Page 1 of Twisted Desire
One
Ethan Lockhart paced the hall, debating on whether or not he should knock on the door, or walk the fuck away. He’d come for answers. Or had he? Had it been something more that led him back to his current location? The first time he’d met Gerri Wilder in the middle of a busy sidewalk, he’d thought she was off her fucking rocker—mentally. The second time he met her, he wondered what kind of fucking game she was playing. What would a third meeting with the owner of the Paranormal Dating Agency bring?
He almost didn’t want to know.
Before he could summon up the courage to knock, the door flung open. He nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Mr. Lockhart, I can’t imagine what brings you to my doorstep—yet again.”
His golden eyes raked over the older, yet attractive woman. He didn’t see anything peculiar about the woman standing in the open doorway. Quite the opposite. She was remarkable. With her blonde pixie haircut and alarming blue eyes, he would even use the term beautiful. A quick scan of her thoughts told him that she was truly surprised to see him again.
“I—uh, was hoping you had a couple of minutes to speak with me.”
Gerri glanced at her watch and back to Ethan. “I suppose I could spare a little bit of time for you, though I’m not sure what good it will do.” Gerri motioned for Ethan to enter.
“Did I not send you to your mate?” She sniffed the air around him as he passed her.
“You did. But—I had no desire to find my mate. I think you had mistaken me for my brother, who, at the time—was desperate to find and claim his mate.”
“I assume the mating was successful?” she asked, although he sensed that she damn well knew the answer to her question.
“Yes, Ma’am, it was. Wade and Callie have a few things to work out between them, but they are getting along just fine.
“Good. Please take a seat.”
Ethan did as he was told and settled onto the couch across from Gerri. “Here’s the thing. I’m not interested in claiming my mate. I want to find out if there’s a way to break the connection I have with her?”
Gerri looked genuinely perplexed. “You don’t want your mate? Is there something wrong with her?”
“Not at all. If I were in the market for a mate, Camryn would be exactly who I was looking for.” A vision of Cam passed through Ethan’s mind. Legs that seemed to go on forever, breasts that begged to be sucked into his waiting mouth, pouty lips that screamed kiss me, and those knowing green eyes of hers. Gods, what he wouldn’t give to look deep into her eyes while his cock was buried deep inside of her tight pussy.
And that was only the physical side of Cam that called out to him. She was also smart as hell, had a wicked sense of humor, and worked harder than anyone he’d ever known. She was the total fucking package. And harder than hell to resist.
Ummpff. He wanted her. More than anyone he’d ever wanted in his life, but couldn’t bring her into his fucked up world.
Gerri rolled her eyes as he spoke. “Let me get this straight, you know who your mate is. You know where she is. You’ve even spent time in her presence, and yet, you walked away from her without marking or claiming her?”
“After initially meeting her, I’ve kept my distance. I knew I had to, or I wouldn’t have been able to resist the urge to mark and claim her. Though my wolf isn’t very happy about it, I’ve managed to keep him under lock and key. He may want to claim her as our mate, but not me.”
“I can’t imagine that’s an easy task,” Gerri grinned.
“It hasn’t been. That’s what brought me back to your doorstep. You seem to be keyed into all thing mate-hood. I was hoping there was something you might know about breaking that connection.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“As a heart attack.” And he was. Long ago and in a faraway land, he’d actually wanted to find his mate. Had been as desperate as his brother, Wade, had been when it came to finding his mate. Then his mother was killed in a brutal attack by rogue wolves. When their father had found his mate—he’d quickly followed her in death.
Ethan couldn’t understand why his father had chosen such a path. Was the love he had for his sons not enough to make him want to carry on?
Sure, he’d heard all the legends and stories from elder pack members who had said it was a perfectly normal thing for a wolf to seek out death following the demise of their mate. It didn’t mean he liked it, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to subject himself to the same fate. He would never give anyone, mate or not, that much power over him. Ever.
“Sorry, there’s nothing I can do to break the attraction to your mate. Even if there was, I wouldn’t interfere.”
Ethan heard her answer before she had a chance to open her mouth and speak it. A happy camper he was not. “And why is that?”
“You may not realize it yet, but the Fates selected Camryn for you for a reason. Who am I to interfere with their grand plans?
“So that’s it, then?”
Ethan was in full disbelief. There had to be something that could be done.
