“You didn’t really say that, did you Kate?” one of the girls asked.
“Of course I did,” she said smugly. “I’m Kate motherfucking Caldwell.”
“Ladies,” he greeted them.
Kate’s back was to him, but he could see her body tense. She turned slowly, her brows drawn together. He longed to kiss away that wrinkle between them. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was told you would be here, and so I thought I’d come.”
“Why?”
“Why?” he asked, his voice raising. “To see you. Because you’re my m—”
She slapped her hand over his mouth. “Shush!”
“You know half the town already knows, right?” The dark-haired girl sitting on the stool rolled her eyes. Petros recognized her as Sybil Lennox, youngest of the Lennox dragons. “You know, after he threw you over his shoulder, caveman style, and took you behind the book shop for a make-out session?”
“I have Googled this ‘caveman’ you talk about,” Petros said. “I know what you mean now. But from my research, it seems more appropriate if I dragged you by your hair.” He frowned. “Which I would never do.”
“Yeah, but you’ve manhandled me, right?” Kate asked.
“You didn’t seem to mind me ‘handling’ you. You are my ma—”
“I said shush!” She looked around. “People are going to hear.”
“And why shouldn’t they hear?” Petros said. “Everyone needs to know you are spoken for.” Petros knew half the men in the room had been eyeing the three lone females. Oh, they could stare all they want at the two other women, but Kate was his. His wolf gnashed its teeth in agreement.
“Oh my,” the other female, a petite redhead, fanned her face. “It’s getting way too hot in here. Shall we go for some air, Sybil?”
“Great idea, Dutchy,” the female dragon said, slipping off the stool. “You two have fun.” She winked at Kate as they left.
“I was trying to have a nice girls’ night with my friends.” She took the bottle of tequila on the table, filled up a shot glass, then knocked it back. “And now you’ve driven them away. Who am I supposed to talk to about my problems?”
“Me, of course,” he said matter-of-factly. Yes, from now on, they would tell each other their thoughts and lean on each other in times of need. “Now, tell me: what is troubling you?”
She shot him a suspicious look but seemed to relent. “I just lost a client. A big one.”
“Oh.” He realized that aside from her name, he knew very little about his mate. “So, you are lacking funds, then?” If she needed money, she could have all of his. He would never let anything happen to her, of course.
“What?” She looked at him like he had grown a second head on his shoulder. “No. I mean, I still have Lennox as a main client, plus I can always take on more projects to pay the bills. This client … one of the managers has been on my ass for months, trying to get me fired. And they finally did it when I couldn’t deliver some changes on time.”
“They have not been treating you well, then. So it’s not such a loss, maybe?”
She took another shot of tequila. “That’s not the point, Petros.”
“I’m confused.”
“Barkley Industries was my first client,”she explained. “The one I got all by myself, without any help from my family.”
“You are vexed because your family has been helping you?” Now he was really confused. His mate had a family, and yet she spurns their help?
“Yes!” she said. “Finally, you understand.”
“Actually, I do not.” Never mind. His mate was in distress. She needed a solution. “Well, it sounds as if you are upset with losing this client of yours. I suggest you go and search for other clients, send your CV to—”
“Argh!” She grabbed the bottle and drank straight from it. “Are you seriously giving me advice?”
“Is that not the point of this?” he asked, gently taking the bottle away from her. “To talk and find a solution?”
“Oh my God. You are such a man!” She tried to swipe the bottle back, but he held it high above her. “No. The point of this, of having a girls’ night, is so I can vent about Douchenozzle McDickbag and get drunk!”
Women were confusing. Normally, had it been any other person, he would have walked away. But this was his mate, and thus he needed to comfort her. Besides, she looked absolutely adorable as she jumped up and down, trying to grab the bottle of liquor from his outstretched arm. He placed the bottle down on the tray of a passing waitress and then turned to her, placing his hands on her arms to calm her. “Tell me what I need to do then, Kate-mine.”
“First off, you need to stop calling me that,” she hissed.
“But you are Kate,” he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “And you are definitely mine.” He felt her shiver at his words and her guard lowering. Feeling bold, he pressed his lips to the spot where her neck met her shoulder. This time, she let out a soft gasp. He pressed his nose against the pulse under her ear. Her scent was incredible—like pine trees and earth and fresh mountain air. So different and wild, just like her.
“Shit,” she cursed, and then pulled away before he could move his lips up to hers. “We can’t—” She pushed him away. “Look, it’s not you, it’s me, okay?” She took a deep breath. “I’m just not mate material. Hell, I’m not even relationship material.” She took the purse hanging from the back of one of the chairs and slung it over her shoulder.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Home.” She pointed a finger at him. “And don’t even think of following me, or I’m going to call the cops and have you arrested for stalking.”
His mate sounded serious. “I will never harm you, Kate-mine.”
“I told you to—never mind!” She pivoted and walked away.
Petros watched his mate as she made her way across the room and out the door. Why did she keep resisting the pull of their animals?
He realized he did not know anything about mates. His “parents,” after all, had never taught him about mates before they died. Or any other life lessons, for that matter. But he tried not to be bitter because the past was past.
Perhaps mating was not as easy as he thought it was, and he needed to put in more effort instead of expecting her to fall at his feet. Hmm … his mate wanted to be chased, huh? Well, he always knew nothing worth having came easy, and his Kate was worth more than anything in the world.
Chapter Two
Kate rolled over on the mattress, taking the sheets with her. She let out a long sigh as she opened her eyes. Should have had more tequila. It took a lot to get her drunk, though. She wondered how much it would take to make her forget about Petros. Maybe she should call up a tequila factory in Mexico and see if they delivered by the truckload.
“Argh!” Even in sleep, she couldn’t get rid of him. Her dreams were filled with that infuriating wolf. His lips, those eyes, that hot bod. More specifically, being under that body. And she could listen to his voice over and over again. Low and growly, and God, that accent. She’d heard people with accents before, but Petros’ was the only one that threatened to melt her panties off.
If she wasn’t a shifter, she was pretty sure she’d have carpal tunnel syndrome by now from all the times she’d diddled herself since she met him. Even now, she could feel the ache and pulsing between her legs.
Mine.
She sat up so quickly, the blood rushing to her brain made her dizzy. “Uh, shut up!” She meant what she said to Petros last night. She was not girlfriend material; she made sure of that.
Growing up under the protective shadow of not only her older brother, but his friends, made life difficult for Kate. Her only friends growing up were Amelia and Sybil, who could relate to what she was going through. She, of course, rebelled against them, doing the opposite of what they wanted. Sneaking out at night, smoking under the bleachers, and yes, even dating the school’s resident bad boy. She thought he was so cool,
but little did she know that he wasn’t just bad, but really bad.
No, don’t think about that.
She’d taken care of that jerk. No need to dwell on the past.
Kate knew she was not someone Petros could bring home to his parents. And definitely not mate material. In any case, he didn’t belong here anyway. Maybe he was sticking around while they were wrapping things up with last week’s incident, but soon he’d be on his way back to his island paradise in the Mediterranean.
She ignored that tightening knot in her stomach. This was for the best.
The strong vibrations from the bedside table knocked her out of her thoughts. She frowned. Who would call her this early on a Saturday? It was—oh shit, it was nearly noon. She grabbed her phone before it danced off the table.
“Hello?”
“Kate? It’s Christina.”
“Hey, Chrissy,” she said. She heard the soft, annoyed snort from the other woman, but she didn’t care. She loved giving people nicknames, or in this case, using one that annoyed them. She remembered how stuck up Christina was when she first arrived in Blackstone. At least she had loosened up since then. “What’s up?”
“Are you free for lunch?”
Lunch? Strange. Christina never sought her out before. “I guess.”
“Well, I feel terrible about ignoring your texts about girls’ night.”
“And my emails? And my voice messages?” She really needed her girls, but she knew Christina was probably busy cleaning up after The Organization, so she wasn’t too upset about her not showing up last night.
“Uh, yeah, those too.” She paused. “So, how about lunch at Giorgio’s? My treat.”
Her stomach growled with hunger. A free lunch at the best Italian restaurant in town? What could go wrong? “Sure! I’ll hop in the shower and meet you there in about thirty minutes.”
Kate walked into Giorgio’s at twelve-thirty on the dot, feeling famished. The smell of fresh bread and tomato sauce wafted in her nose. Amazing. When was the last time she’d eaten at Giorgio’s? Probably during her parents’ anniversary, since she didn’t exactly have the budget to eat here all the time.
She scanned the room and quickly found Christina, sitting at a table by the window. She waved to Giorgio Allementari, the owner of the restaurant and pointed to her companion. The handsome and flamboyant restaurateur smiled and nodded at her as he continued to give instructions to his wait staff.
“Hello, Kate,” Christina greeted and motioned to the chair in front of her. Even on a Saturday morning she looked all business-like in a crisp white shirt and khaki pants, her blonde hair up in an elegant French twist.
“Hey, Chrissy.” She plopped herself down. “What’s up?”
“How was girl’s night?” There was a twinkle in her eyes, something that told Kate she had something to do with Petros showing up.
“Oh you know, same old, same old.” She grabbed the menu and opened it up. If Christina was buying, she should choose the most expensive things. That would show her. Not that she could ever bankrupt the heiress. “Things at The Agency keeping you busy?” Hmm, the filet mignon? And maybe some white truffle pizza too.
Christina’s face turned serious. “Just because we got rid of The Chief doesn’t mean our work is done. Which is why I called you today.”
Now this was interesting. Kate put the menu down. “All right. Spill.”
“Kate, we need your help.”
“Me?” she asked, puzzled. “What can I do to help?”
“We need your skills, of course. We’re so short staffed right now.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Why do you think I’m working overtime? Even on weekends?”
“I don’t exactly have any super spy experience,” she pointed out. “I took some self-defense classes, and I can fight as a wolf, but other than that, I don’t know what I can offer.”
“Well, you’re a software engineer. You can help us put our systems together,” Christina said. “That’s what you do for Lennox, right? And at the mines?”
“Yeah, but ….” Why were her instincts suddenly on red alert? She should be jumping for joy instead. After all, she just lost a client yesterday, after Douchenozzle McDickbag fired her for not delivering the changes to their app on time as she was helping save a whole town. Besides, it was technically The Agency’s fault (or rather, The Organization’s) that she lost her other biggest client. “I don’t come cheap, you know.”
“Don’t I get the friends and family discount?” Christina asked.
Had she been drinking, the joke would have made Kate spit take her water.
“I’m kidding. We’ll pay your usual rates,” Christina said without missing a beat. “We really need all the help we can get, especially now that we have Dr. Mendle’s diaries to sift through.”
Dr. Mendle. The name made Kate’s blood boil. He was the sick bastard who had experimented on all those shifters over the last two decades and kept Grayson Mills locked up in a cage.
“All right.” How could she say no? Besides, that Chevelle on eBay she’d had her eye on had about another thirty days left on auction. If she wanted the car, she’d have to come up with the cash soon. “I’ll do it.”
“Great!” Christina signaled a waiter, who came by with a bottle of champagne.
Kate raised a brow. “Champagne? For lunch?”
“It is the weekend.” Christina flashed her a sweet smile as the waiter handed her a flute. “Let’s make a toast? To your—er, our union?”
She grabbed the other flute from the waiter. “Right.” As she looked at Christina over the rim of her glass, she couldn’t help but hear those alarm bells ringing in her head again. Still, she couldn’t complain. Fate may have been a bitch to her the last week, but now it seemed she was being rewarded with another lucrative job dropping in her lap.
Chapter Three
Petros walked into The Agency’s headquarters at precisely eight a.m. Monday morning. Although the offices were open, the only other people there were the skeleton crew manning the overnight shift. He gave them a terse nod and headed to his office. It seemed strange to even have an office. He was not used to being in a management position, having been in the field for more than a decade.
As soon as he turned eighteen, Petros signed up to become part of The Agency. It involved six months of hard training in the most adverse conditions, and only about a quarter who join make it to the end. On Lykos, it was one of the biggest honors to be chosen by Ari Stavros himself for the most elite squad of agents, the Alpha’s Team. The day he had finished his training was the best day of his life. He had dreamed of it since childhood, along with his—
He slammed the door of his office shut and sat down on the shiny new leather chair by the large, sleek glass desk. Christina mentioning Cyprus had brought back those memories. Even weeks after the incident, no one would dare mention it or even say that name. He had worked to forget it, keep it deep inside him, or the memories would surely drive him mad and push his wolf to the brink. Maybe that was part of the reason he came to Blackstone. To forget.
No. He came here for his destiny. And though his mate was resistant, she could not stop fate. He would bide his time; after all, he was a patient man.
“Petros,” a voice called his attention. “How was your weekend?”
“I mostly slept.” He didn’t bother to look up from the reports he was reading since he knew who it was.
Agatha Agrippina walked into his office, her hips swaying seductively as she came closer. She was one of the more junior members of the staff, and an annoying gnat he couldn’t seem to swat away lately.
“You didn’t do anything fun? At all?”
When he looked up, she leaned down low, showing off the generous line of her cleavage. He quickly went back to the reports he’d been reading before she barged in. “There is no time for fun, not when there is much work to be done.”
“There is always time for fun, Petros,” Agatha said. “What do they say here in America?
‘All work and no fun’ and all that?”
With a long sigh, he put the reports down. “Why did you come into my office uninvited?” He really had no time for her games, and his patience was running short with her. Since she arrived a few days ago, she’d done nothing but pester and hover around him.
Of course, he already knew what she wanted—Agatha seemed determined to sleep her way to the top, and she wasn’t shy about it. Some said she had her sights on bagging one of Ari Stavros’ sons and was using her position as an agent to get close to them. She was a fool though, if she thought any of them would even consider taking her seriously. Nikos Stavros would maybe play with her, but Kostas or Xander? They were both far too serious and responsible to sleep with a member of the team. And Petros was smart enough to follow in their lead.
“I’m just making small talk. Or water cooler talk, as they say,” Agatha said with a petulant pout. “You know, Blackstone has so many things to offer. There’s this delightfully rustic bar called The Den—”
His wolf perked up at attention. Not because of Agatha or her insipid stories, but because she was here. The figure that darted into the corner of his vision moved with a familiar grace. He thought it was a mirage of some sort, but that was definitely his mate who entered through the door.
As Kate Caldwell walked into the offices of The Agency, he felt like his body had been smashed across one of the limestone cliffs back in Lykos. She looked gorgeous today, with her dark blonde and pink hair falling down in waves past her shoulders. Her skintight black leggings clung to her sexy legs, and the leather jacket she wore added a hint of danger around her. Of course, he wasn’t the only one who noticed. All the male eyes around her followed her with their gaze.
Petros stood up and slammed his palms on the desk, making Agatha startle in her seat. He ignored her questions as he strode out of his office, determined to stop this nonsense.
Kate was headed toward Christina’s office, unaware of the male attention. She seemed distracted in fact, and when Petros stood in her way, she didn’t see him and jumped back with a small shriek.
The Blackstone She-Wolf: Blackstone Mountain 6 Page 3
