Kara's Wolves Read online

  It felt fantastic to sit back and relax, let her hair down, literally, and enjoy the … flat out stare coming from the other side of the table.

  “Occasionally?” He was leaning toward her across the small table, grinning. She clamped her legs together underneath the table to keep them from bouncing up and down in a nervous dance. A habit she had yet to break.

  “Well…”

  “I’m just teasing. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to order a small side salad and sit there pretending ladies don’t actually ‘eat’.” His smile was infectious.

  “Oh, I eat. That’s for sure. Probably more than any other woman you’ve ever dated.

  Unless you have had the occasion to date other athletes who spend hours a day in a gym working off calories at a rate faster than they can be consumed.” Kara found herself leaning forward. She fingered the menu in front of her without actually glancing at it.

  Justin reached across the table and took Kara’s hand in his own in a gesture that seemed as natural as walking. “Can’t say that I have.” He glanced down to peruse the menu, but his thumb was caressing her palm in such a distracting manner she couldn’t think, let alone read. She never took her eyes off him, just continued staring at the top of his head while intermittently glancing at their entwined hands. Heat ran up her arm.

  “Can I get you two something to drink? An appetizer perhaps?” Kara started a bit at the interruption and turned to face the waitress. She was a bubbly little brunette with short spiked hair, apparently the style for the sixteen-ish crowd lately. The only problem was “Gina”, as her nametag indicated, was looking only at Justin. Drooling actually.

  Justin didn’t seem to notice. In fact, he didn’t even look directly at the girl when he spoke. “I’ll have a Budweiser. Kara? Wait… Let me guess, mineral water?” Ooh, he’s good. Impressive.

  Kara smiled and turned to “Gina”, though she could have refrained from making the polite gesture for all the waitress knew. “Yes, thank you. Mineral water for me.” As the teenager backed away from the table, continuing to watch Justin, she ran straight into a busboy who had to wobble his tray of precariously stacked dirty dishes back and forth to avoid dumping the entire lot on the floor. Gina snapped around to apologize and then darted off in search of their drinks.

  “So … tell me about yourself.” Justin’s voice pulled Kara’s gaze back in his direction. She wasn’t at all sure he even knew if the server had been male or female. A new warmth flowed through her. He made her feel incredibly sexy. She could barely concentrate. His fingers are still running patterns over the back of my hand…

  “Well, I’m from Portland. My parents still live there. Only child.”

  “That’s nice. To be so close to your family. Do you go home often?” It was difficult to answer all Justin’s inquiries with his thumb rubbing against her palm driving her to distraction and his intense stare just a few scant inches from her face across the small table. What she really wanted to do was tune out the rest of the world and lean in for another of his fantastic kisses. The thought caught her off guard.

  Why on earth was she so drawn to him? Almost as if they’d always been together.

  As though they always would be…

  “No, I don’t go home too often anymore. I’m too busy studying and working at the gym. My parents usually come to my meets though.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing you myself. When do I get a preview?”

  “Well, technically any time I guess. It wouldn’t be very interesting, but anyone is welcome to come to practices. My last official meet is next Saturday. And it happens to be a home competition, so you can always come to that… If you really want to.” It warmed her heart that he seemed interested in her gymnastics career.

  “I can’t wait.”

  *

  “Here you go…” A voice to Justin’s side interrupted the bubble he and Kara were living in. A familiar high-pitched youthful tone, must have been the waitress. Surely, because the next moment drinks appeared in front of him. “Are you ready to order?” Order? Oh, shit, right. Steak restaurant. It is customary to order a meal when dining out.

  Justin jerked his attention to the menu in front of him, scanned the page and silently chose a nice steak. Then he looked over the top of the menu. “Kara? Do you know what you want?”

  Her perfect little bow mouth, her beautiful curls bouncing around in an unruly fashion no matter how many times she reached to tuck them behind her ear sent his mind reeling. Sexy. He couldn’t bring himself to release the hold he had on her hand. So dainty and feminine.

  “I’ll have the filet mignon, medium, and a baked potato, butter only, please.” Justin smiled his approval.

  “And you, sir?” Now he felt downright old. Glancing at the waitress, he assessed her to be in her teens. No wonder.

  “I’ll have the T-bone, medium rare, and a loaded baked potato.”

  “All right. Would either of you like a salad to start with? We have a house salad just right for two. If you’d like to share.”

  “Sounds good to me. Kara?” Justin returned his gaze to her upturned face.

  “Sure. Perfect.” She smiled sweetly at the waitress.

  “I’ll get your order in right away.” The girl leaned a little closer than strictly necessary to remove the menu Justin was holding.

  Was she flirting with him? Seriously?

  He shivered at the thought. She was a child. Almost half his age.

  “So, what do you do for fun?” he asked as the waitress walked away. Justin wanted to know everything there was to know about Kara. Besides personal interest, Trevor would absolutely kill him if he didn’t extract serious details.

  Trevor.

  Justin had left the man pacing the floors of their home in frustration. He had begged Justin to at least let him come along and sit discreetly at the bar, but Justin knew Trevor all too well. No way in hell could he have managed to stay out of range and not pounce this lovely mate of theirs.

  Kara chuckled, a soft little tinkling sound reached in and squeezed Justin’s heartstrings. “Fun? I hate to break this to you, but the sum total of the fun I have had in the last four years occurred against the outside wall of a country bar … last night.” Fuck. Justin’s balls tightened at the thought of having been the only man to touch her in recent memory.

  “You … really? Don’t you go out with your friends? Frat parties? Night clubs?

  Dates?”

  “Not really. Well … no. I haven’t had time and I guess I haven’t really cared. Before

  … now…” This last bit she half mumbled, her head angled to the side, her smile making Justin shift in his seat to make room for his growing erection.

  “Well then, my little pixie, I guess I better make sure you have the time of your life tonight, especially if the only other evening you have to compare it to is last night. I’m pretty sure I can top it without much effort.” Justin winked at her. He wasn’t sure if he felt more elated by the privilege of her presence or flat out scared shitless from being presented with the task of showing her a good time.

  Her soft giggle erupted again. “You’re doing a fine job so far. So, what do you do?

  You said you work on a farm?”

  “Yes, I live just out of town on a dairy farm … with my long-time friend Trevor.” Might as well throw his name out there so she could start getting used to it.

  “A dairy farm? Sounds like a lot of work. I’ve never actually even been close to a cow before.”

  Justin smiled at her honesty. You’re about to be. And what about wolves? Have you been close to a wolf before?

  Kara was in for a real shock when she discovered the extent of Justin’s and Trevor’s lives. Besides owning and operating the large dairy farm, the two had several other pack members on their staff. Not to mention the conglomeration of other farms in the area owned and operated by family and friends. It was a giant Mecca keeping the shapeshifters out of the public eye and giving them the sp
ace they needed to roam free whenever they desired. Cows never told a soul about the wolves sometimes used to herd them across the land. Downright convenient at times.

  “It’s not really complicated. Cows are easy to get along with and everyone needs milk.”

  “Hmm. Living in this area, I’ve always wondered what a working dairy farm was like.”

  Justin squeezed her hand, leaned forward to grasp her other hand and pulled her sweet endearing face toward his. “Honey, you can come check it out any time you want.

  My door is always open.” You have no idea how wide open the door is, nor how satisfied you will be after you come in.

  Justin closed the last few inches between them for a long tender kiss. When he finally pulled back, Kara was breathing heavily, clearly as aroused as he was. Her cheeks were red. Her lips looked luxuriously well-kissed, wet, swollen.

  A throat clearing to the side of them broke the spell.

  “Your salad?” The waitress phrased it like a question. As though she were interrupting something quite a bit more important than sustenance and wasn’t entirely sure they would appreciate it. And she wasn’t too far off the mark. If Justin weren’t so hungry, he might have just grabbed Kara and headed for the truck.

  Instead, he leaned back, released his grip on Kara’s hands, breaking physical contact with her for the first time that evening, regretting the loss of her warmth and spark immediately. His gaze never strayed from hers though, and they seemed to be in a staring match.

  Plates appeared in front of them, a large salad in the center of the table.

  “May I?” Thank goodness the waitress took the liberty of filling their plates, because Justin didn’t relish the idea of fumbling around with the salad tongs, dropping lettuce all over the table.

  “Thank you,” Kara graciously replied.

  When the girl had finished serving them and wandered away, Kara reached for her fork. “I’m starving. This looks delicious.”

  “Yes, it does.” Fortunately Kara had glanced down at her plate to spear a vegetable and didn’t catch Justin staring at her lips. When she wrapped those lips around the mouthful and then reached her tongue out to lick a dab of salad dressing from the corner of her mouth, Justin nearly moaned. He couldn’t wait to feel those lips wrapped around his cock. He had to discreetly reach under the table and adjust his growing erection.

  “Are you going to eat?” Kara inquired with a giant grin. “Or simply watch me eat?” Busted.

  Slowly breaking himself from the spell she held him under, he swallowed. “I guess I could join you, but it was so much better just watching you enjoy yourself.” He doubted he would even taste a thing.

  Justin reached for his own fork and knife and tackled the lettuce without really seeing it. Who cared about salad right now?

  Soon the delicious aroma of prime steak wafted up to Justin’s nose, tantalizing his senses, as the waitress removed the salad plates and replaced them with the main course.

  Kara looked down. “This looks and smells delicious. I can’t remember the last time I had a filet.” She reached for the utensils, cut a small bite and placed it in her mouth. God, how Justin wished he were the tines of the fork. How could eating a steak seem so erotic?

  Kara even closed her eyes to savor the morsel … and moaned.

  Thank God Justin was so dark-complected, otherwise he would surely appear beet red at the orgasmic experience before him. He struggled to pay attention to his own meal, glancing up frequently, unable to keep his gaze from Kara’s face. He couldn’t believe he was sitting across the table from the woman he would spend his entire life with, the woman whose body he and Trevor would worship. He couldn’t wait until the two of them made her scream in ecstasy. If she were half as responsive in bed as she was to a steak meal, she would be the death of him.

  “You don’t get out much if this is the reaction you have to a steak. Or … perhaps you have this reaction to every meal.”

  It wasn’t really a question, but Justin raised one eyebrow to indicate he was intrigued.

  “Well, there’s only one way for you to find out.”

  Damn, she was so hot when she flirted with him like that. She had no idea how many meals she was going to share with him in the near future. Visions of him and Trevor feeding her, blindfolded and trussed to their bed, scampered through his mind. Sweat built up on his forehead and it had nothing to do with the heat of the restaurant.

  Kara shook her long curls back from her face and took another bite.

  “Do you always drink water? I could order a bottle of wine or something if you’d like?” Surely mineral water wasn’t the only thing she ever imbibed.

  “No, not always. I enjoy a glass of wine from time to time, but it’s just easier when I’m in the middle of the season to not drink at all. I get so dehydrated the next day.” That made sense. Good to know she would be completely in charge of her faculties when he eventually sprung how they were going to spend the rest of their lives together and with another man as well. Justin tensed at the thought of telling her anything. This was surely not how she would have pictured her life veering after graduation.

  The pleasant silence between them while they ate was not uncomfortable. They seemed to fall into a rhythm. It shouldn’t have surprised Justin. After all, he’d heard how it would be when you found your mate.

  Finally Kara leaned back in her seat. “I’m stuffed. How did I actually eat all of it?” True enough, her plate was nearly empty.

  “Shall we go for a walk? It’s nice outside.” Please say yes.

  “That sounds lovely.”

  Justin quickly assessed the bill which had miraculously appeared at his elbow at some point, left some twenties and stood to reach for Kara’s hand.

  *

  Hot. It was the only word Kara could think of to describe the intensity of the evening. As soon as the two of them walked outside, she immediately felt the relief of the cool evening air blowing against her skin. It was barely May, so the evenings were still quite chilly.

  Justin took her hand and began walking aimlessly down the street.

  “We have a mock practice meet tomorrow morning if you’re really interested in seeing me perform.” Kara let the statement hang in the air, holding her breath. She had no idea why his reaction was so important to her, but she did know she wanted this man to care, really care—about her and what mattered to her.

  Justin turned to look her in the eye with a genuine smile, stopping them on the sidewalk. “I’d love that. What time?”

  Kara released the breath she was holding with a soft woosh. “Ten. If that’s too early on a Sunday for you, I understand. You don’t have to get there promptly or anything. Just wander in whenever you want.”

  Justin chuckled. “I work on a farm. Believe me, I’ve had two meals by ten.”

  “Oh, sure. Right.” Kara couldn’t take her eyes off Justin’s face. He was so full of life. So … genuine. They stood like statues in the middle of the sidewalk, the only movement her unruly hair; suddenly it blew from behind to obstruct her fantastic view.

  Before Kara could reach up to tame the meandering curls, Justin’s hands were on her face. He gently pushed the crazy mop back and held it in place behind her head while he leaned in to take possession of her mouth for the third time that evening.

  Heat erupted in Kara’s cheeks even before he made contact with her lips. The kiss was so gentle, soft.

  “Mmm… I could kiss you all night long,” he mumbled against her mouth. “Your lips are delicious.”

  The heat unfurling in Kara’s cheeks spread down the front of her to tighten her chest.

  Her breasts felt suddenly too large for the small lace bra she wore. She ached to have him run his hands down her body.

  “It’s early still. Would you like to come back to the farm and meet your first cow?” Justin grinned at her.

  Yes. But… What should she say? They only met yesterday. One hot, sweltering kiss against a wall, dinner, followed by anothe
r steaming mouth-to-mouth session on the sidewalk. Wasn’t it a bit too soon to go back to “his place”? Wouldn’t he expect too much of her? And … to be honest, wouldn’t she be powerless to stop him?

  He must have sensed her unease because he quickly spoke again. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I swear I didn’t mean to insinuate we would… That I would… What I’m trying to say is, I just thought you might like to see the farm, hang out a bit. I promise to return you to your place early. I know you have a busy day tomorrow. My roommate, Trevor, is there. I’d like you to meet him. He’s a good guy. You two will get along great.”

  His roommate? How much trouble could she get into if his roommate was home?

  Sounded safe enough. And the dairy farm would be very interesting. A totally different life from the one she’d known.

  Justin leaned his forehead against Kara’s. “We can do it another time if it makes you uncomfortable. Want to go to a movie or something? It’s still early.”

  “No. No. That’s fine. I would love to see the farm.”

  Justin just smiled brightly at her acquiescence and turned to tug her back down the sidewalk the way they’d come. “Well then, let’s go see some cows.” Kara felt incredibly comfortable with Justin. Something just felt … right.

  Chapter Five

  “You live here?” Kara stared out the window of Justin’s truck at the acres and acres of green pastures surrounding the rustic ranch house. It was almost dark, but she could still make out the buildings and vehicles. A large red barn set off to the side, a dusty green tractor parked outside. She had no idea people still owned and ran individual farms.

  “Well, yes. Where else would I live?” Oh, so he was amused by her reaction.

  “Funny. You might not have mentioned that the place was so … big. This place is massive.” Kara stared out at the “home” Justin lived in, unable to close her mouth. Justin pulled into a circular driveway to park just outside the front doors.