The moment he saw the gorgeous curvy female angrily walking up to his bakery, Carson nearly lost it. God. It had been years since he laid his eyes on sweet Josephina Rodriguez. He remembered her as a twelve-year-old red-headed menace, slightly on the round side, hovering in her father’s bakery. Now though, it was hard to believe little Josephina grew up to be this hot and sexy woman.
She was a little thing capable of punching holes into walls. While walking towards the bakery, she freed up the single braid holding her hair, her long wavy dark red hair spilling down her back like one of those unbelievable shampoo commercials. She walked, or rather, strutted across the street like some queen, his empress, hell, his goddess if he wanted.
He raked his gaze lower, to those sexy curves, her perfect breasts and damn it, he knew if she turned her back, he’d catch a glimpse of her well-formed and firm heart-shaped ass. Carson didn’t want her to retreat though, he willed her to come forward and so she did, breezing through the doors, instantly commanding attention. Her eyes zoned in on him, as if it was his scent that caught her. Good.
The mere sight of her stirred his blood, waking the dormant beast in him.
Carson had been tempted to yell at the gawking customers in the shop to bug off, so his sole focus could be on Josephina. Hell, if push came to shove, he’d tear out the throat of any customer who looked at her funny. Even before he introduced himself, he wanted to assign himself as her protector, although doubtless a woman like this didn’t need one. Call it possessiveness then.
Right there and then, Carson wanted to put a mark on his territory. His for a certainty, because by the end of the day her lips would be pressed to his and her body under his.
He wondered if she still went by her nickname ‘Josie’. A little bit of disappointment tickled into him when he realized she didn’t recognize him, but how could she? She was twelve when he’d been eighteen, a gangly teenager who was coming to terms with adolescence and his first werewolf shift.
He adored her though, because no matter how much shit life put him through back in those days, her smile lit up his day. Back then, Carson had thought nothing of the potential woman she’d become. He was her brother, or he’d like to think so, even though they weren’t related by blood and he only worked for her father’s bakery for a couple of months.
After high school graduation, Carson moved out of town to join a pack in the nearby city. He never forgot about Josephina though, because his mother always sent him letters and copies of the town newspaper. In those papers, he watched Josie grow up. She’d won various baking competitions, from local ones, to regional and global ones, but she came back home to take care of the family business.
“Cat caught your tongue, Josephina?” he asked.
Carson came to a stop in front of her, because she couldn’t seem to decide whether to run from him or confront him. God knew he’d waited for days, wondering when she’d barge into his shop. Finally, that day was today.
The day he moved into town, he immediately caught wind of her scent. She smelled of wildflowers, sesame seeds and wolf musk. Amazing. It drove him mad not to come up to her and introduce himself.
Would she remember him after all these years? Well, it didn’t matter. He planned on being a part of her life; make her fall in love with him again. Carson knew little Josie always had a crush on him. After divorcing his vicious and money-grabbing ex-wife, he’d finally come to a realization why Bernice and he never worked out, why he’d never given the human woman his mate mark.
“No way in hell.” She seethed.
One look told Carson there was steel in her backbone, how could there not be, when she took up the burden of running her father’s failing bakery? The she-wolf that crossed gazes with his Alpha male beast didn’t flinch or look away. The beast was spirited and feisty, just like the woman whose skin it lived in.
“What is your problem? And how did you know my name? Well, I guess knowing the name of your rival isn’t hard to figure out.”
She let out an adorable little huff. When she crossed her arms, it brought Carson’s attention to the perfect shape of her breasts and the little buds poking through her lace bra. God, he could imagine those amazing tits bouncing while he rode her. He could smell her arousal too, although she did her best to hide it.
Oh. Little Josie wanted him alright, as much as he lusted after her. No amount of fury could wash that juicy little tidbit of revelation away.
“My problem?” Carson asked.
“Oh, don’t act nonchalant. You knew the moment you opened up your shop I’d be your enemy. Two bakeries in one street? Come on, we’re bound for war.”
War? This woman was clearly serious about both her business and her bread. Carson was proud of being a bread artisan himself, but causing Josie grief had never been part of the plan.
Carson frowned. When he came back to town, he hadn’t expected Josef’s bakery to be still standing, because last he heard, a fire wrecked the building. It was still there though. An Alpha didn’t apologize for matters he couldn’t predict. Well, he could use this to his advantage.
“If you want to discuss business, let’s not do it here,” he said in his most firm voice.
Guilt chased her features. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you like this.”
“Oh, darling. A little thing like this is nothing.” Carson smiled, showing her his sharp teeth, amused when she mimicked the gesture, baring her cute little canines. “Tell you what. Come to the back. We can continue this in my office.”
She glanced at the door he pointed at, that read ‘Employees Only’, and then bit her lip. A wild little thing like Josie wouldn’t back away from a fight though, and never admit he intimidated her, even just a little.
“Well?” Carson asked when she didn’t answer immediately.
Sexy little Josephina, trapped in his office. Hmm.
Once the seed was planted in his mind, he couldn’t stop imagining the naughty things he wanted to do to that tempting body of hers. Oh, he wasn’t worried about her protesting. With those tits, ass and curves, a strong woman like Josie could take whatever he wanted to give. God, imagining how the sweet nectar between her legs would taste like pushed him to the limits of his sanity.
“Do you bully everyone who poses a threat to you?” She demanded, planting her hands on her hips.
Oh, Carson didn’t want to just bully her. He wanted to devour her, every beautiful inch of her. This wasn’t merely just satisfying his primal lust. Claiming Josephina and making her his, truly his, had been his dream. It was the recent photograph of her, sent to him by his mother—who suspected he lusted after Josephina—that kept him sane during those awful weeks of divorce.
He never loved Bernice, not truly. Lust fuelled their relationship. To her, it was the thrill of having a werewolf Alpha for a husband. To Carson though, once the heat of their lust cooled, he saw the real Bernice—vain and plastic, who only wanted him for being a werewolf and his money.
Well, good riddance to that awful chapter in his life, because he had a feeling things were about to change.
“Are you scared to enter my den, little wolf?” Provoking her wouldn’t help, but it didn’t hurt either. Josephina wasn’t just a small flame. She was wild forest fire, capable of incinerating everything in its path. If Carson wasn’t careful, he might just get burned. Well, even if he did, he’d laugh while it happened because she wasn’t just a prize...she was worth the wait.
“Try me,” she said bitingly, before strutting to the ‘Employee’s Only’ door.
Carson looked at his part-timer Stuart before heading in. “Don’t disturb me unless there’s a fire.”
“Yes, Boss.” With that, Carson closed the door shut behind him, trapping both of them in the dark.