Page 4 of Wolfish Heart (Billionaires of Wolfe Mountain #1)

ZOE

I ’m kissing the most incredible man and he’s just as thrilled about it as I am. How is this even happening?

With every sigh we let each other know how excited we are. I can also tell from the pressure under my thigh, as a large part of Kaden is making itself known. The delicious thought sends chills spiraling through me.

This man wants me . I love that idea. Just as I love all these deep feelings swirling around my heart, like vines climbing a tree and taking hold.

This luscious first kiss goes on and on until we’re both breathless. Finally, I pull back, blinking and smiling in surprise.

Kaden keeps stroking my hip and my back, then his hand lifts to caress my cheekbone. “So beautiful,” he murmurs. “I have an overwhelming need to look after you, Zoe.” He lifts me easily, setting my feet on the ground. “That includes feeding you. I brought Chinese food. Let’s dig in.”

We ignore the formal dining room and settle into the breakfast nook instead. I adore how the house has captured both the “extravagantly modern” and the “cozy cabin” vibe.

We plate the different things he picked up, dividing things according to how much we like each dish. Even calculating fractions is fun when the soundtrack includes Kaden’s deep laugh.

“So,” I finally say. “It was seriously tempting, but I didn’t look you up online. Clark kind of mentioned that you and your brothers own a computer tech company, but he didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t like to ask.”

He nods, expertly popping the last bite of sesame chicken into his mouth with his chopsticks. “I guess I should start at the beginning. I have four brothers.”

I practically snort while taking a sip of water. “ Five of you? You could be a boy band!”

He laughs. “Sure – except we can’t sing. Well, at least I can’t. I’m the oldest…which, if you’re wondering, is thirty-seven…and I guess you could say I’m the heart of our business. I started it, and I hold everything together.”

I’m not surprised. He’s definitely a leader. And since I just turned twenty-two, he’s older, but the difference is still what I would consider reasonable.

“Kingston is next. He’s kind of…the ideas guy, I guess. Good at brainstorming. Then there’s Kane. He’s the one who always wants us to be bigger and better.”

He reaches out to take my hand. “Kai is hilarious and keeps us working as a team. Or at least, stops us from fighting, even though we’ve all grown up a lot since we started this company, and don’t do that as much now.

And then there’s Kellen – he has this weird knack of seeing all the details at once and sensing problems before they occur. ”

“You sound like a handful. Your poor mother.”

I’m not sure why, but that last comment triggers a strange look. “The Wolfe family goes back many generations,” he continues. “My great-grandfather Adler…the one who named the mountain…was one of the very first men who settled in this area.”

“So that’s why everyone in town seems to know you?”

He lets out a long sigh. “Well, that’s part of it.”

Kaden takes my hand and leads me into the living room, where we sit on the couch. “Tell me, Zoe, do you see me as a normal guy?”

My mouth opens, then closes. He looks so sincere as he peers into my eyes.

“Y-yes? I mean… You’re clearly very successful, whatever this company does.

This is a giant house, you have several cars, and I know those kitchen appliances must have cost a fortune.

But you act pretty down-to-earth.” I nod toward the kitchen.

“Like, you grabbed takeout instead of trying to impress me with anything fancy. So I guess you’re… normal enough?”

I stifle a laugh as he exhales deeply, sending his shoulders lower. “You don’t know how incredibly relieved I am to hear you say that.”

“Hold on, now. I reserve the right to change my opinion if you tell me that the family business is anything super creepy.”

We laugh together, then he clasps my hands. “Not creepy, I promise. Technical. It also uses the mountain.”

I squeeze his fingers, blinking. “Wild. Okay, I’m all ears.”

“So, one of the things that makes computer systems secure is extremely strong encryption. That involves long strings of numbers that are completely unpredictable. And even with randomly generated numbers, eventually there could possibly be a pattern.”

I nod. “Pretty sure I’ve read something about that, yes.”

“Good. So, there are a bunch of companies, including ours, that introduce organic variables. You may have heard of one that uses lava lamps. We use Wolfe Mountain itself.”

The way his smile lights up his eyes tells me he loves his work.

“We have several stations across the mountain that measure different things. The direction and intensity of the wind. The ambient noise of rain. Bird calls. The variables are all charted, digitized, and blended together to create impenetrable security codes.”

My mouth drops open. “Bird calls can be numbers?”

“If you chart the decibel levels, yes. When the data is overlaid on a grid, each level corresponds to a number from one to ten.”

“Super bizarre. But neat.”

“Also, we think it makes our company more approachable. We have webcams at one of the bird areas, and another that captures the splash of the river against some rocks.”

I burst into laughter, then switch to a deep commercial-announcer voice. “Encrypted numbers… powered by water and birds .”

“People like the name Wolfe Security, too.” He shrugs. “It’s kind of badass.” We lean back against the couch, nudging closer until his arm slips around me.

“That’s awesome that you have a job you like.” I smile up at him as his fingertips drift up and down my arm. “And I guess a family business is pretty stable.”

I expect Kaden to smile. Instead, his lips press to a line.

“What is it?” I whisper. After another moment of silence, I add, “Look, whatever it is, it’s better to tell me now, right?

I mean… If you’re moving to Antarctica next month, it would be kinder to tell me now before I’m in too deep.

Or if your company is in trouble, and you’re about to throw in the towel and become a mechanic…

I mean, I don’t care if you do that, but?—”

“Our company is worth over a billion dollars,” he blurts quickly.

“There was a huge jump in the market last year, and our client roster is expanding at lightning speed. We’ve been trying to pay it forward here in town, but the money keeps rolling in with every new contract and glowing review from Fortune 500 companies.

It’s like a boulder careening downhill. We can’t stop it. ”

I can’t help myself. I burst out laughing. “ That’s your big secret? That your company’s doing really well?” My head falls against his shoulder. “Here I thought you were going to say your company is messing with endangered wildlife, or polluting the rivers, or something awful like that.”

I’m sputtering with laughter at this point. “You guys stumbled upon a way to turn natural data into a billion dollars without harming anything, and you’re keeping people’s data secure. That’s beyond amazing – be proud of it!”

Kaden’s eyes widen, then he blinks at me twice, then he laughs so loudly that the sofa almost shakes, the sound bouncing off the massive glass window beside us. Finally, he collapses against the back, throwing his arms around me to hold me close. Relief rolls off him in waves I can almost see.

“I…I… I don’t know what I expected,” he chuckles.

“That you’d think I was a geek. That you might be afraid because you didn’t understand what we do.

Also, everyone’s been treating us differently since we suddenly became wealthy.

Being too polite, acting all weird. But it’s kind of… not even our money, you know?”

My mouth falls open. “Paying it forward…oh wow… When I was in town buying things for this room, I mentioned it was for you and I thought the “shipping charge” was ridiculous since you were so close, but didn’t want to say anything.”

Kaden’s explosion of laughter finally subsides, and he nods. “We ask all the stores and companies we deal with to charge us a little more. That way if the next person is a bit short, it all evens out.”

My palm caresses his cheek. “That’s really lovely.”

“We finance a whole bunch of things in the area, but don’t want our names on the donations. People look at us strangely enough now that they’ve heard we’re technically billionaires or whatever.”

I catch his gaze and hold it. “I can see it in your eyes. You don’t want to be rich.

You never expected it, and you’re almost embarrassed about it.

” Leaning in, my forehead touches his. “That tells me you have a good heart and you’re a good man.

And you’d still be a good man if you were swinging an axe or working in a kitchen. ”

“Maybe a good man. Lousy cook, though,” he grins. “Still… Thank you.”

He leans back, pulling me into his lap. This time we move into the kiss together.

Once again, it’s sweet and gentle and romantic for a few moments, then the heat quickly builds, our chests pressing together and our limbs entwining as we touch everywhere we can reach.

Our lips part and Kaden caresses my tongue with his as our lust takes over.

Time almost stops as we lose ourselves in our dream-like state. Finally, he reluctantly pulls away. “I should probably drive you home, baby.”

My breath stops. He just called me baby . As in…kind of…like we’re really together.

“I was going to come back tomorrow to start working on the videos. Maybe I could just borrow your Jeep again?”

The way Kaden’s smile lights up his eyes with a flicker makes me wonder if he really does have wolf-like energy inside him. “Or I could drive you home, then pick you up in the morning so we can grab breakfast?”

“If you want, sure.”

His mouth grazes my ear as he whispers, “I want to show the entire town that you’re mine.”

The shiver that runs through me is tinged with heat. Never mind just the town, I want the whole world to know.

Maybe that will help me believe that this is really happening.