Eryn was the first to speak. “God, that smells fantastic.”
Kajakti nodded. “I know.” He looked at the others. “It turns out Jaren is a trained chef. She said she’d teach Durlach how to cook.”
Ketah pulled Jaren away from the stove and wrapped her in a bear hug as he said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea how truly rotten Durlach’s cooking is, and he refuses to give up on it. All our noses, and stomachs, thank you.”
Jaren chuckled and patted Ketah’s back. “You’re welcome.”
Haven pulled at her mate’s shoulder. “Let the poor girl go so she can finish what she’s doing.”
Ketah released Jaren and put his arm around Haven and tucked her against his side. “Sorry. I got a little carried away there.” He looked at Kajakti and said in Tlingit, “Your mate is a great addition to our pack.”
Kajakti smiled, feeling the same way about Jaren. He watched her turn back to the stove and help Durlach with something on his omelet. His wolf brother’s eyes shone as he nodded, following every move Jaren made with his gaze. He’d have to watch Durlach or he’d be monopolizing so much of Jaren’s time Kajakti would have to fight to be alone with his mate.
Chapter Four
Tanner stood a short distance away as his maker, Andre, launched himself at the newest lone wolf who wanted to join their pack of dark wolves. Andre shifted to his wolf form as a black, smoke-like mass surrounded him. He sank his sharp teeth into the side of the other man’s neck, giving him a bit of his dark magic to turn him into a new kind of werewolf. The lone wolf screamed in pain and dropped to the floor of the once-abandoned cabin the pack called home as the turning took hold of him. Tanner smiled, relishing the pain of another.
Andre shifted back to his human form and came to stand in front of Tanner. “Our numbers are still minimal. We need more lone wolves to join our pack, especially if we are ever to take on the sentinels and hope to defeat them.”
Tanner drew in a breath. His maker would not be pleased with what he had to say. “It seems word has spread to the majority of the lone wolves about us trying to recruit them for our pack. Any that I’ve tried to contact have refused to speak with me.”
“And how did this information first reach them?” Andre asked the question in a tone that conveyed he already knew the answer but wanted Tanner to tell him anyway.
“The lone wolf who turned down my offer must have passed it along.”
“Of course. And this same lone wolf allowed the six sentinels to follow him to your meeting place where they then in turn followed you to the old warehouse where we’d held Ketah’s mate.”
Tanner nodded. That run-in with the wolf brothers had led to Tanner being defeated by the first werewolves and Andre having to trade Ketah’s mate for his return. It had surprised him that his maker would have done it since the woman had given Andre the upper hand. He still had no idea why Andre had felt Tanner was so special to have willingly given in to the sentinels.
“Yes, it was my mistake,” Tanner said. “I should have been more careful. I should have realized I was being followed.”
“Now we have to look elsewhere to increase our pack’s numbers. I hadn’t wanted to use them but I really don’t have much choice. We’ll start turning mortals.”
Tanner scowled. “You want to give prey the gift of your dark magic?”
“Yes, but not just any mortals. I’m sure you can find ones who will be perfect dark wolves. I want all the undesirables, those who thumb their noses at the law. The meaner they are the better.”
The lone wolf’s screams finally died away as he slipped into unconsciousness. “Will they even be able to survive the turn? They are so much weaker than regular werewolves.”
“True, the strong ones will make it through it. It will weed out the mortals who wouldn’t be right for our pack. They might act tough, but going through the turn will be the first big test they’ll have to pass.”
“But mortals are beneath us. Why don’t we start taking werewolves from the local pack? Your bite will make them dark wolves whether they chose to join us or not.”
Andre curled his upper lip and growled as he grabbed Tanner by the throat. His maker slammed him up against the wall, his grip cutting off most of his airway. “It was because of your stupidity we lost our means of recruiting lone wolves. Don’t question me again. You will do as I order and nothing more. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Tanner croaked.
His maker abruptly released him, and Tanner dragged in a deep breath. “Don’t disappoint me,” Andre said. “We’ve suffered too many setbacks.”
Tanner didn’t want to do that. He’d already seen what happened when a member of their pack failed at a task Andre had set to him. As punishment, and deeming them no longer worthy, his maker pulled the gift of his dark magic from the werewolf and he died, turning to dust. Tanner wanted to keep living the immortal life he now had.
He left the cabin and headed for his car. He wouldn’t return until he had at least two mortals with him. He still didn’t like the idea of their kind being given the gift of Andre’s bite, but Tanner wouldn’t go against his maker’s order.
* * * * *
After giving Durlach his lesson on omelet making, Jaren focused on getting to know Kajakti better. She still thought of him as the knight who had come to her rescue when she’d needed him the most. It scared her to think of where she would have ended up if Kajakti hadn’t come along.
Jaren found she liked all his friends too. Instead of seeming to be only roommates, they came across as a close-knit family. She’d also gotten a few laughs out of watching Eryn put her brother in his place when Carson did his best to rile her up.
Now she and Kajakti sat out on the back deck, drinking coffee. She gazed at the section of trees that lined the edge of the grass of the property, stretching farther than she could see. “You guys have a great place,” she said.
“Thanks. We’ve only lived here for over a year.”
“Where did you live before?”
Kajakti hesitated for a few seconds, as if he had to think about it. “Cassidy was in a one-bedroom apartment when she and Edensaw first met. He, Wachei, Ketah, Capac, Durlach and I ended up staying with her, which was a little crowded. We were lucky this place had been on the market for a while and sat empty. The owner had no problem with a fast closing date.”
Jaren had thought Kajakti would go into a little more detail as to why he and his friends had moved in with Cassidy, but he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. “You have a lot of treed land. Do you have to worry about wild animals coming onto your property? Like bears and such?”
“No, but we do get wolves from time to time.”
“Really? I’ve always wanted to see one out in the wild. We really don’t have a wolf population in Kelowna.”
“Maybe you’ll get to see one soon.”
“I hope so. We could always go for a walk through the trees. That might increase my chances of coming across one.”
Kajakti smiled. “You never know.” He then changed the subject. “Are you sure you’re still okay with cooking dinner for everyone today? You are on vacation.”
“I don’t mind. I actually missed not being able to get into a kitchen. At home, I cook every day. And I enjoy it more when I’m making food for a group of people than just myself.”
“You do realize Durlach will be right in there with you. I think you have made a new best friend.”
Jaren chuckled. “I figured that would happen. It’s okay. I like seeing someone who is as enthusiastic about cooking as I am. By the time I leave he should have improved a lot.”
Kajakti reached over to Jaren where she sat next to him in a patio chair. He took her hand in his and twined their fingers together. “What will you do when you reach the end of your vacation and you decide you want to stay here, with me?”
She met Kajakti’s gaze and saw in his eyes he was quite serious. She didn’t know how to answer him. The thought
of keeping him sent a shiver of delight through her, but Jaren couldn’t deny she’d be hurrying into another relationship when the other had barely ended. She didn’t want to make another mistake.
“I still have to go home,” Jaren said. “I can’t just decide to stay here and never go back.”
“Is it because you have family there?”
She couldn’t hold back a snort. “I do, but they wouldn’t be the reason why I wouldn’t do it. My parents aren’t exactly there at the best of times. They were both seventeen when my mom got pregnant with me. They’d only been dating a month, but decided to get married anyway. It didn’t work out. They divorced when I was five. I lived with my mother until I was eight, then moved in with my dad. Mom didn’t have much of a mothering instinct and had no problem giving me up when her new husband didn’t want me around because he wanted to start a new family. Dad did his best, but was busy trying to reclaim the teenage years he’d lost. I spent a lot of weekends with my grandparents, his folks.”
“Are you close to them?”
“Not really. My grandmother resented the fact she had to babysit me so much. Dad remarried ten years ago once he finally settled down, and now has an eight-year-old boy along with a six-year-old girl with his second wife. I think everyone was happy once I grew up and set out on my own.” Actually, her life sounded pretty pathetic from the way she told it.
“So it isn’t family that would hold you back,” Kajakti said, drawing her thoughts back to him. “Then what is?”
“I have an apartment. All my belongings are still there. I’m out of work now, but there was a position for a head chef job possibly opening up at a really good restaurant. Or I’ve thought of starting my own catering business.”
Kajakti shifted his chair closer to hers and leaned in, his lips hovering over hers. “You could always open one here. And as for finding a place to live, you could share my room.”
A sigh escaped Jaren as Kajakti’s mouth settled over hers. His kiss started off slow and gentle, but it quickly heated up as she kissed him back. Passion flared hotly between them, making her wish they were in a more private place. He pushed his tongue inside and stroked hers with it. Her pussy clenched, feeling achy and needing to be filled. Her nipples pebbled beneath her shirt, begging for some attention. Getting lost in the desire that surged through her, she would have had no problem climbing onto his lap and straddling him, riding his cock through their clothes.
Kajakti let out a groan that sounded very much as if he was in pain instead of pleasure as something cold and wet pressed against Jaren’s cheek before something even wetter ran across it. She opened her eyes and let out a yelp when she registered the black-furred animal that had its front paws on Kajakti’s lap.
Jaren pulled away and yelled, “Holy crap. There’s a wolf on your lap.”
Kajakti was a little busy breathing through the pain of having a hundred-and-fifty pound dire wolf jump on his balls. And said dire wolf was Wachei, obviously thinking to get payback for Kajakti going wolf around Eryn when she had no clue as to what they were.
Wachei looked right at Kajakti and said telepathically, If you call me Dog, I’ll make myself comfortable on your lap.
Kajakti shoved him off, then cupped himself. “Keep your paws to yourself.”
“Are you okay?” Jaren asked. “And is he really a wolf?”
“Yeah. He took me more by surprise. He’s the neighbor’s wolf hybrid. He has a nasty habit of escaping and making a pain of himself over here.” And that helped Kajakti get even with Wachei for saying he was part dog to Eryn, thus earning his nickname.
Jaren eyed Wachei. “He doesn’t bite, does he? I’ve heard wolf hybrids can turn on people.”
“You don’t have to worry about him. He’d never bite you.” The only werewolf who would do that was Kajakti when he turned her.
“Can I pet him? He’s beautiful.”
Before Kajakti could answer, Wachei put his lupine head on Jaren’s lap. She stroked her fingers along the top of it. Kajakti wished it were him she touched like that. He wanted to go wolf and have his mate run her hands through his fur.
Eryn came out onto the deck. “There you are. I was looking for you.” Wachei left Jaren and went to stand at his mate’s side. She petted his head as she looked down at him. “I think you can call it even now.”
You knew he had it coming, Wachei projected to both Eryn and Kajakti.
A smile tugged at Eryn’s lips. “He didn’t cause any trouble?” she asked as she lifted her gaze to Kajakti.
He shook his head. “Not really, unless you count his trying to stomp on my balls.”
Eryn chuckled. “I guess it was either that or kisses.”
“Now that you’re here, you can take care of him,” Kajakti said as he stood. He took Jaren’s empty coffee cup, then held out his hand to help her to her feet. “Let’s go back inside.”
Leaving Wachei and Eryn out on the deck, Kajakti guided Jaren through the glass sliding doors and into the house. He stopped at the kitchen only long enough to put their mugs into the sink before he took her upstairs to his bedroom.
He closed the door and locked it, then came to stand in front of Jaren. “Now where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?”
She smiled and put her arms around his neck. “I think you were kissing me.”
“Hmm, I mustn’t have done a very good job of it if you only think I was. I’d better try harder.”
Kajakti put his hands on Jaren’s hips and tugged her so she stood flush to him, lowered his head and claimed her lips. He thrust his renewed erection against her to let her know how she affected him. She moaned and threaded her fingers in his hair at the back of his head.
He deepened their kiss as he slowly walked backward toward the bed, taking Jaren with him. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, and Kajakti growled low in his throat. Her scent, taste and the feel of her against him made his cock throb. He wanted to be buried deep inside his mate, taking her in hard thrusts as he pushed her to her climax more than once.
Kajakti lifted Jaren off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing her pussy in direct contact with his cock. She locked her ankles at the small of his back and rubbed herself against the hard bulge in his pants. His need to have her ramped up even higher. He held on to her bottom and arched his hips into her, increasing the pleasure that surged through him.
Turning, he climbed up onto the bed, placed Jaren on the center of it and followed her down, settling on top of her. Her grip on his hair tightened, and her legs squeezed his waist harder as he braced himself on one bent arm while he shoved a hand up her shirt to palm her breast. He pinched her taut nipple through her bra.
Jaren tugged at his t-shirt before she pulled her lips away from his. “I want to be skin-to-skin with you.”
“I have no problem with that,” he said huskily.
Kajakti grabbed his shirt by the back of it and roughly dragged it over his head. With a toss, he sent it flying over the side of the bed. It didn’t take him long to strip Jaren’s off as well. He looked down at her bra-covered chest, bent his head and licked the top of each of her breasts. Her nipples were hard little points that stood out, just begging for his mouth.
With his arm around her waist, Kajakti sat up and positioned Jaren so she straddled his lap. He traced kisses along her collarbone as he reached behind her and undid the clasp on her bra. Jaren dragged the undergarment off, then threw it away to land on the floor.
Jaren put her hands on his shoulders and arched her back in offering. Kajakti cupped one of her breasts and lifted it. He circled the taut peak with his tongue before he sucked it inside his mouth. His mate moaned, riding his erect cock through his jeans.
Kajakti switched to her other breast, sucking it hard, while he dropped his hands to the top of her pants and undid the button and zipper. He brushed a fingertip along the soft skin of her belly just above the waistband of her panties. The scent of her arousal increased.
H
e released her nipple, and with his hands on her hips, urged Jaren off his lap to kneel between his spread legs. He took hold of the top of her jeans and pushed them down past her hips. Once they reached her knees, she helped him peel them the rest of the way off.
Kajakti skimmed his palms along her sides until he reached the top of Jaren’s panties. He circled one hand to the front and ran a fingertip down the lacy material. He stopped at her pussy and stroked her there. She sucked in a breath, her legs spreading a little wider to give him better access.
“You’re already wet,” he said as he continued to play with her through her panties.
“And you’re hard.” Jaren reached down and cupped his erection.
“That feels good but I’m not done with you yet.”
Kajakti pulled Jaren’s hand off him, then slowly lowered her onto her back. He hooked a finger into the waistband of her panties and tugged them down her legs and off. He ran his gaze over her body, loving every delectable inch of her. His mate was curvy in all the right places.
He straddled her legs and held his body up on his hands and knees as he took Jaren’s lips in a searing kiss. Once he had her moaning, Kajakti left her mouth and paid attention to her more-than-a-handful breasts. In turn, he sucked each nipple past his lips, gently scraping his teeth along them.
Continuing his downward journey, he left her chest and made a trail of kisses down her stomach. It quivered with each brush of his lips. Once he reached her pussy, Kajakti lay on the bed and wedged his shoulders between Jaren’s spread thighs. He looked at the opening to her body and saw it glistened with her juices. He licked his lips in anticipation of tasting her for the first time.
Kajakti dipped a finger into her wetness and circled her clit with it. Jaren arched her hips and moaned. The smell of her arousal increased. His cock jerked inside his pants but he ignored it. He was going to make his mate come with his mouth and then would bury himself deep inside her.
Ice Age Lover Page 4
