall. Fucking me with only his strong thighs driving his cock deep inside me, I cry out, feeling every inch of my mate. His pleasure is mine, and I swallow my screams so only he can hear them in my head. Listening and feeling my release, he lets go as well, emptying himself in me.
We’re both panting wildly as he presses his body on mine. “I could live like this.”
“Me too. I thought we’d make it to the office, but I underestimated you.” I moan, shaking my ass while he’s still buried inside of me. I start him up all over again, and it’s another twenty minutes before we make it to his office.
Three hours later, we’re walking into our home. Before I get to start dinner, Turner pulls me in for a kiss and says, “Make the call.”
“Fine.”
I drop down on the sofa. “I’ll start dinner.” He kisses my cheek and walks away. I know he’ll be able to hear my thoughts and the call, so he’ll be here in a heartbeat if I need him, but I’m still nervous.
I check my call log and hit the missed call from my dad, then press the call icon while releasing a harsh sigh.
“Ah, I love that sigh. It’s good to hear. I was quite worried about you, mija.”
“I’m fine, Papa. Donde esta, Mama?”
“Aqui,” she says, right next to the phone.
“Bueno. Voy a casar en un mes,” I blurt out and wait.
“Que dice? Quien? Who?”
“My fiancé.”
“Y su prometido es?” my mother asks in frustration.
“His name is Josiah Turner.”
“Híjole, un guero. Yo se, yo se. You thought we would care that he’s not Mexican, no? But we don’t care as long as he’s not a pinche cabrón. Quiero hablar con el,” my father says.
“Right now?”
“Si.”
“Turner, my dad wants to talk to you,” I say as Turner shows up, rubbing my back. I know he can hear the whole conversation without having it on speakerphone.
“Hello, Senor Arroyo. I’m Josiah Turner, and I’m in love with your daughter.”
“That is good, but what are your intentions?”
“My intentions are to live a full and happy life with your daughter at my side until my dying days.”
“How are you to take care of my daughter? Provide for her?”
“First, she will always be treated as a queen in my eyes, but as a police officer, she has shown that she is more than capable of caring for herself. I understand what you mean, though, and I own the resort in White Wolf Ridge. As my assistant is out on maternity leave, Maria has been wonderful filling in.”
“Maternity leave? Who is…” I know where he’s going, and Turner’s getting riled up really fast. My father’s just being a father, but I’m sure Turner doesn’t care.
“Mr. Arroyo, I will stop you right there. I fired a stupid kid for making a comment implying that same thing. That is a disrespect on me and on my cousin’s wife.”
“Forgive me, but we have known that it is common.”
“Not in my world, it isn’t.” I brush his arm and nuzzle his neck because I know he’s offended and I need him to calm down.
“I apologize, but I must look out for my daughter’s best interest. She may be an adult, but she will always be my daughter.”
He tightens his hold on me, rubbing his hard cock on my ass, and I have to hold back a moan. “I understand. Maria’s my priority and always will be, and nothing will happen to her. I will protect her with my life and give her my soul.”
“That’s good to hear, but only time will tell. So what’s the urgency?” he asks as Turner slides his tongue over the tops of my breast.
“Because I have to let everyone know that she’s mine, and she feels the same.”
“That’s for sure,” I offer, holding back the whimper that comes from me.
“We will be handling everything from here. I’m sure Maria’s going to want to plan with her mom, but I’ll leave that to her. I’ll send my private jet to pick up whoever’s coming.”
“A private jet? So you’re wealthy?”
“Yes, but that has no bearing on our relationship.”
“Yes, but it does make me feel a little more confident that you can truly care for her financially, especially if you start having children.”
“Good. As long as we understand each other.” His phone rings in his pocket, vibrating on my ass, so he lifts me up to get it. I can see it’s Mark, so I slide off him. “Excuse me, but I have a call that I have to take. It was great talking to you.”
He stands up, giving me an apologetic frown before handing the phone back while walking away in a hurry. I sense his tension, and then it’s gone.
Bastard. He’s learned to shut me out.
“Mama, Papa, sorry, but he has a work call. Someone always needs something,” I say.
“So about the wedding. Let’s talk about who’s coming and the exact date.” My mother goes over the list, and that’s just too much for me. I don’t want my entire extended family there. A courthouse wedding is looking better and better every single day.
If that’s what you want, my love.
Listening in now?
Always.
But keepin
g me out.
Just waiting until you’re done talking to your parents. Then we can talk.
Okay.
“Mom, I have to go finish dinner. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. Call me tomorrow.”
“It will have to wait until we finish work. I’m helping him out, and it’s crazy how much goes on in a day,” I explain.
“That’s fine. I’ll be at the shop until six anyway.” My parents own a local grocery store, so they understand how busy life is.
I end the call and go straight to Turner’s office, where he’s pacing. “What’s wrong?”
“Mark says that Anderson has been scoping out my assistant’s house and saw my cousin shift.”
“Shit. So what’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know, but the first thing is to catch him off guard where he doesn’t have a weapon. I don’t want to kill him, but I will be put in that position. I can’t have him exposing us as well as trying to kill my people.”
“You have to do what you have to,” I say.
“I want you to stay here. My sister’s already being brought here by Mark. Then we’re going to meet before we decide what to do.”
“I don’t like this.”
“Me either, but I can’t let anything happen to you. We’re going to be okay.”
“You don’t know that. Look at what happened to you at the other resort. We’re in this together.”
“We already have men on the ground watching his every move, and that’s the reason he was caught. We’ve cut the signal to his phone and the dispatcher cut his radio. There’s nowhere for him to go but home. I just want to talk to the bastard, but I won’t be alone.”
“Okay, but if something happens to you, I’m going to kick everyone’s ass.”
“Fine. Just so you know, today you will become chief. I’m not going to let anyone step up into the position that isn’t one of us. Are you ready to lead?”
“Are you serious? You’re trusting me with that duty?”
“I’d trust you with my life. You already have the experience to do it. The only reason you weren’t promoted in Wolfe Creek was your human status. Now you’re one of us, even if you haven’t shifted yet.”
