“Places like this?”
She rolled her eyes. “Pick-up bars … it’s not my thing.” She shook her head.
“So,” he folded his arms, “you don’t do casual, I take it?”
“I don’t do much of anything, period,” she mumbled under her breath and then looked him straight on. She sighed. “I’ve tried the whole one-night-stand thing. It’s not that I’m a prude or anything, it’s just, it wasn’t worth the hassle. One-night stands are risky from an STD and pregnancy point of view. Then there’s potential of running into stalker-crazy-maniacs.’
“Let’s forget about stalkers and crazy maniacs. You can also rule out STDs and pregnancy for a moment because none of those would pertain to me.”
She smiled and her big brown eyes lit up. “Oh really now, how so?”
“Oh, so you are interested?” A flare of excitement lit up in him. Something he hadn’t felt in a long while.
“Am I interested in hearing your answer? Yes. Am I interested in you? Not so much.”
It was a crazy thing. Her not being interested in him had his balls tightening and his cock hardening. Go fucking figure!
3
It was a lie.
A bald-faced lie.
The guy was yummy. He was beyond just plain yummy and somewhere into the realm of drop-dead gorgeous. A magnificent specimen of what masculinity was all about. In fact, if you looked up the word in the dictionary, there would be a picture of him next to the definition.
He was also arrogant though. Oh so very arrogant. It was evident in the way he had just sauntered over to her. The way he had sniffed at her. Even worse, the way he had looked at her. Now that was something. Like he was eating her all up, but just using his eyes to do it.
Alice had to fight her body’s reaction to him. It had decided to give him a chance. To dive right on in, and maybe never come up for air, but that was crazy talk. It wasn’t going to happen.
She bit down on her lower lip to suppress a laugh. The look on his face was comical. This guy had obviously really never been turned down before. Not ever. Surprise flared in his dark eyes as she told him she wasn’t interested in him. What was one little white lie?
“My answer.” He licked his lips. She had to work to keep her eyes on his instead of tracking the movement of his tongue. “I’m not a stalker or a crazy maniac, you can’t get an STD from me and as for pregnancy,” he raised his brows, “it’s condoms all the way. I never go out on a Shifter Night without a box of ‘em.”
A box.
A whole box.
Say what? Her throat dried up in an instant.
“You okay?” He frowned. “You’re looking at me like I said something wrong.”
Snap out of it, Alice! “No, not at all. It’s just … a box.” She shook her head. “A whole entire box?”
“Okay, so you said your previous encounters weren’t worth the hassle or the risk.” Oh lordy lord! The half-smile that took up residence on his face was what wet dreams were made of. It was the kind of smile that made a girl want to clutch her panties, or take them off, or both. As it stood, that subtle one-sided turn up of the lips had her pressing her thighs together, just a little bit. Had her breathing turning just a tad choppy. Bordering on a lot choppy. Get it together, girl!
He stepped in a little closer, almost touching his chest to hers. She could make out the individual hairs of the heavy stubble on his jaw. There was a smidgen of gold around his irises, otherwise, his eyes were as dark as rich, high-quality chocolate. His hair was a little overgrown. It was dark, thick and a bit unruly. Just like the man.
It was his smell that had her swallowing thickly though. Clean, musky. It reminded her of the scent of the earth after a storm. A particularly wild storm. One where the rage and the chaos could still be felt for a time after, despite the calm. “You don’t have to worry about that with me either.” His voice was deep.
“Worry about what?” She sounded out of it. Her mind not entirely working right. Not when she could feel his warmth radiating off him.
“About an encounter with me not being worth the hassle. Not being worth your time.” He breathed out through his nose, rubbing his lips together. “It would be worth each and every second. Every touch, every stroke, every lick.” Another exhale and her nipples hardened up. “Every kiss, every nip, every thrust …” She felt that particular word between her legs. Right there. Alice bit back a moan. “… would be for you. All for you. I’ll make you come more times than you ever knew possible and harder than you ever imagined possible. Every second of every minute would be focused solely on your pleasure.”
Holy shit.
Holy freaking hell.
Alice could hardly breathe. She could hardly think. Her body screamed ‘yes’. It screamed it over and over again. “W-what?” Flip, her mouth didn’t work so well anymore. “Um …” She sucked in a deep breath. Hold it together, Alice. “What would be in it for you?”
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “The more turned on you are, the wetter you’ll be.” She swallowed thickly. “The harder you come, the tighter you’ll be.”
Holy fuck!
Alice couldn’t help the little squeaking noise she made. She bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from screaming yes and repeatedly.
“Besides …”
There was more?
That half-smile was back. He put a hand up on the wall behind her, closing her in but still not touching her. “You’re beautiful.” His gaze dipped back to her breasts for a second before lifting back to her eyes. “I have a feeling you’ll be sexy as fuck when you come apart. The noises you’ll make for me …” He made a groaning noise deep in the back of his throat that had the hairs on her arms lifting.
Everything he was saying sounded good.
No, it sounded amazing. It wasn’t going to happen though. This guy was too much ‒ no matter how gorgeous he was. She could see that, once again, he wasn’t expecting her to turn him down. “I don’t even know your name and you expect me to jump into bed with you?”
“You’re right.” He grinned, looking so incredibly sexy that her insides did a flip-flop. It was just chemistry. Plain and simple. It meant nothing. Once she was far away from him, her need for sex would go away. It would. His eyes darkened as he turned serious. “You do need to know my name because you’ll need something to scream while I’m deep inside you.” He paused for a second, obviously letting his words sink in and sink in some more. And, sink in they did. “It’s Ash.”
Holy hotness. Everything he had just said had her clit lighting up. Even his name was sexy. What the hell?
Out popped that half-smile. “I’ll be deeper inside of you than any other m—”
"Stop." Alice put a hand on his chest and gave a push, but he didn't budge. Good god, but he was all hard muscle. She had to resist rubbing her hand over the expanse of his glorious torso. Over his pecs, over his abs, lower …
“Kiss me.” His voice was thick and deep. His words made her look at his lips. Really great lips. Pillowy and soft for such a big, hard man. They were ... Shit! What was she doing? Her eyes flashed back to his, which were sparkling with humor.
“No kissing,” she blurted. “No touching. No—”
“Tell me about this dare.” He moved away, dropping his hand back to his side. For a moment she was tempted to step back in. To get closer. Not going to happen.
She pulled in a deep breath. Dare? What dare? Oh flip! The dare. “Um … it was nothing. I was dared to come tonight. More like bribed.” She mumbled the last under her breath.
“What are you getting in return?”
“A day off.”
“A day off from what?”
“Work.”
Ash frowned. “A day off. Don’t you ever get downtime? What do you do?”
She shrugged and pulled a face. “I don’t get much downtime.” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I don’t get any days off and certainly not on the weekend.”
“Why not?” He looked shoc
ked. It was registered in his eyes, in his frown, in the tightness of his shoulders. His mighty fine, really broad … Focus!
“Um … I own a salon.”
His eyes flared with confusion. “What is a salon?”
“A salon.” She narrowed her eyes, not sure whether to believe that he didn’t know what it was. Then she remembered that he wasn’t human. How could she have forgotten though? He was like no human she had ever met. “We cater mainly to women. We are predominantly a hairdresser, but we also do manicures and pedicures. Nails.” She held up one of her hands and wiggled her fingers.
“Oh, you put the colored paint on.”
She smiled. “Yup. We also pluck eyebrows.”
“Why would a female want to pluck her eyebrows?” His eyes were wide, his expression filled with horror.
She laughed. “Not their whole eyebrow. Just the edges. We neaten it up.”
“Oh, okay. So you’re the people who make their hair smell funny and—”
She laughed some more. “I most certainly don’t do that.”
“You do.” He pulled a face. “You put chemicals in to change its color, and to hold it in place. Those chemicals make it smell terrible for days after.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, “I guess you’re right. You guys have excellent senses.”
“Why can’t you take a day off? Are you the only person who works there?”
“No, I have a couple of staff members. There are five of us actually. They take turns taking a Sunday off. Each of them gets one Sunday a month.”
“Not you though?”
“She shook her head. Weekends are our busiest time. I would be short-staffed if I took a day as well. We are closed on Mondays, but that’s when all the paperwork needs doing. I order stock on a Monday as well. It’s my salon, so I have to sacrifice.”
“I understand, but you really should add yourself to that roster, take a day off once in a while.”
“You’re probably right.” She’d been meaning to do it, but it made her feel bad. Her staff worked hard too. Unlike her, they all had a life, so she picked up the slack.
“I am right.” His head came up and he looked up towards the ceiling. He cocked his head as well, like he was … listening to something. “Your friends are on their way back.”
“How did you … oh.” She had been about to ask him how he knew when she realized he could hear it. She’d heard that non-humans had highly developed senses. Particularly their sense of smell and their eyesight.
His nostrils flared. He was smelling her again. It was weirdly sexy. Again, her body reacted, her nipples tightened against the lace of her bra. A heavy feeling took residence at the pit of her stomach. “So, what do you say?”
“To what?” she blurted before thinking.
His half-smile played with the corner of his mouth. “To sex.” He gripped her hip in one of his big hands. “Fucking.”
Had he just said that?
Yes.
Oh yes. The word sent tingles to places she didn’t think were meant to tingle. It definitely sent plenty of tingles to places that were meant to feel it, as well. Very much so!
He moved in closer, his chest just touching hers. Only just. A soft brush. Her nipples tightened even more. “Against the door, on the floor, in the shower, on the table. Do you have a bath?” His voice was so darned deep. A rough rasp.
“Yes.” It just slipped out.
“I’ll soap you up and you can slide all over my dick.”
Oh yes! A hundred and fifty times yes.
His nostrils flared. “Do you have a desk?”
“Yes.” Why was she answering him? Why, oh why?
“I’ll spread you open and bend you over. Then I’ll …”
“Do you have something against the bed?” Again, why had she asked him that? It wasn’t like she was considering his offer. Was she?
“Beds are boring. Incredibly boring. What you won’t be with me is bored.”
No, she wouldn’t.
She knew that with absolute certainty.
No boredom with Ash around.
Someone giggled behind him. Shit! It was Meredith, Bella was with her. They were back from the bar like he had said. Meredith covered her mouth for a second and then mouthed, ‘Oh my god!’ Her eyes were wide. They moved to Ash and then back to her. Then she gave Alice the thumbs up.
“So, what do you say?” he asked again. “Let’s get out of here,” he added, taking her hand without waiting to hear her response.
Yup, he definitely was used to getting his way. Every time. Alice could understand why. There was a big part of her that so wanted to take him up on everything he was offering. Make that, everything he was offering and more, but she couldn’t do it.
Could. Not.
“Um … thanks, but no. I can’t I,” she pulled her hand free and slipped around him, “have to get home.”
Ash frowned. His frown deepened as she sidled up to her friends. “I’m really tired.” She faked a yawn. Why had she done that? It was stupid. “I’m going to just go now.”
He took a step towards her. “Are you sure you—”
“Yes, very sure.”
“Why not stay?” Meredith asked.
“You haven’t had your drink.” Bella tried to hand her the glass.
Because, if she stayed, she would end up agreeing to everything. Every single solitary thing. “I can’t.” She shook her head, turning to look back at Ash. “I can’t,” she repeated, eyes locked with his. “You don’t even know my name,” she blurted as she turned and walked away. More like, made a bee-line for the door. She couldn’t walk fast enough. Had to get out and away.
She couldn’t stay because she’d end up agreeing. To sex. With him. The guy was beyond arrogant. He was everything she said she would turn down and she had. Good on her. Ash was a jerk. He was a big, fat … no, he wasn’t. He might be arrogant ‒ very arrogant ‒ but he was nice. Sweet even. Not for her though.
The wind bit into her as she walked out of the sweltering bar. Several cabs waited at the curb out front.
“Are you crazy?” Meredith called out from behind her.
Alice stopped walking and turned around. Both Bella and Meredith were there. “You’re completely nuts,” Bella threw at her, shaking her head.
“I said I would turn one of them down and I did. He was as arrogant as they come.”
“So what?” Meredith retorted. “Did you see him?”
“Yes, of course I did and if I took him home and used him, then it would make me shallow.” She almost felt like laughing at the absurdity of her rationalization.
“I think you’re afraid that one night with the likes of him and you’d be completely hooked.”
No way. No chance. She shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not even looking for a relationship.” All true.
“That’s normally when it hits you right upside the head,” Bella said, folding her arms around herself to ward off the cold.
“Forget a relationship. I’m talking about sex. You need to let your hair down and live a little. All you do is work. You’ve been on a couple of dates in the time I’ve known you but that’s it. You see a guy once or twice and turn him down flat after that.”
Alice shrugged. “None of them interested me much.”
“I’d say you were interested in that shifter. Maybe a little too interested?” She raised her brows and gave her a knowing look. Meredith knew that she was reluctant to go down the relationship road again. Once bitten and all of that.
Alice didn’t feel like discussing this. “That’s not true. I’m tuckered out. I’m going home to sleep. Looking forward to my day off; besides one-night stands are dangerous.” Her excuses sounded hollow to her own ears. There was a part of her that was regretting walking out on Ash already. Shit! What if Meredith was right? Maybe she did need to let loose for a change. It was too late to go back in there though. She looked over Meredith’s shoulder at the door to the bar. Meredith must have seen something
in her eyes. Maybe she looked wistful or something. She definitely felt disappointed.
“Regretting your decision already?” Yup, Meredith knew her too well. It happened after working with someone day in and day out.
Alice huffed out a breath. “Maybe, just a little. I mean, you saw him,” she groaned. “But, I’m sticking to my decision.” She sighed.
“You can change your mind you know.”
Alice could just picture a guy like Ash already onto the next girl. That’s what guys like him did. He might be sweet, but he was there for one thing and one thing only. She shook her head. “Nah, I’m good, let’s just go.” She could hear the disappointment in her voice. She was such an idiot.
“Are you sure?” Meredith asked.
“Positive.”
“You don’t look so sure.” Meredith gave her arm a squeeze.
“I’m very sure.” She sighed again.
Another bald-faced lie. What was one more?
Un-fucking-believable!
That hadn’t just happened.
“Did the big grumpy bear scare away the little human?” Hunter chuckled.
Ash shrugged. “She was too timid for the likes of me.” It wasn’t true though, he had scented how much she wanted him. How much his words affected her. The female had been all in, at least, her body had been. He’d also bet that there wasn’t a timid bone in her body. Not when he was inside her at any rate.
“I don’t blame her. Have you seen yourself?” The asshole grinned, looking Ash up and down.
“I’ll take you both home.” The blonde on Hunter’s arm bobbed her eyebrows.
“I’m not into sharing.” Hunter shook his head. “Besides, I’m probably more than you can handle, sweet cheeks.” He pulled her flush against his side. Hunter looked back up at Ash. “I’m heading out. The night is still young.” His friend eyeballed a couple of females who were standing in a group to the right of them. “You won’t have to leave alone.” The females in the group soon realized that they were talking about them and began tittering and giggling.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ash nodded.
“I’ll see you at noon tomorrow, then?”
Shifter Night Box Set: Complete Set (Book 1 - 3) Page 19