IceAgeLover (3 page)

Kajakti pulled out of her and shifted her until she lay at
his side with her head pillowed on his chest. His cock remained hard, but he
ignored it. He’d claimed his mate without explaining anything, and given her
condition, she probably wouldn’t remember what they’d done in the morning.
Obviously, sleeping next to her only in his underwear hadn’t been a great idea.
The undergarment was around his knees where Jaren must have tugged it down.

He couldn’t undo the result of their intimacies. He’d tied
Jaren to him, and a big part of him was glad. The rest he knew he’d have to
work fast to have his mate accept what he was. Kajakti hoped her bad experience
with her ex-boyfriend wouldn’t have her trying to keep him at arm’s length once
she was sober. Now that she was his, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.

Chapter Three

Jaren slowly came awake and swallowed. Her tongue felt like
sandpaper while her mouth tasted as if something had crawled inside it and
died. She desperately needed a drink of water. She kept her eyes closed and
swallowed again. Her head ached and her stomach wasn’t quite up to par. She’d
learned her lesson to not drink on an empty stomach.

A masculine snore sounded from the spot next to her. Jaren’s
eyes snapped open and she turned her head in that direction. Kajakti lay fast
asleep beside her with his long, black hair spread out on his pillow. The
covers were over them both but far enough down for her to see his shoulders and
chest were bare. A quick look under the sheet confirmed they were both naked.

Jaren groaned to herself. Vague images of the night flitted
through her mind. She silently groaned again. What had she done? In her drunken
state she’d taken advantage of Kajakti while he’d been sleeping. She’d ridden
him as if he were her favorite amusement park ride. And the bad thing about it
was it had been the best sex she’d ever had. How pathetic was that?

Kajakti shifted beside her, and Jaren focused on his face.
His eyes blinked open, then he smiled. “You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“I’d say a little hung over.”

He rolled onto his side toward her. “Do you…remember much of
last night?”

Jaren felt her cheeks heat. “Enough to know there is a
reason why we’re both naked.”

“I didn’t take advantage of you while you were not yourself,
just in case you wondered. I would never do that. I only thought to sleep
beside you.”

Her face heated even more. “I know you didn’t. I remember I
was the one who attacked you while you were sleeping.”

Kajakti chuckled. “You can attack me like that any time. I
normally sleep naked, but I thought leaving my underwear on would be safe
enough, considering I left you in your clothes.”

“I told you alcohol makes me braver than I’d normally be any
other time.” Jaren held the covers over her chest with one hand as she pushed
herself into a sitting position. She put her free hand to her forehead and
moaned. “Boy am I paying for yesterday.”

Kajakti sat up, his side of the covers pooling at his waist.
“You can blame that on me if you want. I should have stopped buying you drinks
after your second one.”

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I knew better not to
drink on an empty stomach.”

“I never thought to ask if you’d had your dinner or not.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “Actually, I hadn’t eaten all
day. No money meant I couldn’t buy any food.”

“Now I feel like an idiot,” Kajakti said. “Of course you
wouldn’t have eaten anything. Well, we’ll have to fix that. What would you
like?”

Her stomach churned at the thought of food but Jaren knew
she had to put something into it to soak up the rest of the alcohol. “Some
toast would be good. I don’t think I can handle anything more than that right
now.”

“Okay. Would you like to take a shower before we go
downstairs to eat or do you want to take it later?”

“Shower first.”

“Your suitcase is over by the dresser. Get what you need,
then I’ll show you where you can find the bathroom.”

Kajakti flipped back the covers and slipped off the bed.
Jaren couldn’t tear her gaze away as she watched him walk over to a pair of
jeans that were in a pile on the floor. She stared at his wide back, which
tapered to a narrow waist and landed on his muscular ass. It looked hard, and
her fingers itched to grab it, especially when he bent to pick up his pants.

But he turned around and she would have drooled if she had
any excess saliva. The front of Kajakti was even better than the back. Her gaze
skimmed across his well-defined chest before it arrowed down his washboard abs
straight to his cock, which was semi-erect. That changed, though. The longer
she stared at it, the bigger it became.

“There’s also another option,” Kajakti said in a husky
voice. “We can stay in bed a little longer, then you can shower and we can get
something to eat after that.”

Jaren wanted to say yes, her pussy clenched at the thought
of having his cock buried deep inside her again while she was fully cognizant
of what was going on, but she had a sudden case of shyness. Plus, she needed to
shower and brush her teeth before they had sex again.

She dragged her gaze up to Kajakti’s face. “I think I really
need to shower.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.” He pulled on his
jeans and crammed his erection into them, then carefully zipped them up.

Jaren’s shyness increased when she realized Kajakti waited
for her to get out of bed and get the things she’d need for a shower. She
didn’t exactly feel like walking over to her only piece of luggage butt naked
while he watched her.

Kajakti chuckled. “There’s no need to feel shy around me,
Jaren. I’ve already seen you naked, and I liked what I saw.” When she still
didn’t make a move off the bed, he asked, “Would you like me to bring your
suitcase to you?”

She nodded. “Please.”

He shook his head with a smile, but went and retrieved her
case for her. Kajakti put it on the bed. Jaren opened it. She took out her
bathrobe and the toiletries she’d need to brush her teeth and wash. The robe,
she pulled on before she let go of the sheets and slipped off the bed.

Kajakti came to stand in front of her and pulled her into
his arms. He softly brushed his lips across hers before he let her go. “Come
on, I’ll show you where to find the bathroom.”

Jaren had to admit she liked being held by him. A lot. Even
though she hardly knew Kajakti, she already felt close to him. That scared her
a bit. She’d had one relationship come to a close only to end up with another
man on the same day. That didn’t say too much about her. And it made it even
worse that she’d slept with him. She didn’t bed hop. Ever.

She silently followed Kajakti out of the bedroom and out
into the hallway. She breathed a small sigh of relief when they didn’t
encounter any of his roommates as he took her to the bathroom. After a promise
that she wouldn’t take too long and Kajakti had given her a towel, Jaren closed
the door and locked it.

Brushing her teeth helped with the bad taste on her tongue,
and some water from the faucet took away most of her dry mouth. Under the warm
spray of the shower, Jaren once more thought about what had transpired between
her and Kajakti during the night. From what she could remember, sex with him
had been pretty damn spectacular. And right before she’d come, she’d felt
something like a piece of Kajakti reach out to her, then become one with a
little bit of her.

But of course she’d still been drunk at the time and could
have just imagined that was what had happened. Jaren wanted to kick herself for
being so stupid yesterday. She wasn’t one for drinking in the first place.

Jaren washed her hair. She had no recollection of arriving
at Kajakti’s place or of ending up in his bed. The last thing she remembered
was getting into his friend’s SUV, then she must have fallen asleep. It made
her wonder what Kajakti’s roommates thought of her when they saw him carrying
her into their home.

She finished up her shower, dried off, then pulled her
bathrobe back on. With her toiletries in hand, Jaren opened the bathroom door
and stepped out into the hallway to head to Kajakti’s bedroom. She felt a
little better but she wasn’t quite one hundred percent.

Jaren had just reached the open door to Kajakti’s room when
the one across from his opened and a man stepped through it. He also appeared
native with his long, black hair and bronzed skin. And also like Kajakti, he
was over six foot and had a well-muscled body.

He smiled once he noticed her. “Hi, Jaren. I’m Capac. Are
you feeling better?”

“If that is a polite way of asking if I’m no longer drunk,
the answer is yes. It’s nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand.

He stepped closer, grasped it in his much larger one and
gave it a shake before he released her. He also took a deep breath, then gave
her a quizzical look. “Did you and Kajakti talk about what he—?”

“Oh, you met Capac, one of my roommates,” Kajakti said as he
stepped out of his room and interrupted the other man so he couldn’t finish his
question.

“Yes,” Jaren said.

Capac looked at Kajakti, then said something in a language
she didn’t understand. Kajakti answered in the same one. The two men conversed
that way for a few seconds before Capac gave her a nod and continued down the
hallway to the top of the stairs.

Kajakti put his hand on the small of Jaren’s back and guided
her into the bedroom. Once they were inside he closed the door behind them. She
walked over to the bed and put her toiletries into her suitcase.

“What was it that Capac thought you had to talk to me
about?” she asked.

“It wasn’t anything important.”

“And what language was it you two spoke? I’ve never heard it
before.”

“It’s our native one. We’re both Tlingit, same with our other
roommates, Edensaw, Wachei, Durlach and Ketah.”

“I guess I’ll be meeting everyone once we go downstairs. I’m
sure they’re looking forward to meeting the drunk woman you brought home last
night,” she said sarcastically.

Kajakti chuckled, stepped behind her and wrapped his arms
around her middle, holding her close to his front. “I already told them what
your ex did to you. They are outraged on your behalf. They also don’t think any
less of you because of you having a little bit too much to drink. Eryn, Wachei’s
wife, said, and I quote, you had more than enough reason to get shitfaced.”

Jaren turned her head to the side as Kajakti nuzzled the
crook of her neck. “I think I want to meet Eryn.”

“You’ll like her, same with the others.”

“Are your roommates okay with the idea of me staying here
until I can figure out how to get out of the mess Matt created for me?”

Kajakti turned Jaren in his arms until she faced him.
“You’re welcome to stay indefinitely if you want to. I know I’d like that.” He
flashed her a sexy smile.

She grinned in return, wondering if he was actually serious.
If so, he was moving a bit fast. “Thanks for the offer, but I do have to go
home to Canada.” Jaren looked down at Kajakti’s bare chest. “I guess we should
talk about what happened last night.”

He lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to meet his
gaze. “I’m okay with it. You might have speeded things along, but I have no
complaints with the end result.”

“I basically forced myself on you.”

Kajakti laughed. “If you want the truth, I thought I was
dreaming at first. But the real thing was much better than what my imagination
could come up with.”

“I want to tell you that I don’t normally do that. I don’t
break up with a boyfriend only to hop into bed with the next man I’m very
attracted to. I can only blame it on the vanilla vodka.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t worry about it, Jaren.
As I said, you just hurried things along.” Kajakti grew silent for a few
seconds. “How would you feel about staying in Juneau for longer than the week
you had originally planned? It will give us a better chance to get to know each
other.”

“You’d really want me to stay here longer with you?”

“Yes.”

“I still need to go to the Canadian consulate and arrange
for a new passport.”

“We’ll do that on Monday.”

She nodded. “All right, I’ll extend my holiday for a while
longer. It’s not as if I have any other place to go, and I don’t have the means
to buy another plane ticket.”

“Good. Let’s get dressed, then I’ll take you downstairs and
make you something to eat.”

Jaren watched Kajakti walk to his closet. He pulled out a
pair of clean jeans. She turned back to her suitcase and took out what she
wanted to wear. She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake by saying yes. She didn’t
want Kajakti to end up being the rebound boyfriend. He was a great guy and she
looked forward to getting to know him a whole lot better.

* * * * *

Kajakti introduced Jaren to his “roommates” once he took her
downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast. She didn’t know it yet, but now
that he’d claimed her as his mate, she’d become a member of his werewolf pack.
All that was left to make them true mates was for him to bite her while in dire
wolf form and she’d turn and be as immortal as he. That, of course, wouldn’t
happen today since she had no idea what she’d done by fully making love to him.

Everyone, being werewolves, knew he’d claimed Jaren as his
as soon as they smelled her scent. His would be deeply ingrained in hers, as
hers was in his. Capac had quickly picked up on it when he’d first met Jaren.
The only one who didn’t sense it was his mate.

Jaren now sat at the kitchen table talking with Cassidy,
Eryn and Haven while the others had gone outside to do who knew what. Kajakti
listened to their conversation while he made some toast for Jaren.

“So where in Canada do you live?” Cassidy asked.

“In Kelowna, British Columbia.”

“Have you lived there long?” Haven asked.

“All my life. This trip to Alaska is my first one out of the
country. I’m in between jobs at the moment. My ex offered to pay for airfare and
the hotel when I suggested we come to Juneau.”

“That was nice of him,” Eryn said sarcastically. “Too bad he
was such an asshole. Kajakti told us what he did to you. Do you think he would
have flown back to Canada without you?”

Jaren shrugged. “I don’t really know. It’s a possibility. If
he’s still in Juneau, I have no idea where he’d be, not that I care. After
this, I’d be quite happy to never see him again.”

Kajakti hadn’t thought about the fact that Matt could still
be in the city. He didn’t know if he could trust himself around Jaren’s ex if
he did meet up with him. Kajakti was liable to punch the guy out for what he’d
done or at the very least scare the crap out of him by going wolf and trying to
sink his teeth into him.