by Ruby Forrest
Matched with the Wolf
A Shifter Dating Agency Romance
Ruby Forrest
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WARNING: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY.
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Copyright 2018 by Ruby Forrest - All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Matched with the Wolf
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTR ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
Matched with the Wolf
CHAPTER ONE
Attractive, puppet-like boyfriends and event dates over the years had left Poppy Wade empty and detached. What she wanted fell more into the realm of fantasy than her current reality. Her fantasy man was proving to be elusive - tall, strong, wealthy, charming, and attractive. Most of the men she dated, well, not really dated, but used as dates, were attractive and charming, but nothing more. Many tried to entice her, to draw her in, but she just wasn’t interested in them.
Mingling with the partygoers, Poppy felt like she was in her element. Setting up these extravagant celebrations was her bread and butter, and she was good at it. In fact, she was perfect for it, but it was still just her alter ego. Her inner Poppy wanted something more, something exciting. Tonight, she couldn’t wait for the event to end and for the lean, darkly handsome man she came to the awards ceremony with to go home. Everyone seemed to like her choice of date tonight and that was his only saving grace – he made her look good. She had a date, a real date, later that evening with a man she’d been matched with through the dating agency she’d recently joined.
She still wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it, being part of a dating agency. It seemed like such an antiquated solution to not finding love, but she’d found the ad in a magazine and hadn’t been able to turn it down. Who wouldn’t want a successful, attractive, single man to commit to her for the rest of her life? This would be the first date from the agency, and if she was being honest with herself, she was a little nervous. Event planning and the polished exterior she presented at her parties was just a façade, hiding the real Poppy underneath. It wasn’t as easy for her to just let loose and be herself, and that made her more nervous than the high-end clientele she had to impress at the party she coordinated.
Her date returned and hooked his arm into hers. His motion tugged the off-the-shoulder strap of her dress down, and she did her best not to seem irritated. She adjusted the red chiffon, smoothing out the body of the sleek, almost retro dress in an effort to distract herself. The dress, like her artfully curled mahogany hair, was part of the veneer to appear polished and professional, but not prudish. She was an event planner, after all. One had to have fun to appreciate fun. Her massive walk-in closet was full of outfits that were selected specifically for occasions like this. She twisted a gold midi ring on her finger, one of the only things that she’d added simply because she liked it. Well, that and the metallic strappy heels. Shoes were her weakness and these Miu Miu heels were a work of art, not that her ‘date’ had even noticed.
“So, this was interesting,” he said, smiling. “Do you do this often? I mean, ask men out to go to other people’s events?”
The urge to lash out at that toothy smile crossed her mind, but she forced her best smile instead. “I do this all the time. I’m an event planner.”
She stopped a passing waiter and took a glass of champagne, gulping it down and setting the empty glass back on the tray. “And, yes, sometimes I ask men out to these events. A girl needs a man on her arm, right?”
He smiled. “Well, I guess that’s fair enough. I appreciate your candor. I would still like to ask you to dinner afterward.”
That urge to lash out grew a little stronger. “I don’t actually date my dates for events.”
All she wanted to do was have this afternoon over and this garden-variety jock off her arm and out of her mind. She pulled loose from his arm.
His smile faded. “That doesn’t make much sense. As far as I can tell, this is a date. I would just like for the ‘date’ to go on after the party.”
“Look,” she said, turning to face him. “You’re an attractive guy, but I’m just not interested in dating you beyond this party.”
His cheeks flushed and, though he seemed to be trying to hold his emotion in, she could see a fine line appear between his perfect brows.
“I guess I should appreciate your honesty,” he said, no longer looking at her. “It would have been a nice idea if you’d told me this wasn’t actually a date. That I’m just a prop.”
“I just did,” she replied without thinking, regretting her bluntness almost instantly. “Listen, I’m sorry if I came off harsh. You really are a charming man and maybe, under different circumstances, I’d reconsider.”
And that was a blatant lie, but he didn’t have to know that. Poppy would wager this guy was as dumb as a box of rocks and wouldn’t see her gentle statement for what it really was – a blow-off. Sure enough, the high color left his cheeks and the fine line evaporated. She even saw a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“What kind of circumstances?”
“Anything but this,” she responded honestly. This was business for her. And she didn’t mix business with pleasure.
***
On the way home to get ready for her date, she found herself nervous. With the man at the party, she’d been able to leave him on a good note, though she had no intention of ever having any other run-ins with him. It just felt right to leave these men she took to events with some glimmer of hope. Lately, she’d been feeling frustrated and like her personal life was going nowhere. She hadn’t actually dated anyone in a long while. She’d had a string of short-term relationships that had gone nowhere. After that, she’d gone on a self-imposed man diet. Tonight her diet ended.
As she walked in her front
door and tossed the keys on front table, her cell buzzed.
“This is Lila from The Love Connection.”
“Oh, hi Lila,” Poppy answered, a little surprised to hear from the owner of the dating agency directly.
“I’m just calling to tell you the date for tonight is confirmed. I’ve just sent his photo to you. Brady Daniels will meet you in front of Taki’s Steak House at eight. Do you have any questions?”
Poppy pulled up the photo of Brady. The photo was just a headshot, but she could tell even from the limited view that he was nice looking. Very all-American. “Uh, no I don’t think so.”
“That’s okay. We’ll be in touch to get your feedback on the date. Your happiness is our business, after all.”
“Thanks, Lila.”
She finished readying herself for an upscale dinner, the kind that Taki’s was known for. She chose a black halter top dress that was cut just above the knee. She inspected her appearance in the mirror. The black Louboutin heels she matched to the dress flattered her legs, and she could admit that she liked the way they drew attention with their gold buckles. She liked the way the dress flattered her high, round breasts and trim waist. Taking one last look in the full-length mirror, she was satisfied that she appeared sexy yet conservative.
When she arrived at Taki’s, she paused in the space between the front door and the hosts’ podium, hoping to spot her date. Before she could find him in the sea of patrons, she was addressed by the host. She told him her name and who she was meeting. The suited man invited her in, saying, “Right this way, Ma’am.”
She followed him, doing her best to scan ahead of him and anticipate which table her date was waiting for her at. The host led her through the largest section of tables and took a quick turn past the bar to a small row of tables between the small indoor garden and the windows overlooking the river.
At the very last table, sitting with his back to the wall, she spotted him. As quickly as she saw him, he was on his feet. The host stepped to the side so that her date could greet her.
The minute she looked at him, she could tell that he wasn’t the date she’d gotten a picture of. Gone were the blond, all-American good looks that the headshot had. The blue eyes were gone, replaced with gray-blue steely eyes that looked directly through her. His gaze was unnerving, almost unfriendly in its intensity. While she hadn’t known Brady’s height or size, she would bet her last event check that this guy was bigger and taller. Because she’d never seen anyone larger. At her 5’7” frame, she was unused to being towered over like he was currently doing. And his shoulders ate up the space in front of the table. He looked like he belonged in a romance novel, or maybe on the cover of some cheesy action-adventure movie.
Without saying anything, he held out a chair for Poppy to sit. He waited for her to settle in her seat before he sat again. He was wearing a neatly pressed blue suit that was a bit tight in the shoulders and loose on his trim waist. Clearly the suit wasn’t tailored to his measurements, and she was surprised. The suit itself didn’t look cheap, but it lacked a certain decadence that she was accustomed to her usual arm candy brandishing.
“You’re not Brady.” She spoke first, more curious than upset. Lila didn’t seem like the sort to have confused Brady with this behemoth of a man.
“I’m not,” he admitted, with a curt smile. Actually, everything about him was curt and chiseled. His facial features, his muscles, even his body language. He was attractive, but almost severely so. As if he was carved of granite or ice, and not flesh and blood.
Nice, Poppy, she told herself. She was practically spouting sonnets after only a few seconds of seeing this guy. “What’s your name?”
“Stetson Hardy,” he said in a low baritone. His voice did things to her insides. It was low, lower than she’d heard before. He spoke in a very deliberate tone and his voice was incredibly deep. She counted this as more evidence that he would not prove to be very charming, after witnessing his growly demeanor in only a few sentences.
“I’m Poppy Wade,” she offered, trying her biggest, charming smile. She reserved that bad boy only for the very grumpiest of old men and witches at her parties.
He grunted, clearly unimpressed. “I’m aware.”
She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “Look, are you going to explain why you’re here? As far as I know, it was supposed to be Brady that I’m meeting. You didn’t like…hurt him, did you?”
***
Stetson let out a choked laugh at her question. Looking down at his blue suit, pulled from the work side of his closet, he could understand where maybe his sheer size and terse demeanor would lead her to believe he’d hurt the guy she was supposed to be on the date with.
The truth was that his brother, Brett, had asked him to look into some threatening emails that the dating agency had revealed. He’d used his background as a protection agent to investigate some of them. Most of them seemed relatively harmless, but he was concerned that some of the women’s information had been copied onto some kind of external drive. There were three women whose privacy had been compromised, one of them being Poppy Wade, who sat across from him currently.
“No, I didn’t hurt him,” Stetson said, taking a drink of his bourbon. “There was a last-minute change to the plans.”
She cocked her head, something that just made him take even more notice of her auburn hair. She was a stunner. No doubt about that. But she wasn’t his type. He preferred someone a little more worldly, stronger. Poppy seemed to be living the life of the party girl. He’d read her dating profile where she listed off an event manager as her occupation. “Okaaaay. Well what type of work do you do?”
He cleared his throat, uncomfortable. “I work in security.”
“Oh, like for celebrities?” She grabbed for her water glass and he watched the delicate bones of her throat convulse, swallowing it. Unintentionally, he took a deep breath. His being was flooded with the scent of her.
While a human could smell perfume, shampoo, and maybe lotion, Stetson was a shifter. He and his brothers, Brett and Darian, were all shifters. Brett changed in a black bear, Darian changed into a sleek panther, and Stetson was a ferocious gray wolf. Because of those canine genes, his sense of smell was a hundred times strong than a human, and her uniquely feminine scent was surrounding him until he had problems breathing. Damn, she smelled good.
He made a look toward the waiter, signaling that they should order before continuing the conversation. Stetson noticed her impatient expression. Clearly, she didn’t like his non-answers and he wasn’t sure how much more she’d buy before she pressed him to answer personal questions that he wasn’t quite ready to give her answers to yet.
Poppy ordered quickly and only looked up to the server after she was done to give him a fleeting smile. Irritatingly, Stetson wished that it was him she would smile at like that. Just as quickly as he thought it, he pushed that mindset away. He didn’t know where that had come from.
When it was his turn to order, he looked the waiter in the eye and simply said, “I’ll have the steak. Rare and another bourbon, neat. Thank you.”
As the waiter walked away to put in their order, Poppy repeated her question about celebrities. Taking special care to look directly at her while he spoke, Stetson answered, “I work for myself. I do consulting for various commercial and private clients. What about yourself? What sort of work do you do?”
He already knew the answer but wanted to hear her explain it. She smiled broadly, and he understood that, party girl or not, she enjoyed her work and seemed to know that she was good at it. “I’m an event planner.”
He waited for more, but she didn’t give it. “And?”
Poppy smiled directly at him and he felt it like a shock to his groin. Her grin warmed his entire body, even in parts that hadn’t been used for a while. Her smile was coy, almost teasing. “You give me more to go on, and I’ll give you more. You’re not exactly delving into personal details yet.”
<
br /> He fought a grin that attempted to cross his face at her sarcasm. No one had ever accused him of being too forthright. “You first, sugar.”
She rolled her eyes but apparently decided to go with it. She filled up most of the lulls in the conversation and he was grateful that she seemed to understand he wasn’t one to talk to fill the silence. He enjoyed listening to her talk about her work, her family, and all sorts of things. He did ask her a few questions and give her a few answers, but each one was vaguer than the last. He was trying to keep this in a professional capacity. He was only here to protect her and to figure out why the blackmailer would’ve taken her information when there were hundreds of other women (and men) in the database.
He could certainly understand a healthy fascination with Poppy. She was witty, sarcastic, and something about her energy obviously drew people to her. Stetson was currently trying to resist that temptation. He needed to focus, on keeping both Poppy safe, and the other women in the database.
CHAPTER TWO
After their meals arrived, Poppy let it grow quiet while they ate. She’d been talking for a while, with very little for feedback from Stetson. She would’ve thought he wasn’t interested if not for the random, focused questions that he would direct at her and the heated gazes that she kept interrupting when she looked up. Stetson was a hard man to understand, and something told her most people would agree with her. She felt both curious and slightly annoyed by him. She did feel let down that he was barely speaking, and that when she talked, he was either scanning the room or staring at her. She wasn’t sure which was worse.
After they finished eating, she sat back in her chair. Stetson mimicked her pose and she found her gaze drawn to his muscular torso. Either he worked out daily or he was blessed with gorgeous genetics. Irritated that her own body was betraying her intention to treat him with the same casual demeanor he was giving her, and frustration at catching him looking elsewhere again, she cocked her head with impertinence and asked, “Am I boring you?”
