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  Published By: Taliesin Publishing, LLC, PO Box 155, Sanford, MI 48657

  www.taliesinpublishing.com

  Completed

  Copyright © 2014 by Becca Jameson

  Digital Release: February 2014

  ISBN: 978-1-62916-031-3

  Cover Artist: James Caldwell

  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.

  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, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Table Of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Completed by Becca Jameson

  Joshua Rice is a St. Louis doctor searching for his missing sister. At age twenty, she left The Gathering with her supposed mate and never returned. Josh is concerned about her well-being and engages a lawyer to help him in the dreaded event he should discover that his sister is dead. His suspicions are high.

  Samantha Albertson is a St. Louis attorney who hasn’t attended The Gathering for years. She isn’t interested in being claimed, so she steers clear of the mating game. When her brother sends a friend to her for legal help, she finds herself face to face with Josh. The two shifters know immediately they have stepped in deeper than expected.

  When Josh leaves town to pursue a lead on his sister, Samantha heads to court. The surprises just keep coming. The defense attorney, Nathan Craig, is also her mate. How the hell is that possible?

  Rather than acting on their intense magnetism, Nathan and Stephanie drive eight hours to meet up with Josh. Things get heated when all three step into the same hotel room. No one expected or planned this arrangement. None of them have known any other shifters who mated with more than one wolf.

  There is work to be done. While the three unsuspecting souls try to forge a path they can all agree on, they also must attempt to find and rescue Josh’s sister. Can they get to her before it’s too late?

  Dedication

  To Georgia Woods for being one of the bestest people I know. Her guidance, friendship, and knowledge of all things under the sun have shaped me and made me the writer I am today.

  Chapter One

  Samantha Albertson reached across the desk and grabbed her cell phone with an exasperated sigh. The persistent ring tone assigned to her brother jarred her from her work. She was neck deep in paperwork, trying to find a loophole somewhere in this case she had spread out all over her office.

  “Gabe.” She knew her voice sounded clipped, but she couldn’t spare him more than a minute. As a defense attorney, she was busy even when she slept, especially when she picked up a case as a public defender.

  “Hi, Sam. What? That’s all I get, just Gabe?” He chuckled, his low voice vibrating through the connection and making her smile.

  She leaned back in her seat and tipped her head toward the ceiling. The tendrils of hair that had escaped her makeshift bun fell back from her face, clearing her vision.

  “You work too hard,” he stated.

  “Sorry. I’m in the middle of a case, and… Yeah, you know the drill. You should talk.” Hell, Gabe was hardly better than her. The man hadn’t come up for air in ten years, ever since he’d left home for college and then medical school and residency.

  “Not so much anymore, no. And I gotta tell ya, living life to its fullest has its benefits.” He chuckled again.

  Samantha shivered. “Spare me the details, would ya?” Gabe had been to the biennial wolf gathering last month and met his mate. No doubt the man had been…occupied, ever since. Lucky bastard.

  “Just sayin’…”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s up?” She really didn’t have time to dawdle. She leaned forward and glanced at her desk, tapping her pencil on the small sliver of wood visible between haphazard stacks of paper.

  She really needed to clean up a bit before she totally lost everything in this office.

  “I have a friend—”

  “Oh, God, no,” she moaned. “I never like a sentence that starts with ‘I have a friend.’ It always implies free work for me. And I’m already deep into a pro bono case as it is.”

  “Not this time.” Gabe paused. His voice sounded significantly more serious. “His name is Joshua Rice. I went to med school with him and now he lives in St. Louis.”

  Hmm, a doctor? Not likely he needed free legal advice. But… “Gabe, I know very little about medical malpractice.”

  “It’s not about him. It’s his sister.” The grave voice turned more serious.

  “What?”

  “He’s concerned about her. She’s been essentially missing for a few years and he’s worried she’s being coerced by her husband.”

  “Abused?”

  “Maybe. He’s not sure. But the signs are there. Isolation. Disappearing for long periods of time. Little to no contact with her family. He has a private investigator looking for her, but he wants to get a lawyer now before he finds her, just in case.”

  In case what? She shivered. Any number of possibilities came to mind. “How long has it been since he’s heard from her this time?”

  “Over a year.”

  She sighed. Not the kind of story she liked to hear. It rarely turned out well. If this sister was a willing participant in her abuse, there was usually little anyone could do to extricate her from the situation. And then there was the worse-case scenario, she was dead. That’s when a lawyer really did come in rather handy.

  “Give him my info. I’m swamped this week, but send him by. I’ll see what I can piece together to get started.”

  “Thanks, Sam.” Gabriel mumbled something she couldn’t hear and then giggled. Giggled?

  “Gabe?”

  “Sorry. Kathy’s…she’s…” His voice was breathy.

  “TMI.” Samantha smiled. Thank God one of them had found a mate. She truly was jealous of him, even though she didn’t have time for such a thing herself. “When am I going to meet this mate of yours?”

  “Well, if you hadn’t been so damn busy, you’d’ve met her at The Gathering. Maybe. . .”

  “Sure, ’cause you would have taken precious time out of your wooing schedule to make pleasant introductions and sit down for tea,” she teased. Matings didn’t work that way. Samantha wasn’t ignorant. Normally when two shifters met, all bets were off for anything they’d had planned individually for weeks.

  Samantha knew Gabriel and Kathleen had had a rockier start than that, but still.

  Gabe laughed, a deep sound that reminded her of childhood. When had he laughed like that since they’d become adults? Kathleen was good for him. He sounded more relaxed. He deserved some fun.

  “True. And I’m not reall
y willing to share yet. Soon. I promise.” He whispered again, the muffled sound of his hand over the phone telling her it was time to hang up.

  “Okay, I’ve gotta go. I’ll be watching for your friend.” She hung up before he could respond.

  Crazy newly mated couples. Why on earth were they always so involved with each other that the rest of the planet ceased to exist? She’d seen lots of claimings over the years when she’d been a child. The Wolf Gathering occurred every other spring at her parents’ home in Oklahoma. It wasn’t as though she could avoid the festivities.

  But really? Was the mating process as disgustingly vomit-inducing as it appeared? Somehow she’d always known she wasn’t the kind of person who would fall for all that craziness. She was a strong woman. Lived on her own. Worked hard. Dated little. Chances of her ever running into a perfect match were slim. What man wanted to fall for a woman like her? Especially shifters. They tended to fall for demure sweet quiet girls.

  She did not fit that bill. There wasn’t a demure bone in her body and she wouldn’t bow down to any man’s wishes, human or shifter. Fate had a way of pairing wolves up and She surely recognized the vain attempts to select a partner for Samantha years ago.

  Chapter Two

  Joshua Rice stepped through the revolving door of the downtown building and headed for the elevators. He took a deep breath as he waited for the first available cab to take him to the fourteenth floor.

  Every day that went by with no contact from Ashley made his hackles rise higher. Where was she? And why didn’t she call him?

  They’d always been close, even as children.

  A headache that had been aggravating him for several weeks now pulsed behind his right eye. He rubbed his temple for the millionth time as he stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button for his floor. Several other passengers boarded with him, but he stared at the ground, seeing nothing but a slew of feet. Several high heels, a few leather men’s shoes, and a child in sneakers.

  He lifted his head to the blinking red numbers above the doors and watched their ascent. It seemed everyone on the elevator needed a different floor because the doors opened half a dozen times before finally stopping at fourteen.

  Josh stepped out onto plush carpeting and glanced around. A trim blonde receptionist with a huge smile greeted him a few yards ahead. “May I help you, sir?”

  “Yes,” he began as he straightened to his full height and made his way toward her. “I have a one o’clock appointment with Ms. Samantha Albertson.”

  The woman glanced down at her computer and then turned back toward him. “Of course. Mr. Rice. Please, have a seat. I’ll let you know when she’s available.” The blonde pointed at a leather couch across from her desk.

  The sofa looked luxurious and inviting. Josh was exhausted and wished he could rest for one moment, but the truth was, if he sat on that cushion, he would probably fall asleep. Instead, he turned toward the wall and pretended to analyze the paintings behind the couch. Abstract art was not usually his thing, but the trio of canvases lured him in with their perfect balance of bold colors. Ashley loved this sort of thing. She had an eye for it and a passion for painting. When she’d left town four years ago she hadn’t taken any of her work with her. Did she still paint?

  “Sir?” The receptionist jerked him from his reverie. “Ms. Albertson will see you now.”

  Josh followed the woman down the hall, watching her long straight hair sway behind her as she gracefully stepped on the carpeted corridor. The sleek receptionist carried herself with poise.

  When the blonde opened a door and stepped aside, Josh took a deep breath. He wasn’t worried about this lawyer, but he was permanently nervous about Samantha. And discussing her always made him tense.

  He stepped into the sun-streaked room, and the receptionist shut the door behind him with a snick. The first thing he noticed was the clutter. Holy hell, this woman was messy. He couldn’t see her among the papers and books for several seconds. A movement behind the desk brought his gaze to hers.

  She smiled at him as he stepped forward. “You must be Joshua. Gabriel told me to expect you.” She stood, all five feet two inches. She was not just petite, but tiny, especially compared to her brother. They shared the same blond hair and blue eyes, but Samantha Albertson was a pixie.

  Sweet sexy dimples emerged on both cheeks as she extended a hand. Long curls framed her face and he stared into the deepest blue pools of ocean as he took her small palm in his.

  Holy Mother of God. They locked gazes, neither releasing their grip. The earth stopped spinning as both of them inhaled deeply and then exhaled together as though choreographed.

  Samantha was his mate. Unexpected. Hell, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

  When Josh finally released her, their fingers dragged against each other as they let them slip apart. “Call me Josh,” he mumbled. Had the words even been coherent?

  Seconds passed before Samantha broke the silence again. She moaned and glanced at the ceiling. Was she moaning in pleasure or distress? He didn’t know her enough to be able to discern the nuances of her tones.

  When she flopped into her black leather chair, she motioned to the one on the opposite side of the desk with her hand and a nod of her head. “Please, sit.”

  Her brow furrowed and her expression turned serious. The cheery twinkle in her eye disappeared.

  Josh cleared his throat. “Well, this isn’t what I had in mind when I got up this morning.” He grinned—a fraud of an expression even he could sense through the stiff feeling in his cheeks.

  “Yeah, you and me both.” She glanced around the desk and the floor, all surfaces covered in folders and haphazard documents. She looked back at him and scrunched up her face. “I’m in the middle of a big case.” As if that explained the mess.

  “You’re a slob,” he teased, though he found her mannerisms endearing somehow. She was not type A by any stretch of the imagination. He was. Way too far off the anal spectrum to be precise. Would they balance each other out?

  “Um, well, not always.” She paused and returned her gaze to his. “Okay, maybe a little.” She wrinkled her nose up at the white lie.

  They stared into each other’s eyes for long moments. Josh soaked in her face, the way her shoulders heaved with each breath. The way her curls hung around her cheeks in the same messy fashion as her desk. “You’re beautiful.” He meant that. Was it the appropriate thing to say? Probably better than pointing out she was a slob.

  She smiled. “You aren’t half bad yourself. I could have done worse.” She grinned. She licked her lips and Josh gripped the arms of his chair. He fought against the urge to swipe everything off her desk and take her mouth over the top, drag her up onto the surface and strip her.

  The entire room smelled of her sexy pheromones—her perfume, a subtle floral blend, her body soap that almost matched the fragrance, her shampoo. God, he wanted to bury his face in her hair and inhale her.

  The phone on her desk beeped, startling Samantha, who nearly jumped out of her seat. She reached for the wireless handset and fumbled it before managing to bring it to her ear. “Yes, Teresa?”

  Somehow she must have pressed the wrong button, however, because the voice of the blonde receptionist filled the room through the hands-free speaker. “Your one-thirty is already here. Just wanted to let you know.”

  Samantha set the phone on the desk and stared at the receiver. She swallowed as Josh watched her. “Tell Mr. Burns I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel. Reschedule him for early next week. And, Teresa, please clear the rest of my day.”

  “Clear your day?” Teresa asked, surprise clear in her hitched voice. Obviously this was not characteristic of Samantha.

  “Yes.” His mate didn’t elaborate.

  “Okay, Ms. Albertson. Do you need anything else?” Josh imagined Teresa adding like a strait jacket to that question. The image made him grin. Samantha was flustered. And it was his fault.

  “No. Thank you, Teresa.”
When the connection cut off, Samantha lifted her face to Josh once more. “Where were we?”

  Josh stood and rounded the desk until he could stare down at her. He lifted her gently to standing with his hands on her biceps. She was wobbly and bit her lower lip. He was nervous and imagined she was too, but he needed to taste her worse than he needed his next breath.

  He lowered his face and took her mouth in a gentle caress. Her lips were soft and she yielded to his touch, opening her mouth as he tipped his head to one side. She tasted of mint, probably a breath freshener she’d sucked on. He licked the seam of her lips and stroked over her teeth. Her tongue met his and she moaned into him, her body going slack beneath his grip.

  Her silk blouse was slippery under his hands. He feared releasing her, afraid she wouldn’t be able to remain standing if he did.

  When she grabbed his biceps with both hands and pulled back, they both sucked in long breaths.

  He set his forehead against hers. “I needed to taste you. Couldn’t resist.” Truth be told, he needed much more than that, but he wasn’t about to press the issue right now.

  “I’m not complaining.” She licked her wet lips, drawing him to the erotic motion of her tongue.

  Josh weaved both his hands into the loose hair escaping her bun and held her head between his palms. The strands caught in his fingers, trapping him to her. “God, I’m lucky.” He released her with great reluctance and stepped back. Before he could change his mind, he circled the desk and plopped back into the chair initially offered to him.

  Samantha sat much more slowly, glancing behind her on both sides, undoubtedly to make sure she didn’t miss the seat and end up on the floor.

  She gripped the arm rests with both hands until her knuckles turned white. She blew her bangs out of her face. “I have so much to do. This is bad.” She squirmed, scooting the chair in.

  Shit. Josh looked down at his lap to regain his composure. She thought she had a lot to do. Ugh. He had a missing sister. He felt a huge weight of guilt over spending the last five minutes without his sister on his mind. How long had it been since he’d done that? Not recently, that was for sure.