“Enough daydreaming, girl,” Anna told herself as she shut her laptop and decided to get to work before she was late. It wasn’t cool for the boss lady to be late. She stared at her laptop, wishing she had dared to have one night with the two werewolves she couldn’t stop obsessing about.
Her phone buzzed with a text message. She had a moment of lustful hope it was Marcus or Derek. Maybe they wanted her as much as she wanted them and they’d found her number. Then she glanced down and saw Brian’s name. “God. Leave me the hell alone,” she muttered as she opened the text. Baby, please answer me. I said I was sorry. Why won’t you talk to me? I know you’re mad, but you’re being selfish and childish by ignoring me.
Anna deleted the message. Brian realized he’d fucked up, in more ways than one, when he screwed Erin. She’d thrown what little stuff he’d kept in her apartment out and was thankful she had not let him move in. Brian always brought up living together, and Anna was almost foolish enough to believe it was for love. Now she knew the truth about Brian. He never loved her. He may have been attracted to her, but men who loved women didn’t screw around on them. Erin wasn’t even interested in a real relationship, just a quick hook up. Brian found himself without a girlfriend, penniless, and sitting alone in his loft apartment over his sister’s garage. Even though he’d been hurt, no one had any sympathy for him. He’d only pressed Anna to move in together because the apartment sucked and his sister’s kids drove him crazy. Now Brian kept begging her to take him back. “At least Erin leaves me alone,” Anna told her phone. Brian seemed to think he could harass and beg his way back into her good graces and house.
Anna had another moment of guilt. While Brian had been recovering in the hospital, she’d packed up his stuff and had it dropped off at his apartment with a curt note to leave her the hell alone. She thought of him trying to recover with his sister’s kids running through his apartment and his sister harassing him about finding his own place.
“No,” she said to herself aloud. “Let it go. He cheated on me once, he’ll do it again. He’s just sorry he lost a nice house to live in, not me.” Her relationships would stay in her books. Anna was not going to date again. She wasn’t any good at dating, so she would throw herself into her work selling books in her store and writing. Her career as an author wasn’t anything like some of the big selling authors, but she wrote for the pleasure of creating a story, not to get rich and famous.
Her latest book, Mack’s Mate, which she posted on the erotic story site, was about her experience in the Smokey Mountains. Mack was the leader of a group of wolves, and he finds his true love after finding a lost woman in the woods.
Anna would add this paranormal series to her list of books she hoped to publish one day. She’d read a long BDSM series that she loved, and it made her curious about that lifestyle. She didn’t know a lot about it since she was too shy to go and learn in person. The Internet was a fantastic place to learn, though.
Rachel kept nagging her about going to an underground kink club to learn about BDSM first hand. Anna thought it was crazy to go because she didn’t really do any of that. Wouldn’t people be angry that she just came to observe for book purposes? Besides, the place was a secret, underground club. No one could just go and beg their way in—they had to be invited.
She also told Rachel it would be a waste of time. Even though Anna’s heart raced at the possibility of actually getting to play, she was just too shy. Rachel was the outgoing one who would put herself out there without any fear. Anna’s heart raced at the possibility, but then when she was around real people she felt her shell grow around her and she retreated.
Anna decided her second book would be about one of the pack enforcers. She’d name him Daniel. The second story started to distract her and with a huff of annoyance she got up. “No, I can’t get lost in another story. I have to go to work.” Later, though, she’d imagine that sexy blond-haired shifter whose real name was Derek. She’d need her vibrator again as she put all of her fantasies about that man down on her laptop.
Marcus strapped on his leather outfit for the BDSM night at the club in Chattanooga. His duties as pack Alpha kept him away from what he craved most—dominance. In the myths and legends, werewolves hid in the woods and only came out during a full moon, but in reality, werewolves were much like humans. They lived in packs, but they stuck close to forested and mountain areas where animals tended to run wild.
The lion prides had more trouble blending in here in the US since they liked the flatlands. Large cats didn’t run wild in North America, so they had to stay better hidden. That suited Marcus just fine since cat prides tended to be more violent and dangerous.
Tonight, Marcus would not think about vampire covens, lion prides, or the strife between lycan and coyote packs. Tonight, was all about finding a willing female, leaving his mark on her, and then maybe he could get Anna Mason out of his head for a while.
Her scent lingered in his memory. The vulnerability in her eyes pulled at the Alpha protectiveness in him. It had been over a month since he’d scented her after his pack found the vampires that had attacked a small out of the way campground deep in the North Carolina forest.
Marcus had used every bit of his control not to bite her and claim her for his own, and he had barely been able to let her go. Lycans could mate with humans. In fact, several in his pack had mated human women and had children. The only thing that stopped him was Anna was innocent in every way.
He’d scented her fear and had to catch her several times when her fear caused her to try to run. He couldn’t let her roam around the forest, with the fight they’d just had there was too great a chance she’d run into Devon’s coven and suffer the same fate as the campers the vampires killed earlier that night.
Derek had been just as affected by her. Packs often shared a female due to the large number of males, and Marcus began to wonder if Anna would be open to two men. Every time his mind went to that possibility, he shut it down. No, she wouldn’t because he’d sent her home, and no matter how much his wolf howled with the need to have her, he was leaving her to her life. She didn’t belong in his world, and he had no reason to justify going after her. He’d investigated her after he released her. She lived here in Chattanooga, ran a small bookstore, and even wrote some books of her own. Her parents lived in California and they barely spoke, and she had a brother with whom she rarely spoke.
His fur and skin called for her. He’d fallen in love with her, but he would not pull her into his violent world when she could live her life in her safe human world.
Marcus walked over to the balcony to look out on the dance floor. The club was full tonight. Surely, one of the submissive women out there could help him get over the sacrifice he’d made for the red-haired human woman who’d captured his heart and soul.
Anna finished up on the last chapter of her book and posted it on the site, then lay down on her bed to stare at her ceiling. She thought writing the words about the two men would purge them from her fantasies, but it only made them stronger and more vivid.
Marcus would order her to her knees and force his cock into her mouth. Derek would tie her hands behind her back, and she would have no choice but to comply with the two men. Then Derek would want his turn and be just as demanding as Marcus.
Anna’s pussy ached for release, so she reached over to her bedside table and opened the drawer. She grabbed her battery-operated boyfriend and placed it on her clit. She’d been so hot that it only took moments for her orgasm to hit. Anna held the vibrator while she rode out the waves of pleasure, but it did little to ease the ache deep in her core.
Oh, what am I going to do? she asked herself. Her nights were full of wet dreams about Marcus and Derek, and now her vibrator didn’t relieve the ache. Maybe she should go hiking in the forest again.
Anna shuddered at that thought. Fantasy was just that—fantasy. The reality of the fight she’d witnessed cooled that thought for her. She’d keep her vibrator and not risk a wolf tearing h
er to pieces.
Her doorbell rang, and she threw her vibrator into the drawer, got off the bed, and straightened her shorts as she walked out of her bedroom.
She hurried down the hall and into the living room to see Rachel looking in the side window of the front door. Anna smiled to see her dearest friend waving at her as if she was about to burst with excitement.
Anna opened the door, and Rachel started jumping up and down, squealing and waving two thick card stock tickets in her hands. “What are those?” Anna asked while trying to follow Rachel’s hands as they waved in the air.
When Rachel finally calmed enough to speak, she thrust the two thick strips of card stock at Anna. “It’s two invitations to that secret club, The Underground.”
“The Underground, as in that club you’ve been talking about for months?” Anna stared at Rachel in shock. The Underground was a club that was nearly impossible to get an invitation to. Rumors about the club were few and far between, and anyone who was lucky enough to garner an invitation never talked about it. If the little they had heard about it was true, then it was not only a sex club where anything and everything was acceptable but also an S&M club.
“Yes! I finally talked to the right person, and he had two invitations left. Joe warned me that if we freak out, he’ll deny ever giving us the invitation, but he also said he’d see me there.” Rachel winked. “I think he has a crush on me.”
“Oh my God, Rachel. I never thought you’d actually do it!” Anna felt excitement and dread warring for the competing emotion. On one hand, she could get some excellent research done, but on the other, she wrote about sex and BDSM, but she’d never done it or seen it done. She relied on her Internet research for her writing. Getting into this club would help greatly. She would get to see some of the things she wrote about and maybe, just maybe, she’d participate in a spanking if her shyness didn’t keep her sitting on the sidelines.
“I did, and don’t you dare try to back out on me.” Rachel shook her finger at Anna as if she could sense the indecision going on in her head.
“No, I won’t back out on you. If nothing else, I’ll watch and maybe learn a few things.”
Rachel clapped her hands and jumped as her excitement bubbled over once again. She grabbed Anna’s hand and pulled her toward the staircase. “Come on. We have to find an outfit for you to wear.”
“Wait, now?” Anna tried digging her stocking feet in, but on her sleek wood floors, Rachel just pulled her along.
“Yes, now. The invitation is for tonight. No rainchecks.”
Anna couldn’t help but smile at Rachel’s excitement even as her heart raced. Her friend loved to act like a fashion designer, and she could make any old piece of clothing look like it came out of a posh store. “Well, at least I won’t have time to stew about it and back out.”
“Yep. And I know you, little miss anti-social, you would decide that the latest design show on HGTV was too interesting to miss, even though you have a DVR.”
Anna sat on her bed as she watched Rachel get to work. Yeah, she would decide to spend the night with her television. Her breakup with Brian and losing a friend had shoved her farther into her shell. It was almost embarrassing how she wrote about everlasting love, but Brian was the second cheating asshole she’d dated in five years. Her heroines may get happily ever afters, but she was going to be that crazy cat lady one day. She glanced out the window. Yeah, she needed to get a cat or two to start her new journey as an old maid who loved cats more than people.
A silk garment flew out of the closet and landed on the Oriental rug. Anna leaned over to watch Rachel digging through her clothes while muttering to herself. “Do you need some help?”
“No, no.” Rachel’s muffled reply came from the closet. “You know me. I love doing this. I will get something going here in a minute.”
Anna lay back on the bed and watched another garment come flying out of the closet. Rachel poked her head out. “Oh my God, Anna. We need to take you shopping, girl.”
Anna shook her head. “It would take us months to do your kind of shopping.”
Rachel grinned. “That would be wonderful.” She disappeared back into the closet, and a few more garments came flying out.
Anna couldn’t believe she was doing this. She didn’t do crowds well or people, which was why she worked for herself. Her quaint little bookstore made just enough to pay the bills and allowed her to time to write stories. Anna lived in her head a lot, and being around people often got embarrassing when she got caught zoning out when someone else was talking.
She also didn’t think she would make a good fit for BDSM in reality. From her research, she knew Doms really hated it when their little subbies zoned out. Subs were to focus all of their attention on Doms, not on the story going on in their head. Maybe she’d get a spanking, though. That wouldn’t be so bad. She’d read spankings were fun, but when she asked Brian to spank her, he’d looked at her as if she was crazy. She was crazy all right, for picking another cheating guy to date.
“Okay, I found you some decent clothes. You have to wear street clothes into the club and change there.”
“I figured that would happen.” Anna stood up and took the thin scraps of fabric. She looked them over and shook her head. “I am not wearing this out in public, Rachel!”
Rachel clasped her hands together. “Oh please. Don’t back out on me. There is a dress indecently code at The Underground, and this is the closest I could get.” A gleam entered her eyes. “You know, we could go shopping.”
“Oh God no.” Anna took the clothes and pulled out a larger handbag to stuff the clothing in. “The first person that ogles me, I am smacking you for it.”
Rachel laughed, then picked up her own bag and walked out toward the stairs. “Come on, we want to get there nice and early.”
Even though it was fall, Chattanooga was still quite warm and humid for being ten o’clock. The day’s heat on the concrete and asphalt radiated into the night air as Anna and Rachel stood in line. The building they stood in front of was a historic brick building in an older part of the city.
Anna had driven by this building many times and never would have guessed it held a secret club like The Underground. It hid under a bar and country music dance club on the upper floors.
“Deceiving, isn’t it?”
Anna turned to see a woman in a short miniskirt and tank top standing next to her. Her makeup didn’t look like she was heading to the country music part of the building. “Yes. I knew there was a bar here, and I’ve been here before, but I never would’ve guessed there was a BDSM club in the basement.”
The woman grinned. “I’m Tina,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Anna,” she replied and took Tina’s hand.
“Can I see your invitation?” Tina asked then laughed at Anna’s dubious expression. She showed her a gold badge. “I’m one of the monitors. We keep the line moving by trading your invitation for an ultraviolet stamp on your wrist.”
“Oh!” Anna felt foolish and held the two cards out to Tina. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t sure what to do.”
“No apologies. You were right to be cautious. We’ve had people steal invitations before right in the line. Our cameras see them, and they never get in, though. We use our facial recognition software and add them to a ban list.”
“Wow, how can you afford that?” Anna asked as Tina took the cards and looked them over carefully.
“The lifestyle can attract some unstable people. We do everything in our power to make our club a safe place.” Tina pulled a stamp and inkpad out of a pouch on her waist. “Could you turn your wrist over for me, please?”
Anna did as Tina asked and Tina pressed the stamp onto the pad several times before pressing it to the inside of Anna’s wrist.
“There you go. All set.”
Rachel, who’d been staring at a man behind them in the line, turned around and Tina repeated the process with her.
Just as Tina promised, the line mov
ed quickly. Everyone turned their stamped wrists up, and the bouncer waved them in without hesitation. They both went straight to the changing room and got into their fet wear. Anna pulled at the skirt, feeling awkward that it didn’t cover her ass and that Rachel packed her G-string underwear with little pink bows on it.
“Why didn’t you get me regular panties?” Anna whispered.
Rachel glanced down. “Some hot Dom is going to want to come and unwrap you, starting with the bows.”
Anna felt her face flush and pulled at the skirt again. At first, Anna could not see much through the darkness after being in the bright dressing room. Recessed lighting in the walls kept the area dim, but then her eyes adjusted and she was stunned at the sights around her. Rachel walked beside her, chatting about the man she saw, but Anna couldn’t hear her exact words. Her brain was already off in its own world again.
A naked man, wearing a black hood, crawled behind a woman who was wearing a black body suit. When she stopped to chat with a man in black leather pants and a black vest, her submissive curled up like a cat at her feet and began licking his fist as if it were his paw.
“Don’t stare!” Rachel hissed in her ear.
Anna jerked her gaze away from the sight and tried to find something else to focus on. “Sorry. I think that man is pretending he’s a cat.”
“Yes, I thought you researched all of this for your books. It’s pet play. He even has a tail.”
Anna spun around and looked as the pair walked away. Sure enough, the man had a butt plug with a cat’s tail hanging out of his ass.
“My God, Anna. You are going to get pegged as a curious newbie here really soon, and they’ll wonder why we didn’t just find a local munch.”
“Sorry.” Anna tore her eyes away from the sight. She thought she also caught site of a parachute and weights hanging from the guy’s balls. “I just need to go look somewhere else.”
Lycans Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4