by Kidd, Lola
He started fucking her harder and harder. Gwen leaned back on her arms and met him at every thrust. The warmth in her lower body spread out until even her fingertips were tingling. Before she knew it, she was clenching around Dom again and letting out a ferocious growl.
Dom didn’t stop moving. “You made a noise.”
“Fuck.” He was right. She had growled, and loudly at that. Dom thrust into hard one time before stilling. Gwen felt him harden inside her and before she could hop off, he was spilling his seed deep inside of her. Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she looked down at their still-joined bodies. He had come inside of her!
She pulled back. “Dom! What the fuck!”
He looked at her, confused. “What’s wrong?”
“You came inside of me!”
He shrugged. “So? You’re on the pill, right?”
“That doesn’t matter. You were supposed to pull out.” She was on the pill, but she wasn’t always diligent about taking it. She thought she had taken it this morning, but she hadn’t the day before…or the day before that. Damn. Fuming, she got off the couch and stood up.
He grabbed the back of her neck and towered over her. “Calm down, Gwen. I’m sorry. I should have pulled out. It won’t happen again.”
Dom sounded sorry, but she was still pissed. He’d never done that before. No one had. She was very careful about using protection at all times. Shifters were very fertile and she didn’t want to have any surprises before finding her mate.
“Come on, Gwen. Don’t let the fun end now. I won’t even punish you for that little growl.”
He kissed her softly while stroking her between her legs. It was only one time and he was sorry. He was right. There was no need for her to leave just yet.
She let him pick her up and take her into his bedroom.
*
Gwen listened to Dom snore softly. The sun was just coming up and she needed to get going, but she was so tired that she didn’t want to move a muscle. Dom had fucked her for hours. They had only gone to bed an hour ago, and Dom had gone right to sleep, but Gwen had been staring at the ceiling the whole time. She was trying to motivate herself to move. Dom’s warm, hard body was pressed against her side and he had one arm thrown over her middle.
It wasn’t going to be easy to sneak out, but she had to get up. She didn’t sleep over at Dom’s house anymore. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. This was a booty call. It was about sex and sex only. Their days as a couple were long over. In the beginning, it had seemed like he wanted to get back with her, and that was more complicated than Gwen wanted their relationship to be. She hadn’t hooked up with him again until he had assured her it was only about sex for him too.
They were so good together physically that Gwen didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship. They were even able to hang out in public now too. They had talked at Frank and Amy’s wedding and it hadn’t been weird at all. She liked Dominic, but she knew they would never have a future. He wasn’t the type to settle down, which was rare among shifters. Usually, shifters mated for life. That could mean a lot of things. The lion women of the Brooks Pride shared two alphas among them and the Lunar Pack occasionally had triads. It was fine and dandy as long as all parties agreed to be in a ménage relationship.
Loner shifters weren’t into any kind of monogamous relationship. They moved around and slept with whomever they wanted. Sometimes, loner men and women would hook up and have children, but most often, those shifters never had children. It made Gwen sad to think Dom would never have cubs, but that wasn’t a life she would choose. She wanted a man who would be true to her and her alone.
She slid out from Dom’s arm carefully and got dressed. She gave him one last lingering look before leaving the bedroom.
As she opened the front door, there was a growl behind her.
Three
“You’re just going to sneak out?” Dom spit. He was so angry. Angrier than he’d let himself get in a long time.
“I have to work.” Gwen didn’t even turn around when she spoke to him.
“You don’t work until later today. You have the same schedule after the holidays every year.”
“Now you’re stalking me?” He could hear the anger creeping into her voice too.
“No. I know you very well. I’ve taken the time to get to know you.”
“Good for you.” She went to open the door but Dom ran forward and slammed it. His arm was above her on the door. He was shaking with rage. She was doing it again! Even after he’d spent all night satisfying her, she was still going to sneak out before he was awake.
“Why are you treating me like this?” Dom demanded. “I know that I’ve done some fucked-up stuff in my past, but I’m not like that anymore. You know me better than that.”
She looked at him with fiery amber eyes. “You know this is just about sex. Don’t start making it complicated now.”
“What if just sex isn’t enough for me anymore?”
Gwen laughed bitterly. “What about Mary Margaret? Or Sally from the grocery store? How about Tonya? She’s just starting her freshman year of college, right? What is it with all of them?”
Dom shook his head. “Who’s stalking whom now?”
“You aren’t exactly discreet with your dealings,” Gwen snapped. She tried to pull the door open again, but Dom didn’t move an inch. “Let me out of here!”
“We’re having a conversation. Can you not talk to me anymore?”
“I knew this was a mistake. I should have just left well enough alone. We’ve been getting along so well.”
“We can keep getting along well. Just one date. Give me a chance, Gwen.”
“I gave you a chance. You don’t want to settle down. I don’t need a man who’s slutting it up all over town.”
“Whoa. I’ve been with a few girls. Sorry, I’m not a virginal princess in a tower. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to settle down.”
“Your actions tell a different story. How come you haven’t had a long-term relationship in the last eight years?”
“I did,” Dom said softly. “She dumped me after a few weeks.”
“Uh-uh.” Gwen put her finger in his face. “Don’t put that on me. You dumped me. You said you wanted to play the field. Keep your options open.”
“But I didn’t say I didn’t want to be with you,” Dom said lamely.
“Right. What girl who has even a shred of dignity would stay with a guy who’s sleeping around?”
“I’m not that dumb kid anymore, Gwen. I’ve changed. If you don’t give me a chance, you can’t say that I’m the same.”
“I want to get married, Dominic!” Gwen exploded. “I don’t want to keep dating until I’m old and dried up. I want a family of my own. Not this same bullshit over and over. I tried with you and it didn’t work. I don’t need to revisit that mistake.”
“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t feel the connection we have?” Dom took his hand off the door. “If you can look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you’ve listen to your tiger and it says nothing about me, leave now.”
She turned and faced him. Her eyes were crystal-clear green. “You are not my mate.”
Dom felt like he had been kicked in the chest. He nodded curtly. His mouth was as dry as sandpaper and he couldn’t speak. He hadn’t cried in more than a decade. Not since his grandpa had died. But he was sure if he opened his mouth now, he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions. He let Gwen open the door and leave his house.
He leaned back against the door and slid to the ground. She had to be lying. There was no way she wasn’t his mate. He felt it. He knew it was true. His tiger couldn’t be that wrong. He knew that he had fucked up all those years ago, but he had really changed. He wasn’t young and stupid anymore. He wanted to get married and have cubs too. And he knew that he wanted all of that with Gwen.
There was no way he was going to be able to do this all by himself. He thought about what he knew about women.
Granted, his knowledge was slim, but he knew they talked with their friends about everything. He needed to get her friends on his side. Recently, she had been hanging out with Erin Brooks and Amy Franklin. He knew those two women liked him a lot. They were new in town and hadn’t known him when he and Gwen were dating. He had even spoken at Amy’s wedding. Getting their approval would be easy.
His problem was going to be Rachel Drummond. The waitress was almost ten years older than Gwen and a spinster to boot. She and Gwen couldn’t be more opposite. Gwen was vivacious and had a big personality. Rachel was meek and quiet. As much as Gwen loved having a good time, Rachel loved staying home and having a quiet night. There were only two things they had in common as far as Dom could tell: both women were tall, and they both had outrageously curvy bodies. Rachel wasn’t his favorite person in Sunset Falls, but he wasn’t blind.
She hid her body behind dowdy clothes but she was stacked. He didn’t know if that was the kind of thing women bonded over, but it was all that made sense. When he and Gwen had started having problems, it was Rachel she spent a lot of time talking to. They didn’t seem to be as close these days, but they were still friends. And nobody in town hated him with Gwen as much as Rachel. If he could get her seal of approval, he would be golden.
Of course, a snowman had a better chance of making it through the desert than Dom had of getting Rachel to approve of him. Not impossible, but just damn tough. He looked at his watch. He could have breakfast at Two Wolves this morning. Rachel worked the morning shift most of the time. He was going to start his campaign to win her over this very morning.
***
Gwen felt awful. She sat in her bed with the covers pulled over her head. It was getting close to her shift at the hotel, but she didn’t feel like getting up just yet. She and Dom hadn’t argued for years. Since their breakup, it had been clear sailing. They had avoided each other for a long while. Then, it was just small talk if they happen to run into each other. Now, seven years later, they were comfortable acquaintances. That was all ruined now.
She had been mad when she first got home. He shouldn’t have brought up all that drama. If he had let her leave, none of this would have happened. But no, he had to push and push. She’d never heard him say before that she was his mate. That was new to her. Not that she’d never thought about it.
She rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head too. The look on his face when she’d said they weren’t mates was what had done it. He had looked so hurt she was sure he was going to cry. She had almost made Dominic Cates cry! It was surreal. She’d felt bad but mostly alright until she got home.
Once she had turned on the coffeemaker, she had started thinking about it honestly. Could Dom be her mate? They were obviously attracted to each other. That wasn’t enough to say they were mates, though. In the quiet of her morning routine, her tiger started talking to her. That was it for Gwen. She’d left the full pot of coffee on the warmer and gone straight to bed.
She had lied to him. When they’d first started dating, she had thought maybe he was her mate. It had felt right. Her tiger had told her it was a good possibility. After he had been so casual about their relationship, she had called it quits and closed that door. Even if he was her mate, it wouldn’t work. He didn’t want what she wanted in life. It took two to tango, and he had left her alone on the dance floor.
Now, he was saying that he did want what she wanted. Her tiger was telling her that he was her mate. That this was it. All her searching was finished. She could stop dating and just get married. But it didn’t feel right anymore. If he was her mate, why did he still date other women? She knew for a fact that he had fooled around with that eighteen-year-old Tonya just before Thanksgiving. The girl had been bragging about it all over town. She had bagged the big-time shifter lawyer. She had crowed about how he had ruined her for any human men.
The girl was barely out of high school. It was sick. Yet he was trying to claim that he wanted to be with Gwen and start a family. If they were really mates, he would have waited for her all these years. Her tiger was telling her that she was supposed to be with Dom, but her head told her to be cautious.
She had to get up soon or she would be late for work. She needed some motivation. Gwen grabbed her phone and hit the first number in her speed dial.
Her agent answered after two rings. “Olivia Grey.”
“Liv. It’s Gwen Johnson.” Her stomach was in knots. She was hoping the nice Lovely and Kind agent had good news for her.
“Hi, Gwen. Calling for a check-in?”
“Of course.”
“Sorry to say, it’s the same as last time. There have been some less than stellar matches on your profile, but no one I would bring to you.”
“Are you sure?” Gwen asked desperately. “No hunky bear shifters from Alaska who need someone to keep them warm?”
“Afraid not.” Olivia sounded truly sad to deliver the news. “You know I would call you the minute you got a match. I’m trying, Gwen. I won’t settle for less than the best match possible for you.”
“It’s so hard to wait.” Tears formed in Gwen’s eyes and she quickly swiped them away. She’d cried with Olivia too many times already. “I know you’re trying. I’ll let you get back to work. I won’t bother you again.”
“Nonsense. You give me a call anytime you need to chat. I can always use a break from matchmaking.”
“Any new brides coming to Sunset Falls?”
“Not yet. I have some good prospects right now. I’m up to my ears in profiles. Management has given me clearance to focus all my attention on your little hometown.”
“No way.” That made Gwen feel a little better. If Olivia was working on their matches exclusively, there was a good chance she would find someone.
“It’s true. I think we may use you guys in some advertising. Don’t tell anyone, though! I haven’t even pitched the idea yet.”
“I think it would be great. Your company has done so much for Sunset Falls. I think this would be a nice way for us to give back.” And it would be good for the town too. Gwen thought about the unofficial project that had been going on since the fall. Sunset Falls was vying for a spot on the American Shifters Weekly “Best Small Towns in America” list. It was a long shot, but it was a way to keep busy and a nice way to bring the town together for a project.
A national ad campaign with Lovely and Kind Brides would help put Sunset Falls out there. It was something to do while she waited to find a mate. Gwen was helping with pictures for the town website.
“Thanks, Gwen.”
“No problem. I’ll talk to you later.”
She was feeling a bit better now. She only hoped that by the time they started shooting the ad campaign, she’d be one of the success stories too.
Four
“I’d like a booth, please,” Dom said to the hostess on duty at Two Wolves Diner.
She led him to the last empty booth in the restaurant. It wasn’t even eight a.m. yet but the place was packed. Many of the town’s retired residents came to the diner for breakfast five days a week. They had some of the best breakfast food in the whole state as far as Dom could tell. The barely legal line cooks had been learning to cook for years. Living in a pack made it easy to train your replacement. Two Wolves wouldn’t be hurting for employees anytime soon.
Rachel didn’t say anything when she came over to pour coffee for him. He wasn’t a regular, but he knew she had a razor-sharp memory for people’s orders. She filled Dom’s cup to the brim with black coffee. “Biscuits and gravy?”
He nodded. “Eggs over easy and bacon on the side, too, please.”
She nodded and went to put in his order. Dom studied the waitress while he pretended to read the paper. She looked the same as usual. Her face wasn’t unfriendly, just closed off. She talked to her regular diners while she waited for her orders to come up. Rachel was fast and efficient. Even if she didn’t have seniority, she would be the best choice for the morning shift.
There
was no way he would get a chance to talk to her now. It was too crowded. He ate his food in a hurry and headed to the office. There wasn’t much for him to do that day. There were a few property deals he had to look over. The Shelbys were negotiating a new deal for drilling on their land that he had to red-line. That was it. For the entire day he only had two things to do. He didn’t want to drag them out since he charged a massive but fair hourly rate. Even with just five hours of work, he felt satisfied.
He mailed the contract to the oil company and sent the property deal over to the bank to approve the mortgage. He played a game on his computer and checked his email one last time before leaving for the day at two o’clock in the afternoon. Typical day for Dom. He loved his job in Sunset Falls. It was much slower-paced than his job in New York had been. He’d come here after a suggestion from a law school professor. Dom didn’t belong in the city. The big firm there had been the first place to offer to hire him out of law school and he’d jumped at the opportunity.
There was a lot of money in the big cities, and a lot of fun things to do. He’d loved living in the city at first. Then, things had started feeling not quite right. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He’d talked to an old mentor about it and the professor had suggested the move. He even got Dom a job in Sunset Falls. Best decision Dom had ever made in his life. Now that he was a little older, he could see that he had a better work-life balance. He would be able to see his cubs and wife for dinner each night or catch an afternoon t-ball game.
Before he could have any of that work-life balance, he needed to get his life set up. He went back to the Two Wolves and took a seat at the counter.
“Cuban sandwich?” Rachel asked when he sat down. It was much quieter now. Not for long. The early bird dinner customers would be in soon. Plus, Rachel’s shift ended soon.
“I’ll have a Monte Cristo.” Dom hoped he didn’t look as nervous as he felt.
“Right away.” She wrote the order and left it on the counter for the cook. “You gave a good toast at Frank’s wedding.”
“Thanks. I have a lot of practice.”
