TWO

The sound of the ringing phone roused her from a late afternoon nap.

“Hello?”

“Rain?”

“Mmm,” she said, stretching. “You got her.”

“It’s Laurent Cole. I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

She smiled then, warming that he’d called. “Don’t apologize, I was just napping. I needed to be up soon anyway. Hang on a sec.” Sitting up, she arranged her pillows behind her back and smoothed the comforter over her legs. “Now then, that’s better. I have to be at work at five a.m. so I usually try to sneak in a nap around four in the afternoon to refresh my day. How are you, Laurent Cole?”

“Better now, hearing your voice does wonders for me.” The rumble of his voice, even over the phone, made her want to crawl through the receiver and into his arms.

“Oh aren’t you the flatterer!” She laughed, glad he couldn’t see her blush.

“You bring it out in me. What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“I have plans. I’m sorry. One of my roommates has an audition for the Seattle Symphony and we’re going out for drinks afterward.”

“Okay. And what about Sunday night?”

“I’d planned to attend a gallery show for one of my friends.” She hesitated. “Would you like to join me? It’d only be an hour or so out of the evening, after that we’d be free.”

“I’d like that. I haven’t been to a gallery show in years. Can I take you to dinner afterward?”

“Sure.” Sure, hell, she wanted to jump up and down and wondered why in the heck she was so excited. He was nice-looking and all, well, gorgeous actually, but it wasn’t like her to get all giddy over a man. Gorgeous, sexy, testosterone-laden, yummy and warm. Like a slice of pie with ice cream melting over it.

He must have heard her whimper. “Are you all right?”

Good lord, she was such a dork. “Uh yeah, fine.”

“Okay, what time shall I pick you up?”

“Why don’t you meet me at the gallery at eight? We can hang out for a while and then leave for dinner. “

“I’ll meet you there then.”

She gave him the name and address before he told her good night, wished her sweet dreams and disconnected. She was sure they’d be of him anyway. At least now she wouldn’t be so nervous about taking her portfolio to The Holt and with dropping the portfolio off she wouldn’t be as nervous about the date either. Instead she’d just be a general bundle of stress.

Laughing to herself, she got out of bed and headed off to the shower.

* * *

The next night, just as she was on her way out the door to meet her friends he called again.

“Did I catch you at a bad time? I know you’re busy tonight but I just wanted to hear your voice today and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

A grin split her face as she melted inside. “Hi. You didn’t wake me up. I do have to leave shortly but I have enough time to chat a bit.” She sank to the floor next to the hall table.

“Good. Did you get your portfolio in?”

She smiled, touched that he remembered. “I did, thank you for asking. How was your day?”

“Busy. Andreas’s family runs several businesses and it’s getting toward the end of the year so it’s crazy just now.”

“Do you travel a lot with your job?”

“A bit. I’m Andreas’s bodyguard as well as working with his businesses so where he goes, I go. I can’t complain, I’ve seen just about every country in the world. Do you like to travel?”

He made her smile. This sophisticated man who seemed to want to hear about her life. It was almost enough to make her let down her guard but she had to be careful.

“I traveled a lot when I was younger. I haven’t in recent years.”

“We’ll have to change that. I can see you on a beach somewhere, a fruity drink in your hand. A red bikini. Yes, red would look lovely with your complexion.”

Her face heated as she blushed. “Oh thanks, I think. I hate to do this but I have to go. I don’t want to miss my bus.”

“Ah. All right. I’m glad we got to chat, even if just for a few minutes. I’ll see you tomorrow night then. Be safe.”

“Good night, Laurent.”

She hung up, wearing a smile and feeling lighter than she had in a very long time.

* * *

“What are you going to wear?” Harrison asked her the next day as she came home from work.

“What a chore deciding has been! It’s not like I go out to dinner with handsome men very often.”

“Or any men at all. Try once in the time I’ve known you and that was to Dick’s so I don’t count it as a real date anyway. If it has a drive-through, it’s not a real date unless you’re in high school. I’ve never seen you like this over a man before. Elton and I may have to pout and feel jealous.”

She laughed, tiptoeing up to kiss his nose. “I can’t remember that I ever have been. This guy is different. Men are lovely, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, I had a lemon and I’m very choosy now. It’s rare for me to have the time and interest and for a guy who I like to like me at the same time.”

Like two years’ worth of time and even then it hadn’t been very good. After her disastrous experience with Anthony, her rebound fling with the university professor when she’d first arrived in Seattle had been dry as toast.

Laurent was different. He made her feel very sexy. Brought out a side of her she didn’t even know existed until she’d met him. Suddenly she felt sort of sex kittenish. And she liked it.

“I even went to that little lingerie store near the Market and bought a few lacy things.” She shrugged. “Oh and I hit the vintage shop on Broadway and found the perfect dress.” Reaching into the bag, she pulled out a bundle of black and white and shook it. It was very Fifties. It was black with a white cowl that came low over her breasts, the bodice was tight and flared into a knee-length skirt that had four different crinoline petticoats underneath, alternating black and white. It was sexy but in a fun way.

Harrison’s eyebrows rose. “This is perfect. A little old-fashioned, a lot sexy.”

“Do you think? It seems so pretty and feminine. I also have these great slingback pumps, black but the strap is white. I think that will go well.”

“What are you going to do with all of that glorious hair? Oh I know, put it in a ponytail high up on your head. It will still come to your middle back. Leave out a bit and we can braid it to wrap it at the base of the ponytail. Rain, you’re going to look very beautiful.”

“All of this fashion knowledge is totally wasted on a straight man,” Elton said with a wistful sigh as he walked into the room. “Duckie, we’re going to make you up so lovely that this Laurent won’t know what hit him.” He smiled and looked at the dress admiringly. “Good choice. Now let’s get working, Cinderella.”

* * *

“Laurent, are you leaving already?” Kari asked as Hellie came over and jumped into his arms. It was early in the day but he wanted to head out to Seattle to be sure he got there in time for his date with Rain that night.

He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. Not seeing her for a few days, knowing she existed, was driving him crazy. He ached to touch her, to hold her. Talking with her on the phone had been nice but thinking of her out there with no car, taking the bus at night, had made it difficult to sleep.

“Handsome! Am I still your best girl?” the four-year-old who thought he was the center of her world—that is, after her papa—asked as she looked up at him.

“Helene, my love, you’ll always have my heart.” Laurent dropped a kiss onto the top of her head and sat her down.

“Nana says that maybe you’ll make some boys with your new Mate and maybe they’ll be our Mates someday. Is that true?”

Laurent held back his laughter and looked over at Kari, whose eyes twinkled with amusement. “Your grandmother sure has a lot to say.” Kari rolled her eyes behind Hellie’s back. “He needs to actually go out on a date with Rain first. And then they’ll get married and say the Mate bond and it’ll be a while before there’ll be any children.”

Laurent chuckled. “I’ll keep all that in mind.” He leaned down to kiss Hellie again. “Good night, reine, Hellie. Skye, take care of Andreas. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” He turned to go. Since he was going to be out late he planned to stay in the apartment that Andreas and Kari owned downtown. He hoped he’d get a chance to wake up next to Rain.

He needed her. He wanted her to need him as well.

Once he got to town he made sure the apartment was well stocked with food for breakfast, champagne and chocolate and plenty of candles in his room. He wanted to spoil her. He got the feeling she didn’t get much of that in her day-to-day life.

He dropped by Drew’s small shop while he was in the neighborhood. Drew was a clothing designer as well as a member of the Pack and a good friend.

Drew’s face lit up when he saw Laurent come in. “Hey! It’s nice to see you. I hear you’ve met your Mate. When can Janine and I meet her?” Janine was Drew’s Mate and another designer.

“News travels fast,” Laurent said. “I’m here in town to see her actually. I’m going to a gallery show and dinner with her in a few hours. I’m just out doing a bit of shopping and wanted to stop in and say hello. She doesn’t know yet. About me. About Cherchez. I’ll save it for when we know each other better. You’ll like her.”

“Of course I will. She’s your Mate. Tell me about her. I’d be honored to design her conversion robe.”

Laurent paused a moment, thinking of what the night when she made her first change into a wolf would be like, what she’d look like, feel like running at his side. Smiling, he described her to Drew.

“Wait a moment.” Drew bustled around the shop, pulling things from hangers and off shelves, and brought them back to where Laurent waited. “Do you think she’d be offended if I sent over a few things?”

He knew Drew loved to give people things he made and designed and it warmed him that he’d want to include Rain. “She’s shy but I think if I explained it she’d be touched. As I am. Thank you, Drew.”

“I think the jeans should fit given your description of her size and shape. Be sure to bring her by when you’re ready. I’m happy for you. Finding your Mate is a truly wonderful thing.”

Laurent embraced his friend and took the bag of clothing with him when he headed back to the apartment to get ready.

It was funny, the need he had to take care of her, nurture her. He wanted to be her family as well as create one with her. She gave off a sort of vulnerability and it called to his heart.

* * *

Nervously, Rain looked at herself in the mirror. “Wow,” she murmured. She had to admit she looked classy and sexy and a bit sassy. Her hair cascaded down her back from a high ponytail. The way it was pulled back tightly from her face only accentuated her large eyes and lips that shimmered candy apple red. The slingbacks she’d told Harrison about worked perfectly and she was sure she’d hate them in a few hours but for the time being they were gorgeous. Thank goodness Laurent was so tall because in the heels she stood at six feet. Elton brought her a powder that had a gold shimmer in it and it gave off a subtle glimmer as she moved.

“Holy cow, cupcake, you need to know if I was straight I’d snap you up in a minute. Your boobies look marvelous.” Elton winked.

“Uh, thanks. My boobies appreciate the compliment. Jeez they feel so high, like I’m serving them or something.” Nervousness ate at her stomach. She hadn’t felt so pretty in a very long time. Certainly she’d never worn anything revealing before. She twirled in front of the mirror, loving the way the skirt flared and the pretty crinolines showed. Still, she did have a slight jiggle when she walked. “Are you sure I don’t look obscene?”

“Rain, you look heavenly. Seriously,” Harrison said.

She took a deep breath and grabbed her wrap and her bag. “Okay. I’m off then. Thanks for your help. I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight.” She hugged Harrison before she and Elton headed for the door. He’d offered to drop her at the gallery.

“It’s going to be fine. Really. You have my cell and Harrison’s just in case there’s an emergency. You know how to dial 9-1-1. Don’t let him pressure you into anything you don’t want to do. Do you want me to stick around?” Elton asked as he pulled up in front of the gallery.

Rain squeezed his hand. “You’re so sweet to me. No, I’m all right. I’ll be okay. And I won’t let him get past second base.” She winked and he laughed.

“Who knows? But just in case, do you have condoms?”

“Yes, Dad, I have some in my bag. Harrison checked earlier too. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the ride.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

* * *

Laurent looked in the mirror one last time before leaving. At the last minute he’d left his hair down. He wanted to show off a bit for her. Yes he had a human side but he was a werewolf. Dominance displays and showing off the beauty of one’s pelt and other features were part of the male mating process. He wanted her to desire him and find him attractive. Heaven knew he thought she was the most breathtaking woman to ever walk the planet.

When he parked and walked over to the gallery, Laurent was drawn immediately to her. He swallowed hard as he took her in through the windows. She towered over most everyone else like an Amazon goddess. Her black hair shimmered nearly blue under the lights, the dress encased her torso, the skirt and a pair of ridiculously sexy high heels made her legs look miles long.

His cock ached and he had to wrestle back the urge to stalk in, grab her and stalk out to fuck her against the nearest surface. Oh how he wanted to mark her as his own and he hadn’t even seen her face yet. He quickened his step and entered the gallery.

Laurent took a deep breath as she turned around. It was as if she knew he was there and turned to greet him. Her skin glowed, looking sun-kissed, but he knew it was her natural tone. Her breasts heaved enticingly from the top of the cowl neck of the dress. He wanted to walk over there and put his face to her cleavage and breathe in her scent, to feel the soft skin of her breasts, to follow the curves with his lips. Her hair was pulled back from her face and it made her artfully made-up eyes look gigantic. And the lips—if he’d thought they were carnal before, wearing that sheen of red glossy lipstick they looked downright X-rated. A wisp of her scent reached him and his system went into overload as he felt his wolf react.

Rain smiled then and he returned it as he moved toward her. “You look beautiful. I really like the dress.”

“Oh this old thing?” She laughed. “Thank you, you look pretty good yourself.” She reached up and touched his hair and electricity ran through him on contact. “Your hair is so gorgeous. I like that you left it down.”

“I’m glad it pleases you, I had it back earlier and decided to free it.” He wanted to strut around the room at the compliment.

“Would you like a glass of wine or something?” she asked as he took her hand and tucked it into his arm. He walked her slowly through the gallery, wanting her to be at ease after he’d heard the undercurrent of nerves in her voice.

“No not now, I’ll have some with dinner. We have reservations at Matt’s On the Market for nine if that’s all right. He’s got a great wine list.”

“I’ve never been there but I’ve heard great things.” Heard and not experienced because it was totally out of her price range.

“You’re in for a treat. The food is amazing. Fresh local ingredients. It doesn’t look fancy, it’s the food and wine where all of the effort goes.”

“I like that. Food as art. Sounds heavenly.”

“So is this your friend’s work then?” He motioned to the walls.

“Yes. I met Sully when I first came to town and started painting. He’s been a huge help to me. He’s very good, this is his third show so far this year.”

It was good but Laurent had a feeling her work would be better. “So you mentioned taking your portfolio to a gallery. You’re an artist too?”

“Yes, I paint. The portfolio is to be considered for a series of gallery shows The Holt is going to host over the next months, all showcasing up-and-coming artists. It would be a big break for me to get a show.” He saw the passion for her work on her face.

“What kind of work do you do then? Modern, classical, abstract?”

“Modern. It’s eclectic. Not so abstract that you can’t see what I’m trying to convey. I draw upon themes from nature—mountains, rocks, the ocean, rivers, streams, the sky, stars, planets, big historical ideas and events. I don’t know how to explain it really, things that tug at the fabric of our existence.”

“I’d love to see it sometime. Good luck with the show.” As it happened, Andreas owned a part interest in The Holt. He might mention it to Kari and see if she thought it was something to bring up to Andreas. She was someone he could trust to give an opinion about what Rain would like. He wanted to help Rain but not to take over and make her feel she couldn’t do it on her own.

They enjoyed the showing and he drove over to the Market for dinner.

He opened her door, helped her over the cobblestones—not that he minded the chance to get his hands on her. Taking care of her calmed his wolf, allowed the man the space to woo.

“This place is just as great as you said it would be,” she enthused over her trout with wasabi crust. “The Gruyère leek tart was so good. I haven’t eaten this well in a very long time.”

He sensed that she’d grown up around some kind of money; she knew her wines very well and had spoken French with a man on the corner selling roses. It wasn’t the kind of French you learn in high school, it was the kind of French that you learned while in France. Laurent should know, he’d spent time there growing up before he’d come to live with the Phinney family.

He drew a fingertip over the delicate bones in her wrist. “So where are you from originally? Do you have family here?”

She shifted in her chair and looked out the window a moment. Avoiding. “What about you? I take it you and Andreas are close. Are you related? How’d you come to work for him?”

Laurent narrowed his eyes at her, smelling her evasion, seeing her body tense and her hands shake for just a moment when he’d asked. She was hiding something. What he didn’t know but he’d find out, help her through whatever it was that made her afraid. For the time being he’d let her hold back. Trust, he knew, had to be earned.

“Andreas and I have been best friends since I was eleven and he was thirteen. His family took me in and raised me.”

“Why? That is, if you don’t mind talking about it.”

Later he could tell her about the more specific reasons, but until she knew he was a werewolf, it was better to be general. “My mother died and my father didn’t feel he could raise me on his own. My mother and Andreas’s mother were like sisters so my father brought me to them, to be raised in a family setting. And that’s what they did. Treated me like one of their own children. My working for Andreas sort of grew from that. Back to you though. Do you have any family?”

“I’m, um, estranged from them. I still communicate with my mother on occasion but I haven’t spoken to my father in a year.”

“Why?” Laurent turned her hand over in his. She made no move to take it back so he kept it there, her warmth bleeding into him.

“He wanted me to be something that I couldn’t be. I...we couldn’t come to any agreement about my life so...” She shrugged but he saw the shimmer of unshed tears in her eyes.

Still, family was so important. He couldn’t understand how any man could turn away from his own child. “Have you tried to work it out? How does your mother feel about it all?”

She sighed. “My mother feels however she’s told to feel. No, that’s unfair really. She’s a loving woman but the world she lives in isn’t made for women who are strong and opinionated. She helped me es...er, leave home last year. She has to keep my contact with her a secret. My father of course thinks I’ll come back when I need money. And that’s really all I want to talk about that subject.”

Laurent wished she’d lighten her burden and share with him but he understood. The need to comfort was so complete it was only the decades of training to keep his control that enabled him to keep his shit together.

“Would you like to come back to my apartment and watch the ferries on the water?” The apartment was in the Harbor Steps complex and overlooked Puget Sound.

She hesitated a moment, clearly thinking. “Sure. That would be nice.” Her voice was soft but free of doubt. He relaxed a bit.

They walked back to the car and Laurent moved it the few blocks to the building and took her up. Among the little touches he’d made earlier that day had been to put new sheets on his bed. They were silky soft with a bit of flannel for warmth. He sincerely hoped she’d let him make love to her that night. Between Mates, the first time making love would create binding ties between them—he wanted to brand her in some way.

Another part of him wanted to fuck her hard and fast.

“This is a beautiful place,” she murmured as she looked around, her hands trailing over the spines of books, the curves of vases. Each touch a caress that incited his senses. She seemed to soak in everything she looked at. Examined. Sampled.

It seemed impossible for her to be a hedonist but also so shy and hesitant. But it was there. Another thing about her he ferreted away.

She looked back over her shoulder. “Do you mind if I take these heels off? They’re beginning to kill me.”

He shook his head no and watched as she sat and pulled off the pumps, exposing bright pink toenails.

The sound she made as she wriggled her toes and stretched her calves a little made him suck in air like a drowning man.

“So much better. Of course now I’ll never have the courage to put them back on because it’ll hurt even more.” And frankly, the way he looked at her made her weak in the knees and she had to sit down before they buckled. The whole evening had set her off balance. She’d never been so attracted and attuned to anyone in her life. It felt so natural to be with him that it freaked her out.

Everything about him was so intense. Intense was something she tried to avoid outside her art. She wanted him.

All during dinner with subtle touches here and there he’d seduced her. Made her feel so sexy and confident.

She’d poured a lot of herself into her canvases. And now, he was there too, and she didn’t know how to not get sucked in by everything he was.

“I’ll carry you to your door if you need it,” he whispered and came to kneel in front of her.

“What is it about you? I feel like I’ve known you my whole life,” she said as he ran a finger around the curve of her bottom lip. Little zings of electricity sparked in the wake of his touch.

Her breath hitched as her heart kicked in her chest. She’d been wet and achy since she walked into the gallery earlier that evening. When it was his hands, his attention on her, it was like her skin came alive in a way it never had before. His very presence was totally overwhelming, it scared her even as she loved it.

“It does feel that way, doesn’t it?” he asked her as a smile edged up on the right side of his mouth. A mouth she really wanted on hers.

“Are you going to kiss me?” If he didn’t soon she’d swoon from want.

“You’re impatient.”

“Where you’re concerned apparently.” She needed to act bold. Needed to be bold.

“Okay then. I suppose I’ll make any sacrifice to please you.”

The tease sent a flutter of heat through her.

A long moment passed in delicious tension before he leaned into her body and touched his lips to hers.

Finally.

Her avaricious hands sought the muscled wall of his chest over the smooth material of his expensive dress shirt. He was so very vital, powerful and yet totally controlled as she slid her palms upward, seeking the silk of that long dark hair.

A low sound broke from her throat and he echoed it before grabbing her waist and pulling her to his body tightly as he walked on his knees to get closer. Her skirt rode up as she widened her thighs to give him room.

He hissed, dragging his nails over the edge of the stockings she wore. Her skin broke out in goosebumps.

Laurent felt the heat from her pussy as he moved to her and it drove him wild. He scented the honey there, nestled in the folds, and his mouth watered to taste her. “God, you feel good,” he murmured against her mouth and she sighed, opening to him, pressing her breasts into his chest, arching her back.

Need rode him and he groaned into her mouth as his tongue followed the sound. She tasted of cherries and dessert wine and her lips were firm and lush under his. He tried to hold back the fantasy of what that mouth would feel like wrapped around his cock but failed.

Control.

It shredded like wet paper at the touch of her skin.

When her tongue flicked over his, past his into his mouth, the sinuous dance of their kiss seduced him. She was open to him, gloriously inviting him to taste her, but he could also sense that she didn’t have a lot of experience. He’d be lying to himself—and denying that animal part of him—to deny he was thrilled. He’d be the one to show her erotic delights. He’d learn every inch of her body. He’d know spots that no one else had touched. Wanting to burn his name into her being thrilled him to his toes.

The rest of her body called to him. Tamping down his desire to take her hard and fast, he slowly moved his mouth from her lips and skimmed down to her neck. The edge of his teeth abraded the tender skin just below her ear and the flat of his tongue followed to lave the sting and take in her taste.

Rain’s lips tingled at the loss of his mouth and she whimpered until he laved her neck. Shivers of delight broke over her and she grabbed his head, holding him in place. He chuckled in response, low and wicked, and she smiled. He made her feel so sexy, so...something she couldn’t even find words for.

Every muscle in her body tensed sharply and then totally relaxed when he gently bit down over the jumping pulse in her neck. It was like something slammed into her, filling her up and easing her as he held the tendons and muscle between his teeth. Her head lolled back, her breathing shallow. She nearly came just from that one action. Nothing had ever, ever felt so pleasurable.

Her response to the bite brought Laurent’s balls tight against his body. He scented the slickness of her pussy, felt her nipples tighten against his chest. Unable to stop himself from touching her more, he slid his hands around her waist and just under the swell of her breasts. But when she yanked the hem of his shirt out of his pants and skimmed her hands over the bare skin of his lower back he gasped at the pleasure. She felt so right against him then. Like she was made for him and him alone, and of course she was. So this was what it felt like with the right person, the right person. No wonder Kari and Andreas fucked like bunnies.

He gave in finally and did what he’d been wanting to do all night, he pressed his lips to the curves of her breasts, to the creamy skin that heaved with her breath. She hummed in satisfaction and he stood up then, bringing her with him. She put her face into his neck then and he felt her body tighten in response. Silently he begged her to do what he’d done.

And even then, he wasn’t ready for what it felt like.

Laurent groaned out as she bit down, her teeth grasping the tendon, her tongue flicking out to taste his pulse. She would have no idea, but it was a show of sexual dominance for a wolf to bite the neck of another. His cock stiffened even more and his arms trembled. He rolled his hips without even thinking, seeking her cunt, needing to join with her.

She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes glazed over with lust. “Why? Why did that feel so right?” she whispered, sounding a bit dazed.

“You’re mine, my heart. We’re made to be with one another, my cells sing to yours,” he said softly in the archaic French the poem he quoted had been written in.

He forgot she spoke it too, though, until the puzzled look settled on her face and then she finally got it. “What? How? I just met you yesterday.”

“You know what I say is true. You can feel it in your heart, can’t you? When you placed your face in my neck and breathed me in—have you ever done that with another?”

She shook her head, still dazed.

“But you did with me. Why?” He wanted to tell her everything but it was too soon.

“It just felt like the right thing to do. You did it to me.”

“I did. I did because I knew, just as you know.”

“I don’t know anything. I’m just a girl who wants to paint. Hell, I haven’t had sex in nearly a year. I’ve only been with two people in that way before. I feel like I’m in way over my head here. It scares me.”