Licked.
Sucked.
Bitten.
Her full breasts strained against the red fabric of the T-shirt she was wearing, the one with my brand stretched across her chest. The only thing that even remotely resembled the women of my pack was the long, brown hair that flowed down her back and the brown eyes that blinked up at me. But even those were better somehow. Her hair gleamed in the sun that streaked through the windows and her eyes held a softness I was unaccustomed to seeing. They also flashed with awareness as chemistry arced between us. I heard her breath hitch as a blush crept up her neck and spread across her cheeks.
She ducked her head for a moment and took a deep breath before she looked up again. Only this time, her gaze didn’t meet mine as she smiled over my shoulder at my brother. The beast inside me, who’d been howling in appreciation as I’d been staring at her, quickly turned to snarling at the sight of her smiling for another man.
I swiveled my head to glare at my brother. “No trial run,” I said softly. I didn’t want her to overhear our conversation.
“Shit, man. You’re gonna make me tell her no?” Parker muttered under his breath.
“You misunderstand me. She’s hired. Permanently,” I bit out.
Parker’s eyes widened in surprise before he glanced between us. Understanding lit in them as he realized what I was saying.
“The fear,” he said. “She’s stalked by danger, then?”
I nodded briefly. “She must be. Spread the word. She’s untouchable. If anyone fucks with her, then they fuck with me. I don’t care who it is and I don’t care if I haven’t claimed her yet. You make it damn clear that I’m not gonna deal with any bullshit about this. You got me?”
“Yeah, man. I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “But are you really sure about this?”
I inhaled deeply and had to grind my teeth to stop from moaning. She might be human and an outsider, but her scent drew me like none other. It called to my wolf and made him demand that I take her and make her ours. And he didn’t want me to wait to do it either.
“Hey, Parker,” she greeted my brother. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m a little early.”
The sound of her soft voice had the hairs on my arms standing up. My cock jerked in my jeans, straining against the zipper. I turned to look at her and wanted nothing more than to drag her into my office when I saw her tongue slide from the corner of her mouth over her pouty bottom lip.
“Not at all, Grace,” Parker replied. “It means you have a chance to meet my older brother, Hunter. He owns the place.”
Her gaze shifted to me and her eyes widened, a hint of anxiety entering them for a brief moment. I’d spent most of my life cultivating a healthy dose of fear in others, but I hated the sight of it directed at me when it was coming from her.
“The same Hunter who was going to be pissed that I’m here?” she asked softly. She trembled slightly, and there was a hitch in her voice as she spoke.
I could smell the uneasiness coming off her in waves, and I understood better why Parker had insisted I give her a chance. She was definitely a woman in trouble. And I was the man who would fix it for her. But first, I had to get her comfortable with me.
“Parker doesn’t know what he’s saying half the time,” I assured her. I heard a light chuckle behind me and knew that my pack members were listening to this conversation. Normally, I wouldn’t care because we were a tight-knit group, but I felt the need for things to be different with Grace. “How about we talk in my office?”
Grace glanced at Parker before answering, almost like she wanted him to object and save her from being alone with me. My wolf paced inside me at the thought of her turning to another man. He wanted out so he could mark her as his and warn off all the other wolves—even my baby brother.
I nodded my head in the direction of my office, and she stepped in front of me as we walked to the back of the bar. I watched the sway of her ass with each step she took and had to resist the urge to reach out and grab her. I could so easily picture my hands gripping her firm flesh as I drove my cock inside her warm pussy.
She exuded a natural sensuality that would have called to me even if she weren’t my mate—one that my male pack members had noticed judging by the stares that followed her as she made her way across the room. I leveled a glare at each of them, warning them off. One by one, they lowered their eyes and showed me their neck in gestures of submission. None of them wanted to anger their alpha over a woman. They might not have realized yet that she was going to be my mate, but they weren’t stupid enough to miss my frustration at their even daring to look at Grace.
When we reached my office, I waved her into the seat across from my desk. She sat down rigidly, and I could see her knuckles whiten as she folded her hands tightly in her lap. When I closed the door behind me, she jerked in her seat. Not wanting to startle her again, I walked slowly behind my desk and sat down.
Her scent changed from uneasiness to outright fear, and I realized that it was likely she was running from something. Quick on the heels of that thought was the awareness that someone had probably hurt her. Based on her reaction to me and how Parker described her, odds were it was a man. Someone the animal inside me would enjoy killing if ever given the opportunity.
It didn’t matter what had brought her into my town. Into my bar. I would handle whatever situation she’d found herself in, because the moment I’d laid eyes on her—no, the instant I’d inhaled her scent—none of that mattered anymore because she was going to be mine. No matter who or what tried to stand in my way. It might sound arrogant to some, but there were many reasons why I was the alpha of my pack. Confidence was just one of them.
“I didn’t catch your last name,” I said, starting off the conversation.
“Shaw,” she said after clearing her throat. “Grace Shaw.”
I liked the sound of her raspy voice. It quivered slightly and made me think about how she’d gasp my name as I drove inside her. Mate, my wolf growled in my head upon hearing her speak again. He and I were in agreement—Grace Shaw was ours.
I had been taught as a child the importance of finding my mate. All wolves were. I had known to expect the fierce attraction and certainty I was feeling right now, but it didn’t help to lessen the impact she had on me. Nothing could have prepared me for the reality of her.
As an alpha, I was accustomed to acting with confidence. My pack depended on my ability to make decisions quickly and without regret. But sitting in front of my mate for the first time—my fully human mate—I was struck by a moment of self-doubt. How would I be able to hold my wolf back long enough for her to come to accept me? Especially since her eyes still held fear as they gazed up at me.
She wasn’t wolf, so she wouldn’t understand the urges that drove me. Grace would want me to court her more slowly than a female wolf would expect. I knew I needed to proceed carefully so I didn’t scare her off. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel the need to run again. Not that she’d get very far. Now that I’d scented her, I knew I wouldn’t let her get away from me.
“Grace,” I repeated as I realized I’d been staring at her in an awkward moment of silence. “I’m Hunter Tate.”
“Yes, Parker mentioned you when I was here earlier,” she said softly.
“I’m sure he did,” I muttered, frustrated to hear his name on her lips yet again.
Why the hell did I put him in charge of the damn bar when I wasn’t around anyway? If I’d been here instead, she would have met me first and I would have been the one who’d offered her the job. Maybe then she’d be more comfortable around me and not my damn brother.
“It’s okay that he’s giving me a practice run, right?” Grace asked.
“More than okay,” I reassured her. “We hashed it out and agreed that the job is yours if you want it.”
Her eyebrows shot up and her jaw practically dropped open at my offer. Then she licked her lips nervously before responding. “But Parker said you wouldn’t wa
nt me to have the job? Something about me being trouble?”
“Turns out I’m in the mood for your brand of trouble,” I drawled, tossing a grin her way.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly and she looked like she was trying not to smile at my attempt at flirting. “Then you must be in the mood to be bored because I tried telling Parker I wouldn’t cause any problems. I’ll be here on time, work hard, and won’t date the customers.”
The very thought of any of my pack mates touching Grace had a growl creeping up my throat. “Damn straight you won’t,” I snapped.
“Not that it’s any of your concern,” she quipped back with a little bite in her voice—the first sign of a sassy spark lighting her pretty, brown eyes. “All you need to know is that, if you hire me, I won’t cause any trouble for you.”
“Job’s yours if you want it,” I offered.
She considered me for a moment, studying me with serious eyes before nodding her head. “Yes, I want the job.”
“Five nights a week okay with you? Four to midnight on Wednesdays through Sundays?” I asked, knowing damn well I was going to make sure her schedule matched the time I usually spent here. And on the occasions I couldn’t be here watching over her, I would make sure she had plenty of eyes on her to ensure that she was safe without me.
I’d already claimed her as mine. She was just going to be the last one to know it.
“Sure. I don’t know anyone in town yet, so I don’t have anything stopping me from working whenever you need help.”
“I think you’ll find the town very welcoming to you,” I reassured her. She didn’t need to know we would be the exact opposite to any other outsider. Then again, she wasn’t one anymore.
“There you go. Told you I’d be no trouble at all,” she said.
The instincts I’d long since learned to trust told me that she was definitely going to cause an uproar. Even if she didn’t mean to do it.
“Something to keep in mind: trouble can find us when we least expect it. Sometimes, it follows us even when we thought we left it all behind. If I had to guess, I’d say you know something about that already. Don’t you, Grace?”
CHAPTER 2
Grace
I’d allowed the instant attraction I felt for Hunter to lull me into a false sense of security when I met him—one any woman with half a brain wouldn’t have let themselves feel for a complete stranger, especially not after having gone through something like I had with Sam. But me? Nope. I just felt those walls crumbling down because there was something about him that made me melt a little on the inside.
I wasn’t able to explain it, but he’d instantly made me feel like he’d keep me safe and protected even if Sam managed to come after me. He gave me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since my parents had died.
It was a short-lived sense of peace because it disappeared the instant he remarked about the trouble that very well could be nipping at my heels.
As bone-chilling fear crept up my spine, I was reminded once again why men could be so dangerous. It was like they could instinctively sense your weaknesses. Using them and exploiting you to get whatever they wanted. Sam had caught me at a low point when I had been dealing with the loss of my parents. I would forever wonder if I’d have fallen for him the way I had if my parents had still been alive or if more time had passed between their deaths and when we met. Ultimately, he’d abused my trust, and because of him, I’d had to run away from the only life I’d ever known.
Logic told me that I needed to learn from my mistake with Sam. I was at a low point once again, and starting something up with Hunter was the last thing I should have considered doing. Not only had he pegged me with one look, but he was my boss. He had control over my livelihood, and I didn’t want to be beholden to another man the way I had been with Sam.
For the next few weeks, I managed to pretend like he didn’t exist even though I was always aware of him. It wasn’t easy since he was at the bar for the vast majority of my shifts—something that seemed to surprise a lot of the customers at first and made me wonder if he used to spend so much time working before I had come to town. I maintained a professional distance with him and only spoke when he asked me a question or I needed something for a customer.
Assuming he was like most men, I figured he’d give up quickly and turn his attentions elsewhere. Little did I know how wrong I was. He let me get away with it for several days, although I felt his heated stare following me around the bar. The tension between us was thick, but he didn’t push things. Then, practically overnight, there was a shift I didn’t understand. Hunter seemed more at ease, like he had settled something that was bothering him. It was as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
His attention was directed towards me even more acutely than before. Now, he offered touches that probably seemed innocent to anyone looking on but felt anything but innocent to me. The slide of his fingers over mine as he handed me drinks sent tingles across my skin. The press of his hands on my hips when he caught me reaching too high for a bottle of expensive wine made me want to turn in his arms and kiss him senseless. But what almost sent me over the edge was the feel of his hardened cock against my ass when I gave in slightly to the madness between us and took one small step backwards as he reached over me when we were both behind the bar.
“Grace,” he growled in that rumbly voice of his that sent shivers up my spine. “Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish.”
I wanted so desperately to be able to say that I fully intended to follow through with what my action had implied, but the words dried up in my throat. Deep in my soul, I knew that this thing between us wasn’t just going to go away, but still, I hesitated out of the fear Sam had instilled in me.
Hunter’s hands grabbed my hips and tightened for a moment when I started to move away from him. Hearing his deep sigh, I turned to see him with his head tilted back, his eyes clenched shut, and his hands fisted so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
“Hunter,” I whispered.
“Go!” he barked out. “Now. Go home for the night before I change my mind and take what’s mine even if you’re not ready to give it to me yet.”
I hesitated a moment before I scurried away. Grabbing my purse and coat from the counter in the back, I glanced back at him one more time to find his eyes burning with lust as he stared at me. There was no room for doubt when it came to how much Hunter wanted me. He wasn’t shy about showing me that I was desired.
It was strange being the recipient of public acts of affection when we weren’t even in a relationship. Sam had been my first adult relationship and he’d never been demonstrative in front of others. Then again, I didn’t think he was the rule with which I should measure other men. That was a lesson I was slowly learning.
Since my arrival in Wolf’s Pointe, I had studied Hunter just as closely as he seemed to watch me. Worried that my taste in men was horrible, I looked for signs that he would hurt me if I allowed myself to get involved with him. On the surface, Sam should have been the perfect boyfriend. He was charming, good-looking in the all-American boy-next-door kind of way, and a police officer. He should have been a safe choice. Someone who would protect the woman he loved.
In contrast, Hunter seemed dangerous. He was often surly, had the dark looks of the bad boy mothers warned their daughters about, and owned a bar. Many women would expect him to be the kind of man who would leave a string of broken-hearted women behind him.
What I found was the exact opposite. People trusted Hunter. At least one person came to him with a problem every day, and I never saw him turn them away. It didn’t matter how busy we were or how tired he appeared. He always made time when someone needed him. If I had been paying the same kind of attention to Sam back when I had met him, maybe I would have noticed that he never really seemed interested in anyone else’s troubles unless he benefitted in some way from helping him. Meanwhile, from what I had observed so far, Hunter worked endlessly to improve the lives of
those around him without expecting anything in return.
By the time I made it back to the motel, I’d bounced back and forth in my head with what I should do about Hunter. My resolve was weakening, and sooner or later, I would give in to the desire between us.
Maybe I was just delaying the inevitable, I mused as I unlocked the door to my room. I was distracted enough that I almost missed the sign that someone had been in my room while I was out. I’d learned to be cautious during the months I’d been running from Sam, and one of those tricks was marking the door of my hotel rooms. The tape I’d left on the doorframe when I left for work was disturbed even though the staff knew not to clean my room while I was out. I slowly backed out as I realized that it could very well mean Sam had found me.
Walking down the stairwell and up to the check-in desk, I tried to stop myself from panicking. There could be a perfectly innocent explanation. Just because someone had been in my room didn’t mean that the person was Sam.
The same girl who’d checked me in was working tonight. She worked most nightshifts, so we’d gotten to know each other a little.
“Heather, do you know if housekeeping was in my room while I was out?” I asked her while glancing around to make sure I didn’t see anything suspicious.
“No way, Grace,” she replied. “We don’t have many rooms in use right now, so they were done before my shift even started. Why? Did you need more towels or something? I can grab them for you.”
My heart dropped at her words. I could think of no reason why anyone else would be in my room. Which meant Sam really could have found me. I shook my head wildly, and Heather was looking at me strangely. I couldn’t seem to get any air in my lungs.
Crying Wolf (Black River Pack Book 1) Page 2
