Midlife Wolf Captured My Heart (Fated To The Wolf #7)

3. Sadie

3

Sadie

S adie shut the door behind him and then leaned against it. A wet heat had flooded between her legs and even though she had never been with a man, she wanted to give herself to Dakota. She had felt his hardness press against her belly when they kissed briefly at the door.

She headed to the shower and thought about how it felt to have his lips pressed against hers. As the hot water cascaded over her body, Sadie closed her eyes and imagined that it was his hands running over her breasts, down to her waist, and between her legs. She could picture his naked body in front of her. It was evident that the man kept in shape. Her fingers itched to touch his hard chest and over his thick arms. She reached down and rubbed the hard pebble and pushed a finger inside of her hot, wet tunnel as she imagined it was his hard shaft entering her. Sadie could almost feel their chests pressed together as they made sweet love.

Her body trembled as a rush of heat exploded inside of her. The feeling was short-lived, though, when she opened her eyes and realized that she stood in the shower alone. With a disappointment she couldn’t explain, she dried off. She pulled a long t-shirt over her head and slipped on some panties before she climbed into bed.

Sadie smiled as she thought about the evening. Dakota was charming and incredibly intelligent. She was positive that she could listen to him talk for a month straight and be entranced by every word he spoke.

“He is the same age as your father,” she reminded herself.

Although the man had the salt and pepper hair of someone approaching middle age, his face was unlined and his body was every bit as delicious as a young man’s. She smiled as she remembered the old cliché that age was just a number. Both she and Dakota were over eighteen and that was all that really mattered.

She curled up in bed and thought about the evening. The kiss they shared was powerful. It made her feel things that she had only read about in books. She would have never, in a million years, believed that such intense feelings were possible just from a kiss.

Sadie was a virgin, but she was pretty sure that had Dakota stayed, she wouldn’t have been. There was such a savage desire that it overwhelmed all other thoughts and feelings.

“If we did have sex and I lost my virginity to him, how would I feel now?” she asked herself.

Nibbling on her bottom lip, she determined that she wouldn’t have had any regrets – even if there was no possibility of a relationship between them. She wasn’t planning on leaving Angel’s Creek and he wasn’t planning on staying around. It wasn’t like she was saving herself for marriage. However, she did want her first time to be meaningful.

She finally fell asleep, still unsure whether she was disappointed or glad that Dakota left before things heated up even further.

Talia joined her in her office for lunch the next day. Sadie told her about the evening she spent with Dakota.

“It sounds like you have a massive crush on him.”

Sadie grinned. “Maybe I do. Girl, his kiss made my toes curl. He could have picked me up, thrown me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and dropped me on the bed. I would have been good with it.”

Talia patted her on the shoulder. “Just guard your heart, my friend. I would hate to see you fall in love with him and then he leaves you. His first love is the camera and the four-legged-creatures he captures on film.”

“He does no-legged, six-legged, and eight-legged ones, too. But seriously, I’m well aware of the fact that he’s not going to settle down in Angel’s Creek for just another pretty face. He probably has a string of heartbroken women around the world. Considering this is the first time he’s been back in Angel’s Creek in almost thirty years, I doubt I’ll see him again once he leaves.” Sadie leaned back in her chair and giggled. “That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy his company while he’s here.”

Sadie spent the rest of the afternoon setting out copies of Dakota’s books and making sure everything was ready for his presentation the next day, including updated schedules for the teachers. She also wrote a little speech, introducing Dakota to the students.

She groaned when she got a text from her mother reminding her that Sadie agreed to have dinner with them that evening. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy hanging out with her family, but she would have rather sat in front of her television eating leftovers. Her parents took a lot of energy.

However, her brother had recently returned home. He had been in the military for a long time. Eric had been in a special unit of Army Rangers comprised of other shifters. He had been injured and between that and just being burned out, he came home. Now, her parents insisted on weekly family dinners. She wondered what would happen if either her brother or she found a mate and started a family of their own and weekly dinners just weren’t possible.

Sadie was distracted at dinner. She was aware that her father was off on one of his tangents, although she had no idea what it was about. Her mind was racing with details of tomorrow’s presentation. Dakota’s face popped up more than once and she could almost feel his arms wrapped around her.

“Sadie. Sadie.” Her mother snapped her fingers in front of Sadie’s face.

“Huh? What?”

“Your father asked you a question and you were staring off into space with your eyes glazed over. You’ve hardly touched a bite of your dinner.”

“Sorry. I guess I’m preoccupied. Dakota Higgins is presenting at the school tomorrow, and I keep going over the checklist of everything that needs to be done. I want it to be perfect. It’s my first time hosting such an important person.”

Her dad waved his hand dismissively. “He’s not any more important than anyone else. Dakota is one of us. I went to school with him. We’re actually the same age.”

“He is a celebrity. People around the world know his name,” Sadie protested.

“I don’t remember much about him. He was always quiet and did his own thing. Have you met him?” her mother asked.

“Yes. We actually had dinner last night to go over his presentation. He was charming and very interesting to talk to.”

Her father made a rude sound which irritated Sadie. She understood that her father didn’t respect Dakota the way she did just because he went to school with the man. She also realized that she had only spoken to the man a couple of times – okay, maybe she had done a little more than spoken to him -- but Dakota didn’t need her to defend him to her parents.

I can’t imagine how they would react if I started hanging out with him all the time, and if we did have a thing going on. She shook her head to dispel the thought. They had talked twice. That’s it.

Dinner seemed to take forever. Sadie escaped as soon as she possibly could. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her family, but sometimes they could be a little irritating. She was so glad when she could go home, shower, and relax.

Sadie laughed at herself the next morning. She was actually nervous as she opened the library and waited for the call that Dakota had arrived. She had fantasized about him and wondered if she had exaggerated his attributes in her mind.

Finally, the call came that her guest had arrived and she went to the office to greet him. He gave her a quick hug, sending a bolt of electricity through her. Her knees went a little weak and then she told herself to knock it off. She was acting worse than the silly girls at the school.

He quickly got set up and the kids filed into the auditorium. The kids were talking excitedly, mostly because they had a chance to get out of class. Many of them would have no idea who Dakota was. Once they were seated, Sadie stood in the middle of the floor facing the students.

“Good morning, everyone. I hope you are having a fabulous day. I’m super excited to introduce your guest speaker for today. Mr. Dakota Higgins is a world-renowned wildlife photographer who took time out of his busy day to share some of his work with you. He has written several books and has been featured in many documentaries. His work has been published in several magazines. He also has a showing at a gallery in Albuquerque coming up.” She held up some of his books. “We have some of his books in the library if anyone wants to check them out later.”

She was pleased that the majority of the kids seemed to be paying attention.

“I expect you all to give Mr. Higgins your full attention and respect.” She grinned. “He’s also one of us. He was born and raised in Angel’s Creek so he’s our own celebrity.”

The kids clapped for him as he stepped to the mic. The lights were dimmed and he spoke. “Thank you, Ms. Andrews. It’s great to be back home. I graduated from this school. It doesn’t seem to have changed at all. I’m excited to share my adventures with you from the savannahs of Africa to the depths of the Amazon rainforest. I’ve had the privilege of capturing some of the extraordinary scenes you could ever imagine.”

He talked about some of the different animals he had encountered, telling the kids stories about the fun and endearing actions of the animals. Then, he showed pictures from his recent book about the lives of grizzly bears. The kids were mesmerized by the passion in Dakota’s voice. Sadie felt herself drawn into the lives of the bears, as she was a grizzly bear shifter. She could almost picture herself among those Dakota had captured on film.

There was a question-and-answer session after the presentation. A lot of kids raised their hands with intelligent, well-thought-out questions. They were very interested in Dakota’s presentation and not just trying to get out of class.

Mrs. Jones, the school principal, walked up to Dakota and offered him her hand. “Congrats on an amazing job. You really had their attention. I’m pretty sure they would have stayed still and listened to you all day. Thank you for taking the time out to visit with us.”

Dakota smiled at her as he shook her hand. “My pleasure. I really enjoyed it. Maybe I got at least one kid interested in biology and the world around them.”

“I’m sure you did,” Mrs. Jones assured him.

She went back to her office, leaving Sadie and Dakota alone in the auditorium. “You know that I’m a bear shifter. Your presentation was so amazing that I actually felt as though I was with them. It tugged at my inner bear.”

“Good. Then I did my job. You know, I could tell you more stories tonight if you let me take you to dinner.”

“How about my place again? I’ll cook the other dish I know how to make.”

He laughed. “Sounds great. Same time?”

“Yep.”

Dakota packed up his computer and she walked him out, conscious of the cameras focused on them. She was glad of them because that meant she had to keep her hands to herself – at least for now.

All of his books were checked out by lunchtime. The kids really got into his presentation. She knew that passion about a topic can be contagious, which was why teachers had to be passionate about their subjects in school.

In spite of being busy, the day seemed to drag on. Finally, school was dismissed and she could leave. After stopping by the store for a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, she rushed home with a smile on her face, peeling potatoes for one of the other casserole dishes she knew how to make.

She was so nervous while she worked. Sadie was terrified that he would kiss her and sweep her off of his feet – and she was terrified that he wouldn’t.