by T. Cobbin
“Yes, thank you,” she said, wiping down the treatment table with antiseptic. “I didn’t exactly have much, but just knowing the job came with a place was the best news of all.” He could see the relief as it flitted through her eyes.
“You didn’t mind being uprooted so quickly?” he asked curiously.
“No.” She sighed. “I had to move out of my mother’s place pretty fast anyway. I’d been staying with a friend for a few days when I saw the ad. It was like fate intervened.”
He took in her beaming smile and nodded. Yes, fate must have indeed been a part of it.
He was shaken out of his reverie when Cassie popped her head through the consulting room door. “Conan, your first patient is here,” she said in a soft, seductive voice.
“Okay. Thank you, Cassie. Send them in please.” Taking one last look at his mate and twisting his hips to adjust himself inconspicuously, he walked to the consultant’s room with Josie following behind him.
Chapter 3
As the day progressed Josie began to feel more comfortable. There were a few mishaps of course, but then they happened. She remembered back to the first place she had worked while in college... Not accustomed to the new place it had taken her a little longer to find some of the bits and pieces needed. The vet had been having a bad day, leaving him grumbling and grouching at her, and to top it off, before she left to go home one of the cats had somehow escaped his kennel, leaving her to chase the damn thing around and catch it. She had gone home that night and cried her eyes out, vowing to quit and never return. She was glad she had carried on, things weren’t as bad as they seemed. The next day the vet had apologized profusely. The cat had escaped again overnight, and it was later discovered the feline was rather clever at undoing cage locks.
She knew Cassie wouldn’t be her best friend. The woman almost seemed to be two different people. One minute—when Conan was around—Cassie was nice, civil, and flirty, and the next...well, she was like a bitch in heat. Josie swore the bloody woman growled at her a few times.
Conan, on the other hand, was sweet, caring, and polite. The fact that he was sex on legs was a bonus, but also a pain. If his spell didn’t wear off soon, she would be walking around in a constant state of arousal, and she would have to carry a change of panties in her handbag. Probably multiple changes. He didn’t help the issue, because she was sure he was flirting with her—the odd touches here and there, and plenty of sexy innuendos. Although, she wasn’t sure if that was him or just her taking everything the wrong way because of how he made her feel.
“Hey, nearly done there?” His deep, sexy voice made her jump. She was so involved in her thoughts she hadn’t heard him coming into the kennel room where she was making sure the three dogs that were staying overnight had what they needed.
“Dammit,” she swore. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I didn’t exactly creep in here.” He chuckled.
She turned toward him, shutting the last cage door and locking it. “I know. Sorry, I was just deep in thought.”
“Penny for them?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Umm, no, it’s okay.” She smiled. “Too many thoughts—it would be far too expensive.”
He suddenly burst out in tune, “If I were a rich man, yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum.”
She laughed as he started waving his hands and body in a weird dance movement. “Oh, you’re nutty.”
“Made you laugh.” He winked.
“Conan,” Cassie’s voice called from the treatment room, stopping their conversation.
He gave Josie a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary grin before he turned and went to see what his receptionist wanted. Josie followed behind and went to grab her coat and bag.
“Josie, hang on a moment,” Conan called just as she reached the back door to leave. “Cassie, go on home, I’ll sort it out tomorrow,” she heard him say.
He sauntered over to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Yep, she would need to carry some clean, dry panties before she got over her infatuation with him. She could see his muscles ripple under his scrubs, and she could imagine the six-pack his torso held. She even went as far as imagining him under the shower as water flowed over his chest. Hotdog, was it getting hot in there?
“To celebrate your first day, and maybe so we can get to know each other better, fancy getting something to eat?” he asked.
“Well, considering I don’t have anything but a loaf of bread and coffee in my cupboards, it would be great. Plus, you can show me someplace that does a nice takeout. I’m not a great fan of cooking.” She blushed. She always hoped that when she met a man and was ready to settle down, he could cook.
“You can’t cook for toffee?” he asked with a grin.
“You could say that. I think the extent of my skills would be eggs and bacon.”
“Breakfast then.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “Starving here, let’s go!”
* * * *
Conan dropped her Josie off at her apartment so she could change her clothes. He told her he would be back to pick her up in exactly ten minutes, then drove home to change his own clothes. After picking her back up, he took her to one of his favorite out-of-the-way inns.
They both ordered bottles of beer with an eight-ounce sirloin steak. The place was quaint with normal regulars sitting at the bar chatting about day-to-day shit. They sat in a dimly lit corner near a small window. On the outside a window box was filled to the brim with spring flowers blossoming in the evening sun.
Josie pushed the plate away from her, blowing out a satisfied breath. “Bloody hell, that was awesome. I’m stuffed.”
She rubbed her stomach, and as Conan watched her small hands roam over her stomach, he had a sudden vision of her doing that swollen with their pups. His wolf howled inside of him agreeing, impatient to get that started.
He loved to see a woman enjoy their food. Sitting in his favorite pub and watching a fellow dinner partner eat a salad while he ate a steak was not his style at all. It drove him mad watching Cassie do that when they’d gone out to lunch. After the second time he hadn’t taken her out again.
He admitted to himself that Josie was everything he looked for in a woman—hearty appetite, stimulating conversation, adorable lips, pert little nose, hair long enough to wrap around his hands as she sucked on his cock, or when he took her from behind, holding onto her generous hips with his other hand as he pounded deep inside her, hard and fast... He groaned inwardly and shifted his hips, trying to get comfortable, his stiff shaft was trapped between his now very tight jeans.
The major bonus was she was his mate, the one person he could have pups with. She was all his, she just didn’t know it yet.
“So what made you want to become a vet?” she asked, lifting her bottle of beer to her lips and taking a sip. Fuck, watching that had given him even more dirty thoughts! “Conan? You okay? You look like you’re in pain.”
He was in pain, his penis was fucking hard as rock and he wanted inside her now!
He moved swiftly. Sliding out of his chair and into the one beside her, he placed his hand on the back of her head and lowered his lips to hers. After a few seconds of delay, in which he was worried he had moved too fast, she responded.
The kiss became quickly heated. She wrapped her hands around his neck and groaned into his mouth. Their tongues dueled with each other. He could smell her arousal as her heat surrounded him. She wanted this as badly as he did. He pulled her against his body until they were so close he could feel her stiff nipples poking against his chest.
“Um, excuse me,” a female’s polite voice drifted over him.
Shit, he had totally forgotten where they were. He could have taken his mate there and then—over the table, against the wall, he didn’t care. Looking at Josie’s face, he knew she felt the same, but she was now blushing an adorable deep shade of red. He turned to see their waitress standing there with their bill, also
with a blush on her cheeks.
“Your bill,” she simply stated. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“No, thank you.” He placed the money inside the small leather wallet with a generous tip and stood, taking hold of Josie’s hand and walking out of the pub toward his Range Rover.
His wolf was now growling more at him to finish what he had started.
Although the car was parked right outside, it seemed like miles. When he finally got to the damn vehicle he pushed her gently against the side, lowered his head, and ravished her lips again. He had honestly thought she might have come to her senses and either pushed him away or deny that this should go on, him being her boss and all, even with the pull of them being mates. But thank the moon she didn’t. She was just as hungrily eating at his lips as he was hers. He ground his erection against her stomach while cupping her breast through her shirt. Shit, he wanted inside her so bad. Pulling back, they were both panting. He looked into her lust-filled eyes and knew that his looked just the same.
“Your place or mine?” he asked gruffly.
The answering giggle that turned into a full-blown, hysterical laugh nearly deflated his cock. That was not the reaction he was looking for.
* * * *
The look on Conan’s face only made Josie laugh harder. Her body had been on fire a second ago, her clit throbbing, her pussy soaking wet, her nipples as hard as peanuts, and then he had asked ‘your place or mine’. There she was running away from a manic who wanted her body to share with his henchmen—with her mother’s blessing—and now, on her first day at a new job, she had practically shagged her boss at a pub. It was the look of concern on his face that had her calming down.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, feeling tears pool in her eyes. Feeling totally ashamed of herself, she tried to explain. “This isn’t how I imagined things going. I came here to get away from... I mean, I came here to start anew, but falling for my boss on the first day and nearly, umm...” she stammered.
“Fucking him in a car park?” Conan said, his voice deep and harsh, his eyes flickering with specks of orange.
“Please,” she pleaded, “I didn’t mean it that way.”
She didn’t say anything else; there was nothing really to rectify what had just happened. She tugged on his shirt, pulling him lower. Leaning up, she kissed him. Although she was met with a little resistance, he kissed her back. She bit down gently on his bottom lip, causing him to open up, and she immediately pushed her tongue into his mouth.
It didn’t take him long to take over, and the kiss became heated again. She ran her hands through his soft, brown hair. He grabbed hold of her butt and pulled her toward him. Damn, if he wasn’t so tall his hard cock would rub against her core and not her stomach. She could just jump up a little and wrap her legs tightly around his hips, but being a big girl she wasn’t going to suffer the embarrassment of him dropping her. Her body once again snapped into arousal.
“We seem to be here again,” she whispered when they pulled apart.
“Yes, we do,” he murmured. “Are you going to laugh at me again?”
She gently slapped her hand against his heated skin, then rubbed it up and down after enjoying the feeling. “I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing at my situation. Anyway, that’s past now. Would you like the answer to your question?”
“Fucking him in a car park?” he smirked, raising an eyebrow.
“If you wish to, umm...want to get arrested, sure! But how about we go to your place, as mine is still very much bare.”
“If it has a bed, we can still use it, but my place is as good as any. Jump in.” He pulled the car door open and gestured for her to get inside.
The drive to his place was filled with quiet sexual tension. He glanced at her, and she looked back at him. Her body was still on fire. The crotch of her jeans was tight against her pussy. If she could move in just the right way, it would feel so good.
The ride wasn’t too long, and they pulled up outside a large, wooden cabin surrounded by nothing but trees. Although it was dark, there were a few well-placed lights that dimly lit up the area, letting her see his home.
It was a one-story cabin that seemed to be made of huge tree trunks placed on top of each other. The chimney was made from small, smooth stones. There were several floor-to-ceiling windows with pine shutters on each side of them. The porch looked like it wrapped around the whole house, and a long, wooden benched swing hung down on thick chains. She could imagine herself curled up to Conan on it in the evenings, listening to the woods with a blanket over her legs and a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Dammit, there went her imagination again!
He led the way up the porch steps. She didn’t take in much else of the house or scenery, because she only had eyes for the gorgeous, jean-clad derriere in front of her. Shit, she bet she could bounce a coin on it. They stopped in front of the amazing piece of artwork called his front door.
“Holy crap, that’s beautiful.” She stroked her hand over the door. Around the small window was a tiny and very intricate pattern of swirls and flowers, and in the main panel underneath was a pack of wolves playing beneath a full moon.
“My father started it before he was killed, and I finished it. In fact, we built the cabin together. My brother helped too. When I go through this door it holds positive memories for me.”
She looked up at him. Several emotions flickered through his eyes this time. She nodded, and he opened the door. Again, she stood in total awe. The floor was frigging stunning. Someone had painstakingly sliced several tree trunks into thin tiles and laid them on the floor, filled in-between them with sawdust, and then lacquered and polished it. She didn’t get to see much else as the heat of his body came up close behind her. She found herself lifted and unceremoniously thrown over a strong, muscled shoulder.
“Shit, put me down before you injure yourself!”
She heard him snort and felt a stinging slap on her butt, just before a knock at the door had him turning and putting her down. With a quick kiss to her lips, he turned to the door and opened it.
“Alpha,” a tall, thin man at the door panted out.
Alpha?
“Guest!” Conan snapped. He pushed the man back onto the porch and stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind him.
She could hear their conversation getting heated. A few seconds later Conan came back in the house with a very disgruntled look on his face.
“I’m sorry, sweetness, it looks like an emergency has come up.” His fingers stroked down her face. “I’ve asked Henry to drive you home. Is that okay?”
Her heart slumped. She nodded and walked to the front door. “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, eight AM sharp,” she said, bright and airy, not feeling it in the slightest.
Following her, he bent down toward her, and she felt his hot breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear. “When you make yourself come tonight, think only of me, ’cause baby, when I have my hand on my cock tonight I’ll be thinking of you.”
She turned her heated face to look up into his sparkling eyes. “You’re bad!”
She could hear his laughter as she walked to his car with Henry.
Chapter 4
Fuck it! Conan was mad as hell. He had to go sort out a problem instead of screwing his mate into next week, and he had been so bloody close. When Henry had knocked at the door and panted out ‘Alpha’, Conan had shown the other shifter just how disgruntled he was. He should have scented the area before knocking.
Conan was Alpha of the Whisper Pride Pack. It only had about twenty or so wolves in it, more male than female. They had to be careful; wolves didn’t roam free in Britain. His great-grandparents had moved from America a long time ago, buying a large plot of land, bringing a few of their pack along, and there they were now. The numbers hadn’t grown much as their birth rate was low.
His father had been Alpha up until a few years ago when he was killed by a lorry of all things. He had rushed after a pup runnin
g across a road, and he had managed to shove the small pup out of the way, but alas, his father didn’t succeed in missing the lorry. The driver didn’t even stop. Thankfully, that meant not only was their secret still safe but the pack had been able to bury their Alpha in peace. Conan was the eldest son and next one to lead.
His mother was a very strong and prominent person within the pack. Conan took her advice on most things, but at times he had to take her down a peg or two as she had a tendency to meddle. His younger brother Randale was his beta. Although he could be a pain in their mother’s backside with his constant pranks, Conan trusted him most. He had served in the army for a few years and had come home after being medically discharged. Conan didn’t know the whole story, just something to do with a suicide bomber that left him with a scar that ran down the side of his face.
Each pack member had their own small space in which to build their cabin because they liked to stay close to each other. Plus, within the wooded area they were free to roam in their shifter forms. The pack members who didn’t have or want their own places stayed in the big house located in the center of the land, the pack house. It had something like eight bedrooms, and there was a barn behind it that had been converted into several small apartments. It was the pack house Conan had to go to tonight. A fight had broken out and he was needed to sort the shit out. Sending Josie home was the wisest of moves, because it was going to take a while.
Standing on his porch, he drew in the surrounding area scents. Identifying it was clear, he shifted into his wolf and ran through the woods toward the pack house.
Once he reached it, Conan shifted back into his human form and took a spare pair of jeans out of the weatherproof wooden box on the porch. He could already hear the raised voices and growls from inside.
“Fuck you! Daisy is too young to mate.”
“She’s twenty-one and old enough, and I am her true mate, so stay out of it, old man!”
“She’s my daughter. I will have a say, and no pimple-faced, snot-nosed pup like you will have a chance!”
