The Wolf's Mate: Billionaire Shifter Paranormal Romance (Hearts on Fire Book 4)

by Natalie Kristen

  She wanted to keep her private and professional lives completely separate.

  Her professionalism and work ethic only made him want her more. Tia was indeed a woman after his own heart.

  Indeed, Tia was the first woman who seemed not to want anything more than a one night stand. She had slipped out of his arms and left without even saying goodbye last night.

  Well, if he had his way, Tia would not be disappearing from him ever again.

  And he always got his way.

  Caine smiled. “Shall we?” he asked as he strolled towards the door.

  Tia raised her brows. “Where are we going?”

  “To meet your clients.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Tia frowned “My...clients? I was told to report to you...”

  “Yes, I hired you, but I’m not the one needing protection.” Caine smirked and held the door open for her. “You’ll be protecting two very lovely and wonderful females. They’re the two most important people in my life.”

  Tia’s heart and throat constricted painfully. The two most important females in his life.

  Was he talking about his wife and daughter? Her eyes flicked to his hand. She saw no wedding ring on his finger. But...that didn’t mean that he wasn’t married.

  Shit, shit, shit! Did she just sleep with a married man last night?

  “Are you married?” Tia blurted out.

  Right question, wrong time. She should have asked this question last night. She shouldn’t have assumed anything.

  Tia stood completely still, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she waited for an answer she might not want to hear.

  Caine closed the door and took a step towards her. Tia refused to back away. She wanted the truth, however painful and ugly it was.

  “Are you married, Caine?” she repeated, hating the quaver in her voice.

  “No.”

  Tia gulped and asked, “Do you belong to someone? Do you have a significant other?”

  “Yes.”

  Tia heard herself scream in her head.

  Caine closed the distance between them in two strides and held her arm. She tried to fling his hand away but he held on tight.

  “Tia...”

  “Don’t touch me,” she snarled. “Sir!”

  “Listen to me,” he said, gripping her shoulders.

  “No,” Tia snapped. “I can’t believe...argh! I’m so stupid. I...” She kicked her chin up and glared at him. “You’ll get another bodyguard from Chase Security, Mr Taylor. I can’t...I’m turning down this assignment. I’ll call the office now, and my replacement should arrive in less than an hour...”

  “Tia, please,” Caine said. He refused to let her go, and Tia considered punching him in the jaw. He was a cheater, a liar! He had cheated on another woman, and he still had the cheek to look so smug.

  “Take your hands off me, Mr Taylor,” she warned, reaching for her weapon under her jacket. “You...you’re a cheater.”

  “Are you going to let me finish or not?” Caine asked, half in amusement, half in exasperation.

  “No. I think I’ve heard enough. Now please step aside.”

  “Tia, I never, ever cheat. And I never make promises I can’t keep. That’s the truth.” He looked deep into her blazing eyes and said softly, “I will never lie to you, Tia.”

  “You...you have someone...” Tia whispered angrily. She’d thought that Caine was a good man, and that there was something special between them. She’d even hoped to see him again. What a bloody fool she was!

  “Yes.” Caine smiled. “I only met her last night.”

  “What?”

  “I met an amazing woman last night, in the bar of this hotel. She was smart, confident and incredibly sexy. I made love to her, but she disappeared before I could get her full name or her number. When I took her in my arms, I knew. My heart knew. She—is my...” He hesitated as he searched for the right word. “Significant other.”

  Stroking her cheek softly, Caine said, “You asked if I belonged to someone. My answer is yes. I belong to this woman. Her name is Tia.”

  Tia stared into Caine’s intense, hazel eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. He wasn’t lying to her.

  It was supposed to be a one night stand. But things were getting complicated real fast.

  “Caine,” she whispered. She gazed up at him, and saw that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. The scorching heat between them was burning up all her brain cells.

  Tia swallowed hard and stepped away.

  She had to keep her distance in order to keep her sanity and composure. The chemistry and attraction between them was undeniable. She saw the want and hunger in Caine’s eyes and her body responded in the most inappropriate way. Her nipples hardened and pebbled under her suit, and her core pulsed and ached for him. She could remember how good it felt to have his solid, muscular body moving and pressing against her. It had felt so damn good to have him deep inside her…

  Why did he have to look even sexier and more desirable in the daytime?

  “Caine,” she said huskily.

  She had to clear her throat twice before she could trust her voice again. “Mr Taylor, sir. I...I believe we were going to meet the two most important females in your life.”

  Caine quirked a smile. “Yes.”

  “Shall we go?” she asked, straightening her jacket and resuming her detached, professional demeanor.

  “Sure. It’d be faster to take my car, so...”

  Tia was already at the door. She held the office door open for him with the barest hint of a smile. “After you, sir.”

  Tia made it a point not to walk too close to Caine as they made their way to his car. When her hand accidentally brushed against his in the elevator, she had jerked at the electrifying sensation.

  If they touched again, she was afraid that they would end up tearing each other’s clothes right off.

  In the car, Tia tried not to sneak glances at Caine’s strong, handsome profile as he drove. She kept her eyes on the road and took note of their surroundings and where they were headed.

  “Last night,” Caine began with a slow smile. “You didn’t tell me you’re a bodyguard.”

  “You didn’t tell me you were the CEO of the hotel,” Tia shot back without missing a beat.

  Caine chuckled. “Well...if I’d told you...”

  “Last night would not have happened,” she said firmly.

  “Why?”

  Tia narrowed her eyes at him. “Why? Because you are my client. I don’t like to complicate things.”

  “Why should things be complicated?” Caine asked with a teasing smile. But his eyes were heated and his voice was roughened by a low, feral growl.

  Tia bit the inside of her cheek. She was sure he could scent her body’s reaction to him in the enclosed space of his car.

  They both knew what the other was thinking. They were thinking of getting naked and doing it right here in the backseat of his car.

  “You said that you didn’t hire me as your bodyguard. So—who am I guarding?” she asked. She would focus on the job and nothing else.

  Caine smiled. “My mom. And my baby girl, Sarah.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Your baby girl,” Tia said, turning to Caine. “You’re a single dad.”

  “Yes.”

  “Where is Sarah’s mother?” Tia asked.

  “I don’t know. Sarah isn’t my biological daughter. I adopted her when my friend, Mark died a few months ago. Before Mark died, he asked me to take care of Sarah and protect and raise her as my own should anything happen to him. I don’t know who Sarah’s mother is, but from Mark’s suicide note, I believe she’s dead.”

  Tia pondered this for a while. “Do you think that your mother and daughter are in danger? Is that why you hired a bodyguard for them?”

  Caine quirked a lopsided smile. “Actually, I, um, I just wanted a nanny.”

  “A...nanny?” Tia sputtered.

  “Yeah. I wanted to
hire a nanny to help look after Sarah, but my mother rejected the idea.” Caine blew out a breath. “My mom’s not getting any younger. I don’t want her to tire herself out. She went through a lot and she raised me single-handedly. Taking care of a baby by herself can’t be easy at her age. But she’s really stubborn. So I thought...”

  “...that if you couldn’t hire a nanny for her, you’d get her a bodyguard instead,” Tia said slowly. She could see the whole picture now. No wonder Nathan hadn’t gone into detail regarding her new assignment. He simply told her that she was to report to the CEO of Treasure Hotel.

  Tia stared straight ahead and muttered to herself, “A bodyguard in name, but a babysitter in fact.”

  “Yeah. I talked to Nathan, your boss, and told him the situation. And he said he had just the person for the job. He said he would send me a female bodyguard who...”

  “...would be babysitting instead of bodyguarding,” Tia finished with a sniff. “Nathan assigned me a babysitting job.”

  “Technically, you’re a bodyguard, not a babysitter,” Caine said, watching her expression carefully.

  Tia snorted. “I’m a bodyguard doing a nanny’s job.”

  Caine opened his mouth then thought the better of it.

  It was clear from Tia’s furious expression that Nathan hadn’t told her the true scope of her assignment.

  Tia scowled and fumed. She was an ex-cop, a trained, qualified security personnel, and she was assigned a babysitting job.

  “Safe and easy, right. Of course,” Tia muttered to herself. This was the safest job that Nathan could find for her. But she really couldn’t blame her brother-in-law. Both Nathan and Kerry had been at her side when she was sick. The cancer had spread at a terrifying rate and Tia had seen the anguish in Nathan and Kerry’s eyes as they watched her die. She knew that her sister and brother-in-law would never forget how close they had come to losing her. And she had to go and get herself shot. They loved her, and they just wanted her to be safe. She understood that, but…

  “The scar on your shoulder,” Caine said quietly. “That was from a bullet.”

  Tia started. Of course Caine would have noticed her scar when he removed her little black dress last night.

  “Yes. I was a cop before I joined Chase Security,” she replied frankly. “I was shot by a thug. My partner was killed. I...I wanted to continue being a cop, but my sister was so scared and worried.” She sighed and said softly, “I can’t do that to her.”

  She looked up and huffed out a short laugh. “Nathan wants to keep me safe and keep my sister happy. So...here I am.”

  Caine frowned slightly. “Nathan and your sister...” He turned to her suddenly. “You are Nathan’s sister-in-law! Why didn’t you say so?”

  “You never asked.” Tia shrugged. “What has that got to do with anything anyway?”

  Caine chuckled. “I’ve always liked Nathan.”

  Before Tia could respond, the car pulled to a stop in front of a grand double-story house. Caine jumped out of the car and opened the door for her. “Here we are!”

  Tia forgot to object when he took her hand. She blushed a little when he laced his fingers through hers. He just did it so naturally, and it felt so right.

  Instead of walking up to the large, majestic house, Caine led her to the modest little house next door and rapped on the door.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Tia heard a woman say in a singsong voice as the door opened, “Oh! Look who’s here, Sarah. It’s Daddy! Now, what’s Daddy doing here in the middle of a work day…?”

  Caine grinned at the silver-haired woman in the doorway. The woman had a pouting baby girl on her hip. Caine kissed his mother on the cheek and said cheerfully, “Hi Mom. Hello, sweetheart. Come here, you!”

  The little girl broke into giggles when Caine took her into his arms and cuddled her. She cooed and blew a little bubble.

  “Mom, Sarah, this is Tia,” Caine said, turning to her.

  “Good morning, Mrs Taylor, Sarah,” Tia greeted them politely.

  His mother looked surprised but welcomed Tia warmly into the house. “Come in, come in. You must be the new...”

  “Bodyguard!” Caine and Tia said together.

  When his mother raised a brow, Tia went on smoothly, “I’m from Chase Security, Inc. Tia Scott at your service, Mrs Taylor.”

  “Oh please, just call me Amanda. And it’s so lovely to have you here, Tia.” Amanda ushered Tia into the kitchen. “Come, I’ll get you a cup of tea. I’m just about to feed Sarah her mashed potatoes. But she’s been fussing and crying a lot this morning.”

  Tia noticed that Amanda looked very tired but was trying her best to hide her exhaustion. She didn’t want Caine to think that she couldn’t handle the baby herself. She was determined to take care of her family and she was reluctant to hand her granddaughter over to a nanny. But Amanda was already in her seventies. She didn’t have the same level of energy as before. Caine recognized this, but he also knew how proud and stubborn his mother was.

  Amanda Taylor reminded Tia of Kerry. Her elder sister was also very stubborn, protective and possessive when it came to her family. She wanted to keep her family close and keep them safe. Amanda was protective of Sarah, and she didn’t trust a nanny to care for her precious little granddaughter.

  Tia saw that she had to tread carefully and win Amanda’s trust. She wanted to help Caine and Amanda. They were good people with big hearts. They adopted an orphan, and were doing their best to give her a warm, loving home.

  Nathan had given Tia this assignment because he trusted her. He knew that she would be able to do the job well. Tia was a great babysitter. She had been babysitting her niece since she was a baby.

  Sarah began to protest when Caine put her into her highchair. She grabbed his finger in her chubby fist and shook it angrily. When he wouldn’t pick her up, the girl squirmed and twisted in her chair, her lower lip wobbling as she whimpered in distress.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” Caine asked. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “She hasn’t eaten anything this morning,” Amanda said, placing two cups of tea on the table and wringing her hands.

  “Is Sarah...not feeling well?” Tia asked.

  “I checked her temperature. She’s not running a fever,” Amanda said.

  Tia went up to Sarah, and the girl stared at her in surprise and confusion for a moment. The little girl had downy red hair, and large green eyes that were flecked with gold.

  Tia turned to Amanda. “Can I hold her?”

  The older woman swallowed and gave a quick nod.

  Tia picked Sarah up and rocked her gently while humming a soothing lullaby. Sarah stopped whimpering and put her head on Tia’s shoulder. In a few minutes, the girl was asleep in Tia’s arms.

  Amanda gestured for Tia to follow her. She walked into the cozy nursery beside her bedroom and indicated the crib at the corner of the room. Tia nodded and placed the sleeping child very gently down in the crib.

  Amanda pulled the door close after them and sighed. “Were the both of you awake the whole night?” Caine asked. He was waiting for them in the living room.

  His mother nodded. “Sarah kept waking up every hour. I kept checking on her but she didn’t need to be changed or fed. She would only take a little milk each time.”

  She saw that Tia was listening and said defensively, “Sarah’s a very good baby. She’s been sleeping and feeding well these past two months. It’s only last night that...”

  Tia nodded without answering.

  Caine sniffed the air and growled suddenly. Both Tia and Amanda turned to him.

  Tia’s eyes widened as she inhaled sharply. It smelled like something was burning.

  Caine rushed towards Sarah’s room and flung the door open. Tia and Amanda ran in after him.

  Amanda screamed when she saw the red blaze in the crib. “No! Sarah!”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The red fire in the crib burned brighter and hotter. Tia pulled Amanda back to s
top her from lunging forward. There was a loud whoosh and the fire died suddenly. The red flames simply vanished.

  Tia and Amanda rushed to the crib. Caine was breathing heavily as he gripped the edges of the crib. They stared in disbelief at the pile of ashes on top of the blanket.

  “Sarah! Sarah...” Amanda shrieked hysterically.

  Caine held his mother’s shaking shoulders and said, “Mom, it’s okay. Calm down...”

  “Where is my granddaughter?” Amanda screamed. “How could she have been burned to ashes in the blink of an eye? It’s not possible...”

  “Look.”

  Amanda turned to the crib and gasped. Tia’s eyes kept rounding as she watched the ashes move and pile together to form a shape. It took the shape of a small bird.

  The bird shook itself and the ashes became bright flame-colored feathers.

  “A phoenix,” Tia breathed.

  Caine smiled and hugged his mother. “Sarah is a phoenix! I knew she was a shifter by her scent, but I couldn’t identify her animal. She’s a phoenix.”

  The tiny, beautiful phoenix spread her wings and looked up at them with her green, gold-flecked eyes. The young phoenix shivered and sat down on the soft, fluffy blanket. With a tiny cry, the phoenix shifted back to a red-haired baby girl.

  Sarah tugged at her blanket and gurgled. She smiled and raised her arms to Caine.

  “Oh, that was your first shift,” Caine said proudly as he lifted her from the crib. “You are a beautiful little phoenix, Sarah!”

  “No wonder she was fussing so much,” Amanda said, looking relieved and amazed. “I should have recognized the signs. Just before your first shift, you were in a terrible mood too,” she remarked to Caine.

  “I remember my niece, Corinne, biting everything and everyone just before her first shift,” Tia recalled, smiling. “I’ve never come across a phoenix shifter before,” Tia added, staring at Sarah who seemed to be in a much better mood now that her animal had emerged.