JULIETI’ve been learning something new with every day spent at the Denver packhouse. Like how if you arrive too late for meals, most of the good stuff will already be gone. And how there’s an entire dresser full of swimsuits of all sizes in one of the guest rooms for visitors, which explains why the one Tayla wore the other morning was so ill-fitting. And that most nights, the young, single guys that live at the packhouse congregate in the game room, shooting pool and watching sports highlights on TV to unwind from their day. Tobias told me about it at breakfast, so of course that’s where I head the following evening when boredom strikes, curious to check it out.It's a huge space on the upper floor of the packhouse that’s basically a bachelor’s paradise, chock full of all kinds of stuff that guys go crazy for. There’s a full-sized glass-front refrigerator stocked with beer, a massive flatscreen TV mounted on one wall, floor to ceiling windows that overlook the terrace lining another
COLE“Still looking for answers in that thing?” Sam asks, the sound of his voice breaking through my concentration. I look up, a little surprised to find him standing on the other side of my desk in my office. I was so immersed in reviewing this file for what feels like the hundredth time that I didn’t even hear him come in.I grunt in affirmation, flipping the police file on the Sparrowhead apartment fire closed and shoving back in my chair, crossing an ankle over my knee.Sam eyes the file as he sinks down into his usual chair across from my desk and gets comfortable. “Look man, I’m sorry about what happened, truly. But torturing yourself over it isn’t going to bring them back…”“I know that,” I snap, immediately regretting how harshly it comes out. I’m still a little more short-tempered than normal even though Juliet and I have managed to steer clear of one another for the better part of a week. But at least my daily routine is finally back on track.I blow out a breath, scrubbing
JULIET “Hey Jules,” Eddie greets from the foyer of the packhouse as I’m crossing it to head to my room in the guest wing. The pack warriors have had a busy schedule this week, so I haven’t seen much of them around here. Thankfully, Shay has been keeping me company, but since she’s off on a date with Sam tonight I figured my Friday evening would be woefully low-key.Or maybe it’s about to turn around.I slow to a stop and glance over to see Eddie loitering near the front door with Tobias and Mike, all of them dressed in jeans instead of their usual gym shorts and nice t-shirts rather than the ratty cut-offs they typically sport when they’re hanging around the house. I smile in their direction as I clock their attire. “Hey, where are you guys off to?”“A party,” Tobias provides, flashing me a handsome grin and carding his fingers through his auburn hair. “Wanna come?”I glance down at my cropped tank and jean shorts combo with a frown. “Eh, I’m not sure if I’m really dressed for that…”
COLESqueezing my eyes closed, I try to focus. I’ve never had this problem before. It’s probably just stress. I’ve had a lot going on lately and I haven’t been sleeping well.Focus, Cole.I conjure up an image in my mind. Blonde hair, perky tits. An ass to die for. She’s a sweet little girl nextdoor type, my go-to fantasy. She sinks to her knees and stares up at me, batting her lashes and blinking her big blue eyes. Those eyes start to change though, beginning to look familiar. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips as they tip into a devious smirk, and suddenly she’s not just a random dream girl, but the vision of someone very, very real. Someone off-limits. Still, the thought of her is the only thing that has inspired any blood flow down south for the last twenty minutes, so I let myself picture Juliet, even though I shouldn’t be.“What’s going on with you tonight, baby?” Rosie’s voice breaks through the fantasy forming in my mind, shattering it in an instant.I heave an annoyed sigh,
JULIETI’m just putting the finishing touches on my makeup- a sultry smoky eye look with winged liner- when my cell phone begins vibrating on the bathroom counter, the screen lit up with an incoming call. I pop the mascara wand back in the tube and glance down, expecting it to be Kylie calling since we made plans to go out to a club called Hydra tonight after we both interviewed for jobs at Jokers earlier. It’s not her name I see on the screen, though; it’s a number I don’t recognize. I don’t usually answer calls from unknown numbers, but since the first three digits are a Denver area code, I pick it up with a hesitant, “Hello?”“Is this Juliet Anderson?” a male voice asks on the other end of the line. Wherever he is, it’s loud. I can hear the roar of music and voices, clattering glass, and a cacophony of other sounds I can’t quite place.“This is Juliet,” I reply tentatively, not recognizing the voice of the caller.He breathes what sounds almost like a sigh of relief. “Juliet, this
COLE I can endure a lot of things in the name of professionalism. Grating personalities, poor manners, terrible jokes. I’ve looked past all of those things when it comes to Gavin Holley, the new liquor distributor in town that has been courting me for my business, because regardless of whether he’s an obnoxious blowhard (which he is) his prices undercut all of the other local distributors, meaning better profit margins for my pack’s bars and clubs. I don’t have to like Gavin in order to do business with him. I do, however, have to tolerate the guy and maintain a cordial and amicable relationship, which is easier said than done as the night wears on and I’m forced to bear witness to the kind of man he really is. The kind who tosses money around like it’s endless, downs drinks like a sloppy frat boy, and shamelessly hits on a nineteen-year-old girl who’s just trying to do her job. A job that I’m not sure how she wound up with, but I’ll be having words with Jason before the night’s ove
JULIETThe scent of Italian food wafts from the kitchen as I step through the doorway to enter, my stomach immediately responding with a loud grumble in protest. I skipped lunch today in favor of buckling down and getting some of my required reading out of the way before classes start. I’ve only got two weeks left to tackle all of it, and as interesting as I find the material, I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later so I can enjoy the last couple weeks of summer before diving into my studies.And yeah, maybe immersing myself in my textbooks was a distraction tactic, too. If my mind isn’t busy, it starts to wander back to last night and I either start overthinking everything that happened between Cole and me or I get hot and bothered all over again and end up rubbing one out.Seriously.I’ve already gotten myself off twice today thinking about what we did in that office, no shame. It was the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. Not that I’ve done much to compare it to, but I’m
COLEHeat lightning cracks across the sky in the distance, illuminating the canopy of leaves in the forest for a brief moment as I throw my head back and drag in a deep inhale. All I can scent is the rain. The earth beneath my paws is soft and wet from the downpour when the storm came through here, fast and furious, and I can feel mud squidging between the pads of my toes as I stalk through the dark woods, searching.The rain has slowed to a drizzle, my wolf’s thick coat wicking away the moisture as I creep through the foliage. I won’t be able to rely on my sense of smell, so I’m channeling my other senses, relying on my animal instincts and going with my gut to point me in the right direction. Despite my massive size in my shifted form, I’m quiet as I travel through the familiar woods on four paws. My wolf is adept at the hunt; silent but deadly.Small animals realize too late that I’m nearby, skittering away to conceal themselves in the thick brush as I pass. They have nothing to fe