Furbidden Mate

by Jessica Snow

  “No names,” he had insisted, making him seem all that more mysteriously sexy. They danced and flirted through five songs, and she just got more intrigued the more that she looked into those feral eyes. Even the pressing heat of the dance floor couldn’t bother her anymore.

  He leaned forward as the fifth song ended and murmured in her ear, “Would you like to get out of here?”

  She looked up at him, blinking slowly as the smile widened on his face. He took her hand and started leading her out, and she trailed after him willingly.

  She expected him to take her into the parking lot, but instead, he turned a corner and led her down a blind alley beside the club. It was much cooler outside, and she suddenly found herself shivering. Walking close to him didn’t help for some reason. Even the touch of his hand had gone from soothingly cool in the roasting heat of the dance floor...to completely cold.

  “Where are you taking me?” she managed, the shock of the chill wearing away at her dizzy, almost drugged fascination with the man beside her. “You don’t want to do it by the dumpsters, do you?”

  “Of course. It makes it so easy to...dispose of things afterward.” He chuckled, but if he had made a joke it was too obscure for her to get. She followed him into the shadowed end of the alley, and for the first time since they had started dancing, she lost sight of his eyes.

  Wait, she thought as a fog seemed to lift from her thoughts. What the hell am I doing out here? She pulled away from him suddenly...and the chill started to ebb away, making her shivering stop. Almost as if he was the one who was radiating cold.

  “I’m not really into rotting garbage and rats, sorry.” She backed off, feeling a thread of anger in her sudden fear. What was she doing out here? Forget that—what was he doing, trying to lead her back into a place like this?”

  “I can make you forget them,” he promised in that soothing voice. But it had lost a lot of its appeal suddenly.

  “Sorry, man, but I think your kink is not mine,” Kat said quickly, but firmly. “It was nice meeting you and all, but I’m heading back inside.”

  She turned to make her way back into the club but gasped when she felt a strong hand grab her arm. Kat was not sure what happened next, but she was suddenly pressed up against the filthy wall, the man’s breath blowing shockingly cold on her neck as he bent over it. It almost sounded like he was sniffing her. How can anything alive be so cold? She thought, head spinning with shock.

  “You are a big woman,” he breathed, looking down at her neck and cleavage like her flesh was grilled steak. “So much blood must run through your veins.”

  Okay, this guy is definitely a freak, she thought with panic. But the fear only seemed to feed that thread of anger, which strengthened inside of her as the adrenaline hit. “Hey dude,” Kat growled into his face, “I’m not into that sick Goth shit. And you would not like how I get when I’m angry. So just let me go and I’ll be on my merry way without kicking your ass up between your teeth.”

  The man laughed in her face, his grip on her tightening a touch. “Oh, I’ll let you go alright.”

  She nodded. “Great—”

  His next words froze her blood. “When I’m finished with you.”

  Using the full weight of her body, Kat tried to jerk away from his grasp but found his grip incredibly strong. She could not budge one inch. What the hell? I must have twenty pounds in muscle on this guy, not to mention the rest! “Let go of me, you crazy bastard!” Kat hissed as she struggled to move.

  The man chuckled with amusement at her efforts, filling her with panic. He drew close enough that she could see his eyes again even in the darkness. “You cannot escape me.” He smiled at her, staring her straight in the eye. Kat caught her breath. His eyes were like deep pools of pale blue, drawing her in even as they chilled her as much as his touch.

  He moved in closer, his blue eyes going dark, turning an almost amber color. Kat struggled to move against his powerful grasp, her heart pounding in her chest. She lifted her hips and kicked out at him, but she still couldn’t break his grip. Her anger wilted back again, leaving her feeling weak and helpless.

  “Help,” she gasped to no one in particular. She tried to scream, but no words came out. Her vocal chords felt frozen.

  A hiss escaped the man’s lips as he leaned in. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for she didn’t know what. Icy breath against her pulse point, sending a fresh shiver through her. His mouth had almost closed in on her neck when a deep voice growled, “Let her go. Now.”

  The man’s head snapped up so fast, Kat thought he must have given himself whiplash.

  The sexy hunk that Kat had come close to a bitch-fit over minutes earlier was standing several feet away, glaring at her assailant. His head was lowered, his shoulders hunched, and his eyes almost glowed as they stared unblinkingly at the man pinning her to the wall.

  “You have no right to interfere in my affairs, wolf,” the man said coldly. “Go back inside and I’ll forget about your insult.”

  The golden-haired hunk stepped forward menacingly. “I have every right when the one you harass is my property. It violates our treaty.”

  His property? thought Kat with confusion. Treaty? What the hell is going on here?

  The dark-haired man glanced uncertainly at Kat, his grip loosening slightly. His unflappable confidence was suddenly wavering. “This one is yours?”

  Her savior nodded. “I’d suggest you leave now.”

  Kat’s captor looked back at her, his eyes filled with indecision. “All right,” he replied finally...and then scowled, his voice going bitter. “But next time, keep a better leash on your pet.” With that said, he spun around and quickly faded off into the night.

  “What the hell was that about?” gasped Kat, her body shivering. Her arm felt as cold as death where the man had gripped her, and another icy spot lingered on the side of her neck.

  “Just a sick individual looking for kicks,” the man replied, coming up beside her.

  She blinked up at him. “Why the hell did he call you a wolf?”

  His pale, shining eyes avoided hers suddenly. “It’s his nickname for me.”

  “You know that freak?” Kat asked with surprise as she rubbed her arm, trying to get the warmth to return to it. It was slowly working—too slowly.

  “I know of him.” He looked back at her hesitantly. “I have had dealings with his...family.”

  Trying to get straight answers out of the man was like pulling teeth. Her eyes narrowed. “And what was all this about me being your property, and some treaty?”

  “We have an agreement of sorts involving...certain people. Telling him you were my property was the only way to get him to leave you alone.” He didn’t sound apologetic.

  Kat shook her head. This all made no sense. Maybe the hunk was just as Looney Tunes as the Goth dude. “Well, whatever. I’m glad you came along when you did. There was no telling what that sick freak was about to do to me.”

  Stepping closer, he gave her a look at concern as he watched her rub at her arm. “Are you all right?”

  Kat snorted. “Besides getting pressed against a nasty wall in my good dress, and having my arm turned into a popsicle, I’m okay.” She didn’t want to admit to this stranger just how scared she had been.

  The golden-haired guy threw back his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “You have spunk. I like that.” His smile felt like it could warm her back up all by itself.

  She stared back at him mutely. And I like how sexy you are. Standing so close to him turned on Kat’s internal heating system as the fear ebbed away, and her skin finally warmed back up. “Do you get that all the time?” she asked.

  Confusion spread across his chiseled face. “Pardon?”

  Kat fought down the jealousy that surged through her at the memory. “Girls grabbing your junk as soon as you walk into a club.”

  “Oh, ha-ha, that?” the man chuckled, nervously scratching at his hair. “Nah, not really. I don’t go to clubs very of
ten. I was just curious.”

  Yeah right.

  He probably had ten girls inside already lined up waiting to be screwed later. As badly as Kat wanted to get to know the guy, she did not believe in being a side bitch. Maybe I should just cut this off right here. Except...he did just probably save my life from that icy-handed psycho.

  But the principle held, no matter how much she liked or owed the guy. After Kevin using her, she would take no less than being number one in any man’s life. But she was getting too far ahead of herself. There was no romance in her future with this beefy player dude. Though just looking at him made her start to rethink her policy on casual sex.

  “Well thanks for showing up and scaring that weirdo off,” said Kat. “I’m going inside to tell my friend Liz what happened so maybe she’ll stop grinding her ass off and take me home.”

  Before she could take a step, Mr. Handsome stepped directly in front of her, blocking her path. She stopped dead, tensing slightly. Oh crap, not another potentially dangerous weirdo. Are all the hot guys in this town crazy?

  He tilted his head, then slowly smiled her in a knowing fashion. “You are jealous of those other girls.” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement of fact.

  “Why the hell would I be jealous, when I don’t even know you?” Kat scoffed.

  The man smiled with amusement, unfazed by her denial. “I saw you looking at me, remember? Our eyes met. I looked back over your way after that...distraction and saw your face. And then I saw you grab the first interested male you could find to get back at me for letting myself get...intercepted by those girls.”

  At a loss for words, Kat looked down face going red with embarrassment.

  He chuckled. “Those party girls come a dime a dozen and mean absolutely nothing to me. I was simply being polite.”

  Sure buddy, thought Kat sarcastically, but I bet they meant something to your dick.

  “Look pal,” Kat began, “I don’t know why you think I would be jealous over you. You’re cute and all, but I don’t even know you, so if you think—”

  “I’ve been looking for a girl like you.” He was staring at her, his tone strangely sincere.

  Kat paused, bewildered. “A girl like me?”

  He nodded, his eyes roving over the curves of his body. “Someone with some meat on her bones and fire in her blood. Some spunk.”

  She did not know whether to believe if she had fallen on dumb luck or if the sexy devil was just pulling her leg.

  He extended his arm, nodding towards the club entrance, where trance music and a tangle of grooving bodies awaited. “Allow me to take you inside for a dance?”

  Suddenly nervous, Kat licked her lips. “Can at least know your name?”

  He smiled, and for the first time that night, Kat noticed what was so captivating about his eyes.

  They had gold specks flickering inside of them.

  “My name is Liam.”

  Chapter 3

  “What the hell are we doing?” McKenzie asked her friend Annabelle with annoyance as they sat in her black Audi. In a neighborhood filled with rich homes, they were parked on the curb just outside a large house that might as well have been called a mansion with its neatly groomed lawn and marble statues.

  “Picking up Erick and Josh,” her friend replied unconcernedly as she studied her dark eye shadow in the mirror on her visor. Annabelle was dressed in a red club dress that clung to her body and showed off her legs. McKenzie would almost say their outfits were the exact same if not for the color and the fact that Annabelle’s tits were three times the size of hers.

  Leaning forward in her seat, McKenzie looked over at her best friend and scowled. “Seriously Anna? This was supposed to be a girl’s night out!”

  “Well, I’m sorry if I felt bad about leaving my boyfriend out of the festivities.”

  “And I’m sorry I ever called you if this was going to be the case.”

  Satisfied with her smoky eyeshadow, Annabelle flipped the visor closed and turned to regard her friend, her glossy black hair reflecting the car ceiling light. “Can you drop the bitchy act, please? I don’t see how Erick coming along will affect you one bit.”

  “Are you kidding? You’re going to be a total downer with him around. Not to mention, both he and Josh are fucking morons!”

  “Hey!” Annabelle protested. “That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about.”

  McKenzie sat back in her seat and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “What the hell ever. Can you at least tell them to hurry up?”

  “You need to relax chica. I just texted him not even five minutes—look there they are right now.”

  McKenzie turned her head and caught sight of the two high school athletes perched at the large backyard fence. They both appeared to be talking animatedly to each other, their hands waving back and forth in each other’s faces.

  A second later Erick stood up and balanced himself on the fence. Then he somersaulted into the air and landed on his feet with ease.

  McKenzie whistled in awe. Erick had made the maneuver seem so effortless.

  Anna giggled at McKenzie’s expression. “That’s my baby—the best rugby player in the entire school. In fact, he’s the best athlete!”

  McKenzie did not know about all that, as there were several other popular guys at school that she could think of that could give Erick a run for his money, but she had to admit he was great with his body.

  Josh followed Erick’s move a second later, but he tripped and tumbled when he landed. Erick immediately began pointing and laughing. Josh responded by jumping to his feet and swinging at him. Still laughing, Erick easily dodged him.

  McKenzie groaned as the two got into a faux boxing match before finally giving up a minute later.

  “Hey babe,” Erick greeted with a wide grin as he walked up to the passenger side and bent over, peering past McKenzie to leer at his girlfriend. The seventeen-year-old jock was dressed in polo shorts and a white shirt, his dirty-blond hair gelled up in spikes. “Did you see my double flip?”

  This close, McKenzie could smell Erick’s breath. He had already had a few beers.

  Annabelle lit up with a bright smile. “Of course! It was totally awesome.”

  Tossing a smug smirk over his shoulder, Erick quipped, “Too bad Josh was an utter fail.”

  “Fuck you,” Josh snapped. Erick’s best friend was dressed almost identically to his buddy, his dark hair slicked to the side. “I was fucking distracted.”

  “Yeah, sure you were.” Erick stood up and rapped on the hood. “Josh, you drive.”

  Josh started to protest, then shrugged and slipped into the driver’s seat as Annabelle slipped into the back seat with Erick. The two immediately started making out. Josh glanced back at them, shrugged and slammed his door before turning the key. The engine roared to life.

  “Go to The Den,” McKenzie ordered Josh as he pulled away from the curb.

  “Wait,” Erick said suddenly, causing Josh to stop abruptly in the middle of the street. “We can’t go to The Den.”

  “Why not?” both McKenzie and Annabelle asked at once.

  “I got busted for using a fake I.D. at one of those clubs last week. I can’t be seen at one of those places again or I’ll get in serious trouble and my dad will fucking split me in half with his bare hands.” He said it matter-of-factly, but McKenzie caught the look on Annabelle’s face and realized that she had had no idea that he had been out clubbing last week.

  This situation just keeps getting crappier. “Wow, so I can’t go to The Den?” McKenzie asked. “Just take me home then.”

  Josh glanced back at his buddy.

  “Don’t take anybody home,” ordered Erick. “Just take us over to Daisy’s. She’s throwing a huge party.”

  “Daisy Baker is throwing a party?” asked Annabelle. “I’m friends with Daisy. How come I’m just now hearing about this?”

  Erick shrugged. “Beats me.”

  “Hold up,” McKenzie objected.
“I hate Daisy. Please just take me home.”

  “Oh, come on Kenzie,” Erick complained. “Don’t be such a party killer. All our friends from school are going to be there. It’s going to be fun.”

  McKenzie hesitated. She really had wanted to party tonight. Daisy was very popular; the crowd would be huge. Maybe she could lose herself in it and never run into Daisy at all. “I’m not sure....”

  “Oh, come on, please?” Annabelle pouted at her. “It sounds like it’ll be so much fun!”

  McKenzie blinked at her best friend and then sighed. Maybe she could help make sure that Annabelle stayed out of trouble. “Okay. Fine.”

  “Good call Kenzie,” said Erick as he pulled Annabelle back into his arms. “You’re going to have so much fun.”

  Crossing her arms and sitting back into her seat, McKenzie resigned herself to a night of watching her drink and dodging her hostess.

  Chapter 4

  The measured bump of the heavy bass music thrummed against Kat’s body as she grooved along, her breasts pressing up against Liam’s firm chest as he gyrated against her hips. Now, this was dancing!

  Undulating bodies swirled past the couple, moving all around them in a sea of sweaty flesh as the colorful lights placed around the club pulsated to the beat, saturating the room with red, blue and then green and then back to red again.

  It had come as no surprise to Kat that Liam was not only sexy as all hell, he was also a great dancer. If Kat hadn’t known any better, she would have sworn that he was some sort of exotic stripper. He moved his masculine body with a sensuality that made her want to blush.

  “You are a good dancer,” he yelled to her as his eyes drifted down to her cleavage, which acted as if it wanted to pop out of the front of her dress. She was breathing hard, a sheen of sweat on her from their efforts and the heat of the crowd around them. She saw the gleam in his eyes intensify as he stared at her.