Claimed (2 page)

Chapter Three

The navy blue dress was too dark for a late summer wedding.  Kristen discarded it tossing it to her bed.  Next, she pulled on a coral dress, the sheer fabric over a sheer, slightly darker slip flared out just above the knee.  It flattered her long legs and she turned in the mirror with a critical eye.  She'd bought turquoise jewelry that suited the dress perfectly and her nude platform heels would set the outfit.

Her curls were pulled up into a playful ponytail that fell down her back which showed off her chandelier earrings.

Just as she slipped on her shoes, the doorbell rang.

Vane arrived. Her breath caught with anticipation.

The sun was bright as she made her way with Vane to the side yard of a huge home.  The wedding was in the back of the enormous cabin. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, the closer she got to where everyone was gathered.  Vane took her elbow guiding her to a row of chairs. 

"I have to go inside and check on everything since I'm the bride's best man." He kissed her cheek and strolled off.

Instead of sitting, she remained standing.  From the back of the house, it looked to be an amazing place.  The entire wall made of windows faced a small water inlet. The yard stretched to a small peninsula where an arbor was set up, decorated with dozens of pink carnations.  Every other chair on the end had an off white, flat sided planter over spilling with baby's breath and pink miniature roses.

A male, she recognized from the café came to her.  He held out a large hand.  "I'm Jace, recognize you from the Inner Bean."

"Hi." Kristen of course remembered the tall, dark, and incredibly handsome man.  "I'm Kristen."

He gave her a quizzical look and then focused toward the house.  "You're here with Vane?"

"Yes, he invited me.  A date." She enjoyed watching the questions being discarded one by one as he attempted to figure out how to ask if she knew Vane was not into women.  Kristen decided not to make it easy on him.  "Vane is so attractive, how could I say no?"

His eyes widened, but he recovered and nodded.

Guests began to arrive and soon the lawn was peppered with people milling about, chatting, and exchanging greetings until a harpist began to play, signaling it was time to find their seats.

"Can I escort you to a seat?" Jace, who'd remained close to her, placed his hand on the small of her back, he guided her to a chair and to her surprise, sat next to her. The large male spoke in low tones to another who sat on the other side of him. She distinctly overheard the word "gay" and tried not to giggle.

The wedding was beautiful. A harpist played a familiar stanza as Vane escorted a woman in a pink dress, who she knew was mated to Raythe, a black wolf who frequented her shop on occasion.  When the bridal march began, she leaned to catch a glimpse of Baby.

Dressed in a delicate light pink gown, she beamed beautifully, her eyes on Isen, her groom to be, who stood at the front equally handsome dressed in black with a light pink shirt.

She almost gawked at spotting Taden.  With a solemn expression, he escorted his sister down the aisle. He wore a black suit with a soft pink shirt that matched the bridesmaids.  Somehow the color brought out his masculinity, an amazing contrast to his dark blond hair and pale blue eyes.

The ceremony was perfect. Mother Nature played along, blowing a gentle breeze over everyone while the sunshine warmed their backs.  Kristen pulled out a tissue and dabbed her eyes at the way Baby and Isen looked at each other. Pure adoration on both parts. It had to be.  She'd seen the gruff wolf many times in her shop. Although he was polite, he was also intimidatingly aloof. Only in love would the tattooed biker wear pink. Today he proudly sported a pale pink shirt under his tuxedo jacket.

Kristen sniffed and noticed Jace giving her a side-glance.  The wolf cleared his throat, obviously as touched by the ceremony.  She pulled out her cell phone and snapped a couple pictures, a close up of the couple and then one that focused more on Taden, who stood beside Isen as his best man.

When the couple kissed, the guests broke out in cheers and she clapped along.  Vane came to her with a glass of champagne. 

After they toasted the newlyweds, the guests mingled while jazzy music played in the background.  Kristen was taken by the camaraderie between all the people present.

An older woman, Baby's neighbor, was catered to.  Young men brought her drinks and appetizers while she clapped to the music.  A group of guys stood by and talked, they laughed while making gestures, which made her think they spoke of football. 

Baby and Isen were surrounded by two other couples.  One was Madison and Raythe who Vane told her had mated recently, the others were Taden and a woman she didn't recognize.  The woman looked like a super model, tall with her long auburn hair piled high on her head in a style that few could get away with.  She wore a peacock blue dress that skimmed over her lithe body like a glove.

The woman laughed at something Taden said and placed her hand on his forearm.  Kristen looked away, and spoke to Vane.  "This is a beautiful property. Who owns it?"

"Taden." Vane motioned to the house with his free hand.  "He had it built about ten years ago.  At first he and four guys shared it, but they've all moved out and got their own places.”

Surprised, she stared at the huge cabin like structure.  "It's amazing. Does he live alone in that huge place?"

"Yep." Vane took her elbow.  "Come, they beckon."

Before Kristen could ask who, he guided her to the group she'd been studying.  Baby broke away from the group and hugged her.  "Thank you so much for coming, I'm so glad you accepted Vane's invite." The pretty woman beamed at her. "But that doesn't mean you can have my BFF.  Even if I'm mated-married, he's still mine."

Vane grinned, obviously needing to hear her say the words and Baby took his hand and leaned against him.  "Come dance with me, BFF."

They rushed to where the band played and began dancing, arms around each other.

"They love each other, like brother and sister," Taden said in a soft low voice startling her. She wasn't aware he stood so close until he spoke.

"Yes, it's obvious.  They are so cute together." She wanted to look and see where the tall woman was, but instead kept her attention on Baby and Vane.  "You ever thought they'd end up together?"

"Yes, I did.  Even though Vane prefers men, he seemed smitten with Baby.  I suppose they settled for what worked for them." His answer surprised her, the lack of judgment made her turn and study his face.

He looked to her.  "I'm sorry, I know you're Vane's date.  I shouldn't have spilled like that."

"Oh, I already knew.  We talked about it," she admitted.  "I came as his platonic date." When his darkened eyes lingered too long, Kristen had to take a steadying breath.  "I love your house."

He blinked as if not realizing how long he'd been looking at her and his lips curved, which once again took her breath.  "Thank you.  Would you like a tour?"

Of course she wanted a tour, but the thought of being alone with him made her extremely nervous.  Saying no would be rude.  Between a rock and a hard place, literally, she could only clear her throat.  "Yes, I'd love it."

The touch of his hand in the small of her back sent tingles down her legs and she wobbled.  Taden took her elbow.  "I don't know how you women can walk in those heels on the grass."

His assessment helped ease her embarrassment. "Yes, vanity makes us do crazy things." At his soft chuckle, she laughed.  "I'm just being honest."

Walking into the house, Kristen lost her breath.  Two stories up, wood beams crossed the width of the huge living space.  Buttery leather couches flanked an earth-toned rug.  The décor was sparse, but perfect, just the right touches of lighting and large pieces set the stage for all the wooden surfaces.  A wide stairwell invited guests to explore the next level, under it, she spied a piano and bench.

"Wow." She didn't try to hide how awed she was.  "Your home is gorgeous."

"Thank you." He followed her line of sight to an enormous stone-faced fireplace.  "That took me almost a year to build."

"You built this entire house?" Anytime now would be a good time to stop acting like she'd never seen a house like it.  Admittedly, she'd never seen one in person, but she'd seen them in magazines and television.

Taden chuckled. "No, just parts.  I did the stonework on the fireplace and the floor finishing, but that's about it." He placed his hand on her back again. "You'll like the view from the second floor."

She looked to the floor to ceiling windows and thought the view was already breathtaking.  Outside she spied the wedding reception, the sounds of the band penetrated indoors making the atmosphere even more wonderful.

They climbed the stairs and when she looked to the right, she saw what had to be his bedroom.  A large platform bed with windows for a headboard was different than the rest of the house.  Simpler in a way.  The bed linens were beige with a blanket in shades of brown across the bottom.  She smiled at him.  "You didn't have time to make the bed."

Taden's frown made her press her lips together to keep from laughing.  "Dang it.  I meant to." It was endearing to see the otherwise intimidating man discomfited.  "Ignore that room."

Deciding to give him a break, she turned to look out the windows. "Oh, you're right, this is a great view of the inlet." When he stood next to her, she felt his body heat and without meaning to, a soft gasp escaped.

His eyes met hers and darkened.  "You make this view even better."

"Really?" She rolled her eyes at him, but liked that he flirted with her.  "I could say the same about you."

As soon as the words escaped, she visualized reeling them back.  What the hell was she doing?  He was a shifter, off-limits.  The alpha no less. Way. Way. Way. Off limits.

He closed the distance between them, his eyes locked to hers.  "I want to kiss you, Kristen."

His lips were so close. She felt his breath across her face and could only swallow in response.  "You do?"

Hard lips pressed against hers, not giving or compromising, it was a kiss meant to convey his strength and power.  Needing to feel more of him became her only quest and Kristen grasped his shoulders.  Solid muscle against her softer body reduced any inhibitions.  His tongue prodded and she took him in with greed.  His large hands cupped her butt and pulled her against him. He was hard and from the size of the bulge rubbing against her sex, he was huge.

"Oh. God." Kristen gasped when he slid his hands up her sides, his thumbs strumming across her erect nipples.  The sensations traveling through her body took away all control. She took his hips and pulled Taden forward. She needed to feel every inch of the man. How she wished a snap of fingers would make clothing and everything, everyone disappear.

Like cold water, the realization they were at the window and the guests outside could catch a glimpse of them brought her out of the delirium.

"Oh, fuck." Kristen shoved Taden back.  She gasped for air and whirled around to look out the window.  The guests were impervious to them.

"Tinted windows," Taden supplied. His breathing was not as labored as hers.

Mortified. She covered her mouth with her hand refusing to meet his gaze.  "I need to go to the restroom.  Need a minute."

He took a step forward, but then stopped. "The door on the end there."

She practically sprinted to the small room and slammed the door shut, locking it for good measure.  "What did I just do?"  She leaned against it and stared at herself in the mirror.  "Please, let him be gone when I come out."  Kristen put her ear to the door, but didn't hear anything.  After reapplying lipstick, smoothing her hair and washing her hands, she ran out of things to do.

With an exhalation, she opened the door and walked out.  The hallway was empty, she couldn't help but look into his room as she walked past.  No Taden.  At the bottom of the stairs Vane stood looking around.  He caught sight of her just as she made it half way down.  "Hey, ready to head home? Said you had to leave early."

"Perfect timing." Kristen attempted to smile, but it must have been more of a grimace by Vane's reaction.

"You okay?"

"A bit too much sun, you know outside..." Lord she sounded like an idiot.  "I'm ready to go when you are."

Unfortunately she couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Baby and she'd yet to speak to the groom.  So she allowed Vane to lead her to the backyard.  Thankfully Baby and Isen were sitting right outside in patio chairs.  Baby stood and they hugged.  Then she turned to Isen who came to stand beside his new bride.  "Thank you for coming." His amber eyes were warm when meeting hers.

Kristen took his hand and smiled up at him.  "I hope to one day have what you two do.  It's amazing to see the love between you. Enjoy your evening."

"Does this mean you're leaving, Kristen?" Taden had materialized behind her and she hoped the heat she felt on her cheeks didn't show.

"We are." She looked to Vane whose eyes ping-ponged from her to Taden. "Right?"

"Oh.  Yeah."  Her date didn't sound convincing, but she didn't give anyone a chance to make a comment.  Kristen did a walk and drag, tugging Vane by the hand behind her.