by Mardi Ballou
When he caught her eye, she blushed—making him even harder as he imagined all kinds of delicious ways to turn her even redder. He licked his lips.
“Why do I get the impression you’re not taking any of this seriously?” she asked.
Serious? Poor Lilith. She seemed determined to come up with some result to make the elders happy. Fun as it was to give her a hard time—he’d love to give her the hard time of her life—Rafe didn’t want to frustrate the poor woman any more than necessary. Too bad the two of them hadn’t met somewhere—anywhere—else. Talk about the roles they were required to play… “Come on, Lilith. You’re an intelligent woman. I don’t believe you or anyone else can plug in a formula and make effective matches, plus there’s the simple fact that I don’t want a mate.”
She frowned, bringing adorable furrows to her forehead. “I thought alphas are required to have mates in order to rule.”
“True,” he admitted. “I intend to have a mate. When I choose one, it will be for life. But as I’ve told my uncle and Benedict and the other elders, I’ll choose my mate when I’m ready. You see, until recently I had no idea I’d be the alpha for my pack this soon. To deal with an emergency situation, we all have had to be flexible, bend some rules and traditions. I know the elders think it’s crucial for me to have my mate now because that’s what all the other alphas have done. I see this as one more example of our need to be flexible and find new ways.”
“You’re doing such a fabulous job for the Wentworths, they should be willing to accommodate you,” Lilith murmured.
“Right. You’d think they’d appreciate what I’ve done and not try to coerce me into doing what I don’t want to do yet.”
“Okay,” she said. “Rafe, your situation is unique. We’re pledged to respecting our clients’ rights, first and foremost. Since you’re our actual client, your wishes take precedence over the elders’.”
“Thanks for that. I appreciate your understanding. I know you have a business to run. There has to be a way for us to satisfy the elders and not waste my time.”
“I hope so. They won’t be happy if we don’t find your ideal mate pronto.”
“I’ll deal with that. I’ll make it clear that despite your brilliance and diligence, I’m the problem. No worries. I’ll answer your intake question. I’ll even call the ladies you set me up with and go out with some of them. But, as far as lifetime soul mate choice goes, I’m in sole charge—on my own timetable.”
“Fair enough. No one can guarantee they’ll fall in love for life on command.”
“Right. Speaking of orders, I’m starved. Right now, I want to order dinner. Come with me and we’ll finish this intake over food.” He grinned at her as she once again blushed.
Lilith couldn’t believe her ears. Rafe had just asked her out, sort of. Not exactly as in a date, but beggars weren’t choosers. She hadn’t seen that coming, but her usual empath senses seemed way off when it came to Rafe. This had never happened before and she had no idea what to expect. Later, when she had time to think, she’d have to figure out why her sense wasn’t working. Later. Right now, he’d asked her out. She wanted to jump up and yell, “Yes!”, but then she channeled Dominique and pulled herself together. “That’s not our usual practice.”
He shrugged. “I understand your business is new enough not to have a lot of established practices in place.”
Good one. “I think that sounds like a great idea.” Her voice sounded serene. She was going out with Rafe Graywolf. Even if it was only to conduct an intake interview, she could almost consider it a date.
His grin came slow and easy. “I take that as a ‘yes’. Lilith, as you’re doing me the favor here, where would you like to eat?”
Huh. She couldn’t see Rafe going for Vinnie’s Veggie Garden or any of her usual haunts. Weres went for red meat, cooked rare. Stifling her usual “ewww” at that prospect, Lilith reviewed a roster of possibilities. No way could she could endure a steakhouse. Then it struck her. She had to be upfront with him about not only what kind of food she ate, but who she was. “Before we go any further, I need to tell you some things about me.”
A wicked grin lit up his face. “From the expression on your face, I’d expect you to confess to being a serial axe murderer or something along those lines.”
At the moment, she’d prefer that identity to the one she was about to reveal. “I’m a vegetarian.”
He cocked a brow. “So you won’t ask to sample my barely singed filet. Can’t say I understand why anyone would want to be a vegetarian, but I like a bit of mystery in women. Is that it? Are you ready to go?”
If only. “One more thing. The reason why I’m vegetarian. You see, I’m a demi-ghoul, on my dad’s side. If I weren’t a strict vegetarian—”
That rattled his cool. Lilith could see the precise moment when the truth of her identity registered—the moment he jolted back in his seat. What a moment for her empath skills to kick in. On the other hand, it wasn’t like this had never happened before—or wouldn’t happen again. Lilith held her head up and locked eyes with Rafe. She loved her family, both branches. Any guy who set a speed running record in his sprint away from her wasn’t worth—
“That’s a new one for me, Lilith. Anything else you want to mention?”
He wasn’t running. She straightened her shoulders. “I’m also an empath from Mom’s side of the family.”
“Great. Then you realize I’ve got to eat pronto or I’ll get crabby.”
Her mind scrambled to come up with the perfect place to satisfy their needs. “Italian or Mex?”
“Italian,” he snapped back.
“Cassio’s?”
“In North Beach? Sounds great.”
“But what about the elders waiting in the outer office?”
He looked at his watch and made a face. “They’ll have to get their own dinner. I’ll let them know. Ready to go?”
Rafe whipped out his cell, had a quick conversation with an elder and then phoned for a reservation. Before she could think of anything else to hold them up, they were out the door.
***
Seeing Lilith shuffle the lettuce, olives and cheese cubes of her vegetarian antipasto around her plate, Rafe figured she wasn’t very hungry. At least she seemed to enjoy the excellent sourdough bread and Chianti. He, on the other hand, practically inhaled his steak and pasta.
He wondered what was bothering her. Lilith was an intriguing mixture of shy and sophisticated. Sophisticated wasn’t hard to come by in San Francisco, but Rafe met very few people he’d consider shy. He liked that about her. He also liked the way he felt near her. Warm. Hot. She appeared to have no idea how damn sexy she was. He wanted to nuzzle the porcelain skin of her long, delicate neck. She brought out a mix of lust and protectiveness unlike any he’d ever felt. Pleasurable as these emotions could be, he also sensed he should be on his guard with her. Lilith P. Graves had him experiencing emotions very new to him. Most of all, though, she turned him on. He wanted to brush the blond curls back from her ivory cheeks and kiss the path they traced.
She’d cleared a spot on the crowded table for her papers and pen. “Before we have dessert, I thought we could get these questions out of the way.”
He nodded to her still almost-full plate. “You didn’t eat much. Didn’t you like the antipasto? Do you want to order something else?”
“Busted. Now you know my guilty secret. I loaded up on the bread. It’s my weakness and they just kept replenishing our basket. I couldn’t resist.” She smiled.
Talk about not being able to resist. The animal in him wanted to reach across the table and grab her, lay her down and ravish her. Of course, he had his inner animal well under control now. It wouldn’t do to frighten her off, send her screaming into the night when she saw the power of his lust unleashed. His cock, fully erect for what felt like days, throbbed. He knew in very precise terms what he wanted for dessert.
Right now, though, he had to divert his blood supply from his erection ba
ck to the head on his shoulders.
“What is the physical description of your ideal woman?’”
“You,” he whispered so softly, she almost didn’t hear. “I like beautiful women.” She shouldn’t have needed the words to know what he felt, but her empath skills had deserted her just when she needed them most.
She rolled her eyes. “Can you be more specific. Eye color, hair color—that sort of thing?”
He grinned. “Let’s see. Curly blond hair, down to about where you have it.” He pointed to her. She gripped the pen with such focus, he wanted to slip it from between her fingers and suck on each one. “Big blue eyes that are true windows to the woman’s soul. When I look in her eyes, I want to read her soul.”
That netted him a look before she wrote.
“What about body type?”
“Female,” he growled.
“Short, tall, willowy, more rounded—“
“Stand up so I can see.”
Wonderful blush. She turned so red, he’d have sworn her blush must extend from the roots of her naturally blond hair clear down to her toenails.
“Rafe, get real. You have to stop kidding around, or we’ll be here all night.”
He lounged back in his seat. “You have other appointments?”
She turned away. “It’s not that. I promised Dominique I’d get you to focus. The sooner we can get the forms done, the sooner we can input your responses and start finding matches for you.”
“You’re the exact image of my perfect woman. To answer your questions, just describe yourself. You’re what I want, physically, socially and whatever other ‘ly’ you’re looking for.”
She pursed her gorgeous full lips. “Look, Rafe. It’s not that I’m not flattered. Heck, what woman wouldn’t be? We can’t forget, though, this isn’t about us flirting and playing around. I understand where you’re coming from about choosing a mate and I’ve agreed to help. Still, we at Fangly, My Dear have made a commitment to locate suitable candidates for you, even if you end up rejecting them all. We want the candidates to seem feasible. Please, cooperate.”
“I am, Lilith. I want to go out with you. From where I’m sitting, you’re the exact image of my perfect date, even if I didn’t get your name from a dating service. Will you go out with me?” Though Rafe realized Lilith’s family background made her unsuitable to be his life mate, and that his pack would never accept her in that role, he couldn’t deny how attracted he was to her. He wanted her more each moment they spent together, even if she was a demi-ghoul. He had to be with her or he’d spend the rest of his life sure he’d missed out on something major.
She blushed even harder and batted her eyelashes. “This is so unprofessional. Not at all what I had in mind when I agreed to have dinner with you for your intake.”
He waved away her objections. “Are you hiding behind your professional persona to say no?”
“God, no.”
“Do you want to see me? Because Lilith, I want to be with you.” He took her hands in his, dislodging the pen and crumpling several papers.
A series of emotions flitted across her face and he could smell the conflict brewing in her. All her pheromones told him she wanted him. She wanted him to fuck her and, though she was far more inhibited than he was, the notion of them taking each other amid the debris on the table turned her on. Her desire floated around her like an aura he could almost touch.
“Rafe, yes. I want to be with you. But I’m not a suitable candidate to be an alpha’s mate and that’s what I’m supposed to be helping you with.” Her voice choked on the last words. Though he hated to cause her distress, he reveled in how much she wanted him too.
“Please. I must be able to input your answers in the morning. Please respond to my questions.” Her eyes grew large.
“Come back to my place. We‘ll be much more comfortable there.”
“Your place?”
“Yes. We can be alone, with no distractions. I’ll answer all your questions and then you can stop worrying about those forms.”
She thought for a moment. When she licked her lips with her little pink tongue, he knew she’d made her decision. “All right.”
He paid the bill and got them out of Cassio’s. Thank the gods, it was only a short drive to his place.
***
Everything was spiraling out of control. Dominique would never find herself in such an impossible situation. Even though Lilith’s rational mind kept screaming that she should put a halt to what was happening right now, her heart and libido stomped all over the fading voice of reason. She wanted to be with Rafe Graywolf tonight. No way she could deny it, to herself or him.
He had to be the ultimate bad boy. Bad boy, bad wolf, bad client. He was trouble on two legs—sometimes four—and nothing good could ever come from letting herself be vulnerable to him. He could wreck her life, or at least seriously derail her for a long time. He could definitely make a hash of Fangly, My Dear and thus not only ruin the business, but destroy her friendship with Dominique. She could lose everything that was meaningful to her just to spend time with Rafe Graywolf. Lilith had to wonder if someone had been grinding up “stupid” pills and sneaking them into her food.
Still, she wanted to be with him. Though he went through women like other men went through newspapers, she could somehow believe that whatever happened between them would be unique. She could see herself playing Juliet to Rafe’s Romeo—minus the nasty ending.
All he’d done was invite her to his place and she was rewriting Shakespeare to describe her emotions. She needed to get some perspective. He was flirting with her. He’d been coming on to her from the start, but he did that the way other men breathed. Of course, starved as she was for masculine attention, she ate up whatever he dished out. Rafe fed his huge ego off her obvious response.
Well, she needed to get them both back on track. She had a job to do and Rafe knew his limits. Flirting was fun, but she had to be sure neither of them took any of it too seriously. She had to be the grownup here, because he wasn’t about to be.
First, she had to tamp down the ridiculous attraction she felt for him. Heck, a man this great looking and successful had women thronging to his side. No way could Lilith P. Graves compete—especially when the competition was beautiful, successful pack princesses, suitable candidates to become his mate for life.
“My humble abode.” Humble? Not. Rafe’s large cottage in the woods north of San Francisco surprised Lilith, mostly because she felt at home the moment she stepped across the threshold. Oversized, comfortable furniture filled but didn’t crowd the living room. Judging by the artwork, Rafe had excellent, if eclectic, taste. Lilith wanted to linger over each piece, but time was fleeting.
How many other women had he brought back here with him? Whatever. At least she could be sure she was the only one who’d ever come with an intake questionnaire from a dating service. She always did want to be unique.
Rafe came up close behind her. She could feel his hot breath fan the nape of her neck before she turned to face him.
“Mi casa es su casa. Make yourself comfortable.”
Yeah, right. As long as he stood that near her, comfortable wasn’t an option.
“Can I get you a drink?”
A gallon of ice water might be a good start.
“We really need to finish the questionnaire,” she murmured. “And it’s getting late. I have to get home.”
He got right in her face. “What’s your first question?”
It’s about the questionnaire. She swallowed hard. “What is your most important value?”
Instead of answering, he kissed her. His lips, full and well-formed, brushed across hers with unexpected tenderness. The element of surprise caught her off-guard and intrigued her. Though she should have known better, she pressed her lips back to his, which evidently was all the invitation he needed to begin a deep plunder of her mouth.
His powerful arms drew her to him as their mouths tangled. Was that his heartbeat or hers
? In his embrace, she lost track of boundaries. He felt so strong, so sheltering, as she burrowed in his embrace. Her legs pressed against his, which he’d splayed in an effort to diminish the difference in their heights. She stood on her toes to reach up to him, but he still had to tilt his face down.
He ground his erection against the sensitive area of her lower belly and groin. She wanted to have him in her hot, wet pussy. She’d creamed so much already, the silk of her panties bunched up into her folds like a tease. She needed to feel him there, to wrap her legs around him and have him plunge his dick deep into her. Shivering with excitement and anticipation, she surrendered to the moment and the man.
Lips still latched to hers, he began to massage her back. The erotic friction of his hands on her, kneading her muscles and rubbing her, brought her to the edge of an orgasm. A hair trigger away from becoming a screaming meltdown, she imagined herself on a speeding train, out of control on lightning tracks.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered when they broke apart. Though her head told her he’d said the same words to many women and would say them to many more, they lodged in her heart and took root. He found her beautiful. He wanted her. Right now, it didn’t matter what had come before or what would come afterward. For this moment, she was beautiful to him. She would cherish his words always.
For a moment, she tried to find a way to tell him to stop what was inevitable between them. Before she took him into herself, her rational voice chided, she still could hold something back. Once they became intimate, she would be lost.
She didn’t care if she stayed lost forever. At this moment, she was ready to toss everything aside but the burning need for them to be together. He wanted her—completely, passionately, all the ways she’d always dreamed of being wanted. She could read his heart and soul with a startling clarity, each desire lit up with the light of absolute understanding. And she matched him in ardor. More than anything in the universe, she longed to expend her passion, her desire, on this man.
