She didn’t run.
She didn’t even budge.
Shit. Her common sense was gone too.
She simply stared at him, her gaze moving up and down him slowly, seeming to soak in the sight of him. With a hesitant movement, she stepped forward in his direction. “Does that hurt?”
He lifted a brow, not quite following what she was asking about.
She pointed to his arms. “That.”
He let out a small snort, thinking about being able to shift once more, even if only partially. “No. Feels good to be able to do it again. Thought I might never be able to.” The fact he’d only partially shifted and without even realizing he’d done as much was worrisome. Green’s words echoed in James’s head. What if he was now more than he’d been before? What if ‘more than’ meant if James did fully shift, he’d lose total control of himself and end up trapped as some mindless killing machine?
A crazed alpha werewolf on the warpath?
Her hand found his arm and she touched it lightly, running her hand over it. “LabLupus.” She shook her head in disbelief before a half-laugh fell free from her. “Doc Wolf was spot on, wasn’t it?”
He nodded, afraid to move or speak too much and scare her away. She had nailed it when she’d given him the nickname. He let her touch him, each swipe of her hand making need pulse through him. She continued to unintentionally tease him with her tender touch. He had to bite back a groan as she slinked her hands down his torso, nearing his groin. If she went any further she’d have her hand on his cock.
Oh gods above, yes please.
She stopped just shy of his groin.
Dammit.
Her scent drove him mad. Whatever perfume she was wearing was messing with his head and throwing his sex drive into overdrive. He tried to focus on anything but wanting to fuck her against the building.
Didn’t work.
If anything, it only made him want to fuck her more.
Dammit, get a hold of yourself.
He was acting like Striker. The next he knew he’d be dancing around the alley, singing his own songs to fallen Scottish lycan legends. Worse yet, he’d want to wear a kilt and post pictures of himself online all day.
He flinched.
No thanks.
Laney kept her eye on his arms. “Is it catching?”
“Only if I decided to maul you to near death and exchanged blood with you and your body didn’t reject the change,” he said before thinking better of it.
“Only if all that?” she asked, her eyes wide.
He grunted. “Yes.”
She puckered her lips. “Think you can resist doing that?”
He scratched the back of his head nervously. While he wanted to tell her yes, he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted himself enough to commit to yes. “Probably.”
“Probably?” Her brows raised.
He shrugged. “Okay, yes.”
“Good because that would seriously blow,” she said. “And it would really add a ton of time to shaving my legs each morning.”
He grinned.
Her smile back seemed somewhat shaky, reserved even, as if she was barely clinging to the ability to keep a brave face. His chest ached for her as she stepped even closer to him and then surprised him by easing her arms around his waist and plastering herself to him, hugging him. She continued to shake and he wrapped his arms around her, mindful of his clawed hands. Holding her felt right.
Natural.
As if she’d been made to be held by him.
She trembled in his arms and he rocked her back and forth gently, his lips finding the top of her head. He kissed her head. As he tried to soothe her, James found his arms returning to normal. Once he was in full man form again, he brought his hands up and held her tighter to him. “Shh, sweeting, I’ve got you. I won’t let them hurt you.”
Chapter Nine
Laney felt as if she were trying to glue herself to the man before her. He rubbed her back lightly, and the feel of his powerful body against her somehow chased away some of the fear and confusion. She put her forehead to his hard, chiseled chest.
Sweet Virginal Goddess, the man is ripped.
She nearly put her hands to his chest just to pet him and feel his muscles under her fingertips too. While she refrained from going to that extreme, she did sort of rub her face on his chest somewhat, enjoying the feel of his hard body. She wasn’t exactly exposed to a lot of hunky males—aside from Casey, who Harmony thought was something, but Laney just didn’t see it.
The guy was certainly in shape. She knew because he sometimes instructed her on self-defense minus a shirt, but nothing about his manly body made her hormones react the way they were to Hagen.
Ohmygod, my hormones are paranormal junkies. Just like me.
Another thought occurred to her.
She’d spent so long trying to prove the existence of the supernatural, and here she was hugging one. Heck, she’d been talking to one all week and even agreed to a coffee date, never understanding he’d been right under her nose. Only she could miss the obvious, so used to having to dig through piles upon piles of coding that she wasn’t used to answers being out in the open. She burst into a fit of the giggles and eased back from his hold. “I’m being held by a werewolf.”
He seemed cautious at first, his emerald-green gaze holding concern. Then he smiled and Laney’s breath caught. She’d been right about him. He was gorgeous. “I told you that you were sexy. Make note, I was right. Score for me.”
He’s also not human.
That right there should have sent her running from him. Yet, she couldn’t fathom the idea of being away from him. She slipped her hands into his and moved her lips to the side, giving him a silly face. “Bet you didn’t think your date tonight would have purple streaks in her hair, did ya?”
Hagen flashed an even wider smile as he squeezed her hands gently. “Nope. Total shocker.”
“Yeah, I’m full of surprises like that,” she said, before looking at the building next to them. “Should we leave now?”
“In a second. They’re looking out the window on the fifth floor, checking the alley. They can’t see us right now—we’re pressed into the darkened area too far,” he said.
She blinked up at him. “Do I want to know how it is you know that?”
A sheepish grin spilled over his face. “I can hear them talking and smell them from here.”
“Neat,” she returned. “Any other cool party tricks?”
He lowered his head, his full lips quirking. “A few. How about you?”
“Well, I can’t sport my own fur coat, if that is what you’re asking,” she returned, her heart finally settling. She’d felt like it might actually burst free from her chest for a few minutes there. “And I can’t hear people talking five floors up or down the alley. You’re going to end this date because I’m lacking, aren’t you?”
“Gods no,” he said, his head lowering more, his lips so very close.
Laney had to tear her gaze from them. “Um, should we go now?”
“Probably, but I’m having a hard time convincing myself to move from this spot,” said Hagen. “I really want to kiss you.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Oh!”
“Yes, oh,” he said, his lips crashing down on hers.
Laney’s hands went to his chest and she stilled, the feel of his tongue easing over hers taking all her thoughts from her.
It was just her.
Just Hagen.
Just kissing.
And, oh boy, could the man kiss.
Laney rocked on the balls of her feet before going to her tiptoes to increase their kissing heat level. Hagen smiled against her lips and then began to kiss her more, harder, with a drive that caused moisture to flood to the apex of her thighs. She would have crawled right up and onto him had he not broken the kiss.
His breathing was hard and ragged as he took a step back, as if composing himself. She could have sworn he mumbled something about having his wi
res crossed before he looked to her. “We should go now. They’re gone.”
“You heard them leave?” she asked.
“I heard them coming too.”
Laney thought about what had happened in the coffee shop. How he’d vanished from the phone and an extreme sense of dread filled her, demanding she go outside—as if she had to get to someone in trouble.
Not someone, she thought. Him.
She took a step back. “Twilight Zone moment here.”
“I can see where you’d think that. Can’t be easy realizing shifters are real,” he said.
She waved a hand in the air dismissively. “Not that part. That part I already knew. I was just waiting for proof to get everyone else to know too. Hello. What do you think I was trying to expose?”
He stared at her blankly.
She’d believed supernaturals were real for some time. Finding out she was on a date with one was something that took a moment to digest fully. “I was shocked you were one.”
He didn’t comment.
“Can I take a picture of you partially shifted, or video-tape it for my blog post?” she asked, hope surging through her. The critics wouldn’t be able to dismiss her if she had something concrete to show them. “It would really help if I had some proof to show everyone.”
He remained stoic as he responded, “Humans aren’t allowed to know about us.”
“I know about you.” She really didn’t see the harm.
“I’m starting to think you don’t count as most humans,” he said flatly.
“Thanks.” She eyed him more. She couldn’t let this chance go to waste. “Would you be willing to let me interview you in secret about the supernatural so I can report on it? I wouldn’t use your name.”
“Did you miss the bit about humans can’t know about us?” he asked.
“No. But hardly anyone believes my theories anyway, so what would be the harm? And how many times in my life am I going to get a chance to interview a werewolf?”
“The answer is no.”
“Is Bigfoot real?” she asked.
He nodded.
She smiled, excitement lighting up her eyes. “So he does sit in trees and think humans are stupid? Really?”
He groaned. “No. He’s not real.”
“But you said he was,” she protested, her childhood hopes of one day catching the elusive beast gone.
“I like to get you going,” Hagen returned, deadpan.
She put her hands on her hips and then walked in a slow circle, her mind spinning with everything that had happened from the moment she’d first heard his voice in the chatroom a week ago. She snapped around to face him. “Holy crapola, I trusted you from the word go. I gave you personal details about myself that I don’t tell anyone but my best friend. I agreed to meet you in person after only talking to you for a week online.”
He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry, Laney. I couldn’t tell you the truth. I get that you hate me right now, but I need for you to listen to me. You need to come with me. It’s not safe for you to be on your own right now.”
She tipped her head to the side. “Hate you? What?”
“I thought that was what you were getting at,” he confessed.
“Hagen, I was about to tell you that something funky is going on because I don’t trust people easily and I certainly never sense danger around them.”
His eyes widened. “You sensed danger around me? When?”
“Phone call.”
He took a really deep breath near her and she stepped back, her eyes wide. “Did you just sniff me?”
He blushed. “Yes.”
“Eww. Do I stink?”
“Hell no!” he said loudly before clearing his throat. “Um, no. You do not stink.”
“Why did you sniff me? Was it to catch my scent to track me later and murder me if I tell anyone about you?”
He gave her a droll look. “Yes. That is exactly why I smelled you.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face. “Figured. I’m totally prey, aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah. Totally.”
She was about to joke more when the strangest urge to touch him again came over her. She did and then gasped as knowledge seemed to form in her gut. She looked to the end of the alley and then back to Hagen slowly. Without thought or a real understanding of what she was saying, she spoke, “He’s closer than you think. Been searching for you. The one that got away. His personal toy. He’s not done playing yet.”
She swayed and Hagen wrapped his arms around her, steadying her, holding her tight. “Laney?”
Great, show him you’re a nutjob. Harmony is going to love hearing that I flipped out and did the channel the freaky seer bit.
“I don’t know why I said that. Sometimes that happens. I just speak and weird stuff falls out. I’m so sorry. You think I’m a total freak now, don’t you?”
“I can turn into a wolf. Who am I to judge?” he asked, something off in his voice. “We need to go now.”
“Are you taking me home?” she asked.
“Sweeting, they found you here at a coffee shop. Odds are, they know where you live.”
She gasped. “My boys! They’ll hurt my boys.”
Hagen held her in place. “The veterans you take care of?”
She nodded. “I sort of jacked this old hotel and keep it running by hacking the city’s grid and well, they all live there. They’ll be hurt.”
“Shit,” said Hagen. “I need to get you somewhere safe and then I’ll go to your place with my team and check on your boys.”
“With your team?” she asked. As she thought more about it, she stepped back, realizing he was more than a werewolf. He was part of it all. “Craptastic! You’re The Man. You’re part of the establishment, aren’t you?”
“The what?” he asked.
“One of the government’s experiments. A super solider doing the establishment’s bidding. How Big Brother makes us all obey.”
He pursed his lips and she couldn’t tell if he found her funny or annoying. “Your mind is a scary place. For one, I didn’t start off as an experiment. I was born with the ability to shift into a wolf. Something unfortunate happened and then yes, I was experimented on, but no, it wasn’t by our government.”
She blew out a breath, a stray piece of her hair pushing back from her face. “Harmony was right. I can’t believe she called it. I’m never going to live this down. Ever.”
“Do I want to know what you’re talking about?” he asked.
“Nope.” She eyed him cautiously. How could she have missed all the key signs? He’d been so curious about her research, always asking about it, showing more interest than anyone ever had before. He’d even come out and confessed to having been in the military. She’d never seen it coming. “I’m not a fan of the establishment.”
“You don’t say.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t believe I agreed to a date with someone who works for The Man.”
“To hell with the shifter bit,” added Hagen with a grin.
“Ah, that’s nothing,” she said, lying. It was actually a huge freaking deal. Yes, she’d read about shifters existing and had been mining data for proof, but she’d never seen one face-to-face, let alone kissed one. She’d gone from zero to sixty in one evening, and heaven help her, she wanted to keep on going.
Ohmygod, I kissed a shifter.
She squeaked and stepped back from him. “We should go now. I need to see my boys.”
“You and I will find a safe spot and then I’ll call for backup. You’ll wait somewhere safe and we’ll see to your boys,” he said forcefully.
“How are you going to do that? I saw your cell phone go flying into the street way back there by the coffee shop, and I dropped mine running to you.”
This time, she was sure the way he looked at her said he thought “sweet, sweet, simple woman”. Laney prepared to give him a huge piece of her mind but stopped as he turned his head, at first looking as t
hough he heard something, but then seeming far away in thought.
Gasping, she realized what she was witnessing. Telepathic linking. She’d completely theorized it was possible for some supernaturals to connect via nothing more than their minds.
Holy shitake mushroom, I am a conspiracy theory goddess.
“You just mind-linked with your team, didn’t you?” demanded Laney.
Hagen gave her the placating expression again, and she considered grabbing one of the discarded pieces of trash on the side of the alley and throwing it at him. Making contact with the germs on it made her rethink her retaliation.
“Mind link?” he asked. “Never really thought of it that way, but yes. We mind link.”
“Can you do it with anyone?” She put her hands on her head.
Was he doing it to her now?
Ohmygod, did he know how hot she thought he was?
She yelped.
Could he see her picturing him in nothing but his underwear? Her eyes widened.
Hagen took hold of her hands and lowered them from her head. “No. I can’t read just anyone’s mind. I can’t even link with all supernaturals. I can do it with one of my pack members, either from the pack I was born to or the one I was brought into later in life, and I can do it with my teammates because we trained for years to be able to.”
Was he telling the truth? It wasn’t as though he’d been Mr. Honesty with her over the past week.
You kept things from him too.
She left her arms out, palms face up, ready to cover her head just to be sure. Where the hell was tin foil when she needed it? Maybe she could fashion one out of the bits and pieces of trash in the alley. She spotted some gun wrappers and tried to figure just how many she’d need to shield her entire head to keep him from being able to see all her deep, dark secrets.
Or at least keep him from reading how hot she thought he was.
She bent and lifted a candy bar wrapped. It looked as if it had been outside in the elements for some time. She held it up just before her forehead, her eyes narrowing on him.
He laughed. “I can’t read your mind.”
“I know. The foil is getting in the way. Interference.”
Act of Surrender: An Immortal Ops World Novel (PSI-Ops / Immortal Ops Book 2) Page 10