A Mate for the Sheriff (Shifter-Match.com Book 4) Read online

  “That they do,” he agreed softly. He gathered her in closer and she felt him kiss the top of her head. “If I invite you in, you can’t judge me. A man is allowed to have his dreams with zero commentary from the object of his desires. Believe me, there’s stuff up there that would shock you. But you’re always allowed in, sweetheart. Anytime you’d like.”

  “I would never judge you, Novak, and you would have control in the dreams, but you would definitely know I was there. I would make sure that you could interact with me so that we could spend even more time together, if you wanted.” Another great thing about him living where he did was that she could let her hair down, so to speak, when it came to her abilities. She didn’t have to continue to hide herself and could simply be … well … her. “Will you show me your wolf?”

  “Now?” At her nod, he gave her a squeeze. “Absolutely. But after this, we eat. I want that bond with you. Once I get you in bed, we won’t be coming up for air until tomorrow.” Scooping her off his lap, he settled her onto the sofa at his side before popping up to his feet. Novak pulled off his holster and set it aside. Then he winked at her. One second Novak was before her and in the next a large wolf stood watching her with bright, icy blue eyes.

  “Oh God, Novak.” She held a hand out to him and asked, “Will you let me touch you?” She could see him, see his eyes, and smiled. “There you are. I would know you anywhere,” she told him, then let her fingers move through his fur. “I can’t believe how huge you are.”

  Jess was pretty sure she saw him wiggle what would have been his eyebrows. Novak leaned into the petting she was giving him, some of his weight pressing to her leg, warm and solid. His chin came to rest on her knee, and his eyelids drifted down. She heard the sigh he gave and smiled at the soft sound.

  “I could become very accustomed to this, to you being like this. I think I’d like to have you back now, though, if you don’t mind?” She gave him another scratch, then leaned back so that he could shift again. When he was back to his human self, she smirked. “It must be convenient to be able to shift with your clothes on.”

  “Only kicker is the gun. I can’t keep it on when I shift. It doesn’t translate. But it’s an easy thing to pull off.” Sitting next to her, Novak wrapped an arm around her to pull her in tight to his side. “Now that you’ve had your first up-close encounter with the mythical dire wolf, how about we go get dinner ready?”

  “I think that’s a good idea, especially since you’ve met the only null dreamwalker that there is on the face of the planet, and you aren’t ready to turn me in.” Sadly she knew this for a fact because of her family being the rulers of the witches. Her brothers and cousins were typically the ones tasked to hunt down the ones like her. She was only alive because of the family she was part of and knew exactly how lucky she was.

  “I would never turn you in, Jessica. Even if someone were to find out what you are, once we’re mated they couldn’t touch you. A mating overrules everything else, including a death sentence based on old prejudices. As I’ve told you, if anyone wants to get to you, they have to come through me first.”

  “I didn’t know that, that a mating would overrule everything else. Although you should know that if I mated you, I want to do it because you are you and not because of saving my life. I would want you anyway. You make me drool, and you make me happy, plain and simple.”

  “I’d be mating you because the fates have blessed me with the sexiest woman I’ve ever met, who interests me on many levels and has my body humming constantly. You’ve made wearing tailored pants a task and a half. If I could, I’d be wearing big, baggy sweats all the time except for the fact it would be too obvious what I had going on.”

  That had her laughing. “Yeah, I think that would be bad.”

  “Yeah, it has a mind all its own and doesn’t care where I am. If you walk by, or I catch your scent, it’s off to the races. I’ve nearly embarrassed myself a dozen times in the last couple weeks alone.”

  “I’m sorry.” She cocked her head to the side slightly and said, “Wait. You haven’t known I was your mate that long, have you? I’ve known that you were mine for a while. I just thought it was safer to stay away…”

  “I’ve known you were my mate since the day you came to town,” he said quietly. “Better sense of smell than ninety-nine percent of the shifters in this town has its serious drawbacks. Discovering my mate wasn’t among them, but finding out she was skittish as hell definitely had me worried. That and you were too damn young back then.”

  “I was skittish because of the death sentence hanging over my head. Before I came here, I had done all I could in order not to form attachments or have anyone drawn close to me. It sucks but there it is.” She was shocked that he had known she was his and hadn’t approached her. It was so strange that she’d forged the friendships that she had with the women and men she had. It was as if Shifter Falls had welcomed her with open arms, and everything about it made her feel safe, including her friends.

  “I figured something had happened in your past, which is why I didn’t press. Had I known what it actually was, you can damn well bet I’d have been, if you’ll excuse the pun, sniffing around you a lot sooner. But I figured that in time you would relax and become more comfortable and then I could possibly make a move. Little did I know you’d be the one putting the moves on me, and behind my back, no less, with that Sheriff McHotty crap.”

  “Oh, come on. I am so not the only one who’s calling you Sheriff McHotty. Trust me, there is a whole domain dedicated to you and how freaking sexy you are. The women in this town aren’t blind, you know. Phi was going to put you on the shifters-match.com site, but I persuaded her not to.”

  “Phi has been the biggest pain in the ass lately. Ever since she mated with Jagger, she’s been on a mission to ensure everyone in town is as happy as she is. Jagger really needs to give that woman more babies to keep her occupied.”

  “I agree. Her cub is climbing everything in sight. He’s so adorable, and I believe you. She needs another cub. I think she realizes it as well now that Quinn is pregnant. She knows that she has to have another baby, no, she knows that she wants another baby, but I don’t think she knows how to tell Jagger.”

  “He’s her mate. He’ll figure out something’s bothering her and eventually get her to talk about it. We can all only hope it’s before she starts figuring out how to do a speed dating session or some other nonsense.”

  “True enough. I still think that Harley is holding a huge grudge against her for putting him on there when he didn’t know. Alaska telling him was something that pissed him off even more. She didn’t do it gently, either, if what she tells us is accurate. She instead just kind of blurted it out.”

  “Yeah, I can see him being ticked off. There’s a few others who Phi has had to unruffle over the last while. Apparently, her pregnancy brain acts without thought and just does things. Jagger has promised to keep an eye on that in the future, mainly to keep the peace between the town and his mate.”

  “So if she does get pregnant again, we’ll have to make sure that she doesn’t add more people to that site of hers, or she might just have the whole town coming for her, at least the shifters of the town.”

  “When she gets pregnant again, we take away her administrative access to the site. That way she can’t go adding people without their approval. She nearly got her ass eaten the last time around. Best not to take any chances.” Giving her a squeeze, he got up from the sofa and pulled her up. “Food, tour, and then we are going to get some sleep. We both need to get up for work tomorrow.”

  Ushering her into the kitchen, he pulled out a stool at the breakfast bar portion of the island and lifted her up onto it. Going to the fridge, he pulled the door open, then turned back to her with a jug in hand. He lifted a glass from the counter and set it before her with the jug. “It’s lemonade, if you’re interested. Now, what would you like for dinner? And before you answer that, if you tell me you’re vegan or something like that, we
may need to have words, strong and vulgar words.”

  ****

  They enjoyed chatting as they ate. “Where did you learn to BBQ so well?” The meat was literally falling apart and it wasn’t like it had cooked for a long time.

  “It’s all in the marinade, along with a few secret ingredients. I’ve picked up some tricks over the years, and I occasionally attend barbecue competitions to try their new rubs. I’m considering putting in a smoker back here to do ribs. I have several other tricks that guarantee they stay juicy.”

  They talked about a lot of things. She found out they would have a lot of overtime until the paperwork was caught up, and that even after that there was still a possibility they would be working a great deal of it, which bummed her out a bit.

  “I’m on-call most evenings and Saturdays, with Sundays off. Every fourth week I take a three-day weekend where I’m only to be called in an absolute emergency. Armageddon, the zombie apocalypse, or the bakery’s on fire. Anything beyond that I expect my team to handle,” Novak added in all seriousness.

  “Zombie apocalypse, really? Yes, I know that shifters and witches are real, but zombies? No. Just, no.” She was shaking her head. When she’d stopped laughing, she said, “So, will you spend lunches and breaks with me?”

  “Whenever I can. My shifts are more fluid than yours are since I occasionally have to leave abruptly, and don’t even get me started about court appearances. Speaking of which, I get to go spend my morning there smirking at the assholes who show for their court date thinking that I wouldn’t so they’d be let off.”

  “You know,” she began after they’d lapsed into a comfortable silence, “I didn’t realize that dire wolves were real—or that I would find a mate with one, so I’m sure that has to be it as well—but knowing that you are real is amazing to me, especially since you’re mine.”

  Leaning over, he gave her a slow, gentle kiss. “Couldn’t get any more real, Jess. Come on, let’s clean this up, have our dessert, and then we both need sleep.” Another light brush from his lips, and Novak drew away to start gathering up their dishes.

  “I like the way you think.” Although, when the man walked away from her, suddenly sleep seemed to be the last thing on her mind.

  When he leaned forward to grab something, the way his pants hugged his ass didn’t exactly help her situation either. “Jess, you okay?” he asked, clearly amused.

  “Holy hells bells, Novak, you are one sexy ass freaking man. I haven’t even seen you naked yet and already I can’t wait. We haven’t done anything more than a little heavy petting, but I want more. I need so much more. I know how fucked up that sounds, but I want it, desperately.”

  His laugh made her toes curl without her permission. “Well, I’m more than happy to get naked for you whenever you’d like. I’m a shifter. We have zero shame in running around naked as the day we were born. Besides, you’re my mate. Who better to show off to?”

  “You have no idea how much I want you.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing, sweetheart.” Grinning, he headed for the door and held it for her to go inside first. “It’s not, but let me scrape down the grill and turn off the heaters before we get distracted. I’d really be unhappy to wake up to my house on fire.”

  “How about we have some muffins or something before we head off to the bedroom?” She still wanted her dessert, dammit. “I’ll even let you eat off of me, if you are good and smooth.” She was falling so hard for him.

  “Hell, in that case I think we should dig out the can of whipped cream and the syrup. If I’m going to be eating anything off you, fuck going healthy,” he said, setting the dishes down. He walked by her, stroking a finger down her arm when he passed. “I’ll let you decide.”

  “Grab it while I have a very quick shower so you have a nice clean surface to eat off of. Just promise to feed me along the way. Now, go. Get what you need and, if you have them, maraschino cherries, too.”

  “Cherries? Maybe,” he said in a considering tone. “I’ll take a look. Go on up and to the right. The frosted glass doors lead into the bedroom. Extra towels are in the cabinet next to the door. I put your bags up in the bedroom if you need anything from them.”

  “Take your time so I can shower and get nice and clean for you.” She paused halfway up the stairs and called out, “Just know I will want to spread some whipped cream over your cock and lick it all off.”

  A loud crash sounded, followed by enough curses and variation to make her cheeks go hot. “Get your sweet ass upstairs before I forget all my good intentions, woman.” More muttering ensued as she decided to make a hasty retreat from the room.

  Jess raced away from Novak so that she could make it to the shower before he got upstairs to attack her, and she knew he would. Damn she couldn’t wait to have him doing just that, attacking her. She could hear him downstairs and simply grinned. She quickly showered and was dried and on the bed just when he opened the door.

  He stopped and stared at her for a long time before kicking the door shut. Novak came toward her and passed over the jar of cherries and whipped cream can. Stepping back, he bent to deal with his boots and socks. When he straightened up he was already working on the buttons for his shirt. He didn’t toss it aside but carefully hung it on a doorknob. His pants came off fast and she only caught a glimpse before she had his ass in view while he folded them and laid them on the dresser.

  “Damn.” She whistled and leaned back, holding the whipped cream and cherries. “Do you always take such meticulous care with your clothes?” She was lucky if she got hers in the hamper every night, but that was just her.

  “Only when I’ve been a little lax on the laundry and have to wear these again tomorrow. Thankfully Friday is casual day. Won’t matter what I wear,” he said. Turning, he stalked toward the bed and climbed up next to her. Novak moved in closer and leaned in to nuzzle at her cheek. “I like smelling my scent on your skin.”

  “Then do it as much as you want so that I smell as much like you as you want me to.” She didn’t have the nose of a shifter, so she had to trust him. “I love the way that feels. It’s sexy as hell.” She bent one knee and lifted her body to meet his.

  Novak lowered his body until his skin pressed to hers. “I’ll gladly rub against you time and time again. Especially when you’re naked. I love the feel of your skin to mine, so damn soft,” he breathed against her cheek. Nibbling down her throat, he pressed a kiss to her pulse.

  She rubbed against him but tried to keep her hands to herself. “Touch me more, stroke your hands over me. Everything.”

  “Patience,” he said with a distinct growl. Jess felt his teeth lightly scrape over her shoulder. He continued to press kisses along her collarbone, then down her sternum. When he reached the valley between her breasts, he licked out and, slipping his arms around her body, gave her a squeeze.

  “Oh damn.” She let her head fall back. “Lick my nipples, nibble on them, suck on them, something. Fuck, I’m dying here, Novak.” She hadn’t had sex in a very, very long ass time and having someone so hot and sexy wanting her as much as he did made the ache unbearable.

  “You’re not dying. Now hold still,” he said. He also ignored her request and instead rubbed his nose to the bottom curve of her breasts. He kissed a path over her belly and down. A gentle kiss a breath from her clit made her gasp before he detoured to tease the crease between thigh and hip.

  She whimpered when he continued to toy with her body. “That growl. I feel it from your lips all the way down your body. It’s even vibrating against my clit.”

  Novak shot her a grin before he turned his head and pressed a kiss to her thigh. He pushed it up and out, lightly scraping his cheek over her skin until she could feel his exhalations against her damp flesh. A second later Jess nearly came off the bed at the stroke from his tongue between her folds and up over her clit. She was thankful that Novak had taken the items from her hands and placed them on the side table, or their bed would have been covered with can
died cherries.

  “Oh God!” She tightened her hands on the bedding and arched against him. “Novak, yes. You feel amazing, but I want to have you more.” God, she couldn’t even figure out how to talk right now with how good it was feeling.

  Another slow lick, followed by another, then one more. Lifting his head, Novak pushed up to crawl up her body slowly while running his tongue over his lips. “You taste so good.” His voice had dropped low, deep and guttural. He eased down until they were skin to skin again.

  She wrapped her arms around him, letting her nails rake over his back. “Everything, all of this, feels perfect.” She was rubbing against him over and over again.

  Tightening his arms around her body, he gave her a few slow kisses. “We need to talk a moment, Jess. You have a decision to make about this first time and what comes after. Do you want me to wear a condom?”

  “I can’t get pregnant unless we make love under the new moon, Novak. That’s the only way for a witch. I trust you. I believe in you, and God how I want you.” She wasn’t worried about disease, either, because shifters couldn’t catch diseases, and she knew that she was free and clean.

  Novak stared at her for a moment longer before he said, “Well, that makes this easier and slightly less uncomfortable in that we no longer need to keep discussing it.” Dropping a kiss to her lips, with a smile he rubbed his nose to hers and wiggled his hips.

  She giggled, couldn’t help it. “Stop giving me a hard time and fuck me already, Novak. I need you.” She reached out and grabbed the back of his head and pulled him close. “Make me yours. Claim me, however you have to do it.”

  He gave her lip a bite, then lifted his head. “Flip over,” he ordered. Pushing up to give her the room, he stared at her with eyes no longer fully human. She could see his beast and even felt the presence of the dire wolf coming to rest up under his skin.