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Chapter One
The door to the conference room in Howling Point’s town hall should be red because it screams danger. I stand before it, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, while the urge to turn and run is strong. A big, menacing hulk of a man, who wears a scowl like it’s tattooed onto his face, is waiting for me. The guy also happens to be a werewolf, and I’m supposed to find him a mate.
My stomach churns as if I ate something bad, and I place my hand on the slightly round surface of my belly. A sudden image of me doing the same with a protruding pregnancy bump flashes in my mind. What I thought was going to be a dream come true is currently my nightmare. I swipe my sweaty palm over my fitted skirt and clutch my laptop tightly to my chest like armor before grabbing the doorknob.
When Mayor Kevin Black asked me to help him launch the dating app Life Shift, I believed it was a way to bring men and women to Howling Point with the purpose of finding life partners who wanted to start a family, something Charlie and Val, my two best friends, and I moved here to find. I was wrong. Recently, I learned that while the family part was right, the app was created to find mates for male werewolves.
My friends and I weren’t aware of that fact when, just before beta testing, Charlie initiated a match. It led her into a situation where a forced marriage was supposed to happen. I bargained to get her out of it, but she decided to marry her mate anyway. However, I was not able to get out of my promise. And now, I have to find a mate for the one man who, up until now, wasn’t allowed in the Life Shift database and most likely shouldn’t have been allowed in Howling Point.
I enter the conference room to find the guy I saw walking into the building earlier. He’s tilted back, his chair on two legs, his arms crossed behind his head, and his eyes closed like he’s taking a nap. “Ka-i,” I croak out.
The man’s eyes open, and his peaceful scowl grows into one that makes my heart stop. His eyes narrow at me, and he returns the front two chair legs to the floor with a thud. I jump, and I swear a hint of a smile flashes on his face.
A low rumbling comes from him. Did he just growl? Whatever it was, my body reacts with a twinge of desire. It’s too bad the man is a criminal because even with a scowl, he is the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen. If I weren’t so afraid of him, I’d struggle to control my sexual urges toward him. His body appears chiseled to perfection but doesn’t quite cross over into bodybuilder status. His green eyes make me think of mossy forest floors, and when I imagine him grinning at me... Yeah.
Kai continues to glare at me, and I squirm a little in my seat. I clear my throat as if that will ensure my voice won’t come out in a breathy tone. I don’t need a werewolf to know I have sex on my mind. Talk about unprofessional.
I lift my chin, preparing to keep my fear hidden. “Kai, I’m Abby, and I’m here to find you a mate. Now—” I flip open my laptop, and the screen lights up with the form for his profile. “I’m going to ask you some questions about—" I look up at him to see fire in his eyes, and I jerk back, instantly hating my reaction. My tone is angrier than it should be when I say, “You have a problem with this?”
My temperature ratchets up a few degrees as Kai continues to stare at me. If I didn’t know better I’d say an electric arc sizzles between us, and I suddenly get how closely fear is tied to desire. Kai’s chest heaves, making me wonder if he’s about to morph or whatever it is he does to shift. God, it’s sexy.
I take a deep breath and lean back to cross my arms in an attempt to show power. Which is what I must find so attractive about him. I bet the man does not do anything he doesn’t want to do. “Look,” I say. “I get this situation isn’t ideal for either of us.”
I take in the T-shirt straining to cover Kai’s massive chest, and I wish it were me wrapped around his rock-hard muscles. I blink to clear my mind. A feral man is great in my fantasies but not in my real life. I need to get this guy a human female. Fast. And that starts with getting him to speak. “I know this isn’t where you’d like to be, Kai, but for whatever reason, you are. If you choose to make the best of this situation, I’m sure you’ll like some of the perks our little town has to offer. I know your pack mate Ryan loves the food at the diner. I could get something delivered.”
He shrugs and follows the gesture by raising his eyebrows as if daring me. There’s something simmering in his eyes as his gaze falls to my mouth, and my first thought is that I’m what he’d like to be eating.
I lick my lips and notice his pupils widen. “You know,” I say as I reach in my purse for my phone. “I’m craving a burger now. No.” I grin at him like we’re besties. “Steak. That’d really satisfy, don’t you think?”
I retrieve my phone. It’s slick in my hand and clunks on the table when it slips from my fingers. I quickly pick up my cell again to pull up the menu for the steakhouse. “Want something? I’m going to order from Hungry—Hungry Chops.”
A small noise comes from Kai, and my cheeks heat up when I glance at him. He’s got a look on his face that makes me think he’s hungry, all right. It takes me a moment to focus, and I pretend I’m still searching as I imagine the hot werewolf across from me and his teeth. Ones I want him to—I gulp and wonder what has possessed me to fantasize about rough sex.
I look at Kai as I try to imagine him as someone unattractive while searching for my anger. “Perhaps a full stomach will help you with your speech problem?” He gives me a stone-cold stare. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I survey the steak options as I decide what would have the most flavor and manage to satisfy the large werewolf sitting across from me. I consider ordering a whole cow but go with the porterhouse for Kai and a petite-cut filet mignon for me.
After I place the order, I say, “You might start talking after these steaks.”
Kai leans back to cross his arms and lets out that low growl that reverberates through my body, making me vibrate like a tuning fork. Heat rushes through me as I imagine his moans of pleasure, and I drop my gaze to the laptop. This situation is tempting me more than it should. I am a stickler for rules, and I don’t think a man like Kai follows them. No matter how much he makes me want to strip naked, scramble across the table, and tear his clothes off, I have a job I intend to complete.
I frown at the computer screen in an attempt to look busy, but it doesn’t offer much of a distraction. I take a chance and meet Kai’s gaze as I say, “Let’s recap what’s got to happen in the next few weeks.” The sexy werewolf’s chair creaks as he sits up straight. “We—” He lifts his shirt up slowly to remove it, and it thumps softly on the floor. I manage to squeak out, “Um—you?—”
He sexily sweeps his tongue across his plump lower lip. I blink to keep from launching myself across the table at him, sucking in his delectable lip, and straddling his lap to feel him between my?—
Kai chuckles, and the noise yanks me from my thoughts. Can he read my mind?
I shake my head to clear it. “We—you—” A strand of hair has fallen out of my bun, and I tuck it behind my ear, which doesn’t help my composure because I imagine shaking out my locks and letting them splay across his chest.
Kai feeds my daydream with a lazy, smoldering smile.
A breath catches in my throat. I’ve got to pull myself together!
“The form.” Items rattle in my purse as I search for something to write with. “We must fill out the form. Since you aren’t going to talk, perhaps I can ask the questions and you can write down the answers.”
I brought a yellow legal pad with me, and I slide it across the table as I hold out a pen. Big mistake on my part because Kai latches onto my wrist with a tight grip. I inhale sharply as adrenaline and lust surge in my bloodstream. “Hey!” I try to yank back, and Kai grins at me when he grabs the pen with his other hand before letting me go.
He’s taunting me. And I don’t like this game one bit. I’m tempted to leave, but I’m not one to give up easily. “Pull a stunt like that again and I’m out of here.”
