by Kate Douglas
Soon. He’d have his mate with him soon.
4
Seeing Mackenzie chatting with Clint in his office surprised Roni. She hadn’t expected Mac to be back from her trip to Kansas until Wednesday. “Hey, you.”
Mac turned her head and smiled when she saw Roni. “Hey, back.”
Roni gave her sister a quick hug before she took the chair next to her. “I didn’t think you’d be back until later this week.”
“I got everything done early. Woodthorpe Investments loved everything about our security system. I had them signed up and ready to go Saturday morning.”
“Mac and Vince will go back and set up Woodthorpe next week,” Clint said.
“So I’m free until then.” Mac crossed her legs and smiled at her brother. “What else ya got?”
“I should get a call from the vice president at Parks Bank today. Their CEO has already indicated interest in our system. I’m just waiting for a set appointment time later this week.”
“Their main office is in California, right?”
Clint nodded. “Oakland.”
“I’ll take it.”
Panic grabbed Roni’s throat. This was her chance to meet Jay. She couldn’t let her sister take that from her. “No! I’ll go.”
Mac turned her head and looked at Roni, a perplexed expression on her face. “It’s okay, sis. I’ll make the trip.”
“You’ve taken two trips since my last one. I’ve already told Clint I’ll go to Oakland.”
“Roni, I don’t mind—”
“No. I’ll go, Mac.”
Mac remained silent for several moments, that perplexed expression still on her face. “Okay, no problem. You can go.”
“Is it settled now?” Clint asked. “I need to know for sure before I make flight and hotel reservations.”
“Yes, it’s settled,” Roni said to her brother. “I’m going to Oakland.”
“Okay. I’ll call you as soon as I know for sure when you’ll make the trip.”
“Do I need to make any calls on clients today?”
“No. I sent Sam out this morning. You and Mac have a free day.”
“Wow,” Mac said. “That doesn’t happen very often. I’m speechless.”
Clint’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Better get out of here before I change my mind.”
“I’m gone.” Mac gathered up her purse and briefcase from the floor and stood. “Roni, how about a cup of coffee?”
Roni knew Mac’s invitation wasn’t a friendly let’s-have-coffee-because-we’re-sisters offer. Mac would demand to know why Roni was so set on going to Oakland. Since Roni knew her sister wouldn’t let the subject rest until she knew everything, she decided she might as well confess now. “Sure.”
“I’ll meet you at Stacy’s.”
Stacy’s Place had been around as long as Roni could remember. She and Mac and Sam often went there for Sunday brunch. Generous portions and private booths meant patrons could eat and visit with each other for hours. Roni assumed Mac had picked that restaurant so she could grill Roni without witnesses.
She parked her car next to Mac’s and walked into the restaurant with her sister by her side. Mac didn’t say anything until the hostess had seated them in a booth along a wall of windows. She clasped her hands together on top of the table and gave Roni what she called the “big sister” look.
“Talk.”
“How was Kansas?”
Mac frowned. “Flat. And that’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“What’s in Oakland that’s so important for you to go there?”
It would probably sound crazy, but Roni had to tell her sister the truth. “My mate.”
Mac blinked. “What?”
“He called me by accident two weeks ago. He was trying to call Big D Properties and got me instead.”
“So how do you know this wrong number is your mate?”
“We talked for a few minutes and I knew. I don’t have a doubt in my mind about that.”
Mac reached across the table and covered Roni’s hand with hers. “Roni, you can’t know for sure from a telephone call.”
Roni straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “You’re wrong, Mac. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart started pounding and I ...” She glanced around to be sure no one would hear her, then leaned closer to her sister. “Got wet. And I mean immediately. That’s never happened to me.”
“It’s almost the full moon. We always get horny at this time of the month.”
Roni frowned, annoyed at her sister’s narrow-mindedness. “Mac, I know. We’ve talked every night on the phone and it’s been incredible. I have to meet him. He lives in the Bay Area. That’s why I want to go to Oakland.”
Mac leaned back in the booth when the waitress arrived with their coffee. She took a cautious sip of the hot brew before speaking again. “I don’t like the idea of you flying to California to hook up with some man you know nothing about.”
“I know a lot about Jay. I told you, we’ve talked every night. I know his favorite color, favorite movie, favorite food, favorite—”
“What does he do for a living?”
“He works with computers.”
Mac studied Roni long enough to make Roni want to squirm in her seat. “What?”
“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up and be disappointed when you meet him and discover he isn’t your mate.”
“That isn’t going to happen. He is my mate. I’m certain of it.”
Jay paced the length of the conference table, over and over, while Troy droned on about motherboards and one-piece construction. He didn’t care about any of that. He only wanted Roni to call and say she was coming to see him.
“Jay!”
Troy’s sharp voice penetrated Jay’s thoughts. He stopped pacing and looked at his cousin. “What?”
“Where are you today, man? I said your name three times before you responded.”
Jay rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, Troy. I have a lot on my mind today.”
“Full moonitis?” Troy asked, grinning.
It would work in Jay’s favor to let Troy believe the restlessness was simply a by-product of a wolf’s cycle. He didn’t want his cousin to know that he would soon meet Roni. “Yeah.”
“You got a date lined up for tomorrow night?”
“Not yet.”
Troy winced. “Better get one quick or you’ll wear out your hand.”
The comment made Jay laugh, although there was nothing funny about a wolf’s reaction to the full moon. There was no turning into a monster, as folklore reported, but a constant craving for sex. Jay had always managed the craving with the woman he dated at the time. This month, there would be no woman, no way to satisfy his wolf’s need. The woman he wanted lived two thousand miles away from him.
His personal cell phone rang with the ringtone he’d assigned to Roni’s number. Jay almost tripped in his hurry to get to his desk and snatch up the phone. “Hello?”
“Hi.”
His body responded the way it always did at the sound of her voice. Jay turned his back so Troy wouldn’t see the hard-on pressing against his fly. “Hi.”
“I have news.”
“Good or bad?”
“I hope you think it’s good.”
Jay glanced over his shoulder at Troy. “Just a sec,” he said to Roni before speaking to his cousin. “I need to take this.”
“Everything okay?” Troy asked, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Sure. It’s a personal call.”
“Oh.” Troy grinned. “Setting up that date for tomorrow night?”
“Trying to.”
“I won’t stop you from saving your hand.” He gathered up his paperwork and headed for the door. “Catch you later.”
Once Troy left, Jay crossed the floor and closed the door. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I know you’re probably at work, but you said to call as soon as I knew something abou
t Oakland.”
“And I meant that. Does your good news mean you’re coming here?”
“Thursday. I’m flying out early for a three o’clock meeting. I’m free after that.”
Finally, after two weeks of dreaming about Roni and nightly phone conversations with her, he would meet her in person. “How long will you be here?”
“Until Sunday. I normally would’ve flown back Friday, but I told my brother as long as I was so close to San Francisco, I wanted to hit some of the shops.”
Thursday to Sunday. She wouldn’t be with him for the full moon, but would be here soon. His wolf panted happily. “The city is a shopper’s paradise. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
Her voice turned low and sultry. “I’m sure we can think of better things to do than shop.”
If possible, his cock grew even longer, thicker. Oh yeah, he had all kinds of ideas of the things he and Roni could do together. “Shall I pick you up at the airport?”
“No. I’ll have a rental car. I don’t know how long my meeting will last. I’ll check into my hotel and meet you after that.”
“You won’t need a hotel, Roni. I want you to stay with me.”
“I want that, too, but I have to at least check in to justify the expense to my brother. I ... told one of my sisters about you, but I haven’t said anything to my brothers. I thought it would be better to meet you first before saying anything.”
Jay understood that, and he agreed with her. There was no reason for families to get involved until he and Roni knew for sure they were mates.
Although he already knew in his heart.
“Do you have a pen and paper? I’ll give you my address.”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
He spouted off his address along with the best way to get to his house. “Think you can find it?”
“I have GPS on my phone, so no problem.”
“I’ll be there waiting for you, no matter what time it is.”
“Will I talk to you tonight?”
Jay would never give up the chance to talk to her. “I’ll call you at our regular time.”
“Okay. Bye.”
A huge smile spreading over his face, Jay laid his phone back on his desk. Roni would be here in three days. Tomorrow would be hell on him because of the full moon, but he’d at least talk to her on the phone. The sound of her voice—and more hot phone sex—would get him through the night. The craving would taper off starting Wednesday before beginning the climb again at the new moon.
He had four weeks to worry about the full moon again. Right now, he planned to concentrate on nothing but Roni.
Clint looked up from the pile of papers on his desk when Malcolm Lander walked into his office. Annoyance spread through him that his investigator would show up at his office unannounced.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Clint demanded.
“My job.” He tossed a file folder on top of the paperwork before sprawling in one of the chairs before Clint’s desk. “Don’t worry. I waited until everyone left the building.”
“How do you know ...” Clint stopped. He’d already learned that Malcolm seemed to know things that no one else did.
He glanced at the clean-cut man sitting before him dressed in a blue button-down shirt, creased jeans, and brown boots. No one looking at Mr. Average would guess Malcolm Lander dug up dirt on people for a living. And a very healthy living, if what Clint had paid the private investigator indicated how much the man normally made per job.
Opening the folder, Clint rummaged through the photographs of the handsome, dark-haired man. “This is him?”
“That’s him.”
Clint peered at Malcolm. “Are you sure?”
Malcolm gave Clint a look that clearly said he shouldn’t ask such stupid questions. “Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
Clint continued to peruse the photographs. He saw shots of Jamieson Millington getting out of a black SUV, going into an office building, pushing a cart of groceries through a parking lot. There were also shots of a large white house on the water with thick trees on either side of it.
“Those woods will easily hide me,” Malcolm said. “It won’t be any trouble getting a good shot. If that’s what you want.”
“Does the house have a garage?”
“Yeah, but half the time he parks in the driveway in front of his house.”
Clint rubbed his upper lip while trying to decide the best way to handle this. The pack way—the honorable way—would be to challenge Millington to a fight as wolves. Clint hadn’t felt the least bit honorable ever since Millington killed Highland Pack’s Alpha two years ago. Although there was no law dictating it, as one of the pack’s guards, Clint felt obligated to avenge his Alpha.
Thanks to Malcolm Lander, he could do exactly that.
“What do you want me to do?” Malcolm asked.
Clint closed the folder and handed it back to the investigator. “Kill him.”
5
Roni pulled her rental car to the side of the road half a mile from Jay’s house. She pressed a hand to her stomach, where a thousand butterflies pinged and zinged. In only a few minutes, she would meet the man who had appeared in her dreams for two weeks, both during the day and while she slept.
The man who had fulfilled almost every sexual fantasy she’d ever had, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
Thinking about all the things she’d done while he listened on the phone sent desire shooting through her body. She shifted positions to try to ease the throbbing in her clit. The movement across the seat made her silk panties slide gently across her pussy.
Well, that didn’t help.
Nothing would help until she had Jay’s cock buried deep inside her.
Taking a deep breath to calm the butterflies, Roni looked at her reflection in the rearview mirror. He’d told her on the phone last night that he planned to take her out to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants. Wanting to look her best for him, she’d gone heavier than normal with her eye makeup. Diamond studs adorned her ears. She’d worn her favorite black dress, long-sleeved with a scooped neck low enough to give a generous hint of cleavage.
He’d never asked anything about her looks or body, or requested she send him a picture of herself. Although she didn’t believe looks were as important as the inside of a person, she couldn’t help wondering what Jay looked like. She’d wanted to request a picture so badly, but hadn’t asked him because he hadn’t asked her.
They would discover each other together.
After checking her side mirror for approaching traffic, Roni pulled back onto the road. A few moments later, she saw a small sign next to a paved driveway with the number of Jay’s house. Thick trees kept her from seeing the house until she’d driven halfway down the driveway. She gasped when she saw the gray-trimmed white contemporary house. Two stories in height and at least five thousand square feet, it sat on a cliff overlooking the bay.
Living on the water anywhere in the Bay Area had to be expensive. Jay’s job in computers and software must pay very well.
She continued up the driveway until it circled in front of the house. Roni turned off the ignition and clutched the steering wheel as her butterflies took off again. Whatever happened in the next few minutes, she knew her life would be changed forever.
Picking up her purse and wrap from the seat, she opened the door.
Jay looked at the clock on the wall. Barely three minutes had passed since the last time he looked. He’d paid more attention to time in the last two weeks than he had his whole life.
“Scowling at the clock won’t make her get here any quicker.”
Turning at the sound of the man’s voice, Jay watched his father, Jamieson, walk toward him. He leaned on his cane, something he hadn’t done earlier today. The injury from two years ago must have flared up. “Hey, Dad. Is your leg hurting?”
“A bit.”
Jay knew his father didn’t use the cane when his le
g only hurt “a bit.” He clenched his hands into fists, still angry that he hadn’t been there to defend his father two years ago. “I’m glad you’re here, but I know that long flight had to be tiring for you. Why don’t you lie down a while?”
“I will, after I meet your mate.”
He’d decided not to call his father and stepmother until after he met Roni. As soon as he knew for sure Roni was coming to see him, Jay couldn’t wait to share his news. Jamieson had surprised Jay by flying over from England. As Alpha of the Millington Pack, Jamieson met all the prospective mates of his wolves. Jay respected pack law, but he hadn’t planned for his father to meet Roni so soon. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable in any way by producing a father she hadn’t expected to see.
Jamieson lifted one hand, palm toward Jay. “I know what you’re thinking. No, I’m not going to hang around here and intrude on your first meeting with her. But I would like to meet her before you take her to dinner.”
The tension seeped out of Jay’s shoulders. That he could do. “Sure. After I have a few minutes with her, I’ll ...”
He stopped and tilted his head. Thanks to his enhanced wolf hearing, he heard a car door shut. That, and the way his cock immediately hardened, proved Roni had arrived.
“Dad—”
“I heard it, too. I’ll be in the family room when you’re ready to introduce her.”
Jay waited until his father left the foyer before he opened the front door and stepped outside. He’d heard the phrase “his heart slammed into his throat” but never truly understood it until now. A vision rounded the hood of a tan sedan. Chin-length black hair swept back from her face in gentle waves. A long-sleeved black dress slid over her voluptuous body to her knees. Black heels covered her feet, sheer black stockings ran up her legs. He had only a moment to admire her cleavage as she draped a black wrap around her arms and tossed one end over the opposite shoulder.
He longed to lick every inch of her ivory skin.
She took two steps before she lifted her head. Eyes widening, she froze. Her lips parted as her gaze passed over his body. He couldn’t be sure from twenty-five feet away, but he thought he saw her swallow.
