by Sky Winters
“Thanks –“ Mel started to say, and then she gasped as Weston punched the man square in the face. He flew against the bar and slumped to the floor, knocked out.
“Stay away from her!” Weston roared.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Melanie cried, rushing to the man’s side. “He was just enjoying the show!”
“But he –“
“No, I can’t do this Weston. Not if you’re going to be like this. It’s not right. Get out of here, I don’t want to see you anymore.”
He looked hard at her, hoping for a glimmer of mercy, but she was completely serious. He growled loudly and left the bar. If she wanted to surround herself with dangerous creeps, who was he to stop her?
“To the manor,” he barked to his driver. They drove away from the bar without another word.
Chapter 9
“He did what?” Tanner exclaimed with a laugh. His date with Sandy had gone well and they had chosen to meet up together after the gig. Mel was angry and distraught, but mostly she was hungry. They met at a diner a few blocks from the bar and saw that Sandy was definitely right up Tanner’s alley. She was smart, conspiratorial, and gorgeous.
“I’m serious, he just knocked that guy out for no reason!”
“Actually, shifters always have a reason,” Sandy interjected. “I was with one for a few years…their senses are highly attuned to things we only find out the hard way. Maybe he was just protecting you.”
“Yeah right! He’s just so possessive.”
“Can I see what he looks like?” Sandy asked.
“Sure, I’ll pull up his profile.”
Melanie took her phone out and tried to log into her ComeShift app. She received an error message and then tried again. Finally, a screen popped up saying her account had been permanently suspended.
“Ugh! You see what I mean?! He kicked me off his stupid app. He doesn’t want me to be with anybody else. He just wants all men to stay away from me.”
“Yeah, that can be a little overbearing,” Sandy said with a short laugh. “Shifters are different than us.”
“Yeah, Sandy is an expert! We started talking when I posted on the forum about my book.”
“That’s cool,” Mel said, putting her phone away. She was still glowering though. Who did Weston think he was? Just because things didn’t work out between them didn’t mean that she should be punished so severely.
They chatted a while longer before she decided it would be bad form to intrude on their date any longer. She headed back home to her apartment and showered before climbing into bed. She could still smell Weston there, and although she was furious at him, she wished that he could have just been a little more perfect. She couldn’t help but feel a thrill when she thought about him coming in and having his way with her.
But she had to stay strong. Whether the sex was good or not, she couldn’t get involved with a man who wouldn’t let her have a life of her own. It wasn’t healthy. She would just have to find a way to move on without him.
***
Weston was furious. He had deleted her account from his app. If she didn’t want to be with him, there was no way he would allow her to meet other shifters through his own service.
She clearly didn’t trust his senses. But that was her own loss. He only wished that he could get her smell out of his house. It was making him anxious.
Weeks went by without word from her, and he found himself feeling angry with himself. It was harder than hell to behave according to human standards. He was always so full of adrenaline and attuned to others in a secret, intimate way that the shifter’s reactions had come to be taboo in their society. Nobody understood their spontaneous violence and intimidating sexual chemistry.
He had never met someone who caused him to respond in such a physical, raw way. No other women had ever invoked the wolf in him so casually, and handled it in such a sexy manner.
Maybe he could try to make it up to her somehow. He picked up his phone.
“Get me Jonas Neil,” he said to his secretary.
“Right away, sir,” she replied. Within minutes he was speaking to Jonas, one of the most successful talent agents in the music industry. He told him about Melanie and her band, and they agreed to meet that evening at her latest gig. He was still following her band’s website, and felt a small thrill at the idea of helping her with the one thing she loved to do the most.
Chapter 10
The set ended and Mel was cashing in on her free drink from the bar. Tammy and George had already left, and she was feeling a little bit lonely. Suddenly, Weston was there. And beside him was a blonde man with a bright smile. He reminded her of a car salesman.
“What do you want?” she asked Weston.
“This is Jonas Neil,” Weston said. “He can represent your band.”
“I don’t need your help!” she cried. “If I get successful, I want it to be because of my own hard work. Not as some pathetic attempt to get back on my good side.”
“Ouch,” Jonas laughed. “He didn’t tell me to like you, he just told me I should listen.”
“Whatever. Thanks anyway, Mr. Neil,” Mel said, storming out of the bar.
Weston and Jonas exchanged looks and Weston sighed.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said, walking away from Jonas. “Better luck next time.”
Jonas smiled and shrugged as Weston followed Melanie, who had disappeared out into the night.
***
“Hey pretty girl,” a gaunt, pockmarked man said, stepping in front of Melanie. She had wandered out into the alley and somehow got herself right in the middle of the raunchy crowd who had been leering at her throughout the whole gig. She pretended not to notice, but the men had been extremely creepy. One of them was the man that Weston had punched during one of her other gigs.
“Where are you heading?” another man asked, grinning cruelly at her.
“That was quite a show you put on,” a third man said as they closed in on her. “Mind giving us a private one?”
“Get away from me,” Melanie cried, turning away and trying to run. She ran right into two other men, who grabbed her by the arms.
“She’s ours now,” the man to her left sneered.
“Let go!” she cried.
Suddenly, a shriek pierced the air. But it wasn’t Melanie’s voice. It was the man who had her right arm. She was suddenly released and fell back onto the pavement as a black streak leapt past her. She squinted her eyes and gasped as she saw a giant black wolf, his fur glimmering silver in the moonlight. She recognized him immediately as Weston.
The wolf lunged at the men, knocking them off balance and tearing viciously at them. Three of the men ran away, but two thought they could outsmart him. Weston lunged at them, tearing their throats out. He stood panting over their bodies before slowly walking away. Melanie stared after him as he walked down the narrow alley, disappearing into the shadows as he began shifting back into his human form.
Suddenly, she remembered what Sandy had said. Shifters had a different way of perceiving the world. He had always been able to tell how she really felt, so maybe he could tell how others truly felt as well. Their true intentions might be more clear to him than they were to her.
She scrambled to her feet and chased after Weston.
“Weston,” she panted, finally catching up to him. He turned to her, fixing his glowing golden eyes onto hers.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
She stared at him her heart hammering in her chest. She nodded and looked him up and down. After his shapeshifting, he was completely naked, his perfect, muscular body rippling and illuminated by the soft silver moonlight.
Suddenly, the fire that he had ignited within her was kindled again, and his eyes shimmered knowingly as she looked up at him, biting her bottom lip.
“You can tell…about good people and bad ones…” she said, slowly approaching him, her heart thudding heavily in her ears. She had been so afraid she might never get a chance to s
et things right with him, and now that he was there…
“Yes,” he said. “I just want to protect you. I follow my instincts. That’s just how it is.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She expected him to answer, but instead, he leapt toward her, running his hands up and down her curves. Her body was ablaze with longing. She had somehow been able to stay away from him for this long, but now she could resist him no longer.
He slipped her panties from beneath her dress and ran his hands down her curvy body. He held her ass firmly in place and she felt his cock stiffen against her thigh. She moaned softly and felt the rush of hot fluid ready her for him to enter.
He didn’t wait. The second he smelled her ready herself for him, he lost all control and shoved himself inside of her. Melanie groaned deeply as he pushed the full length of himself inside of her, pinning her against the brick wall of the alley and taking her urgently. They had both been dreaming of another experience like this, and she closed her eyes as her body was stuffed again and again by his enormous, pulsing member. She could feel his every vein sliding against her sensitive walls and shuddered, just on the brink of climax.
“Already?” he teased with a whisper.
She grinned up at him and he shoved himself hard inside. It pushed her to the brink of her orgasm and she cried out loud, her body quaking and contracting around his swollen cock. He growled, finally letting himself shudder and spasm with a powerful orgasm. She closed her eyes as she was filled with his hot seed, and quaked around him as he pounded into her until he was completely done unleashing his load inside of her.
They panted together against the brick wall, and he took her hand, leading her down the alley and into his limousine. He ducked inside quickly before anybody saw that he was naked and he pulled her inside.
“We’re going back to the manor to try that properly now,” he whispered into her ear. She shuddered against him and leaned her head on his broad shoulder. He had proven himself, protected her, and done his best to make her life better. She couldn’t imagine her life with another man, and they rode in silence, both of them grateful that they finally had each other.
Tiger Tail
Chapter One
“I’ve got good news for you, Tabitha,” her boss said as he stepped into her office.
“I doubt it,” she said dryly.
“Now, now, put a smile on that pretty face of yours. This is just what you need. A little out of town assignment to take your mind off things,” he said.
“Out of town where?”
“India.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nope, not at all.”
“What am I supposed to be covering down there?”
“Tiger conservation and poaching issues.”
“You’re sending me to some wacked out wilderness to cover a story on tigers?”
“Precisely. You’re a journalist, aren’t you? This is what you do.”
“What do I know about wandering around looking for tiger poachers?”
“Nothing. That’s why I am sending you. I want a fresh perspective instead of the same drivel I’ve been getting on these stories from Timmons lately. I need a better journalist on this and you need a break from this city. Are you my girl or not?”
She sighed. “I’m your girl. I’ll get it done. When do I leave?”
“Tomorrow. Get yourself a flight booked into Dhaka as early as possible. I’ve already got a guide lined up for you. His name is Matt Helford and he’ll make sure you are well taken care of and safe on your journey. He’s worked with the BBC journalists in the past, so he knows the ropes.”
“Matt Helford? Doesn’t sound very Indian.”
“That’s because he isn’t. He’s former British military. You’ll be in excellent hands.”
“I hope so. I don’t relish being eaten by tigers or picked off by poachers.”
“You’ve got this. I’ve every confidence that you will do a fantastic job.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, do you mind if I take the rest of the day off. I need to figure out what to pack to go roam through the wilds of India. I’m pretty sure I may have to do some shopping. I trust I can charge that off to the magazine?”
“Opportunist! Of course you can.” He pointed his finger at her. “Just don’t get too out of hand.”
“Me? Of course not.”
“I trust you. Now go get me a great story.”
“I will.”
Though she wasn’t going to say it, she was terrified of the assignment. She had traveled all over the world covering various stories, but always in cities and towns. The most remote locations she had ever visited were state parks and river festivals. It was hardly the same as trekking through some exotic wilderness with tigers and other lethal animals. Of course, she also had to factor in that she wasn’t exactly an athlete. Though far from being what some would consider fat, she was a bit thicker than most girls and not in prime shape for a safari.
A few hours later, she stood in a local outdoors shop trying on all-weather clothing for her trip. She opted for lightweight but waterproof materials after doing a bit of study on conditions in the area. It would be hot but potentially very wet at times. Smiling into the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good in the khaki colored jacket and pants she was trying on. It was a good color against her olive skin and dark hair, bringing out the deep brown of her eyes. At least she would look the part, she thought.
Making her way back across town, she started to feel excited about the trip. It would do her some good to get out of her own head and focus on her work. Where better to do that than an exotic location she had never been to? Though she knew the subject of poaching could be dangerous, Sam had said he’d lined up a guide. Someone familiar with the area should be able to give her all the information she needed without her having to risk anything to gain it on her own.
“Oh shit,” she said as she stepped into her apartment with the bags containing clothes, boots and other amenities the sales person had recommended when she had told him where she was going.
Bending down, she picked up the large Russian Blue curling itself back and forth through her legs. Who was she going to get to babysit her cat? Usually, her fiancé took care of her while she was away. The thought of him interrupted the temporary peace she had found in considering her trip to India. She had spent the past week trying to think of anyone but him and it was impossible. Everywhere she turned there were signs of him.
She was absorbed again in thoughts of how things had fallen apart so suddenly. Nothing had warned her that something was wrong. How could she have been so blind to it? She was jarred back into reality by the sound of the doorbell.
She opened the door to find an older couple and a teenage girl standing there to look at her. “Yes?”
“Hi. We’re Hannah and Saul Miller. This is our daughter, Janet. We just moved into the apartment next door and wanted to introduce ourselves.”
For a moment, Tabitha looked at them blankly. Who in New York City bothered to introduce themselves to a neighbor? Then the accent sank in. They were from the south and she supposed that was something they were used to doing. She smiled at them and invited them in for a moment.
“Oh, no. We didn’t want to intrude. We just thought it might be nice to know a few of the people around us. I just accepted a position as a science teacher at Xavier. My wife will be teaching there, as well, and Janet will be a freshman there.”
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you,” she replied.
“You have a cat!” Janet squealed, suddenly leaning down to pet Siniy.
“You like cats, I take it?” Tabitha said.
“I love them. We can’t have one because Mom is allergic. No pets at all. It sucks.”
“That is unfortunate, but I’m sure your mother’s health is more important,” Tabitha replied.
“Yeah,” Janet replied glumly as Siniy decided she was sleepy and
wandered away from the girl to go lie in the window sill, stretching out in the sunlight.
“We’ll let you get back to what you were doing. I hope we will see each other again soon,” Hannah told her, nudging the other two back toward their apartment.
“Sure. Nice to meet you,” Janet said as she closed the door and began unpacking the items from her bags so she could wash them before packing them up. The last thing she needed was some sort of odd chemical rash from wearing them straight off the hangers.
“Okay, let’s find someone to take care of you,” she told Siniy as she scanned her speed dial. She tried Carla first, since she had been slated to take care of Siniy during the honeymoon that Tabitha should have been on until today. Unfortunately, Carla’s mother had fallen ill and she’d gone to stay with her for a while, so no luck there. A dozen calls later, she still couldn’t find anyone that could take her on such short notice. She scanned the internet for kennels, but wasn’t really thrilled with that idea. Finally, she went to some of the pet sitter sites but no one was available so quickly.
Then Janet’s face came to mind; how happy she had looked to be around her. She wasn’t thrilled with leaving her in the hands of someone she didn’t know, but she was desperate. Walking out of her apartment, she knocked on her neighbor’s door, looking a little embarrassed.
“Hi, I know you just met me, but I’m in a bit of a pickle and could use some help. I’m a journalist and I leave tomorrow for an assignment in India. It was very last minute and I can’t find anyone to care for my cat,” she began.
“Well, of course that’s a problem, but my allergies. No way could I help you out,” Hannah told her.
“Yes. Yes. I know, but she’s pretty self-sufficient. All I really need is for someone to feed her, change her litter and make sure she is okay. I thought that since Janet was so taken with her, perhaps she might be willing to just check on her before and after school? I’ll pay her for it and the cat would stay in my own apartment, so it wouldn’t affect your allergies.”
“I don’t know…” Hannah began, but she was quickly cut off.
“Yes!” Janet exclaimed, pushed between her mother and the door. “I’d love to take care of her.”