A Handful of Wolf (3 page)

“They taught you well. But,” he cocked his head to one side. “It didn’t work.”

“No?”

“No.” He dipped his head toward her and couldn’t miss the hitch in her breath. “I’d risk doing it again.”

*

Megan couldn’t help herself. She knew she was staring at Cutie, but he didn’t seem to mind. She licked suddenly dry lips and tried to focus. Without the protective hard hat, he had thick, silky dark hair that stuck up at odd angles, as though he’d been running his hands through it. What had he been talking about? His head dropped, close enough to lean in for a kiss and she felt a hot breath across her cheek. If he tried to kiss her now, she’d let him. Hell, she’d hang on to him and kiss him back. He smelled of outdoors, a fresh masculine fragrance that made her think of pine forests and running water. With his leather jacket and faded T-shirt, scruffy seamed jeans and—
deep breath
—stubbled jaw, he was light years away from Phillip. She couldn’t get enough air into her lungs.

“So,” he murmured. “Dinner?” That accent. Megan was a sucker for a lilting, seductive voice, and Cutie’s took some beating. Sensible-Megan battled with Impulsive-Megan.

“I don’t know your name.” She smiled, to soften the rushed words. “I’m Megan.”

He took a deep breath through his nose, almost as though he inhaled her. “Sasha Llewellyn.”

She swallowed. “Sasha doesn’t sound very Welsh.” The distance between them had reduced even further. If she leaned forward just a fraction…

“My grandmother is Russian.”

“Mine is Welsh.” It came out as a squeak. He lifted one arm and lazily rested his hand on the wall behind her head. Even though she wore heels, he was still taller and she tilted her head to meet his gaze. In that moment, he looked like a hungry predator that had sighted its prey and her heart flipped. Oh my. Was she really going to have dinner with him? Phillip was a field mouse in comparison to this man. There was something she had to remember and she racked her brains for a long breath. Oh yes. “My friends are meeting me. We’ll have to be quick.”

Amusement flashed across his face, and his dimple twinkled at her. “Are we still talking about dinner?”

He was too tempting and it was a long time since she’d dated anyone fun. “Dinner. Yes.” Get a grip, Megan. “We’re clubbing afterward. You can join us if you like.”

“I’d like.”

I’d like to kiss you.
The thought danced in front of her and she struggled for composure, fisting her hands to prevent her slipping them around his neck. A hint of a threaded string necklace peeked out of his T-shirt and she concentrated on that instead. “Your necklace is cool. Do you have a pendant on it?”

“Yeah.” He slipped his fingers down his neckline and tugged out the twisted threads. A sliver of sparkly black stone hung in the middle. “It’s hematite crystal. My sister gave it to me.” He paused, and his eyes opened wide, a frown appearing on his tanned forehead. “Shit.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m late. I have to be somewhere.”

“I have to, uh…”
meet some wolves? Talk with a bunch of shifters?
“Meet some business associates.” It sounded lame, even to Sasha. His gut tightened at the disappointment he saw in her eyes.
Come on, Sash. Think. Otherwise she’ll be hightailing it out of here.
“Come with me.” Her eyes widened and she eased back, creating a space between them. “No, really. I just need to say hello, and sort out another time to meet them, and then, yeah.” He unleashed the full force of his most charming smile. “I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Business associates?” Her nose wrinkled in the most adorable way. “What kind of business?”

Pack business.
He tried to think of an acceptable alternative. “My cousin makes furniture. He, um, wants to sell it here.”

“Oh.” Her brown eyes peered at him as though she tried to read his thoughts, and then she shrugged. “Okay. And besides, I work in marketing. I might be able to help you.” Did she believe him? It seemed too easy. “Lou and Nessa are meeting me back here in an hour.”

Okay. He might be able to wing this. He held out one hand and waggled his fingers. “You coming?” Her palm felt cool and smooth, and very comfortable in his grasp. Little tingles ran up his arm and he stared at her for a second. It’s like she was a magnet and he was made of metal. He
had
to touch her. His wolf, previously pacing up and down, settled at the contact. Weird.

The meet was only a short walk away, a quiet, but slightly seedy bar compared to the glossy places on the waterfront. He felt Megan’s hesitation when they set foot inside. “I promise, we’ll only stay a few minutes.” His keen nose identified the shifters immediately. Four enormous men huddled round a small table, several empty glasses and bottles already on the surface. With their coffee colored skin and thick black hair, they looked like native Maori, but Sasha knew they were wolves. They also knew immediately that Megan was human.

Four sets of brilliant blue eyes glared at her and Sasha sighed inwardly. Not the best start. He stuck out his free hand. “I’m Sasha Llewellyn, and this is Megan.” Silence. The largest of the four glanced at Sasha’s outstretched hand and sniffed.

“We know who you are. Jake asked me to give you five minutes, but if you’re the best your pack has to offer, I’m not impressed.”

He could feel Megan about to join the conversation, such as it was, and he quickly jumped in before she could speak. “I got delayed on the way here, I’m sorry I kept you waiting.” He could imagine Jake’s fury if he didn’t appease them, and skipping out was not looking a viable option. “Let me get some drinks and then we can talk.”

Silence. Sasha scanned the table top and noted the brand of local beer. “Black ales all round?” Grudging nods. He smiled and tried to look confident. Shee-it. This was heading toward clusterfuck proportions. Squeezing Megan’s fingers he nodded toward the bar, but she ignored him and slipped her hand free. Leaning forward over the table, cleavage on show, she beamed at the only wolf that had spoken so far.

“
Kia Ora
. I’m the reason Sasha is late, I’m so sorry. My ex-boyfriend was being a giant pain in the ass, and tried to pick a fight. There’s no way Sasha could get here any earlier. He was a complete gentleman.” To Sasha’s bemusement, she flashed him a shy smile. “I insisted on coming with him. I didn’t want to be on my own in case
he
came back. My ex.” Whaaat? He felt as though he’d stepped into a parallel universe, especially when the largest of the wolves stood up and clasped Megan’s hand.

“Just tell us his name, sweet thing, and we’ll make sure he never bothers you again.” Her tinkling laugh wrapped around him and within seconds, she was sitting at the table shaking hands with each of the wolves. Sasha tried to keep up with their names. Connor. Red. Jonty. Bray.

Megan touched his arm. “I’d love a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, please.” He did a double take. The wolves all smiled at her, their beasts relaxed and comfortable, and his own animal calmed. She was nothing short of a fucking miracle worker.

*

Megan had been to enough meet ‘n’ greet sessions with her parents to know how to make small talk. Hell, she could elevate it to an art form if she put her mind to it and charming these four hulking guys was easy. She had them eating out of her hand within minutes. By the time a wary looking Sasha returned with a tray of drinks, she was swapping holiday stories about a failed camping trip. One of the guys, Jonty or Bray—she wasn’t sure which—patted her arm. Sasha made a weird noise and glared at Jonty-Bray, who promptly removed his hand. Silence fell around the table, apart from the noisy bangs as Sasha thumped the beer bottles down.

He’d sounded like a dog and Megan giggled, and turned to face him. “Did you just growl?”

A hint of color sparked in his cheeks and he looked away. “Clearing my throat.” He took a long draught of beer and faced Connor, the leader of the group. “I promised to take Megan to dinner. Do you mind if we meet up again another night?”

Something felt off to Megan. Sure, plenty of business transactions were conducted in bars and other casual places, but this one buzzed with an undertone she couldn’t translate. She sipped her wine and smiled politely at Connor, then dug in her tiny bag to find her phone. “Excuse me, I just need to reply to a text.” Supposedly engrossed, she waited for the conversation to start.

Sasha muttered about the beer being good. Connor grunted agreement. She tapped out a quick message to Nessa and Lou, warning them she was running late, but still the men stayed quiet. They weren’t there to talk about furniture sales. Either it was something illegal, in which case she’d make an excuse and leave them to it, or something mildly embarrassing or uncomfortable. She slipped the phone back into her bag. “Just going to the bathroom.” She knew Sasha watched as she strolled toward the toilets. Not paying much attention to her whereabouts, it was still a shock when she bumped into a scary looking mountain of a man lurking near the end of the bar. She was used to tattoos, but this guy’s looked threatening somehow. She nodded an apology and sidestepped him.

What on earth had she walked into? A drugs deal? Or something completely innocent? She washed her hands, smoothed damp palms over her flyaway hair and then tidied her face with lip gloss and powder. She examined her reflection in the mirror and wondered what Sasha had seen that he liked so much? Her tits probably. Despite losing several dress sizes in weight, her boobs were still enormous. It certainly wasn’t her university degree and for once, it was highly unlikely to be her father.

*

Megan was safely out of earshot when Connor leaned forward and spoke to Sasha. “Your human. Does she know?”

“No.” Sasha rolled his eyes and tried to look casual. “Of course not. She’s just a friend.” Humans were blissfully ignorant of shifters, and that’s how everyone wanted it to stay.

“We heard your Alpha has Mated with a human.” Connor raised a questioning eyebrow as though daring him to deny it.

Great. Thanks Jake for landing me with this.
“Yes, he has, but she fully understands our world. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt us.” Jake’s mate, Lillian, loved her husband too much to cause any kind of trouble.

“And his offspring? If they have half-blood pups, they might not shift.” Thankfully, Jake had briefed him how to answer this question.

“And they might. The Snowdonia Pack is strong, whether Jake has shifter cubs or not.” They wanted the Kiwi wolves as allies, not as challengers for the Pack leadership, and Sasha wondered again at Jake’s confidence in trusting him for this liaison role.

Connor sat back and tinkered with the label on his beer. His Pack members flanked him, strong and powerful, and very dominant. Then again, they were on their home turf.

“So.” Sasha fought the urge to look over his shoulder to see if Megan had emerged yet. She’d been in the bathroom for an age and he still couldn’t scent her. “Jake wanted to know if you’d like the opportunity to send a couple of your wolves to meet our Pack. See how we operate.”

Connor’s bright blue eyes were cool. “Well now,” his voice rumbled, “we don’t believe in Mating with outsiders. You might do that over in England, but that’s not how we roll down here.” Sasha bit down on his sharp response that he was from Wales, not England. He figured he had to be diplomatic even if his wolf was growling at the slur.

A sweet smell of caramel hit his nostrils and he knew that Megan was approaching. He turned in his chair and smiled to greet her, before looking back at Connor. “It was good meeting you and I’m sure we have plenty more to talk about. You free next week?”

The wolf Alpha made a point of finding his phone and flicking through screens while he checked his schedule. “We’ll be in touch.”

Yeah. Jake was going to kick his ass down the mountain when he got home. Maybe he should go traveling for a year or two while his cousin calmed down? Meanwhile, the other guys all stood up when Megan came to stand next to his chair. One by one they said goodbye and chatted with her some more, but finally Sasha got her attention. “Dinner?” Right now, the only thing he wanted to snack on was her. She’d put on some lipstick or other, and her mouth was glossy and plump, a dark pink as though she’d just been kissed. Her smile made his head spin. Wow. That beer must have been stronger than he thought.

He caught her hand, tangled their fingers together and just for the hell of it, ducked his head and brushed a kiss against her temple. The smell of other wolves clung to her hair and his wolf growled. There must have been more shifters in the bar for she didn’t smell of Connor or his men. No matter, it would quickly disperse in the fresh air outside. He half expected her to shove him away, but instead, she squeezed his fingers and smiled. “See you again.” She nodded to the wolves and walked beside him.

“Thanks.” He nudged her gently with his elbow. “They loved you.”

“Uh-huh. I know you weren’t talking about selling furniture, Sasha.” Her voice was sharp. “I don’t want to know the details, but tell me this.” She stopped and dragged him to a halt. “Is it anything dodgy?”

“Ouch,” he joked. “Straight for the jugular, eh.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

He stared at her determined chin and the set of her mouth, and realized she wasn’t joking. “
No
. It’s nothing dodgy.” Just a failed attempt at liaison between two highly secret packs of wolf shifters. They stood on the pavement outside the bar and he really didn’t want to have this conversation at the moment. “Let’s grab some food and we can talk then.” He might come up with some halfway decent story, given a few minutes to think. “Where do you want to go?”

“How about Wagamama? It’s only a short walk back to Foxglove from there.”

She still hadn’t moved and Sasha inched closer, blocking her from the busy passersby. “The noodle place?” She nodded. He’d eat wet cardboard if that’s what she fancied and he felt a moment of annoyance that he’d have to share her all evening with her friends.

A smile tugged at her lips and she stretched up to him. “I have to tell you something,” she whispered, her mouth achingly close to his ear.