Ice Age Lover Page 3

  But he turned around and she would have drooled if she had any excess saliva. The front of Kajakti was even better than the back. Her gaze skimmed across his well-defined chest before it arrowed down his washboard abs straight to his cock, which was semi-erect. That changed, though. The longer she stared at it, the bigger it became.

  “There’s also another option,” Kajakti said in a husky voice. “We can stay in bed a little longer, then you can shower and we can get something to eat after that.”

  Jaren wanted to say yes, her pussy clenched at the thought of having his cock buried deep inside her again while she was fully cognizant of what was going on, but she had a sudden case of shyness. Plus, she needed to shower and brush her teeth before they had sex again.

  She dragged her gaze up to Kajakti’s face. “I think I really need to shower.”

  He took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.” He pulled on his jeans and crammed his erection into them, then carefully zipped them up.

  Jaren’s shyness increased when she realized Kajakti waited for her to get out of bed and get the things she’d need for a shower. She didn’t exactly feel like walking over to her only piece of luggage butt naked while he watched her.

  Kajakti chuckled. “There’s no need to feel shy around me, Jaren. I’ve already seen you naked, and I liked what I saw.” When she still didn’t make a move off the bed, he asked, “Would you like me to bring your suitcase to you?”

  She nodded. “Please.”

  He shook his head with a smile, but went and retrieved her case for her. Kajakti put it on the bed. Jaren opened it. She took out her bathrobe and the toiletries she’d need to brush her teeth and wash. The robe, she pulled on before she let go of the sheets and slipped off the bed.

  Kajakti came to stand in front of her and pulled her into his arms. He softly brushed his lips across hers before he let her go. “Come on, I’ll show you where to find the bathroom.”

  Jaren had to admit she liked being held by him. A lot. Even though she hardly knew Kajakti, she already felt close to him. That scared her a bit. She’d had one relationship come to a close only to end up with another man on the same day. That didn’t say too much about her. And it made it even worse that she’d slept with him. She didn’t bed hop. Ever.

  She silently followed Kajakti out of the bedroom and out into the hallway. She breathed a small sigh of relief when they didn’t encounter any of his roommates as he took her to the bathroom. After a promise that she wouldn’t take too long and Kajakti had given her a towel, Jaren closed the door and locked it.

  Brushing her teeth helped with the bad taste on her tongue, and some water from the faucet took away most of her dry mouth. Under the warm spray of the shower, Jaren once more thought about what had transpired between her and Kajakti during the night. From what she could remember, sex with him had been pretty damn spectacular. And right before she’d come, she’d felt something like a piece of Kajakti reach out to her, then become one with a little bit of her.

  But of course she’d still been drunk at the time and could have just imagined that was what had happened. Jaren wanted to kick herself for being so stupid yesterday. She wasn’t one for drinking in the first place.

  Jaren washed her hair. She had no recollection of arriving at Kajakti’s place or of ending up in his bed. The last thing she remembered was getting into his friend’s SUV, then she must have fallen asleep. It made her wonder what Kajakti’s roommates thought of her when they saw him carrying her into their home.

  She finished up her shower, dried off, then pulled her bathrobe back on. With her toiletries in hand, Jaren opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hallway to head to Kajakti’s bedroom. She felt a little better but she wasn’t quite one hundred percent.

  Jaren had just reached the open door to Kajakti’s room when the one across from his opened and a man stepped through it. He also appeared native with his long, black hair and bronzed skin. And also like Kajakti, he was over six foot and had a well-muscled body.

  He smiled once he noticed her. “Hi, Jaren. I’m Capac. Are you feeling better?”

  “If that is a polite way of asking if I’m no longer drunk, the answer is yes. It’s nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand.

  He stepped closer, grasped it in his much larger one and gave it a shake before he released her. He also took a deep breath, then gave her a quizzical look. “Did you and Kajakti talk about what he—?”

  “Oh, you met Capac, one of my roommates,” Kajakti said as he stepped out of his room and interrupted the other man so he couldn’t finish his question.

  “Yes,” Jaren said.

  Capac looked at Kajakti, then said something in a language she didn’t understand. Kajakti answered in the same one. The two men conversed that way for a few seconds before Capac gave her a nod and continued down the hallway to the top of the stairs.

  Kajakti put his hand on the small of Jaren’s back and guided her into the bedroom. Once they were inside he closed the door behind them. She walked over to the bed and put her toiletries into her suitcase.

  “What was it that Capac thought you had to talk to me about?” she asked.

  “It wasn’t anything important.”

  “And what language was it you two spoke? I’ve never heard it before.”

  “It’s our native one. We’re both Tlingit, same with our other roommates, Edensaw, Wachei, Durlach and Ketah.”

  “I guess I’ll be meeting everyone once we go downstairs. I’m sure they’re looking forward to meeting the drunk woman you brought home last night,” she said sarcastically.

  Kajakti chuckled, stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her close to his front. “I already told them what your ex did to you. They are outraged on your behalf. They also don’t think any less of you because of you having a little bit too much to drink. Eryn, Wachei’s wife, said, and I quote, you had more than enough reason to get shitfaced.”

  Jaren turned her head to the side as Kajakti nuzzled the crook of her neck. “I think I want to meet Eryn.”

  “You’ll like her, same with the others.”

  “Are your roommates okay with the idea of me staying here until I can figure out how to get out of the mess Matt created for me?”

  Kajakti turned Jaren in his arms until she faced him. “You’re welcome to stay indefinitely if you want to. I know I’d like that.” He flashed her a sexy smile.

  She grinned in return, wondering if he was actually serious. If so, he was moving a bit fast. “Thanks for the offer, but I do have to go home to Canada.” Jaren looked down at Kajakti’s bare chest. “I guess we should talk about what happened last night.”

  He lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to meet his gaze. “I’m okay with it. You might have speeded things along, but I have no complaints with the end result.”

  “I basically forced myself on you.”

  Kajakti laughed. “If you want the truth, I thought I was dreaming at first. But the real thing was much better than what my imagination could come up with.”

  “I want to tell you that I don’t normally do that. I don’t break up with a boyfriend only to hop into bed with the next man I’m very attracted to. I can only blame it on the vanilla vodka.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t worry about it, Jaren. As I said, you just hurried things along.” Kajakti grew silent for a few seconds. “How would you feel about staying in Juneau for longer than the week you had originally planned? It will give us a better chance to get to know each other.”

  “You’d really want me to stay here longer with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I still need to go to the Canadian consulate and arrange for a new passport.”

  “We’ll do that on Monday.”

  She nodded. “All right, I’ll extend my holiday for a while longer. It’s not as if I have any other place to go, and I don’t have the means to buy another plane ticket.”

  “Good. Let’s get dressed,
then I’ll take you downstairs and make you something to eat.”

  Jaren watched Kajakti walk to his closet. He pulled out a pair of clean jeans. She turned back to her suitcase and took out what she wanted to wear. She hoped she wasn’t making a mistake by saying yes. She didn’t want Kajakti to end up being the rebound boyfriend. He was a great guy and she looked forward to getting to know him a whole lot better.

  * * * * *

  Kajakti introduced Jaren to his “roommates” once he took her downstairs to the kitchen for some breakfast. She didn’t know it yet, but now that he’d claimed her as his mate, she’d become a member of his werewolf pack. All that was left to make them true mates was for him to bite her while in dire wolf form and she’d turn and be as immortal as he. That, of course, wouldn’t happen today since she had no idea what she’d done by fully making love to him.

  Everyone, being werewolves, knew he’d claimed Jaren as his as soon as they smelled her scent. His would be deeply ingrained in hers, as hers was in his. Capac had quickly picked up on it when he’d first met Jaren. The only one who didn’t sense it was his mate.

  Jaren now sat at the kitchen table talking with Cassidy, Eryn and Haven while the others had gone outside to do who knew what. Kajakti listened to their conversation while he made some toast for Jaren.

  “So where in Canada do you live?” Cassidy asked.

  “In Kelowna, British Columbia.”

  “Have you lived there long?” Haven asked.

  “All my life. This trip to Alaska is my first one out of the country. I’m in between jobs at the moment. My ex offered to pay for airfare and the hotel when I suggested we come to Juneau.”

  “That was nice of him,” Eryn said sarcastically. “Too bad he was such an asshole. Kajakti told us what he did to you. Do you think he would have flown back to Canada without you?”

  Jaren shrugged. “I don’t really know. It’s a possibility. If he’s still in Juneau, I have no idea where he’d be, not that I care. After this, I’d be quite happy to never see him again.”

  Kajakti hadn’t thought about the fact that Matt could still be in the city. He didn’t know if he could trust himself around Jaren’s ex if he did meet up with him. Kajakti was liable to punch the guy out for what he’d done or at the very least scare the crap out of him by going wolf and trying to sink his teeth into him.

  “I bet you would be,” Eryn replied. “But you’ve ended up with a better man. Kajakti would never do anything like that to you. In fact, I think you might be stuck with him. He probably won’t want to let you go.”

  Wachei’s mate winked at Kajakti as he brought Jaren a plate with two pieces of buttered toast. “Now don’t be saying that, Eryn,” he said. “We don’t want to scare Jaren away.” He smiled at Jaren and put the food in front of her.

  She looked up at him. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re my knight in shining armor. I’m more than happy to be where I am.”

  Kajakti would have liked to scoop Jaren up in his arms and lock her inside his bedroom for half the day while he made love to her, but he didn’t think she was ready for that yet. She was no longer drunk and free of her inhibitions. From her scent, he could sense she felt a little nervous around him since she’d woken up. He’d let her get to know him a bit better during the day, then he’d whisk her away to his room. The more they made love, the closer their mating bond would become.

  Carson walked through the entrance to the kitchen. He seemed to take in everyone who was in the room before his gaze settled on Kajakti, then Jaren, then back to Kajakti again. “Man you worked fast,” Carson said with a smile. “I guess getting her drunk paid off. I’ll have to remember that when my turn comes.”

  Eryn gave her sibling a meaningful glare. “Carson, sit your ass down and be quiet.” She turned to look at Jaren. “Never mind my brother. He tends to shoot his mouth off without thinking.”

  “I remember you,” Jaren said. “You were the one who picked Kajakti and me up last evening.”

  Carson sat at the table beside his sister. “That’s right. Since you’re staying here, you’ll be seeing a lot of me. I consider this my second home.”

  “Sometimes I wish you didn’t,” Eryn said in a dry tone.

  Her brother leaned in and gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “No, you don’t. You’d miss me. Your life would be boring if I wasn’t around to drive you nuts.”

  “I don’t know about that. I had enough of you and Noah bugging the crap out of me while we were growing up.”

  “But you love us anyway. And speaking of Noah, he and I are going hunting in a couple of hours. Do you and Wachei want to come with us?”

  Eryn nodded. “Sure. I need some more practice with my bow and arrows.”

  “Great. I’ll text Noah and let him know.” Carson stood. “I guess I’ll go out back and say hello to the others.”

  Kajakti watched his wolf brother walk out of the kitchen. At least Carson hadn’t insinuated anything more about Kajakti having already claimed Jaren as his mate. He was going to have to tell her soon, though. Here in their home, everyone didn’t have to hide their true natures. It would be quite easy for any one of them to forget and shift to their dire wolf form or do something else to have the truth come out before Kajakti talked to Jaren.

  He noticed Jaren hadn’t touched her toast and pushed the plate closer to her, then sat in the chair next to her. “You really need to eat something. Your stomach will feel better after you do.”

  She picked up a piece of toast, took a bite, chewed and then swallowed. “Never again will I drink on an empty stomach.”

  Cassidy chuckled. “I think we’ve all done that at one time in our lives.”

  A loud howl could be heard from the direction of the backyard. Jaren jumped. “Was that a wolf? It sounded as if it’s close to the house.”

  Eryn answered. “That was probably Carson being an idiot again.” She stood, then looked at Cassidy and Haven. “Shall we go outside and see what the guys are up to now?”

  After the three women left, Kajakti focused his attention back on Jaren. She munched on her toast. Her color looked a little better. “Is it helping?” he asked.

  “Yes, a bit. I hope I’m not holding you back from any plans you had for today.”

  “You’re not.”

  They sat in silence for a few seconds before Jaren asked, “Does Eryn really hunt with a bow and arrows?”

  “Sometimes. She’s much better at it with a rifle. She learned how to hunt when she was a young teen. It wasn’t until after she met Wachei did she learn how to use a bow. He taught her.”

  “What about you? Do you hunt with one?”

  “Yes. It’s one of my preferred weapons. I could teach you. We could tag along with Eryn and Wachei if you’d like.”

  Jaren grinned and shook her head. “No, that’s all right. I’m not a big fan of hunting. I don’t even like to go fishing. I’m not much of an outdoors girl.”

  As she spoke, Durlach walked into the room. With dread, Kajakti followed his wolf brother with his gaze as Durlach went to the cupboard and pulled out a frying pan. This did not bode well. Durlach loved to cook, but the only problem was he was about the only one who could stomach his food. Except for Carson, who seemed to be immune to it.

  Kajakti looked back at Jaren. “If you want you can finish your toast upstairs in my room.”

  “No, that’s okay.” Jaren picked up her second piece of toast and took a bite.

  He racked his brain to think of a good excuse to get him and Jaren the hell out of the kitchen before the disgusting smell of Durlach’s food took over. If his mate’s stomach was still upset, his wolf brother would do her in.

  Lost in his thoughts, trying to come up with anything, Kajakti was brought back to the present as Jaren stood, and said, “I can’t sit here and watch this.”

  Much to his surprise, she walked over to Durlach and stopped him from cutting the vegetables he’d taken out of the fridge. Kajakti stood, then h
eaded over to his mate.

  “Here, like this,” Jaren said and took the knife from Durlach. She then proceeded to cut the red pepper on the cutting board into tiny, even pieces. “See how I’m doing it? Your way would have eventually ended up with you cutting yourself. Do you want the rest of the vegetables cut like this?” At Durlach’s nod, Jaren diced the rest of the vegetables as she’d done the pepper.

  Durlach shook his head. “You make it look easy, but I know it isn’t.”

  Jaren grinned. “I should. I work as a chef for a living.”

  Kajakti bit back a laugh as Durlach stared at Jaren as if she’d said she was the newest movie star.

  “You’re a chef?” Durlach asked with awe. At Jaren’s nod, he added, “You have to teach me how to cook. Cassidy has been trying but it hasn’t worked out so well.”

  “Sure, I’d love to while I’m here.”

  Jaren had no idea how long that would end up being. Durlach did, and he looked as if someone had given him the thing he wanted most. Kajakti had a feeling his wolf brother would try to get Jaren into the kitchen to teach him how to cook whenever he could manage it.

  “Can we start now?” Durlach asked. “I was going to make an omelet, but mine never turn out properly.”

  Kajakti could attest to that. Running and burned eggs with ketchup thrown in did not make an appetizing omelet.

  “Okay,” Jaren said with a nod. “Why not?” She looked at the ingredients Durlach had taken out of the fridge. “You can get rid of the ketchup. We definitely won’t need that. You can also get another frying pan out. You’re going to copy everything I do.”

  Kajakti grabbed a cup of coffee and sipped on it as he watched his mate work at the stove. Everything she did was efficient, and she turned out to be a pretty good teacher. For once, Durlach actually made something that didn’t look like throw up on a plate.

  Soon the kitchen was filled with the delicious smell of cooking food. Kajakti’s stomach growled in anticipation of tasting Jaren’s omelet. He wasn’t surprised when the other occupants of the house came into the room. With their sensitive werewolf sense of smell, it wouldn’t have taken much to have them checking out the wonderful aroma coming from the stove. He watched the looks of shock cross his pack’s faces as each one realized Durlach was cooking alongside Jaren.