Shifting Positions (6 page)

“You will have my vow of protection, faithfulness, affection and stability.”

“Yeah,” she glared daggers at him from the corner of her eyes. “And what about love?

Do you love me, Caleb?”

He shrugged. “Love will come. Even in the human world there’s a sort of sequence of events. Usually it starts with physical attraction followed by a mental compatibility and then, if it’s destined, with love. With wolves, each event is simply more intense. We know whether or not a woman is our mate at the physical attraction stage. Waiting for the other two takes up precious time we can’t afford.”

He may have nearly repeated the words her mother spoke only last night, but his lack of tact left her aghast. Just when she decided she wanted to learn more about him, chauvinistic garbage spews out of his mouth, making her so angry she wanted to hang him upside down. By the balls.

“You’re the daughter of a shifter and know this already, Tess. Why are you even arguing with me?”

The man really did look baffled, the idiot. “Know this Caleb. I will not tie myself to any man without love. Period.”

His eyes went flat, instantly making her suspicious. “I’ve had my finger inside you, Tess.

I know you’re not a virgin.”

“So?”

“Did you love every man you took to bed?” At her mutinous glare he continued. “So physical attraction was enough to risk being tied to a man?”

“What?”

“A baby, Tess.”

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “I’ve always had safe sex!” He came closer, leaning over her once again, hands resting on the pillow on either side of her head, his face mere inches from hers. “Only abstinence is effective against pregnancy. A tie you claim you don’t want unless love is involved.”

A buzzing sounded in her ears and she licked suddenly dry lips. “No.”

“Yes. We definitely have the physical attraction in spades. Next is the getting to know each other step.”

“This isn’t a damn dance, Caleb. It’s life.”

“Life is a dance, sweetheart. Whether it’s a sweet and slow waltz, a fun and heart-racing polka or an erotic tango. For the lucky ones, it’s a combination of all three. And I plan on being very lucky.”

Though part of her wanted to jump up and down and scream
Yes!
, the logical part of her brain was still trying to figure out how she’d lost control of what she considered a cut-and-dried statement.

It was his pheromones.

Pissed at being taken in by his seductive techniques, she thumped a fist on his hard chest.

“Bastard . I don’t even find you remotely attractive.”

His eyes glittered dangerously. “Don’t ever lie to me, Tess.” Then he climbed fully onto the bed, straddling her. His heavy thighs pinned her to the mattress, his erection hard and thick between her legs. Lust slammed hard, making her ache to squirm and wiggle against the bulge that nudged her clit.

“I know you want me. I don’t have to ask.” His nostrils flared and his eyes burned with scorching heat. “I can smell your arousal. It’s making me crazed for another taste of your sweet cream.”

Embarrassment flushed her face.
Damn wolf senses
.

Tess rushed to contradict him, stating haughtily, “That’s just left over from before.

Nothing more.”

Brown eyes flashed with wicked amusement, causing Tess to shift uneasily. “Liar. Want to know how I know?”

She shook her head, realizing whatever he had to say couldn’t be good if it put that smug look of satisfaction on his handsome face. “Not particularly.”

“I’ll tell you anyway.” He leaned down and nuzzled her throat. Then he burned a slow and erotic trail to her ear with his tongue. His warm breath caressed her damp skin as he whispered, “because after you came, I licked you clean.”

While Ruth healed from her surgery, Tess had agreed to take over her mom’s duties at O’Keef’s Café. So at seven the next morning, an exhausted Tess pulled into the café’s rear parking lot. Though a phone call confirmed Ruth was recovering quite well, it was a much later call that had kept her up most of the night.

Tess scrambled out of her truck, her groan not only for the cold wind whipping her hair against her face, but for her wandering thoughts as they circled back to Caleb. He’d called last night because, or so he’d said, he simply wanted to hear her voice. One minute the man acted like a chauvinistic wolf and the next he turned into an adoring boyfriend.

Where the hell did that come from?
Tess scrunched up her nose.
Boyfriend my ass
. “I’m just more tired than I thought,” she told herself firmly as she stepped into the warm kitchen.

Stripping off her coat, she turned and came face to face with Dolen.

“Morning.” Tess said, pasting on a cheery smile.

Dolen nodded in greeting, his smooth head gleaming in the overhead lights. “Tess.” He glanced back over his shoulder at one of the huge stoves. “I already put the chickens on to boil for the daily soup, but ah, we need more chili, too.”

“More? It couldn’t have gone bad.”

“No, it didn’t. We just had a problem making the minestrone yesterday. No one here can make soup like your mom. Needless to say, it didn’t come out right and we ended up tossing it out. Had to rely on the chili which meant it went twice as fast.” Her jaw dropped. “You threw away soup? How could you? It’s a very forgiving dish.” His wince gave Tess the notion he’d heard that before. “Let’s not go there. Just, please.

Can you make both the chicken tortilla and chili?”

The big man looked so crestfallen that Tess straightened her shoulders. “All right, don’t worry. I’ll just need some help pulling the chicken.”

“Great,” he flashed a smile wide enough to span the Pacific. “You’ll have everything you need.”

Need, huh? A memory of Caleb’s head between her thighs as he worked her into a sensual frenzy made her quiver. “Got any temptation reduction pills?”

“Ah, excuse me?”

Tess shook her head at her whimsy. “Never mind. I’ll get started on the rolls that go with the soup.”

The kitchen soon became a chaotic ballet as people shuffled in for breakfast and orders piled in. Tess listened with half an ear as she kneaded dough, sautéed onions and green peppers and browned ground beef. She was just about to shred the chickens when a particularly tearful comment made her turn.

“What’s going on?”

Gina Wilson stood next to an aggravated Dolen. Petite and slim with a head full of straight chestnut hair, the young woman resembled nothing of the chubby, freckled face girl Tess babysat once upon a time. Now tears streamed down her pretty face and, with a violent wipe with the palm of her hand, she answered Tess. “It’s Kyle Kolter. He and his brothers are here and he’s being a jerk. Sniffing at me, telling me I was ripe and that I should be serving a wolf, not this slop.” The girl’s voice hitched. “It’s so embarrassing. I don’t think I can go back out there.”

“Slop my ass. I’m going to kill him.” Though Dolen had the build of a man used to hard physical labor, he was still human, an older one at that, and no match for Kyle.

Not to mention the ramifications of Kyle’s comments if anyone unaware of shifter existence was still eating. And men were supposed to be the logical ones.

“Gina,” Tess said, “are there any tourists out there? Kids?”

She shook her head. “No. Just the Archers and Kelly and…some other people.” Wanting to roll her eyes, Tess stepped up to the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the dining room and peered out the large plexiglass window.

The three Kolters sat at a large corner table at the far end of the room and appeared to be arguing. The Archers were a non-shifter older couple who had lived in Woodcliff forever. Used to the odd goings-on of the community, they paid the men no heed as they chatted over their plates. Kelly Ranson, the tall blonde who worked at the grocery store, perched on a stool at the long counter, a firm frown on her pretty face. Glenda, Tess didn’t know her last name, sat next to her, busy texting, no doubt contacting the police as she worked the night shift as a dispatcher. At a four-top near her position sat two men and a woman, all probably in their thirties. Tess knew the woman was married to a shifter and guessed by the way one of the men had his arm possessively around her shoulders that he was her husband.

“I’ll take care of it,” Tess said without averting her eyes. “When their order is ready, I’ll take it out.”

Dolen shook his head. “There is no way I’m letting you handle Kyle. Not only is it a man’s job, Caleb would kill me if anything happened to you. And then your mom would skin me alive.”

A man’s job?
Tess looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “That’s exactly what Kyle wants. To start trouble, maybe even a fight. I can calm him down. No violence necessary.”
Liar. Now’s your opportunity to show the world what you’re made of.
Tess clenched her jaw against the little voice that taunted her in her head. She desperately wanted to give in to the urging and let her caged temper loose.. As a preventative measure, she wrapped her torn and tattered veil of cool composure more tightly and raised a brow, awaiting Dolen’s assent.

“It’s not a good idea, Tess. This is my place, my staff he’s messing with.”

“You’re too angry and you’ll only end up hurting yourself.”

Dolen paused in whatever he was about to say when Sean, the morning cook, announced that the Kolter’s order was up. Tess grinned evilly. “Too late.” She piled the plates on a tray and as she sailed out of the kitchen into the dining room, she heard Dolen tell someone to call Caleb.

Nothing is going to happen
, she thought as she strolled through the room, stopping at the table where the Kolter brothers sat. She kicked out her hip and pasted on the secret smile that sold millions of SI swimsuit magazines. “Good morning, gentlemen. Who gets what?’

Koby, the youngest, flushed a deep red and mumbled, “Um, I had the pancakes.” Tess set his plate in front of him with a flourish and looked at Kevin. “And you darling?” Kevin gave her a friendly smile. In the same grade growing up in a small town, Tess knew him the best. He was the fun-loving and charming brother, harmless unless riled up, and it took a lot to rile him up. “The eggs. You look fabulous, Tess. It’s good to see you.” Tess laid his plate down and gave him a wink. “It’s good to be seen.” Then she turned to Kyle. “By process of elimination,” she set the last plate in front of the shifter, “you must be the pig.”

Way to handle the situation without the threat of violence.

Twin stains of red darkened the oldest brother’s cheek. Unable to let the comment go, he leered at her, raking her from head to toe in such a manner that Tess felt the need for a scorching shower. “And any woman who takes off her clothes for the world to see is nothing but a whore.” She may have stripped to skimpy bikinis or sexy lingerie for money, but she’d never had sex of any kind for cash, privileges or services rendered.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Better to be a rich whore than an obnoxious jerk who couldn’t tell his dick from a pencil.” Obviously she had as little tact as Caleb, but damn, she was having fun.

Koby choked and Kevin let out a whoop of laughter. Kyle, on the other hand, didn’t take the description of his manhood well.

Kyle shoved back his chair to tower over her. At least he tried. When he drew himself up to his full height, ready to intimidate, he realized he stood eye to eye with Tess and his anger grew. “Apologize.”

Tess rounded her eyes in false innocence. “Goodness. For what?” Kyle snarled, his light brown eyes burning into amber, alerting Tess to the sudden and imminent danger of an out of control shifter.

“Kyle, knock it off. Tess was just responding to your idiot comment.” Kevin said as he dug into his eggs. Though his tone was casual, his body was tense, ready to act if Kyle got out of hand.

“Is that what you’re doing, Tess? Having fun with me?”

“It’s no different than what you do to everyone else.” She cocked her head. “What? You can dish it out but you can’t take it?”

Kyle’s muscled bunched. “Think you’re better than me because you got money? Think you’re safe because Caleb’s made a verbal claim on you?” His nostrils widened unflatteringly.

“Without his scent on you the claim isn’t official. That makes you prey, bitch. Prey that needs to be put in her place.”

Instinctively she shifted to rest on the balls of her feet, her muscles readying for a physical assault. “Excuse you?”

“I’m going to fuck you into submission and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”

She heard the gasps, the scraping of chairs on the linoleum floor as people stood, including the two Kolter brothers. But before anyone could so much as move an inch, Tess demonstrated to those in the cafe exactly who and what she was.

The tray left her hand and, before it even hit the floor, she’d kneed Kyle in the groin and plowed her fist in his throat with enough force to destroy the windpipe of a human male. He dropped like a stone, one hand cupping his balls, the other grasping his throat as he wheezed for air.

Tess leaned forward, her eyes glittering, turning lighter as she allowed her own animal freedom for the first time. “I am not prey, I am a huntress. I am the daughter of William Gentry, the strongest and most deadly alpha Woodcliff has ever had. I do not obey yours or any other man’s command.”

Tess grabbed a hunk of Kyle’s shirt and, in an amazing show of strength that brought more gasps from those around her, she lifted Kyle off the floor and up on his toes. The shock, and not a little fear, that crossed his features was a balm to her anger. “And don’t even think for a nanosecond that you can just ‘take me’ because you’ll die trying.” The words that spilled from her mouth were low and thick, a rasping growl she never knew her throat could produce, and she liked it.

Tess released him and then turned back to his astonished brothers with a cheery smile.

“Enjoy your breakfast, boys.”

Conscience of Caleb’s still presence at the front door, Tess scooped up her tray and sailed back into the kitchen without meeting his gaze. Her heart sank with each step, knowing her reckless display was a problem. Wolves wanted their women soft and obedient, available to soothe and nurture. They wanted to be the protectors, not mate with warriors.