She took a step back, then another, holding the shakes in front of her as though that might stop him. He grinned and prowled closer. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t run from a wolf? He’d want to give chase to catch you. And he would. No doubt about that.”
“Don’t, I’m too heavy to carry,” she squeaked when he scooped her up, careful not to jostle her so the milkshakes wouldn’t spill. No point in wasting such a treat, even if the one in his arms promised to be much sweeter.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I could carry two of you for miles without breaking a sweat, babe.” She had curves, plenty of them, and he couldn’t be happier. He’d have loved her even if she’d been rail thin, but it was like she’d been made just for him. Soft and luscious. Perfect. He couldn’t wait to explore every sexy inch of her.
“You’re crazy,” she said, giggling as he took the first step.
“Only because you’re scrambling my brain with your scent and those come-hither glances you keep throwing at me. I’m pretty sure there is no blood left in the top half of my body. Before this, I was the sanest person out there.”
“I feel like I should apologize, but I’m not sorry,” she said, her hot breath feathering along his jaw.
If it weren’t for the fact that he’d never stop kissing her, he’d turn his head and devour her mouth again. “Don’t apologize. I love it.” At the top landing, he used his elbow to flick the switch, illuminating the room before crossing over to the couch and setting her on it.
The soft ding of an incoming text sounded from his back pocket. “I’ll run down and get the burgers. I’ll be right back,” he said as he swiped his thumb across the screen. Aric. Of course. So much for ignoring work for a while.
Aric: Any progress yet?
The Alpha of the Blue Creek pack didn’t bother with pleasantries, which suited Luca just fine. He had no desire to get on friendly terms with the guy. It was bad enough that he had to try not to look like a total hermit with his own pack. He wouldn’t worry about anyone else’s.
Luca: Not yet, Kaitlin just got here. Getting her fed and settled.
Aric: It’s been three hours.
Luca stifled his growl. He may have slacked off a bit today, but every other day since he’d started on the job, he’d put in eighteen hours or more. They couldn’t expect him to work 24/7. It wasn’t like they paid him by the hour. The contract was for the decoding of the hard drive. Period. You couldn’t put a time frame on that.
Luca: Will report any news to you as I have it.
Aric: Make sure you do. A lot of shifters could be at risk.
Luca: Understood.
He shoved his phone into his pocket and cast the other male out of his head. He had better—and much prettier—things on his mind. Grabbing their food, he sprinted up the stairs.
Kaitlin sat right where he’d left her, but rather than smile when she saw him, her lips turned further down at the corners.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, crossing over to her. He took a quick inventory of their surroundings, but other than the room being a little chilly, everything was as it should be. She’d taken her coat off and draped it at the end of the sofa. Maybe she was cold.
“Nothing.”
Her tone wasn’t reassuring. He dropped the bag on the coffee table in front of her, pulling it closer so she wouldn’t have to reach, before heading to the heater and turning it on. It would take a few minutes, but the room would be more comfortable soon.
When he faced her again, she averted her gaze. It seemed that setting the takeout containers onto the table was a task that required all her focus. “Kaitlin?”
She sighed and gestured to the cushion next to her where her phone sat. “My boss messaged me while you were downstairs. She wants daily status reports.”
Luca shrugged. Aric and Jaxon expected the same of him. He wasn’t surprised the head of Howlers, Inc. would want to be kept in the loop. “That’s fine. We’ll pool our data and make sure everyone gets the same information.”
“Including one for today. It looks like I’m working this evening. I’ve been trying to get Mrs. Wagner to notice me for months, and this is the first assignment she’s given me that doesn’t involve data entry. I don’t want to mess this up.” Kaitlin peered at him as she nibbled on a fry, her expression wary, as though she expected him to lose his shit over a small setback. No chance of that happening.
Sitting next to her so that his thigh was flush against hers, Luca reached for his burger. “That sucks, but it’s fine. I don’t want to do anything that will hurt you in the end. Besides, you’re not leaving just yet. We’ll have plenty of time to be together,” he assured her. If he had his way, they’d have forever.
***
The heat from Luca’s body seeped into hers. She’d had no way of knowing what to expect with her announcement. How could she? Having hung out with him online for so long, it was easy for her to think about him as someone she’d known for months. The reality was, she didn’t know him at all. Anyone could pretend to be a good guy behind a monitor. As disappointed as she was that their alone time had hit a snag, maybe it was for the best. She could let things cool down between them and get to know the real Luca.
He took a big bite of his burger and nudged his shoulder against hers. “Try it. Delicious,” he said between bites.
“You’re not upset?” she asked, not quite ready to believe he’d be so calm after all the teasing touches and kisses they’d shared since she’d arrived.
He gave her a funny look. “You’re here. No, I’m not mad. The rest will fall into place. Eat up before it gets cold, then I’ll show you what I’ve tried so far. Hopefully, you’ll see something I missed.”
Doubt niggled at her mind. “I’m still not sure why you asked for me specifically for this job. You do know that I have no real training in any of this, right?” Looking like an idiot in front of Luca was the last thing she needed.
“Neither do I. Doesn’t mean I’m not good at what I do. I’ve seen the security you’ve got set up on your system. It was damned hard to crack, and after working on it for a week, I didn’t even get all the way inside. Between the two of us, we’ll blow this hard drive wide open, I’m sure of it.”
His confidence in them as a team left a warm, fuzzy feeling inside her. Luca was right. There wasn’t a whole lot out there she couldn’t find a backdoor into, and this would be no exception. Together, they’d be unstoppable. “Okay, food, then work. Let’s do this,” she said more to herself than him.
She lifted her burger to her mouth. Luca’s expectant gaze locked onto her. Flavors burst onto her taste buds, making her moan. A little bit of heat and some sweetness added in balanced it out and made the otherwise standard meal sing. Swallowing, she peeled up the top bun and peered inside. “What’s in this thing?”
Luca chuckled and finished the last of his. “Maggie’s secret. I’ve begged, and she still won’t tell.”
Kaitlin tried to imagine Luca begging for anything and couldn’t. Something in the way he interacted with the people they’d encountered that day told her he wouldn’t put himself out there like that. Not with anyone he wasn’t very close to, in any case.
When Luca finished eating, he stood and stretched, giving her a drool-worthy view of his muscular backside. The man filled his jeans just right, making her mouth water almost as much as the burger had.
“I’m going to boot up. Did you want me to set your computer up while you finish?” Luca asked, glancing at her over his shoulder and catching her staring.
Warmth flooded her cheeks at the slow grin creeping onto his face.
“Yes, I was looking at your ass, and it’s mighty fine. Oh, and yes, please, for the laptop,” she added. There was no point in denying it. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to pretend like it hadn’t happened—or that it wouldn’t happen again. With a body like that, she’d have to be blind not to notice and have way more restraint than she did to ignore it.
He turned to her again, the
heat in his gaze melting some of her earlier determination to get to work. He brought his face down to hers and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m glad you approve.”
She didn’t take another bite—or her eyes off him—until he sat down at his desk with her computer right next to where he’d be working. Yep, she was a goner, plain and simple. No one should look that sexy staring at a monitor.
Nine
“Wow, that shut me out fast.” Kaitlin took a deep breath and stretched. Rolling her shoulders, she reached up and squeezed at the tight, aching muscles at the base of her neck. She and Luca had been at it for hours, and they had yet to make any headway. Every time they inched their way in, the program looped to the outside. The hard drive was like a fortress, teasing them with a sliver of progress only to jerk them back to the beginning a second later. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. It was frustrating as hell, but not impossible. It would just take a delicate touch, some finesse, and a shit ton of patience. Challenge accepted, motherfuckers.
Luca grunted and leaned back in his chair. He stared at the coding filling his screen as though the answer would magically pop up. The second his glance flicked her way, he frowned and straightened in his seat. “It’s late. We should call it a night. What do you say?” he asked, shutting his system down even as he spoke.
As much as she hated to quit, coming back with a rested mind wasn’t a bad idea. She glanced at the clock on her monitor. How had six hours gone by already? No wonder her muscles were stiff. “I think you’re right. We can get a fresh start tomorrow.”
With his dark hair sticking up at odd angles from the countless times he’d rammed his fingers through it, and the stubble darkening his jaw, he looked good enough to eat. She itched to find out how soft or rough his cheek would feel in her palm.
Standing, Luca reached for her hand. “As much as I want what those beautiful eyes of yours are offering, you need some rest. We both do,” he added before she could protest. “We don’t have much to tell them yet, but if you want to shoot off a quick message to your boss, I’ll secure the hard drive.”
Crap, she’d forgotten about Mrs. Wagner. “Okay, sounds good.”
When he had the device in hand and headed toward the stairs, she didn’t follow. If he wanted her to go with him, he’d tell her. She picked up her phone from where she’d left it on the coffee table and yawned. Three missed calls. All from the office. Likely Mrs. Wagner looking for her update.
One quick text to her boss later, and she was pulling on her coat. Now that her focus wasn’t on the work at hand, fatigue flooded her.
“Ready to go?” Luca asked when he bounded back up the stairs.
“Definitely.”
Reaching for her hand, he pulled her closer. She expected him to wrap her in his arms and kiss her, but instead, he tugged the edges of her jacket together and did the zipper up all the way to the top. “It’s been snowing. I don’t want you to get cold between here and the house.”
Okay, something had to be wrong with the man. He was sweet, considerate, and sexy as all hell. No way could anyone be so perfect. Maybe he was terrible in bed. She giggle-snorted at the thought. If his kisses were anything to go by, she wouldn’t have any complaints in that department, either.
Luca looked down at her, his eyebrows raised.
“You don’t want to know.” She lifted onto her tiptoes and gave him a chaste kiss as another yawn forced its way from her body.
“Okay, sleepyhead. Let’s get you into the house and into bed.”
She might have argued if her traitorous body didn’t choose that moment to demand another yawn.
Luca bypassed the barn doors, which he had closed after he’d pulled the Mustang in earlier and led her to a regular one off to the side. “Ready?”
The ground, which had held a soft blanket of snow before, now had several more inches piled on, and from the looks of the big, fluffy flakes driving down in the howling wind, it wasn’t letting up just yet. Looked like the forecast had been a little off.
Yanking her hood to cover her head, she braced herself. “Ready as I’m going to be.”
With a quick peck on her lips, he took her hand and brought her outside, pausing only long enough to close the door, giving it an extra push to make sure it latched.
Trudging through the snow, sprinting for the house wasn’t nearly as fast as it should have been. About halfway there, Luca stopped dead in his tracks. His whole body stiffened, and his grip on her hand tightened.
“What’s wrong?” she yelled into the wind.
He didn’t look at her. Squinting her eyes, she peered deeper into the yard, but it was too dark and the snow was too heavy for her to see anything.
Luca drew a deep breath through his nose. Some of the tension eased from his stance. Leaning in close, he spoke into her ear. “Probably nothing. I thought I smelled something. Let’s get you into the house.”
When they reached the front door, Luca took one last look into the yard and then shut them in, sliding the deadbolt into place behind them.
“Do you usually set the locks this far out?” she asked, suspecting the answer was probably no.
He shook his head. “Not usually, but we’ve had issues with rogues before. I don’t know what had my wolf on edge out there, but I won’t take chances where your safety is concerned.”
Shrugging out of her coat, she hung it by the door and waited while he did the same.
“Did you need anything before bed? I can fix you something to eat if you want,” he offered.
“Nope, I’m good.”
“This way then.”
He’d taken her bags upstairs when she’d first arrived, but she hadn’t followed. They didn’t stop until they reached the end of the hall on the second floor, bypassing three other doors. “You’ll be in this room. It has a bathroom attached. Don’t worry about making noise. It’s soundproof. More to keep the noise out than keep it in, but it still works.”
“Bunnies?”
He grinned at her. “Bunnies.”
“And which room is yours?” she asked. Not that she planned on visiting, but she was curious to know where Luca slept.
His gaze flicked to the door behind her before he waved to the one across the hall. “I’ll be right here.”
The way he said it tipped her off. “This is your room, isn’t it? I can’t put you out of your bed, Luca. I’ll take this one,” she said, side-stepping him, but he laid his hand on her forearm before she could reach for the knob.
“Does it sound creepy if I say I want you in my bed even if I’m not in there with you?” he asked, his voice rumbling deep.
“Not creepy. But I don’t want you to be uncomfortable on my account.”
“I won’t be.”
Sincerity shone in his eyes, and to be honest, she was too tired to argue. They could discuss it tomorrow if he didn’t look well-rested when they woke. “Have a good night, Luca,” she said, closing the distance between them. She might have wanted to take a little step back and slow things down, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want a goodnight kiss.
He wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her with his warmth. He brought his lips down slowly as if savoring the moment. When they touched hers, they were soft, gentle—reverent. If their previous kisses were anything to go by, it wouldn’t take much for him to catapult them into a raging inferno of need, but he didn’t. Too soon, he pulled back. “Good night, mate.”
***
Luca waited for Kaitlin to disappear into his bedroom before heading into the spare room. No way was he allowing her to stay there. For one, there was no ensuite. She needed some privacy. For another, it was next to Niko and Rylee’s room. Yes, they’d insulated the walls and floors in both masters, but nothing was ever entirely soundproof. She didn’t need to hear that crap. It was bad enough he might hear things he had no desire to listen in on, but it was worse knowing his own mate was right across the hall. So close, yet not in his arms.
Not bothering with th
e light, he paced over to the window and lifted the edge of the curtain only enough to peer into the yard. The room didn’t face the barn, but unless the snow had already covered the tracks—which was looking more likely by the second—he’d see if another wolf had been in the yard.
Had the wind not shifted that slightest bit when he and Kaitlin were jogging toward the house, he would have missed it. A wolf, one he didn’t know, had been close enough for him to scent. Only the fact that he didn’t want to scare his mate had kept him from snarling his warning into the stormy night. The smell had been faint. With the howling wind, it could have carried a few miles, but that knowledge didn’t appease his animal one bit. It had to be sure.
He’d give Kaitlin a few minutes to settle in, then another few to fall asleep, then he’d go out and investigate. If he was on their land, Luca would make sure he got off and stayed off.
Almost three in the morning, and he was just now getting Kaitlin to bed. Swearing under his breath, he raked his fingers through his hair. He’d have to do a better job of taking care of his mate. First things first, though. He had to see to her safety. He’d run their land and make sure no threats were around, then hit the hay.
Ten
Kaitlin woke to sweet silence. The sound, or lack of it, was pure heaven. She had a decent apartment in the city, but noise was her constant companion. If it wasn’t her neighbor yelling at her kids, or the hiss of her heater going off, it was the sound of sirens outside her third-floor rental that broke the peace. Of course, it didn’t help that she lived only a few blocks away from one of the city’s biggest hospitals. But it was close to work, and she seldom had to drive. Big bonus.
She stretched and took a deep breath. She’d gotten a quick look at the room when she’d come in the night before, but Kaitlin had been dead on her feet. She’d barely managed to brush her teeth and crawl under the sheets.
The king-sized bed, made of what looked like a dark cherry wood, matched the dressers and bedside tables. A black and white pattern covered the comforter that had kept her warm all night. A couple of picture frames adorned one of the chests. One with Niko and his mate, the other with Jaxon and Maple. Above the dresser, a sixty-inch TV hung on the wall. Beneath it, on the bureau itself, sat a gaming remote.
Hacking That Sass: Sassy Ever After Page 5
