IceAgeLover (2 page)

Jaren downed the last of her drink. “I woke up in our room
here in the hotel to find Matt gone, along with his luggage. But the real nasty
surprise was when an employee knocked on the door and told me I had to leave
because Matt had checked us out. And to make things even worse, he took my
passport, plane ticket and all the cash we’d brought with us. I stupidly let
him talk me into giving him my credit cards to hold on to for safekeeping. I
can’t call any of my friends to ask them to send money for me to buy another
ticket since none of them can afford it. And I won’t be able to cross the
border back into Canada without my passport, which I can’t do anything about
getting replaced because it’s a Saturday and the Canadian consulate is closed
for the weekend.”

Once she started talking, Jaren wasn’t able to stop until
she told Kajakti everything that had happened to her. It felt good to have done
it, or maybe it was the vodka, which seemed to have gone straight to her head.

Kajakti drank the rest of his beer and motioned to the
waitress across the room that they wanted another round. Once that arrived, he
said, “So you have nowhere to go.”

“To put it bluntly, no. After I was kicked out of my room I
spent the majority of the day sitting in the lobby, feeling hopelessly lost.”

“The bastard. How could he do something like that to you?”

She snorted after she took a big swallow of her vodka. “I
think he did it to prove a point. To show me exactly how much I need to depend
on him. That I can’t survive without him.” Her breath hitched. “I hate to say
it, but Matt put me in a spot where I do need him back, or at least the things
he took from me.”

Kajakti made a sound that was close to an animalistic growl.
“You don’t need him. You’ll be perfectly fine.”

Jaren shook her head. “How? As things stand right now, I’ll
be sleeping on the street tonight.”

“No, you won’t. You’re welcome to stay at my house. There’s
enough room for you.”

She was well on her way to getting drunk but she wasn’t that
far gone to lose all common sense. She really knew nothing about Kajakti. “I
really don’t know if that would be a good idea.”

He leaned forward and captured her hand. “You don’t have
anything to fear with me. I would never do you harm. If it makes you feel
better, I don’t live alone. I have nine roommates, three of who are women,
wives to my friends. You’ll be perfectly safe, and it will be a lot better than
the street.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of people in one house.”

Jaren paused to think over what Kajakti had said. She had to
face it, she was desperate. Plus, he was the only person who’d offered any kind
of assistance. Even the hotel staff hadn’t been able to do anything for her.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay, thanks for being so generous and
taking in a stranded Canadian. Is it all right if we have another drink after
we finish these?”

Kajakti chuckled. “Sure.” He squeezed her hand before he let
it go. “You’ll be okay now, Jaren. I’ll be here for you.”

Looking into his eyes and seeing how serious he was, Jaren
believed every word Kajakti said. For the first time in hours, she felt as if
she could actually take a deep breath.

Chapter Two

They’d finished their third drink and Kajakti noticed Jaren
wasn’t exactly sober anymore. When she spoke, her words slurred one into the
other. And she didn’t look as sad as she had when he’d first seen her.

Thinking of the reason why his mate had been feeling that
way had Kajakti ready to hunt down this Matt and make him pay for what he’d
done to Jaren. The only good thing about it all was the fact Kajakti didn’t
have to find the woman meant for him already in a relationship with another.
That would have been almost intolerable.

He watched Jaren finish the third vanilla vodka he’d ordered
for her. He took a big swallow of his beer. He was on the same number of drinks
as her, but wasn’t affected by the alcohol. As a werewolf, it would take a
great deal more than a few bottles of beer for him to even feel it. He figured
Jaren had had more than enough.

“How about I call one of my friends to come pick us up and
we can go to my place?” he asked. “After the day you’ve had I’m sure you want
to relax.”

“You don’t have a car?”

“I don’t know how to drive.”

“Really? Most guys wouldn’t own up to that.” Jaren’s words
came out even more slurred.

“Well, I’m not like most guys.”

Kajakti took his cell phone out of his front jeans pocket
and sent a text message to Cassidy, asking her to pick him up. A few seconds
later, she replied, saying Carson would be at the front of the hotel shortly.

He put away his phone and looked at Jaren. “Our ride is on
his way. I’ll finish my beer, then we can wait for him outside.”

Once he downed the rest of his drink, Kajakti paid their
bill. He stood and picked up Jaren’s suitcase while she none-too-steadily rose
to her feet. She took a few weaving steps before he put his free arm around her
waist to keep her walking in a straight line.

They made it out to the sidewalk at the front of the hotel
to wait for Carson to arrive. Kajakti hoped his newest wolf brother wouldn’t
take too long. The more time that passed, the more the alcohol Jaren drank
seemed to hit her. She weaved in place as she watched the people who walked by.

Jaren turned to face Kajakti and gave him a big smile. “You
know, you’re pretty cute.”

He grinned. “Thanks.”

“No, really,” she slurred. “You’re way better-looking than
Matt.” Jaren placed a hand on his chest. “How would you like to be my new
boyfriend? You’re my knight in shining armor, rescuing me when I needed help
the most.”

Kajakti chuckled. “And I think you’re a little too drunk for
me to answer that question. You might not want me like that once you’re sober.”

She shook her head, then had to grab a fistful of his
t-shirt to keep herself from falling over. “Oh, that won’t happen. Just looking
at you turns me on.”

Jaren trailed her hand down his chest to his stomach and
would have kept going to his crotch if Kajakti hadn’t grabbed hold of her hand.
His cock was already hard from her admission and he didn’t need her to feel the
evidence of what her words had done to him, especially in such a public place.

“That’s good to know,” he said. “But I still think we should
carry on this conversation later once the alcohol has worn off.”

Jaren walked the fingers of her other hand up his chest. “I
have to disagree. Once I’m sober, I’ll lose my courage. This way it’ll speed
things up and maybe you’ll take me back to your place and make love to me until
I forget all about my shitty ex.”

Kajakti had to bite back a growl as a surge of need pulsed
through him. The idea of taking Jaren to his bed for hours and erasing all of
the intimate memories she had of her ex-boyfriend was something he wanted to
jump at, but there would be no doing that. First of all, Jaren was too drunk
for it, and secondly, fully making love to her would have to wait until he told
her what he was and what she meant to him. And again, she was far from sober
enough to understand what he’d tell her.

“A very tempting offer,” he said. “But—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Jaren rose on tiptoe,
cupped the back of his neck, brought his lips down to hers and sealed them
tight. She’d done it so quickly Kajakti didn’t have time to pull away. He
opened his mouth to suggest they wait to try this again later, but his mate
used the opportunity to push her tongue inside and stroke his with it.

The taste of Jaren zipped through him, making his cock jerk
inside his jeans. Combining that with her enticing scent, which filled his nose
with each breath he took, had him holding her tighter against him as he
deepened their kiss, taking the control from her.

He soon forgot where they were and plundered Jaren’s mouth,
enjoying the sound of the small moans she made. It wasn’t until there was a
loud blare of a car horn did Kajakti jerk back to his surroundings.

“Kajakti, do you want a ride or what? Unless you’d rather
stand on the sidewalk and continue to make out like a horny teenager,” Carson
shouted from his SUV, which was pulled up to the curb.

Kajakti dragged in a deep breath as he pushed back his
mating urge. He turned his head and looked at his wolf brother. “Of course I
still want a ride.” He picked up Jaren’s suitcase, then steadied her with one
arm as he walked her over to the vehicle.

“You’re taking her with you?” Carson asked. “I thought that
might have been a goodbye kiss.”

“Yes, I’m taking her home with me.”

“I thought you were only looking for a little fun, nothing
permanent. That’s what Eryn said.”

Kajakti put down the suitcase and let out a low growl before
he ran his index finger across his throat twice. A quick look at Jaren showed
she hadn’t noticed what he’d done. She was too busy staring at Carson.

“That changed after I met Jaren, if you know what I mean?”
Kajakti gave Carson a meaningful look.

“Well, damn. You guys are dropping like flies.”

Kajakti opened the back door of the SUV and helped Jaren
slide onto the seat. He then picked up her suitcase and put it in the very back
before he climbed in next to his mate. Once he shut the door, Carson pulled
away from the curb and merged with the traffic.

“It smells like a distillery back there,” Carson said with a
chuckle. “What did you do, Kajakti? Did you have to get her drunk to convince
her to come home with you?”

“Of course not.”

“But she’s trashed all the same.” Carson met Kajakti’s gaze
in the rearview mirror. “She’s also passed out on you and looks to be sleeping
like a baby. Well, a drunk one, anyway.”

He turned his head in Jaren’s direction and saw Carson was
right. Her head was against the headrest and her eyes were closed as she
breathed in even breaths. Kajakti reached across the seat and brushed a lock of
hair off her forehead. She didn’t even move.

Kajakti watched his mate sleep the rest of the drive home.
Once they arrived, he carefully lifted Jaren out of the SUV and carried her
into the house while Carson brought her suitcase. He planned to take Jaren
straight up to his room and put her to bed, but stopped when the women of the
household confronted him after he stepped through the front door.

“Who do you have there?” Cassidy asked.

“This is Jaren,” he replied.

Eryn gave him a quizzical look. “What happened to you just
wanting to get laid and nothing more?”

He was glad Jaren was asleep and couldn’t hear what Eryn had
asked. He didn’t want his mate to think he only wanted her for one night of
sex. “Would I have brought Jaren home if that were the case?”

It didn’t take long for Cassidy, Haven and Eryn to catch on
to what he meant. They smiled and congratulated him. Then Haven asked, “How
long is she staying? Did you already tell her everything?”

“I’m hoping forever, and no, I haven’t told her anything
yet.”

“Either you’re a fast worker to get Jaren convinced to stay
here with you after only knowing you for a few hours, or you had to get her drunk
to accomplish it,” Eryn said. Of course her brother laughed since it was the
same thing Carson had asked Kajakti in the car.

“No, I did not set out to get her drunk. We had a few drinks
at the bar after I found her standing outside the hotel, looking lost. She’s
from Canada. She came to Alaska with her now ex-boyfriend. They fought and he
abandoned her this morning, taking all their money and her passport with him.
He also checked them out of the hotel so Jaren had been left with nowhere else
to go and no way to pay for another room.”

“So you came to her rescue,” Cassidy said with a smile. “I
take it she and her ex didn’t have much of a solid relationship if he did
something that shitty to her. The guy sounds like a real asshole.”

“From what she said, I don’t think so. They were having
problems even before they arrived in Juneau.”

Carson clapped Kajakti on the shoulder. “Which has worked
out for you, considering she’s your mate. Now you don’t have to worry about
stealing her from another man.”

Even if Jaren had still been with Matt, Kajakti didn’t think
he would have had to work very hard to get her to leave the other man. If she’d
been perfectly happy being with her ex, he doubted she would have set off his
mating urge. It didn’t work that way, at least as far as he knew, it didn’t.

Jaren sighed in her sleep. Kajakti kissed her forehead. “I’m
going to put her to bed and let her sleep off the alcohol.”

“Good idea,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully she doesn’t wake up
with a hangover.”

Kajakti carried Jaren up the stairs while Carson followed
him with her suitcase. Once his wolf brother set it on the floor near the
dresser, he walked out the bedroom door and shut it behind him.

He carried his mate to the bed and gently laid her on the
mattress. Kajakti straightened and stared down at Jaren. She murmured something
unintelligible and rolled to her side toward him. He ran his gaze over her,
soaking her up. The restlessness that had plagued him had evaporated once he’d
found Jaren. He now had a future to look forward to with her in it. If he could
convince her of that.

Kajakti took off Jaren’s shoes and managed to pull the
covers out from under her enough to tug them over her. At least he didn’t have
to worry about convincing her to move in with him. Now he only had the hard
part of revealing what he truly was and finding a way to have her accept him as
her mate. Contrary to what she’d said about wanting him as her new boyfriend,
once she was sober, she might rethink that, especially after just ending a bad
relationship. What he wanted from her would seem too quick in anyone’s eyes.

* * * * *

Jaren continued to sleep well into the night. Kajakti
stripped down to his boxer-briefs and slipped into the bed next to her once it
became late enough. The floor held no appeal, and he figured Jaren wouldn’t
awaken until morning, anyway.

There was also the fact he’d be able to get some rest if he
slept beside her. Now that his mating urge had been brought to life, Kajakti
would more than likely have erotic dreams about his mate. It was inevitable,
and they wouldn’t go away until he claimed her. Much like the semi-aroused
state he’d been walking around in half the time since meeting Jaren.

It was difficult, but eventually Kajakti managed to fall
into a deep sleep. And as expected, he dreamed about the woman who slumbered
next to him. It very quickly turned erotic. He held Jaren in his arms as he
kissed her with all the passion that had built up inside him. She moaned into
his mouth, her hands lifting to sink into his hair and to hold him where she
wanted him. He dropped his hands to her bottom and hauled her closer, grinding
his fully engorged cock against her.

Then the dream took a dramatic shift. He suddenly was naked
on his back as Jaren, who was as unclothed as he, rested at his side, running
her hands over his body. She reached his dick and wrapped her fingers around
it, stroking him in a tight grip. He grew harder, and he couldn’t stop from
lifting his hips to push himself into her hand. Pre-cum leaked out of the head
of his cock, and Jaren rubbed it along his skin, slicking him up. Kajakti
fisted his hands in the sheet under him as he let her keep the control. He was
more than willing to let her take this where it went.

Panting, aching to be inside her, he watched her climb on
top of him. He didn’t try to stop her since he knew this was only his dream.
She rubbed her pussy along his shaft, wetting him with her juices. A low growl
rumbled out of him. The scent of his mate’s arousal only heightened his.

Jaren angled her hips just so, then slowly impaled herself
on his erect cock. The feel of her pussy closing around his shaft, squeezing it
tight with her inner muscles, had Kajakti groaning and growling at the same
time. He grew even harder as she rode him up and down.

But a new sensation that felt all too real dragged him out
of his sleep and he opened his eyes. It had been no dream. Jaren moved on top
of him, taking all of his cock deep inside her pussy. Her eyes were closed as
she lifted, then sank down onto him.

Kajakti took hold of her hips, thinking to stop her, but it
was already too late for that. The feel of a piece of his soul brushing up
against hers was what had awakened him. It did it again and this time a bit of
Jaren’s met it and the two became one. The mating bond snapped into place
between them. His orgasm tore through him, his cock pulsing inside his mate’s
body as her pussy clutched then released him while in the throes of her own
climax.

Once it was over, Jaren collapsed onto his chest and
chuckled. “That was good. Now if only you could make the room stop spinning.”
Two seconds later, she relaxed completely against him and her breathing evened
out.

He put his arms around her and looked at Jaren. Her eyes
were closed, her lips slightly parted as she breathed. She’d fallen back to
sleep, and from what she’d said, she was also still drunk.