Rogue Heart

by Samantha Wolfe

  I continue to stare at her, so transfixed that I hardly notice the two other women who come up beside her. I don't give a shit about anything or anyone else but her. She and the other two girls stick their hands in like this is the start of some kind of sports event, and a corner of my mouth twitches in amusement at her obvious enthusiasm about being here.

  She turns and spots a table near mine, then walks toward it as my heart beats faster in my chest at the very prospect of being closer to her. She moves with a supple grace and strength that captivate me and has my dick quickly hardening and lengthening in my jeans to the point of discomfort. She sits down with her friends, and I inhale in the hope of catching her scent, but she's too far away amid the miasma of other scents overpowering the room. It's all I can do not to go to her, so I can burrow my nose against her neck and breathe her in, taste her, touch her, bite her.

  Fuck, she looks so fresh and young too, and nothing like my bitter and jaded self. She's probably barely old enough to get in here, but I'm so enthralled that I don't even care. It no doubt makes me a dirty thirty-five-year old man for lusting after her like this, but I can't help myself. I've never in my life wanted a woman like I want her, and my cock aches so much right now that I have to fight the urge to palm myself in an attempt to ease the exquisite pain.

  I watch as the waitress goes to her table, and the three women place their orders. The object of my obsession is so animated and so goddamn alive. She lights up with her enthusiasm, and everything she does is mesmerizing. I can't take my eyes away from her. I just sit there and study every single move she makes until the waitress returns with three drinks and sets them on the table.

  And then, as if she can finally feel me watching, her head slowly turns my way and those gorgeous baby blue eyes land on mine. The jolt of electrifying awareness that shoots through my entire body stuns me to my core. The wolf rises up inside me, and I rein him in with a surge of will before my eyes can flash cobalt. I'm not taking the chance of giving my identity as a werewolf away. The last thing I want to do is freak her out or scare her off.

  Her gaze slides up and down my body in appreciation, her lips parting and her eyes heating with interest. When our eyes meet again, I don't even try to hide the lust I'm feeling for her and give her body such a thorough and unabashed eye-fucking that it has her blushing. I capture her gaze once more with a pointed and provocative expression that tells her exactly what I want, and in no uncertain terms...her. Then I shift on my stool, readying to rise and approach her, but to my complete and utter surprise, she pops up off of her stool and beats me to it.

  She walks toward me, her steps graceful and seductive in a way that I know isn't purposeful. There's this natural animal magnetism about her that pulls at the man and beast in me. Fuck, I want her so badly. I bite my lip as she approaches, my dick throbbing and painful behind my zipper now. An adorable smirk pulls at her pretty lips and I finally breath in to take in her scent. I smell honeysuckle. I smell sunshine. I smell wild and unbridled animal. I smell wolf.

  Holy. Fuck.

  She's like me, a trueborn werewolf, and I'm instantly stunned. The only reason I don't give my reaction away is from so many years of schooling my expression, so I never give anything I feel away. I watch her breathe me in and from her lack of reaction, I know for certain now that the crystal works. She has no idea what I am.

  "I think you want to dance with me," she says. Her voice is sweet and melodic with a tart little edge of sassiness that makes me yearn for her even more. I want to hear that voice screaming my name.

  "What makes you think I want to do that, sugar?" I say, my growling tone husky and deep with lust.

  She smiles gloriously, and I see a hint of silver ghost across her eyes in reaction to my voice. And fuck, I can smell her arousal now and hear her heart beating faster for me. Good God, I know I'm in trouble here. I need to stop this now. I don't associate with other trueborns. It never leads to anything good. Never.

  "Because you've been staring at me." Her voice is a warm purr.

  "That doesn't mean I want to dance with you," I tell her, forcing some steel into my voice this time. Her eyes narrow infinitesimally at my rejection, then flare briefly with irritation.

  "Huh," she says with an over-dramatic shrug. "My bad. I guess I made a mistake." Her devilish smile is so damn sexy. "I guess I'll have to find someone else then." She leans in closer. "Your loss," she adds, her voice dropping to a seductive timbre that has hot lust blazing through my body. Then with a flick of her glorious silky hair, she spins on her heel and makes a bee-line for the dance floor without looking back at me once.

  I try to tell myself it's for the best as I watch her walk away. I try to push aside the desire coursing through me as she starts to dance, her lithe body moving so hypnotically to the beat of the music. I try to convince myself I'm better off as I watch several men honing in on her with hunger in their eyes. I try to stifle the unexpected and horrible green monster that roars to life inside me as some fucker in a cowboy hat moves in close to dance with her. I attempt to restrain my now angry and possessive wolf as one of the fucker's hands lands on her hip, and he starts gyrating with her. My jaw clenches almost painfully as he leans in close to whisper something to her, my fists so tight that my nails dig into my palms. She smiles and laughs as his mouth brushes her ear, his hand avidly sliding around to the small of her back in a proprietary gesture. He pulls her closer until their hips touch and grinds against her.

  Fuck. No. She's mine.

  All reason abruptly escapes my brain, and my control snaps and completely evaporates. The wolf takes over, and I'm on my feet an instant later and charging forward in a sudden and inexplicable jealous rage.

  4

  LYRIC

  What an ass, a sexy and hot as sin one, but still an unbelievable ass. Screw him for eye-fucking me so thoroughly that I actually went up to him, something I wouldn't normally do, and ended up making a fool of myself. But there was something about him that immediately drew me to him and made me bold like never before. I know I didn't imagine his attraction to me or the musky scent of his arousal, so I didn't understand his dismissive attitude. I don't know what his angle is, but these kinds of games are one of the many reasons I'm still a virgin.

  It's also the reason why I'm so incensed that I'm currently letting some sweaty cowboy make the moves on me to get back at him. It's something else I wouldn't normally do either, but here I am with some strange guy's hands sliding slowly down toward my ass. My she-wolf is already bristling at the intimate proximity of a man she's completely disinterested in, unlike that jerk who piqued her interest the second I set eyes on him. That jerk who's delicious and unbelievably earthy scent still lingers in my nose and in my head.

  "You are so fucking hot," the handsy cowboy says in a low drawl for the second time as he leers down at me.

  He's cute enough I suppose, but I can smell beer and chew on his breath. Ew. I can't even manage the fake smile and laugh that I fed him the first time he attempted to so eloquently compliment me. I spare a quick glance over to see Harmony and Scarlett watching me in wide-eyed shock from our table. Yeah, I'm shocked at what I'm doing too.

  "Thanks," I say as I deftly move his arrant hands up to my waist.

  Suddenly, I feel the heat of a body behind me along with an electric zing of awareness. I unconsciously still as a familiar gravelly voice growls out fiercely behind me.

  "You need to find another girl to feel up, Tex."

  The handsy cowboy looks up, and his eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in belligerence. "I don't know who the fuck you are, but she came on to me," he drawls out with a scowl. "I ain't goin' nowhere."

  I glance over my shoulder to look at the other man's face. Palpable and unadulterated violence crackles in his eyes and in every line of his body. It's a look that I recognize. It's the forbidding expression of an alpha male who has every intention of backing it up with fierce and decisive action. He steps closer, his warm hard body touching
my back now, and places a possessive hand on my hip. His physical touch jolts through me as his earthy masculine scent fills my nostrils, and I unconsciously breathe in deeper, needing more of him. My she-wolf really likes it, and starts doing a little happy dance inside me as the woman reacts with instant arousal. It throbs between my legs almost painfully as I fight the urge to lean back and melt against him.

  "I'm going to send you out of here in a fucking stretcher if you don't get away from her right now," he says, glaring at him with unwavering confidence.

  "Don't threaten me," the cowboy bites out.

  "A threat?" he asks. "Look in my eyes. Is that what you think this is?"

  He stares the cowboy down with his dark-blue eyes burning with barely restrained violence. His menacing expression communicates his absolute commitment to following through on his promise. The man's entire demeanor seethes with a hard and unyielding dominance that's intimidating as hell too. Damn, I've never seen a human man pull that particular look off so well before. I have no doubt he's deadly serious about hurting this guy if he has to, and the handsy cowboy is too drunk to realize that. As much as the she-wolf enjoys his alpha male possessiveness, I can't let that happen. Especially, if I'm the cause of things getting this out of control. I glance around and realize a crowd has already gathered around us for the show, and the club's security can't be far behind. Shit. I don't want that kind of attention. I need to end this now.

  "Alright, boys," I say. "That's enough male posturing for one night, and there's really no need since I'm not interested in either of you anymore." I spin away from the hand on my hip, ignoring my she-wolf's bereft protest over the loss of contact, and march away from the both of them. No more games tonight. I'm done. "Laters," I call out over my shoulder with a dismissive hand gesture as I head back toward Harmony and Scarlett.

  As I walk away, my super-human ears allow me to hear the cowboy mumble the word "bitch" under his breath. Whatever. Good riddance. I can feel the weight of the other man's eyes on me, but he says nothing. I fight down the she-wolf's desire to run back to him and rub myself all over him until his earthy scent rubs off on me. I'm not going there, and good riddance to him too. But the farther I walk away from him the more the wolf in me rebels against it. She starts to roil under my skin in prickly waves that skitter across my flesh as she itches to get out and take over. My bones even start to ache as I approach our table, and when I meet Harmony's worried eyes, they widen in sudden shock.

  "Your eyes," she hisses at me. "They're silver."

  Shit. I didn't realize how close to the edge I am. I clamp my eyes shut before someone else sees and clench my fists as I fight the beast inside me. It's not working, and I'm suddenly afraid that I might actually start shifting in the middle of this club full of humans. I cannot let that happen.

  "Lyric?" Scarlett asks, and I feel her hand land on my shoulder. My skin is so hypersensitive from the threatening shift that it almost hurts.

  "I'm going outside," I say in a rasping tone as I pull away from her touch.

  "Do you want me to come wi-" Harmony begins.

  "No," I interrupt her offer, not wanting to worry her. "I just need some air, and I'll be right back."

  I whirl away from my sister's narrowed gaze and hurry toward the front door with my eyes fixed on the floor. I'm not risking anyone seeing my silver wolf's eyes. I leave a swathe of cursing and grumbling people behind me as I push my way through the pressing crowd, but I don't care. I need to get out of here now.

  When I finally make it to the entrance and rush outside, the blessed chilly October air feels like heaven on my overheated skin. However, the she-wolf inside me is still clamoring to be released. My teeth are throbbing now and when I run my tongue over them, I can feel my canines lengthening. Shit. I need to get somewhere away from any potential witnesses, in case I shift. I hurry along the side of the building and turn the corner to head down a darkened alley. If I was human, this would be a big no-no with my personal safety, but since I can bodily throw a grown man across a room, I'm not worried.

  I come to a dumpster and ignore the stench as I hunch down out of sight behind it and sit on the filthy ground with my back up against the rough bricks of the building. I wrap my arms around my bent knees and press my face against them as I reach deep down inside myself for the strength of will to stay human. I haven't had this much of a problem with controlling my wolf since going through the change at the tender age of twelve, earlier than any of my four older siblings went through it. I squeeze my eyes shut and battle it out with my wolf for control of my aching trembling body.

  "Sugar?" a familiar gravelly voice suddenly calls out from nearby. "Are you alright?"

  My head pops up in shock to find the blue-eyed sexy badboy standing a few feet in front of me and eying me with a worried frown. Oh my God, I'm touched that he actually followed me out here, but I can't take the chance of him seeing something he shouldn't. I take in a breath to tell him that I'm fine, so he'll go away, but his earthy masculine scent hits me like a battering ram. The she-wolf surges up to wrest control away from me, and in an instant, I'm flying to my feet and launching myself into his arms with a needy whimper.

  He lets out a stunned gasp and barely manages to catch me in his arms as he staggers backwards into the brick wall behind him with a heavy grunt. He regains his balance as I wrap my legs around his waist, and I meet his gaze. His eyes start to burn with bright and searing desire as he grips my ass with a low groan. I bury my hands in his surprisingly silky soft black hair as I watch his full lips part, then plaster mine to his before he has a chance to do it himself.

  Oh my God. He tastes so sweet and divine...all man and so good. I let out a soft moan as he immediately kisses me back and quickly takes over the kiss with deep possessive thrusts of his tongue into my mouth. He growls in obvious pleasure as he digs his fingers into my ass cheeks and turns to press my back against the brick wall. He smells of lust and desperation as he begins grinding his pelvis against mine, and I can feel him growing hard through my jeans. Even with my total lack of experience I can tell that he's huge, and I whimper as a frisson of giddy desire shivers through me. I want him. I want him right now.

  His mouth pulls away from mine and starts blistering a trail of fiery kisses along my jawline and down my neck. He nips at my flesh, breathing hard, and I can hear his heart pounding in his chest.

  "Your name," he growls out against my skin. "What's your name, sugar?"

  "L...Lyric." I force the words out as I writhe against his hard muscular body.

  "Lyric," he says in an almost dreamy tone. "You taste so good...feel so fucking good." He's rutting against me now, and how I wish he was inside me instead.

  "Y...yours?" I ask as his tongue laves my neck.

  "Ronan," he answers in a rough whisper before biting me at the juncture of my neck and shoulder.

  I gasp and moan shamelessly as he worries at my skin sending pleasure jolting through my body. I latch my fingers tightly in his hair and pull him closer in encouragement, grinding myself against him in desperation. I need more of him...all of him.

  "Ronan, please," I beg in a soft needy whine. I've never wanted a man like this.

  A full body shiver trembles through his entire body as I say his name, and he abruptly lifts his head to meet my eyes. I see a wary and confused expression cross his hard masculine features as he shakes his head. "What are you doing to me?" he asks between gasps for air. "Fuck...what is this?"

  "I...I don't know," I tell him, even though I suddenly suspect I know exactly what's going on between us. But I don't dare tell him. The man doesn't even know what I really am, let alone the fact that the world isn't what it seems. I don't want to freak him out and send him running with the truth.

  "I do," a familiar male voice announces out of nowhere in a slurring drawl from farther down the alley. "This here is what you call a perfect opportunity for a little payback."

  Instantly, Ronan drops me to my feet and whirls toward the sou
nd, placing his body protectively in front of me. I peek around his bulging arm to see the handsy cowboy and three of his hulking friends a few yards away blocking any escape from the dead-end alley. Shit, I was so caught up in Ronan that I didn't even sense them approaching us. The cowboy turns his head and spits what I know is chew juice onto the asphalt next to his feet. Gross. Then he turns lecherous eyes my way that are impossible to misinterpret.

  "And maybe we'll see about have a little fun too," he says, then he and his friends laugh in sick amusement as I scowl at them. Clueless jerks. I can't wait to mop the floor with all their sorry asses.

  Ronan bristles with anger, his body tense and ready for a fight. "You touch her and you fucking die."

  That's when I realize the direness of this situation. I don't want Ronan knowing what I am yet, and I can't just defend myself or him without giving away the fact that I'm not human. But he most definitely is. It's four against one, and while I'm in very little danger here, Ronan is since he's very vulnerable to getting hurt or killed. No matter the consequences, I can't let that happen either. I'm still trying to decide what to do to get us out of this mess without giving myself away as a werewolf or Ronan getting injured when the cowboy opens his big fat trap again.