“Will you go out with me tomorrow night?” he asked as he met my eyes.
I opened my mouth to give him the automatic rejection I was so used to giving, but I did want to go out with him again. It felt right to be with another wolf. Plus, he’d held up to his end of the bargain and we’d had a great time together. “Where?” I asked.
He smiled. “Dinner and dancing.”
I nodded my head. “Alright, but you have to promise me that you won’t take me to your alpha.”
He nodded his head, smiling wide. “I’ll pick you up at six.” He bent down quickly and kissed my cheek before climbing into his truck and driving away. I watched him leave and put a hand up to touch the place he had kissed.
Maybe things could work with him. He didn’t seem like the others. Of course, they’d changed after I did, but I was already a wolf and Sean still liked me. Was that the key?
CHAPTER FOUR
I walked into the office and found Richard sitting at my desk, twirling one of my pencils. “So?” he asked.
He had never come into the office this early ever in his life. “My life outside of the office is not your concern, but if you have to pry I’m going out with him again tonight.”
Richard smiled wide. “That a girl. You need some money to buy some clothes to wear? My treat.”
I stared at him in shock. He’d always been nice to me and understanding of my monthly trips, but this was abnormal. “No thanks. I have clothes to wear and besides I just got to work.”
He shook his head. “Never look a gift horse in the mouth.” He pulled out his wallet and handed me two, one hundred dollar bills. “Go buy something nice to wear. In fact, go over to Perfectly Proper. I have an account there and I’ll get the girls to help you find something.” I opened my mouth to argue and he pushed me towards the door, tossing my purse at me. “Go on. Consider this work related since his happiness could help my bank account.”
I walked out of the office and towards the mall grumbling about overbearing, nosey bosses the entire way. The mall was packed even though it was a work day and I dodged and moved my way through the crowd. I finally made it to the uppity clothing store Richard had suggested and a woman stood smiling at the entrance. “Rose?” I nodded my head. She waved me in. “Let’s find you something to wear.”
To my surprise, they actually had some cute trendy clothes, not just snobby clothes. After arguing about three different outfits for thirty minutes we both agreed on a figure hugging black dress which was short enough to draw attention to my legs, but long enough that I wouldn’t be giving everyone a show while dancing. Another thirty minutes of arguing over shoes and then we moved on to jewelry, easily coming to an agreement on the dangling black earrings I found on the shelf. I grabbed the bags and window shopped throughout the rest of the store before going back to my house. It was five o’clock by the time I got home, giving me one hour to get ready. I quickly showered, changed and applied the appropriate amount of makeup to bring out my eyes without smelling like chemicals.
I still didn’t fully trust Sean so I used a piece of tape to secure a knife to my upper thigh where it would be hidden even while I danced, but still there if I needed it.
I felt Sean’s presence moments before he rang the doorbell. I double checked my appearance, my knife, and grabbed my ID before walking to the door. I took a cleansing, steadying breath and opened it. Sean was wearing a pair of designer blue jeans that hugged his muscular legs and a blue collared shirt that clung to his upper chest and biceps, highlighting his muscles nicely. He wore some type of cologne that was noticeable, but not overbearing. His hazel eyes appeared mostly blue with the shirt bringing out that color. He was handsome and I found myself instantly enthralled by his smile. He held up a bouquet of red roses and spoke softly like you would to a scared animal, “You look stunning.”
I took the roses from him and inhaled. “These smell great. Let me put them in water.”
He shook his head. “Our dinner reservations don’t give us much time. They’ll last until we get back.”
I wanted to argue, but I’d learned never to argue with a dominant. I set the flowers down on the table by the front door and smiled at him. “Alright.”
He extended his bent elbow to me and I slid my hand into the crease of his elbow. The presence of such a dominant male touching me woke my wolf up and put her on edge. Sean kissed my cheek softly and whispered, “Shh…I won’t harm either of you.”
His magic calmed my wolf and she settled down into a peaceful sleep. I sighed happily and whispered, “I’ve never met a dominant who soothes like you do. It’s nice.”
He frowned at me. “You’ve never had a dominant that soothes?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes as I enjoyed the scent of wolf, forest and his cologne that had a hint of peppermint in it. Sean asked quietly, “Will you tell me about your former pack?”
I stopped walking and looked at him. “Why?”
“I want to know everything about you and knowing about your former pack will help me get to know you. Plus, if I know what happened I can avoid frightening you like I did last night.”
“I prefer not to talk about it.” Or think about it.
“How about we make a deal?” he asked with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
I pushed the mental images of men beating me bloody out of my head and folded my arms across my chest. “Like what?”
He tapped his chin in thought for a moment then smiled. “If you truly have a good night and I don’t make any advances towards you, you’ll tell me about your pack.”
A nice night and no sexual advances? He was good at bargaining. “Alright, it’s a deal.”
He smiled that dazzling smile of his and put my hand back in the crook of his elbow. We walked ten more blocks before stopping at an expensive Italian restaurant. He spoke to the hostess and then we were led to a small booth in the back corner of the restaurant, away from the humans.
The waiter took our orders as soon as we sat down and Sean asked, “So, how do you like working for Mr. Smith?”
I shrugged and tore off a piece of bread. “He’s a great attorney and the pay is okay. Downtown is just expensive for rent so my food allowance is smaller than I need. The work is easy enough, but dealing with the humans is hard sometimes.”
He nodded his head as he listened and then asked, “What do you do for fun?”
I shook my head. “I don’t do anything. I just work, go home and go for a jog at night. I find it’s easier to stay away from the humans as much as possible now that I’m solo.”
He looked into my eyes and I saw worry. “Have you had any incidents?”
I shook my head. “No, but I want to keep it that way.”
Our food came out and I frowned at him. “This came here really fast.”
He smiled. “I gave the chef and his wife a really good deal on their travel last year.” I waited for him to start eating, but he raised that sexy eyebrow again. “We’re equals here. You eat at the same time as I eat.”
I stared at him in complete shock and shook my head. “We are not equals. I’m female and you’re male and I’m submissive and you’re dominant.”
He laughed loudly, shaking his head. “You are not a submissive.” He stopped laughing and whispered, “besides males and females are equals.” I opened my mouth then closed it. He pointed his fork at my pasta and chicken and whispered, “Please eat.”
I took a bite of my pasta and moaned. “This is delicious.” I managed to stay silent the rest of the meal, finishing the pasta, chicken and even the bread on the table. Sean asked if I wanted seconds and I shook my head. “No. No, I’m fine.”
He wanted to argue, I could see it by the frown that formed, but he just agreed, “Alright.” Point for him. He paid the bill and led me from the restaurant to the dance club. The bouncer checked our IDs over three times before finally letting us in. As a werewolf, the aging process slows in your twe
nties and stops at the humans’ fifty-five. Sean led me on to the dance floor and the music pulsed through me, drowning out my senses so that only the beat of the bass through my feet kept me on beat. Sean danced next to me allowing distance between us and I smiled. Another point for him.
Graceful and talented were natural to werewolves and we soon found a rhythm to dance together. I moved closer to him and he smiled happily. He kept his hands to himself, which earned him yet another point.
The humans watched us with growing envy and it made me smile wider. My throat was dry and I pointed to the bar. Sean nodded his head and held my hand loosely as we walked through the crowded dance floor to the bar. He ordered two waters and handed me one. He opened his bottle and began guzzling the contents down. A few drops slipped out of his mouth and slid down his throat. The desire to lick the trail up was so intense that I had to turn away from him and drink my water. After we finished our bottles we made our way back out to the dance floor.
A human man moved over, trying to dance with me and I laughed at the comparison of his muscled body next to Sean’s. If the man had done steroids he might have been as big as Sean, but usually only hardcore bodybuilders looked close to how werewolf males looked. Luckily the females weren’t so muscular, but we had our fair amount of muscle. Sean moved between the human and me and I could see the tension in his shoulders. Dominants don’t like someone coming between them and a female.
The man took the hint and walked away. I smiled at Sean and kissed his cheek for not ripping the man’s throat out. The song changed to a fast beat and Sean and I easily matched its tempo. A female human walked over and started dancing with Sean. I fought my urge to snarl and decided to test Sean. I kept dancing, ignoring the silicone enhanced woman and Sean raised his eyebrow at me. He subtly moved around to dance behind me, but the woman wasn’t giving up that easily. She started dancing with me and then slowly made her way to dance next to Sean. I felt the air whoosh out of his lungs as he sighed. He moved to face me and frowned, trying to convey his irritation.
I laughed and moved closer to him so that there was no space between us, successfully discouraging the woman. He had been keeping his hands to his sides, but I could see the golden specks forming in his eyes. Apparently, I was tripping all of the right switches, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing for me. I stepped back from him as I smelled his wolf and lowered my hand, ready to draw the knife if he tried to attack me.
He inhaled deeply and I watched in amazement as the gold faded along with the smell of his wolf. I pointed towards the exit and he nodded his head, taking my hand gently again as we maneuvered through the crowded room.
We stood outside for a moment letting our eardrums relax and inhaling the night air. I looked up at Sean’s happy face and asked, “How did you do that?”
He frowned. “Do what?”
I started walking so I would have something to do besides stare at him. “Your wolf woke up. I could smell him and see the gold in your eyes and you stopped it. I’ve never seen a male who was able to do that.”
Sean shook his head sadly. “You really need to hang out with some new males.”
I continued walking, not wanting to dance anymore and truly needing to go to bed soon. We stopped in front of my house and Sean asked softly, “Did I hold up to our deal?”
The night had been fun and I really had enjoyed myself. True to his word he hadn’t tried anything and I hadn’t needed the knife strapped to my leg. A few moments of pain were worth getting to know him, I supposed. “Sure, come in.” As soon as I said the words little warning lights blazed in my head. I was letting a dominant male wolf into my house. I forced myself to relax and prayed that Sean was as good of a guy as I thought he was.
He followed me into the house and then sat down on the couch. I locked the door back up before sitting in the recliner across from him. “What do you want me to tell you?”
He frowned for a moment than asked, “Start with being bitten and then tell me about your pack and why you broke your ties with them.”
I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them. I knew it looked juvenile, but I needed some type of comfort while I discussed my story. “I was eighteen, living in Miami and dating Jeff. He seemed like a good guy, you know opening doors for me, never using foul language if I was there. He was different than any other man I’d been with because he had an allure of danger, but he was always sweet to me. After being together for a few months he told me that he wanted to take our relationship to the next level. I assumed he meant sex, but he ripped off his clothes and changed. I was too scared to move and just stood there like an idiot as he bit my arm. I woke up three days later in a cage with silver bars. I tried to get out, but they wouldn’t let me and the silver burned. The full moon was only two days later and I changed in the cage for the first time. It was so painful and the cage was so small.” I stopped for a moment as I shuddered at the memory of that wicked cage.
“Eventually they let me out and that’s when Jeff discovered that I didn’t smell right to him anymore. He was easily angered, which I hadn’t noticed before and anytime I messed up, he hit me. I tried to run away, but they always found me. All of the males in the pack had trouble controlling their wolves and with a female now in the group it brought more tension and more fights. If Jeff hadn’t been as dominant as he was, and beta, he would have been killed by the members of the pack that challenged him. One night the males were especially agitated and decided that to release their anger it would be fun to…” A sob tried to escape, but I held it in, squeezing my eyes shut.
Sean moved across the living room and wiped the tears from my face. “Shh… I’m sorry. You don’t have to…”
I shook my head and opened my eyes. “I need to finish.” He moved back to his seat and I exhaled. “There were only five males home that night, but the rape didn’t stop. Every night they found a reason to beat me and then rape me. John, the alpha, never joined in, but he would watch and I could smell his arousal. He never stopped them. He never used the soothing magic that you have. They kept me locked in the cage so I wouldn’t run, but one night I convinced one of the dumber members to let me out so I could please him. He didn’t notice the metal pipe sitting inside my cage and when he opened the door I knocked him out. I ran for three days straight, but the alpha was calling me back to him. I fought it as hard as I could, but against my will I started heading back. That’s when I broke my pack ties and came out here.”
I looked up slowly because I could feel Sean’s anger like hot rain scalding my skin. His eyes were perfect golden wolf’s eyes as he stared at me. He stood up very slowly and walked out of the house.
Guess he didn’t want a used female. I walked to my bedroom and changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before walking back out to the living room and putting the flowers he had given me in a vase with water. No one had ever given me flowers before.
The ice cream was calling my name so I opened the freezer and pulled it out. Sean opened the front door and walked inside, his eyes back to hazel, but I could still smell his anger. He sat down on one of the stools at the counter and took a deep cleansing breath. “Thank you for telling me.”
I kept my eyes down so as not to challenge him and nodded my head. “Sure.”
He held out his hand and I set a piece of the ice cream in it. He popped it in his mouth and moaned. “This is good. What is this?”
I laughed. “Chocolate dipped vanilla ice cream.”
He plucked one out of the container. “I’ve got to remember to buy some of these.”
I handed him one more and then closed the lid and put it inside the freezer. He was suddenly standing behind me and I froze. My heart beat picked up and I waited for the hit that always came. I whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted more.”
He inhaled and then stepped back. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just…I’m sorry.” He stepped back farther and I stared at him in shock. He’d apologized again and actually me
ant it. No males ever apologized. He moved forward slowly and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, hugging me. “I just wanted to do this.”
His body was hot like werewolves are and it felt good to be pressed against him. He hugged me against his chest and a soothing wind of magic wrapped around me. I relaxed against him and he tilted my chin up so that I was looking into his blue and brown eyes. “I will never harm you. You do not have to do anything with me. If you want me to stop, tell me. If you want me to leave, tell me. Okay?”
I nodded my head and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips. His lips were gentle and uncertain as he kissed me back, but just as soft as I’d imagined. I stepped back from him and turned away. “I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.” My voice cracked and I wished it hadn’t. I barely knew him and yet I was already fond of him. My wolf already wanted to run with his again.
He turned me back around and looked over my face. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you anymore?”
Traitorous tears leaked out of my eyes before I could stop them. “Because I’m damaged,” I whispered
He shook his head. “What happened wasn’t your fault. What they did to you was not anything you could have prevented. You may be damaged, but I can repair you, if you’ll let me.” He wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed me softly on the lips. He whispered, “I can also break the mate bond you’re still stuck with, if you want me to.”
I sniffed and turned away to grab a paper towel to blow my nose. He waited patiently as I recomposed myself. “I don’t want to see your alpha,” I said quietly. Sean nodded his head, but didn’t say anything. “And I would greatly appreciate it if you could break the mate bond. I don’t ever want to go back to Jeff again, not after what he put me through.”
“Okay, it’s easy and won’t hurt you at all.”
“Can we do it another day? I’m really tired,” I whispered.
He stepped back from me and smiled. “Of course.”
Bitten, Beaten, & Loved Page 4