by KD Jones
“You will. I’m home now and I don’t plan on going anywhere. The club is about to open so I’ll only be able to get a few hours of work done anyway.”
“Will you be home for dinner, then? I can cook your favorite meal and keep it warm.”
Oh no, not her mother’s cooking. “That’s okay. I’ll order something from the bar menu. Connor and his mate are coming by to celebrate with me later so don’t wait up.”
“I’m glad you’re spending time with friends but I’ll still save some food for you.” Jackie gave her a hug and turned to leave.
Sam turned to face her stepfather, who said, “You know we won’t rest well until you are back home in your own bed.”
“I’ll be home at a decent hour, I promise.” She gave him a hug before he followed her mother out.
She closed the door and sat back down at the desk in relief. She loved her parents but she had been home not even two full days and they were coddling her. She still hadn’t mentioned to them about finding her own place, which she would need if she hoped to have any kind of social or romantic life.
Sam was grateful to have a job she could put all her energies into to distract her from her lack of romance. Oh, she had dated over the years. She’d dated, kissed, and even gotten to second base with a few guys. The problem was she always compared the men she dated with Brock.
It also didn’t help any that her inner wolf refused to respond to any man but Brock. She tolerated Ben, which made her feel like he might actually work as a mate. Unfortunately, Ben was human and unless she planned to change him to a werewolf, there would always be an imbalance in their relationship.
Ben was the sweetest guy she had ever met. She had been studying at the campus library about a year ago and looked up into the prettiest blue eyes she had ever seen. He had been watching her for a while before he got up the nerve to move closer. He blushed when she caught him staring at her.
“What are you looking at?” she’d asked, feeling a little self-conscious. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she had her old sweatshirt on.
He’d smiled shyly at her and whispered, “I’m sorry for staring but I couldn’t believe that an angel was here on campus until I saw you.”
As pickup lines go, it wasn’t the best. Ben wasn’t a suave and debonair kind of guy. He was dependable, trustworthy, and solid. She could count on him for anything. All her college friends swore that they were the perfect couple. So why did it feel like something was missing?
When she told Ben not to come with her right away when she returned home, it wasn’t only so that she could spend quality time with her family. It was because she needed space from him to think about their relationship and where it was headed.
Ben would have them married and in a two-story house with kids and a white picket fence. She used to dream of that when she was younger. Now her future home would have to have access to woods where she could let her wolf run free from time to time.
It was still so strange to have an inner beast. She wasn’t a born werewolf so it took a lot of getting used to. She loved her wolf now, though while at college she hadn’t been able to let her run free.
Her wolf itched for freedom, the grass beneath her paws, the way everything smelled so much better, and the wind rushing through her fur when she ran full speed. Her favorite thing in the world was to jump over logs. She would get a running start and leap using her back legs to push her forward. It was as close to flying as she could get without being on a plane. It was wonderful. Alpha Ric and Mary were planning a pack run soon to welcome her back and she couldn’t wait.
Sam had no idea how Ben would handle finding out about her furry side. Would he be able to handle it? Or would he call her crazy and jump on the next flight out? One thing was clear to her: she would not tell him the truth about her until she figured out her feelings for him. No need to drag him unnecessarily into a world he might not ever accept.
Sam was determined to put it off for as long as possible. She picked up the ledger that Adrian wrote in and concentrated on entering the data on the computer. Adrian was brilliant and wealthy but he was seriously outdated in how he recording his business finances. Her first job was to convert all his paper ledgers to the computer software, bring it to modern times. That should keep her plenty busy for a while.
Chapter 7
Later that evening
Sam smiled at her friend Connor who was slow dancing with his mate, Roxanne. The two of them were perfection with her blond hair and pale skin moving against Connor’s dark hair and tanned complexion. Not that she was watching them in a weird way.
She grew up with Connor and always thought of him as a big brother. She was thoroughly happy that he’d found his true mate. He deserved it after all that had happened to him.
“Why aren’t you dancing?” Rod asked as he sat next to her at the bar.
“I haven’t been asked yet.”
“We’ll have to do something about that, won’t we, brother?” said Rod’s brother, Jay, coming up on her other side.
Rod smiled and winked at her. “Yes, we will. Come on, little wolf. Time for us to party.”
Both brothers took her hands and led her out to the dance floor. Women were looking at her in envy and men were looking at her with desire in their eyes. Heat flushed her cheeks and she attempted to pull away from them but they wouldn’t let her.
“Oh, no you don’t. You’ve been gone way too long. All that studying and no partying can make a girl feel down.”
“I could dance with one of you at a time,” she told them.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Rod asked as he pulled her up against his body and began to undulate in a rhythm that matched the music playing. Jay pressed his front against her back and swayed against her in a similar rhythm.
“Relax, babe. We won’t let you down. This is supposed to be fun.”
Right—fun. Okay, she could do this. She was with her friends, and it was safe. They were just having a good time. She closed her eyes, laid her head back against Jay’s chest, and followed them dancing to the music.
It felt good to let loose and simply enjoy the moment. One brother had his hands on her waist and the other put his hands on her hips. If some of her girlfriends could see her being the meat in the middle of a hot werewolf sandwich, they would freak out.
Another song started and the guys moved closer to her. One leaned his head on her right shoulder while the other leaned on the left shoulder, and they both rubbed their noses against her neck. They were scenting her. When they pressed closer she could feel they both had hard-ons.
“Um…I think I should sit this one out.”
“We could go up to Lila’s old apartment. It’s empty,” Rod suggested, rubbing his hands up and down her hips and getting a little too close to her ass.
Uh-oh. Wait… “Why is Lila’s apartment empty?”
“She and her mate are moving into a little farmhouse closer to the pack house. Want to go get naked with us?” Jay’s hands were moving higher.
Sam was going to have to do something before this got out of hand. When she pushed Rod from her, another voice broke their cozy little dance fest.
“Get your furry paws off her.”
Sam knew that voice. She watched as Rod turned and she saw more clearly the male looming angrily at them. “Brock.”
“Samantha. I believe the next dance is mine.”
Oh, that sounded really old-fashioned. How long ago was he turned? “I didn’t promise you a dance—” She was pulled away from Rod and Jay. “Brock, what the hell are you doing?”
“Keeping those males breathing. If I had to watch them touching you any longer I would have ripped their arms out of their sockets.”
The visual of that had her shivering. “Don’t hurt them, Brock.”
“Then don’t ever let them put their hands on you like that.” He growled as he pulled her against his body.
He was warmer than she would have expected for a vampire. “Did you jus
t feed?”
Sometimes her mother or Adrian would feel really hot to the touch when they’d taken in a supply of blood. Adrian got the blood from one of the blood banks he owned. Other vampires preferred feeding from a live source directly. She had never been brave enough to ask Brock what he preferred. The image of him feeding from a woman then having sex with her or doing it at the same time made her suddenly very angry.
“Did you ask me if I was hungry?” His voice rumbled deeply as he nuzzled her ear.
His teeth scraped the skin under her ear without breaking the flesh. She felt it right down to her toes.
“Brock.” She wrapped her arms around his neck to get closer to him. All words left her. His hands cupped her ass and pulled her against him.
“I need to rub myself all over you. I can still smell them.”
Was that it, then? He couldn’t stand to see her with anyone else? She pushed against his chest so that she could get some space. “I need to go.” She turned to leave, waving at Connor and Roxanne on her way out.
Chapter 8
It took all his willpower to not tear the two male werewolves apart for daring to touch Samantha. She was his! The problem was she didn’t know that she was his. Not yet, but she would find that out shortly.
Holding her close had been both torture and heaven. Brock couldn’t take her to the floor and rip her clothes off like he wanted to. Her scent was delicious and made him hungry to taste every inch of her.
He wasn’t sure exactly what he had said that made her angry and push away from him. Brock wasn’t going to be easily dismissed. There were things that had been left open between them that needed to be resolved.
Brock let her walk out of the club and made his way to the door. He could feel eyes on him and knew that Sam’s friend Connor was watching him. Connor didn’t like him very much, especially after he and Sam had made love in the woods.
In fact, he had gotten a visit from Connor McGregor, newly made panther shifter, and as soon as he opened the door the other male had starting beating the shit out of him. Of course, he defended himself and the two were pretty evenly matched.
“Stay away from Sam!” Connor had demanded, half shifting his hands into claws.
“What happens between me and Sam is none of your business.”
Connor had left, but not without warning that he would kill Brock if he ever hurt Sam again. Walking away from Sam had been a big mistake but the worst he ever made was agreeing to a mating between him and Regina. Regina had systematically ruined every good thing in his life and he didn’t want that to happen to Sam.
As he came out of the club, he glanced around the parking lot. This was where Sam had been attacked and changed into a werewolf years earlier. The rogue wolf that attacked her still had not been found and brought to justice. One day that male would pay with his life for what he had done and Brock would be there to ensure that happened.
He watched as Sam drove away in her little Volkswagen Beetle. He cringed when the thing backfired on her. Damn it! He’d told Adrian she needed a new car.
If she would let him, Brock would shower her with gifts. Being a vampire and living hundreds of years came with certain benefits. The first one hundred years of being newly turned he was basically emotionally enslaved by Regina. Everything he had or earned he gave to her.
When he finally broke free of her, Adrian had helped Brock by giving him a job. Brock was grateful for that and learned how to make his own investments and did quite well. Not as well financially as Adrian, but he could live several lifetimes without working again. Brock chose to work for Adrian, moving place to place, maintaining security. He’d stayed the last few years in Strange Lake Falls for Samantha. He knew she would return home and he wanted to be there when she did.
Brock rolled his shoulders and prepared to run. He never used a car if he could help it, and as long as he moved quickly enough, humans only saw him as a blur. He ran at full speed down the roads. Animals sensed him but couldn’t see him either. He loved this—running. It was something that he and Samantha had in common.
When he was her official bodyguard, he would follow her to the woods and run alongside her wolf. He smiled thinking about her beautiful wolf with red and brown streaks. Her wolf loved him—she rubbed against his legs often and he never saw her wolf do that with anyone else. At least her wolf would aid him in convincing her to mate him. Brock wasn’t above using any means necessary to make Samantha his. His heart beat faster at catching sight of his prey.
*****
Sam knew Brock was following her. Why did her wolf want to slow down so that he could catch them? It was like the two sides of her were always fighting. She liked Ben and knew he would make an excellent husband, but her wolf was in lust or something with Brock. It was one of the main reasons she hadn’t slept with anyone since her first time with Brock. Her wolf refused and threatened to kill the male. Her wolf didn’t mind Ben, though, which had given her hope.
A crunch of leaves let her know that Brock was closing in on her. She pushed harder trying to get farther away but felt herself being tackled with strong arms. She shifted as they rolled onto the ground and stopped with Brock lying on top of her. He had taken most of the impact but it still left her breathless.
“What the hell?”
“You weren’t looking where you were going. You would have hit that tree head on. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking only of getting away from you! Let me up.”
He looked down at her naked flesh. “I don’t think so.”
Sam felt heat rise to her cheeks. She should be used to it by now, to changing back and forth between forms and being naked. She usually carried in her mouth a small bag with a string that contained a change of clothes but she’d ruined her work outfit by shifting trying to get away from Brock.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want—everything.” He leaned down and kissed her, keeping away any protests that she might have.
Her nipples hardened immediately and her body felt like it was on fire for his touch. She raised her hands and instead of pushing him away, she caressed slowly up his hard, muscled chest until she could wrap her arms around his neck. Her wolf was feeding her images of what she would like them to do to him, making her even hotter.
It was like fighting a losing battle. There was no way to win when all she wanted to do was give in. So she did the only thing she could do. She kissed him back with everything inside her. It was probably a mistake, but she would deal with the consequences later.
Chapter 9
Sam tore his shirt down the middle and shoved the material off his shoulders. As soon as her fingers touched his bare skin, her wolf growled in pleasure. Yes, touch…mate, taste…mate! What the hell was her wolf talking about? But she couldn’t stop from obeying the commands. She nibbled his chin and licked his neck. He tasted so good.
“You feel so good,” Brock’s voice rumbled as he lifted her ass higher and rubbed himself against her.
“I can’t stop myself.” She felt helpless against the desire coursing through her veins. As a werewolf everything was amplified. Hearing, taste, sight…but that wasn’t all. She was twice as sensitive to touch and her pure, raw desire was intensified.
Their bodies seemed to mold together like they were made for each other. We were made for each other, her wolf whispered in her mind. No one made her feel this way—so out of control. Not even Ben.
Oh God. The thought of her boyfriend was like a cold slap of water in her face. “Stop, we have to stop.”
He shook his head and lifted her hands over her head. “If I let you up, you’ll want to run away from me, and I can’t let you go. Not again.”
Sam felt sucker punched. How many times had she dreamed of him showing up at her dorm room and saying something just like that? “You’re not being fair, Brock. You turned away from me and I had no choice but to move on. Now, when I have a life and boyfriend of my own, you want to come barreling through
to ruin it all!”
“Answer me this: Does he make you respond like I do? Like this?”
He leaned down and kissed her again, and she couldn’t contain her reaction. She kissed him back and moaned with need. She would have kept kissing him but he suddenly pulled away and looked into the woods.
“We need to stop.”
She looked up at him in frustration. He was confusing her with his mood swings.
*****
Brock had to fight his instincts to take Samantha and finally claim her as his true mate. There were two reasons he didn’t do that. One, he had promised Adrian that he wouldn’t until Adrian was able to sever his ties to Regina. The second reason, and the most prevalent, was that he sensed danger. He didn’t have senses like shifters but he was a tracker before he was made a vampire and he had to rely on his hunter senses. He had pretty good radar for danger and right at that moment his radar was going off the charts.
He moved to a standing position and offered a hand to help Samantha stand up. “Run home and don’t turn back.”
“Why?”
“There’s someone here watching us.”
“I don’t scent anyone.”
He leaned close to whisper so no one else would hear. “Trust me, there’s someone here but they’re masking their scent.”
“I can help you search for them.”
Brock took his eyes off the wooded area to look at her beautiful face. He cupped her cheek. He loved her; it was stronger than anything he had ever felt before, which also made him fear that something might happen to her. “I need you to be somewhere safe.”
He could tell she had conflicting feelings. Samantha was so expressive with her face. Finally, she nodded.
He released her and stepped back. “Shift, honey, and run. Don’t turn back. Tell Adrian I will let him know if I find anything.”
Sam shifted smoothly into her wolf form. Her wolf was gorgeous with reddish-brown hair. She moved to rub against his hip and he patted her lovingly. “Go now, beautiful.” Her wolf took off running through the woods.