Free The Wolf's Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence by R.E. Butler

suede ankle boots, a black tank that peeked out
through a ripped off the shoulder beige top. Sliding into the chair
across from his desk, she crossed her legs and snapped her gum,
raising a brow at him.
    His whole body lit up for her, tightened
nearly painfully, and he had to remind himself that she'd hardly
react the way he wanted if he acted like a caveman. Or an actual
wolf. As it was, he was just one peek at her ivory thighs away from
humping her leg. "Five days a week, 40 hours plus overtime as I
need it from you, and I can give you 25k to start, plus anything
you need done to your car for cost."
    She breathed in and out silently, her breasts
rising and falling with the motion, as she contemplated what he
offered. "Anything less than 30k is an insult to my bachelor's
degree." She swung her foot in thought. "I want this office for my
own, but a nicer chair, a tank of gas a week, and you can install
an upgraded sound system in my car, at no cost."
    He tried not to smile. She'd actually given
some thought to her negotiations. He wasn't about to rollover for
everything, though. "I can't go higher than 27, and it's not an
insult, it's just business."
    She made motions to stand up. "Oh, well. See
ya."
    He nearly roared. "Wait, you're walking away
for three grand? Hold on, there has to be something else I can give
you in exchange. Name it."
    He saw the look cross her face and thought
with chagrin 'uh oh'. "Paint my house."
    "What?" He sputtered.
    "You heard me. It's going to take me forever
to paint everything; I've only gotten my bedroom done. So paint the
rest of the inside of my house, and I'll grace you with my amazing
business skills and save your ass."
    "I meant I'd give you anything related to the
garage."
    She grinned and he knew that she knew she had
him by the balls. "Sorry. I've made my final offer. 27k, nice
office chair, weekly tank of gas, and my sound system, plus,
painting my place. And I know you'll do a great job. I expect you
in overalls. You can start on Saturday, and I'll start on Monday."
She crossed her arms in a final way and he almost laughed.
Almost.
    "You have to buy the paint." He growled.
    "I already did."
    "Fine." She stood up with a grin, such a
sweet look on her face that it nearly brought him to his knees, and
extended her hand. He took it, her warm hand in his something he'd
wanted to feel again for such a long time. "Tomorrow, then. Make
sure there's coffee."
    She hummed in her throat. "Bright and
early."
    She wrinkled her nose in happiness, and he
wanted to hug her but held himself back. That was the girl he
loved, the one that loved to win arguments and torture him because
she loved doing it, not because she was so miserable. He watched
her leave, listened to her engine as it faded away, and went out to
procure help for painting her house, and to find a suitable chair
for her.
    Linus' home was small but comfortable. He was
just a little older and had been married for a while to a human,
who had thought it was sexy to be with a wolf. What Linus hadn’t
bargained for was that when they got married she’d had the belief
that he could just leave the pack. Linus was fourth ranked in the
pack and too powerful to turn his back on them, and when she
figured it out she left him, but not until she made him thoroughly
miserable. He paced on the small back patio where Linus had lit a
large grill. Werewolves could pack food away like carnivorous
camels. The pile of raw meat on the trays in the kitchen attested
to that fact.
    "You're making me nervous." Linus said as he
scraped the metal grating with a wire brush.
    "I don't like this whole thing with Jake's
females." He admitted. "Where the fuck is Callie? She's supposed to
be here."
    Michael leaned out of the back door. "She's
on her way, I just called her. It's only 6:30; don't get your
panties in a bunch.
    When Callie arrived, she was at least as
nervous as Jason was because she missed Cadence. Without her best
friend to shore up her self-confidence,