Wolf Kissed

4

He grinned back. “But you fly across the world to a place you’ve never been to stay with a girl you’ve never met. Good to know where your boundaries are.”

His leather jacket flexed as he grabbed my bags and tossed them not-so-carefully into the trunk, then opened the back door for me. Good thing all of my important belongings were in storage back in Oregon.

“I’m Vaughn.” His eyes leveled on mine, and I immediately wanted to look down.

The hell?

It took every effort I had to hold his stare. “Nice to meet you, Vaughn,” I said through gritted teeth. His gaze softened. “Interesting.”

“What?” I asked.

“It’s interesting to meet you.” Vaughn’s hands landed on my shoulders as he nudged me toward the seat. As I turned back to comment about him keeping his hands to himself, I caught a glimpse of another man in my peripherals.

How I’d picked him out in the crowds around us, I didn’t know, but Vaughn stepped in front of me as I tried to get another look. “Something wrong, Cait?”

The way Vaughn said my name told me he knew things I didn’t, and I wasn’t a fan. I shoved at his chest, but by the time he was out of my way, the stranger from Australia was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it hadn’t been him at all. More likely, I was just seeing things and having more jetlag side effects.

Glancing down, the mark still hadn’t changed physically, but the throbbing within seemed to ebb and flow as time passed.

“Let’s go,” I huffed and slid into the back seat of my own accord.

He lowered himself to my level, eyes bright with excitement. “This is going to be so much fun.” Then, he shut the door.

I pulled out my phone. There was still no response from Embry about how I was supposed to know who was picking me up, and I hoped like hell I wasn’t about to become a statistic. The last few years had made me equally more trusting of people as well as more suspicious of them. I’d learned a lot on my own and grown up a lot faster than most twenty-one-year-olds. Loss had a way of doing that to people.

Vaughn turned on music, humming as he maneuvered the car like a professional driver through the cluster of vehicles in front of the terminals.

“Aren’t you hot?” I asked as I took in the black leather jacket that hugged his broad shoulders to perfection and tight-yet-worn jeans that covered his long legs.

He coughed. “I mean, I know I’m good looking, but most women don’t point it out so bluntly.

Thank you.”

I sighed. Heavily. “I meant your body temperature, biker dude.” “I acclimate well. Did Em tell you about Susy?” he asked. “Who’s Susy?”

Vaughn shook his head. “The beauty I should be driving. My one true love.” He then proceeded to go on a tangent about his Harley motorcycle that I had zero desire to know about. The only positive was he’d mentioned Embry, or at least I assumed that was who he meant by Em since I often called her that, too.

I continued to text her as he rambled, but she never responded. I was going to kill her for doing this to me. The only positive was that Vaughn had put my mind at ease, and the pressure that had been building within my head was gone.

“So, what about you?” Vaughn asked.

“Uhhh, sure?” I replied, feeling guilty for not really listening to him. I was pretty sure he’d been asking about the ocean.

“Well, that might be a problem.” His eyes met mine in the mirror.

Shit. What had I just replied to? “Sorry, I wasn’t actually listening. To be honest, I’m a little worried about the fact that Embry isn’t responding and I’m in the car with a complete stranger having no clue where I’m headed.”

He nodded and smiled. “If you’d been paying attention, I wouldn’t be such a stranger. As for where you’re headed, it’s one of the safest places in the world. You have nothing to fear from our pack.”

“Our pack? Do you live with Embry? I thought she lived alone on her family’s property.” Things were getting weirder by the second.

“I think I’ll let her explain. As for me, I think I like you, so I’m going to give you a second chance.

Are you ready to listen?”

Now I felt like an asshole. “Yes. Please tell me all the things about you, Vaughn.”

“My name is Vaughn Pierce, I’m thirty-five. I’m in a seriously committed relationship with Susy.” I butted in. “Isn’t that your motorcycle?”

“She’s so much more than that. You’ll see once I get you on the back of her. Well, maybe. Anyway, I live for the land. A place where it’s quiet and I can run with my… uhhh… myself. I also enjoy driving, which is why Embry sent me instead of anyone else. I’m very good at what I do.”

Vaughn didn’t look as old as he said he was, but he had an air of superiority about him that made me believe he was telling the truth.

“Thank you for the brief look into your life,” I said as I stared out the window, trying to figure out what direction we were headed.

“Your turn,” he said. “I think I’ll pass.”

He made a grumbling sound. “Well, that’s rude.”

I’d offended him, and another wave of heat overcame me. Damn it, what was going on with me? Vaughn continued to glower at me—even more so than the road he should have been watching—

until I finally caved. “Okay, fine. I’m Cait Jones. Just Cait, not Caitlyn. I’m twenty-one, and I’ve never been in a serious relationship, not even with inanimate objects.” Vaughn grunted at that but let me continue. “I enjoy the beach and traveling, and I’m not a fan of physical exercise, so don’t expect to find me ruining your quiet place while you run.”

“Where did you come from? How did you meet Embry? She just mentioned she’d never seen you in person,” he said, finally focusing more on driving.

“A small town named Hope, Oregon, and a book group online.”

He laughed, deep and loud. “Just another reminder about how not normal it was that you were hesitant to get in a car with a stranger, but you let someone you met online fly you to a place you’ve never been. Twisted, girl. Very twisted.”

He had only the tiniest of points. Except Embry wasn’t a stranger. We’d video chatted almost daily since our first year of friendship, and I was pretty sure I knew everything about her. Though, that confidence was fading by the hour as my anxiety ramped up.

After I’d zoned out for who knew how long—thank you, jetlag—the car began to slow. I glanced at my phone, surprised it was just after eleven. Somehow two hours with Vaughn had already passed, yet still no response from Embry.