Marisa Chenery: Werewolf's Treasure

Soren parked his black luxury sports car in the visitor’s parking and got out. He looked way up at the condo high-rise before him. He’d come to see a furnished penthouse apartment that was for sale. He’d already been in contact with the real estate agent who had the listing and booked an appointment to view it. The condo was situated in Toronto’s Harbourfront area, close to the Toronto Harbour and Lake Ontario.

At nine hundred years old, Soren figured it was about time he moved out of his parents’ mansion. Plus it didn’t help that one of his best friends, Kian, took every opportunity he could get to rib him about it. Yes, Kian had left his family’s home first, and was now mated to Jorja, but that didn’t give him the right to ride Soren’s ass just for the fun of it. For werewolf kind, the age of nine hundred was young in their years, since they could live to be three thousand.

Soren strolled toward the front of the building and looked around. So far he liked what he saw. There was some greenery in the way of potted plants running along the walkway. The agent was supposed to meet him just inside the entrance. Her name was Treasure. He’d wondered what it had been like for her growing up with a name like that. She’d sounded young over the phone, but for all he knew she could be someone’s grandma.

Reaching the heavy glass doors, he pulled one open and stepped into the vestibule.

On the other side of the locked glass door a woman stood with her back toward him. If this was Treasure, she definitely wasn’t anybody’s grandmother. He ran his gaze down her. She wore a dark-blue, short-sleeved dress that hugged her curved-in waist and rounded bottom to perfection. The hem of it ended just past the middle of her thighs, giving him an excellent view of her long, toned legs. She wore strappy high heels that matched the color of her dress. Lifting his gaze again, Soren followed the waves of copper-blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back.

He stepped closer to the inner door and rapped on the glass to draw the woman’s attention. She turned and smiled when she saw him standing there. Soren found the front view just as appealing as the back. Flashing, dark-green eyes were set in a face that was more than pretty for a mortal. His kind all had supermodel good looks, even the males.

She crossed the short distance to the door and opened it, stepping aside for him to walk through. As the air stirred between them, Soren got his first whiff of her scent. It slammed into him, almost causing him to trip over his feet as his body went haywire.

His cock was instantly rock hard, straining against the front of his black jeans. He had to fight back a growl of need that threatened to break loose. His mating urge dug its claws deep into him and didn’t let go.

Oblivious to what surged through him, she continued to smile and held out her hand in his direction. “Hi, I’m Treasure. You must be Soren.”

Oh, she was treasure all right. His treasure, his mate. He breathed in more of her enticing scent and swallowed as he tried to keep himself from pulling her to him and devouring her mouth.

He nodded and took her hand. “Yes, I’m Soren. It’s really nice to meet you, Treasure.” His voice had a huskiness to it caused by the demanding need pulsing through his body.

“Shall we go look at the penthouse?”

At his nod, Treasure turned and led him to the bank of elevators. Soren’s gaze locked on her, unable to look away. She was his. His. His. That word seemed to echo inside him with each rapid beat of his heart. He reined those thoughts back. If he wasn’t careful, his control would slip and his eyes would mutedly glow, showing just how much she turned him on. Since she was a mortal, it would more than likely have Treasure running from him. And he definitely didn’t want that.

The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. The doors swished closed and Soren wondered how he was going to stand being in such a close space with Treasure and not act on what his mating urge pushed him to do. Her scent intensified, filling his head until it swam and he’d become intoxicated.

Treasure pushed the button for the very top floor and the elevator rose. “I think you’ll like the penthouse,” she said. “It’s fully furnished, so it’s move-in ready. The maintenance fees are seven hundred and fifty-one dollars, which includes the HST.”

Soren forced himself to focus on what Treasure said, not on the way her kissable lips moved as she spoke. It took him a second to remember what HST meant—

harmonized sales tax. It had only been a year since it had replaced the GST—goods and service tax. Now instead of the government getting fifteen percent from the sale of all goods and services, the HST allowed them to get thirteen percent from almost every purchase. He didn’t know which one was really better. They both sucked.

He cleared his throat. “Ah, what is the closing date?”

“Thirty days from today, but it’s negotiable. The present owners aren’t living here and want to sell it as soon as they can. They’ve already moved into their new home. It was a job transfer to another province.”

“I see,” Soren said.

He sounded inane, but that was about all his poor brain could manage with all the blood in his body pooling to his cock. The elevator doors slid open and Treasure stepped out into the hallway. Still oblivious to what happened to him, she crossed to a door and unlocked it. If she’d been a werewolf like him, she’d have scented his arousal by now. She’d also know what she meant to him. Female werewolves didn’t experience the mating urge, but they had the ability to sense it, especially when the male meant for them was in the throes of it.

Treasure stopped just inside the entranceway. Soren couldn’t resist invading her personal space and taking a quick sniff of her hair. It smelled of the flowery shampoo she used. He took a step back when she spun around to face him with a leery look on her face. She shifted away a little, and Soren silently cursed himself. He didn’t need her thinking he was some kind of sicko or something.

Hoping to lay her mind to rest, he stepped around her and headed farther into the penthouse. The living room was spacious with a bank of floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end. On the other side of the glass was a balcony. To collect himself a bit better before he faced Treasure again, Soren walked over to the windows and looked out.

There was an excellent view of the ships docked at the marina in the harbor. Beyond that was the large expanse of Lake Ontario.

Soren took a deep breath and turned to Treasure. “I like what I’m seeing so far.”

“Good.” She smiled. “There are eight rooms in total—living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms and two full baths. The square footage is almost twenty-five hundred.”

He looked at the black leather couches, armchairs and the rest of the heavy, dark wood furnishings. He also noted the large fifty-five-inch LCD television hanging on a wall across from one of the couches. “And the asking price is five hundred and forty thousand?”

“Correct. Shall we look at the other rooms?”

Soren nodded, then followed Treasure into the dining room, which only had an archway separating it from the living room. It had a nice large oak dining table with six high-backed matching chairs. A china cabinet sat along one of the walls, also matching the design of the rest of the furniture. A modern-looking chandelier hung from the ceiling over the center of the table. Like the living room, there was light-colored hardwood flooring.