She sat on the floor and stared at him. He met her gaze, and she swore there was laughter in his eyes. “All right, you win. You can spend the night on the couch. No way are you going to sleep on the bed with me. The only person I want to share it with is Kiel, and he’s not here.”
The mention of Kiel’s name had the wolf cocking his head in her direction once more. Neha sighed, admitting defeat. She sat on the couch next to him and picked up the fashion magazine she’d been looking at earlier from the side table next to her. She flipped through the pages, doing her best to pretend she didn’t have a huge wild animal sitting next to her. That didn’t last long, though, when he turned and put his head on her lap on top what she read.
Neha pulled her arms out from under the wolf and laughed. “I guess you want some attention.” In way of answer, he licked her arm.
She spent the next hour dividing her time between reading her magazine and petting and talking to the wolf. Back in New York, she never in a million years would have thought she’d be doing something like this.
She soon covered her yawns with her hand. It wasn’t much past ten thirty, but she’d had a long day, what with the drive from Yellowstone and getting settled into the cabin. Plus, it would be another long day tomorrow with the photo shoot.
Neha gave the wolf one last scratch, then stood. “I’m going to bed now, so that means it’s time for you to leave.” She walked over to the door and opened it, giving it one last try to get him to leave. She stood at the side of it before she looked over at the wolf. He remained right where he was and stared at her. “I’ll take it you intend to stay for the night. Fine. I’ll see you in the morning then.”
She closed the door and headed in the direction of the bedroom, stopping just long enough to take one of the candles that burned in the main area. She’d almost reached it when the wolf bolted in front of her and raced into the other room. He made a beeline straight for the bed and hopped up onto it. Neha groaned.
“Really? You can have the whole couch to yourself, you know. You’ll have more room.”
He huffed out a breath and settled his lupine head on his outstretched front paws. Neha already knew there would be no budging him. She was going to be stuck sharing the bed with a wolf.
Neha gave up. She crossed over to her suitcase and took out her pajamas. She stripped out of her clothes and put on the tank top and silk bottoms she wore to bed. The whole time she felt the wolf’s gaze following her movements.
After a quick trip to the bathroom to brush her teeth and use the toilet, she blew out the candles in the main living room. Once inside the bedroom, she extinguished the flame of the one she held. With no street lights, it was pretty dark. She shuffled over to the bed and climbed in under the covers.
Neha turned her head in the direction of the wolf. “Goodnight. You’d better not snore.” She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.
* * * *
Kiel sat up on the bed once he was sure Neha was asleep. He remained in his wolf form. His plan to get her used to him looking like that so far had worked, even though she had no idea it was him. He’d caught her off guard at first, but she’d quickly warmed up to him.
He ran his gaze over her. Neha would more than likely be pissed off at him once she learned he was the wolf and that he’d watched her get changed into her pajamas. He could have left the room, but he’d been afraid she’d shut him out and not let him back in. Kiel had been able to open the latch on the cabin’s door, but the bedroom’s tended to stick a bit since he didn’t use it much. He’d been determined to sleep on the bed with her.
He settled down next to Neha once more. The night had gone as great as he’d hoped it would. They’d eaten a nice meal together and shared some conversation. Then he’d returned in wolf form and she’d used the time up until she went to bed petting him. He’d liked that—a lot.
Kiel couldn’t wait to get Neha’s hands on his human body. He burned for her, and wanted to quench the desire she stirred in him deep inside her. He shifted closer so his side was pressed against hers and closed his eyes. He’d sleep next to her, then sneak out in the morning before she woke up.
* * * *
The sound of the alarm on her cell phone going off brought Neha awake. She reached over to the nightstand and turned it off. She then stretched before she quickly sat up once she realized she was alone in the bed.
Neha looked around the room, not seeing the wolf anywhere. She knew he’d slept all night with her. She’d rolled over closed to dawn and encountered his furry length stretched out beside her.
She threw back the covers and slipped off the bed. She walked out into the main part of the cabin, thinking he could be out there. He wasn’t. Neha headed for the closed door, thinking he must have opened the latch again and gone out. It wasn’t as if there was any place for him to hide where she wouldn’t see him. He was too big for that and the open concept of the living space didn’t offer many places to keep him out of sight.
Neha had just put her hand on the door’s latch when it opened from the other side and pushed inward. She stumbled back to avoid getting hit by it and let out a little sound of surprise as Kiel stepped inside.
“Neha. I didn’t think you’d be awake yet,” he said as his gaze landed on her.
“I just got up.”
“Were you going somewhere?”
She nodded. “Sort of. I was actually looking for your…wolf.” She gave him a sheepish look.
“My wolf?”
“Yes, you know the wild one you told me about that you let into the cabin and is all friendly. He came by last night after you left. You neglected to mention that he knows how to open the latch on the cabin door. When I wouldn’t let him in, he did it himself. I then couldn’t get him to leave. He ended up sleeping on the bed with me.”
Kiel smiled. “He must really like you then.”
“I guess. Anyway, I woke up and he was gone. I didn’t let him out. Did you come by earlier and do it?”
“No. I just got here now. He is pretty smart. He must have opened the door again.”
“And closed it behind him?” she asked unbelievably. “It was shut tight until you arrived.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kiel said as he took her by the arm and turned her before walking them to the kitchen area. “We have enough time for you to shower and us to eat some breakfast before we head to Helena to meet up with the others.”
Neha decided to follow Kiel’s cue. If he didn’t think it was a big deal that a wild wolf managed to open a door and close it behind him, then she guessed she would as well. Even though it came across as strange to her.
“I don’t usually eat breakfast,” Neha said. “A cup of tea is about all I ever have.”
“All right. Then why don’t you take a shower while I cook myself something and make your tea? We should leave early enough so you can pick up the things you want in Helena first before we head over to the hotel.”
“Oh, right. I need better shoes and some suitable clothes. I won’t take too long. I don’t have to do much with my hair or put on any makeup. The makeup artist and hairstylist for the photo shoot will do it. So that will save time.”
Kiel grinned. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” He stepped closer. “But before you shower, there’s something I have to do.”
He gently tugged Neha into his arms and brought his mouth down to hers. His lips moved over hers, causing her body to warm. Kiel’s delicious scent seemed to wrap around her. It acted like an instant aphrodisiac, and she no longer wanted to take a shower. Her pussy ached to be filled, especially when he put his hands on her hips and brought her flush against him. His cock was hard. She rubbed along him, a quiet moan pushing out of her. If she’d been a cat, she’d be purring right about then.
Kiel lifted his head and looked at her. “You’re too much of a temptation. You make me want to forget about the things we have to do today.”
She licked her lips, and his gaze zeroed in on them.
“Well, we could have time for a quickie.”
He shook his head. “No way. What I want to do to you, a quickie wouldn’t be good enough.” His voice dropped to a husky timber. “Once I get you into bed I don’t intend to let you out for hours.”
Oh, god. He’d just turned her body to jelly. The ache between her legs intensified as wetness pooled deep inside her. How was she supposed to work with thoughts of what he would do to her filling her mind? It was going to seem like forever before they had a chance to be alone again.
“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” Neha said as she rubbed against Kiel’s hard-on, which jerked in response.
“You’ll manage. Just as I will. Now go take a shower.”
Kiel released her and turned her in the direction of the bathroom. Neha huffed out a breath full of frustration. It was going to be one hell of a long day.
* * * *
After they arrived in Helena, Kiel took Neha to the Capital Hill Mall. Since it’d only opened a short time before they’d gone there, it wasn’t busy and Neha was able to quickly get what she needed. She bought a pair of sneakers for knocking around, a pair of jeans and a couple t-shirts. She didn’t go for the expensive items so her credit card didn’t take much of a hit.
Once they were back in Kiel’s pickup, they headed over to the hotel where the others were staying. As planned, David, Joan, the makeup artist, Ron, the hairstylist, and Mia were all waiting outside at the front. They stood by a rental van.
“That’s them,” Neha said as she pointed to the small group.
Kiel pulled in behind the van. Neha got out and walked over to the others. She looked around but couldn’t see Vlad or Gary, the other male model.
“Hey, David,” Neha said as she reached them. “Is everyone ready to go? We seem to be missing two.”
“Neha. Hi,” David returned. “Vlad should be on his way down. As for Gary, well, he’s headed home. He had a family emergency. So I don’t know what to do about replacing him. With this location change, and having to start over again, we really don’t have time to wait for your agency to find another model and then fly him here.” He stopped talking and looked at something over Neha’s shoulder. “Wait a second. Who is that?”
She looked behind her and saw Kiel standing at the side of his truck, looking in their direction. Neha turned back to David. “That’s Kiel. He owns the cabin where we’re going to do the shoot.”
“Has he done any modeling before? He’s perfect. He looks to be around the same size as Gary.”
“No, Kiel has never modeled.”
“Yeah, he’s a hunk,” Mia said.
Neha looked at the other woman. “Just so you know, he’s taken.”
Mia smiled. “Got ya. With a guy as good looking as him, I’d stake my claim on him as soon as I could too.”
David cleared his throat. “If the two of you are done, Neha, do you think Kiel will take Gary’s place? I’m sure between the two of us we can teach him what he has to do.”
She shrugged. “I’ll have to ask him.”
“You do that while we’re on the road.” David glanced at his watch. “We really need to get a move on. If Vlad doesn’t get down here soon, I’ll have to go up and drag his ass to the van.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Vlad said as he came up behind David.
When Neha had first met Vlad, she’d expected him to have a heavy Eastern European accent, which wasn’t the case. His parent may have come from the old world, but he’d been born and raised in Texas and sounded like a Texan.
David turned around. “About time. What took you so long?”
“You woke me up when you called. I had to shower and have a cup of coffee.”
That used to drive Neha nuts when she dated Vlad. He was constantly late for everything. He either had no concept of time or he figured everyone could wait for him to show up when he felt like it. Considering he was on the obnoxious side, she guessed it was the latter.
David shook his head. “All right, everyone get in the van.” He turned his attention on Neha. “You can tell Kiel we’re ready to leave now. We’ll follow you guys.”
Vlad scowled. “Neha isn’t riding with us?”
Mia answered his question with a smile. “No. She’ll be going with her new boyfriend. The hottie by the pickup truck over there.” She pointed to where Kiel stood. She also knew Neha and Vlad had dated for a short time, and that the breakup was recent.
“I’ll see you there,” Neha said, then quickly headed over to Kiel before Vlad could say anything more.
During the shoot at Yellowstone, Vlad had tried to batter her down to get her to take him back. Neha had refused with each attempt. And now that she’d met Kiel, Vlad didn’t stand a chance. Hopefully he realized that and left her alone or working with him over the next couple days would be a major pain in the ass.
Chapter Seven
They were almost at the cabin when Neha told Kiel about the one male model having to leave and how David wanted Kiel to take Gary’s place. He quickly looked at her to make sure she was serious. There was no laughter on her face or in her eyes so he figured she wasn’t trying to be funny.
“He actually told you that he wanted me to model in the photo shoot?” Kiel asked as he turned his gaze back on the road.
“Yeah, he did. He’d been telling me how Gary had a family emergency and had already left. And how it was going to be hard to get someone to replace him on such short notice, then fly them down here. You’re about the same size as Gary so the clothes should fit you.”
“Did you tell David I’ve never modeled before? I wouldn’t have a clue what to do.”
Neha chuckled. “It really isn’t that hard. Plus, David and I will help you. You mostly have to just stand there and look hot, which shouldn’t be a problem since you’re a hunk.”
Kiel had to smile at that last part. “So if I do this, does it mean you’d be posing with only me?”
Once he’d seen the male who’d joined the others at the van last, it’d dawned on Kiel that the other man could possibly have his hands all over his mate during the shoot. The wolf side of him had wanted to snap his teeth at the male to warn him away.
“Probably not,” Neha answered. “I’ll have to work with Vlad too. And you’ll have some shots done with Mia. Believe me, I won’t have fun posing with Vlad. He’s my ex, and we broke up not too long ago. I ended it once I found out how self-centered he was.”
Even though modeling wasn’t something Kiel had ever aspired to, he already knew he would take Gary’s place. Now that he’d learned Vlad was Neha’s ex-boyfriend, there was no way in hell he’d stand at the sidelines and watch Vlad handle Neha. If he had his way, he’d make sure her ex didn’t come anywhere near her.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” Kiel quickly said.
“You will? That’s great. And don’t worry. David and I will help you every step of the way. You’ll be paid just like any other model, along with what you’ll get for the use of your property as the location.”
Kiel hadn’t agreed to do it for the money, but now that he thought about it, it would be an added bonus. He was going to need all the cash he could get to make needed improvements to his cabin if he wanted to keep Neha happy. The first thing would be getting electricity put in. It seemed important to his mate.
After they reached the cabin, Kiel parked his truck next to the shed and the rental van pulled in behind him. Everyone got out of the vehicles and met in the middle. David looked around and nodded.
“Constance was right,” David said. “This is a perfect location. And the cabin is definitely what the client had in mind.” He turned to Kiel. “Did Neha talk to you about filling in for Gary?”
Kiel nodded. “Yeah, she did. I said I’d do it, but I’ve never modeled before.”
“Great. You’ve just saved me from a major delay. You’ll be fine. As long as you can listen to instructions, it’ll turn out.”
“I think I’m pretty good at that.”
&
nbsp; “Good. Not everybody can or will,” David said quietly as he looked briefly at Vlad, who stood a short distance away. He then spoke louder. “Now that we’re here, we need to get set up. Our makeup artist and hairstylist, Joan and Ron, will also need a place to work.”
“The cabin isn’t very big, but they should be able to find a spot,” Kiel replied.
“All right. Let’s get down to business.”
Kiel basically took a step back and allowed the newcomers to take over his home. He was introduced to everyone, even Vlad, who tried to look down his nose at him, which was impossible since Kiel was three inches taller.
He was quickly swept up in the preparations for the shoot. Kiel had never had his hair styled before. His mother usually cut it when he felt it was getting too long. He didn’t mind it, though. Ron talked the entire time, giving him all the gossip on the models he’d recently worked with. There was no question in Kiel’s mind that Ron was gay, which didn’t bother him in the least.
The one thing Kiel did draw the line at was when they expected him to allow Joan put makeup on him. She’d wanted to use foundation, powder and clear mascara. In the end, he settled for the powder since she’d insisted his skin would appear shiny in the pictures and the client wouldn’t like it.
Next he was given the clothes he was to model. While Kiel, Neha, Mia and Vlad were getting their hair and makeup done, David had scouted around outside the cabin and had picked the places where he wanted to take the pictures.
After that it was a blur of posing, being told to look at the camera, not to look at the camera, look off in the distance, be flirty, be sexy and every other thing David threw at Kiel. Neha said it was easy, but he didn’t think it was. And it didn’t help to hear Vlad snicker whenever David had to correct Kiel’s pose more than once.
They’d been working for almost two hours when all five of his brothers showed up. They knew the photo shoot would start today, but Kiel hadn’t told them what time.
Wild Craving Page 6
