Page 1 of Wolfish Heart
1
KADEN
They never think I hear the whispers.
But the younger generation of the Wolfe family have excellent hearing – probably because we’ve been listening intently to those whispers all our lives.
Still, I always manage to keep a neutral smile on my face as I walk through the town, muttering polite good afternoons to people I know.
It’s strange, the way everyone obsesses over me and my entire family. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn there was a secret podcast dedicated to our daily lives.
I nod hello and smile to Mrs. Betterly…Bently...Beatley...well, something like that. She’s one of the sweet older ladies who has lived in Old Hemlock Valley her entire life, and hardly ever leaves the mountain.
There’s lots like that. Many people around here might like to travel for short spells, but they come back loving their home even more.
My family is the same, embedded as deeply as the rocks, although me and my brothers sometimes have to travel a bitmore, racing around the world for business meetings to pitch clients in person.
Ishouldn’tthink of the stares as an annoyance. As the head of a billion-dollar company, I’m supposed to be able to control my feelings, dammit.Andthe entire tech industry. Hell, maybe even the weather. And yet…
Ugh.
I stroll down the street in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, feeling that everyone around can tell I was wearing an Armani suit on the flight home yesterday. The smell of excess seems to hover around me like an expensive cologne. How ironic that most of the time, those over-the-top status symbols make me feel cheap.
A few paces later, I look up to see one of the local farmers stopped in his tracks, muttering quietly, “Well, damn,there’sa view.”
My gaze follows his toward a lovely brunette just a dozen feet away. It’s a warm day, so she’s wearing a simple blue sundress and sandals. The dappled light is kissing the tops of her round, perky breasts in a way that makes it look like the sun itself wants to point out the spectacular sight to every hot-blooded male around.
Before she steps out from under the awning of Tidy’s Department Store, she switches her backpack from one shoulder to the other, which knocks her purse to the sidewalk. With a sigh, she bends forward to grab it, stumbling slightly, her luscious breasts bouncing and accidentally being put further on display.
Instantly, I notice three different men staring into her cleavage, and a pickup truck slows down to join them.
Bastards. In a flash, I’m standing in front of her, partly to help retrieve her purse but more importantly to block the viewwhile glaring daggers at the men. They all frown for a split second until it registers who I am.
The poor girl seems flustered. I offer my hand to help her up, locking on her soft gray eyes andnotallowing my gaze to drift lower. “Are you okay?” I ask gently.
She smiles up at me, faint sadness in her eyes. “Yeah. It’s just… You’d think I would be used to the staring by now, you know?” She shrugs, and it takes every single ounce of my resolve to keep my focus on her face. “I have to choose between being overheated or having men gawk at my chest.”
I can practically feel everyone behind me watching, wondering why I’m talking to this beautiful stranger. “I’m Kaden. Would you like me to make sure that no man in this town ever ogles you like that again?”
She laughs lightly, the sparkling sound sending peculiar tingles straight through me. “Zoe. And sure – if you have some super deluxe magic trick for that, I’d love to see it.”
“Is it okay if I hug you?”
Her blink of surprise is quickly followed by her teeth sinking into her plush bottom lip.
Zoe isgorgeous. The fact rolls through my mind in slow waves. It’s not just her long, wavy chestnut hair and heart-stoppingly perky breasts. It’s the light smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The graceful line of her cheekbones and full, berry-stained lips. Not to mention those lovely gray eyes, which are currently smiling up at me.
“Sure. Go for it.”
My arms wrap around her, turning us slightly. As I hold her close, my palm gently rubbing up and down her back, I make sure my gaze lands on each man on the street. When I kiss the top of Zoe’s glossy hair, each of them gets the message with razor-sharp clarity.
This girl ismine. And she will be treated with the same respect that people afford me.
I continue hugging her, making sure the ladies in the window of Fran’s Diner get a good look too. Although this is all a performance for her benefit, feeling her warmth against me is stirring up a tornado of brand-new emotions.
Not just lust and desire. She’s sexy as hell, and of course my body craves hers. That part isn’t a mystery.
It’s more than that, though. I want to know her through and through: her favorite food and color. What movie to put on if she’s ever sad, and how to make her laugh. What wildflowers she likes, so I can plan a hike that goes past a field of them.
