Hunger Awakened (The Feral Book 1)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “You’re not supposed to talk about changing form,” she whispered. “Or about fighting and hunting. Women don’t like blood and guts.” At least they shouldn’t. She wasn’t normal.

  He leaned an elbow on the bar. "So, human males are never expected to show strength or ability? That they are capable of protecting their family? Does that not appeal to human females?"

  “It is appealing but not in the way you think, and I guess they do show that they are capable but not in the same way your species does. They wouldn’t go around beating each other up. How do people meet where you are from?”

  “They don’t. We don’t have any females, remember?”

  Oops! Touched a nerve. “Yes,” she paused. “But before, when you still had women.”

  His eyes clouded and he shifted on the bar stool. Definitely a touchy subject. Vicky knew he had lost his mate. She could understand why he felt that way.

  “Sorry, I know this must be a difficult subject, but ultimately it will help me help you and your people achieve your goals if I have a better grasp of these things.”

  “I understand and will do my best to give you the information you need. There are several things that a female would look for in a potential mate. I guess the first thing would be the size of his prick and balls because—”

  Vicky almost choked on the Piņa Colada she had just taken a big glug of. She put a hand over her mouth, feeling her eyes widen and well with tears, as she coughed and spluttered a couple of times, trying to clear her airways. Thankfully Talon took the cocktail out of her other hand, putting it on the bar with a clunk.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, leaning forward.

  Vicky reached for one of the mini serviettes littered across the gleaming wooden surface and wiped her eyes and dabbed her mouth. Once the choking attack was over, she smiled. “I was not expecting that. I suppose I should have, considering how you walk around naked. Sorry, go on.” She motioned to him.

  “By your reaction, I take it that a big prick is not something of importance in your society.” Deadpan. His eyes held hers, interest flaring in their depths.

  “Weeell …” she drew out the word, making a face. “It shouldn’t be and sometimes it’s not, but I guess, sometimes it is important.” She nodded a couple of times. How did she explain this to him?

  “I don’t always understand you, Vicky.” Her name rolled off of his tongue, sounding like dark chocolate tasted. Really, really good. Obscenely good.

  For a second, she was tempted to ask him to say it again. “Um … seeing as we don’t walk around naked, it definitely isn’t top of the list of importance. However, if a guy is tiny down there and doesn’t know how to use it, then, yeah well, it becomes important. If he’s on the smaller side but makes up for it in other ways, it’s more acceptable. We can’t always choose who we love.”

  “Interesting, so compatibility is important to both our species. That, at least, is something we have in common.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean by compatibility.” She had heard him use that term before but couldn’t recall when. She could guess what it meant though.

  “If a female likes what she sees, and a male has proven himself to be strong and capable, she will let him mount her. He must then prove that he can pleasure her. Make her cream and many times. Screaming is considered the ultimate compliment.”

  It was her turn to squirm a little in her chair. “Okay …” Her voice was a tad breathless. Damn! That whole description sounded good.

  Screaming though.

  Really?

  “Well, a good sexual relationship is important but it’s not everything,” she finally muttered, her cheeks still feeling a bit heated.

  Talon frowned heavily, it looked like he was mulling something over. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Those two ladies were really checking Talon out. Watching as he took another sip of his drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. How his sexy forearms ‒ how was that even possible ‒ flexed as he brought the glass to his lips. Lips that were full and soft looking even though he was all man. His strangely beautiful eyes that seemed to take everything in.

  The two women kept sneaking glances and tittering to one another. They were both gorgeous. Especially the blonde. Legs all the way to her ears. They were toned too, like the rest of her. Tall and toned, probably more like his own kind. “So, what do women do to attract men where you are from?”

  He shrugged. “They show their breasts.”

  She choked out a laugh. “Okay, I suppose that makes sense if you men let it all hang out, right? What else do they do?”

  “Females don’t have to do much of anything. They sometimes paint their chests with a substance made from ground up stone and water. They do it to draw the eye and particularly if they are interested in mating a male.” He finished his drink. “The males have far more to prove though. Tall females with long torsos are the most favorable.”

  “Why is that?”

  “The longer the torso, the easier to carry a clutch.” He nodded his head once.

  Vicky had no idea what that was. The only clutch she could think of was of the purse variety and she doubted that was what he had meant. “I’m not sure I follow. What is a clutch?”

  “A clutch is three eggs. It is never more or less, only three.”

  “Only.” She felt her eyes widen. He was talking about pregnancy. “Three. How big are these eggs? I hope closer to chicken egg size than ostrich egg size.”

  Talon smiled. One of his rare gems. It lasted all of two seconds before his mouth turned impassive once more. “I have never seen an ostrich egg, or an ostrich for that matter, I’m going to assume it’s a type of bird?”

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  “A Feral egg is about the size of,” he looked around, his eyes landing on her cocktail glass, "a coconut, but without the hair.”

  She laughed. “I should hope not, but wow, three of those?”

  He nodded. “That is why a female with a long torso is preferable.”

  Why was she thinking of her own short self? Her own short, plump self? It was getting worse. She was the opposite of what he found attractive. She gave herself a mental kick in the shin. This had nothing to do with her. Talon was her client, dammit. Her client. Her new rule was not to sleep with her clients. Also, he was paying her to help him to learn everything she could teach him about the opposite sex. That wasn’t going to happen if she was drooling and fretting over him. “Right. That lady over there … Don’t look,” she quickly added when he began to turn in his seat. “She is tall …” Hate her! “And lean.” Double hate her. “She also has a fairly long torso.” Argh! A long torso? That shouldn’t be a thing.

  He glanced in the direction of the two ladies before looking back at her.

  “I told you not to look,” she whispered. The two of them giggled like girls when they realized he’d finally checked them out. Eye roll! They were thrilled. Especially the pretty blonde. This would work … maybe.

  He shook his head. “Her torso is average.”

  “That’s average?” Vicky tried not to look at the women and failed. Really? “She’s very tall for a lady. Veeeery tall.” If that was average, she was screwed. Not that it mattered because it didn’t. Talon was her client, she reminded herself for the tenth time in the last five minutes. She was beginning to irritate herself.

  “That female may be tall for a human but I’m saying it like it is. My mate had a very long torso, she was almost my height.”

  Holy fuck! For a second she thought she’d said that aloud, but luckily that wasn’t the case. “You … um … you mentioned you had a mate,” she spoke softly. Vicky wanted to know more. She leaned forward in her seat.

  His eyes turned stormy. “It is not something I wish to speak about.”

  “Of course not.” She held up her hands. “How’s about we go over there and offer them a drink?”

  He clenched his jaw.

  “I mean it. I’ll be there and you’ll
be fine. I’m your cousin. You’re here on a six-week holiday and you’re from Switzerland.”

  He cracked his neck. Twisted that baby to the side and cracked it. How the hell was that sexy? No! It couldn’t be and yet it was. She wanted to ask him to do it again while saying her name. Yup, that would work for her big time. No! This wasn’t about her. This was about him. About her doing her damned job. “Let’s go.” She stood up and gripped him by the elbow, giving a tug.

  He sat tight. Like his ass was glued to the stool. “I’m not so sure—”

  "Well, I am. There is only one way to learn and it's to dive in head-first. I'll be right beside you and you'll be fine."

  He rolled his eyes. Turned out that he was learning more from her than he let on. “Fine,” he exhaled the word. Even that was sexy. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 9

  Ten seconds later …

  The females talked, huddled together and then looked up, eyes widening when they realized he and Vicky were on their way over to them. More huddled talking. More peeking at them. Vicky kept her hand on his elbow. Small, soft but reassuring. He liked feeling her touch.

  This was a bad idea. He wasn’t anywhere near ready for talking to a female, let alone two of them, but Vicky had insisted. The last female he had tried to talk to ran away from him. Vicky seemed to believe he could do it, so he sucked in a deep breath and kept going. Talon wanted to smile but forced himself to remain neutral. To be himself. “Hi,” he said, and both females broke into peals of laughter. Had he already messed this up?

  He started to turn to Vicky to check with her, but she gave his arm a squeeze. Again, her touch was reassuring.

  Right. Just as they had rehearsed then. “Good evening. Would you …” Do not say females! “ladies like something to drink? My name is Talon and this is my cousin, Vicky.”

  “Your cousin?” The one Vicky had described as tall raised her brows and smiled. “Oh.” She smiled broadly, like he had let her in on a secret. “I’m Sandra and this is Carmen.” She motioned to the dark-haired lady sitting next to her. “A drink?” She looked over at the other female and they both grinned at one another for a good few seconds.

  Why were they doing that? Talon looked around the room. There were many males and females present. Some in groups, some in pairs. Talon was the tallest and strongest male in the room. Of that he was certain. Were they unsure of him as a potential mate? Not that he was interested in that. Of course.

  “Yeah,” Carmen said, nodding. “I wouldn’t mind a drink.”

  “I would love another Cosmo,” Sandra said. She held up her almost empty glass, looking back at him as she did.

  “Vicky? Can I get you anything?”

  Although Vicky smiled at him, she didn’t seem as relaxed as she had been earlier. She was probably more in what she called ‘work mode’. Possibly even afraid he might mess up. He could do this though. “I’m still fine, thanks.” Her eyes were very blue, very bright. They were pretty. Spoke easily of what mood she was in. He much preferred speaking to her but hey, he had a job to do.

  Talon motioned for the worker who served the drinks. “A Cosmo, and a …” He had no idea what Carmen was drinking. It looked like the same kind of juice Vicky had offered him at breakfast.

  “A Sex On The Beach.” Sandra winked at him.

  He tried not to look surprised by the name of the beverage and nodded at the worker. “One of those.”

  The females tittered and giggled. Vicky took a seat next to the dark-haired female … Carmen.

  “Would you like another?” The male motioned in the direction of his drink, which was almost finished.

  Talon nodded again. It was another thing their cultures had in common. Eating and drinking together was a social occasion.

  “So,” Sandra propped an elbow on the bar, “I’ve never seen you in here before.”

  "Do you come here every day then?" Maybe she worked here. Otherwise, how would she know?

  Sandra laughed. “Yeah, no.” She shook her head. “I’m here at least two nights a week though and I’ve never seen you.”

  “I’m from out of town. Got in a couple of days ago.”

  “Okay.” She smiled, raising her brows. “Where are you from then?”

  What did he say to that? Thankfully the worker came back with the drinks, handing him a piece of paper. Talon searched his pocket for some money and handed it back to the male. “You can keep the change.”

  The male's eyes grew large. For a second Talon was worried that he might be choking on something. He seemed not to be breathing. "Are you okay?" Talon asked.

  “Yes.” The male nodded vigorously. “Thank you so much. I … I really appreciate it.” He turned and walked to the other side, showing one of the other workers the money.

  “Wow, you’re a sweet guy,” Sandra said, drawing his attention back to her. “That was very generous of you. That had to be at least an eighty buck tip on what could not have been more than a twenty buck check.” The female, Sandra, gripped his arm and squeezed. She looked down at where her hand touched him. “You’re a really big guy. I’ve never felt muscles like yours.” She stared at his bicep for a few more seconds before her gaze flicked back to his. “You were saying?” She cocked her head and gave him this look. He wasn’t sure what it meant. When he didn’t say anything, she elaborated. “You were about to tell me where you’re from.”

  “Switzerland,” he blurted, suddenly remembering that Vicky had used that country before.

  “Really? That’s amazing. Switzerland?” It didn’t seem like she believed him. “Hey, Carmen,” she yanked the other female’s arm, “Talon is from Switzerland.”

  “Oh!” The other female raised her brows. “That so?”

  “How long have you lived there?” Sandra asked. “You have an American accent.”

  Talon looked over at Vicky, hoping for a bit of help. She smiled at him and then nodded once, telling him with her eyes that he was capable of answering for himself.

  “I’ve lived there a long time.” Vague answer.

  “Talon moved over there with his family when he was just a boy,” Vicky said. “He visits his family here in the US regularly though.”

  “Oh, well that explains how fluent you are in English.” Sandra took a sip of her drink. “I have to say that you do look Scandinavian.”

  “Talon is originally from the US,” Vicky said, looking a little … he wasn’t sure. She seemed tense. Not her usual friendly, smiley self.

  “That’s probably why your eyes are … different,” Sandra said, ignoring Vicky. “Good different ‒ don’t get me wrong.”

  “Talon is originally from the US,” Vicky repeated. “But even if he was from Switzerland that would make him Nordic, not Scandinavian.”

  “Oh, right.” Sandra gave a tight laugh. It didn’t reach her eyes. “Where are you from in Switzerland? I have an aunt from there.” She blinked a few times, looking at him with interest.

  “Monsoli.” It was the name of his actual village. Vicky had said to stick to the truth as much as possible. Talon didn’t know any towns in Switzerland. “It’s a small village in the mountains. Very rural.”

  “That’s so interesting.” Sandra turned her back to Vicky and Carmen.

  Talon didn’t like that she was blocking the others from the conversation. Especially Vicky. He preferred having her involved as back-up. Also, it seemed rude.

  He took a small step away from the bar so that he could see Vicky. She was in a conversation with the dark-haired female. They were talking about some or other television show Talon had never heard of. He had only recently discovered television, so it was no wonder.

  “Hello.” Sandra gripped him by the elbow. “I asked what you do for a living?”

  “I’m in security.”

  “Here, sit down and you can tell me all about it.” She gestured to the seat next to her.

  Talon sat down, his feet making it to the floor easily. He widened his stance, trying to relax and enjoy
himself. “There isn’t much to tell. I own a security company. I would much rather hear all about what you do.”

  Sandra smiled. “That’s so sweet.” She took a sip of her drink, placing it back down. “I’m a yoga instructor.”

  “I see.” Although Talon wanted to panic ‒ he had no idea what that was ‒ he remained outwardly calm. Do not smile! “Tell me more.”

  “Not much to tell. I work at Tito’s Gym here in town. I give both a morning and afternoon class. I hope to own my own studio one day. At least my job gives me a really tight ass, not many professions can attest to that.”

  He leaned to the side on his chair, giving her the once over, ending on her rear, which was planted on the seat. “I can’t really see your ass, so I can’t comment either way.”

  Sandra laughed like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. He wasn’t sure why, since he was simply stating a fact. “I’m sure you work out. Part of being in security, right?” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it.

  He shrugged. “Sure I do. I’m also naturally quite,” he flexed his biceps, “built.” He was a Feral after all. That meant spending hours at a time in his other form. He also supposed that sparring and hunting was a form of working out.

  “You are … built,” she purred, staring at his chest. There was more biting of her bottom lip. Maybe she was hungry.

  “Would you like something to eat?”

  “Would I ever!”

  “I will call the—” He looked in the direction of the male who had served them earlier.

  “No, not for anything on the menu, silly.” She giggled.

  If not for something from this establishment, then what did she want to eat? This female was acting strangely. He wasn’t sure what she meant. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to mess this up. Vicky believed in him. He had to get this right. Surely he could hold his own in a simple conversation?