Bake and Mate Read online

  Raging Passions Books

  Bake and Mate © May 2016 by Liz Woody

  All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  BAKE AND MATE (CURVY LOVE 4)

  Josephina: I’m having the worst week of my life. When the mega-chain bakery opened across the street, I knew my little shop would be in deep waters. The owner, Carson Fox, is an arrogant and gorgeous Alpha werewolf who knows how to get under my skin.

  Worse, it’s mating season. I shouldn’t want Carson Fox this much. He’s my enemy, but the lonely she-wolf in me is howling for the Alpha across the street. If I’m not careful, I might just lose my heart to my enemy.

  Carson: Josie’s the only thing on my mind ever since the curvy and sexy virgin she-wolf sauntered into my shop. Josie’s feisty, some say she’s fire that’s too hot to handle, but not for me. My wolf knows Josie’s the one I’ve been waiting for all my life.

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  BAKE AND MATE

  LIZ WOODY

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Josephina Rodriguez, Josie, glared at the glass door intently, as if that would magically lure customers in. Since Howling for Bread—one of those awful mega-chain bakeries—opened across the street, the few customers who bought their bread tickled away. Only a few, the loyal ones who have been buying their bread since her grandfather and father’s time, came by. These days, they threw out far too many unsold bread than necessary.

  “Thieves. Assholes,” Josie grumbled under her breath.

  The wolf inside her agreed. Who did these bastards think they were, trying to steal their customers and bump Hot Buns for You off the grid? Their shop has been here for over a century damn it, and there wasn’t enough space in the small town of Curve Valley to accommodate two bakeries.

  “You know, sis, glowering at the door won’t get us any customers,” Pansy, her younger sister and only employee, muttered.

  Pansy peered out the windows at the pristine two-storey building across the street, her flame-colored hair shining. At eighteen, Pansy stopped school to help at the bakery, but she also danced the pole at night. Pansy was the kind of strong-willed woman who didn’t care about the opinions of others, least of all, Josie’s, so Josie stopped trying to convince her to stop stripping. Besides, they needed the extra money.

  Josie wished she possessed half of Pansy’s nerve, so she could walk out of the store and tell Carson Fox, the owner of Howling for Bread, what she thought about his shady business plans. I would serve the asshole right for being embaressed by a strong and independent business woman, except...Josie caught a whiff of the bastard when he first arrived.

  Carson was a wolf shifter too. Worse, he smelled of power. What was a lone Alpha doing anyway, managing a bakery? Their town was small, populated by some members of the supernatural and co-existed with humans, but there were no dominant animal groups, no packs to join or fight to get into.

  Was Carson passionate about bread too, like Josie? Impossible. All the bastard cared about was money and stealing away their customers.

  “Instead of sitting here, stewing, why don’t you go give Carson Fox a piece of your mind, sis?” Pansy teased.

  “What? That would be unprofessional.”

  Pansy let out an unladylike snort. “That or you’re scared. Never thought I’d see the day Josephina Rodriguez would back away from a fight, considering your reputation in high school.”

  “High school was five years ago,” Josie retorted.

  Besides, the only reason they called her the ‘fire-breathing bitch’ was because she’d refused to let bullies get in her way. Despite her many attempts to diet and slim down in her early pre-teen years, Josie never quite succeeded. Her love of bread and cake prevented that.

  After a couple of boys played a cruel joke on her, she decided that day she wouldn’t let any asshole belittle her ever again. Josie loved her body and wasn’t ashamed of her curves. She was a successful business woman who made the best brioche in town...well, the former was about to be taken away by a conniving bastard of an Alpha.

  “This is our town,” Josie said under her breath.

  “Damn right, Josie. Go get him,” Pansy said, showing her a flash of teeth.

  What was that all about? Josie frowned, trying to get a read on her sister, but as usual, got nothing. They were never close growing up because they were too different—light and dark, plain and sensual; they were two sides of the same coin. Only their love for bread united them as well as sharing the dream of keeping their father’s bakery alive.

  “What’s this to you?” Josie finally asked, crossing her arms over her breasts.

  “Nothing, I’m so sick of you mooning over this guy. Go get some action so we can focus on driving him and his business out.”

  “Mooning? Excuse me. I’m doing no such thing over our rival, our enemy.”

  Pansy rolled her eyes. “The walls are thin in our apartment. I hear you at night you know, calling out his name while you engage in your private—”

  “That’s enough. Don’t you have a filter?” Josie muttered.

  Of course, Pansy didn’t possess one. She’d grown up with Pansy, who spoke first before thinking. It was luck of the draw the same werewolf bit them both five years ago. Josie was eighteen then, and Pansy only thirteen. They were coming home one late night when a rabid wolf bit them. Josie supposed they’d grown closer ever since.

  “The bakery,” Josie began, but Pansy held out a finger.

  “Will be fine. Do you see any customers? No.” Pansy gave the space a look. “We’re in deep trouble, aren’t we, sis?”

  “How would I, mouthing off to Carson Fox, help? He won’t change his mind.”

  “Oh, who knows? I hear you can be pretty scary.”

  Josie stuck a tongue out at Pansy, feeling a little childish, but it was good to have these little moments now and then. She took off her apron and folded it to one side, already armed with the words she wanted to tell this arrogant Alpha.

  “You’re really going then?”

  Josie let out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s get this over with. Besides, I need to let off some steam.”

  “Don’t forget to buy a sample of their latest creation. I want to know what’s the damn fuss about this new diet bread of theirs all the teens in town keep raving about,” Pansy reminded Josie on her way out.

  “I will,” Josie promised. Diet bread? What the hell? No one ate bread to lose weight. Bread was a basic necessity, for enjoyment. Carson Fox had to wreck that concept too? That was it.

  Full of fury, she walked out the bakery, ready to bring hell to Carson. It was a short walk to the fancy building in front of them. This Alpha had guts, setting up shop right in front of theirs. Heads turned to her direction as she walked in. Josie couldn’t blame the gawkers, because anger must have rolled off her in waves.

  She took a good look ar
ound, dismayed by the sight of the neat and elegant displays, and the bread...God. They smelled good, despite being made by enemy hands. Josie took a good whiff. Dang it. Even her supernatural nose could detect they used good ingredients.

  Her wolf scented something else though—the distinctive scent of a powerful male. Josie halted in her footsteps, anger evaporating slightly at the sight of the six-foot Alpha grinning at her from behind the cashier.

  “Stuart, take over,” he said, jumping across the counter with incredible ease and agility despite his size.

  Muscles padded his entire body. Hitting him might be more disastrous than good, because Josie had a feeling it would be like slamming a fist into a brick wall. Hell and damnation, but why did he have to be a good-looking bastard? Dark black hair kept short, Carson looked like he spent plenty of time under the sun, because his skin was nicely golden.

  Amused electric blue eyes stared back at her from a handsome face. Unable to help herself, Josie took in the tiny details, like the slight stubble covering his jaws and skin, his nose—probably broken a few times, and the faint white scar on his left cheek. He probably had more under his clothes.

  Her she-wolf gave this unbelievably attractive yet curiously single male her stamp of approval. If Carson were mated, Josie would have smelled the lingering scent of another man or woman on him, but he smelled clean, amazing, like pine, bread and wolf musk. Not an entirely unpleasant combination.

  Carson didn’t wear a suit to differentiate himself from the rest of his employees, but a similar plain black shirt with the words ‘Howling for Bread’ stamped across his chest. His well-defined chest, Josie noted.

  How would it feel like, to be pulled into a tight embrace by those powerful arms, to feel her bountiful breasts and curves, pressing against his hard torso?

  They were like soft bread and hard rock. They were enemies, but somehow, Josie wanted nothing better than to feel those hands on her body and those tempting but cruel lips descending on hers with vicious passion.

  Her world came to a complete halt and she completely forgot why she came here in the first place.

  Jesus. She ought to get herself checked out, or at the very least, get her head out of the gutter. While still a virgin at twenty-two—practically unheard of for a female werewolf—she wasn’t entirely inexperienced and naïve. Those smoldering blue eyes though, told her wicked promises. The closer Carson got to her, the more her imagination went wild.

  God. Moisture wet her panties. She clenched her legs close, swallowing, aware of the ache in her nipples. Could Carson see the buds tightening under her thin shirt? Just what was it about this man that made her react like a teenager?

  “Cat caught your tongue, Josephina?” he asked.

  Chapter Two

  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.