by Wolf, Terra
Noble Wolf
A Paranormal
Shapeshifter
Romance
By Terra Wolf
Noble Wolf
Copyright © 2015 by Terra Wolf
First Electronic Publication: December 2015
Terra Wolf
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the authors permission.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.
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Noble Wolf
Chapter One
Natasha
"Mrs. Ellis?"
"Just Miss, but yes," she replied, stepping from the car and taking the proffered hand. "And you must be Thomas," she said, making it more of a statement than a question.
"I am indeed. Please, come inside Natasha," he said, his hand flat as he waved it formally toward the building behind him.
"Of course," she said, following a half-step behind him as he led her toward the sole building on this side of the street. The car Thomas had sent to fetch her had pulled into the parking lot, which was set just north of the building.
It was new construction; she could tell that right away without much effort, though it had been made to look older. Three stories of it were dotted with Gothic architecture, high arches, and spires on all four corners.
Then it struck her. The solid stone construction seemed very much like a fortress merged with architectural design. Even the windows were made to resemble castle crenellations as best they could. She spotted several gargoyles perched in various areas. The third story seemed to favor several batlike creatures, while the second floor had what looked like a cross between wolves and men.
"This is a very...interesting design for a restaurant," she remarked, careful of how she phrased the sentence. The last thing Natasha Ellis wanted to do was offend her new employer. Thomas—he had never indicated any sort of last name—had recruited her in a very unorthodox manner.
"Why thank you. It reminds me of home in a way," he said with a smile, though he made no move to elaborate as they climbed the steps up front.
Across the door was a yellow-orange neon sign that read The Silver Bullet. The doors themselves were massive, each at least seven feet tall. She wondered how hard they were for customers to open, but as she watched, Thomas pushed one open with no more than a light press of his fingers. She followed him inside, blinking her eyes rapidly to adjust to the darker setting indoors.
Outside, the cold, white light lit everything up with a stark brilliance that often overwhelmed her senses despite the sunglasses she wore constantly. Taking them off now, she took a look around the room. The layout was impressive.
"So, this is your new workplace," he said smoothly, his voice so precisely modulated that it seemed to suck her in with it its liquid fluidity.
"Hmm," she said noncommittally as her eyes flicked from one place to another.
Just to her left was the hostess and coat-check area, and just past it was a set of stairs that led up to the higher levels. The pathway that she was on went around the perimeter of the room, with tables on either side of it. The interior was sunk down several feet, creating a pit, though she didn't like that particular word to describe it.
Tall stained-glass panels separated all the booths from each other, and there was enough space between the freestanding tables that no conversation would easily carry to the next table. She noticed softly playing classical music drifting out over the floor as well, helping to further keep tables private.
"How is business going so far?" she asked, noting that even for an afternoon, the place was half-full. She wondered if that was normal, or if today happened to be busier or slower than normal. Only one way to find out...
"Today is a bit busier than normal for us at this time of day," Thomas said before she could open her mouth to ask.
She shot him a look, wondering how he had known what she was going to ask. There was no indication on his face that he noticed anything amiss, however, just his normal smooth, polished looks that screamed sophistication, and something else...something that she couldn't quite identify. Either way, she knew that Thomas was not a man nor an employer that she wanted to cross if she could avoid it. He oozed confidence so much that she doubted he even tried; it was simply part of who he was.
"Here, let me show you the kitchen," he suggested, nodding slightly with his head in the direction of the double doors straight ahead of them.
"Sounds excellent," she agreed, handing her coat over to the tall, muscular man working the coat-check. A second glance at his outfit revealed the word "Security" embroidered in red across the left breast of his white polo shirt. Odd that a place like this would need security, but Natasha tried not to make a judgment of anything just yet. Perhaps there was more going on she was unaware of.
The doors opened to show an immaculate kitchen. The whites were white, the steel was stainless, and everything seemed to sparkle. There were three chefs working in tandem, preparing various meals for customers and prepping food for the dinner rush later. They moved smoothly and in rhythm with each other, as if they had been doing so for a long time. It was impressive.
"Hello, Thomas."
The liquid-smooth tenor voice came from behind her. She spun, not having realized someone was behind them. Her heart was racing; whoever it was had scared her senseless for a moment. She completed her turn, finding herself staring at the broad, widely muscled chest of what appeared to be another member of the security team.
While the last one had been tall and muscled, this one was more of both, and hot. She slowly raised her eyes to look up at him, marveling at the perfect face that was staring back at her.
"Hi," she managed awkwardly, half-impressed she'd gotten the word out without stumbling over it.
"Hello," he replied, all but purring with delight at her reaction. She could see the way he was doing his best to hide a small grin, but he didn't quite quash it all. "I'm Bryce," he said warmly, sticking out his hand.
"Bryce, I'd like you to meet Natasha Ellis, general manager of The Silver Bullet," Thomas interjected smoothly into the silence before she was able to reply. "Your new boss," he added for effect.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Natasha. I look forward to working intimately with you as head of security here," he said brashly, undeterred by Thomas's attempts to cow him.
"Bryce here is a security man. His boss is Jake. You'll meet him soon enough," Thomas said again, giving Bryce a look that didn't seem to faze him too much.
"Hey, Jake's not here, so today I'm in charge," he said, winking at Natasha, who did her best not to blush.
"It's nic
e to meet you Bryce," she replied as Thomas gently, but firmly, ejected him from the kitchen.
"I'll meet with you soon to discuss how you can best use me," he said just a bit more loudly than necessary as he left.
She tried not to giggle, but a small noise slipped out. Coughing to try and cover it up, she stood up as Thomas flowed back across the floor to her. She wanted to say he walked, but it really did not describe the way he moved. It was so smooth and fluid it almost seemed to defy reality. Very strange, she noted.
"Really, Ms. Ellis, don't let them get to you. They're very good at their jobs, I promise," Thomas said. Natasha couldn't be sure, since she had just met Thomas, but to her ear it sounded as if Thomas was miffed at the way Bryce had acted.
"Let me show you upstairs and the offices," he continued, the mask of a proper host back in place.
As they walked up the stairs, Natasha continued to take the place in. Or at least, she tried to. Bryce, the security man, kept popping back into her head in sharp response to Thomas's comments. She would normally find such a distraction annoying, but his easygoing attitude and rugged good looks were combining to sway her opinion into something a bit more positive.
"And over here are three private dining booths, each capable of seating up to a dozen in comfort," Thomas was saying as she forced herself to focus.
This was her job, so she had better take it seriously. It wouldn't be a good idea to begin ignoring the owner of the joint on the first day. Not if she wanted to make a career out of it.
"How often do these get reserved?" she asked, trying to show some initiative in their conversation, which so far had been remarkably one-sided.
"Generally Thursday through Saturday at least two are booked, while we may do one per day for the rest of the week. I suspect that now that we're getting closer to the holiday season, that we'll start to book up more."
"How long did you say it's officially been open now?" she asked, wanting to be sure she had the right date in her head.
"It will be five weeks as of tomorrow," Thomas replied, turning and heading through a door marked Employees Only that led to another staircase.
Evidently Thomas wanted his staff to stay in shape, because there was no elevator leading to the top floor, only staircases. Natasha didn't mind, figuring that she wouldn't have to run them too often, and that the exercise would be good for her anyway.
"These must be the offices," she said matter-of-factly as they emerged from the enclosed staircase through another door.
There were a number of offices, more than she would have expected. Perhaps, she mused, Thomas conducted other business here as well. Straight ahead was another set of large double doors to what she presumed was his office. It was one of three that she could see from her current position that were not visible. The remainder of the offices were all closed in with giant panes of transparent glass.
To her left and right were two other doors that she presumed led to private offices, perhaps one for her, and one for her immediate boss.
"This is yours, and this one here is Joanna's," he said, pointing to the right and left doors respectively.
Before she could ask more questions, a cell phone began to ring softly in Thomas's jacket pocket. While she would normally have thought it odd that someone would have their phone on during a business meeting, the look of disquiet that came over Thomas's face when it rang was enough to distract her thoughts. He slowly reached into the pocket and pulled it out.
"I am sorry, I must take this. Please feel free to look around your office," he said, turning away from her. She couldn't hear what he said when he answered. The voice was too muffled and soft for her ears to pick up.
Well, she thought, may as well take a look around. She wondered if it came furnished. The wooden door didn't make a sound as she opened it.
"Hi," came the voice from inside, scaring her silly for the second time today.
"You scared me!" she yelped, slamming a fist off of Bryce's chest.
He just laughed heartily in response, enjoying her reaction.
"How did you get up here anyway? I didn't see you go past."
"I simply used logic. Thomas is showing you around, starting with the ground floor. I recognized your name, and when I was satisfied that the kitchen was safe for you, I decided that, as security chief, I should ensure that your office was also clear of any potential issues."
She was impressed. He said it all with a straight face, almost as if he meant it.
"Oh, and are there many issues I should be aware of around here?"
"You have no idea scaredy," he said with a grin, moving to push by her.
"Wait a minute," she said, shooting a hand out to stop him. He made contact with it and came to a rigid halt, staring down at the hooked finger pressing into his chest. "Did you just call me 'scaredy'?"
"Honestly, I cannot recall Mrs. Ellis," he replied in mock-seriousness.
"It's Miss. And you had better have not. Now, get out of here, and only call me 'Boss' from here on out, got that, 'Chief'?" she said, purposefully ensuring he knew she was mocking his title.
"Yes, Boss," he said, ducking his head as he moved to exit the office. Then, seeing that Thomas was still not back, he turned to face her. "So, how did Mr. Seriousness trick you into working here?"
"You mean Thomas? It was odd, actually," she started to explain when Bryce nodded an affirmative. "I was working at a high-end restaurant in Seattle as a manager. He came in, ate there several times. I got the feeling he was more watching the flow of the place than anything. After five days of that, he approached me after he had eaten and offered me the job."
"Just like that eh?"
"Just like that," she replied, looking at Bryce once more.
His silvery-gray eyes were staring right back at her. How had she not noticed the coloring of his eyes before? They were hypnotic in their exoticness, like pools of liquid mercury that seemed to be examining her even as she was judging him. Stubble caressed his face, evidence that he had not shaved that day.
But it was his eyes that she kept getting drawn back to. They looked at her, evaluating her with a hunger that she could not recall having ever seen before. Her blood began to flow a little faster, her breathing coming in quicker, shallower gasps as her mouth hung open ever so slightly.
She wanted him. Right there, right then. Natasha would let him bend her over the solid wood desk if he wanted. Her mouth was salivating at the idea of him shirtless, watching his muscles ripple as he moved. He was perfect.
Perfectly dangerous.
"Do you have a hard-on?" she asked teasingly as her eyes roamed south of his waist, doing her best to make light of the situation.
Bryce glanced down, then back at her. "Yes."
Shit. Now what was she supposed to say? He had just taken the conversation back away from her. Thomas could say whatever he wanted about Bryce not being in charge of security, but she had no doubt that he was used to being in command. There was something about him, so entwined with who he was, that made him a leader.
It thrilled her and scared her in exactly similar amounts. Her nipples hardened at the idea of being with such a man at the same time her brain screamed at her that this was a work environment, and one of the people she was going to be in charge of was here, in her office, blatantly admitting to having an erection in front of her. It was not a pleasurable scenario.
Although, if she were to reach up, undo that top button, let him see some more skin, perhaps it could become a pleasurable scenario.
Stop that, she told herself. You're better than this. Take command of the situation and don't let up. The last thing you need is to have moved three hours away from home just to hook up with the first guy who looks at you twice.
Part of Natasha knew there was more to it than that, that there was something about Bryce that compelled her to be near him. But she wasn't going to ruin her job before even starting it. It was time to act like a professional. It was time to tell him to take his sexiness a
nd get out of her office.
"Where should I take it?" Bryce asked, his baritone voice cutting through her thoughts with ease.
"Take what?" she asked, confused.
"You said that I should take my sexiness and get out of your office."
What? Had she really said it out loud? Natasha scrambled mentally, caught between trying to understand if he was telling the truth or if he had magically managed to read her brain. The only explanation was that she had said it out loud, but she had been so lost in her own train of thought that she had no recollection of what she had been doing at the time.
"So why aren't you listening to me then?" she said, latching on to the first sarcastic impulse that came her way, trying to diffuse the entire situation.
"Well, you're the boss," he said, holding his hands out to either side as if all of a sudden he could no longer make decisions for himself.
She sighed. "You're security, aren't you? Go secure something on the first floor, Chief."
"Yes, Boss," he said, turning to leave.
"Oh, and Chief?" she said, once again mocking the title. "Don't ever come into my office uninvited again, okay?"
He grinned. "Roger that, Boss," he said with no trace of sarcasm before disappearing out into the hallway.
"What a fucking start," she muttered, collapsing onto the chair as she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding with a whoosh.
"Did you say something Miss Ellis?" Thomas said as the door opened for him, as if on its own.
"Nothing important," she said, rising out of the chair. "This office is perfect for my needs, thank you."
"I expect you and Joanna to work well as a team. I don't spare any expense in ensuring that will happen, which means equipping everyone with the tools they need to do the job well. I don't like it when something is not done to a high standard."
She nodded her understanding, after which Thomas took out a stack of papers. They spent much of the remaining afternoon and evening going over various aspects of the job, acquainting her with all that was going on. Thomas, it seemed, had been helping Joanna run the place, but did not have any interest in doing so. He was quite glad to be handing it off to someone else, and made no attempt at hiding his feelings on that matter.
