by Julia Sparks
“Should I prepare the guest room for our new friend here?”
Joanna froze seconds later, as her heated meditation was disrupted by the sound of a soft feminine voice; one that, despite its dulcet notes, seemed hard and cutting in tone,
“Should I ready a room for this lady?”
Now standing before them with her hands planted on what Joanna considered annoyingly narrow hips, Ariel March pierced them with an acid stare as she added, “Or will she be leaving soon?”
Rafe frowned.
“I must say it, darling,” he told Ariel, tone low and grave, “You are being incredibly rude. Even for you.”
Eager to diffuse this tense situation, Joanna popped up from the settee beneath them and said, “Hints are available free of charge, so I’ll be pleased to take one. I thank you both for your time, and hope that you’ll enjoy the story—it should appear in the paper two days before the art show. And, of course, I hope to see you both at the show and thank you very much for your support of the shelter.”
She took in her breath as, in the span of a few seconds, Rafe arrived at her side in a single smooth flourish; taking her hand in his as he pressed two warm lips firm against her cheek.
“Thank you, Joanna,” he told her, once again pinning her with that hot, intense look that threatened to drive her insane. “You are an amazing woman, and it’s been wonderful talking to you. I sincerely hope that we meet again soon.”
Slipping her hand from his grasp, Joanna avoided his gaze as she walked with swift strides in the direction of the entryway.
“I’ll see you both at the show,” she repeated over her shoulder. “It’s been a great afternoon. Thank you—both.”
Moments later Rafe stood once again at the center of his entryway; again facing the woman who shared his home—and why, he was no longer certain.
“Ariel, what is wrong with you? Why are you so hard and hateful to everyone these days, myself included?” he demanded of her now, making a broad gesture between them. “When we met three years ago, you were joyful and vital. We used to run the forest side by side, stopping only to make love and share the beauty of nature. We were two of a kind, we ran as one…”
“And then what happened?” Ariel interrupted, wide eyes flashing as her manicured fingers seemed to curve and clench in a claw like formation, “The moment you discovered that there was another way, that we could live in another form, you took us away from our element. Now we live in this stifling, suffocating house, where we spend our time running some ridiculous winery, instead of running wild through the beauty of the forest—in our true and original form.”
Rafe had heard enough.
“That ridiculous winery pays for every bauble and stitch of clothes you wear,” he reminded her, making a broad gesture in the direction of the shiny dress of scarlet silk that adorned her petite body—along with the set of sparkling rubies that set off this frock to beautiful effect. “Not to mention the roof that stands over your head, every day and every night.”
He jumped as his fiancée met these words with a sharp, caustic guffaw.
“Well as far as I’m concerned you can have these clothes and baubles—along with this diamond ring that, if you must know the truth, no longer means a blasted thing to me!” she bellowed, ripping her engagement ring from her finger and tossing it in the face of a stunned Rafe. "I'm leaving this house. I’m leaving our business. I’m leaving you!”
Without awaiting a response, an incensed Ariel let loose with a low, savage growl that seemed to reveal her true nature.
“I’m going back to the forest,” she bellowed over her shoulder, racing for the door with feverish strides as she added, “Back where you and I both belong.”
Midnight. Joanna sat alone in a small, sparsely furnished corner office at Paws for Effect animal shelter; head bowed low over her trusty laptop as she composed a story based on today’s interview with billionaire artist/humanitarian Rafe Cole.
Sure, she could have waited until tomorrow or even the next day to compose this story, still filing it well before deadline. She could have stayed home tonight to catch a movie on TV, or perhaps catch up on her reading. Somehow, though, she truly felt the need to be in her natural element tonight; spending time with the animals she truly adored, and focusing her mind on their care.
With this in mind, she’d volunteered to work the night shift at the animal shelter; her only assistant a bored college kid putting in hours for a required internship. Yet even as she strove to concentrate on the feeding, bathing and bedding of the 25 dogs and cats currently residing at the shelter, she still found her wayward thoughts wandering in the direction of the man she’d interviewed earlier that day. In her mind’s eye she envisioned the intense masculine beauty of Rafe Cole; a radiance expressed through hair and eyes that reflected the hue of midnight, skin as bronzed as the moon itself, and a tall, strong muscled physique that mirrored the strength of nature itself.
Yet as much as his looks attracted and intrigued her, it was his strong dedication to the cause of animals that truly touched her heart; and, or so she suspected, that made it impossible for her to forget him.
“Oh, but I have to,” she mused with a sigh, hitting the save button on her computer before shutting its lid with a loud click. “He’s taken. And if Ms. Warmth and Congeniality ever decides to leave him, then I’m sure that a long line of irritatingly stunning super models will be lining up outside the door of that irritatingly humongous home, just to take her place. I have to put that man out of my mind. Now, if not sooner.”
“Joanna, I need you.”
Although her heart did quicken a bit at these potentially provocative words, Joanna immediately realized that the thin, pitchy voice that delivered these words could not possibly belong to the man who ruled her fevered thoughts.
“Sure Eugene,” she raised her head to fix the shelter intern with a polite, abiding smile. “What can I do to help you?”
Her beam faded as she saw that Eugene’s eyes had widened to insane proportions; his thin lips trembling as he gestured in the direction of the screened porch that lined the shelter’s southern border.
“We have a wild animal of some sort on our property. It’s been out there howling for at least an hour, making a racket like nothing I’ve ever heard,” he told her, opening the drawer of a nearby desk to withdraw a plain tope bag. “I’m grabbing our crisis bag in case we need it—the one with the net and the tranquilizer gun—but I’d also like you to back me up while I investigate this thing.”
Soon Joanna found herself ‘backing up’ her co-worker in a most unusual manner; standing face to face with the afore mentioned mysterious creature, while Eugene cowered at her back—trembling outright as he just barely squeaked out the words, “What the heck is that thing?”
Joanna admitted that she herself had no answer to this question; indeed, the magnificent creature before her was like no other she’d seen.
Although likening a wolf in face and form, the animal before her had a size that well exceeded any common wolf of the forest; its height, in fact, equaled that of a horse as it knelt on all fours before her—a very furry horse with long ears and visible fangs.
“Criminy,” she breathed, wide eyes scanning the creature’s lean, angular body as it regarded her with equal interest.
Finally her eyes collided with his, and she took in her breath as she immediately recognized the wide, dark gems that seared her own with a warmth and depth that immediately relaxed her nerves—even as it aroused her keen curiosity. Where had she seen those eyes? Or, for that matter, that captivating face?
“What should we do with it?” she heard Eugene say, even as her gaze remained focused on the object of their curiosity. “I’ve got the gun loaded.”
“Don’t you dare,” Joanna snapped, stepping away from her gaping colleague as she reached her hand forward to stroke the fur of the creature before her; one who pitched his head back and purred in response. “This creature may look unusual to be su
re, but also very gentle—he’s not doing a thing to threaten us, and doesn’t seem hurt or hungry. So I suggest we leave him alone.”
Eugene thought a moment, then shrugged.
“Well, to paraphrase what they said in the movie Jaws, we’d need a bigger cage,” he told her, laughing uproariously at his own attempt at humor as he turned for the shelter.
Paying no heed to his weak joke, Joanna focused instead on the beautiful creature before her; grinning in spite of herself as he parted his lips to grace her with a kind—if markedly fanged—smile.
The vision of this mysterious beam haunted her dreams that night, and her addled psyche the next morning; as she arrived at the newspaper office to receive an urgent phone message from Rafe Cole. Apparently he needed to see her at his home as soon as possible, to relate some new information to her that might be pertinent to her story.
“I wonder if this has anything to do with the creature I saw last night,” she mused, grabbing the message and heading in the general direction of the newspaper parking lot. “One who, if I really think about it, bears a strong resemblance to the creature portrayed in the painting he showed me yesterday.”
Soon Joanna stood once again in the lavish sitting room of Casa Cole; though this time she received a far friendlier greeting than the day before—and from a man who looked positively delicious in a tight leather pantsuit that flattered and showcased his every bulging muscle.
“Hi Rafe,” she greeted him, adding as she engaged him in a warm handshake, “So I understand you have some new information for me today?”
Rafe nodded.
“Indeed,” he told her, motioning for her to take a seat beside him close on his floral settee, “First I have a news flash for you. Ariel left me yesterday. She broke our engagement and cleared the premises, saying that she needs a—um—new type of scene, I guess you could say.”
Joanna gaped.
“Oh Rafe, I’m so sorry,” she told him, adding as she inclined her head in his direction, “Are you OK?”
Rafe nodded.
“I’m more than OK, darling,” he assured her, adding as he stretched his arms high above him, “Oh, I must admit that I had a tough time of it last night, trying to grasp and cope with the loss that I’d seen coming for quite some time—but that maybe I wasn’t prepared to deal with so soon. Then when I was awakened this morning by the gentle chirp of bird song outside my window, as opposed to the screech of a miserable harpy, giving me a daily report on all of the ways that I’ve wronged her terribly—in this past week alone, I knew she’d done me a favor.” He paused here, adding with a visible cringe, “I’m actually glad to be rid of her; especially since her departure has set into motion a plan that I’ve conceptualized, that I finally can set into motion now that she’s gone. A plan, love, that just happens to involve you.”
“Me?” Joanna squeaked, eyes flying wide at this bizarre piece of info.
Rafe smiled.
“Indeed,” he affirmed, adding as he pierced her with a penetrating gaze, “First of all, I’d like to invite you to be my date for the art show fund-raiser next week.”
Joanna thought a moment, then shook her head.
“As much as I would love to, Rafe, I really don’t have any desire to be a rebound girl, if you know what I mean,” she revealed, adding with her head held high, “I mean, who is to say that she won’t be back before then? You two have quite a history, you even were engaged to be married. I’m not sure that I want to….”
“Well how can I make you sure?” Rafe interrupted her, adding as he stroked his chiseled chin to thoughtful effect, “I guess I’ll just have to go to plan B.”
Standing tall and proud before her, the gorgeous billionaire held her gaze as he stripped off his tight black leather shirt to reveal a massive, chiseled bronzed chest; smiling as her eyes widened at the sight of his chiseled pecs and his toned washboard abs.
“Plan B, as it turns out, involves the shameless and blatant seduction of a certain female journalist,” he purred, once again taking a seat beside her on the settee as he pulled her closer than close, “And that, as you may have guessed, is you. I always get what I want, my baby—and if I can’t get it by offering a lady a formal and most elegant date, then I might be able to do it by tempting forth and satisfying her basest hungers; and for that matter, by fulfilling her deepest and darkest desires.”
Joanna smiled in spite of herself as she gathered her up in two strong arms; pulling her closer than close as he growled low in his throat.
“You irresistible man,” she whispered, her rebellious hands running wild over the surface of his bronzed, sculpted skin. “You’re so unfair.”
Letting loose with a low, sexy chuckle, Rafe stroked the mussy strands of her mussy dark hair as he whispered, “Men of my kind don’t play fair, baby. But rest assured, we do play to please.”
With these words he seized her lips in a heated, passionate kiss; his full, moist mouth massaging hers as their tongues entangled between them.
Leaning shameless into his kiss, Joanna wrapped her arms around his muscled shoulders and plied his lips with hers; moaning against his mouth as she sank against him, her heart pounding with desire.
“Yes,” he hissed against her lips, wrapping his sturdy hands around her full waist and pulling her closer than close, “This is the way I’ve dreamed of seeing you since the moment we met. And this afternoon, my love, I fully and truly plan to bring out the animal in you.”
Himself making a smooth, sleek move that revealed his animal side, Rafe fell to his knees before her; crawling like a cat as he held her gaze and kneeled full at her feet.
Grasping her foot and freeing it from its sensible low heeled shoe, he licked her toes and kissed her tired pads as she sighed contented in response.
Her knees parted in a reflexive move as he kissed and licked his way up her legs; pinning her with a devilish, white toothed grin as he surged up her skirt and fixed those sharp white teeth around the border of her sensible white panties.
Dragging them shameless down her legs and tossing them on the floor beside them, he soon returned to the source of her pleasure; gracing her with the intimate kiss.
Fixing his full, moist lips on the surface of her pounding clit, he kissed and suckled her feminine fruit with bare, lush intensity; sending shards of erotic ecstasy spiraling upward through every part of her body.
Throwing her head back with a lusty gasp, Joanna lowered her hands to stroke his smooth, silken hair as he continued to devour her; reaching upward to stroke her breasts as he suckled her sensitive nub.
“Grrr,” he growled low in her throat, lowering his agile hands to brace her full hips as he shifted his flawless head from side to side. “You are delicious, baby.”
This move intensifying the friction of his lips as they continued to pleasure her nub, Rafe finally leaned his head inward to lay a last resounding lick on her flaming clit; sending her hurtling across the bounds of an incredible, soul felt climax.
Letting loose with a lusty cry that rose high to the vaulted ceiling above them, Joanna bit her lip as her body exploded in a wave of incredible sensation; one that coursed her from head to toe with a wave of pleasurable feeling.
“So darling,” she barely heard his deep spoken words through her thick, lust induced haze. “Have I convinced you to be my date to next week’s art show?”
Nodding, Joanna fell forward in his arms as she told him, “Yes indeedy. And then some. And how. Even so, if you care to do just a bit more persuading, I am more than open to any and all efforts to totally win me over.”
Letting loose with a passion struck howl that shook brocaded walls, Rafe seized her up in an all-encompassing embrace and took her with him into the softness of his luxurious plush floor. Soon their bodies rolled free and reckless across this comfy, pristine surface; their arms and legs entangling as their lips collided in a heated kiss.
As their mouths merged and their tongues entangled, Rafe stripped away Joanna’s pla
in brown work dress; revealing as he did a voluptuous body that he praised with sweet words as he buried his head in her buxom breasts and licked her nipples to erect points beneath his attentive kiss.
Joanna grit her teeth as she drug her fingernails down the length of his perfect planed back; savoring the kiss of his lips to her breasts as he gyrated his hard, trim hips against hers in a blatant seductive tease.
Throwing herself full against him, Joanna invited her lover to drown in her softness as she reached downward to yank his tight leather pants down the length of his toned, taut legs; revealing as he did a long, hard shaft that seemed to salute her presence. Yet even as this pulsating member rose to tease her feminine cleft, her lover still cradled her in loving arms and pulled her closer than close; covering her face with endless adoring kisses as he whispered in her ear.
“Joanna, I know we’ve only met,” he told her, massaging her back with adoring hands, “but somehow I feel I’ve known you forever. Perhaps it’s because I’ve read and loved your columns for so long, but I sense a deeper connection.”
“I feel it too—oh so deeply,” she answered him immediately, cupping his carved cheeks in two tender hands as she stared into his eyes, “Especially when I look into your eyes, I feel so close to you. I know you on a deeper level, but I can’t figure out why….”
Seeming to feel a sudden need to distract her, Rafe seized Joanna’s lips in a heated kiss as he reached downward to caress her heaving breasts; gyrating hard against her as she wrapped her legs around his trim waist and invited him inward.
Bracing his sturdy arms around her shoulders, Rafe pulled her to him until her breasts crushed his massive hard chest; kissing her senseless as, finally and fully, he plunged his long, hard shaft to the depths of her soaking wet pussy.
Their hips claimed an immediate rhythm as their bodies merged and melded; the advance and retreat of his long, wet tongue in her mouth mirroring the penetration of his massive shaft as it glided forth to her very core.