AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How about you tell me why no one mentioned that Kitty wasn’t actually a kitty at all, but a lynx?”
“Because if I’d asked you if I could bring my pet lynx along, I thought you’d say no. I was afraid if I left her behind my father would have sold her or had her destroyed. I found her half dead and saved her life. She’s been with me ever since and is very precious to me.”
She waited for him to ask her another question.
He waited for her to speak, and then said, “I know no more about you than you know about me. Why don’t you just tell me what you’d tell someone on a first date.”
“I don’t know what I’d tell them. I never dated. Papa said I had more important things to do for the vineyard.”
“Good god, please don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”
“Of course not. I’m twenty-three years old,” she snapped. “How old are you?”
“Old. Very, very old,” he responded, dryly.
“You’re not that old.”
“I’m thirty-six.”
Simone made a face. “Oh my, you are old.”
His eyes snapped back to her face and saw that she was grinning at him. He laughed in response. “I thought you would be closer to your sister’s age.”
Simone shook her head. “No. It wasn’t easy for Mama to have children. She lost two between GiGi and I, and each time it took her a long time to recover—physically and emotionally. I think she was very disappointed that I wasn’t born a son, as was Papa.”
“Does it bother you, being mated to an old man like me?” he teased.
He could also be charming when he tried. “We both know you aren’t old. I’ve always thought age was just a number. One of my best friends was our old master vintner. I used to spend hours with him walking through the vineyard. He knew so much, and he never treated me like a child.”
“Didn’t you want to hang out with friends your own age, like from school?”
“I never went to school. GiGi did, but my parents had me homeschooled. I had a wonderful tutor who even convinced my father to let me go to Egypt and see the pyramids.”
“You seem very mature for your age.”
It was her turn to shrug. “I’ve spent most of my life with adults—many of whom were far older than you.”
“You might be right. I just think you have an old soul, which isn’t the worst thing in a mate. The one thing your father did assure me of was that you came from a long line of good dire wolf stock, as do I. Our children should be fine specimens of our species.”
CHAPTER5
MISCHA
He wasn’t sure if she took that as a compliment or not. She was a curious thing, his new mate. When she talked about wine, she was knowledgeable and confident. But when she talked about herself, she was timid and unsure. He’d never known a she-wolf, especially a dire wolf female, who wasn’t so full of confidence as to border on arrogant.
Mischa wasn’t sure what it was about her that raised red flags for him, but he was beginning to find her very interesting—and not in just a want to rip her clothes off and fuck her silly kind of way. Each time he looked at her, he was reminded of the girl in the old fairy tale. What was it? Ah, yes, Little Red Riding Hood. He wondered if she knew the difference between the meal the wolf wanted to make of Little Red and the one he wanted to make of her with his big, all-the-better-to-eat-you-with-my-dear teeth and tongue.
It was going to be a long flight if he couldn’t fuck her, and she jumped or flinched every time he moved. He bared his teeth, leaned over, and snapped. Simone drew back, pressing herself against the seat. Kitty growled at him from within her cage.
He chuckled and Simone relaxed just a bit but kept a wary eye on him. She might be young, but she was bright and intuitive. Besides, her mother was right, with that hourglass figure and those breasts he was sure would be more than a mouthful, she ought to conceive and bear children easily, and the idea of getting her pregnant had him all kinds of aroused.
The one thing that really concerned him was why had she never been offered to him in the first place, and what made her startle so easily. Again, the predator protective mate reared its head. If he found her family had treated her cruelly, not only would he never send their son, but he would take them on and capture their vineyard and pack and make it their own. Funny how he already thought of them as a united couple.
“I’m sorry, Simone. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m tired and sexually frustrated. I had intended for this trip to go differently. Why don’t you take Kitty and go back to the bedroom. As long as you have the door closed, you can let her out.” She looked at him with concern. “I’ll stay up here unless you decide you want my company. There’s food in the galley. Help yourself and there should be a small bowl for Kitty for water.” She hesitated. “You are safe with me, little one. Whatever ends up transpiring between your father and I, you will always be my mate, and your place will be at my side. I will not dishonor you.”
“Thank you, Mikhail.”
“Call me Mischa. You’ll find our pack is far more informal than the one you were raised in. And I think you’ll fare better in Alaska than your sister would have.”
