Taming the Tiger (BBW/Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance) (Mail-Order Mates Book 4) (4 page)

Kellan had said she would know when she met her mate. Gwen thought about everything her mother had told her about meeting her father. He’d been a human. Gwen’s mother had said she’d practically dragged the poor man back to her apartment and almost killed him with her loving. Her mother was a real character. Good thing her easygoing father had let Mom do whatever she wanted. He never questioned the pretty shifter woman who had dragged him home.

That was what Gwen was looking for with a mate. The knock-you-over, head-over-heels kind of love. That wasn’t how she felt about Dom, exactly. But she didn’t know. She wasn’t sure if it was her human getting in the way of her intuition. Maybe she and Dom had too much history to have a really romantic love story. She’d liked Dom when she first saw him, but that seemed more like lust at first sight. He was so hot it was hard to see how anyone could
not
want the handsome tiger.

She was getting herself off track, right back to wanting to sleep with Dom again. Gwen grabbed her phone and looked at her apps. Her eyes widened when she realized why she was having such a hard time. She was going into heat! Good thing she had that handy little phone app to tell her when it was happening. She was the worst at keeping track of her cycles.

No wonder she wanted Dom so bad and she was so emotional. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t losing her mind, and there was no need to question her choice of using LK Brides. Dom wasn’t her mate. He was just the best genetic material around town. Her tiger wanted to get knocked up by the best guy it could sniff out. That was Dom alright. When they were dating, Gwen would imagine how their cute little cubs would look. Not anymore. She had to nip this in the bud. She was going to stay as far away from Dom as she could the next two weeks. She would feel a lot better once she was her regular self again.

Her phone jumped in her hand, frightening her. She dropped it and had to scramble to pick it up before the call went to voicemail. “Hello?”

“We got a match!”

“What?” Gwen couldn’t believe her ears.

“We have a match,” Olivia repeated. “I told you it would happen.”

Gwen sat down hard. “Is it someone good?”

“He’s great.” Olivia’s excitement was audible. Gwen could see the blonde agent dancing around her office when the news came in. She always worked so hard for her clients. “He just joined the agency tonight and he only matched with your profile. It’s a 99.8% match.”

“Whoa. That’s good.” Gwen was smiling so hard her cheeks were starting to hurt. “Tell me about him.”

“I’m going to send over his profile right now and if you’re interested, I’ll connect you two. Want to hear the strange part?”

“Go on.”

“You know the man! He’s a tiger from Sunset Falls too!”

“Fuck!” Gwen dropped her phone for the second time that night.

Five

Dom looked at the email and smiled. This was going to throw her for a loop. He’d known he and Gwen were mates, but he hadn’t thought they were this compatible. They were a 99.8% match. Liv had sent him an excited email less than fifteen minutes after he’d filled out the application and created a profile.

She’d remembered him from his speech at Frank and Amy’s wedding. She hadn’t known he was interested in the service but was excited to work with him. While she hadn’t told him who his match was, Dom had told her that he was raring to get going on the process. He didn’t think Gwen would agree to contact with him, but there was no way she’d take this lying down. He poured himself a glass of scotch and waited.

Headlights shone across his driveway at 3:07 a.m. He let her bang on the door a while before answering.

“Dammit, Dominic Cates!” She kicked the front door and roared. “I know you’re in there, you good-for-nothing shifter.”

He went to the door but didn’t open it. “I’m not going to let you in here when you’re acting like that. What’s your problem, Gwen?”

“You know damn well what my problem is!”

He feigned innocence. “You broke my heart yesterday and now you’re here yelling on my doorstep at an ungodly hour. I don’t have any idea what this is about.”

“This would be about you ruining my chance at finding a mate. I know about Lovely and Kind Brides, Dom. Olivia called me herself.”

“Huh?” Dom laughed as Gwen started kicking at the door again. “I’m in the dark here, Gwen. I did apply for an LK Bride. Rachel told me the service might help me find a mate. After the ugliness with you last night, I thought now was the perfect time to sign up.”

“You son of a bitch.” Gwen pounded on the door with her fists. “You knew I was trying to find a match and you cheated me out of him. I don’t know how you did it, Dom, but you better ’fess up.”

“Did what? You can’t cheat a computer system, Gwen.”

“I know you did. Don’t you try to play innocent with me. You heard I was trying to find a match and you went in and played the system so you’d get me. This is low, Dom. Even for you.”

“Are you saying you’re my match?” Dom tried to sound surprised. As he figured, Gwen didn’t like that.

“Stop messing around, Dom. You need to fix this. Call Liv and tell her you cheated.”

“Now, how do you think I did that? If they say you’re my match, you’re my match, Gwen.”

“I am
not
your match. We are not mates.” There was a long string of curses mixed with growls and roars. He could hear her scratching into his front door. That door was going to have to be replaced this weekend.

“Have they been wrong before?”

“They’re wrong this time,” Gwen snarled.

“They aren’t. I don’t know why you’re having such a hard time accepting this. We’re mates, Gwen. I’m telling you. LK Brides is telling you. And if you’d listen to her, your tiger is telling you too. You can’t run from fate.”

“If you were my fate, we would have gotten together years ago. But we didn’t. We broke up. We are never, ever getting back together, Dom.”

“I’m going to marry you, Gwen Johnson. Even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming down the aisle. I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have a whole mess of cubs.”

“In your dreams, Dom!”

“I’m just letting you know what’s going to happen. You may not like it right now, but I’m not going to stop fighting for us. I’m your future, Gwen. Get used to it.”

She screamed and kicked his door one last time before leaving his porch. Dom opened the door and watched her peel out of his driveway. She left a cloud of black smoke and screeching tires in her wake.

He’d known she was going to get mad, but not this mad. Nothing to be done about that, he decided. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He expected to get an email from a very confused Olivia in the morning. Didn’t matter. He was in the clear here. He’d only applied to LK Brides because Rachel had told him about it. Now, the waitress was going to feel mighty guilty about telling him to do that.

Dom was hoping Rachel would also feel sorry for him. He would wait a day or two before going back to Two Wolves. If he knew anything about Gwen, news of his “cheating” was going to be all over town by the time people were pouring their morning coffee.

***

Gwen went to her house and kicked more stuff. She screamed, she tore at her hair, but it didn’t do any good. She couldn’t believe it. Dom was lucky he hadn’t opened his door. She was angry enough to rip him to shreds. Or at least bite him a little. The asshole had cheated the system. Gwen didn’t know what his game was, but she didn’t think it was the least bit cute.

He thought he was being romantic or something. He wasn’t. She was serious about finding a mate. He had never shown any interest in being a husband and father until now. It was like he had woken up the morning before and decided it was time to find a wife. Maybe he’d found a gray hair and was feeling his mortality? Gwen didn’t know. None of it made any sense.

Olivia had told her there was no way to cheat. Unless Dom knew how Gwen had answered the questionnaire, there was no way for him to match her answers. He could try, of course, but it was very unlikely to succeed. Olivia thought Dom was a nice guy. He’d given such a moving toast at the wedding, she’d told Gwen. How could he be a bad guy? Gwen wondered how sweet on him Liv would be when she found out he was screwing a girl barely out of high school.

She was too mad to sleep, so she waited for the sun to come up. Mark Lunar at Two Wolves was flipping the sign to “Open” when she parked her car in the diner’s parking lot. Gwen was their first customer of the morning.

“Morning, Gwen.” Mark yawned widely. “Can I get you a cup of coffee and a menu?”

“Rachel can help me.” Gwen spotted the waitress in back and sat at the counter.

“Getting off late?” Rachel asked from the back as she tied her apron.

“I got off a few hours ago. I was too mad to sleep.”

Rachel came out and poured Gwen a hot cup of coffee and set a pitcher of creamer in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

“Man troubles.”

Rachel nodded sympathetically. “Dating is tough.”

“Actually, this isn’t about dating. It’s my LK match.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. From the sound of it, you had a hand in this one.”

“What?” Rachel looked alarmed. “I’ve never even signed up with the agency. I’ve only met that Olivia woman twice.”

“This isn’t an Olivia thing. It’s a Dom thing.”

Understanding dawned on Rachel’s face and her eyebrows shot up. “He didn’t!”

Gwen nodded. “I don’t know how he did, but yes, Dom cheated. He and I got matched up.”

“That bastard! I’m so sorry, Gwen. I only told him to sign up with the agency because he seemed so sad. I thought it would help him get some direction in his life. I thought all shifters needed to find a mate.”

“Not all of us. Some people don’t have mates and some prefer to be alone.”

“Like Kai.”

“Exactly. Some of us don’t want to find someone.”

Rachel crossed her arms. “You think Dom’s one of those people? He seems to be putting a lot of effort into wooing you here.”

“That’s not the point. If we were mates, I would know. He’s trying to force the issue.”

“Maybe you don’t want to accept that he’s your mate.” Mark sat down next to Gwen at the counter. His eyes were bloodshot. His twin brother Matt usually took the morning shift, if Gwen remembered right. She’d much prefer having Matt to commiserate with. Mark was no better than Dom.

“That’s not it,” Gwen said dismissively.

“Are you sure?” Mark asked. “LK has made great matches all over the world. Some even in our own town. How could Dom trick them?”

“I don’t know. He just did,” Gwen insisted.

Mark shrugged. “I’m with Rachel. If a man is willing to work that hard to get you, you should hear him out. I know I wouldn’t go to all this trouble for a girl I didn’t care about.”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Saying you’re into someone isn’t the same as actually being a good boyfriend or husband.”

“You’re just making excuses. If you were really trying to find love, you would give Dom a chance. He’s not like he used to be.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Gwen said through gritted teeth. “But I was the one in a relationship with him once. I know what he’s like.”

Mark stood up. “Just give the guy a shot. You never know what could happen.”

He went to pour a cup of coffee for one of the senior citizens in his pack. Gwen didn’t have anything against Mark, but he didn’t know Dom like she did. She’d heard that Mark and his brother Matt had both signed up with LK Brides too. Obviously, Mark was hoping for a happy ending for Dom. If a cad like Dom could find love, it meant anyone could.

“Like I’m going to take his advice.” She rolled her eyes again.

“Mark’s a good boy,” Rachel said defensively. “Everyone isn’t like Dom. Maybe Dom isn’t even like Dom anymore.”

“Oh, no. Et tu, Brute?” Gwen let her head fall back dramatically. “I swear everyone is against me today.”

“I’m not saying he’s a good guy,” Rachel said thoughtfully. “I’m just saying he might be better than he used to be. Are you the same person you were seven years ago?”

“I am,” Gwen said defiantly. “Mostly.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “My point exactly. I don’t know if Dom is worth a second chance. But I do think you deserve every chance at happiness. If that means going out on one date with Dom, that’s what you need to do.”

Gwen shook her head. “I can’t do that, Rachel. You know what our last breakup did to me. If that happens again, I’ll be ruined.”

“The boys will run him out of town if he hurts you again.” Rachel took Gwen’s hand in her own. “I know it’s tough, but you don’t want to end up alone like me.”

“You’re not going to be alone forever,” Gwen said automatically. She sighed and finished her cup of coffee. “I need to get some sleep. I have to work again tonight.”

“Good luck, darling.” Rachel stepped out from behind the counter to hug Gwen goodbye.

Sleep didn’t come easily for Gwen. In the end, she only had two hours of rest before she got up to start work again. It was just her and Virginia for the night again. The hours dragged on for Gwen behind the counter. They only had four full rooms for the night and no reservations.

She debated calling Dom to come and talk. She had decided to give him one shot. Just one. They could go on a date or two, no more “friends with benefits” deal. If they hit it off, she would see where it went. But if Dom didn’t want to be with her without having sex, she’d know it was all a ploy.

She knew her friends would have her back. No matter what, she was going to find her true love. Even if she had to kiss a few lame tigers along the way.

Around midnight, a car pulled into the parking lot. Gwen was surprised. They didn’t usually get check-ins after ten at night. The woman was driving a rental car and looked very glamorous for Sunset Falls. She had dark hair that hung in glossy curtains to her shoulders. Even this late at night, her face looked refreshed, her makeup was on point, and her outfit was perfectly tasteful. Gwen figured she must be driving though to a town further north.

She checked the woman in and handed her the keys.

“Are you from around here?” the woman inquired.