How to Date a Werewolf...or 3

by Graceley Knox

  My orgasm built faster as I bent over and slid my body down the length of him, my mouth seeking his and finding it. His tongue and teeth pushed me over the edge as he swallowed my scream, digging his fingernails into my ass.

  The moment I crashed into bliss, a vision took over. A girl, barely more than a child, her arms raised over her head to ward off a blow. A great cinnamon wolf leapt over her and planted himself between her and her attacker, baring his teeth and growling.

  For once, the premonition didn’t feel like a threat. I crested again, the freedom of my sight enhancing my pleasure. I clenched hard around him and he roared his climax to the sky, throbbing and spasming inside me.

  “You gave me a vision, but I don’t know what it means,” I panted. “Also, I just learned that visions don’t have to shatter my brain. Can I put you on retainer?”

  “You can’t afford me.”

  I kissed his neck, the only part of him I could reach as he stretched luxuriously under me. “Can you take it in trade?”

  “We’ll work something out if you stay.” He cursed as I dragged myself off him and went looking for my panties.

  “You think I should stay?” Even though the sex was great, it seemed sudden to even think about not going back to New York, my apartment, and my friends.

  “Why shouldn’t you stay? You make Cash almost human, I think we could have something…good.”

  “We just had amazing sex, and your first thought is of Cash?”

  “He likes you. Likes you enough that it freaks him out. If you staying here helps Cash take on the leadership role he was meant to inherit from his father…” he shrugged. “I’m not the alpha. I take what I can get.”

  More frat talk. Well, if Cash was the alpha, he had a lot to learn about diplomacy, and how to let a girl know how he felt. Because I didn’t know what Adam was seeing, but from my perspective, the only times he noticed me, was when I pissed him off.

  “Yeah, he wants you. And knowing him, he’ll have you, too. But I can’t let you go just yet, all right, beautiful?”

  I stared down at him in all his naked glory and wondered exactly what his idea of beautiful was. Because from my point of view, I had nothing on him.

  Chapter 10

  We rejoined the others for lunch and the girls chatted aimlessly with me about the prettiest parts of the river as Cash looked me over, a frown on his face. Oh God. Adam had talked about smelling Cash on me from a kiss. I hope to hell he was kidding, because this could get really awkward.

  They’d packed po boys and sweet tea, along with fresh baked bread and fruit tarts from the Calico Cupboard bakery, and microbrews in a cooler.

  Adam stayed on the edge of the picnic, putting the three of us between him and his friend, until Cash finally bolted around the table and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He dragged Adam out of earshot, but we could see the two of them gesturing as the conversation got heated.

  “Girl, what did you do?”

  “I had a premonition,” I shrugged, and Kate laughed it off, while Amy watched me with a concerned face.

  “Was it bad?” she whispered when Kate moved down toward the boat.

  “I don’t think so. I don’t really understand it. It seems as though a girl is saved from a cruel man by her dog.”

  “Huh. Well, it’s a change from creating perfect couples.”

  “Honestly, I prefer matching up people who deserve to be in love. Seeing things that I can’t understand doesn’t do much good, does it? By the time I see the girl in my vision, it could be on the news, as they do a fluff piece about why it’s good to have a dog.”

  “A dog?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think that’s what they’re arguing about anyway. I didn’t exactly share it with Adam.”

  “From how flushed you are and the state of your clothes, I’d say you were doing plenty of sharing…and somebody doesn’t like it.” She glanced back at them. “Not that I blame you. If I didn’t love Sean so much, I’d have been tempted by the sexy southern lawyer, too.”

  “And if I’m tempted by both?”

  She feigned a swoon and clutched her hands to her chest. “Why Miss Frankie. I didn’t know you were a slut.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  “Oh, right.” She picked up one of the food baskets. “Then I guess our friendship would survive if you fucked them both.” She rolled her eyes and strode down to the boat, where Kate was already sunning herself on one of the back seats.

  I lugged the rest of the food down, thinking about my vision. Cypress trees and tall reeds and sawgrass had surrounded the ramshackle hut, but those grew everywhere. I guess I’ll never be a famous detective.

  Adam and Cash seemed to have worked out whatever they’d been arguing about. The wink Adam gave me quelled my small fear that it had been about me, or what we’d done. Which was great, because I wanted more, and I didn’t want guilt to follow me around just because I was enjoying myself.

  But the other tiny voice in my head still worried that if we did, I’d have another vivid, useless premonition, and the next one might not be so benign.

  We putted down a narrow stretch of river watching for lizards and enjoying the nearly cloudless day. Flies buzzed and dragonflies hummed as they hunted, along with the drone of the engine, they filled the air with a hypnotic white noise that made my eyelids droop.

  “What’s up there?” Kate’s voice seemed over-loud in the quiet afternoon.

  “That’s old Heb Jones’ place. He’d a drunk, but if you want moonshine, he’s one of the best.” Cash coughed, “the stuff’s almost drinkable.”

  I shaded my eyes and looked where Kate was pointing. A rundown shack, so tiny and covered with vines we could’ve missed it, squatted on the rock above an equally dilapidated dock.

  “Adam. Oh my God. That’s the place I saw.” He glanced at me and I saw him and Cash exchange a look, then Cash turned the boat into the jetty. I jumped out of the boat and raced up the hill, overtaken by the men just as I saw a straw-haired girl raise her hands to ward off a blow from a bearded man in dirty overalls.

  “Don’t do it, Heb. Just drop the club.” Cash held up a hand to stop the angry man. “She’s just a girl, Heb. What could she possibly have done?”

  I hadn’t registered the wicked length of wood in his hands, and gasped as he started to swing it downward. But Cash moved faster than the drunk, and he grasped the club and jerked it out of Heb’s hands, sending him crashing to one side.

  “That little bitch broke four bottles. You ain’t got no right to tell me how to raise my kin.”

  I lifted the girl to her feet and pulled her away from them. “Are you okay?”

  She stared wide-eyed at us, taking us all in, then cautiously nodded her head. Adam gently prodded us down the hill toward the boat, rolling his shoulders as he joined Cash on the knoll. “Heb. You’ve been warned. Remember? In court you were told that you couldn’t be drunk around Sarah again.”

  “She’s all the kin I got. You can’t take her away from me.” He snarled at the men, his eyes seeming to glow with hateful light. His voice grew deeper as he ranted at them. “I’ll kill her before you take her. She’s my clan. You have no right to her.”

  “Get back to the boat,” Adam hissed, then attacked the moonshiner and the two of them tumbled out of sight behind the cabin.

  “Shit.” Cash waved me off. “Do what he said. I’ve got to go stop the idiot from murdering Heb.” He took off after them and I tucked my arm around the shivering girl, watching the empty space where he’d been, hoping for his quick return.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Finally, I helped the skinny, dirt-smeared creature down the hill, then climbed back up to find the guys. I glanced back down the hill at Amy. “They’re gone. They must have chased him into the woods.”

  “Well, get back here. They know where to find us.”

  But my vision still didn’t make any sense. Where was the beast who had saved her in my premonition? I took a few steps tow
ard crashing I heard in the undergrowth but paused just short of the trees. Are you an idiot? Men fighting aren’t the only things that can rustle ferns. I clung to a tree and peered into the dark looking for sign of them.

  I was just turning back to obey Amy and wait in the boat, when a pair eyes caught my attention in the shadow. The beast stepped forward, and my jaw hit the dirt as I stared at an honest-to-God giant wolf with ruddy, cinnamon colored fur and wide, golden eyes.

  Chapter 11

  “It’s just, I think I’m done. That was too much backwater action for my taste.” Amy was packing as I sat on the end of the bed.

  “I don’t blame you, worse, that was my premonition. I feel like I made it all happen.” I hadn’t told her about the savior wolf of my vision, or his real-life twin in the woods. I couldn’t explain it without sounding like a crazy person.

  I handed her a sweater she’d forgotten and hugged my knees to my chest. “What would you think if I stayed?”

  She stopped and stared at me for what seemed an eternity, then a smile spread slowly across her face. “I’d say that must have been some otherworldly sex in the bayou.”

  “Oh God. Stop it. And yes, but that’s beside the point. I’m talking about figuring out what this gift, or curse, or mental illness really is, and it seems a lot stronger here.”

  She shrugged and zipped up the bag. “It makes sense, if you think about it. This is the land you’re connected to, and apparently, the people,” she teased as I groaned and hid my face. “If I could make as much in Charlotte as I do in New York, and be near my grandmother, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Take advantage of the rent-free space you’ve got while you figure things out.”

  I hadn’t thought about what it meant to stay. I loved my parents, but I couldn’t literally move home. “I was thinking of working for Emily, filling her bartender position, and getting a cheap apartment in town.”

  “Still…”

  “Yeah, it is nice to have a bed to crash on while I figure stuff out.”

  “Sounds to me like you have.”

  I waved at Kate as she ducked her head in. “There y’all are.”

  “You guys really aren’t leaving because you hate me, right?”

  Kate scoffed. “No. But that weird guy with the beard yesterday and I dunno, the feeling of the place out there, it gave me the willies. Suddenly I remember why I moved to the big city and left all my family in Arkansas.”

  I hugged them both and walked them down to the car. “I’ll let you know when my flight gets in, if I decide to move it, one way or the other.”

  “Hey,” Kate called out the window as they pulled away. “Now you can spend your time choosing between those two hotties, instead of trying to keep us occupied.”

  My face went crimson and I flipped her off as she belly-laughed. I watched the car until it rounded the corner in the distance and drove out of view. She wasn’t wrong though. Something had happened between the men when I’d kissed Cash, and again when Adam had taken me in the woods. As unimportant as I knew I was, I still had to consider the point that friends sometimes compete, and I might be a point of contention between them unless I figured out what I was trying to accomplish.

  And decide if what I’d seen in my vision and in the woods, was a truth I was willing to, or ready to know.

  Chapter 12

  My chance came sooner than I was ready for, when Carter, Devon and Cash screeched to a stop in front of the house as I was turning to go inside.

  “Did I miss them? Is she gone?” Carter panted, grabbing my hands as Cash slid out the driver’s side, an amused look on his face. He looked around, then lifted his chin and breathed in, like he could smell her if he tried. “Shit, I don’t see the car.”

  “Yes, they’re gone. I didn’t know you wanted to say goodbye.”

  Carter rubbed his neck, a sheepish look on his face. “Kate and I, we’ve been talking a bunch on the phone, I thought maybe…”

  “Oh good. You have her number. So, text her, tell her you missed her, and facetime when she gets home. It’s just a few states away, you could see her next weekend.”

  He nodded and walked back toward the car, looking a little lost. I tried and failed to hide my grin. Kate had that effect on men, but Carter, at least, seemed to do the same for her. For a moment I saw her, smiling up at him as they danced close, a crown of pale cream silk flowers on her head. The image made me smile so hard me cheeks hurt, but at least I knew Carter wouldn’t be forlorn for long.

  “What did you see that’s got you looking like a jack o’ lantern?” Cash whispered as he walked with me into the garden.

  “He and Kate might just work something out, believe it or not,” I breathed. “They’re so opposite to each other, though.”

  Cash shook his head. “Not so much. You keep seeing Carter after he’s finished helping out at his brother’s place. Don’t forget he’s also the principal of the high school and getting his doctorate.”

  “Oh God. I never even asked. Damn. Carter’s got some good grey matter, huh.” I wished I could’ve seen more, a backdrop to tell me if Kate ended up in the south, or if Carter was drawn to the big city for love. Then again, it could’ve been my imagination. It had run away with me before. Once I’d fooled myself long enough to get engaged to a man who loved his inheritance more than the ‘mixed blood’ girlfriend he’d asked to marry him.

  “You’re quiet.” Cash brushed my hair behind my shoulder. “Come out with us later. We’re meeting up with Adam to talk about some family stuff, but I promise we won’t be a total drag.”

  “I guess I could do that. I need to spend more time with my mom first, though.” He kissed my cheek, an unexpected gesture that made my chest feel tight. We walked back to where Carter and my brown-eyed fantasy were waiting in the car and I waved as they slowly backed out and pulled away.

  The truth was, my mom was handling the loss of her friend with the same quiet acceptance she’d shown at every hardship. She didn’t know I was staying home, and she was back at the shop, probably sharing stories of Blue’s life with her friends as she sold items from her home to help Blue’s sisters with the funeral costs.

  Mom could talk anyone into anything. I was sure by the time she was finished selling off knickknacks and furniture, the funeral and any other family needs would be met, just as Blue would’ve wanted.

  I had to ask one of the guys about the wolf that had peered out at me from the cypress grove. It was impossible that it was connected to them. Except that it was also impossible to see the future. All their talk of pack and alphas made sense in a very dangerous, nonsensical way. Worse, asking them meant I believed my visions were literal. If that was true, I couldn’t hide from them anymore. How many people might have been hurt while I ignored the chance to help them? If my visions were real, how much harm did that make me responsible for?

  Chapter 13

  The guys picked me up in Adam’s shiny white escalade, a world of difference from the rundown pickups and muscle cars I’d seen before. They were dressed differently too. Button down shirts replaced their graphic tees, and dockers instead of jeans. If it had been only one of them climbing down to retrieve me, I would’ve thought it was a date.

  But I’d dressed for it too, in a strappy floral sundress and low-heeled sandals with ribbons that wrapped around my ankles like ballet slippers. I’d like it when Cash touched my hair, so I wore it bone straight down my back, and when I opened the door, I grabbed a white sweater to stave off the cool of the evening.

  “My God you look good, Cher,” Cash gave a low whistle and flinched when my dad cleared his throat loudly. “Evening, sir.”

  “Evening, Mr. LeBlanc. I don’t have to remind y’all to make sure my daughter doesn’t come home caked with mud again, right?”

  I felt every muscle in Cash’s body tense, and behind him, Devon shook, one long-fingered hand over his mouth to hide his laughter. “No sir, Mr. Bonhomme, you do not.”

  My father craned his neck and pointed a
finger at Adam, who held his right hand up like a boy scout. “You should probably stay away from these ones.”

  “I bet someone said that to Mom, once upon a time, about you.”

  “Course they did. They were right, too.” His scowl deepened. “I hope you’re more of a gentleman than your father was.” The wan smile Cash had forced to his face fell off, and Dad laughed at him. “C’mon, son. I know she’ll be fine. I gave her a knife.”

  He had, but not because I was going out. Dolan had paid him and Mom a visit at the shop and spoken about how I’d turned out. It made him uncomfortable enough that he’d sat me down and told me not to stray from ‘those Cormier boys’ and to be wary of anyone dressed in Sheriff’s brown.

  But I dutifully pulled out the bowie knife and showed my three dates, the Cash swallowing hard and looking at me like I’d grown horns, Adam and Devon laughing so hard they leaned against each other so neither fell into the honeysuckle trellis.

  “Goodnight, Dad.” I pushed past him and shoved him back and shut the door on him. We could hear him guffaw from behind the door, and Adam was thrown into a new fit of laughter. “You’re no help at all, you know.” I glared at him and he wiped his eyes and bent over, trying to catch his breath.

  “Did you see Cash jump? Oh, my God.” Devon was panting as he slapped Adam on the back. “Sometimes, it’s good not to be the guy in charge.”

  “Let’s go before he starts flickering the porch light to remind us he’s watching.” He hadn’t done it since I was sixteen, but something about him reminded me of the days when I’d see his glasses glinting in the moonlight as a boy walked me up the path.

  “Well, we look damn fine tonight, where are we going?” Cash assisted me into the front seat and I slid over to make room for him.