Destined For The Alpha: Six Heart-Racing Shifter Romances (Werewolf's Harem Book 7) (21 page)

K
iley turned
her rental car up the long gravel drive, eyeing the house in the distance. The rambling two-story farmhouse lay bright against the broad sweep of dusty red that made up the gorgeous Montana landscape. Against the mountains in the background, the house seemed to stand in defiance, a bit of humanity against the great expanse of wilderness.

As she drove the mile up the drive, she was transported back twenty months. She’d taken in this very view when the team had taken on a fracking investigation, though the last time she’d traversed this drive she’d been with Elijah and Brad. It had been early in her relationship with Brad, before they’d ever become physical, before he’d truly staked a claim.

If she were honest, this house was the first place she’d admitted to herself that she just might be in love with someone else. It was the place where she and Garrett had shared their one and only kiss, a breathless embrace that had only left them both less satisfied than ever. Just looking at the house made her long for his gruff voice, his big frame filling up the space in her life. It seemed that the big white farmhouse, surrounded on all sides with an angular wraparound porch, brought out her romantic side.

Kiley took a deep breath as she pulled into the house’s circular drive. She was surprised to find the team’s usual fleet of black SUVs lacking, their absence conspicuous. She couldn’t miss Garrett’s motorcycle, though, the big black chopper pulled up next to the porch.

So he really was here. Her heart skipped a beat as she cut the car’s engine and stepped out, pulling in a big breath of the sweet, clean country air. It was early June, and the summer heat was really beginning to blossom now. Still, she shivered as she pulled her luggage from the back seat, trying not to drag her feet as she climbed the front steps.

She found the front door unlocked and swung it wide, cringing a little at the loud squeak it emitted. The door banged open as she stepped into the kitchen, and she couldn’t help but smile. The kitchen was a relic, a perfect snapshot of ranch life in the 1950’s. The room was done in a pretty, light yellow, with neat white cabinets and an ivory stove and refrigerator that were as antique as the house itself. A big white table took up most of the room, surrounded by a dozen chairs. It had been the site of many late-night, coffee-fueled meetings when the team had stayed here last.

Closing the door, Kiley looked around. The house was silent, almost alarmingly so. If she’d expected Garrett to charge out from the living room or hallway, she was to be disappointed. Of course, he wouldn’t be here. He’d be out back, enjoying the house’s only modern addition.

Kiley left her bags on the table, heading through the big living room and down the back hall. She stopped short at the back door, peering out the glass window. For a moment, she thought she’d guessed wrong, that the back yard was empty. A cluster of lounge chairs sat empty near the pool, and the water’s clear blue surface was unbroken. She waited for several seconds, holding her breath, before he surfaced.

Garrett burst from the water, grabbing the side and pushing himself up to get out of the pool. Kiley found that she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but admire his sleek form. He climbed out in a graceful motion, six and a quarter feet of rippling muscle. He wore nothing but a pair of simple white boxers that clung to his body, showcasing his muscular thighs and perfectly shaped ass. His back and shoulders were a work of art, honed by moonlight runs in his wolf form and hours at the weight rack.

He shook the water from his body, a distinctly canine movement, and Kiley caught herself drooling a little bit. He turned and walked to the lounge chairs, giving her ample time to scope out the rest of him. Close cropped blond hair, just the color of his tawny wolf. High, proud cheekbones, a finely-carved jaw, and a strong, stubborn nose. Brilliantly blue eyes rimmed in dark lashes, coupled with dark, expressive eyebrows. Arms, chest, and incredible abs, all like something from Kiley’s most illicit fantasies.

Damn, but the male was delicious-looking. He scowled to himself, looking around the back yard as if he could sense her presence. He picked up a familiar-looking green glass bottle and uncorked it, taking a long pull, and another. Jameson whisky, it looked like.

Kiley frowned. She’d never known Garrett to drink much except to celebrate the end of a mission. Yet here he was, completely alone, drinking warm whisky in the middle of the day. He looked around again and Kiley drew back from the window, not ready to face him just yet. She’d come all this way just to see him, and she wanted the moment to be right.

She waited until she heard the splash of Garrett diving back into the water before she slipped off her shoes, opened the door, and tiptoed outside. She walked right to the edge of the pool, looking down at him as he swam the length of it. When he came back up he whirled, his glare quickly replaced by a look of shock. His eyes on her body made her shiver, made her feel like she wore much less than the short blue cotton dress she had on. She felt bare to him, just as she always did.

“What in the fuck are you doing here?” he snapped, surprise and anger warring on his face. From this brief distance, her keen senses picked up the sharp tang of the whisky, and his natural scent was erased by the pool’s salt water. Kiley was surprised at how much she longed to rediscover his scent, bury her face in his neck as he held her close.

“I’ve been looking for you, Garrett,” she said, cocking her head. She didn’t want to crowd him or overwhelm him, so she played it cool, dropping her gaze and dipping the bare toes of one foot into the pool’s wet warmth.

“Funny, I would figure you’d been too busy planning the rest of your life with Brad,” he said, those blue eyes burning into her, accusing her. Kiley watched him closely, saw him searching for signs that she’d taken a mate. A mark, a tattoo, a ring. Of course, she knew he would find nothing, but she guessed that lack of a true marking wouldn’t be enough for him. Garrett honored the ideals of mateship, and he would never lay a hand on her unless she spelled it out for him.

She licked her lips, trying to keep herself calm and collected.

“Elijah called. He said you needed a contact for your mission,” she said, shading her eyes against the bright sun.

Garrett laughed. It was a cruel sound, and it gave her goosebumps.

“What mission?” he asked. “I can’t imagine what he had to have dangled in front of you to get you out here now, this close to your mating ceremony. Isn’t it just a couple of weeks away?”

Kiley shook her head.

“There’s no ceremony. It was set for several weeks ago, but it never happened.”

Garrett’s brows shot up.

“Why not?”

“We parted ways,” Kiley sighed.

“What about your sister?”

Kiley snorted, rolling her eyes.

“Brad parted ways with me, in favor of Amerie. They eloped together, if you would believe it. Left in the middle of the night, just snuck out and left a note on the kitchen counter. Apparently they fell in love, and they thought it was better to leave me out of the equation.”

Garrett stood, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Kiley looked at him for a long time, waiting for his response. When he said nothing, she tried a different tack.

“So the mission? With the abducted females?” she prompted.

Garret scowled.

“I was kicked off that mission a month ago. Elijah gave me the choice between vacation and forced leave. Not much of a choice,” Garrett grunted.

“Elijah doesn’t do anything out of the blue. What happened before he forced you to take vacation?”

Garrett shrugged, but Kiley knew better. He’d done something bad, probably beat the crap out of a suspect or destroyed something valuable out of spite.

“What does it matter?” he asked. “Sorry you had to come all the way out here, but now you can turn right around and go back to… wherever.”

“No, I don’t think I can.”

He gave her a sharp look, eyes blazing.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

“There’s nothing for me to go back to.”

With that, she sauntered over to the chaise lounge, grasping the hem of the dress and dragging it upward. She could feel Garrett’s gaze on her ass, taking in the skimpy black panties she wore. Where sex and nudity always made her shy and overly modest, with Garrett watching she felt bolder. She pulled the dress up over her head and dropped it to the ground, revealing her black and white lace bra.

When she turned, Garrett’s expression nearly knocked the air from her lungs. Anger, longing, and lust mixed there, his jaw so tense and eyes so bright that they nearly made her blind. Her body moved of its own volition, bringing her to stand at the pool’s edge once more, letting him look his fill before she took the first step down into the pool, submerging her feet.

“Kiley…” he said. Garrett seemed so conflicted, and her heart squeezed at the sadness and anger in his expression.

She pushed on, sinking into the warm salt water as she descended the steps. Garrett’s uncertainty made her want to run away and hide herself, but the raw hunger in his eyes pulled her toward him. She knew him, understood what that desire meant. Garrett was a man of honor, and if he’d forsaken her altogether, his lust for her would have vanished. Even if there was just a tiny window left open in his soul, Kiley was going to use it.

She waded a few steps in, until the water brushed the bottoms of her breasts. Garrett stood by the side of the pool, elbows resting on the side as he watched her. He’d never seemed more wolflike to her than in that moment, his eyes tracking her in a way that was purely predatory, calculating, starving and yet skittish.

She moved until she stood before him, just inches from touching him. Garrett towered over her, his body tense and eyes crackling. He opened his mouth to say something, to tell her something she wasn’t willing to hear.

Kiley silenced him, reaching out to him. A rumble issued from deep in his chest, a warning to her about the danger she was in, or perhaps an expression of his desire. She couldn’t tell, didn’t care.

“Garrett, let me touch you,” she whispered, slipping her arms around his shoulders and lacing her fingers against the warm muscle of his neck. He was stock still, his upper lip rising to bare his perfectly white teeth. His entire body shook under her touch, and she could feel the power he was pouring into holding himself back. She appreciated it, but she also didn’t want his restraint. She wanted him to touch her, and if he was rough and wild, so be it. She wanted him any way she could have him.

His eyes closed as she moved closer, pressing her body in against him. Her breasts brushed his chest, his knees bumped her thighs. He was all silk and steel, smooth skin over perfectly-honed muscle, his big body making her feel delicate and safe at the same time. She reached up and ran her fingers through his short golden hair, reveling at the softness of it. How many times had she imagined doing just this, touching him like this?

He growled again, his eyes opening as he tried to rear back, to pull away from her intimate touch. Rather than retreat, though, Kiley surged forward and brushed her lips over his. His eyes widened, and they were so close that she could see his pupils dilate. She traced her tongue over his bottom lip, feeling the firm warmth of it, her hands angling his head to her advantage.

She kissed him fully, lips pressing hard to his, her fingers tightening at his neck. She tasted the sweet fire of the whisky he’d been drinking, tasted him, too. The clean, strong, masculine flavor of him, one she remembered clearly from their first kiss.

He didn’t resist, but neither did he respond. He let her explore him with her lips, seeming almost curious. When she pressed her hips to his, though, she could feel the rigid length of his erection, and she knew he couldn’t remain still for long. Garrett needed to lead, to dominate, to take. She just had to incite his passion, to bring him past his reticence, and he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation she presented.

Kiley brought her knees up in the water, pushing against the wall for leverage as she wrapped her legs around his body. His mouth opened, giving her access, and she flicked her tongue between his lips in a teasing move. He growled again, his body shifting in her hold, and she pulled back to look at him.

“Garrett, I’m yours. I waited for you this whole time. Take me!” she demanded.

His eyes flashed a dazzling, electric blue a second before he moved, his arms circling her body to grip her hips.

“You are playing with fire, Kiley,” he gritted out, his thumbs digging into her hip bones.

“I’m not playing anymore,” she replied.

Kiley leaned forward and kissed him again, ignoring Garrett’s near-painful grip. He ground his erection against her belly, his lips moving against hers as he groaned into her mouth. In a flash, Garrett moved. His hands came up and pushed at her shoulders, shoved her a whole foot back through the water.

His breathing ragged, Garrett turned and vaulted out of the pool. He kept moving, pushing down his boxers as he went. Kiley got a nice long glimpse of his bare ass as he tilted downward, shifting into his wolf in one fluid motion. His wolf burst out, head to tail, and when his paws hit the ground he took off at a flat-out sprint. There was nothing out here for miles and miles but a broad, grassy plain. With the exception of a few clusters of cacti and some thickets of overgrown wild grasses, there was nothing to run to except the mountains way off in the distance. Running away from her would be pointless, because there was nothing else around.

Kiley dragged herself out of the pool and stood up, watching as he ran, kicking huge clouds of faded orange dust high in the sky. The dust trail rose against the afternoon sun, and after a while he dropped out of sight, obscured by a dip in the landscape. She sighed and turned to go back inside, scooping up her clothes and the bottle of whisky he’d left behind.

She dragged all her luggage into a bedroom on the first floor, choosing the one right next to Garrett’s. She changed first, pulling on a white and pink bra and panty set and then a tight pastel pink sheath dress that she knew would catch Garrett’s eye. She laid her wet lingerie over a chair to dry. Then she went into the kitchen, got herself a glass of ice, and poured some of Garrett’s Jameson into the glass. Taking a sip, she winced as it burned all the way down into her stomach. Still, the drink made her feel steadier, and she kept sipping as she explored the house.