Forever With The Wolf: An Erotic Shapeshifter Romance (Werewolf's Harem Series Book 5) (3 page)

“Right,” Garrett said. He opened the front door and picked up his duffel bags, making his way out.

“Garrett!” Kiley called, her voice rising with tension.

Garrett half-turned, raising a brow. For just one tiny fraction of a moment, he let himself hope.

“Good luck,” she said after a long pause, her shoulders slumping.

“I think you need it more than me,” Garrett shot back, turning on his heel and marching outside.

With Elijah at his back, Garrett loaded his gear in one of the team’s rented SUVs and climbed into the driver’s seat. In moments the house dropped behind them, fading out of view in the sultry Costa Rican night.

“Garrett,” Elijah started in.

Garrett reached out and flipped on the radio, turning the volume way up, letting Spanish pop music blare through the car. Elijah shut up with a shrug, leaving him to his thoughts.

If only a measure of peace came with the solitude…

Chapter Two

When her cell phone rang at midnight, breaking the silence in her yet-unfurnished new apartment, Kiley nearly jumped out of her skin. A contact, no doubt, somewhere in the world. She sat up with a sigh, moving to the edge of the bed and grabbing her phone. She looked down at the screen, blinking in confusion.

Elijah
, the screen announced.

What in the hell would Elijah be calling her for? God, what if—

She refused to let herself continue the thought, putting the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” she asked, hesitant.

“Kiley,” Elijah said, his thick Scottish accent a warm bit of familiarity, chasing away a bit of the chill in her bones.

“Elijah. I thought— I left you messages. Dozens of them,” she said.

“I know. It felt it wasn’t right to answer them,” he replied. Not the most helpful thing, but then again at least he didn’t sound angry.

“I didn’t take Brad as a mate,” Kiley blurted out, unable to restrain herself.

“I know,” Elijah sighed.

“You know?”

“I keep tabs on you, lass. I figured you’d come around sooner or later.”

“Why didn’t you ever call me back?” she asked, growing frustrated.

“It’s not my place to tell you anything about Garrett, lass. You burned that bridge when you left with Brad, I should think.”

“I didn’t— never mind. Why are you calling me?”

“Garrett needs a contact, but he’s too stubborn to call you.”

Kiley’s jaw dropped for a moment. She’d forgotten just how blunt Elijah could be. She took a moment to find the right words, to explain how her life had changed, but she came up short.

“I’m not sure if I can help. I left the intelligence world six months ago,” she said.

“You’ve still got lots of contacts, I’m sure.”

Kiley sighed, shaking her head though she was the only one around to see the gesture.

“I don’t work for you anymore, Elijah. You and Garrett decided not to renew my contract, remember?”

“We didn’t renew Brad’s contract, and you made yourself part and parcel. Again, this isn’t about the past.”

“Then what is it about, other than you calling and asking for favors out of the blue? You need some hermit Russian to help facilitate an arms deal or something?”

“No Russians this time. This time we’re dealing with females.”

“Females. You’re calling me for dating advice, Elijah?”

He snorted.

“There’s a group that’s been abducting and selling females of our species. We’ve been trying to shut them down. We traced everything we can electronically, froze a lot of assets, even put a few away. But we haven’t been able to locate the top three members, the ones that give the orders. Without taking them out, we might as well just give up.”

Kiley blew out a breath, trying to take in his words. It really did sound like they needed help, and it was just the kind of cause she loved to champion, but it sounded dangerous.

“I’m guessing if you can’t get to them easily, these top guys aren’t exactly small fish,” she said.

“Two of them are supposedly high-level foreign diplomats, and at least one of them is highly connected in the CIA. We keep getting information, but none of it adds up. We need someone to give us names, tell us who is moving money around, who might be offering females to friends or colleagues. Or rather, we need someone’s nanny or housekeeper or chauffeur to tell us what they’ve overheard. I know you specialize in recruiting assets from domestic staff.”

“Yeah, because I grew up around them. My mother was a cook in a big manor house,” Kiley said. She heard the defensiveness in her tone, but she couldn’t help it. “I know what they call me behind my back. Kiley, Patron Saint of Servants.”

Elijah chuckled, defusing her anger a little.

“Easy, now. Will you help or not?” he asked.

“I can’t just pick up and run over to do this. It isn’t a minor favor, it’s a month of work, maybe more.”

She knew she was lying; her new apartment was just like the bed on which she sat: pristine, cold, and empty. She’d only moved in a few suitcases and some toiletries since she’d left Brad behind in his palatial manor. She’d been in this sleek Portland apartment for months, but she’d never even gotten a couch or a decorative shower curtain. She’d been… waiting. For this call, presumably, except it was the wrong male, and now it wasn’t going how she’d planned at all.

She was silent for another beat, thinking, and Elijah got impatient.

“Garrett will be at base camp,” he said. Kiley could practically hear his smirk over the phone, but she could barely think of that. Her heart leapt into her throat at his pronouncement.

“Garrett?” she repeated, feeling stupid.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Kiley. He doesn’t know that I’m asking you to join the project. I’m certain he’ll be angry with me, actually.”

“I thought that you didn’t want to meddle.”

“Well, things change. Not only do we need a contact on this mission, but I think Garrett might need some help, too. He’s been a miserable git since we left Costa Rica. I thought it would pass, but he seems to be getting worse. You’ll see.”

Kiley paused, soaking it in. She was finally going to see Garrett after nearly a year of radio silence. She was half elated, half frightened with the possibilities. Would he take her back, or turn her away?

“I’m going to take that silence as a yes,” Elijah said. “I’ll message you the address. Pack for a couple of weeks, I’d say.”

“Elijah!” she said, stopping him before he could hang up.

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” Kiley said.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, disconnecting the call.

Kiley dropped her phone onto the mattress, collapsing backward with a groan. Her phone vibrated, a text from Elijah with an address in Montana. An address she knew all too well…

Kiley 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.