Moves Like Jagger (Wolf Mates Book 4) (6 page)

“Now, Dr. Dubrov, is it wise to mix business with pleasure?”

“It definitely is. It’s in the Hippocratic Oath and everything.”

“Well, we can’t go defying a perfectly good oath, can we? It’s like breaking a cardinal rule or something.”

Wrapping a long arm around her waist, Jagger attempted to pull her closer, the armrest firmly between them. She helped by leaning into him, holding her breath in anticipation.

Cupping the side of his face, Viv almost whimpered as his mouth touched hers, the thrill of his flesh meeting hers exhilarating—for a mere blip of a moment, before his phone rang.

Again.

Jagger huffed out a breath of aggravated air as he let her go and reached for his phone in the pocket of his shirt. “It’s like the universe is conspiring against us.”

Viv sighed with frustration that matched his. “It’s okay. I have to get inside anyway. The boys haven’t had dinner yet, and I need to be up bright and early for tomorrow.”

Popping the door open, she slid out and turned to wave and smile at him. “Thanks again for tonight. See you tomorrow morning.”

Making her way through the snow, she had to keep herself from hopping up the steps like she’d just won the lottery, squeeing all the way.

As she turned the key in the lock, she pushed the door open and turned around to see Jagger wave at her before backing the van up and driving away.

And that was when she finally breathed again, entering the cottage with a huge grin on her lips.

The boys circled her ankles in yowling anticipation of their missed dinner, winding and weaving as she dropped her purse on the counter and headed for the small pantry housing their food.

Grabbing cans and dry food, Viv grinned down at the swarm of her furbabies, anxiously awaiting their dinner. “Well, boys, looks like mommy got herself a gig.”

With an amazingly hot, decent guy.

Poverty didn’t suck as much today as it had yesterday.

Chapter 5

J
agger sipped his coffee and smiled while thinking about Viv.

Again.

It had to be at least the hundredth time he’d done so since yesterday, but he’d lost count.

As the sun rose over his view of Cedar Glen from his kitchen window, the pine trees surrounding his cabin capped with white snow and a hearty frost on the windowpanes, he experienced that deep sense of satisfaction that had become familiar since he’d picked up stakes and moved here.

He’d missed country living. New York had been great, exciting, full of life, sound and culture, but at thirty-seven, he was looking for a quieter way of living now, something closer to his roots in Alaska.

Add Viv to the picture, and he was feeling pretty damn good.

He’d woken up this morning, Scar snoring in his face, to find he was a little more than stoked about seeing her again today.

And not just because she’d accepted his offer to help with his budding mobile vet practice.

It was because he genuinely liked her, was wildly attracted to her, wanted to know how a professed rich kid like her had become so grounded.

And then there was everything else. Her soft hair brushing against his cheek as they were so aggravatingly disrupted each time he got within a hairsbreadth of kissing those amazingly pink lips. Her wide eyes alive and bright as she set out the necessities for stitching up Levi. The way she melted against him when she’d fallen on top of him, keeping him harder for longer than he’d like to admit.

It was how kind she was with Mrs. Andersen, how calm she remained in the face of the poor woman’s tears.

It was a multitude of things. Things he was dead set on exploring further, as soon as he figured out what his mother, Norma wanted.

She’d been the call he had to take last night, and short of being in the middle of surgery, he always tried to take her calls. Especially when his parents were off in some part of the world he was unaware of.

But their connection had been crappy and he’d instead sent her a text, telling her he’d touch base with her later today after he saw patients.

Speaking of, he reached down and ran his knuckles over Scar’s broad head. He’d rescued Scar from a backyard-breeding sting with a group in New York, and had taken one look at his scrawny, malnourished, mange-riddled body and fallen in love.

Those soulful brown eyes, and the way his crooked bottom row of teeth jutted out from his mouth as he’d buried his shaking, painfully thin body against Jagger’s as though he’d finally realized he was safe for the first time since his birth being the clincher. They’d been partners for four years now.

“You comin’ with today, buddy? I think it might be wise of you to make friends with my new friend Viv. I’m hoping she’ll be around for a little while.”

Scar yawned and stretched before flopping down on the hardwood floor, his jowls puffing outward.

“I’ll take that as an endorsement in her favor,” he said on a chuckle, gathering his jacket and Scar’s new Christmas hat with the elf ears.

Scar followed him toward the door, faithful as always, his grunts deep as he used his squat legs to keep up.

Jagger kneeled in front of him and pulled the red and green hat over his wide head, running his knuckles under the dog’s jaw. “C’mon, buddy. Let’s go impress a girl.”

* * * *

Viv climbed into the van with a shiver and a smile when she saw Scar was riding shotgun. “Morning, Scar!” She leaned in and scratched his ears, dropping a kiss on his broad head. “I love your hat, pal. Very festive.”

He licked her face in return, making her laugh. “You mind if I sit, buddy? I feel like I’m always stealing your bunk.”

Jagger pointed to the floor of the van between the two seats. “Scar, down.”

He slunk off the wide seat with a longwinded moan, sliding to the floor to position himself in the dog bed Jagger had for him.

Jagger smiled at her as he began to back out of the driveway. His handsome face freshly shaven, his skin ruddy in the bright morning light. He wore a thick pullover sweater in dark green with a pair of black jeans and a hat that matched Scar’s in color.

“How are you this morning?”

“Eagerly awaiting the chance to earn my collection of Skipper heads. How are you?”

“Thinking about how lonely it’ll be without all those little Skipper eyes watching my every move,” he joked, handing her a Thermos. “Coffee. I think JC said you take it with cream and sugar. Heavy on the cream, right?”

Viv’s heart fluttered in her chest. He was thoughtful, too. “Yes. Your attention to detail is very appealing. Thanks, Boss.”

He winked a fringed eye. “You bet. So did you sleep well? We got in pretty late.”

Sleep. Yeah. Right. She’d tossed and turned all night long as she’d visualized Jagger naked in a million different scenarios while the cats piled on top of her, taking up most of the bed.

But she decided some things were better left unsaid. “I slept great. You?”

“Like a baby. Now, about Hector. I asked Max to meet us at his house. I feel pretty uneasy about Levi’s bite and little Mookie’s paw. I want to discuss this with him and get his input.”

“Any other suspicions aside from were?” she asked, stealing a glance of him from over the rim of the Thermos.

He was so good to look at. Big and solid. And he made good coffee. There was a hint of cinnamon and hazelnut mixed in a strong brew of creamy goodness. She cupped the Thermos with pleasure and fought a dreamy sigh.

Jagger shook his head as he made a left into Hector’s driveway just behind Max’s brother Derrick’s house. “It has to be a were, doesn’t it? Unless the vampires have suddenly developed the jaws of death, or there’s another kind of shifter in town I’m unaware of, it must be a were, and I’m uncomfortable putting it like that to Max. I don’t want to unjustly accuse. He’s been good to me. I’d also rather not mention that in front of Hector. He upsets pretty easily when it comes to his rabbits. So let’s check out the rabbit he’s concerned about and then have a sit-down with Max. After that, we’ll break for lunch and work out my current need for someone to help me schedule appointments. That work?”

“You bet.”

As they pulled into Hector’s, parking near the big barn where he housed the rabbits, they found Max waiting there for them, his strong, solid presence as alpha of the pack reassuring. He was fair and kind, according to JC, but more importantly, he was really good to her best friend.

Max waved a hand to them as they got out of the van with Scar positioning himself between them, the pointy ears on his hat flapping in the cold wind.

He held out a broad, roughly hewn hand to Jagger, his dark hair scraping the collar of his thick down jacket. “Cold enough for you?”

Jagger shook it, giving it a quick pump, towering over even Max, who was easily six foot. “I love it. Feels like home.”

Max’s eyes turned to her. “And what brings you here, Viv? You looking for my beautiful bride?” he asked, his expression warm when he spoke of her best friend.

Nothing made her happier than seeing JC so content and well-adjusted in her new life.

“Nope. You’ll be overjoyed to know, seeing as you’re my landlord, I have a job as Dr. Dubrov’s assistant. No more squatting for this girl.”

Max grinned, and Viv was once more reminded why her friend loved him so. He was also quite generous. “You know you’re always welcome here. No strings. If it weren’t for you, I might not be so happily married. So whatever I have is yours.”

Jagger shot her a quizzical look.

Viv blushed and shook off Max’s words, pulling her hat down over her ears. “It was nothing. I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, we need to see to Hector and his rabbit. I’ll go get him. You two talk.”

Viv began to make her way through the thick, freshly fallen snow toward the old red barn where Hector kept his beloved bunnies, Scar hot on her heels. She inhaled the clean air, letting it fill her lungs before she entered.

Hector stood over one of several bunny huts he owned, his usual garb of aviator hat, goggles, fingerless gloves and a thick jacket making him appear as though his thin body had been swallowed whole by too much fabric.

Jerry, one of her favorites in Max’s pack of misfits—who somehow managed to become stuck in shift—raised his sweet eyes and smiled at her with a wave.

“Hey, Jerry! How’s my favorite werewolf?”

He grinned, so open, so innocent, her heart clenched. “I’m good. But the bunny? Not so much. Do you think you can help?”

“You can bet I’ll sure try,” she assured him.

“I like you, Viv. You’re nice.”

She chuckled and curtsied. “I like you, too, Jerry. You’re my knight in shining armor, remember?”

Jerry’s cheeks burned bright with two red spots when she called up the memory of how he’d carried her best friend on his back in order to get to Max in time.

“I remember,” he replied, turning back to the rabbits, a smile on his face.

Rows of huts with heat lamps lined the interior of the barn where Hector had begun his crusade to keep the rabbits of Cedar Glen from harm.

He’d erected tall utility shelves, now filled with hay and pellets for his beloved pets. Stacks of cases of water were in the corner on bales of hay. He’d added strings of Christmas lights, crisscrossing them across the barn’s ceiling, and he even had a Christmas tree all decked out in the corner.

But his face said it all. Usually bright and animated, he had a dull look to his sweet eyes and his pallor had become pasty but for the two bright red spots on his cheeks.

Seeing him so worried brought a lump to Viv’s throat. Sure, it was insane to have so many rabbits, but they were his passion, and she couldn’t fault him for caring about the wildlife in Cedar Glen. He was responsible enough to spay and neuter so overpopulation wasn’t an issue, and he took great care to see to their every need.

Viv came to stand next to him, catching a glimpse of his troubled expression. She gave him a small squeeze, hoping to keep things positive. “Morning, Hector!”

“Hey, Viv. Good to see you. You lookin’ for JC?”

“Nope. I’m here with Dr. Dubrov to help with your rabbit. What’s going on with the little guy?”

Instantly, Hector’s sweet face went slack again, the apprehension lining his eyes stark. “I don’t know. He’s so lethargic and he’s not eating. I know how crazy it sounds to everyone else, but I can feel something’s not right,” he fretted.

“Not crazy at all. You’re a good guy for caring so much about the wildlife here in Cedar Glen, Hector. How about you give him to me and Jagger will give him a thorough checkup?”

Hector nodded, scooping him up from the isolated hut and rubbing his nose against the rabbit’s fur before he gave him to Viv.

“Does he have a name?” she asked, stroking the rabbit’s ears and cuddling him close to her chest.

“He’s one of the Brady Bunch. I took them in last year after their mother, Carol, accidentally drowned in the pond over by old man Layhee’s. That’s Bobby, and if he doesn’t make it, Marcia-Marcia-Marcia’s going to be very upset. She’s all kinds of out of sorts as it is because I separated them.”

Viv gave him a sympathetic squeeze to his gloved hand. “Got it. I don’t know how you can keep them all straight.”

He shrugged his thin shoulders, the look of defeat on his face breaking Viv’s heart. “I guess a parent just knows.”

“Okay, I’m going to take him to Jagger. Be right back. Promise.”

Viv scurried away out of the barn with Scar and into another snowfall, heading for the van where Max and Jagger were inside talking.

As she stepped inside, the wind picking up speed once more, she found the two men facing each other across the examining table.

Max’s eyes were intense and stormy, his posture rigid. “So you think someone’s attacking the pets in Cedar Glen? Who the hell would do that?”

Jagger shrugged his wide shoulders. “Not a clue, but that bite on Mrs. Andersen’s dog was pretty messy. I’m no expert, but it wasn’t a small animal, that’s for sure. I’m just saying to keep a lookout. Make sure everyone keeps their pets inside, and monitored closely when they let them out to do their business. That goes for livestock, too. Whatever you do, make sure Hector keeps his rabbits contained and locked up tight when he’s not with them until we figure this out.”