by Beverly Rae
“You want to what?”
Like he doesn’t know. “Never mind.” Forget defense. Offense is the best medicine. Huh? No, wrong again. Giving up on sorting out her mixed-up thoughts, she opted to answer his question with one of her own. “How did you know where I live?”
The smile returned, faltered, and immediately brightened. “My company owns the gym and I asked the manager for your information. I hope you don’t mind.” His eyes matched his smile. “You do realize I’m here to apologize, right? Unless you think I should do something else?”
Catching his gaze lingering on her breasts, she grumbled a few choice words and crossed her arms the way she’d done in the gym. Talk about déjà vu. “You should.” After his eyebrows shot skyward, she added, “Apologize, I mean. But I’m not interested.”
“Even though I bear gifts? See? I have flowers and wine.” The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes called to her. “However, I see you’ve already taken care of the drink portion of the apology.”
The tip of his tongue peeked out between those wonderful lips, causing her to wonder why she wasn’t yanking him into her home—and into her bed. After all, she’d dreamed about him in her bed, so why not take advantage of the opportunity? Still, the scene at the gym made it hard not to feel uncomfortable around him.
Him and everyone else who’d seen her headlights.
“Huh? Uh, yeah.” Oh, come on, Syd. Can’t you think of a better comeback? At least let the man know you’ve got a few working brain cells. She took another sip of her drink and considered whether the dizziness sweeping through her was a result of the pills and booze, or the magnetism of the man in front of her.
“I also have your contract, which I’m ready to tear up and replace with a year’s free membership.” He patted his shirt pocket. “Plus, we have a charity drive going at the gym for the non-profit Help-A-Child organization and I’ve made a donation in your name. It’s my way of saying sorry for the, uh, unfortunate incident.”
Syd frowned and tried to force her mind to work. But the fuzziness only grew stronger. “Never mind. I, uh, I won’t be using the gym any longer. You understand how awkward it might be, don’t you? Which means your offer isn’t much good to me.” Yet she had to admit at least something good had come from her accident—besides meeting him, of course. “The donation was a nice thought. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Besides, I’m a co-founder of the organization, so I guess you could say it’s kind of selfish on my part.” His eye color deepened, growing impossibly darker. “Still…I hope you’ll reconsider staying with the gym.” The frown morphed, however, and changed into a lopsided leer. “I know a lot of the other customers will miss seeing you.”
Oh, no he didn’t! She narrowed her eyes, focusing on him to make sure he’d said what she thought he’d said. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Mr.…”
The laughing twinkle in his eyes intensified. “Jason Cannon. But forget the mister part.” Winking, he slipped past her, ignoring her feeble attempt to protest, and marched into the living room. “And yes, I do have a lot of nerve. Among a lot of other attributes. But please believe me. I’m truly sorry about what happened.” After scanning her apartment, his penetrating gaze came to rest on her.
“Well, damn, make yourself at home why don’t you?” She watched, intrigued by his gall, yet annoyed that his sexy saunter had mesmerized her.
“Thank you. I usually do.”
“Mr. Cannon—”
“Jason.” He placed the bouquet in the crystal vase on the end table. “After what we went through, I think you should call me by my first name, don’t you?”
“We didn’t share the experience. I’m the victim here, not you. Your crappy machine malfunctioned and nearly ate me alive.” Oh, shit. Insert foot in mouth and shut the hell up. His knowing, slightly wicked gleam latched on to her, ratcheting up the heat in her face another ten degrees. “Don’t. Don’t even go there. In your mind or with your mouth.”
But his expression told her he already had. “Damn it, I didn’t mean… Oh, crap, never mind.” Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut the hell up!
“Sometimes ya gotta wonder what comes out of our mouths, huh?”
His comically innocent expression caught her by surprise and she almost giggled at the sight. Here was the shifter—or is he a mere man? Damn, I hope not—she’d wanted, sexy and gorgeous like in her dreams. And, to top it off, he was funny. Not anything like the monsters her father had described throughout her childhood. Sure, she’d known that shifters lived among regular humans, but she’d always imagined them having a maniacal I’m-evil-and-you-can-see-it-so-stay-away-from-me appearance. She certainly hadn’t thought of them as charming philanthropists.
Oh, damn. Her father. Why did she have to have the hots for a werewolf? If indeed he was a werewolf. Maybe if she got lucky, he’d be a nice car thief instead. Or a homicidal axe murderer. Someone her father hadn’t spent his whole life trying to eradicate. Besides, how could her father ever harm anyone like Jason? She studied the man before her and instinctively knew he wasn’t someone her father should kill.
Then Jason threw her another curve. “By the way, we’ve replaced the faulty machine. So no harm done.”
Okay, maybe she did want him dead after all.
“No harm done? Are you kidding me?” How could he stand there, exuding masculinity and overpowering lust, and declare no harm done?
“You look fine to me.” Again, he flashed another irritatingly sexy grin. “In fact, you look better than fine. Absolutely delectable.”
Delectable? Would he eat her? Literally? The image of a horror movie werewolf tearing apart his victim rushed through her mind right before another image of Jason lying between her legs struck her, shaking her to the core.
Think victim, Syd. It’s the safer choice. Carefully—I wouldn’t want him to think I’m smashed because I’m not—she snatched up the bottle from the coffee table and crossed to the kitchen counter to refill her goblet. She gritted her teeth, forcing her legs to hold her up. “I’m not talking about bruises and scrapes here. Those will heal. I’m talking about the embarrassment you put me through.”
“Don’t you think you have things mixed up? I saved you.”
“Oh. So you saved me by flashing my boobs at all the gawkers?”
His low chuckle made her wish she could lay her head on his shirt to hear the rumble in his chest. “Well, saving you from getting eaten alive”—she winced at the emphasis he placed on the two words—“was my main goal, but getting a load of your uh, endowment, was an unexpected bonus. I’d call it a reward for a job well done. And thank you for that.”
“I’m glad you can be blasé about it. After all, you didn’t get hurt, did you? You weren’t embarrassed, were you? In fact, you’ll probably forget all about ripping my top off by tomorrow morning.”
He moved fast. In fact, she didn’t know he was beside her until he already was. With measured deliberate moves, he put his wine bottle on the counter. Taking a goblet from the nearby wine rack, he poured the remaining alcohol from her bottle and took a sip. She watched, taking in the way his throat worked and his jaw moved when he swallowed. He turned to face her, his glittering dark eyes fixing on hers. “Trust me. I’ll never forget.”
Syd gasped, startled by the fire in the depths of his gaze. A long slow burn glowed inside her abdomen, taking over her body. Without being able to stop herself, she raised a finger to his lips. His mouth opened when her fingertip touched his lower lip, closing over half of her finger. Yet, when his tongue swirled over her skin, she couldn’t help but let her own tongue escape to caress her suddenly parched lips.
Go for it. This is what you wanted.
The voice in her head whispered to do what was in her heart; what she’d dreamed about for months, years. She paused, tried to consider the consequences, but rational thought was lost in the overload of sensations coming from the rest of her body. Instead, she leaned into him, enjoying the sensation of his hand slipp
ing around her neck to bring her mouth within inches of his.
“I don’t—”
He released her finger and raised his to her lips. “Yes, you do.”
She forgot what she’d started to say and, instead, ran her tongue along the side of his finger. He smiled, a smile all too aware of her emotions, and brought his face impossibly closer. Their warm breaths mingled and she drank in the scent of him.
“You and I were meant for each other, Sydney Skeller. Can’t you feel it?”
Yes. “Uh, yeah, I—” She sucked in her breath, unable to say anything more. She wasn’t ready for his next words.
“I know you do. We both know it.” He cupped her cheek, locking her to him. “I’m here to claim what’s mine.”
Chapter Three
Staring into her eyes, Jason paused, then pressed his mouth to hers. Syd closed her eyes and moaned. Her head swam with a myriad of colors flaring behind her eyelids. Finally, seconds before she was sure she’d pass out, he released her.
“Syd. You know I want—”
She licked her lips and dived in for another kiss. “Sure.” And I want you.
“Then you know who—what—I am? That we’re destined to be together?”
His words tumbled in her mind, yet down deep she recognized the truth of them. His voice swept over her, giving her renewed energy, and she laced her fingers through the front of his shirt. “I’ve seen you. In my head. In my dreams.” Let the fantasy begin.
He let out a huge sigh. “And I’ve waited for you. When I saw you at the club—”
“Do you always talk so much?” Allowing her desire to break free, she tugged him toward the bedroom. He trailed behind her, hand in hand, letting her lead the way until she jerked him past her to push him on top of her bed.
“Well, all right. A round bed. You, lady, are my kind of naughty woman.”
She laughed and crawled on top of him. “Naughty, but nice. Nice in a naughty way.”
“I guess this means you accept my apology?”
“Maybe.” At the surprise on his face, she added, “It’ll depend on how good you are in bed. And if it’s forgiveness you’re seeking, you’d better be damn good.”
“Is that right? Hell, Syd, I’m so good you’re going to end up apologizing to me.”
She made a growling noise. “Didn’t I tell you to stop talking?”
“Yeah, but I want to make sure—”
“Damn. Just shut up.” She mimicked his earlier action and crushed her lips to his.
Her laughter mixed with his and she thought how right they sounded together, how comfortable she felt with him—in a sexy rip-his-clothes-off kind of way. They tore at each other’s clothes, passion coursing through them while their lips glued together.
Within minutes Syd, naked and shuddering with delight, broke the lip-lock and pushed up to run her hands over Jason’s bare chest. His rough hands gripped her breasts, bringing them to his mouth. He nipped at them, enticing flickers of lust to spark to life through her, thrilling her with each new burst of heat.
Here was her man. The man of her dreams. The man she’d wished for. Syd placed her hands beside his head and arched her back, giving her breasts to him.
“You’re beautiful.”
She started to reply, but his tongue savaging her nipples wiped all coherent thoughts away. Undulating her hips, she reveled in the feel of his shaft growing stronger, bigger, longer under her. Soon she slipped him between the crevices of her folds, teasing herself, teasing him. She wanted him to crave her. She wanted him to need her.
He twisted, trying to enter her, but she lost her balance and fell to his side. “Slow down a minute. I’ve had dreams about this and since it’s time to make those dreams real, I’m planning on savoring the experience.”
Jason moved, coming to rest on top of her, and trapped his face between her breasts. He mumbled between licks around her globes. “Tell me about your dreams.”
The man sure liked to talk—among other things. He swiped his tongue along the underside of her breast, making her squirm. “Okay, but I’ve had a lot of them.” All starring you. “How about one of my favorites?”
“Yeah, tell me which fantasy you want to come true first.”
“I want to play Submarine with you.”
“Submarine, huh?”
Syd shuddered in pleasure at the heat in his look. “Yeah, Submarine. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to play Submarine.”
He winked at her, letting her in on the joke. “Sweetheart, I’m the commander on the sub.”
“Well? Then what are you waiting for? Dive, sailor, dive.” Pushing his shoulders, she guided him between her legs. “Remember when you said I looked delectable? You’re about to find out if you were right.”
He obeyed her even when her hands fell from his shoulders to clutch the comforter. He slid her lower, bringing her legs over his shoulders. “Yeah. Forget the thousand-dollar wine. Give me a drink of you any day.”
His tongue moved slowly over her inner thigh, making it hard to breathe, much less speak. Yet she couldn’t resist joking with him a little more. “So, hmm, you like, uh, pussy juice?”
“Whoa, wait a sec. What did you say?” Jason lurched up, startling her, and shook his head vehemently. “Don’t ever use the word pussy when we’re having sex. That word is a real turn-off.”
“Why n—”
His mouth latching onto her again broke her train of thought and she threw back her head onto the pillow. His tongue whipped around her throbbing clit and she gripped the covers to help keep her body earthbound. “Oh, yes. Yes!” He pulled her closer and drank deeper. “Oh, shit, Jason. Don’t stop.” Bucking under his hold, she tensed and released time after time.
Only when he broke free of her did her pulse begin to slow down. “Wow.” She took a minute to let her breathing return to normal before quipping in a terrible British accent, “More, please, sir?” She waited, ready to hear him laugh and was surprised when he ignored her.
Wiping his mouth, his jaw working, he rose to place his face over hers. “This has never happened before.” The strain in his voice was almost tangible.
“What? You never made a girl come before?” Was this his joke? “Somehow I find it very hard to believe. I came like multiple times. Multiple big times.”
“Oh, shit, of course not. I’ve never had that problem.”
“Gee, no humility wasted on you, huh? Then what?” She scanned his body, expecting to see something wrong. Had he lost his hard-on? But she found nothing. Well, nothing wrong, at least. Because there was definitely something majorly right between his legs. “Why’d you stop?” What did his tense expression mean?
“I meant… Argh, I can’t—oh, shit!—wait!”
Running his tongue over her collarbone, he spread her legs and plunged into her. The force of his thrust reverberated through his howl, driving her toward the headboard.
With his hands gripping the bed, he pumped faster, harder, sweat forming along his brow. A drop fell, landing on Syd’s chest, and it trickled down the slope of her breast, moving in jerks with each of his thrusts.
Gasping from the force pounding into her, she raised her eyes to him, wanting to see his release when it came. Amber eyes slanted, piercing in their unbridled passion, and fastened onto hers. Yet when she saw the teeth inching out of his mouth, her heart nearly slammed to an abrupt stop.
Fangs. Long, sharp, deadly fangs.
She hadn’t let herself fully believe he was a shifter. But now? Now she had to believe.
Would all the things her father had taught her come true? Was she about to die? Yet she knew in her mind what she’d always known in her heart. She had nothing to fear from Jason. He was the wolf she’d dreamed of. But did she really want to take that step into the wild unknown?
The room wavered around her. The full affect of the alcohol and pills worked to numb her from the bruises and pain of her fall. With every bit of need within her, she fought to experience every move,
every smell, every taste of him inside her, every sensation of their lovemaking to the fullest.
Jason stiffened, readied for his release and turned his head to the side. His howl startled her and she gaped, fascinated.
“Wow.” Her breath rushed out of her at the same time she saw his climax tear through him, making every muscle in his body tighten and release. Hugging him, she held his body close, feeling wave after wave ripple through his torso. At last, he slumped against her, crushing her with his weight. Yet she didn’t care. She held on to him, luxuriating in the beat of his heart against hers, the warmth of his breath against her neck. Knowing she was where she belonged, in the arms of her man, she closed her eyes and her pulse slowed. Soon, the fuzziness of her mind started drifting her away.
“Syd?”
“Hmm?”
“We’re together now. Say it.”
The words she’d waited to hear from her dream man filtered through her drug-fogged brain and she smiled. Together. “Uh-huh.” Yet something in his tone made her open her eyes to search his.
Fear gripped her, tearing at her. His jaws lengthened, opening to show two rows of saliva-dripping teeth. But the fear was nothing compared to the pain as he sank his teeth into her shoulder.
She screamed, more from surprise than from pain, and struck out. Hitting him hard enough to force him off her, she rolled out of the bed and fell to the floor. She tried to scramble away, but he seized her ankle, keeping her captive.
“Let go of me!”
“Syd! What’s wrong?”
“You bit me!”
Jason flipped her onto her back and straddled her, pinning her arms above her head. Dark eyes narrowed at her above normal human lips and teeth. “Stop fighting me. Of course I did. You said you wanted it. You said—”
She slapped at him, without doing any harm, and continued to struggle. “Get off me, you jerk!”
“Damn it, will you knock it off?”