“You mean… like a date, Zachary?” Katrina asked with a sly smile.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
Chapter Seven
There was a different air in the house and a pep in Katrina’s step that night as she ran around her room trying to put together the perfect look.
She had not packed the right clothes for a date with her boss, so her choices were few and far between. She didn’t even have a whole lot of makeup left and didn’t know much about the tiny little town nearby that she went to that very morning to get some breakfast to bring home at the only fast food place in the area.
The town was quaint and quite a drive compared to what she was used to back home. She hadn’t gotten a good look for fear of breaking the rules of her contract. More than ever she was beginning to understand the reasons for isolation and secrecy, and she didn’t want to be the next person to come up missing for getting involved with the wrong job and then not following the rules.
Katrina went into the bathroom and began to pull her hair down from the makeshift curlers she had used. For lack of anything better, she had wet her hair and rolled up anything the right shape and size she could find around the house, and she was hoping it looked even. Luckily, it did; it looked flowy and shiny as it bounced high on her shoulders.
Her eyes were done up, and she had on a light gloss on her lips. The final touch was the one skirt she had found buried at the bottom of her bag and a black shirt that hugged her body tightly. It would have to be good enough.
Looking at the time, she had only a couple of minutes until dinner, so she decided to give herself a quick glance in the mirror and then head downstairs to see what was in store for her. Her blood was pulsing inside of her head with nerves and excitement as she took the stairs two at a time.
When she came into the dining room she gasped. The only light was coming from candles lit at intervals down the center of the table. The candles were framed by what could only be described as a feast.
She was almost certain he ordered the food; there was no way he had made so much by himself in the amount of time he had, but it was amazing just the same. She had never seen anything so amazing in her life; especially aimed at impressing her.
Katina turned when she heard Zachary’s footsteps behind her. He looked like a different man. His broad chest and shoulders were covered in a tailored blue button down shirt that tucked into fitted black trousers. If she hadn’t been so surprised she would have whistled at the sight.
“How do you like it?” his soft voice asked, prickling the little hairs on the back of her neck and giving her goose bumps. He smelled so good, his strong jaw bare after a fresh shave. His eyes and his scar stood out in the candlelight. He looked incredibly sexy. She didn’t know how she had resisted him for so long already.
“Where did you get such a feast?” she asked, looking back at the table.
"I made it," he said as if it were no big feat.
“You made all this?”
Zachary laughed. A loud, beautiful laugh that made Katrina smile.
"I didn't always have servants and a chef you know when I first started out I had to make food for myself."
She tried to picture Zachary in a kitchen. It had never occurred to her that he might not have always been a billionaire. She’d just assumed that he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth like most of the rich people she’d read about.
“It’s beautiful. No one has ever done something like this for me before.” She looked around, blinking several times to make sure it was real and still there. “It feels like a dream.”
“I find it hard to believe no one has done something like this for you. You’re an amazing human being, Katrina.”
His compliment made her tingle all over as he led her to a chair and pulled it out for her before taking a seat across from her. She could once again feel that connection between them from across the table, and she didn’t know how she was going to make it through the dinner without closing the distance between them. But part of why they were there was to talk, and she really did want to get some answers to her questions.
“You look beautiful,” he told her as he poured both of them some fragrant red wine. Katrina smiled at him and felt herself blush a little. He was going through great lengths like no one ever had, and she felt so special.
“So, tell me what questions you have and I will do my best to answer” he said after carving the roast chicken that sat glistening between them.
“I want to know your story. What is it like to be like you? Why do you hide it from the outside world even though your kind is out in the open now?” Katrina leaned forward. “I guess there are a lot of things I want to know, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or obligated.”
Zachary chuckled and reached across the table to place his hand on top of hers. It felt incredibly warm like he was a walking heater. Maybe that was part of him being a werewolf.
“This is the most comfortable I’ve ever felt, being here with you. My story isn’t all that interesting other than the fact that my job and what I am are contradictory.”
"Oh?" She hoped she didn't sound over-eager.
“I actually make weapons that can harm and kill my kind for the military. The government is very afraid that there might come a time when our kind attacks or something, and they won’t have the tools to fight us. I agree with that fear, and I don’t like being a monster. It’s not some fairytale or wonderful thing. From what I know about the others out there, they behave as monsters.” His jaw tightened and she watched the man in front of her slip into his own world.
“Before I started my business,” he continued, “I was in the military. I was part of a special unit, unit twenty-six, we were on the ground looking for a group of insurgents who had done a great deal of damage with explosives, hundreds of civilians died, hundreds more wounded…it was…”
Zachary took a breath as he thought about the damage he must have seen. Katrina felt an impulse to reach out to him, to hold him, kiss him, but she waited, wanting him to go on with his story.
"I was out with eleven other guys that night. But we didn't realize what we were up against that night. A group of bloodthirsty werewolves surrounded us, and before we had time to do anything, they attacked. I was the only one left alive."
He looked up at Katrina. Her breath drained out of her as she thought about the scene.
“Your scar?” she asked.
Zachary nodded. "But the memory, the lives that were lost that night, that is a much bigger scar than this could ever be."
“I had no idea.” She trailed her fingers across her own cheek.
They were silent for a moment. Katrina watched as Zachary fought for composure. Finally, he exhaled and looked up.
"After that, I began my business and… just turned into a complete hermit. I was afraid of others finding out or getting hurt by me. I learned to cope and control but knew I couldn’t let anyone find out what I was because of my line of work. I am always afraid my clients and contracts will turn on me if they find out.”
Katrina’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned forward and reached her hand to his. He stroked her fingers with his own while he went on to describe how gruesome his first few changes were and what it felt to be both a man and an animal.
She was both fascinated and completely attracted to this man she had been lucky enough to land a job working for.
They talked for a long time before Zachary picked up the second wine bottle from the table.
“Enough of my sad story.” He walked toward the door. “It’s time for something a little less gruesome I think.”
Katrina grabbed her wine glass and followed. Zachary led her up three flights of stairs until they walked out onto the roof.
“This is much better, don’t you think?” He lifted his arms and circled around as he looked up to the sky.
“Wow!” Katrina let her head slip back. The view was completely unobstructed. Each star shone to its full brilli
ance and, though she knew it wasn’t so, it felt like they each shone just for her.
Zachary sat on a ledge and Katrina joined him. They ate juicy peaches fresh from one of the peach trees in the yard and drank wine. Zachary pointed out constellations that Katrina had never heard of and Katrina made up names for her own constellations, which she pointed to with authority.
She looked over at him and his eyes and well-sculpted jaw. Her legs had made their way into his lap where he was holding them, and they were tangled up together like one entity. She could feel his body’s warmth up against her, and she felt incredibly comfortable with him like they had been together for ages.
Katrina reached over with her fingers and ran them through his thick hair, feeling the softness. Zachary looked over at her, and she could see something in his eyes she hadn’t seen yet; the beginnings of a drunken lust. And the more she stroked, the more intoxicated he got. It made her insides feel hot, like the building of a fire.
Katrina felt daring and exhilarated, and she used it to fuel her courage. She shifted in her spot and slid one leg over to the other side of his lap and pulled herself over so that she was straddling him. A sly grin spread across his face as she began to unbutton his shirt.
Zachary’s skin was searing as she ran her hand down his bare chest. There were bold roman numerals tattooed onto the skin of his chest. She deciphered the number, twenty-six, the number of his special unit in the military. The one he’d lost so many men with, the one he’d become The Beast with.
Then she leaned down and began to softly suck a trail down his neck and around his collarbone, all the way to the bold tattoo that shone in the moonlight.
He grunted under her, and she could feel him growing against her thigh. It made her feel more fevered and desperate to have him. So, she pulled his shirt all the way off before sliding off her own so that she could press her bare body up against his.
At the feeling, they both gasped and frantically wrapped their arms around each other as their mouths locked in a passionate kiss. Even before their clothes were removed, their tongues were making love to each other, exploring every nook and cranny.
Zachary suddenly lifted her up, placing her arms around his neck as she locked her legs. His strength was incredible, and it made her wonder what else was superhuman about him as he left her hand on his torso as he slid down his pants, revealing his growing shaft.
Then, he carried her off of the roof and into the master bedroom. The room was like a dream; decked out like the suite of a hotel room. It was exactly what she would expect out of a mansion like this.
The bed was soft as he laid her down and removed her skirt and panties, sliding his hands up and down her legs sensually. Her center ached for him, and she was certain he could feel how wet she was; certain she was dripping on the sheets.
Zachary looked at her with a hunger that seemed more like it belonged to the animal within himself than the man, and Katrina found that she liked it. He spread her legs wide, dipping his head down to devour her. Her body writhed in intense pleasure as his tongue sliced through her flesh and found all the right spots to lick and flick his tongue across.
He slurped her up never even coming up for air until she thought she was going to lose it. Just as she felt her legs begin to shake, he came up for air with a deep growl and crawled towards her, leaving her wanting and whimpering. It was the ultimate tease, and she both loved and hated him for it.
His light body slid on top of her dark one, making a special combination that seemed to feel just right, and she could feel him knocking at her entrance, begging to come inside.
Katrina raised her hips up to meet him, silently begging for him to push his way inside. She wanted to feel a man against her sensitive flesh for the first time in a long time, and she was dying for it to be Zachary.
She arched her back as she felt his long hard shaft snake its way into her waiting center, pushing through the tight space and filling her up. Her insides felt warm and pleasantly full as she fell back onto the bed, gripping the sheets in her fists. Zachary grunted with the effort as he began to slam into her, making her whole body slide several inches up and down the bed each time.
“Zachary,” she moaned for him, entangling her fingers in his hair again as her breathing picked up. Everything was so sensitive and his warmth and strength heightened everything even more. It was the best feeling she’d ever had.
Katrina’s body responded to him so easily, and she wrapped her legs around him again, tight like a vice while he leaned down to suck and flick at her left nipple. Her whole body was in a pleasurable shock, unable to think straight as he writhed over her on the feather soft mattress.
Too soon, she felt her body begin to shake again and she held onto his neck, digging her nails into his skin. They both called out to each other as they reached their climax in unison before collapsing in exhaustion to the bed still wrapped around one another.
Katrina swore before she drifted off to sleep, that she could still see the stars from the night sky floating around on the ceiling.
Chapter Eight
How Katrina woke up was a stark contrast to how she had fallen asleep. She was startled out of bed by the breaking of glass and the horrible sounds of the house being broken into.
It sounded like there was a mob outside the mansion. For a moment, she laid there, thinking that maybe she was still half asleep and hearing things, but that was when she heard the howling and sat straight up.
“Zachary! Wake up!” she cried frantically, shaking his hardened body out of a deep slumber.
The sun had not risen just yet; it was the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t imagine what could be going on as she slipped on a tee shirt she found in the drawer large enough to cover her body with. There was no time for grooming.
Zachary got up too and jumped into action with a hard look on his face. He seemed to know what was going on and looked like an animal gone on high alert as he balled up his fists and took a stance. He pulled on some shorts and ran full speed out of the bedroom as Katrina tried to catch up, but once she saw what was happening, she was unsure that she should have followed.
She watched in both awe and horror as Zachary broke each bone in his body, forcing a quick transition to a wolf in order to defend the house, which was in chaos, from the pack of vicious wolves that were entering through the windows and surrounding them.
Several of them had their teeth bared threateningly, and she instinctively backed up against the wall as they closed in.
No one attacked, and Zachary was standing his ground.
Katrina started to believe that they might be talking about the way that their heads were moving and the tone of the growls seemed to change every once in a while.
It was fascinating to watch when she wasn’t thinking about exactly what kind of danger they were in.
The growls of the others got lower and lower until Zachary lashed out, roaring as loud as a lion. He seemed angry and threatening. The others looked out at the rising sun and back at them before exiting the way they had come.
Katrina let out a worried breath she had been holding before going to Zachary’s side as his human self slowly appeared before her, looking pained and worried.
What had they talked about? He looked frightened, not at all like the strong wolf warrior he had just pretended to be. Something was very wrong.
She rubbed his back as he got to a sitting position on the floor, and she sat next to him, waiting patiently for whatever explanation he might offer her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect something like this to happen so soon. I should have been more cautious.” He didn’t look at her when he said it, and she grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.
“Don’t do this to me again. Don’t shut down on me. We’re in this together now, and that’s how I want it. I chose this. I chose you,” she said sternly, looking straight into his eyes until they softened with understanding.
“Alright, but you should know
that you are in a lot of danger. You have no hope to fight these monsters off if they come for you, and I wish I could say I would always be able to defend you, but it’s me against dozens of them.” Zachary paused and grabbed her hand, looking up at her with wide, watery eyes. She had never seen him so upset.
“I have started falling so hard for you, Katrina, harder than I ever could have imagined. I haven’t felt this way for someone in a long time; I haven’t allowed myself to even hope for someone like you. And now that I have you, I can’t bear to lose you.”
Katrina got a terrible queasy feeling in her stomach. Something was unsettling about what he was saying. It was like he expected to lose her. What had the others said? She had to know.
“What did they say to you, Zachary? I need to understand what makes you think they want anything to do with me.” She spoke softly as she rubbed circles over his soft hands.
“They said that they would come for my mate for revenge. They want to use you against me because they have been watching and know what we’ve done and what I feel for you. They want me to suffer because of what it is I do for a living.” Now, Katrina was not only frightened but terribly confused. Why would they be so concerned about what he did for a living? Unless…
“The weapons that you make, that you design, Zachary. What are they for?” Katrina held her breath as she waited to have it confirmed what she already thought to be true now that she saw the hatred the others had for him and the hatred he seemed to have for himself.
“I create weapons to destroy supernatural beasts like myself. How else could the military even begin to fight such creatures or the police for that matter when they get a call that involves one of us?” He was begging silently for her forgiveness, obviously feeling a pang of guilt no matter how much he believed in what he was doing.
Katrina knew that she would stay by his side in that moment and that she loved him. It didn’t matter how much danger he was in or that a new secret had been uncovered, she just wanted to find a way to stay.
Claimed by Two Navy Shifters Page 21
