Animal Attraction

by Paige Tyler

  “These were darker this morning, I’m sure of it,” she murmured. Realization suddenly dawned on her. It was too impossible to even think it, but she couldn’t keep her mind from connecting the dots. “Last night, the wolf that saved my life got scratched right on his shoulder just like this.”

  “Eliza…” Hunter began, but she ignored him as she continued.

  “Then tonight, Detective Newman took a shot at the wolves, and when I got here, you had a bullet wound in your shoulder.”

  She tried to tell herself that it was a coincidence and nothing more. She might actually believe that if she hadn’t just seen the bullet wound heal up right before her eyes.

  Eliza slowly lifted her head to look at Hunter. “Oh God…you’re a…a…werewolf!”

  “Eliza…”

  But she shook her head. “But you don’t have excessive body hair or a unibrow or…”

  Hunter frowned down at her in obvious confusion. “What?”

  “The classic signs,” she explained. “You know, excessive body hair, overly long fingernails, one of those unibrow things, a violent temper…”

  He sighed. “Eliza, I think we need to talk.”

  She shook her head, looking at him incredulously. “Talk? I just accused you of being a werewolf and you want to talk?”

  He nodded. “Yes, we need to talk. Let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll make you some tea.”

  Eliza had an urge for something stronger than tea, but she said nothing as Hunter took her hand and led her out of the bathroom. At the sight of the blood on the kitchen floor, however, she hesitated in the doorway.

  Hunter must have sensed her discomfort because he said, “Wait here while I clean that up.”

  She did as he suggested, waiting while he grabbed some paper towels off the rack and wiped up the floor before finally venturing into the kitchen, and then it was to lean against the counter with her arms wrapped around herself. Her head was spinning. She didn’t honestly believe Hunter was a werewolf, did she? There had to be another explanation, right? Werewolves didn’t exist. But then why hadn’t he denied it?

  “So,” she said softly, “are you a werewolf or not?”

  He was silent as he set two mugs out on the counter. “Yes,” he finally said, not looking at her.

  Eliza’s jaw dropped open. Oh God. This so wasn’t happening. Hunter simply could not be a werewolf. Maybe she was dreaming this whole thing. That made sense. She had come up to Alaska to do a story on a werewolf, after all. But something told her this wasn’t a dream. Hunter really was a werewolf.

  “Were you bitten by a werewolf like in the movies?” she asked, not knowing what else to say.

  He glanced up from the box of tea bags to give her a look that was half amused. “No. Though a person will become one if they’re bitten. I’m what we call a hereditary werewolf.”

  They never mentioned that in the movies. “Your parents are werewolves then?”

  Hunter shook his head. “Just my father. The gene is passed down through his side of the family.”

  She thought about that for a moment. This was too insane for words. “Does your mother know?”

  A pained expression crossed his face. “Yes. It was kind of hard for my brother and me to hide it from her. We couldn’t control it when it first started.”

  Eliza blinked. “Your brother is a werewolf, too?”

  He nodded as he poured hot water into the mugs.

  They were both silent for a moment as they waited for the tea to steep, but then she frowned in confusion. “Well, wait a minute. If your father is one, too, why didn’t your mother figure it out earlier?”

  “Because he kept it hidden from her,” Hunter explained. “He was afraid of how she would react, so he never told her. He’d hoped they would get lucky and that the trait would end up skipping a generation.”

  “It does that?”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes. It’s a recessive gene.”

  “Recessive?” she said, thinking back to what she’d learned in her high school biology class about recessive genes. “You mean like red hair or something?”

  He nodded. “Exactly like that, actually.”

  “So, what happened when your mother found out?” she asked, watching as he removed the tea bags and set them on a paper towel.

  His brows drew together. “She left. We never saw her again.”

  Eliza couldn’t conceal her surprise as he handed her one of the mugs. “She left her family, just like that?”

  Hunter shrugged. “It can be hard for some people to accept,” he said, avoiding her gaze.

  She was silent for a moment as she sipped her tea. Obviously, finding out your husband and children are werewolves would be a big deal, but she couldn’t understand how his mother could have just walked out on them.

  “Her leaving must have been rough on you,” she said softly.

  His jaw clenched. “I got over it.”

  Had he? She wasn’t so sure. It certainly explained why a great guy like Hunter wasn’t married already. He probably purposely kept women at a distance, afraid they would bolt if they ever found out his secret.

  “So, is it just the men who carry the gene, then?” she asked finally.

  “In my family, yes. I’m not sure how it is with other hereditary werewolves, though.”

  She thought a moment. “Are there a lot of werewolves around?”

  The corner of his mouth edged up. “I’m not really sure. It’s not like we get together for conventions or anything.”

  Though she said nothing, Eliza couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a werewolf convention. It probably wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow back in San Francisco.

  Hunter studied her thoughtfully. “Obviously I don’t come out and tell people about this very often—actually, I’ve never told anyone—but I have to say, you’re not freaking out as much as I expected a person would.”

  Eliza supposed she probably should be freaking out—it wasn’t like he’d just admitted to being a vegetarian or something—but she was surprisingly calm. In fact, she had to congratulate herself on how well she was dealing with all of this. After all, it wasn’t every day that she found out the hot guy she’d been sleeping with was really a werewolf.

  Abruptly realizing that Hunter was still waiting for an answer, she gave him a small smile. “I don’t freak out very easily. It must be the reporter in me, I guess.”

  Hunter nodded, but made no comment, and Eliza found herself wondering if she’d somehow said the wrong thing.

  “So, where do werewolves come from?” she asked when the silence continued to lengthen.

  “Where do we come from?” He shrugged. “I have no clue. I assume it’s just a genetic trait that’s been around since the beginning of time.”

  “Haven’t you ever wondered?”

  His mouth curved. “Not really. Have you ever wondered where your blue eyes came from?”

  Eliza started to point out that it wasn’t the same thing, but then realized that it probably wasn’t any different to him. “I guess not.” She thought a moment, her mind wandering over everything she’d just learned. “The other wolf, the one that’s attacking people, he’s a werewolf, too, isn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know him?”

  Hunter shook his head. “No. I’ve never seen him before. I think he’s been recently turned, though.”

  She sipped her tea. “How can you tell?”

  “For one thing, the first two attacks came around the full moon. Learning to control the change takes time. Until a new werewolf learns that control, he or she is at the whim of the lunar cycle.”

  At least the movies got that right. “But there wasn’t a full moon last night,” she pointed out.

  “Which means that he’s gained control of his were half and can change whenever he wants now.”

  Another thought suddenly occurred to her. “I suppose this means I was right last night. You were trying to track him when I saw you by those
warehouses.”

  Hunter nodded. “I was, but then he doubled-back on me. That’s when I caught your scent.”

  Eliza was silent for a moment, her gaze going to the faint scars on his shoulder. “I was stupid to be out there by myself. He would have killed me if you hadn’t shown up. You saved my life.” She reached out to gently run her fingers over the scars. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of my foolishness.”

  Taking her hand in his, he pressed his lips to her palm. “It was worth it to keep you safe.”

  The feel of his lips on her skin made a quiver run through Eliza, and she bit her lip to stifle a moan. Hunter gave her a sexy, little half-smile.

  “All these sensations you make me feel,” she said softly. “Do they have anything to do with the fact that you’re a werewolf? I mean, you don’t like release pheromones into the air, or something, do you?”

  He chuckled. “Not that I’m aware of. I assume it’s just good old-fashioned chemistry.”

  “Good. I didn’t think so, but I just wanted to make sure.” She chewed on her lower lip as something else occurred to her. “Are you immortal?”

  The corner of his mouth edged up. “No. We tend to live longer than humans, but we’re not immortal.”

  She nodded, considering that. Then her brow furrowed. “What about silver?”

  He frowned. “Silver?”

  “If the bullet had been silver, would it have killed you?”

  “Ah,” he said in understanding. “No, a silver bullet isn’t any more deadly than the one you took out of me. If that one had hit anything vital, it would have killed me.”

  Eliza’s gaze went to the bullet wound and she shivered. Not wanting to think about it, she decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. “Do you have any other powers?”

  Hunter lifted a brow. “Powers?”

  She nodded. “You know, like in the movies. Are you stronger than the average person?”

  His mouth quirked. “Yes.”

  “How much stronger?”

  “A lot.”

  Her gaze ran over his well-muscled chest as she considered that. “What about your hearing?” she asked after a moment. “Is that better?”

  “I can hear better, yes. And see better in the dark, too.”

  “Is your sense of smell better?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  So far, those all seemed like a plus to her. “What about red meat?”

  “What about it?”

  “Do you eat a lot of it?”

  He chuckled. “Maybe a little more than the average person, but my were side makes my metabolism faster, so I eat more of everything, I guess.”

  The fast metabolism thing must be nice. Then she wouldn’t have to worry so much about what she ate. She sighed. “Well, at least he was right about the red meat,” she said, thinking of Nate Corrigan.

  Hunter’s brow furrowed. “Who was right? And where did you come up with all this stuff about werewolves? Other than Hollywood, I mean.”

  Eliza hesitated as she considered how to answer his question. Hunter had been completely honest with her; maybe it was her turn to do the same. “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said after a moment. “I don’t work for the Chronicle. I work for a magazine called Paranormal Today, and the reason I came up here was to do a story on a werewolf.”

  His frown deepened. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Run that by me again. You came up here to do a story on me?”

  “No, not you!” she said quickly. “I won’t tell anyone about you, I promise. Your secret is safe with me.” She set her mug down on the counter. “I didn’t even believe in werewolves until tonight. I only took the job at that magazine because it was the only one I could get. Anyway, there’s this guy in town who’s convinced a werewolf is behind the attacks, so the magazine sent me up here to interview him. Apparently, I guess he’s not as crazy as I thought. Though the profile he came up with could use a little work.”

  “Profile?”

  Eliza nodded. “He came up with all these ways you can tell if someone’s a werewolf just by looking at them. But obviously, he’s way off the mark because none of them apply to you.”

  Hunter crossed his arms over his broad chest, clearly interested. “Oh?”

  “No. Like you don’t have excessive body hair,” she said, gesturing to his smooth chest. “Or a unibrow.”

  His mouth quirked in amusement. “Thank God for that.”

  “And you don’t have hairy palms, or overly long fingernails, either,” she went on.

  He let out a chuckle. “Hairy palms?”

  She nodded. “Or a violent temper. Honestly, I don’t know how he came up with half this stuff.”

  Hunter was still grinning. “Anything else?”

  Eliza looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes, a naughty little thought suddenly coming to her. “Well, he did mention werewolves having an insatiable sexual appetite.”

  “Is that so?” Hunter said. “Well, I can’t answer for all werewolves, of course, but in my case, I’d have to say he got that one right. Though that could have something to do with you.”

  “Really?” She glanced down to see his hard cock straining against the front of his jeans. Her pulse quickened. “I’d actually prefer to think it’s me that gets you so excited.”

  He leaned in close to nuzzle her ear. “I know it is,” he said huskily.

  Eliza caught her breath as he trailed feather-light kisses along the underside of her jaw, and she had to put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Some small part of her mind told her it should matter that he was a werewolf, but it didn’t. Maybe she was just being short-sighted, but she felt good with where she was right now, and she figured thinking about it too much would only screw it up. Hunter made her feel things she’d never felt with another man before. What else could she ask for? Even now, her pussy was already beginning to purr just from him nibbling on her ear.

  “Well,” she said softly. “You’ll be glad to know that you seem to have the same effect on me.”

  “That’s nice to know,” he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth.

  She parted her lips, expecting him to give her one of those deep, searing kisses that made her knees go weak. But instead, he gently caught her lower lip with his teeth and began to suckle and tug on it in the most delicious way.

  “So, tell me,” she breathed after he’d released her. “Are all werewolves this talented with their teeth?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, nibbling on her lower lip again. “I’ve never kissed another werewolf.”

  Though she could only moan in reply, his words pleased Eliza. She didn’t like the idea of him with another woman, especially a female werewolf. His mouth claimed hers again.

  “I take it that you like what I’m doing?” he asked between kisses.

  “Mmm,” she sighed.

  He let out a throaty chuckle. “Then let’s get rid of these clothes and I’ll show you some of my other talents.”

  Hunter knew it was entirely possible that Eliza would feel differently about him tomorrow once she had time to really think about what she’d learned. But right then, he didn’t want to think about it. For tonight, at least, she still wanted him.

  Sliding his hands beneath Eliza’s top, Hunter lifted it over her head. Beneath it, she was wearing a red satin bra, and he almost groaned at the sight. As eager as he was to free her magnificent breasts from their confines, though, he couldn’t resist catching them in his hands and teasing their hardened little tips through the silky material. Eliza gasped at his touch, the sound soft and sexy in his ear as he rolled each nipple between a forefinger and thumb.

  “Oh, Hunter…” she breathed.

  “Does that feel good?” he asked, moving them back and forth in his fingers.

  “God, yes!”

  “What about when I do this?” he said, giving each of them a firm, little squeeze.

  “Mmm-hmmm,” she moaned.

  Bene
ath his fingers, her nipples were straining against the satin of her bra, and Hunter suddenly yearned to feel them against his hands. Giving them another squeeze, he reached around to undo the clasp of her bra. Free of their fabric prison, her breasts spilled into his waiting hands. He cupped them gently, his lightly tanned fingers dark against the creamy flesh as he gently massaged them. She had the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen. Neither large nor small, they were just the right size to fit in his hands. Remembering how sweet their pink tips had tasted on his tongue earlier that day, he lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth.

  Hunter made little circles around the stiff peak with his tongue until she was practically squirming. Then he began to suckle on the ripe bud, drawing it firmly into his mouth and teasing it mercilessly. Eliza moaned and threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling him tighter against her breast. The husky sound made him smile, and he continued to suckle and nibble on that one nipple until he was sure she was about to go crazy. Only then did he release it to lavish the same attention on the other. But while he loved licking and suckling on her breasts, he had a sudden urge to taste another, even sweeter part of her body.

  Lifting his head, Hunter released her breasts to slide his hands down her taut stomach to the waistband of her jeans. Tugging at the buttons, he pushed them down over her hips before doing the same to her tiny red bikini panties. Rather than bending to take them the rest of the way off, however, he put his hands around her waist and picked her up to set her on the counter. Lifting her legs, he took off first one boot and then the other, dropping them on the kitchen floor with a thud. Next, he dragged off her jeans and panties, leaving her completely naked to his hungry gaze.

  Despite his earlier hurry, Hunter was in no rush as he let his gaze run over her long, shapely legs. But the desire to run his hands over her creamy skin was too powerful to resist for long, and he reached out to run his fingers lightly up and down one slender calf before dropping to his knees in front of her.

  Eliza gasped, her fingers curling over the edge of the counter as he moved his mouth along the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. “Hunter…”