The Librarian and the Wolf: (3 page)

The thought of spending her days in Jessica's
‘McMansion’ with Aaron left her feeling empty, whereas spending one night with Mal in her tiny cottage thrilled her.  
Mal
. In a little over two hours and she would see him. God how she wished she had cancelled this shopping trip and spent the day with him instead.  She had a feeling he had been angling for that when they had said good bye that morning but she had not given in.  After all, he shouldn’t really expect her to just drop everything just because he had wafted back into town. 
If he had bothered to call her while he was away however...

"So Terri
are you seeing anyone at the moment?"  Her mother’s demanding voice cut through her thoughts.

Terri froze, should she tell them about Mal?
She couldn't imagine what her mother’s reaction would be to a teenage boy who still lived with his parents. Neither Jessica nor her mother could conceive that any man that wasn't a doctor or a dentist or a banker that drove a high end car could be considered a suitable date. She had to admit that her mother and sister never focused on looks though, their focus was directed at bank balances. 

Her mother had just about been able to reconcile herself to Jameson
, who was a college professor and drove a classic car. He was close enough to what she wanted for Terri. Now, however, he was public enemy number one.

"Not really.
.." She put the rest of her cake back on her plate, the queasiness had returned to her stomach.

"Good, Aaron has a colleague who would be perfect for us."
Us?

Jessica joined in
enthusiastically.  "He’s called Dr Gary Throp, he’s Aarons partner at the clinic. He's 32, recently divorced and has two kids who live with their mother. He has them for a couple of weekends a month. And he doesn't want any more kids so you could just be a part time mother for the ones he already has, he’s perfect for you!"

Terri sucked in a breath through her teeth. The cou
ple of times she had allowed Jessica to set up a date for her had not gone well. One had waxed lyrical about the benefits of natural childbirth, which she found gross and insensitive. Whilst the other had disclosed his love of BDSM and described in detail the many sexual practices he enjoyed. It had been
embarrassing
.

"I don
't think that's a good idea..."

"Why not?
After all you're not seeing anyone are you?" Her mother looked at her closely.
Oh god does she know?

Jessica tapped her nails against her coffee cup, full of decaf of course. 
"You know you're looking very well at the moment. Your skin is glowing, what are you doing differently?" Her sister regarded her with some suspicion. 

Having wild se
x with a 19 year old boy?
"Nothing really, maybe it just helps being out of the city."

"Hmmm, well whatever it is you should take advantage of it
quickly and go on a date with Gary. Snap him up quick before someone else does."

"I'd really rather not."

Her mother pursed her lips.  "Terri you're not getting any younger..."

"Nobody gets any younger
mother."
What is it about her mother that turned her into a sulky teenager?

Mai
ignored her.  "You should find someone soon, before you start losing your looks.”

Jessica interrupted. 
"We know you had a rough time with Jameson...” 

"And we've been very patient
...”

"But it's time to move on
.”

"I won't be around forever and I want to see you settled before I go
."
Yeah right, her mother will outlive them all out of spite.

Jessica shrugged. 
"What happened with Jameson isn't the end of the world, plenty of men don't want children, take Gary for instance.”

"I just don't think I'm going to find the right guy on a blind date..." Her heart
wrenched at the thought of babies and of Mal. How could she possibly go on a date when she would just be comparing him to Mal all evening?  She needed to get over her obsession with the young wolf before she even thought about another man.

"How long has it been since you've been on a proper date?
  Jessica asked pointedly. 

It felt like forever.

Without waiting for an answer Jessica continued.  "It can't hurt to use Gary as a practise date, just to get back into the swing of it, and if you happen to actually like him then even better.”

"Don't dismiss G
ary out of hand, I know you immediately dismiss men Jessica tries to set you on purpose...

Terri laughed hollowly. 
"Because they're either sexual deviants or obsessed with child birth...

"But it can't hurt to give
Gary a try.”  Her mother sighed exaggeratedly. "I don't mind who you end up with.” 
Since when?
  "Even if it's a man who I don't approve of.” 
Who the hell was this woman?

“
I just don't like to think of you being alone and miserable, I just want you to have someone, anyone.”  Terri stared at her mother in open mouthed surprise.  “Just as long as it isn't that fuckwit Jameson St. John.” 

“
Mother!”  Admonished Jessica. Her mother rarely swore so when she did it came as a shock. 

Sh
e didn't know what to say, her mother had literally never sounded so caring. This slight affection was disconcerting.  She mumbled her thanks to her mother who nodded and shifted in her seat. As a rule they were not an affectionate family.

Her m
other called for the check and Jessica checked her make-up.  Terri looked at her watch. It was 2.55pm.  She needed to leave.  "I've really got to go, I have plans this evening.”

"And
Gary?”  Persisted Jessica 

Terri
hesitated. She wanted to say no, absolutely not.  But if she said no her mother and Jessica would continue to harangue her and she would never get out of there. Mal would be waiting for her. "Let me think about it.”

Chapter Three

Mal looked at his watc
h. Thank god his shift was over and he was on his way to Terri’s house. It was 4.45pm and he was ten minutes away from her.

He'd patrolled acres of
pack land, walked miles in human and wolf form and... absolutely nothing had happened. For once there were no problems, no issues, just hours of wandering around looking for trouble that never came.

He hadn’t been
due to work that day but on finding Terri otherwise occupied and unable to persuade her to change her plans he had switched shifts with another new trainee Enforcer.  He figured that if he was busy he wouldn’t obsess over Terri.  It had sounded like a good plan at the time.

It being a slow day
, he’d done nothing but think of her. 
Her touch, her feel, her taste, her scent.
  He couldn’t wait to see her.  His wolf had been edgy all day.  He’d replayed last night and this morning over and over.  Her sweet cries as he’d made her come echoed through his mind.

He’d to
ld her he missed her and she had said it too.  Admittedly they were having sex at the time so he probably could have gotten her to say anything, but this morning she confessed that she was glad he was back.  Perhaps she had missed him as much as he had her. 
No, not possible.

The week away from her had thrown everything into sharp relief
.  He realised what he had suspected for a few weeks now. 
Terri was his mate
.

He’d known she was special the first time he
touched her in the Diner.  The moment she pressed up against him, her rain soaked clothes clinging to her soft curves, he knew she was exceptional. He’d never been so attracted to a woman before.

He’d never been drawn to a woman li
ke her.  She was older, curvier, more exotic.  His type was blonde girls his own age.  He’d been surprised at his reaction to her but more than willing to see where it led him. 

Foolishly he’d thought his response to her was just his own normal curiosity
and excitement.  He’d never been in love before and hadn’t been able to identify his own feelings. 
He really wasn’t that sort of guy. 
But as the days and weeks passed his thoughts had slowly been dominated by her and when he was away from her he realised the truth. 
She was his mate.
 

Being away from her was
excruciating. He and Don were supposed to be gone for two more weeks, so that Don could help hone his tracking and hunting skills.  But Mal had insisted they hurry and complete everything quickly so they could get home.  Don had been resistant at first but Mal had persisted until he got his way.

He felt
fulfilled after having been with her earlier, and was confident that soon she would be bonded to him.  Once he explained she was his mate he didn’t doubt that she would accept him.  He wondered if they would live in her cottage.  It was a bit small for him and he would prefer to live on pack land.  He wondered if she would consider living in his parent’s home whilst they built their own.  Maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

Tonight he was going to
introduce her to his parents, which unfortunately meant that she would have to suffer through meeting his younger brothers too. But she would have to meet them eventually, so maybe it would be best to get it over with.  They could be a little wild.  His brothers had been threatened with pain of death if they said or did anything to upset Terri.

He had told
his parents about her, thankfully neither of them thought that the age difference would be an issue.  They were both wolves and knew the importance of meeting your true mate.

His
mom was a substitute school teacher and until he retired his dad had been an Enforcer like him, now he owned and ran a sporting goods store with Mal’s uncle Greyson.

His
mom loved books almost as much as Terri and couldn’t wait to meet her, envisioning that Terri would be the daughter she always wanted.  He knew his mom lamented the fact that she never had a daughter, instead she had four unruly boys who all took after their dad.  The idea of cracking a book was horrifying to each and every one of them.

Although he’d dated a number of girls it had never been serious.  He had only ever brought one home
, and that was at his mother’s insistence that she meet the girl he was taking to prom.  She was called Darcy and his mother had not been impressed by the vain and vapid puma shifter. 

They had dated
off and on for about a year, she had been pretty free about sex and he had enjoyed that at the time.  She had started making noises about the future and marriage and he had made it clear that he wasn’t interested so she slept with his friend Casey.  She had been extremely irritated by the fact that it didn’t bother Mal. 

He and
Casey had been pretty free and easy with their girlfriends, not minding if the other hit on them. 
Or even slept with them
.  He’d not had a problem with it before but now he was ashamed of the way he had treated girls.  The thought that other men could have treated Terri in the same way infuriated him.

But then t
he thought of Terri sleeping with any other man was unbearable.  She was the hottest, smartest woman he had ever met, and sex with her was absolutely mind-blowing. 

He couldn’t b
elieve how lucky he was, he just wished he could talk to her without feeling like an idiot.  She was educated and bright and he... wasn’t.  He’d coasted through high school not caring how well he did and had then after a year working in his dad’s shop he had started training as an Enforcer.  It’s what he always wanted to be, he’d never aspired to anything more.  He just couldn’t help feeling inadequate. 

The only time he had no trouble finding words was when they were having sex, his confidence knew no bounds in that department...
  Sexually he knew he was enough for her, mentally however he had his doubts.

N
onetheless she was his mate, and even if she was disappointed in having him as a mate he would spend the rest of his life proving that he was worthy of her.

He just had to find a way to tell her.  So far he had told his
parents and Casey.  Casey had laughed heartily and told him ‘rather you than me’.  True he had found his mate a lot earlier than he had anticipated but he was pleased, he didn’t lament losing out on flirting with vapid girls his own age or lacklustre one night stands.  Every encounter paled compared to even just eating breakfast with Terri.  Finding his mate while he was young just meant he had longer to spend with her.

H
e’d also told his Alpha, Adam Grey.  He’d asked permission for Terri to join the pack, for which it was readily given.  That meant that the Alpha’s mate Rosalee knew, and also Alec the Beta and therefore by extension his mate Liv.  And Adam had probably told his sister Mac too.

He also
had to find a way to tell his fiendish younger brothers without them trying to jinx it, or worse putting up with his 17 year old brother Darryl trying to steal her from him. 
They were incredibly competitive.

His phone rang shrilly.  It was 4.53pm. 
He looked at it in displeasure.  It was Acksel, his boss.  He considered ignoring it, but then most likely Acksel would be at the pot luck and would just talk to him there, taking him away from Terri.

He pushed the answer button. 
“Yeah?”

Acksel’s
voice was tight. “Mal, get over to the eastern border, near the creek.  We got reports of hunters setting up traps.  Run them off.”

“I kind of have somewhere...”

“Now Mal.”  Barked Acksel and disconnected.

Mal groaned and made a sharp u-turn
, speeding away.

Fuck
.  She was his mate, she’d understand him being a little late, wouldn’t she?

*

Terri looked out the window again.  She leapt up at the sound of every car that passed.  It was 5.30pm.

She smoothed her dress and clenched and unclenched her hands in nervous agitation. 
Where was he? 
Had she misunderstood him?  No, he’d clearly asked her to go with him to the pot luck, she’d said yes and asked him to pick her up at 5pm and he’d agreed.  There could be no misunderstanding.  Maybe he had an accident! 
Or maybe he just forgot or got a better offer
.

Why was she bothering to wait for him?  If he really cared he would have called.  She’d been stood up
before, she’d never waited beyond twenty minutes for any other guy so why should she bother for him?

Her skin began to feel warm and clammy. 
She went to the bathroom to check her make-up again.  She looked pale and her eyes almost looked sunken.  Her stomach tightened and she felt the urge to vomit.  Maybe she should go and see a doctor.  This had been going on for over a week now.

She hadn’t eaten much all day again. 
Half a slice of toast, half a caeser salad and half a blueberry muffin.  She laughed almost hysterically, perhaps she’d invented a new diet.  The half diet, only ever eat half of anything on your plate. 
Nah, it’s probably already been done
.

She splashed
cold water on her face and went to lie down on her bed.  It smelt of him, of their lovemaking.  It curled around her, drawing her in.  It was so intoxicating yet so soothing. 
Just like Mal
.

She to
ok in a few deep breaths and checked the clock.  5.58pm.  She forced herself to get up and walk downstairs.  She collected her cake for the pot luck, her purse and her keys.

As soon as she opened the doors to her car s
he heard a screech of tires and noticed that Mal had finally decided to show up.  Her heart fluttered at the fact that he hadn’t ditched her to go with someone else.  She still felt annoyed though.  She purposefully ignored him and carefully put the cake in her car before moving to get in the driver’s seat.

He bounded over to her b
locking her car door, frowning at her.  “Where are you going?”

Was he kidding?
  She pursed her lips and spoke to him curtly.  “To the pot luck of course.”

“But I said I’d take you.”  He actually looked confused.

“You said you’d take me at 5, it’s now 6.  Do you see a problem with that?”  She tried to reach round him to get in her car but he didn’t budge. 

He was here now so why was she trying to go without him?
  Her hair was pulled back and curled into a bun, a few soft waves have escaped and framed her face.  She was wearing a modest cut black dress with red flowers on, and a matching red sweater.  It showed off her hourglass figure to perfection.  She looked stunning, but he yearned to rip her clothes off her and rub himself against her.

H
e folded his arms over his chest and shrugged.  “I had to deal with a work problem, I didn’t think it would be a big deal if I was a little late.”

She tapped her foot impatiently. 
Had this boy never actually met a woman before?
  “You should have called and let me know, it would have been the polite thing to do.”  Her voice was more hurt than angry now.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.
  He hung his head.  “You’re right I should have called.”

She harrumphed.  “I could have just driven myself instead of wasting time waiting for you
, now we’re both going to be late.”

“B
ut I didn’t want you to go without me, I want us to go together.  Please can we?”  He took her hands and lifted them to his mouth to plant gentle kisses over the backs.

She licked her lips and he stifled a groan.
  “Well... I guess it would be pointless to take two cars...”

He grinned and placed a quick kiss on her lips.
  He shut her car door and after retrieving her cake he escorted her to his truck.  He lifted her in to the passenger seat, his hands lingering at her waist and ghosting over her ass as he pulled away.  It sent shivers through her.

When they were both buckled in he looked over at her. 
“Are you okay?  You look a little pale?”  Concern marred his beautiful face.  He placed his hand on her forehead, she felt warm.  “If you’re not well we don’t have to go, everyone will understand.”

She forced herself to smile
.  “No, I’m fine.  I haven’t eaten much all day, I’m just hungry.”

He didn’t look convinced but
started driving anyway.  “How was your shopping trip?”

“Boring,
we went everywhere but in the end we didn’t buy anything.  My sister’s really hard to please.”

He listened attentively. 
“So how is your sister?  She’s married to a doctor right?”

He continued to ask questions all the way to the party
, she found herself increasingly at ease and her answers increasingly unguarded, and she began to ask questions about him too.

*

By the time they arrived Terri felt relaxed and was pleased to find her appetite had actually returned.  He quickly hopped out the truck and jogged round to open her door.