Wild Hearts 2: Wild by Night

by Jodi Lynn Copeland

  “Carrie!” Candace gasped. She looked to Duane, fear and loathing flowing from her gaze like a living thing. Please, if you care about me at all, don’t do this.

  The desperation of her thoughts was almost too much for Duane to ignore. The reality that taking Carrie out and bringing her back home again safe, sound and unhandled, might be the best way to convince Candace he meant no harm to either of them was even harder to overlook. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”

  The plea left Candy’s gaze and she bit out, “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

  Carrie let out a huff and reached for the doorknob. She pulled the door open, then took Duane’s hand and sent her sister a parting look. “Relax already. You said yourself that Duane’s like part of the family, that he has been for years. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

  Candace hustled to the door and her eyes narrowed on Duane while her nostrils flared with open hostility. “If you so much as lay a paw on her, I swear I will—”

  “Kill me,” Duane finished with a knowing grin while doing his best to avoid the temptation of her twitching nostrils. Even without focusing on her nose, the damned thing was having an affect on his body, heating his blood and hardening his cock. They needed to get the hell out of here before it had an affect on the rest of him and he totally blew the cover on this date. “I got that you were into bodily harm yesterday.”

  He gave Carrie’s hand a squeeze and, seeming to understand he wanted to leave immediately, she tugged back on his and moved out the door, saying as she went, “He’s not going to lay a paw—hand—on me unless I want him to, which I very well might, so knock it off and try to enjoy your own date. And, since we all know that isn’t any too likely to happen, when you do come home alone, don’t even think about waiting up for me.”

  * * * * *

  They weren’t really on a date. It was too coincidental that Carrie and Duane would have reservations at the same restaurant and almost the same time as she and Andy had. No, this wasn’t a date. They were just trying to make her jealous so she would give in to both her feelings and the longing Duane stirred in her.

  But if it wasn’t a date, if it really was just make believe, Candace asked herself as she glared over the top of her menu to where Duane and Carrie sat at a candlelit corner table, why did they keep touching? They’d even kissed! Right in front of her. Okay, so not in front of her, but sitting less than a hundred feet away and, damn it, they had to know that. Had to know how disgusted it had made her feel. How much she’d wanted to go over there and wrap her hands around both of their no-good necks.

  “You sure you’re okay with them eating here?”

  “It’s fine,” Candy snapped.

  That she was on a date with a man that, less than an hour ago, she’d been praying was her answer to forgetting Duane, came back in a flash. She put her menu down and fixed a smile on Andy. He looked at her through eyes the same rich shade of blue-green as the ocean. Set beneath thick, black lashes, they were mesmerizing. At least that’s what she’d recently read about them. Frankly, they didn’t mesmerize her even a little bit. All they did was look sort of nice. All he was doing was looking across the table at her like he regretted ever agreeing to this date.

  Shit. She had to focus. Had to remember her reasons for asking Andy out. Had to forget that Duane had been the one to give her that stupid wolf, because he really and truly cared and wanted to see her watched over during her fitful nights.

  That was such a load of crap. He didn’t really care about her. If he did, he wouldn’t have stuck his tongue down her sister’s throat.

  Candace’s belly knotted as the revolting image of them rubbing mouths replayed in her mind. She forced herself to stay focused on Andy, to smile even wider, to act like she was having the time of her life. Who knew, if she could just give the man a chance, she might. “Sorry if I snapped at you, I’m just feeling edgy. Probably has to do with not working in so long. I go back on Tuesday.” Thank God.

  Just another two days and she would be back to spending ten to twelve hour shifts at the hospital and, even better, away from Duane.

  “You’re an ER nurse, right?”

  She rarely let her softer side be known, hardly ever talked about her passion for her job; doing so with Andy was bound to go a long way toward cementing something solid with him.

  Candace relaxed in her seat and pushed her menu aside, flashed him a real smile for the first time since he’d picked her up a half hour ago. “I do. It’s a great job. Not seeing all those people injured or sick, but the helping out factor. Knowing I’m doing something that matters. That’s not to say someone with a job like yours isn’t helping out or making people better. I know a lot of people worship you for what you do.”

  “But not you,” Andy asked, a black eyebrow raised in introspection.

  Worship a man who made his living by partaking in daredevil stunts? Respected his valor, maybe, but ‘worship’ was a bit much. “I’ve never seen you in action.”

  He winced. “Ouch. With Nate owning an outdoor superstore chain and attending numerous sporting events for publicity’s sake, I figured your knowing the playing field would be a given.”

  Nate and Duane. The thought popped into Candy’s head without any forewarning. It wasn’t her fault; she’d been grouping the two men together for as long as she could remember. They were alike in so many ways, including the fact they both owned outdoor stores. So many ways, but the one that mattered most.

  Her brother was not a werewolf. Duane was and, if her conniving bitch of a little sister found that out the hard way, then she would get exactly what was coming to her.

  Guilt tightened her stomach and she bit back a curse of self-reprisal. Carrie did not deserve to get hurt for wanting Duane. And she probably didn’t even want him anyway. More than likely it was a rouse, kiss and all. Truthfully, Candace hadn’t seen any tongue involved in that kiss. It had just looked really hot and wet from her vantage and so she’d stupidly let her mind drift with thoughts of what might be happening.

  “That could be fixed, you know.”

  She jerked her attention from where it had been creeping back to get a peek at Duane and Carrie to Andy’s face. “What’s that?”

  His lips curved into a smile and his eyes carried an invitation so dark and carnal she couldn’t have missed it if she’d tried. “Having not seen me in action.”

  She hadn’t missed his hot look and yet she also wasn’t feeling it. No heat cruised through her body and into her limbs. Her heart wasn’t beating even a little fast. She didn’t want him. God, why couldn’t she want him? Maybe what he was offering up didn’t revolve around feelings but it could still be the answer she needed. Had to be the answer she needed.

  Determined to want him as much as he seemed to want her, Candace flicked her tongue out and over her lips, purposefully drawing his attention to the way she knew the flickering candlelight made them glisten. She allowed her mouth to tug into the sort of seductive smile she generally loathed. “I’d like that. Later.”

  Andy reached an arm across the short expanse of the table and stroked his fingers over the back of her hand. “Later’s good, but so is right now.”

  Now? Like now, now? And why the hell was he touching her?

  Because that’s what you want him to do, dumbass.

  Right. What she wanted.

  She resisted pulling her hand back and struggled to keep her smile warm, enticing. “Now, I’m hungry. And I can be a real bear if I don’t get my food.”

  Andy’s smile slipped away and she half-expected him to pull back his hand and leave. Instead, he tipped back his head and chuckled. He looked back at her, his grin huge and his eyes so vivid they almost glowed in the soft lighting. “You’re out with the right man then, because I certainly understand animalistic behavior.” His grin seemed to grow even bigger still, the white of his teeth to flash. Sharp points glinted.

  Fangs.

  Fangs?

  Tension mounted the l
ength of Candace’s spine and she jerked her hand from beneath his to dig her nails into the cushioned seat on either side of her thighs. Her heart pummeled against her ribs. She sucked back air, chanting reassurances to herself. It had just been her imagination, images conjured up by bad dreams from last night. She hadn’t really seen fangs. They were teeth. Just teeth. Not fangs.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, intent on keeping the anxiety from her voice.

  Andy looked to the table, to the spot where her hand had been, to where his own lay still. His grin was gone and in the place of the humor he’d exhibited moments ago was alarm. The look faded and he shook his head and pulled back his hand. He picked up his menu and, concentrating on reading it, muttered, “Nothing important.”

  Then why was he suddenly acting so strange, like he was guilty of something? Or maybe trying to hide something. Something like—

  “You’re not…” Don’t even think about finishing that question, you idiot!

  He is not a werewolf. He does not have fangs. He’s just confused about the way you jerked your hand away so fast. He’s thinking you don’t want him and, given his reputation, that’s probably never happened to him before.

  Andy glanced up from the menu, the sudden lack of interest in his eyes all but tangible. “I’m not what?”

  Damn it. She’d been right. He thought she’d thrown up a red light. He couldn’t think that. She might not want him quite now, but she would soon. It was imperative she do so. Even more imperative that she make him realize there was some major chemistry between them. Enough to start an all-alarm fire. Enough to vanquish thoughts of another man, beast or whatever the hell you wanted to call Duane, from her mind permanently.

  Candace slipped her tongue back out of her mouth and again wet her lips in the disgustingly tawdry way she loathed. Taking it a step farther, she crossed her arms tightly and leaned forward, letting her cleavage press against the low-cut front of her too-summery shirt. “I meant you haven’t. As in, you haven’t already eaten, have you?”

  He looked from her eyes to her lips to her breasts and the glint of hunger returned to his expression full force. Setting his menu aside, he extended his hand. She quickly slid hers into it. He grinned in exchange, a grin she knew would have any other woman wetting her seat. All Candy felt was the subtle urge to smile back.

  “No, I haven’t,” Andy said. “Even if I had, I always have room for more. I have a killer appetite. Particularly when it comes to red meat.”

  Killer. Appetite. Red. Meat.

  Candace gulped down a hard breath and forced her fingers to remain within his, teasing, caressing, while her thoughts raced with possibilities she didn’t want to consider and yet they sprang through her mind all the same.

  He wasn’t a werewolf who lost control in the height of passion, goddammit. And before this night was over, she would prove it, too.

  * * * * *

  “What’s the matter?” Carrie asked Duane from where he sat beside her at the candlelit table.

  “I don’t know.” Just that, for a moment there, Candace’s thoughts had come skidding into his mind and they hadn’t been close to pleasant ones. They also hadn’t lasted more than a few seconds. Whatever she’d been anxious over, her panic had passed. Now he couldn’t get a read off of her for anything and he burned to do just that. He couldn’t turn in his seat without making it obvious where his attention was centered, but Carrie could certainly fill him in.

  “What’s she doing now?” he asked, hating how desperate his voice sounded. He shouldn’t be using Carrie as a pawn, even if she did seem eager to help. He should be relying on his own prowess, on the—

  “Getting ready to crawl across the table and into Andy’s lap.”

  The words squeezed at his gut like a leaden fist and he wrenched around to focus on Candace and Andy’s table. Rage made his heart beat faster, a growl to rumble up from deep in his throat. The bastard was holding her hand and looking like he planned to do a whole lot more than that before the night was through. As for Candy, she was licking her lips like she couldn’t get them wrapped around Andy’s dick fast enough.

  “Nice,” Carrie said dryly. “Very smooth move.”

  Duane shifted his attention back to Carrie, aware just how collected his move hadn’t been. She passed him a sympathetic smile, then reached across the table to pat his hand. “Maybe we should try another kiss. That seemed to work well the first time.”

  That kiss had seemed to tick Candy off, made her stare at them so lividly he could feel her glare from across the room. It had also made him feel like a complete lecher. He’d told Candy he would take care of her sister tonight and he damned well meant it. But what if Carrie didn’t want to be taken care of, at least not in a hands-off manner? It was something he’d never considered before—that maybe Carrie had agreed to help him not for the sake of getting him closer to Candy, but to Carrie herself.

  “For you or Candace?” he asked, only half-jokingly.

  She pulled back her hand and stuck out her tongue. “Funny, Livery, but you’re like a brother to me and I am so not into the whole incest thing.”

  “You didn’t like that kiss even a little?”

  She lifted a slim shoulder in a shrug and reached for her beer bottle. “If not for that whole aforementioned brother complex, then yeah, it was pretty hot—at least as hot as a no-tongue kiss can be. And before you suggest it, no, I am not implying that I want to find out what a tongue kiss would feel like.” She held up a hand, palm toward him. “Please, save those for Candy.”

  Duane grinned. He might not know why it was that Carrie was helping him out with Candace but at least he knew her reasons were altruistic. His grin fell flat with his next thought. “The last thing your sister wants is my tongue. At least, it’s the last thing she’s admitting to. You heard how long she’s wanted me. She knows damned well I feel the same. I wish to hell she’d quit putting up a fight and give in to her desires already.”

  Carrie took a drink of her beer, then sat it back on the table and shrewdly narrowed her gaze. “No, you don’t. You like that she’s hard to get. Maybe not all the time but, if she were a pushover, you wouldn’t want her half so much. It’s not in your blood.”

  She was right. If Candace wasn’t the hot-tempered yet compassionate to strangers who chanced by during her hospital shifts woman she was, he would never feel the way for her that he did. He’d always been decently strong-willed but, since the change, he’d become incredibly so. Just as Candy was. Between her strong state of mind and her bend toward humanity, she was his perfect offset, his perfect mate, and it had everything to do with his blood.

  How the hell did Carrie know that?

  “Has Candy ever mentioned anything about me?”

  She made another face, scrunching her nose up and sending her blonde ponytail swinging. “I’ve known you most of my life; what’s she gonna mention?”

  And that would be a ‘no’, which meant her too-close-to-home comment about his longing for Candy being tied to his blood was nothing more than a coincidence. “Good point. Forget I said anything.”

  Her nose uncrinkled and understanding filled her eyes. “Oh… You mean about the two of you hooking up last winter?”

  In the midst of reaching for his beer, Duane stopped short. Maybe her comment hadn’t been a coincidence. But if Carrie knew his secret, knew what had happened that night with her sister, wouldn’t she be acting differently than what she was? Like reaching across the table with her fist? “Yeah, that. What did she tell you?”

  “Nothing really. I just guessed on it last night. She admitted to it but then said it wasn’t a big deal and changed the subject. It was pretty obvious it was a big deal.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she got all flustered looking, like she wanted to hunt you down and run off to a dark corner together and not for conversation, either. Actually, that was right before you came into the bathroom.”

  Came in and heard how badly Candy wanted him
, that she’d been wanting him for years. Then she’d proceeded to turn him down for a date because she’d already had one planned with Andy. The man she was about to crawl across the table and jump on.

  Duane’s blood boiled with the thought, with the visual that remained in his mind from when he’d turned back to glance at Candace and Andy. His hands curled into fists and he moved them under the tablecloth and forced his tone to come across calmly, his temper to stop from exploding. He had to remain collected here, in control, and keep leashed the wolf that was clawing to be let free to do bodily harm to Candy’s date. “So, she didn’t say anything else about that night or about me?”

  “Not that you didn’t hear for yourself.” Carrie smiled faintly, then sobered to add, “Trust me, I wish I could give you more. It’s clear she wants you so bad that it’s affecting her day and night.”

  “She’s still not sleeping well?”

  “Not even close. Last night she woke up screaming so loud, I thought someone was killing her. She was kicking and shoving like there was something on top of her. I tried to wake her up and she yelled at me to leave before he hurt me, too. I have no idea who or what that— Ooh, wait, she’s looking. What do you say to another kiss?”

  Duane’s gut knotted as Carrie’s words sank in. She might not know who or what her sister had been dreaming about but he could guess well. Candace had been dreaming about him, about him losing control and hurting her.

  Son of a bitch, why couldn’t he get it through her head that he was safe, that he would never harm her again?

  “Yes? No? Decide something fast before she looks away.”

  Decide something, like that maybe their coming here wasn’t such a good idea. That maybe his being with Candace wasn’t even a good idea, not when attaining his dream came at the cost of her suffering. The thought was too heavy and crippling to think of now, so he forced flippancy into his tone and smiled at Carrie. “Are you sure that brother complex is really an issue and you aren’t just out for another kiss?”