A Handful of Wolf

by Sofia Grey

  Another rub against his hard-on, and he retaliated. He slipped both hands under the trailing edge of her top and found warm, silky bare skin. Velvet. With both palms against her flat stomach, he held her even closer and nuzzled the back of her neck. Her dancing faltered and she trembled. Christ, she felt good in his arms. It didn’t matter that they swayed together amidst a crush of sweaty dancers, she had his sole attention. Her throat was just a breath away. He kissed a slow path up the side of her neck, over the shell of her ear, and down again with a nip to her earlobe. The taste of her skin was like a drug. His blood heated and pulse surged, and he had to go back for a second taste. Her caramel scent intensified and exploded in a burst of sensation on his tongue. There had to be something in the smoky atmosphere that was melting his synapses. He wanted to bite her neck. The urge to mark her thrummed in his veins, pounding at his consciousness. His wolf urged him on, scratching at him, demanding that he claim her.

  Whoa.

  Claim her?

  As in claiming a Mate?

  He was drunk. He had to be. It was the only explanation.

  Chapter 6

  Megan felt more relaxed after a few hours with Sasha than she had in four weeks with Phillip. She closed her eyes and swayed to the music, the bass beat pumping as fast as her heart. Sasha’s hands roamed across her stomach, the calluses creating a delightful friction that sent increasingly heated messages to her brain. Would he slide any lower? Her silk top hung long and loose over the top of her skirt. If he crept under the waistband…I’ve known him a few hours. He punched my boyfriend. Dear God, every time his lips brushed against her neck she felt a new surge of moisture between her legs. Her panties were soaked already.

  The temptation to take everything he offered was irresistible. She tried to rationalize the idea in her mind, but kept coming back to one hard fact. He would be leaving in a few weeks. She’d be unlikely to ever see him again after that. There was no risk of becoming attached to him, she could indulge in a fling and then do as her father wanted and go back to dating a suit again.

  The Howlin’ Wolves did their trademark howls at the end of their set and the audience joined in. Sasha stiffened behind her. Maybe it surprised him? The crowd thinned out, but she was happy to stay in his arms. If he could make her feel like this, after an hour of close dancing, what would he be like in bed?

  She’d been the good girl all her life. Dated the men her father approved of. Apart from Ryan, slept with one other guy, a safe but boring choice that did not threaten her sanity in any way. This was finally her teenage rebellion, just a few years late. Sasha was a bad boy on so many levels, and right now she wanted to be very bad. Could she take him home tonight? The downside of living with your parents, was that random hook-ups were difficult, especially since they thought she was still seeing Phillip. Could she go back to Sasha’s place? She wriggled against his groin some more and heard the way he sucked in his breath.

  “You’re killin’ me, wife-to-be.”

  Megan took a deep calming breath. He was keen, she could feel that. No boy would turn down the offer of a one-night stand. She shimmied free from his arms and turned to face him, before draping her arms across his shoulders. “Hey, husband-to-be.”

  He folded her into a tight embrace, their bodies pressed together from chests down to hips. She resisted the urge to stroke the very hard bulge in his jeans. “Hey, yourself.” Sasha’s eyes gleamed in the weak light and she smiled, pretending a confidence she didn’t feel. Damn. She’d thrown back enough alcohol tonight to forget any remaining inhibitions, but the prospect of shamelessly asking if she could go back to his place still stuck in her throat.

  “I need the bathroom,” she improvised. Her ears were ringing from the noise of the band and she wondered if he was suffering too, but he nodded and smiled.

  “Sure. I’ll wait with your girls.” Oh yes, Lou and Nessa. How could she have forgotten her friends so quickly? Slipping free from Sasha’s arms—and feeling instantly bereft—Megan waved to the others and gestured toward the back of the club. Nessa nodded, elbowed Lou, currently talking to a biker-type dressed in black leathers and heavy boots, and then set off to join her. Megan needed help, of the girlfriend variety.

  *

  Sasha’s mind whirled like a fairground ride, skittering from one fear to another. Mate. Responsibility. Permanent. Claiming. One word flashed at the forefront of his brain, so bright he imagined it lit up in neon letters. Mine. He tried to suck in a calming breath. Fuck, no. He was too young. There were too many things he wanted to do before he settled down. His wolf growled, and snarled inside him. Mine.

  You can’t fight biology. He remembered Jake’s sage warning months earlier, when he’d met and claimed his own Mate. But Jake was thirty-two when he met Lillian. Sasha’s eyes searched the gloom at the back of the club and caught sight of Megan disappearing behind a door. A long haired asshole had been staring at her as she walked by and Sasha gave the guy a death glare. He didn’t know how he felt about this revelation, but he sure as hell knew he didn’t want any other fuckwit snatching her from under his nose.

  “It gets you like that, aye.” Lou’s words made no sense. He flicked her a glance, unwilling to look away from the bathroom door. Did she know? Nah, must be a lucky guess. “The vibe in here.” She gestured to the fingers of smoke drifting on the air currents. “Megan loves it, but it makes me feel edgy. It’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

  Yeah, just a lucky guess. He corralled his thoughts. “How do you mean?”

  Lou shrugged. “Megan says there’s something here that she feels at home with. I keep imagining we’re going to get jumped by vampires, or werewolves or something.” She gave a self-conscious laugh, her hand rising to her throat. The biker dude had disappeared without Sasha noticing.

  “There’s uh, no such thing as vampires.” Could Megan feel the shifters? Is that why he was drawn to her? Could it be that his wolf was simply confused in here?

  “There’s werewolves though.” Lou inched closer. “They’ve been seen.”

  “Seen?”

  “Reports in the local papers. Huge dark wolves on the hills. Too many to just be hunting dogs.” Sasha’s heart juddered. One of the fundamental tenets of shifter law was secrecy. If the Kiwi wolves were getting careless, who knew where it might lead.

  A hint of caramel spice teased at his senses and he looked up to see Megan sashaying toward him, Nessa by her side. Megan had done something to her hair and her lips looked glossy again. His cock throbbed and he tried to look relaxed and not as though he was dying of lust.

  “It’s getting late. Should we get out of here?” Her smile dazzled him. It’s just the pheromones. He wanted to fall to his knees and worship her, but settled for catching her hand and tangling their fingers together. Mine, grumbled his wolf. Fucking pheromones.

  “Sure,” he managed. “Where do you live?”

  “Churton Park.” He frowned, not recognizing the suburb name. “It’s well outside the city.” She used her free hand to stroke his cheek and leaned into him. “I wondered…could I come home with you tonight?” She whispered into his ear and he nearly came in his pants. Christ, he was so hard he could use his dick as a cricket bat. Sanity appeared eventually.

  “I, uh, that’s not a good idea,” he managed. He felt her stiffen in his arms and hurried to soften the blow. “I don’t want to take advantage of you, baby.” Right now he couldn’t be sure that if he slept with her, he wouldn’t weaken and do something stupid. Claiming her as his Mate. Nu-huh. Not ready for that one.

  *

  Megan bit back her disappointment. It was probably for the best. Her father would have a fit when he knew she was dumping Phillip, and compounding it with a fling with Sasha…not her best idea. Even so, she snuggled against him. Nessa had given her a pep talk in the bathroom and asked about Sasha’s wild claim to be her future husband. Megan ducked the question. When they were sober in the morning, Nessa and Lou would figure out it was a pile of hokum, but i
t was fun to keep it going at the moment.

  The warm night air wrapped around them as they left the club and headed for the line of waiting cabs. Since Lou and Nessa lived in the opposite direction, they split up, and Megan snagged a cab to take her home. Was this it? Would Sasha say goodbye? She opened the door of the taxi cab, one hand still tangled with Sasha’s and felt him squeeze her fingers. “How far away do you live?”

  “About twenty minutes.”

  “I’ll see you home safe.” Before she could demur, he helped her into the back seat and slid into place next to her, one arm around her shoulders.

  “You’re crazy.”

  “You think?” He gave her that wolfish, sexy grin and her insides melted. Damn. She’d never met anyone who turned her on so thoroughly. She knew she’d drunk too much; the world felt as though it was spinning and now that she’d sat down, it was worse, but he’d had this effect on her when she was sober. The street lights flashed by, turning the interior dark and light in turn and she cuddled closer to Sasha.

  “Thanks,” she murmured, her face resting on his chest. “I’m a little bit drunk.”

  “Don’t worry.” He pronounced it ‘wah-ree’ and his lilting words made her smile. “I’ll look after you.”

  “Even your accent is cute.”

  “What?” He stroked her hair, running his fingers through the locks and twining them into curls. “I think you are drunk. Do you go there often?”

  “Sometimes,” she mumbled. It was tempting to snooze. With Sasha as a giant, albeit hard, pillow, she could sleep right here, safe in his arms. That’s how he made her feel, safe. “I always get a bit wild at Mighty Mike’s.”

  “Uh-huh. Can I ask you something?”

  The strobe effect of the streetlights went away with her eyes closed, but she summoned the energy to open them again and peer up at him. His face was in darkness, but she swore his eyes were glowing. Yep, she was buzzing. “Go for it.”

  He pressed a delicate kiss to her temple and then swept an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I see you again?”

  *

  Sasha had an idea that seeing Megan again would lead to trouble, but he tried to justify it to himself. He had an anxious swirl in the pit of his stomach at the thought of the native wolves being discovered. There was something weird about the nightclub. Maybe the drinks were being tampered with? Maybe the large concentration of drunk and horny shifters acted like a magnet to some humans? Jake might know. The cab bowled along the quiet roads and Sasha looked down at the girl asleep on his chest. Was his attraction to her real? His wolf seemed to think so. He knew from Jake how shifters could enter their Mate’s dreams; Jake had romanced Lillian while she slept, and somehow persuaded her to Mate with him. Not only human, but a famous and much admired rock singer, she’d had the world at her feet, but had still fallen in love with his cousin. Sasha rested his chin on the top of Megan’s head and closed his eyes.

  A heartbeat later, Sasha was back in the nightclub with raucous music hammering at his senses, but he ignored it and focused on the woman in his arms. Megan gazed up at him, her eyes dark and hungry. “I wish I could take you home tonight.”

  Holy fuck. She was already dreaming about him. “What would you do with me?” He kept his tone light.

  She wriggled one hand free and palmed his crotch, his dick leaping to attention and pushing against her fingers. “Can’t you guess? I’m so horny. You make me want such bad things.”

  He couldn’t think of a word to describe how badly he wanted her in that moment. He swallowed hard. “Tell me.”

  Her eyes glanced left and right, and then she pointed at an empty sofa against the wall. “There. I want you to fuck me there. In front of the dance floor. It’s dark and they won’t see what we’re doing, but they’ll all be envious of me.”

  It was a struggle to speak clearly. Breathing seemed to be on hold too as Sasha processed the idea. His wolf howled agreement and his cock was throbbing fit to burst. He was probably drooling as well, but he managed to grab her wandering hand and haul her through the crowd toward the sofa. It beckoned to him, calling him like a beacon. “I’m so good with bad,” he said, pleased he’d been able to produce some coherent words amid the raging wave of lust that dominated him.

  A voice made him pause in his tracks. “Excuse me, we’ve arrived.” Sasha forced his eyes to open. The cab driver was talking to him. “Hey, mate. We’re here. You getting out?” Was this a dream? No. His balls ached and he was in danger of permanently castrating himself against his zipper. This was very real. He ran his tongue across dry lips and shook Megan’s shoulder.

  “You’re home.” His voice was gravelly. He swallowed and tried again. “Megan, babe. We’re here. Wake up.”

  “Mmmyeah…okaythanks.” Her words rolled together but she lifted her head and groaned. “I feel sick.” He really wasn’t surprised after how much he’d seen her drink, but he figured if she was going to hurl she’d rather do it in the privacy of her bathroom.

  “Come on, sleepy.” He climbed out and half-pulled, half-carried her until she was clear of the cab, and then helped her to stand. She wobbled and shivered. The night air felt colder here and he shrugged out of his leather jacket, and then draped it around her shoulders. “How much is the fare?”

  It was only when he tore his attention from the swaying girl at his side that he saw her home. Her freakin’ mansion. His eyes opened wide as he took in the sheer size of the sprawling single story house, the stone tiled driveway, manicured lawns and funny shaped trees. It looked like a center spread from a glossy Sunday newspaper.

  “Seventy-eight bucks.” Whaaat? He stared at the driver. “It’s after midnight.” Christ. Sasha felt in his back pocket for his wallet and prayed there was enough left in his account to cover the fare. Handing over his bank card, he hugged Megan closer. It was only then, he saw the welcoming committee. Two guys stood in the doorway, arms folded and both wearing matching furious expressions. Her brothers?

  “Babe. Wake up.” She slumped against him, eyelids flickering. The driver handed back his card with a torn off receipt—thank fuck for that—and he had one last try at waking her. Failed. With a deep sense of resignation, he scooped her in his arms and walked toward the house, hearing the cab drive away behind him

  The first of the two guys stepped forward and a security lamp clicked on, bathing him in bright light. Bulging muscles pushed at a long sleeved T-shirt and dark eyes narrowed in a lean face. “You’d better have a good reason for bringing our sister home unconscious.”

  Sasha stood his ground and eased the sleeping Megan into a more comfortable position. “She’s asleep. I made sure she got home in one piece.”

  “Yeah.” Her brother advanced another step. “But what if you’re the reason she was out by herself? She had a date tonight with her boyfriend, until you muscled in like fuckin’ Rambo.”

  “Her boyfriend was behaving like a jerk.”

  “Watch your mouth. He’s a friend of ours.”

  Great. Just great. Way to impress her family, assmunch.

  “I’ll take her now.” Her brother slipped careful hands underneath the sleeping girl and took her from Sasha. “You can go.”

  “I made sure she was safe.” He refused to be intimidated.

  The guy lifted one eyebrow. “Still here?”

  “Will you give her my number?”

  The second guy joined the stilted conversation and marched up, getting right in Sasha’s face. “Did she ask for your number?” His sarcastic tone made Sasha’s wolf growl and he fisted his hands, shoving them in his pockets and out of view.

  “She doesn’t have to call me, but at least give her the choice.”

  The first guy was already walking away, Megan in his arms and Sasha felt a wave of desperation. The second guy blocked his path, just in case he did anything majorly stupid like follow her. “You’re lippy for someone trespassing on private property.”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. He took a deep breath
and told his wolf to stay calm. They were her brothers. He’d likely behave the same if some punk ass came sniffing round after Tammy. “I’m leaving—when you’ve taken my number for her.”

  They stared at each other some more and finally the brother conceded and fished a cell phone from his pocket. “Give.”

  Sasha rattled off his number. “The name is Sasha.” He spelled it out and waited patiently while the guy tapped his keypad.

  “Yeah, spelled S-C-U-M-B-A-G. Off you go, Sasha.” The man glanced at an expensive looking wristwatch. “I’ll give you five minutes to get off our land and after that I’m breaking out my shotgun.” He grinned, but it was not a friendly smile. “And if Megan says anything bad about you, any-fucking-thing at all, we’ll find you. Now we have your number.”

  Sasha forced a smile, turned and walked. No money left for a cab. No jacket. And the hottest girl he’d ever kissed had a pair of over-protective Neanderthals guarding her like starving Rottweilers. He loved a challenge.

  Chapter 7

  Megan gulped from the bottle of water she found on her bedside cabinet, and then slumped back against her pillows. She’d been dreaming and tried to remember what’d happened. It had been vivid. Fleeting memories nudged at her.

  Soft grass beneath her fingertips and the smell of sea air tickling her nostrils.

  She closed her eyes and tried to relax, to coax the memory back.

  Sitting on a bright red blanket, with her feet bare and her shoes abandoned in an untidy heap. A warm hand on her neck. Incredibly bright blue eyes twinkling back at her. Stretching up, ready to lose herself in his kiss.

  No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall any more. It hung frustratingly out of reach.

  Sometime later, showered and dressed, and feeling more human by the minute, Megan wandered into the huge sunny kitchen in search of coffee. Her memories of the night before were hazy. Pretty much everything after leaving the club was just a blur. Sasha had been in the cab though, she was sure. How she made it into her bedroom and into bed, was a mystery. She’d obviously been too drunk to remove anything more than her shoes as she’d woken fully dressed—and with Sasha’s jacket folded neatly at the end of her bed.