Mated to the werewolf ne.., p.5
Mated to the Werewolf Next Door, page 5
As if that was going to happen. Sigh. Lydia was a bigger girl, a little on the short side at five-foot four-inches, but she had curves and then some covering her petite frame. With her decidedly rounded shape, she knew better than to expect anything other than casual interest and sometimes pity from guys who looked like him. She always felt too big and unattractive around spectacularly defined males.
And yet, he sure made her feel tiny in comparison. Standing well over six feet with wide shoulders and that fierce look of concentration on his handsome face, she was well out of her league. Unsure of how to proceed, she swallowed once again.
The man was simply hotness personified. And well, she was simply her. Single overworked mom who was currently weaving a fantasy around a complete stranger when she should be heading back inside to take care of her kid.
That’s it, this was ridiculous. Lydia shook her head against the sudden and unwanted wave of arousal that threatened to topple her. The sheer force of his animal magnetism was too much for any one man alone. It was downright unfair!
The guy should come with a warning label, she mused.
“Look, mister?”
“My name is Foster Reynolds.”
“Fine. Well, um, thank you Mr. Reynolds for your help with the, uh, fox. I guess you should be going now,” she said unsure why he was still hanging around.
“Mommy, tell him to come inside,” said Skylar from the screen door in one of her infamous stage-whispers.
Heat rushed to Lydia’s face as she watched the man smile. He knew darn well she didn’t want him there, but how could she turn him away after he’d saved Skylar?
Shoot.
“Your daughter’s name is Skylar? That’s very pretty, but I still don’t know yours,” he stated as he took one, then two steps towards her.
He approached carefully. As if he was watching her reaction with each move he made so as not to frighten or disturb her. Lydia swallowed. It was thoughtful and disconcerting at the same time simply because, well, she did want him closer.
Her reclusive neighbor walked across the grass with a steady gait and those strange, glittering eyes zeroed in on her. Looking for all the world, like the predator she knew him to be. She should go inside. She should tell him to leave. But she didn’t want to.
Lydia was shocked to discover she wasn’t afraid of him. Not like she should have been. Foster Reynolds was a stranger.
He’s a Werewolf. A Shifter. One of them.
He was stronger, faster, deadlier than she could ever hope to be. He could hurt her without barely breaking a sweat. She should be frightened, but all Lydia could muster for him was curiosity and a seriously unhealthy dose of lust.
“Iced tea, Mommy! Ask him if he wants some iced tea and cookies!”
“Go inside, sweetie,” she said to her daughter and turned back to face him.
He was in fact closer now. So close she could smell the scent of damp earth and leaves still clinging to him. It smelled good.
“My name is Lydia Suzanne, Mr. Reynolds,” she said, cheeks burning with what was undoubtedly an unbecoming blush, “and it seems my daughter would like to invite you in for some iced tea?”
“That sounds perfect,” he smiled.
His voice was deep and rough, but not unpleasant. On the contrary she liked the sound of it. Like steel wrapped in velvet. She imagined he was hell on the ladies once he turned on the charm with that dynamite panty-wetting voice of his.
OMG! She’d only been around him for five-minutes and she couldn’t keep her mind out of the gutter. She noted his large, bare feet, but kept her mouth shut. He’d been running in the woods in his fur when he’d happened on her daughter.
She grabbed the pitcher of iced tea and a couple of tall glasses once he’d followed her inside. Guilt and fear had her pausing for a moment mid-pour. Skylar was behind the other Shifter children when it came to identifying animals in the wild.
Her teacher had called her in the other morning to talk about ways to bring her up to speed. Because the supernatural world was pretty much still a secret, meetings of that kind were typically conducted in private. Still, it was dangerous for Skylar to be so ignorant.
It was all Lydia’s fault. Her fault that her daughter had grown up in cramped apartments in crowded cities. Skylar just wasn’t used to being near the open woods and having access to wild animals, never mind all the other Shifters in town and at school.
It was overwhelming for Lydia, she could only imagine how her baby felt. Though, truth be told, Skylar seemed just fine. She was excited to start learning about what it meant to be a Werewolf. Even more so about belonging to a Pack.
“Can I help you with that?” The sexy as all hell, deep, gravelly voice of her guest broke through her thoughts and she jumped, spilling a drop of iced tea on the countertop.
“Here, let me,” he said.
Foster took the pitcher and the cup and set them down. He took her elbow and led her to the kitchen table to sit, before returning to the counter to wipe up the spill.
“Mommy, cookie?” Skylar came running in and stopped with her hand outstretched. Lydia smiled and handed her a cookie from the plate of still warm sweets on the kitchen table.
“Here you go,” she smiled at her little girl.
Looking up she noted Foster was smiling at Skylar too.
“Iced tea?” he asked and poured some into the sippy cup that Lydia had left on the counter.
“Yes, please,” her ever-so-polite child answered and it was really one of those make-mommy-proud moments that Lydia stored away in the recesses of her mind.
“Those chocolate chip?” he asked.
“Uh huh,” smiled Skylar.
“My favorite. Here’s your iced tea, munchkin,” he said and handed her the little pink princess cup.
“I knew you coulda smiled,” she said and turned her head to look at Lydia, “Mommy, maybe he’s not a butthead!”
And there went that rosy warm feeling, Lydia closed her eyes and sighed. The cheeky pup grinned and hurried off to the living room where she was watching some cartoons as was her habit after school.
“Butthead, huh?” Foster smirked as he poured them each a glass of the sweet, cold drink and placed them on the table.
If she was blushing before, Lydia was beet red now. There was nothing quite like a child to out you. Oh well.
Sigh.
“Alright look, I would say sorry, but you have to admit you were a butthead the other day.”
“Wait a second, I was a butthead? When?”
“At The Spa,” Lydia said and quickly took a sip of iced tea. She knew she was being unreasonable, but what else was she supposed to do with six-feet plus of hunky man at her kitchen table?
“Alright,” he nodded at her, “I apologize, Lydia. My only excuse is I was taken by surprise.”
“Well, don’t do that now,” she said and eyed him warily.
“Do what?” His eyes glittered at her from across the old scarred oak table top.
It had obviously been well used, but Lydia liked the idea that people who stayed here before had loved the place as much as she was growing to. Still, it felt awful crowded right then.
“Don’t you go soft on us now. How am I supposed to keep you properly categorized if you change things up on me?”
“Just how do you have me categorized? This is only our second meeting, Ms. Suzanne?” he said, emphasis on the Ms..
Uh oh. She supposed she should explain, but not yet. She wanted to enjoy the anonymity for a while. Couldn’t she just be a single mom who moved here for no reason at all other than the fresh air?
“We’re neighbors. Mr. Reynolds. It’s simple as that. You’ve made it pretty clear you wanted nothing to do with us by the way you shut yourself in. Why, you duck in and out your driveway like the devil himself is on your heels whether you are going somewhere or just checking the mail-”
“That’s not-”
“But maybe it’s just us you don’t like. You know, I saw you left the grocery store the other day empty-handed just because we walked in. But now here you are sitting and being pleasant, saving my kid from a wild fox, and I’m confused. If you don’t want to get to know us, that’s just fine, I can take a hint, you know, but I don’t have the time or patience for mixed signals,” she said eyes narrowed at him.
Smile your way out of that one, Mr. McHottness!
“So, you noticed that at the store, did you?” he said and wiped a hand over his face.
“Pretty hard not to.”
The room seemed to vibrate with tension. Lydia didn’t know why his actions bothered her so much. She of all people should respect someone else’s privacy, but it hurt her for reasons she didn’t want to look too closely at.
It was perfectly ridiculous for her to have feelings for a man she’d never really spoken to before now. And yet, she couldn’t help the bone deep attraction she felt. It was more than his good looks and sex appeal. There was just something that drew her to him.
“Again allow me to apologize. I’m truly sorry. It wasn’t personal. I’m just bad at the whole socializing thing. Been out of practice for a while,” he answered doggedly.
“I see,” she said, though the opposite was true.
The man was good looking, smart, and obviously had a healthy supply of self-confidence. So, why was he keeping to himself?
Lydia got the feeling he was hiding something from her. A secret of some kind. She knew he was a Wolf Shifter, so that couldn’t be it. Whatever it was, he was entitled, she supposed. After all, she had secrets of her own.
“This iced tea is delicious, Lydia,” he said with a bashful sort of grin on his face like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how, “and about my behavior, I hope you will forgive me?”
“Thank you, and I suppose we could start over,” she decided on the fly that was the only thing to do, “So, uh, what did you say you do for a living?”
“I’m an artist. Well, I was an artist,” he sighed and ran his hand over his face again.
“An artist? I would never have guessed,” she smiled.
“No?”
“No, I would’ve said tough as nails businessman or a lumberjack or something,” she shrugged.
“Ah, I see,” he laughed again and the deep tone was pleasant and made her laugh in response.
He looked good half-dressed in her kitchen, like he belonged there. The thought should have shocked her, but she was too busy wondering what it was about him that made her mouth positively water.
She’d never felt like that before. Maybe it was the way he seemed nervous around her or the way he couldn’t quite stop staring at her. Whatever it was, Lydia got the impression that if she let Foster Reynolds into her life, nothing was ever going to be the same.
That scared the crap out of her almost more than the way his eyes glowed in the dimly lit kitchen. She turned her head. It was getting late. The sun was setting. She needed to start dinner for Skylar.
“I should be going,” Foster said and stood up rinsing out both glasses and placing them on the counter rack to dry.
“Uh, thank you, for what you did,” she murmured quietly.
The fact that she didn’t want him to go made her nervous as hell. What was wrong with her? She had no business getting involved with some man. Shaking her head at the silly direction of her thoughts, she walked to the door and opened it for him.
“Before I leave, I wanted to ask you something, something personal,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t know, we were doing just fine as strangers,” she replied looking anywhere but at him.
She was bad at this, the whole getting to know you part of any relationship. Dating had been the furthest thing from her mind during the past six years, and though she had attempted to have friends it never worked out. How could it when she was always on the run? But maybe now, maybe here things could be different. She pondered the thought for all of a second before he stepped into her personal space, then her mind went completely blank.
“Maybe we could do better,” his voice dropped as he raised a hand and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
She trembled at the innocent touch, knowing full well that if he cared to turn it into something more, she’d let him. Her entire body seemed to hum in anticipation. His eyes grew serious, the unique color appealing in a way she’d never felt before.
They were gray, but not cold and stormy like she’d expected. No, his eyes seemed warm, like molten steel. She could get lost in them. The question was, did she want to?
“Mommy, when’s dinner?” called Skylar from the other room.
“Soon, baby,” she’d jumped at the sound of her daughter’s voice but replied before she forgot herself any more than she already had.
“Goodbye,” Skylar said to Foster and he waved and winked at her baby, making her heart melt.
“Goodbye, Mr. Reynolds,” she said and offered him her hand.
“Please, call me Foster, Lydia,” he murmured taking her hand and simply holding it in his. The sound went straight through her, making her shiver all over and the heat from his touch had the same effect.
“Alright,” she whispered back, “Goodbye, Foster.”
After all, what could be the harm in using his first name to say goodbye, she wondered.
“Goodnight, Lydia.” He said again and smiled before heading out the back door through the woods.
She couldn’t help herself, she watched as he walked behind the copse of trees. Seconds later, a huge brown Wolf walked into her yard. She was fully aware that to see a Shift happen was not an accepted practice.
It was a private moment, a vulnerable one, but he knew she was there watching him even as the trees had hidden his nudity. She noted the jeans and shirt in his Wolf’s mouth and his glowing silver eyes that seemed to find hers unerringly through the darkness.
The moment was charged, electric, and she’d remember it for a good long while. That and the fact that he’d made it a point to say goodnight and not goodbye too.
She turned away quickly and went back inside to prepare dinner for herself and Skylar.
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” said her curly haired little girl from the doorway to the kitchen as Lydia stirred the pot of homemade chicken noodle soup.
“Two more minutes, I’m just warming the rolls.”
“Yay! I want lots of butter please.”
“You got it, sweetie,” she winked at Skylar before dishing up their supper.
Tonight they would eat in the living room and watch some television, she decided. Afterwards, bath then bed.
It’s just another night, she told herself. Just another night, only everything had changed.
The second Foster had entered her home, she’d felt her whole world shift. And with it, quite possibly, her heart.
Chapter 6
“Good morning,” Foster greeted Lydia, making sure she’d observed him from her place in the driver’s seat of the little car she drove before speaking. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her.
He frowned at the beat up state of the vehicle. She should have something better. Something safer. His Wolf bristled at the possibility she or their pup could be injured.
He shut down the displeased growl before it could bubble up from his chest and out of his mouth. He didn’t want her thinking he was an animal for God’s sake. He shook his head at the bad joke and waited for her to emerge from the car.
“What are you doing here?” She said warily.
“I was worried about Skylar playing outside and wanted to take some precautions to keep her safe, but I thought I should ask your permission first,” he kept his gaze steadily on her face as he spoke.
The softly rounded cheeks and straight nose appealed to him. As did the riot of unruly curls that seemed to pop out of the rubber band she’d used to tame them. She was so pretty. Beautiful really.
But there were lines around her mouth and exhaustion in her eyes. She’d been through too much for one so young. He wanted to cuddle her close, to take care of whatever had put that worry there to begin with.
The need to protect and provide, to cherish and claim were ingrained in him. His instinctual urges seemed to increase with every second that passed, and Foster swallowed and tried to ground himself.
It was difficult to be around her and not touch her. His fingers itched to hold her. Always would, he realized. Especially now that his Wolf had decided she was his mate.
He needed to start the process of courting her slowly. He knew that. Allowing her to get to know him would be the ideal way to begin. It was why he was there that early. Of course, that also meant telling her about his past. Something he had to get to sooner or later.
“What did you have in mind?” her voice jostled him from his thoughts.
Foster took in a long, deep breath, savoring the subtle sweetness of her sublime scent. He could feel his Wolf pushing forward, knew that his eyes were glowing with his animal. He closed them and counted to three, then refocused his attentions on her.
“I need to Shift,” he explained, “then mark some of the trees and things around the property.”
“When you say mark, do you mean, you know?” She blushed and he found himself thinking how cute she looked.
“Shifters aren’t bashful about bodily functions, Lydia, but I did not intend to urinate on the bushes. I meant more along the lines of scratching some bark, rubbing my fur along some shrubs and trees, getting my scent on things so other creatures would know this place is, uh, mine,” his heart thudded with the statement even though he was aware she didn’t know quite what he meant by it.
He watched her carefully, noting the way her blue eyes seemed to get darker as she listened. Her gaze travelled up his body to his face and he was pleased that she liked what she saw. The scent of her desire was unmistakable. She was interested and he was damn glad about that. Sucking in a breath he waited for her reply.
“Yours?” her voice went soft, eyes wide as she waited for him to respond.
He nodded. It was all he could do not to close the distance between them and show her just how much she belonged to him.
