“Tell me what she’s done.” Ethan kept his voice low, knowing every werewolf in the room probably got a tickle in their ear trying to hear his conversation.
“I’ll tell you what she’s done.” One of his pack members spoke from behind him. Ethan turned to look at Paula Rook, who adjusted her grip on the cub in her arms while she beamed at him. “She’s filed a motion with the court so that the city can’t force us to report when we leave and come into town. She says it’s unconstitutional.”
Ethan swallowed, feeling like he was getting ready to be bulldozed. He turned his attention back to Ralph. “Where is Miss Beth Parks?”
Ralph gestured with a nod toward the kitchen. “In there.”
It seemed the house grew quiet when he left the living room and walked into the kitchen.
Something stopped him in the doorway though. His mouth went dry and it seemed his heart forgot to beat for a moment, then picked up speed with a violent thumping that had his blood rushing through him way too fast.
There she was. After all these years. Miss Beth Parks had sure as hell grown up. She was still short. But damn! Ethan sucked in a breath while he took her in.
Pacing in the middle of the kitchen and talking on a cell phone, Beth looked better than any woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Faded blue jeans clung to her like they were sculpted on to her body. Her waist was so slim he bet he could wrap his hands around it and make his fingers touch. Nicely curved hips rounded into the most beautiful ass. It had to be nice and soft, perfect to grab on to and spread so that he could see what treasures she had.
She turned toward him, glancing up and then continuing her conversation without giving him a second look. She wore a simple blouse, tucked into her jeans and buttoned up far enough for him to see the strain on the buttons where the material stretched over her breasts.
Dear Lord. Miss Beth Parks had filled out nicely. He blew out a breath of air, realizing he would start drooling if he didn’t take his mind off of that small but perfectly shaped body. She would look damned good sprawled out on a bed. He’d begun to wonder whether she shaved her pussy or not when he gave himself a mental slap.
“Contact City Hall,” she was saying. “I don’t want to go in front of the judge in a courtroom. It’s best to keep a low profile here. Let him know I’ll meet with him in his chambers and we’ll keep this short and sweet.”
Ethan realized at that moment that Sandra Parks sat at the kitchen table, watching him carefully. Greta Hothmeyer sat across from her, also watching him, satisfaction filling the air from the two of them.
This had gone far enough. Intercepting Beth in mid-pace, he put his hand over her phone. She looked up at him, possibly noticing him for the first time, or maybe realizing for the first time who he was. Something akin to panic rushed through her, the strong confidence that had swarmed around her a moment before gone. It lasted only a moment before the spicy smell of irritation floated in the air between them. And there wasn’t much space between them.
“Hang up that phone before I hang it up for you,” he whispered, enjoying the worried expression his implied threat caused.
“You do not tell me what to do.” She matched his threatening tone quite well.
Amusement rushed through him, his loins tightening with the reminder of what a spitfire she was. It made sense if she was some hotshot lawyer. But she wasn’t so good that he couldn’t take her on. Maybe when they were cubs she’d managed to get the better of him, making a fool of him in front of all of their peers. But that had been a long time ago. He was in charge here. No matter how many people she might be used to bossing around, this saucy little bitch would learn here and now, she would do as he told her.
Squeezing down on her hand just enough to make his point, he removed her phone, and pushed the off button. A look of disbelief crossed her face.
“How dare you!” She put her hands on her hips, her lips pursing in anger. Her dark green eyes sparked with fire, but it was the telltale flush that spread across her cheeks that gave him the urge to press her up against the counter and show her exactly what he would dare to do.
He could have it out with her right here in the kitchen, but he needed some time. This wasn’t one of the sweet little bitches he was accustomed to who drooled every time he walked into the room. Beth Parks didn’t appear the least bit intimidated by him, even though she barely stood tall enough to reach his shoulders. The fire in her expression let him see her passion. She lusted over him. He knew it. But she had it well hidden. Just like she had so many years ago when they were cubs.
There was only one thing to do.
Ethan grabbed Beth by the arm and turned to walk out of the house.
“What the hell are you doing?” Beth sounded alarmed, although if she was trying to stop him, she wasn’t very strong. It seemed she followed him through the house willingly.
“What’s going on?” Ralph asked.
Ethan ignored the group and stormed to the front door, dragging Beth behind him.
“I’ll call you in a bit,” Ethan told him, knowing Ralph would be able to calm the group.
Ethan needed time to sort things out, and to think with his brain and not his cock.
The smells of the house faded quickly when they marched across the front yard. He knew every pack member watched them but he didn’t care. He almost threw Beth at his bike.
“If you think I’m going to get on that thing…” she began.
He grabbed her shoulders, fighting the urge to press himself against her, just for a moment, wanting to see how she felt up against him. Instead he simply looked her square in the eye, all too aware of the heat that surged through his hands where he touched her.
“You can climb on, or I will throw you on.” He enjoyed how her eyes grew wide, the all-knowing counselor suddenly at a loss for words. “But either way, we are going for a ride.”
“How in the hell did you manage to become pack leader?” she mumbled, anger seeping from her. The spicy scent of it lay cover to something more evocative, more sultry. A scent he hadn’t noticed while they were in the kitchen grabbed his attention now.
Beth Parks was more than aroused. She had to be soaking wet. What he wouldn’t do to run his hand down between the crotch of her jeans, feel her heat.
Since she hadn’t moved, he decided she must want to be lifted on to his bike. It was a large Harley, and she was a petite woman. Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her high enough for her to straddle the small passenger seat.
“How dare you!” Beth squirmed in his arms, her legs going everywhere but around his bike.
Ethan heard definite laughter coming from the house. Well, the last thing the counselor would do was make a fool out of him—again. Placing her back down on the ground, before she kicked something that might really put him out of commission, he twisted her around, bent her over his bike, and gave her rear end a quick swat.
“Shit!” she cried out loud enough to make everyone in the neighborhood aware of their presence.
Beth turned on him with her fist raised, ready to do damage. Her dark green eyes glowed with anger, those soft lips barely covering teeth that had started to sharpen.
Ethan grabbed her fist, pulling her to him. He could feel her heart pounding between her breasts. And those full round mounds pressed against him felt better than anything he’d experienced in quite a while. He held on to her hand, while pinning her other arm between them. His free hand strolled down her back. And it took some effort not to cup that sweet ass of hers.
“Now,” he said quietly. “You may climb on, or I will lift you on. But you are getting on that bike. I will not have a yelling match with you in the middle of this neighborhood.”
Beth considered his words, her heavy breathing causing her breasts to move against his chest. She struggled to free herself and he tightened his grip.
“What’s it going to be, counselor?” he asked.
“I will not be bullied.” Even captured in his arms she would fight him.
“Let go of me now, unless you wish to spend the night in jail.”
Ethan smiled. Her idle threats didn’t bother him a bit. There was no way anyone would arrest him for taking on the mouthy lawyer. They might want to watch. His grin widened.
“Are you accustomed to people backing down simply because you threaten them?”
“I’m accustomed to dealing with werewolves who have manners.” She fought again to be released.
“I can be very polite.” He pulled her just a bit closer, her breath scorching through his chest, burning his skin. “I don’t know why you bring out the beast in me,” he whispered, lowering his head so that her face was inches from his.
Her dark green eyes were like emeralds, glowing and alive with a passion he could smell burning through her. He could feel it too. Everywhere they touched fiery currents rushed from her, taking over his system, his self-control. Her mouth relaxed, her lips moving slightly like she would say something, but hesitated. Her soft brown hair fell in layers, curving around her face and falling to her shoulders. Just enough to grab on to so she could be held in place.
He let his gaze fall below her face, to the point where her breasts pressed against him. Her shirt parted perfectly at the top of her button allowing him a wonderful view of her cleavage. Soft, round and full. Damnit. He would love to rub his cock between those breasts. The thought had him hard as a rock instantly.
Beth stopped breathing. He met her gaze, her eyes suddenly wide. Was she surprised by his size? Or had she not realized he was attracted to her?
“Let me go,” she whispered.
He obliged. “Do you need help getting on the bike?” He decided he would show her he could be a gentleman.
She didn’t look at him. “I can manage.”
And she did. Barely. It was all he could do not to help her but he let her struggle to mount the large hog on her own.
Climbing on in front of her, he knew he had a battle on his hands. It was going to be hard as hell to discuss how her actions had been out of line when all he wanted to do at the moment was fuck her silly. He started the bike and backed out of the driveway, then took off just a little bit faster than he needed to, enjoying how she quickly wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight.
Chapter Four
The fresh air slapping him in the face helped Ethan clear his head. Beth Parks wrapped around his backside didn’t help matters. But he’d dealt with temptation before. Nothing would take precedence over the safety of his pack.
“Where are we going?” Her breath against his ear and cheek wreaked havoc with his system.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he admitted.
“It better be somewhere public.” She shifted behind him, her thighs rubbing against his. Even with the wind blowing around them, her scent seemed to saturate through his skin.
“You giving the orders now?” He glanced over his shoulder at her in time to see turmoil tighten across her pretty face.
“I always give the orders.” She tried to sound cold, unrelenting. He could see that.
Her comment made it clear to him where they needed to go. Taking a sharp left, he headed home.
“Where are we?” she asked, when he slowed to a stop in his drive alongside his house.
“My place.” He got off his bike, and then offered his hand to help her get off.
She simply stared at him, while slowly crossing her arms over her chest. He loved that look of defiance she gave him. And the way she straddled his bike, her legs spread wide accenting her narrow waist. Damn, what he wouldn’t do to see her on top of him like that.
“I told you I would not discuss anything with you in a private place.” Her expression hardened, anger seeping through the air. “You better pay real close attention to who you are messing with here, mister.”
Ethan stared at her. For being so damned hot, she had an aggressive side to her that needed to be toned down. He imagined she brought many a man to his knees with the glare she was giving him. That or she chased them away. He wondered suddenly if she might still be a virgin. Maybe she put up this aggressive front because deep inside she didn’t have a clue how to act around a werewolf. He didn’t smell any uncertainty or fear. She was angry, and her adorable righteous dander was up.
Well, he could handle her. He had no doubts. The last thing this sweet little bitch would do would be to bring Ethan Masterson to his knees. Miss Beth Parks had met her match. Once she had humiliated him. And she had been the only bitch ever to do that. But it wouldn’t happen a second time.
“I’m going to point something out to you.” He stayed calm. He wouldn’t insult her intelligence. “And I know I only need to say this once. You are an unmated bitch and you are in my territory. That puts you under my jurisdiction, and my protection. You will do as I say.”
Beth stared at him, either not understanding a damned thing he just said, or in complete shock that he had the nerve to speak to Miss Almighty the way he just had. Either way, she didn’t move.
“Get off the damned bike,” he growled, starting to feel irritated that she wasn’t listening to him.
Gold streaked across the green in her eyes. If he hadn’t been watching, he might have missed it. Little Miss Beth was doing everything in her power to control her temper. He fought the smile that threatened his lips when she swung her leg over and slid off of his bike.
“Happy now?” she hissed, just as her phone rang.
While she answered it, he took advantage of the fact that she needed to be composed to talk to her office or whoever it was at the other end of the line, and placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her inside.
“Lacey, I told you to tell them I couldn’t take the case.” She seemed to have forgotten he was there while she reprimanded some woman on the other end of her phone.
Ethan kept his hand on her back while he unlocked his back door and led her through his kitchen and into his living room. Charges of electric heat made him tingle where he touched her. Once inside she began pacing, leaving him wishing he was still touching her. What was it about this petite stranger who seemed to have turned his life and his libido upside down within the course of an afternoon?
She had done it when they were children, and she was doing it again now. Rendering him speechless, unsure how to react against the brick wall of resistance she had built up around her. But why was she so cold? It made no sense to him that she seemed to work at being evasive. He was a good man, respected as pack leader by his own pack, and the other packs around him.
He took a seat in his favorite chair, an old recliner that should have been hauled to the curb years ago but still seemed to help him relax. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he watched Beth pace. Whoever spoke at the other end sounded a bit frantic, as if they were trying to save themselves from an ass-chewing. Beth must be good at putting people in their place.
She combed her hair with her fingers while she spoke. “Fine, Lacey. Patch him through to this line. I’ll speak to him.” She noticed him when she turned from pacing, her pose all professional. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” she told him.
Had she forgotten where she was? This was his den. The urge to take that phone away from her again crossed his mind.
“Yes. Mr. Anderson.” Beth turned from him. He watched her, imagining what it would be like for her to run her fingers over him the way she did when she ran them through her hair.
She stopped pacing. “And our firm will continue to give you the best representation. It just won’t be me. I’m sorry.”
Her nervous energy cluttered the air around them. A thick smell but it still had the sweetness to it that he’d learned to recognize as her unique scent. And it called to him.
She seemed lost in thought when she hung up the phone and he took advantage of the moment to stand and approach her. Her defenses were down, giving him a glimpse of the petite lady who glowed with fire and sensuality.
“It sounds like you have a lot on your plate, counselor.” He didn
’t speak until he was right behind her and she jumped, turning quickly and backing up a step or two.
“I have a job.” Her defenses were right back up, her scent fading while she worked to stuff her emotions behind her defiant expression.
“And so do I.” He wanted to get past this little upstir she had started, soothe it back into place, and focus on getting to know her better. “From now on, I will do my job and you will do yours.”
Her mouth twitched, those gold flecks dancing around her green eyes again. The amount of energy this tiny little female possessed, her drive, her refusal to submit. All of it turned him on more than he ever would have guessed. Just looking at her sent a rush through him, his cock threatening to harden if he didn’t keep it under control.
She took a deep breath, her eyes lowering, taking him in. It was a quick motion. But he saw her interest, the desire that made her cheeks flush. His heart pounded while the urge to touch her made his fingers itch.
“I came up here because my mother collapsed. When I get here I find she is living in a pack exposed to humans by its leader.” Her breath came hard and fast while she spoke, her gaze scanning his shoulders, his chest, his face. “She has to tell the humans everywhere she goes. No wonder the poor woman got sick.”
He hadn’t noticed Sandy Parks looking ill at all. “I decide how to handle my pack. You don’t make those decisions. And I don’t answer to you on how the pack is run.” He took a step toward her, her eyes continually moving over him, taking in his stance, returning to his face and then looking him over again. “But you will answer to me for your actions.”
“I don’t answer to anyone.” She didn’t back up. Her hands went to her hips and her jaw set with a determined expression.
He couldn’t keep from touching her any longer. Gripping her neck, sliding his fingers up her soft skin, the heat from her body almost scalded his senses. She looked up at him wide-eyed, not fighting him, but mentally daring him with a look he was sure had sent many werewolves running with their tails between their legs.
Full Moon Rising Page 3