ACougarsDesire (5 page)

“Yeah. Isn’t he the computer nerd, though?”

He grinned. “He is, but he in no way looks like one. The guy
is as big as a werewolf. Give him a call.” Jase rattled off Draven’s number as
Grady put it into his contacts in his cell phone.

“I’ll do that,” Grady said. “If anything, it should be an
interesting night.”

Once his brother left, Jase headed across the hall. Inside
Katarina’s apartment, there was no sound of the shower running. He went to the
bedroom and arrived in time to watch her drop her towel, then start to get
dressed. He leaned against the doorframe, admiring the sight she made.

Even though he hadn’t said anything to Grady, Jase already
had strong feelings for Katarina. She was everything he liked in a woman. She
could stand up for herself and had no qualms about saying what was on her mind.
And she wasn’t afraid to show him exactly what she wanted from him in bed, or
taking it.

Jase followed the line of her back as Katarina picked up a
comb and ran it through her long, damp hair. At that moment, as he stood there
taking her all in, he realized he wanted her to set off the magic in his cougar
head pendant. He wanted to see it grace her slim neck and rest just above her
more-than-a-handful breasts. He wanted to tell her what he was, but with her
baseball bat somewhere close at hand, he didn’t think shifting to his cougar
form in front of her right then would be a good idea.

“Are you going to only stand there and stare?” Katarina
asked as she met his gaze in the dresser mirror.

Jase pushed away from where he leaned and closed the
distance between them. He took the comb from her hand and took over the job of
getting the snarls out of her hair. “I finally got rid of Grady.”

“Did you find anything useful?”

“Only a big wad of cash that was hidden under Caleb’s
mattress.”

“So he’ll be back.”

“I’m ninety-ninety-point-nine percent sure he will. I can’t
see him wanting to leave that amount of money behind.”

Jase reached around Katarina and put the comb on the dresser
before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his
chest. The top of her head just reached it. He met her gaze in the mirror once
more.

“How about you spending tonight at my place?” he asked.

“Don’t you have to get your parents’ permission first?” A
small smile tugged at Katarina’s lips.

“That was so funny I forgot to laugh. No, I don’t. I’m all
grown up at age twenty-seven. I can invite whomever I want over.”

“That’s how old I am.”

“Oh really now? When is your birthday? Mine is on May 10th.”

Katarina turned in his arms to face him. “So is mine.”

Jase laughed. “We’re twins.”

“Hardly. You won’t ever have to worry about me forgetting
your birthday.”

“Nor me yours. So will you spend the night at my house?”

“All right.” Katarina stood on tiptoe and kissed his chin.
“I’m really interested in seeing this massive bedroom of yours.”

“I hope that isn’t the only thing of mine that you’ll find
massive.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, baby, you’re so well-hung I can’t
think of anything else but your enormous cock.”

The way Katarina said it in such a monotone voice, she had
Jase laughing. “Okay, you got me back for that one.”

“I’ll make us some breakfast. Then I have to get to work.”

Jase tugged her closer and kissed her until she moaned into
his mouth. He lifted his head. “Are you sure you have to work today? Wouldn’t
you rather spend the day with me instead?”

Katarina reached up and fingered his pendant as she looked
him in the eyes. “I would, but I can’t. The owner is coming by late this
afternoon to collect the rent checks. I have to have this place clean or he’ll
come down hard on me.”

“I could help you.”

She arched a brow. “Have you ever cleaned before?”

“Well, not really.”

“I figured that much. If you live in a mansion, then I would
expect you have hired help to do that for you. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll
get it done faster by myself. I have a whole system worked out.”

“Then I won’t suggest I help with breakfast either since I
don’t know how to cook.”

Katarina laughed and shook her head. “Good idea. Let’s get
something to eat, then you have to hit the road.”

Jase released Katarina and watched her walk out of the
bedroom. He gathered up the rest of his clothes and pulled them on before he
joined her in the kitchen. As she went about making breakfast for them, he
decided he’d gear their evening all for her. He’d wine and dine her, after
which he’d take her to bed and make her come until she begged him to stop.
If
she begged him to stop. Though he had no problem with the idea of taking her as
many times as it took to have her calling for mercy.

Caleb watched Grady walk out of the apartment building and
head for the parking lot at the side from his hiding place across the street.
He lifted his upper lip in a snarl as the other cougar shifter got into his
car, then drove away.

He remained where he was, though. Jase was still inside
there somewhere. Caleb had recognized the brothers’ cars in the lot as he’d
driven his beater by them. He’d come to retrieve the last few things he’d left
in the crappy apartment he’d been forced to rent. But with Jase and Grady
already there, he couldn’t take the chance of either one of them encountering
him.

How Jase had known where to find him in the first place,
Caleb hadn’t a clue. He’d purposely picked the worst part of the city, an area
where none of his family would think to look for him. Obviously, that hadn’t
worked as well as he’d thought it would.

He should have left Anchorage, but Caleb wasn’t going to
just walk away from the life he’d built for himself and leave it all behind.
He’d worked too hard for it all. He needed to liquidate all his assets before
he could go start over again, in another country perhaps.

If only his uncle had died as Caleb had planned, then none
of this would have happened to him. For over half a year no one had been wise
to what he’d been doing. They’d all accepted his word that his uncle suffered
from some kind of new illness. And he’d been so close to reaching his goal.
He’d had it all worked out too. Since his cousin Blaise didn’t want the
leadership role in their family group, and Taylor had been exiled, Caleb would
have easily stepped in to it. No one would have stopped him. He would have been
there for his aunt, and little by little, he would have taken the reins.

But then his uncle had done the unthinkable and brought
Taylor back into the family fold and reinstated him as his heir. All Caleb’s
plans had fallen apart the day Taylor returned. Caleb once again was relegated
to the orphan whom his uncle took pity on.

After waiting ten more minutes and Jase didn’t appear, Caleb
made the decision to come back another day. What the other cougar shifter was
doing inside the building, he had no idea, and didn’t intend to stick around to
find out. He’d wait until the coast was clear before he attempted to get what
belonged to him.

* * * * *

Katarina worked like a dog to get the apartment building up
to the owner’s standards. She thought there was nothing wrong with how she
normally cleaned it, but he’d made it perfectly clear that wasn’t acceptable to
him. To be honest, the man was an asshole, but since she didn’t have any other
job options available, she put up with his shit.

She’d finally gotten to sit down when a loud knock on her
door heralded the arrival of the owner. Katarina got up and answered it. She
stepped back to let George in. He was a balding, overweight sixty-year-old man
who thought he had a way with the ladies, even though she highly doubted he
even had it when he was younger.

“Hi, George. I have the rent checks all ready for you.”

“Are there any late ones?” he asked as he walked in, looking
around.

“A couple, but they’ve assured me they’ll have the rent to
me in the next couple of weeks. They were a little short.”

George came to stand in the middle of the living room,
appearing to give it a close inspection. “I’ve told you before not to allow
that. I’m sure it’s the same tenants every month.”

Katarina bit back a caustic remark. The ones who she gave
leeway to were the tenants who’d lost their jobs and had young families or who
were seniors. They always managed to make up their rent. It just took them
longer.

“I know. I’ve told them how you feel about it.”

George crossed over to the coffee table and picked up the
manila envelope she’d put the rent checks in. He then came to stand in front of
her.

“As I’ve said, this has happened one too many times. That
being case, let this be your two-week notice. I need you out of the apartment
by then.” He paused to look around again. “I have to have this place painted
before my daughter takes over as superintendent.”

At first, Katarina didn’t know what to say. She’d worked
there for the last three years. “You’re letting me go? Shouldn’t I at least
have a month’s notice like any other tenant?”

He snorted. “You aren’t a tenant. You’ve lived here rent
free. Two weeks is sufficient for letting a person go when it pertains to a
job. I’ll be around for the keys at the end of that time period. Make sure
you’ve taken all your belongings. Anything left behind will be disposed of.”

Katarina could only stare at George as he walked away and
out of the apartment. She counted to three, but that didn’t do a thing to cool
her temper. The big, fat asshole had let her go. She knew it had nothing to do
with the late rent checks or her work performance. It had to do with the fact
his daughter must be out of a job. In her early thirties, the woman was as
spoiled as it came. George gave her whatever she wanted. Obviously, she had
wanted Katarina’s position as superintendent.

She looked around her apartment. There was no way she could
find a new place in that short amount of time. If she were lucky she could get
another job in two weeks, but she’d have no place to stay. Well, if George
thought she’d be kissing his ass and going out of her way to do anything that
wasn’t in her job description, he was out of luck. To be honest, Katarina felt
as if she shouldn’t do anything. It wasn’t as if he’d show up until the weeks
were up. And she would have the major job of packing her whole place. It would
take all her time to do it. She’d accumulated too much stuff over the years.

The more she thought about it, the madder Katarina got. She
needed to get out of her apartment. Thank goodness Jase had invited her to
spend the night at his place. She really needed to get away. And there was the
fact he might be able to help her. She considered him her boyfriend now, and
she thought he felt the same way about her.

Katarina grabbed her purse, keys, the overnight bag she’d
packed and the piece of paper Jase had written his address on before she
stalked out of the apartment. She left the building and headed for her car.
Hopefully Jase would have some suggestions. She really didn’t want to go home
to her parents. They didn’t live in Anchorage. She’d come from Butte, which
only had a population of a little over thirty-two hundred. There was no way she
could live there again. She was too used to the large city of Anchorage.

She followed the directions Jase had given her along with
his address. The area became increasingly more affluent the closer she came to
his house. This was definitely an area where all the rich people lived. When
she’d first moved to Anchorage, she’d driven through the neighborhoods like
this, wondering what the inside of the houses looked like.

Katarina pulled onto the long drive and then drove her car
off to the side where some parking spaces were close to the four-car garage.
She looked up at the large brick home. It was indeed a mansion.

She got out of the car, grabbed her bag and purse from the
backseat before she walked over to the front door. Katarina rang the doorbell.
It seemed to take a while before she heard footsteps coming toward it. It was
opened by a woman who looked to be in her middle thirties. She wore dress pants
and a blouse that looked to be silk. Her tawny hair, the same shade as Jase’s,
was pulled back in a ponytail. Her light-brown eyes that verged on gold were
also the same color.

The woman smiled and opened the door wider. “You must be
Katarina. Jase told me you were coming over. Come on in.”

Katarina smiled. “Thanks. Jase didn’t tell me he had a
sister. I thought he only had a brother.”

The woman laughed. “I’m not his sister. I’m his mother. My
name is Olivia. I’ll take you upstairs. He’s up in his room.”

Katarina followed Olivia across the large, open foyer to the
oak staircase that curved upward. Olivia didn’t look old enough to have a
twenty-seven-year-old son. Katarina would have sworn the other woman was only a
few years older than she.

At the top of the stairs, Olivia led her halfway down the
long hallway and stopped at a closed door. She knocked on it. “Jase, honey?
Katarina is here.”

Jase opened the door and motioned for Katarina to come
inside his bedroom. “Thanks, Mom. I take it you introduced yourself.”

Olivia smiled. “Of course. Will the two of you be eating
downstairs with us or are you going to stay up in your room?”

“I figured we’d stay here.”

“All right. I’ll let the cook know. She can make a tray for
you to bring up.” Jase’s mom looked at Katarina. “I hope to get to know you
better, Katarina.”

Once Olivia left, Katarina walked farther into Jase’s
bedroom and looked around. He hadn’t been kidding. It was huge. There was a
full sitting area complete with a couch and glass coffee table. There were even
glass sliding doors that opened onto the wraparound balcony she’d seen on the
outside of the house. It really was like having his own apartment.

Jase came to stand beside her and took her overnight bag.
“You’re early. I thought it would be closer to dinner before you could get
away. Did the owner show up sooner than you expected?”

Katarina turned to face him. “He did.” Some of her anger
returned at the mention of George.

“You look pissed off. What happened?”

“The asshole let me go. I now have two weeks to clear out my
apartment. He didn’t leave me enough time to find another place. And I highly
doubt I can get a new job in that short amount of time. Being jobless will make
it even harder to get another apartment.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“No. I wish I were.” Katarina met Jase’s gaze. “I know we
still have to get to know each other better, but I have no idea what to do. Is
there any place you know of that I could rent? Even if you could help me find
one I’d appreciate it.”

Jase pulled her close and kissed her. “I can do even better
than that. You can move in here with me.”

Katarina shook her head. “I can’t do that. We’ve only known
each other a couple days. It’s too soon to be talking about moving in together.
Don’t you have a guesthouse or something?”

“No, we don’t. How about this? You move in and I’ll pay to
put what you won’t need in storage. If you feel it isn’t going to work out, you
can stay here for as long as you want until you find another place. At least
you don’t have to feel as if you’ll have to live on the street.” Jase kissed
her again and gave her a crooked smile. “And I don’t mind sharing my space with
you. There’s plenty of room.”

“And your parents? What would they think?”

Jase chuckled. “You’re always so worried about what they’ll
think. You met my mom. Did she look upset with the idea of you staying
overnight?”

“No.”

“And did she act unfriendly toward you.”

“No.”

“Then stop worrying. Think of it this way. You’ll have a better
place to live, all your meals will be cooked for you and you won’t have to
clean anything that you don’t want to.”

Katarina smiled. “I could get used to that and won’t ever
want to leave. Can I look around?”

Jase released her. “Be my guest.” He placed her bag on the
floor, walked over to the sitting area and sat on the couch. “I’ll stay out of
your way.”

She made a show of sitting on the king-sized bed and
bouncing as if she were checking out the mattress. Katarina had to practically
climb up on it to accomplish that since it had one of those high-profile box
springs and the mattress had a thick pillow top. At her height, a step stool
would have come in handy.

Next she walked through the sitting area and looked out the
sliding door. It had a nice view of the perfectly landscaped backyard. Katarina
felt Jase’s gaze following her as she left there and headed for the en suite.

It turned out to be a little larger than her bedroom at her
apartment. There was a glass-enclosed shower stall and a big whirlpool bathtub.
Katarina walked over to it. It would definitely hold two adults, even if one
was as large as Jase.

“So what do you think?”

Katarina turned to find Jase leaning against the granite
countertop on the long vanity. She hadn’t heard him come into the bathroom.

She nodded. “I like it. There’s just one thing I want to try
out first before I give you my final answer.”

Jase stepped closer. “And what would that be?”

“I want to test out the whirlpool bathtub. After all that
cleaning I did earlier today, a good soak is what I need.”

“That’s doable. And since I’m the one who owns this, and
handling the viewing, it would only be the right thing for me to join you. To
show you the other benefits you’ll receive if you take up my offer to
cohabitate.”

Katarina closed the distance between them, then ran her
hands up his muscular chest. “I’ll have to add that to the pro column.”

“I should hope so. And if I may ask, is there anything in
the con column so far?”

“Not a one, but I still want that whirlpool before I give you
an answer.”

“Then I shall run the lady a bath.”

Jase stepped around Katarina and headed over to the bathtub.
He turned on the faucet and adjusted the water temperature to the way he
wanted. Once he finished that and the tub was filling, he turned toward her and
crooked his finger for her to come closer.

Katarina stripped off her clothes before she joined Jase by
the bathtub. She reached up and touched his pendant, something she found
herself wanting to do more than she probably should. At least he didn’t seem to
mind.

“I saw your mom wore the exact same necklace as yours. I
guess Draven was right about people in your circle giving it to their wife or
girlfriend.”

Jase yanked his shirt off over his head. “She actually took
it from my dad. That’s generally what happens. It’s a way of showing she wants
him all to herself.”