To Win A Mate (A Western Shapeshifter Werewolf Romance): Somewhere Texas Saga (VonBrandt Family Book 3)

by Krystal Shannan

  Him.

  She urged him to straighten and kissed him—hard. Her fingers finagled with his shirt buttons until she’d bared his chest. Then his pants.

  Her dress was in a pool around her feet, but he was still entirely too clothed for this to be considered fair play.

  A chuckle rolled from Jared’s chest and he shrugged out of his jacket and shirt. Then dropped his pants and boxers in one movement, revealing every single bronzed inch of him to her ravenous gaze.

  He was the epitome of male. Strong. Muscular. Those lines the led from his waist to his groin made her lick her lips again. His impressive cock jutted out of a nest of dark curls and the tip shimmered with his arousal.

  She wiggled out of her panties and dropped them to the floor with her dress. Her bra came off next and she stepped forward, offering herself. All of herself to this man who had everything she’d ever dreamed of having. A family. People who understood who he was. People who didn’t cast him aside as a freak because he turned into a wolf once a month.

  Jared wanted her as much Elise wanted him. There was no mistaking his level of erect desire.

  But there was something more than desiring his life. There was a connection to Jared that Elise had never felt with another man. Something that called to her…to her wolf. She didn’t understand it, but it would break her heart into a thousand pieces when he went home and left her here.

  Still she could treasure these moments. Burn them into her memory to relive over and over again. In her soul there would never be another man in her life like him again.

  He grabbed a condom from his wallet on the coffee table, sheathed his cock and returned to her. He pressed her against the wall and lifted her up high enough to wrap her legs around his narrow waist. His erection nudged at her entrance and he grabbed her hips, pulling her down a little at a time until he was buried deep inside.

  A gasp slipped from her lips as his mouth closed over one nipple, then the other, going back and forth teasing until they throbbed—until she throbbed. Her skin, her sex, her heart—all pounded to the same rhythm. The cadence of his thrusts in and out of her body.

  Then Jared’s mouth was taking hers again, claiming her as his. She was his. This feeling of belonging surged through her as an orgasm swelled within, coiling tighter and tighter. He moved deeper and faster and her release tore through her. Then he came, a tsunami of power washing over her and sending her up again.

  She bit his shoulder and groaned, clinging to him with every bit of strength she had left. Her fingers slid along his sweat-slicked shoulders and he thrust deep one last time before stilling, his erection remaining inside her. A moment later, he pulled away and lowered her slowly to the floor, holding her steady until blood flowed through her legs again.

  “You were…that was…” He gasped for breath. “Amazing.”

  She smiled, heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks—though how it was possible to be warmer than she already was? “Amazing doesn’t even come close.”

  Jared flashed a quick smile and pressed his lips to her temple. “Can you walk, love?”

  “Mmmhmmm.” She probably could, but falling was an option as well. Elise shivered, just noticing how cold the air conditioning was against her damp skin.

  “Quick shower?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Jared pushed open a set of double doors into a bathroom bigger than her bedroom. Before she could even process that he meant to take the shower with her, they were both beneath a steaming spray of scalding hot water.

  She leaned into his chest as he used a washcloth to scrub her back. The energy she’d felt between them was still present, still felt strange, and yet she’d never been more comfortable in her life. Given a choice at this specific moment in time, Elise would choose never to leave his arms. Ever.

  “Turn, love, rinse off the soap.”

  Elise reluctantly followed directions and sighed when the water streamed against her back. Less than ten seconds passed before he’d stepped forward and pulled her flush against his body again. So much better. Touching is much better.

  “I agree,” Jared growled in her ear while he dragged his knuckles down the sides of her breasts, spreading his fingers as they neared her waist.

  Did I say that out loud? I’ve really got to be more careful.

  “What is this between us? The energy pulsing in the air every time we touch,” Elise said.

  “It’s part of our magick. You’re feeling what could be between us.”

  “What do you mean?” She looked over her shoulder.

  He reached to flip off the water and shook his head. His shaggy dark hair flopped back and forth, sending a spray of water into her face.

  “Sorry!” He stopped mid-shake and met her gaze. “I’m so sorry!”

  Elise broke into a fit of giggles and wrapped her arms around her middle. “It’s…i-it’s okay,” she said, gasping for breath between laughs. “If my hair was short, I’d shake it, too!” She snorted and busted into another roll of laughter.

  He stepped out of the shower and handed her a towel before wrapping another around his waist.

  She worked soft terrycloth through her hair first, then wrapped it around her torso. “Do you have an extra shirt?” she asked, following him into the sitting area of the hotel room, then through to the bedroom.

  “I’m good with you being naked in bed…that is…if you’re staying?”

  “I’ll have to get dressed again eventually.”

  “But if I can put off that time a bit longer, I plan to.” Jared winked.

  She smirked and shook her head. “You’re bad.”

  “In a good way I hope,” he answered, tossing his towel over the back of a chair in the corner of the room.

  Elise licked her lips and took a deep breath. Damn. A mere glimpse of a man shouldn’t be able to make her heart pound. But it did. And damn if she wasn’t ready to jump his bones all over again.

  He flipped off the bedside lamp, held the sheets open, and she followed suit, tossing her towel to join his and then climbing in next to his warm naked body. Very naked. Still very aroused and the dinner completely forgotten on the table. At least I’m not the only one contemplating round two.

  She turned on her side, enjoying having his hard cock nestled against her ass.

  He wrapped an arm around her torso and pulled her closer, forming his body around hers.

  “Jared?”

  “Mmmm?” he mumbled into her shoulder.

  “What did you mean earlier, when you said I was feeling what could be between us?”

  “Wolves mate for life. We have a ritual that binds our…psyches…or some call it, souls. Anyway, the spell binds our life-forces, among other things. Once linked we can feel the physical and emotional state of our other half.”

  She swallowed. There was so much she didn’t know. So much she might never have known, if Pier hadn’t badgered her into volunteering to take that spot in the auction.

  “You okay?” he asked, pressing a soft kiss on the back of her shoulder.

  “It’s just a lot to process. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I still thought I was the only person on earth who changed into a wolf once a month.”

  She laid her hand over the arm he had wrapped securely around her and sank into the embrace, relaxing a little more with each breath. “So you’re telling me there’s magick and spells and the possibility of belonging to a pack. Belonging to a person who would literally share…everything with me.”

  “I want to show you so much, Elise. You just have to say yes.” He nuzzled her hair before settling behind her.

  Say yes to what?

  Elise lay quietly in bed. Jared’s breathing evened out and his heartbeat was a steady thump thump against her back.

  He had everything she’d always wanted. A family. People who were like him. A place to live where he didn’t have to be afraid of his neighbors.

  “Yes,” she whispered, as her eyes drifted shut.

  Chapter
Five

  Morning came too fast. Jared woke to a lovely naked Elise tangled in his arms. She’d turned during the night and was halfway sprawled across his chest with a leg draped over his thigh and a palm riding low on his hip.

  He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, inhaling her intoxicating scent. He’d laughed at his nephews when they’d decided so quickly to bond to the women they now called their mates. They were crazy to jump into a permanent relationship so quickly, but now…after meeting Elise. Making love to her. He couldn’t think of anything but saying the words to bind her to him forever.

  Letting her go wasn’t something he was going to handle.

  Hopefully, she felt the same way.

  Hopefully she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  Now he understood why Luke, Aaron’s son, had been tortured for so many years while he watched Kara with another man throughout high school and college.

  If Elise rejected him, Jared wasn’t sure he’d date again for years…or ever. He’d never felt such a strong connection before. Neither had his wolf and was pacing within his consciousness, upset because he knew they were headed back to Somewhere today…without Elise.

  She stirred and raised her head, blinking several times before he felt her body tense and jerk away.

  “Oh, God! I’m going to be so late. I completely forgot to set my alarm.” She flew from the bed, darting around the room collecting her clothes and tugging them on faster than he’d ever witnessed a female get dressed in his life. “I’m so sorry. I have to go. I’m supposed to be at work this morning.” A quick glance at the clock raised her heart rate again. “I have an hour,” she groaned.

  “It’s okay, Elise. Breathe.” Jared swung his legs over the side of the mattress and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. “I’ll call my driver. He can take you home to change, then to work so you don’t have to worry. I can leave a little later.”

  Her face was instantly crestfallen. “You’re leaving today?”

  “Yes, the full moon run on the ranch is tonight, but I was hoping to come back this weekend to see you again…if you’d be open to that?” His chest tightened, waiting for her answer.

  “I would very much like that,” she answered, smiling. “I’ll miss you this week.”

  The tension slipped away, and he released the breath he’d been holding. “I’d really like to take you to Somewhere for the run with the pack. Do you think you could get a few days of vacation?”

  Elise shoved her feet into her shoes and nodded, still searching the room for something. “I have plenty saved up, but it would never get approved for today. Have you seen my panties?”

  Too bad. He would’ve loved to see her run tonight under the full moon. Jared bent down and grabbed the scrap of black lace from the floor near his feet and stood, holding them out. “These?”

  Her face colored and she grinned. “Yes.” She grabbed them and pulled them on, baring herself to him briefly as she pulled them up and then smoothed her dress back into place.

  “You sure you don’t have time for—”

  “No!” Elise squeaked, batting his hands away as he approached.

  But he didn’t miss the way her gaze darted to his erection and how she licked her lips afterward.

  “You were going to call your driver. I have to go! I can’t be late. You get written up if you’re late.”

  Jared shook his head and sucked in a quick breath. Down boy. “Of course.” He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed his driver. “Please pull the car around to the front. Ms. Blanchard needs a ride to her apartment and then to work. Once you drop her off, we’ll head out.”

  Pressing the red circle on his cell screen to end the call, he looked up to meet Elise’s anxious wide eyes. “He’ll be waiting for you.”

  She launched herself at his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her mouth over his. Her tongue plunged into his mouth and Jared groaned, enveloping her in his arms.

  “Thank you,” she murmured into his mouth and pushed his shoulders.

  He attacked her lips again, claiming her mouth once more before finally loosing her from his embrace. “You need to go before I strip you out of that dress again and you have to call in sick.”

  A laugh rolled from her body and she offered him one more smile before slipping through the hotel room door and out of sight.

  Damn. Jared let his head drop forward and a sigh slipped from his chest. How was he going to last a week without seeing her, touching her, tasting her?

  This was not going to be pleasant.

  He flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

  Jared also needed to tell Aaron he’d found a lone wolf without a pack. He needed his brother Jason, to do a full work up and see if he could dig up anything about her family and origin. It was dangerous to have wolves raised the way she was. A less careful person could’ve endangered their entire kind. As it was, they worked tirelessly to keep the knowledge of werewolves’ existence from humans.

  Elise had been raised by people who didn’t have a clue, and had been in danger each time she shifted. Her family was either dead or needed to be held accountable for abandoning her. Either way. They needed to know. As much for Elise’s peace of mind, as every other pack in the southern United States.

  Before making that call, a cold shower was in order.

  Chapter Six

  She’d never undressed and dressed as quickly as she did that morning. Less than ten minutes passed from the time she crossed her threshold to the time she slid back into Jared’s car.

  The driver smiled at her, via the rearview mirror. “TechCorp downtown?”

  “Yes, thank you. I really appreciate you waiting.”

  The man shrugged as he pulled into traffic. “Part of the job. No trouble at all.” He wove in and out though the congestion, pulling up to the front of TechCorp within twenty minutes.

  Elise walked through the doors with five minutes to spare. It was a miracle. Now if she could just stop thinking about Jared VonBrandt long enough to focus on doing her job, and not bumbling about the office as if she were wandering through a dream.

  Her body tingled from head to foot and her heart raced every time she thought of him. Which was pretty much every thirty seconds.

  The next five days were going to be hell. Maybe he’d come back Friday evening. She also had to secure her apartment for the full moon tonight. Elise sighed. Wolf night meant major cleaning in the morning. No matter how hard she tried to focus while she was shifted, her wolf still managed to trash most of her pantry and refrigerator contents.

  “Elise,” Mary called, waving from their shared space. Their desks sat across from each other so they did almost everything together, especially warn each other when the owner approached with his sleazy flirty face, which was at least three or four times a day. The man was a pain in the ass, but neither of them could afford to look for a better job.

  Elise tucked her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk, locked the drawer, and sank into her chair. “Hey, Mary.”

  “Cuttin’ a little close this morning, don’tcha think?”

  “You have no idea,” she answered, smiling up at her one and only friend.

  “Ooooh, do tell. You have a bit of a glow to you this morning,” Mary said, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. “I take it the date went well?”

  Heat crept up Elise’s neck into her cheeks. She took a quick glance behind her, Pier wasn’t in the office yet. “It was amazing, Mary. I don’t even know how to describe how great.”

  Her friend squeaked and twirled in her chair. “I’m so excited. It’s about time you started getting out of that apartment you hide in twenty-four-seven. What does he look like?”

  “Rugged, dark hair, dark eyes, muscles that go on forever. He’s from a town called…” she paused, glancing at the elevator doors. The ding from them opening made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Sure enough, Pier stepped out and approached with a fr
own already plastered across his face. If the day was going to start like that, she could only imagine what the rest of the week would look like.

  “Elise, I need the Hanson files and the Brothers proposal. Henry called and there are errors in the one that was sent over last week. That should never happen, Elise.”

  Her shoulders slumped and her stomach twisted. She’d proofed that document three times forward and back. There was no way she’d sent it with errors. He had it in for her today. The hostility was thickening the air and her level of comfort dropped through the floor.

  “I’ll get that right out for you, sir. The file was properly proofed, I assure you.”

  “The proposal was wrong. The amendment at the end didn’t allow for the profit sharing we’d agreed on,” Pier growled. “I want the correct proposal on my desk in ten minutes with the correct terms.”

  Bastard. He’d told her specifically to change that amendment, hoping Henry Brothers wouldn’t notice the alteration—one that would bank TechCorp an extra several million in the acquisition.

  “Yes, sir.” She wasn’t going to start something. She wasn’t. If he wanted to be a jerk, nothing she said was going to change his mind. He could blame her all he wanted, but the fault was his.

  “I refuse to lose this client because of your negligence. Do you understand me, Elise? This is unacceptable.” His voice rose with each sentence and she stared at her computer screen, taking it, each word a whip lash to her psyche. “Come to my office. I want to go over the details to make sure you get it right this time.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied softly. Mary flashed her a sympathetic half-smile as Elise rose from her chair to follow Pier. She walked past him into the large corner office and cringed when his door closed, cutting off all sound from the open lobby area of the floor.

  “I suppose you had a good time on your date from the auction.”

  Fingers of dread squeezed her heart and she struggled to drag in a breath. “Th-the dinner was excellent.” The dinner I didn’t eat any of… Heat climbed her neck and she finally managed a deep breath. Her heart was racing and sweat beaded her forehead.