by S. K. Yule
She stepped closer to him. “Please. I need to know.”
“Yes. I killed him, and I’d do it again. If anyone ever tries to hurt you, I’ll kill them. I’m sorry, but this is one of the things you’re going to have to learn to deal with when it comes to my nature. I feel very protective toward you. I wasn’t joking about us being very territorial and protective.”
“I understand that you had to do it, Anthony. Really I do. I don’t like it, but knowing what he did to me in such a small amount of time, and thinking of what he’d do to other women, he deserved what he got. I’ll never pretend to condone killing for no reason, or to like it when there is a reason, but I don’t condemn you for protecting me.”
He hugged her to him. Relief so sweet poured through him, releasing his tense muscles. “Thank you.”
Her brows turned down. “I can’t believe this is happening. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from some bizarre dream.”
“I know, baby. I’m so sorry it had to come about like this.” He kissed the top of her head. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to scare you.”
“I believe you. But, Anthony, I am scared.”
He hugged her back to him. “I know, but there is nothing to be scared of. I promise. And I’ll be here with you the whole time. I have to tell you everything, though. I won’t lie to you.” He took a deep breath. “I love you, and I will never let you go. I will be dead before you will ever be away from me again, and as you’ve seen, I’m not that easy to kill. We will be together a long, long time. I can promise you I will never betray you and I will spend every minute of my life making you happy. I will protect you and put your well being before any other. Do you understand?”
No. He’d never let her go again. He’d spent too many lonely nights waking up to even lonelier mornings. Even the times he’d had a woman in his bed throughout his long years, something had always been missing. Now he knew exactly what that something had been. Karen, his blue-eyed, red-haired mate. The one woman on the face of the entire earth that could make his life whole, fill the gaping void of his soul.
She turned to him. “No, not really. I don’t understand any of this, Anthony. I mean, how can you love me? You don’t even know me.”
He took her face in his hands. “I’ve known you for a long time. I’ve known you in your dreams, and you’ve been a part of me since the day I first took breath. You were destined to be mine and you were imprinted with me at birth. From the day you were born, we were fated to find each other. I would have found you no matter what.”
“Oh, Anthony. It’s just so much to take in all at once.” She hugged him to her and looked up into his hooded eyes. “How long do I have until I change?”
“It will happen sometime tomorrow night.” He stroked her back, massaging the muscles gently.
“It figures. Halloween night.”
He chuckled. “Yes. And that’s also when the full moon will take place.”
“It looked pretty full the other night to me.”
“Yeah, but not quite there all the way. Tomorrow you’ll see.”
“Will it hurt?”
“No.”
“I don’t even want to think about it at the moment.”
He took her hand and led her to the cushy, black leather couch. He grabbed a remote off the glass coffee table and sat down, pulled her onto his lap and snuggled her to his chest. He pressed a button and a panel on the wall slid open, revealing a huge plasma TV. He pressed another button and a movie started. She chuckled when she realized it was indeed American Werewolf in London. And it was at the best part. He tucked her head under his chin and wrapped his arms around her just as Credence Clearwater Revival blasted through the room. A bad moon and trouble looked to be the least of the poor guy’s problems as he writhed on the screen.
* * * *
They watched three movies and she never moved, too content snuggled into his warmth. He surrounded her, invaded her. She was aware of everything about him from his hard muscles to his spicy scent. Her body grew hot and needy. She wanted him even if her mind screamed that it was too much too fast. Her heart still knew better. It was the one thing that never wavered, never doubted what was between her and Anthony since the first time they had been together in her dreams. What exactly? She didn’t know. But she did know it was something elemental, natural. It was something meant to be.
Toward the end of the third movie, she couldn’t bear to keep her hands off him any longer. She turned her head and nuzzled his neck with her lips. His skin was hot under her mouth. She breathed him deep into her lungs and gave him a wicked lick. He growled, and heat flooded her womb.
“Baby, if you keep doing that, I’m going to have you right here on this couch.”
His whispered words were like a jolt of electricity sizzling her already achy body. She smiled and nibbled a path from his neck to his ear and whispered, “Do it, Anthony. I need you.” He tossed her gently onto her back and covered her with his warm weight. She felt safe, protected, cherished when he was wrapped around her. She tangled her fingers in his hair and his mouth came down on hers roughly, possessively.
She moaned and he began pulling at her clothes, nearly ripping them off her until she was completely naked except for his socks. “Anthony, if you keep tearing my clothes off me, I’ll have nothing left to wear.”
“Honey, I guarantee that I’ll be tearing your clothes off a lot. But don’t worry. I promise I’ll buy you as many clothes as you want.” He raked her bare body with his eyes. “I never knew my socks could look so damn sexy. Nearly as sexy as those fishnet stockings and garters you had on the other night.”
He ran his hands up and down her thighs, stroking her delicate skin, easing closer to the glistening curls hiding the place she wanted him to touch most. “Those fishnet stockings were ghastly. I hated that hooker getup.” She gasped when his thumb moved in a lazy circle around her clit.
“The hooker getup was sexy as hell on you.” He parted her knees and laid her wide open to his hot gaze. He licked his lips. “Not nearly as sexy as nothing is on you, though.” He swooped down and gave her one, long lick.
She cried out. Her body was so achy it hurt. “Please, Anthony.”
“Believe me, baby, I will please. Remember when you had your little fun with me in the shower?” Her eyes widened and she nodded. “It’s my turn.”
He flipped her on her stomach and pulled her hips back until she was on her knees. He turned her to face the back of the couch and placed her palms flat on the top of the leather. He placed his mouth close to her ear. “Don’t move and hang on cause the ride’s about to begin.”
His low words vibrated through her, exciting her until she thought she’d cry out in frustration. She wanted him in her. She didn’t move as he stood. She listened to the rustling of him removing his clothes and moaned when she heard the rasp of the metal teeth on his zipper. An image of his magnificent body flashed in her brain, and she moaned again. Within moments, he nudged her knees wider and kneeled between them. He kissed her back while he rubbed his fingertips down her spine. She broke out in a cold sweat.
“Do it, Anthony, Now!”
“Almost, baby. Almost.” He kissed the side of her neck while he toyed with her nipples, ran his long fingers down her belly, his bare chest pressing her forward into the soft cushion of the couch. He found her slit, creamy and wet, and ran one long finger over her until she squirmed. Her breaths grew ragged and she cried out his name. He yanked her hips back and seated his cock so deep inside her she thought she’d faint at the feel of him completely filling her almost to the point of pain.
He fisted her hair and pulled her head back for his kiss while he pumped eagerly into her. She opened her mouth and her body, welcoming him, begging him, screaming for him and his possession. The tide built fast and out of control and swept her over the edge. He threw his head back in a guttural cry seconds later and wrapped one arm around her waist to anchor her to him while his seed pulsed deep into her.
She couldn’t move. She was spent, replete.
* * * *
He sat back, pulled her into his lap once again, and snuggled her against his chest.
“I don’t understand how I can feel this way about you, Anthony. I just met you.”
He stroked her hair. “That’s okay, baby. I understand it.”
He gazed into her wide, confused eyes. But he glimpsed something else in the fathoms of blue. A fire burning that matched his. He knew she desired him, wanted him, but he’d be a liar if he didn’t admit that it bothered him she hadn’t said she loved him back. He hadn’t really expected her to say it. Hoped, longed and prayed she would, but expected . . . no. He had to believe that she would in time, if she didn’t end up hating him for what she was about to become.
He picked her up and carried her to his bedroom where he laid her out like a feast offered up to a god on his big bed. And he felt like a god at the moment, for surely no mere mortal deserved a goddess of such beauty. He kissed every inch of her body before concentrating on the one part of her he’d been dying to taste. He licked her slick entrance and growled at the thought of being inside her again. She arched off the bed, and he held her to him by her hips. He alternated burying his tongue deep inside her and sucking gently on the little nub that brought her so much pleasure. She gasped and let out a small cry. When her muscles tightened, signaling she was nearing release, he climbed over her and took her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he rode her hard until sweat glistened on their skin and they both fell over the edge and lay in an exhausted, limp, and satiated heap.
They slept for a while and awoke in each other’s arms, the fire igniting once again. They made love so many times after that he lost count.
Chapter Seven
October 31st, Halloween
She stretched like a contented cat the next morning and sleepily reached for Anthony only to encounter empty space beside her. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She looked around the room, but didn’t see him anywhere. She listened and didn’t hear any movements in the bathroom either. She hoped that maybe he was cooking another wonderful breakfast. Too occupied with sharing each other’s bodies, they hadn’t spent too much time eating yesterday. They had gotten up late last night for a snack of fresh fruit and grilled cheese sandwiches, but her stomach grumbled now, letting her know she had more than worked off that meal.
She stretched one last time before getting out of the cozy bed. She put on jeans, a T-shirt, and another pair of Anthony’s warm socks. She brushed her teeth and hair before padding to the kitchen. When she didn’t find Anthony there or the living room, she called out to him, but he didn’t answer. “Where could he be?”
She peered out the windows of the living room and suddenly remembered that today was the day her whole life would change. Today she would change for the first time. Her heart skipped a beat and her veins iced with fear. Her breathing came in short, shallow gasps, and sweat broke over her upper lip. “Stop it, Karen. It will be okay. Anthony will be with you.”
Yet, when she looked around and noted his absence once again, panic rode her hard. She hurried to the front door, wanting to see if his car was still in the driveway. When she flung it wide, a shrill siren pierced the air and her ears. She cried out and backing up, caught her heel on the small table by the door. She was unbalanced and effectively landed on her rear.
When she looked up, a scream bubbled in her throat. There, in the open doorway, stood the hugest wolf she’d ever seen. Actually, she’d never seen a wolf in person, but she didn’t think they usually grew that big. It had to be four feet tall at the shoulder. She scooted slowly away from the animal and stopped when she met its eyes. Beautiful green eyes stared back at her. Green eyes she knew well. “Anthony?” She whispered the words.
The wolf growled low, but not a scary I’m-going-to-eat-you type of growl. In fact, she thought it was more like a response to her question. The wolf walked slowly toward her with its head down, which she took as a sign of submission. She held her breath when it sniffed her hair and licked her cheek. The moment the wolf made contact, she knew in her heart that it was, in fact, Anthony.
She stared at him in amazement, and when she reached out slowly toward the thick black fur covering his body, he leaned into her hand. She stroked him tentatively, and the wolf let out a low whine. He treated her hand to a slow lick, before he backed away and disappeared around the corner. Within a few seconds, Anthony stood gloriously naked in the entryway. He pressed a couple buttons on the alarm, and the shrill noise that she had completely forgotten about by that time stopped. He reached for her hand and helped her up from the floor.
She didn’t know what to say. He’d been the most magnificently terrifying, beautiful creature she’d ever seen. “I know I’m probably asking the obvious, but that was you, right? I’m not crazy?”
* * * *
“You know it was me, Karen.” He hadn’t wanted Karen to see him in his wolf form just yet. He’d been unable to resist running in the forest that morning and had been about to head home when he heard the shrieking of the alarm. His heart thundered in fear as he ran the mile home in a blinding speed. He had thought someone had tried to break in to his house and only thought of getting to Karen, of keeping her safe. When he saw her standing in the doorway and realized that she had been the one that set off the alarm, he’d frozen, staring, waiting for her rejection of him and what he was.
She’d surprised him, though. He could tell by her wide eyes and open mouth that she’d wanted to scream, but she hadn’t. In fact, she’d let him walk right up to her and lick her. And, when she reached out to stroke him, he thought he’d die from the erotic pleasure her fingers enticed along his skin. He had an overwhelming urge to take her right then and there in wolf form, but common sense finally cut through his need. She hadn’t even changed for the first time yet. There was no way she’d be ready for such a mating with him. So, before his hormones got the best of him, he’d backed out onto the deck and changed back to human.
“I’m sorry if I scared you. When I heard the alarm, I thought something was wrong.” His heart began an erratic rhythm once again at the mere thought of anything harming Karen.
“No. You didn’t scare me. I mean, well, to be honest, you did a little, at first. But, when I realized it was you . . . well, I don’t know how to explain it. But, I wasn’t scared any longer. Not really.”
He hugged her to him, and her fingers danced over his back, reminding him he was naked. His cock jumped at the feel of her touch on his skin and he took her mouth in a demanding, possessive kiss while he hugged her tightly against him. She moaned and he growled. The woman drove him crazy. He wanted her constantly. He rested his forehead against hers. “I’m going to go shower and get dressed.”
Her gasps feathered softly against his cheek and he nearly pushed her to the floor and buried his body in her, knowing he’d find her hot and ready for him. He still felt guilty for scaring her, though, and wanted to give her a little time to adjust to what she’d seen. She already had enough to deal with. Her first change was coming at some point later tonight. He kissed her on top of the head.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll cook us something to eat.”
He eyed her one last time, hungry for her and not food. “You should be able to find whatever you need in the kitchen.” He watched the gentle sway of her hips as she walked away from him, and noted she had on yet another pair of his socks. Memories of the previous night and her with only those socks on flashed through his already overheated brain. He’d have to buy damn stock in those socks and make sure she had a pair to wear at all times. He took a deep, calming breath and turned to go take the coldest shower of his life.
* * * *
She’d never been much of a cook, but she knew how to fix a scrumptious grilled chicken sandwich. Luckily, he had chicken breasts in the fridge and a fresh loaf of ciabatta bread in the pantry.
She had just finished pili
ng the sandwiches high with tomatoes, lettuce, and her secret sauce—which really only consisted mayo, Ranch dressing and a tiny bit of horseradish for kick—when Anthony strolled into the kitchen. She eyed him when he came and stood next to her, checking out the plate with the sandwiches. She’d never seen a man even close to as gorgeous as Anthony. He could let his hair grow out and not shave for a month and he’d still be magnificent. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans, again with the top button left open, and a dark blue shirt that hung open, unbuttoned to expose his muscular chest and ripped abs.
Her mouth watered, and she knew it wasn’t because of the food. She unconsciously leaned close to him and took a deep breath of his clean scent laced with a hint of sandalwood.
Anthony tensed. “Stop doing that, Karen, or I’m going to be eating something other than this food you just cooked.”
Her eyes widened, and she blushed a little when he caught her smelling him. She picked up the plate and sidled around him to set it on the counter. She sat on one of the stools, and he followed her. No. Stalked would be a better word to use. He was sleek, graceful, and his fluid movement screamed sex. She wanted him. She knew he wanted her. She knew he knew she wanted him. What the hell is wrong with me? Ever since she’d met this man the first and foremost thing on her mind at all times seemed to be sex.