“Shoot bad guys.”
I laughed and curled my legs under me. “Right. Super spy. I remember that now.”
“I haven’t had much fun lately. You know what they say about all work and no play?” He poured more whiskey into my cup and grinned. “It makes a wolf go a little wild.”
I felt my panties start to dampen and I bit my lip, suddenly wondering what wild Gray might be like. “Um, next question. What qualities do you look for in a woman?”
“Tell me more about yourself.”
I tapped my pen against my mouth and rolled my eyes. “Again, this is about you.”
“I’m trying to answer the question.”
“Funny.”
“Next question?”
On and on, we went like that. I’d ask a question and Gray would answer in ways that had me squirming in my seat. He was a flirt, and a damn good one. If I hadn’t been determined to get the questionnaire filled out, I would’ve tossed it and tackled him long before finishing it. I had a job to do, though.
Plus, there was that nagging feeling that I couldn’t stand. He’d clearly said he wasn’t looking for his mate. Was he a player? He’d also said he wasn’t sleeping with anyone, though. That could’ve been a lie, I guessed, but it hadn’t felt like a lie. But then again, he had been a spy. He was probably a pretty smooth liar when he wanted to be.
By the time I got to the questions that were wildly inappropriate to ask anyone, beads of sweat were forming and I had a strong urge to peel off my clothes and grind on Gray’s lap like a stripper giving a lap dance. Why Parker needed to know about his favorite sexual position, I had no clue.
When I hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with the question, Gray took the paper from me and read it aloud, a grin forming on his face. “Is it too cliché to say doggy style?”
I coughed. “I think we’re pretty much finished.”
“There’s also cowgirl. I love the idea of watching my mate on top of me, using me to pleasure herself.” His voice had lowered to a dangerously sexy growl, and somehow he’d moved closer to me. When had that happened? “What about you, Laila? What’s your favorite sexual position?”
Heart pounding against my chest, I felt like I was about to start panting. I could feel a drop of sweat roll between my breasts and my panties were soaked. I felt like I might spontaneously orgasm at any moment. “What?”
Papers dropped on the floor. Gray was so close that he inclined his head ever so slightly and his mouth dipped next to my ear. “In what position would you like it, Laila? Would you take it from behind? The wolf in you crying out to be taken like an animal? Or do you want it on top, grinding, thrusting, head thrown back, thighs squeezing tightly? Or maybe missionary? Hands held overhead, restrained, legs spread, feet in the air, while you’re fucked senseless?”
My wolf was whining, whimpering. I’d never heard her so loudly in my head and I couldn’t make sense of what she wanted, besides Gray. My own body was melting into a puddle of goo on his couch.
Just before he touched me, I jumped off the couch, straightened into a stiffer, more rigid posture, scooped up the papers from the floor, and forced a tight smile at him. He was everything and a bag of chips, but I wasn’t there for that. Waving the papers at him, I scooted toward the door.
“Thanks for dinner. It was hot.” I stuttered. “Great! It was great, I mean. Thanks.” I’d never left a place so fast in my life.
8
Gray
Last night, it took all my willpower to let Laila run away from me. Every instinct in me was screaming to chase her down, throw her on the bed, and mount her sexy ass as I sank my canines in deeply and claimed her as mine. I wanted nothing more than to teach her all the wild ways shifters could satisfy and pleasure their mates. I’d been good, though. I’d simply watched her go, even though I’d had to dig my hands into my couch cushions to keep from chasing after her. For a man who didn’t want a mate, I’d been love struck by Laila instantly. Now that I was under her spell, I couldn’t stay away.
It was the only excuse I had for walking into Jammie’s Salon early the next morning. Laila had mentioned she worked as a hairstylist, and I’d found out from Grace that she worked at the little salon across the street from the office formerly known as P.O.L.A.R..
Laila was the first person I saw when I walked in. She was standing over an older woman, her back was to me. She was dressed in a tight red dress with her curves on full display, and I was torn between the urge to rip it off of her and the urge to throw a blanket over her so no one else could feast their eyes on the heaven that was her body. Her white hair was down, flowing down her back in curls that bounced when she moved.
I sat down in the small waiting area, content to just watch her. She stepped around the woman with a grace of movement that mesmerized me. Her hands were quick and precise, her fingers agile as she tossed hair around, getting it just the way she wanted it. She was like an artist.
When her eyes finally flicked to the mirror and she spotted me, her lips parted in the sexiest way. Her tongue snuck out just to pause over the corner of her mouth and then it disappeared again. She straightened and forced her eyes back to her client as she finished.
“Are you here for a cut, young man?” An older woman with hot-pink hair planted herself in front of me. Her hip jutted out as she tapped her finger against her chin. “You could definitely use a little trim.”
I grinned. “I’m here for Laila. If she has time in her schedule, I’ll gladly take whatever she’ll give me.” I hadn’t meant for it to sound so sexually suggestive, but how could I help my state of arousal when I was this close to the most beautiful woman on the planet?
“I think just about anyone would make time for you. I’m willing to bet Laila can,” the woman winked at me, “squeeze you in.” Was it weird I was only mildly creeped out by her sexual innuendo?
Laila appeared, her cheeks pink. Her pale eyelashes were painted darker than last night, her lips an even brighter red. The front of her dress was low, showing me enough cleavage to make my dick ache. “What are you doing here?”
“He’s here for a cut, girlie.” The older woman grinned and patted Laila on the ass. “Among other things.”
“Jammie!” Laila swung her hips away from the older woman and rolled her eyes. “Sorry about her. Are you really here for a cut?”
I couldn’t help myself. “Among other things.”
“Come on. I have a break between clients right now, so I can get you in.” She led me to her chair and then quickly swept up the hair clippings around it before putting a cape over me. “What kind of cut do you want?”
I looked at her through the mirror and shrugged. “I don’t care.”
She leaned a hip against the chair and squinted at my head. “It looks good the way it is, but you could use a trim. Do you want me to shave your beard growth?”
“Don’t shave it, Laila. Don’t do it.” The young girl next to us interjected.
I just shrugged. “Sure, do what you like.”
Laila slowly ran her hands through my hair and licked her lips. I closed my eyes and a low moan escaped my lips. I was already in heaven. Her hands continued to stroke through my hair. She tugged gently and then ran them through again. When her eyes met mine in the mirror, I saw a flash of silver. Her hidden wolf.
That gave me an idea. “I have a proposition for you.”
She moved in front of me and leaned down to look at something on my head. Scissors appeared in her hands and I heard the snip-snip as she got to work. “Should I be worried?”
Dear god, I would give my left nut to stay in that exact position for, like, a week. With Laila bending in front of me, I could see the full curve of her breasts in all their glory. “Huh?”
She tapped the scissors against my temple and hooked her finger under my chin to bring my eyes up. “Head up, unless you want to be lopsided.”
“You could shave me bald for all I care.” I blew out a breath. “Just don’t move.”
> She held my gaze for a second longer and then went back to trimming, her body still presented to me. “About the proposition?”
I tucked my hands under my thighs to keep from reaching for her. “Yeah, that. What if I traded lessons in exchange for you to trash that Cybermates questionnaire?”
She stopped cutting and leaned back. “Lessons?”
I flashed my fangs at her and winked. “Lessons.”
“What would these lessons entail?”
When she moved beside me to work while we talked, her breasts brushed against the side of my arm and I growled under my breath. I wanted to drag her out of there and fuck her against the side of the building until she screamed. I wanted to be in her more than I wanted my next breath.
“Gray?”
“Um…scenting, hunting, all the fun stuff.” I squeezed my eyes shut to regain some semblance of control.
Laila stroked her hand over my beard stubble, she was again in front of me. Her eyes were on mine when I opened them. “Lessons in exchange for tossing the questionnaire?”
I nodded. Her hands on my face were derailing any chance I had of getting a hold of myself and walking out of here without an erection the likes of a steel rod in my pants.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
She grinned. “Okay. Why not? October was right, though. I’m not shaving the five o’clock shadow. I like it on you. It works.”
I reached out and caught her wrist. “Just be sure to burn those papers. I’m not looking for anyone else.”
9
Laila
Heart racing, I finished Gray’s haircut. I didn’t change much. He didn’t need it. His chocolate-colored hair was sexy in the tousled, carefree way that he wore it. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed and ran his fingers through it, which created the best mental images in my head.
The man had gotten more comfortable with me and was sneaking little touches. It was distracting and he’d almost lost an ear when his hand had snaked out to lightly brush my hip. Just that one touch had left me drowning in desire. I couldn’t remember another time that I’d wanted a man so much. Just the way he looked at me through the mirror while I trimmed his hair was enough to make me want to strip naked and wiggle my ass in the air as an invitation for him to mount me and screw me senseless.
I was shocked that he’d found me. Even more shocked that he’d offered to give me wolf lessons. I wasn’t completely sure it wasn’t a ruse to get me alone so he could have his way with me, but if it was, well, I was walking into it willing. As for his questionnaire? I’d ripped it up as soon as I’d gotten home the night before. Gray had said he didn’t want a mate. That was the excuse I gave myself as I scattered the paper fragments into the trash can. Okay, truth, the idea of him with a woman of Parker’s choosing made me want to rip my hair out. He didn’t need to know that, though.
My next client was waiting, and Gray was cleaned up and ready to go, but he lingered next to my chair. His eyes were smoldering as his gaze bore into me, and I would have had to be blind to miss the bulge in his pants.
“Tonight, then?”
“I can’t. I’m finishing Parker’s nursery for her tonight.”
“I’ll help.” He stepped closer and I could smell peppermint on his breath. “Let me help.”
I swallowed and nodded. “Um, okay. I’ll write down the address for you.”
He tapped his nose and grinned at me. “I’ll find you.”
I nodded and held my breath as I watched him walk out. I swore my lady bits were pulsing in rhythm with his steps. I ran a hand over my forehead and fanned myself before turning to October.
She stared back at me with a shocked expression on her face. “He wants to swing from your chandeliers. Naked.”
“Oh, he wants more than that. I bet that man’s a beast in the bedroom. He’d come up with some things to do to her that we’ve never even heard of.” Jammie pulled an old church fan out of her station and fanned herself. “Did you see the size of that bulge?”
Kitty shoved the dryer down on a lady and smacked her lips. “Did we ever!”
I buried my face in my hands and shook my head. “Too much. Way too much.”
“Pretty sure he’s planning to bewitch you with his magic meat wand tonight.” October shook her head. “It’s not fair. He didn’t even look at the rest of us. I want a hot guy to come in and pop a boner in my chair.”
Margie wagged her finger at the younger woman. “Careful what you wish for. Old Joe Hill had a boner in my chair last week.”
“Gross. I said hot.”
Kitty laughed. “Old Joe Hill was once young Joe Hill and oooh, lordy, was he ever hot.”
“What happened to him?”
“He married that old battle-ax of an ex-wife of his. She’s mean enough to take the hot out of an inferno.”
I laughed, thankful the subject had turned away from me. I had other things to focus on, anyway. Like my next client. And whether or not I was really going to going to experience Gray Lowe’s magic.
By the time the workday had ended and it was time to go to Parker’s, I was a nervous wreck. I’d been to the moon and back overthinking Gray’s reasons for offering to help me with the nursery. Maybe Gray was just a flirt and really hated the idea of Parker trying to set him up. Maybe he didn’t want me at all. Maybe, he was an alien and he was going to beam me up to space when he met me at Parker’s. If the last one were true, I just hoped he’d let me finish the nursery first. Parker would be home the next day and I wanted baby Stella to have the best welcome she could get.
The chance that Gray wanted me as much as I wanted him was terrifying. It’d been forever since I hooked up with anyone. I couldn’t remember how to even do it, it’d been so long. Not the act itself. I got the anatomy of things, but the slide from standing awkwardly next to someone hoping your breath wasn’t stale to letting them release their bodily fluids inside your body cavity… Jeez, I was a wreck. My brain was frazzled.
The comments from my coworkers didn’t help. There was a lot of dirty talk in a shop full of women. Everything from penis size to enhancement toys to favorite flavor of lube had come up. I’d unfortunately heard Margie say how much she adored watermelon-flavored lube. Water based, of course. Now I had to figure out how to unhear that.
Halfway to Parker’s, I was almost convinced that Stella would be fine if I didn’t finish her room. It wasn’t like she’d be sleeping in it. Parker had already said she was going to have her baby in a bassinette next to her bed for the first few weeks. Before I could do a U-turn and chicken out, though, I was there.
I let myself in and pulled an apron on over my dress to do a few touchups to the paint job. I listened for the sound of Gray the whole time, but I was still surprised when I heard the rumble of his old truck pulling in the driveway. I peeked out the window and then went to the front door to watch him climb out.
In a mouthwatering flow of well-fitting denim and muscle, he stood and his gaze turned to me. The corner of his mouth lifted and the sexy dimple sprouted on his cheek. He wasted no time climbing the stairs. One hand on the rail, he took them two at a time and only stopped when we were eye level. Still a couple of steps below me, his eyes trailed over my body.
“I didn’t think this dress could get better.” His finger lightly lifted the front of my apron. “I was wrong. Who knew?”
I rolled my eyes and pretended like his words didn’t affect me. “Come on. I have work for you.”
Following me inside, he pushed the door shut behind him and locked it. When he saw me raise my eyebrows, he shrugged. “Habit.”
“From being a super spy?”
He made a face as we moved into Stella’s room. “That paint smell doesn’t bother you?”
I shrugged. “It’s just paint. I’m around chemicals all day long, so this is nothing.”
“Who told you I used to be a spy?”
I pointed at a pile of wooden pieces on the ground. “Who didn’t would be a bet
ter question. You’re the talk of the town, Mr. Lowe. Now, are you good at building things?”
I thought I was doing great at keeping myself together. My hands weren’t shaking as much as they had been, and I hadn’t said anything embarrassing so far. But when Gray moved past me and let his hand brush over my waist, I was jelly again.
“I’m good at lots of things, little wolf.”
I licked my lips and watched as he knelt in front of the pile of unassembled furniture pieces. Denim stretched taut and my mouth watered. I needed to busy myself with something that wasn’t Gray Lowe. Turning to a separate pile of wood, I sunk to my knees in front of it and groaned. “Parker really left everything till the last minute.”
“I can’t say I’m not glad about it right now.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I found Gray’s eyes on my ass and glowing a bright yellow. His teeth seemed to be growing longer, too. I gulped loudly and turned back to my pile. I couldn’t have sex with him in Stella’s nursery. That was not appropriate. Was it? Trembling slightly, I rolled the elastic off my wrist, wrapped my hair up into a bun, and shook out the instructions for whatever piece of furniture I was supposed to be assembling. I just had to focus. There was no law that said I had to give in to the heated looks coming from Gray.
10
Gray
Jesus, I didn’t know why I was building a crib when every cell in my body was screaming for me to ravage the woman on the other side of the room from me. I could feel her eyes on me, could practically hear her mind running. The scent of her arousal filled the room until I could barely breathe without my cock aching. The scent of sugared pears had never been such a sexual turn on to me before, but suddenly I couldn’t imagine ever getting a whiff of that scent without springing an erection.
Her forehead wrinkled and she looked frustrated. “I think I was supposed to be building a changing table, but the directions were confusing…”
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