Wolf Tracks - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,53

smiled, thinking of her, and sat on the couch to make his calls. First, he fired off a text message to Ezra. It was still the middle of the night there, so he didn’t really expect a reply right away. Jim knew his uncle was usually up and at ‘em by dawn, so he placed his first call to Arch, filling him in and soliciting his advice on how to handle this development.

He was just ending his call with Arch when Helen came into the room. She smiled at him, and just like that, he was ready for more of the incredible sex they’d shared the night before. Damn. They didn’t have time, right now, but later…oh, yes, later…he promised himself he’d do all the delightful things he’d been dreaming about, as soon as they had a little more time alone.

She came over to the couch as he stood, putting his phone in his pocket. “Good morning,” he said, his voice filled with the rumble of his wolf. She didn’t seem to mind, and the wolf approved wholeheartedly.

“Good morning,” she replied, standing before him, her expression so innocently hopeful that he couldn’t help but kiss her.

Jim approached slowly, giving her time to turn away, if that’s what she wanted, but no. All systems were go as his lips touched hers, and then, all good intentions flew out the window as he lost all sense of time, space, propriety, missions, and everything else. All that existed was him and her. Male and female. Jim and Helen.

He took her down to the couch and kissed her the way he’d been longing to do ever since he’d made himself leave her bed in the dark hours of the morning. He’d regretted that, bitterly, but he’d been trained to his duty since long before he’d discovered girls. Jim had always followed his duty first, all other things came after, and he’d never regretted it.

Helen, though… She could easily make him forget duty, forget everything but her. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but Helen was quickly becoming way more important to his happiness than any woman ever had before.

Could she be his mate? The thought gave him pause. Jim drew back to meet her gaze, his thoughts stunning him into a ceasefire, so to speak. She met his gaze, her eyes questioning.

“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.

“Do you feel this…?” He tried his best to articulate what he was feeling, but it was difficult. “This thing between us… It’s…”

“Magical,” she supplied when he couldn’t think of a big enough word to encompass what he was feeling.

He nodded. “It feels important, somehow,” he went on, still trying to find the right words.

She smiled shyly at him, her eyes holding mysteries he longed to know. “It feels important to me, too,” she said finally.

He could only hope she understood the complexity of his simple words. He wasn’t entirely sure he understood it all, himself, but he was definitely feeling something very out of the ordinary when it came to being with Helen.

Jim’s phone rang in his pocket, and the moment was broken. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to answer this.” He was already off the couch and reaching for his phone as he spoke.

Helen nodded understandingly. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he thought he saw a bit of regret in her eyes as she got up and straightened her clothes. He felt a little wisp of pride in the fact that he’d been the one to muss her. It was still a marvel that a woman like Helen would even want to be with a guy like him, and Jim thanked his lucky stars every time he thought about what they’d shared the night before.

She was right. It had been magical.

Jim answered the phone, fielding a call from his brother, Brock. As a general rule, Brock didn’t keep Jim on a tight leash. Brock was very focused on building the Pack into something to be really proud of while Jim was content to troubleshoot one situation at a time, using his military skills where they were most needed and best applied, but they kept in touch. They were brothers. Even though Jim would go off on missions all over the world, he was still a member of Brock’s Pack. White Oaks, in Iowa, was still his home. At least for now.

Jim didn’t kid himself. He wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to stick it out in White Oaks for the rest of his life. He