Hunter's Desire

by Meg Ripley

  At that moment, no one was dancing. Instead, those in attendance were a glitter and organza flock around several long tables laden with books. As soon as she saw them, Ariel's heart fluttered a little. Just seeing the books made her think of Max and remember that he was there, likely in the room although she couldn't see him. Daniel led her over to the books and she examined them carefully, trying to decide which to buy. She already owned nearly every title available and those she didn't have were by authors whose names she didn't recognize.

  Ariel reached forward and picked up a copy of her favorite of Max's series.

  "I thought you already had that one," Daniel said, poking at the books with one finger to sift through them in hopes of finding something that interested him.

  "I do. I already have everything that he has written. This one, however, will be special. He's going to sign it."

  Daniel finally picked up a book, skimmed over the cover copy, and gave a little sound like he was surprised he had found something appealing. When he looked up at her Ariel saw his eyes land on the book she held to her chest.

  "Oh, lord. You're going to sleep with that thing under your pillow, aren't you?"

  "Absolutely. If I can't have him in my bed, at least I can have his name there."

  Daniel put his hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh and Ariel turned around. She hadn't been paying attention as she talked to Daniel and didn't realize that the crowd of people who were around the table choosing books were then walking directly from that table to the row of smaller, individual tables where the authors sat to sign the copies. Now she was standing at the first table, staring down at Max Grimsley.

  He looked at her with the same focused intensity that he had at the keynote speech. She stumbled over her words, unable to come up with anything that could possibly make up for what he had just heard her say. Daniel gave her a gentle shove from behind, jolting her out of her humiliated trance. She handed the book to Max in a jerky movement and he took it from her slowly, letting the tips of his fingers graze hers as he pulled it from her hand.

  "What's your name?" he asked softly, his voice as luscious as the caramel of his eyes, but low as though he only wanted her to hear him speak.

  "Ariel," she managed to force out through the tightness of her throat.

  "Ariel," he repeated, tasting the name on his tongue as he wrote in the front of the book, then closed it and held it out to her again, "It's very nice to meet you, Ariel."

  "You, too," she nearly whispered back, taking the book from his hand.

  She continued to stare at him, their eyes fused to each other as if they couldn't bear to look anywhere else. Finally, she felt Daniel's hand touch her lower back and gently push her away from the edge of the table so that the woman behind her could step up into place in front of Max.

  "Oh my god, what just happened?" she asked when she got past all of the author tables and was standing in line to pay for her book.

  She felt like she had stepped out of Max's orbit and could suddenly think straight again. Her face burned as she went over the interaction again, starting with him hearing her say that she wanted him in her bed. She covered her face with the book and let out a long, shuddering sigh.

  "That's it, Daniel. I'm done. I'm going to die right here. Just roll me into one of the room service carts and let them recycle me."

  Daniel took the book from her, paid for it, and handed it back to her, again guiding her away from the table and out onto the dancefloor.

  "What would they make you into? A purse? A notebook? A tin can?"

  The music swelled around them and Daniel's face lit up, he pulled her into his arms to dance.

  "No, let's go back to the room," she said.

  Daniel's hands dropped to his sides and he gaped at her in exasperation.

  "Are you serious? That's it? We have gala-ed?"

  Ariel stepped up close to him.

  "Max Grimsley just heard me tell you that I am going to sleep with the signed copy of his book under my pillow because I don't have him in my bed. Then I just stared at him. I am not even entirely positive I spoke to him. I think that’s enough for one gala."

  Daniel nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They walked out of the room together, but when Ariel turned back, she saw Max staring at her from his table, the look in his eyes intense and thrilling in a way that she couldn't explain.

  ****

  "I still can't believe that I just stood there. I've been thinking about that moment for months and I just --- and you're asleep."

  Ariel stopped rubbing her wet hair with the towel and stared at Daniel, who was sprawled across one of the beds still in his suit, snoring. She sighed and yanked his shoes off, tossing them into the closet so he didn't trip on them in the middle of the night when he inevitably woke up and shuffled off to the bathroom.

  She glanced at the clock and realized it was only eleven o'clock. Daniel’s finals might have sucked the life out of him, but Ariel wasn't ready to go to bed yet. She saw the book on the nightstand and picked it up, flipping it open for the first time to see the inscription Max had written.

  You are beautiful. Max Grimsley.

  Ariel's breath caught in her throat. Even more restless now, she dressed as quickly as she could, put on more makeup despite having just washed it all off in the shower, and headed down to the hotel lounge. She had only taken a few steps in when she saw Max sitting at the bar, staring down at his drink contemplatively.

  She drew in a deep breath, taking a moment just to appreciate the curve of his body beneath his dark clothing. This was her chance to fix the awkwardness of their first encounter, even though she dreaded even getting near him for fear of how she would react. Today had not been a stellar day for her self-control.

  Ariel took an arced path to approach him so that she came up behind him rather to his side. This gave her a few more seconds to come up with what she wanted to say to him. His back rose and fell, the broad muscles across his shoulders shifting beneath the black fabric of his shirt making her mind wander back to tucking the book with his name inside under her pillow and the alternative she had suggested to Daniel. Max suddenly straightened as if she had spoken and turned to her. His eyes caught hers and she saw his lips part slightly.

  "Thank you for signing my book," she said, forcing out the only words she could come up with under the entrancing power of his stare.

  "Of course," he said back, "Would you like to join me?"

  Ariel nodded and went to step toward the barstool beside him, but Max stood up and took a step away from the bar.

  "Not here?" she asked and he shook his head.

  "Come for a walk with me."

  Max started for the door to the bar and Ariel followed, intrigued and slightly overwhelmed by what was happening. They stepped outside into the crisp air of an autumn evening and walked in silence away from the hotel until they reached a black gate.

  "What's this?" she asked and Max pulled a card-shaped key out of his pocket.

  "My private beach," he replied, opening the gate and stepping aside so that she could walk past him, "It's connected to my suite and for some reason the hotel decided they needed to treat it like a convict and close it away from everyone else."

  Ariel watched him close the gate behind himself and come toward her. A shiver rippled across her arms and she rubbed them.

  "I'll never understand why they host these conventions at beaches during the cold weather."

  "No tourists to get in the way?" he offered. There was a pause and he tilted his head down slightly. "I hope I didn't get you into any trouble with your boyfriend."

  "Who?" she asked, confused.

  "The man that was with you at the gala."

  Ariel laughed.

  "That's Daniel. He's most certainly not my boyfriend."

  "I'm glad to hear that."

  Her breath grew more shallow as she saw Max coming toward her.

  "Why would you get me into trouble?" she asked quietly.
r />   "My inscription. I felt a little silly writing that, but I couldn't bring myself to say it to you, even though I had been thinking it since the moment I saw you at my speech."

  By this point he was only a few feet away and Ariel could see the luscious color of his eyes and the plush softness of his lips. She took a breath to try to settle her trembling. Her body felt drawn to him in a way that she had never experienced. It was as though it knew something that she didn't.

  "Would it make you feel better to know that I think you are incredibly beautiful?" she whispered.

  He stepped even closer, and for the first time, Ariel realized that he had one sleeve of his shirt rolled up to his elbow and the other kept buttoned at his wrist. She ventured to touch the sleeve, feeling the warmth of the skin and the strength of the muscles beneath the fabric.

  "What's with the sleeve?" she asked and saw a flash of darkness flicker across his eyes.

  "How well do you know my books?" he asked.

  Ariel looked at him quizzically.

  "Extremely. Why?"

  Max looked faintly pained, but something in his expression told her that his words and his gestures held meaning well beyond what she understood of them and pled her to be patient. He released the buttons on the cuff of the sleeve he wore full-length and slowly pushed the fabric up, revealing his forearm and a long, jagged scar in his skin.

  Her hand flew to her mouth and Ariel rested her fingertips tenderly against the smooth scar. Words streamed through her head in a continuous ribbon, appearing typed against a white background as she remembered the detailed description of that exact scar. She knew the weapon that had created it and what shifter wielded that weapon. It was, to its every feature, exactly like the scar on borne by Lazar in Max's books.

  "It's just like…" she trailed off, not sure exactly what this meant.

  Max nodded.

  "It is."

  She lifted her eyes to him sharply, processing the words, trying to decipher their meaning. Was he only affirming that the scar on his arm was like the one of his main character; that perhaps it was the inspiration for the brutal battle wound the shifter suffered while in wolf form?

  Or could he possibly be telling her that it was, in fact, that scar?

  ****

  "I don't understand," Ariel said, letting her fingers fall away from the scar.

  Max took her hands in his, a slightly desperate look on his face as if he was afraid she was going to run. She was startled by how beautiful he was with the moonlight touching his skin and illuminating the melting color of his eyes.

  "I knew you the moment I saw you," he whispered, his voice no longer reflecting the worried look in his eyes but sounding smooth, controlled, and irresistibly sexy.

  "You did?" she asked back, stepping forward as the strange, unexplainable magnetism from his body seemed to draw her toward him.

  Max's face brushed lightly against hers, nuzzling her. He nodded.

  "You knew, too. I could see the way you looked at me. I could smell you."

  His whisper sent hot breath down Ariel's neck and her breath caught at his words. She knew those words, what they meant.

  "I can smell you now," he continued, his hands leaving hers to trace the swell of her hips and the soft curve of her belly.

  Ariel moaned softly and leaned into him to seek more of the delectable pressure of his body.

  "What do you smell?"

  "Your body," he dipped his head and Ariel felt the tip of his tongue glide across her neck, "Your blood," he bit the curve of her shoulder just hard enough to create a thrilling, pleasurable pain, "How much you want me." His hands slid around her hips to fill with her flesh and hold her firmly against him where she could feel his hardness pressing into her belly, "I can smell my mate."

  Ariel gasped and Max caught the sound with his mouth, drawing her into a deep, primal kiss that felt like their souls were reaching out and melding, connecting after a lifetime of waiting. She pulled away from the kiss and opened her mouth to speak, but instead let out a scream. Behind Max she could see a silver wolf stepping out of the shadows, his sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight as he stalked toward Max.

  Max spun around at the sound of her scream and she immediately felt him push back on her, shoving her back toward the gate as he faced the wolf. The silver animal took another step forward and in the middle of his stride she watched him shift into a human. Ariel's eyes widened, but she couldn't make any sound.

  "Hello, Max," the other man said, the sliminess in his voice sending a chill down Ariel's spine, "I see you found yourself a snack."

  "Back off, Laurence," Max growled.

  Ariel covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the terrified sounds now trying to tumble out of her. She was watching what she thought were just characters in a book come to life in front of her very eyes, witnessing the chapters of an unwritten book unfurling somewhere between reality and her fantasies.

  "She is quite delicious," Laurence said, taking another step forward, "And it looks like there is more than enough of her for both of us. Maybe we can share."

  At that, Max leapt forward, tackling Laurence to the ground so he landed on top of him.

  "She's mine," he snarled.

  Laurence grappled with Max and Ariel could hear him let out a mocking laugh.

  "So, that's what this is?" he said, finally pushing Max away and climbing out from under him so that both men stood, staring each other down, "The Alpha has mated a human."

  Before Ariel even realized what was happening, Laurence shifted back into a wolf and surged forward past Max so that he came down on her. She screamed as she hit the ground, curling away from the stagnant breath and sharp teeth coming toward her. A moment later she heard a blood-chilling growl and felt Laurence torn away from her.

  She looked up and saw a massive black wolf holding Laurence by the back of his neck, his teeth sinking deeply into the other wolf's coat. As he tossed Laurence away, Ariel realized that black wolf was Max. Despite the terror, desire rolled through her as she felt the same intense, animal need for him that she had since she first saw him.

  The two wolves tangled and fought, teeth and claws tearing at one another as they battled for dominance. This was the fight she had been waiting for as she read the books, the conflict she thought would have culminated after Laurence shot the crossbow at Lazar; at Max. As she watched the fight in horror, she wondered what had happened in the months between that moment and this one, how these rival Alphas had gotten here after what she feared was her beloved character's death.

  The need to protect Max surged through her and Ariel lunged forward, reaching for the silver wolf.

  Max turned to her and let out a sound that made her stumble back, somehow knowing he was telling her he didn't want her involved. In the moment that he faced her, Laurence was able to regain some control.

  Suddenly Laurence slashed at Max, his claws cutting into Max's shoulder and soaking his black fur with blood. An instant later, Max's head reared back and he sank his teeth ferociously into Laurence, flipping his head to the side to rip away at his flesh. The other animal yelped and fell back away from Max, shifting back into a human as he tried to get away. Max mirrored his shift, standing above him with blood streaming down his skin, his rough breaths causing his shoulders to rise and fall rapidly.

  "I won't kill you here," he said, his voice as rough as his breath, "but if you ever touch her again, I will rip you apart like I should have a long time ago."

  Laurence stood shakily to his feet and disappeared into the darkness of the cluster of palm trees where he had been hiding when they first stepped onto the beach. A few seconds later, Ariel could hear muffled steps retreated through the undergrowth, punctuated by yelps as if the plants were continuing the punishment by scraping at his wounds.

  Max turned to her and Ariel ran into his arms, allowing him to sweep her against him and bury his face in her hair. She could feel the warmth of his blood seeping through his shirt ont
o her skin and she stepped back.

  "You're hurt," she said, touching the tattered fabric surrounding the deep gash in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

  "I'll be fine," he said, brushing loose strands of hair out of her face, "As long as you're alright, I'll be fine."

  "No. Come with me to my room. Let me take care of you."

  Affection mingled with intense attraction flashed in his eyes and he nodded. Ariel slipped her sweater off and draped it carefully over his wound so that anyone they may encounter wouldn't notice the blood. She knew this wound would not act the same as it would on a normal human; it would heal much more quickly and didn't require stitches or other measures. Cleaning it, though, would soothe his pain and help it to begin to heal.

  She guided him through the hotel to her room and stepped inside. Daniel was still sprawled across the bed, snoring deeply, and she led Max carefully through the suite and into the bathroom. Locking the door behind them, she started the faucet in the soaking tub and reached forward to unbutton his shirt. Her hands shook slightly as she undressed him, revealing his gorgeous body beneath the shirt.

  She wanted to touch him further, but the wound on his shoulder kept her back. Placing her hands on his hips, she guided him gently backwards so that he sat on the wide edge of the tub. Ariel sat beside him, positioning herself on her hip so that she could reach down into the tub and fill a soft sponge with warm water. Kissing his chiseled arm muscle tenderly, she brought the sponge to his shoulder and squeezed it so that the water flowed out across his skin.

  ****

  Ariel bathed his shoulder until as much of the blood as possible was gone. Dropping the sponge back into the tub, she rested her hands on his neck and swept one leg over him so that she straddled his hips but stayed sitting up on her knees, propped up by the marble tub on either side of him. Her mouth lowered to the curve of his neck and shoulder to kiss along his warm skin until she reached the freshly cleaned wound. The primal urges within her took over and she let the tip of her tongue slip out to run along the cut.