6. Mike

SIX

Mike woke in the guest cabin with a flurry of thoughts. He had hoped the majority of those thoughts would have been settled by the night of sex with the mysterious Beatriz, but it was no such luck. If anything, they were enhanced, far more intense and vivid.

She lay next to him, a vision of soft skin, the sheet twisting around the contours of her body like a Greek goddess gown. She faced away from him when she stirred, and he contemplated the insistence of his wolf whimpering. His wolf wanted to use the mating bite to possess her entirely and make herhis.

Take it easy in there, big boy. We need to take our time with this one.

The ache to mark his mate was unlike anything a common human could comprehend. It was a discomfort of sorts that could only be remedied by biting into that gorgeous neck while on the precipice of a climax or clawing at her hip. It meant that she belonged to him and vice versa. All other wolves would know it intrinsically.

The discomfort was something new to Mike. He had been attracted to many women in his lifetime, but it was nothing compared to his maddening burning for Beatriz. He knew it the second he saw her, and it was starting to feel more and more acute. The longer he went without marking her, the more keen the ache.

His stomach churned with hunger, booming through the room as he contemplated the situation. The sun was curling over the distant mountainside, spilling under the curtains, when Beatriz sat up, spritely and bright-eyed. She must have already been awake.

"You sound hungry," she said, smirking.

Mike didn"t want to part from her. The sight of those chocolate eyes, the silkiness of the hair that cascaded down the front of her chest with her nipples peeking out like through a curtain, made him feral.

The shifter's muscles went rigid with desire, but before he could make a move, Beatriz moved with the agility of an acrobat and hopped out of bed.

Mike followed promptly, realizing that he didn't have clothes and had left them in his car before going for a run. She rounded the hallway to the kitchen, as naked as he was, before slipping on a teal-colored robe.

His disappointment in her disappearing nakedness was palpable. She snickered, then motioned to the bathroom.

"Do you want a towel? I don"t mind, though …"

Mike shook his head. Beatriz tossed her hair back as she spun around toward the kitchen, her fragrance catching him off guard.

The wolf in him bit down hard.

She is ours. She must be ours.

Mike stood there, listening to Beatriz humming a pleasant tune as she took an egg carton out of the fridge. He realized something else, too. They had barely spoken the night before. Their bodies spent the majority of the night tangled together, lost in a fog of lust and enticing carnal sights, tastes, and sounds. As he sat, he thought about how they fucked in the kitchen, still nude. He recalled the way her back had arched so perfectly and the refrain of her climax as if tailored specifically for him …

He wanted to do it again with a brutal yearning. But he also felt some of the smoke of desire clearing and thought it would be prudent to follow through on what was presented right in front of him.

She was an enchanting woman, but one he didn't know. Mike reined in the wolf, caging him as he cleared his throat.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself," he said, trying to sound confident but not too eager. "I realized we didn"t spend much time, uh, talking last night."

Beatriz chuckled. It was musical and tranquil.

"You're right. It's a wonder that we know each other's names."

She glanced over her shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow, her full lips curled into a teasing grin. It made Mike weak in the knees.

He was thankful when she turned back to the stove. He offered to make coffee, but she said she had it under control.

"They have this place fully stocked," she said, reaching for the coffee beans on the shelf over the sink. "Barbara and Tristan know how to take care of their own."

Mike nodded with reverence. He felt that comforting, homey glow that he'd felt when speaking to Barbara the night before. It was something he didn't realize he'd missed until she suggested a run under the full moon.

"They do," he replied. "So Karla and Nate hired you to take on the triplets?"

"They did," she said, the bacon and eggs bubbling in the pan. "I've always loved kids. I grew up with a really big family. There were ten of us, and I adored taking care of my siblings. It's how I knew that being a nanny as a career would work out for me."

"Damn, that is a big family," he said, smiling.

"You know wolves," she said, turning away from him then. "They are inclined to want a lot of children. I was fine with that. That's how I feel, too."

Mike listened attentively, leaning on his palm as she regaled him with stories from the past while smoothly cooking up a delicious breakfast. Her voice had a low, sultry cadence to it but also a lyrical disposition that made each story feel emotional and important. He felt like he could listen to her all day. Or even for the rest of his life.

"How are you finding the little ones then?" Mike asked, pining for more stories. "Triplets sound like a lot to deal with, even for a practiced nanny."

She laughed. Mike couldn't get enough.

"It's pretty hectic, but I like a challenge. Something has initiated their shifting sense early, did Karla tell you that?"

Mike shook his head as she looked over at him.

"Well, it's happened to all three of them. If they get overly emotional, like angry or sad, they turn into these tiny pups. It's kind of adorable and crazy at the same time."

Beatriz scooped the eggs and bacon onto their plates, then poured the coffee once it had brewed. Mike remained naked at the table, transfixed on the slivers of skin he could see beneath the satin flow of her robe. It was difficult not to want her the way he"d had her the night before, over and over again. But he was also reveling in the human side of their courtship, which was getting to know her from every angle.

"What about you?" she asked, taking a seat next to him. "I know you work for the Wolfe's, of course."

"I'm an enforcer," he said, grasping the fork in his big, meaty palm. "I have been in Vegas for a while, helping Nic set up there."

Beatriz nodded with instant comprehension. She didn"t inquire anymore about his duties, as wolves, in general, knew what the role of an enforcer essentially entailed. He did whatever their patriarch, the wise Tristan, told him to do, and that was that.

She was also privy to pack talk, so that was something else that didn"t need to be explained. It was beneficial in many ways to find a mate that was within Mike's world. She knew what mates were inherently and had the same insatiable thirst for sex as he did. That stirred up Mike's wolf a bit, which he stifled as they consumed their meal.

They ate up ravenously, the two shifters starving from their night of spectacular sex. Once they were filled with protein and caffeine, Mike stood, took their plates and mugs from the table, and placed them in the sink.

"What are you doing?" she asked from the chair.

"I'm doing the dishes," he said firmly. "You made me a wonderful breakfast. It"s the least I can do."

She chuckled and rose from the table. Mike felt the silk of her robe graze him as he started to run the water.

"I've never been with a man who was so insistent on helping out in the kitchen," she murmured, standing next to him.

While her voice made his skin break out in goosebumps, the idea of her being with another man summoned the green-eyed beast in the shifter. Jealousy enveloped him, causing the wolf to break free from its chains, demanding with an iron will that he make her his before it was too late.

It made him feel crazy, but he didn't mind it.

"Then you haven't been with the right men," Mike sneered with zero attempt to shield his dismay.

"I am starting to realize that," she returned.

Mike turned off the faucet and turned to Beatriz, who was smiling wildly. He tilted his head, going in for a kiss to devour her, when she flashed him a mischievous smirk.

Beatriz hastily avoided the kiss and darted down the hallway. Mike growled and stalked her into the bathroom.

Just as he stepped through the door, she turned on the water, the room flooding with steam. He stopped in his tracks as she dropped the robe, the sight of her naked body like a powerful hand wrapped around his throat.

"Well?" she said, eyes flickering with desire, "aren't you going to join me?"