by Lacey Savage
“It sounded like a good plan when I wasn’t sure if you’d seen anything at all.”
“Right… because all women faint at the sight of your cock.”
Brad chuckled, reminding J.C. of his presence. Between the shifting darkness and Eve’s enticing scent, body and voice, he’d forgotten his old friend was still in the room.
Could he do it? Could he turn on the light and let her see him in mid-shift? She’d never accept him the way he was. She’d likely faint again, just as she said, or at least scream, terrified.
He sighed. What did he have to lose? She’d already witnessed his change, and she was too strong-willed to pretend she hadn’t seen anything at all.
“Fine. I’ll turn on the light. But at the first sight of female hysterics or the slightest hint of panic, I’m knocking you out myself.”
* * *
Eve sat on the floor, listening to J.C.’s footsteps as he walked through the shed. Her heart thundered, drumming an insistent rhythm in her ears. She had a mental picture of J.C.’s lean body, the hard planes of his chest, his powerful thighs, burned in her mind, but she fisted her hands at her sides, digging her fingernails into her skin.
What if he looked nothing like she remembered? What if he was so hideous, so monstrous, she’d pass out again from one look?
Eve gritted her teeth, daring herself not to scream no matter what terrible vision the light unveiled. In the dark, J.C. had been sexy, witty, and… gentle with her. She wanted to think of him that way for the rest of her life, but she also needed to see the truth for herself. There were many myths passed down through the ages about werewolves, and none depicted them as kind or loving.
Could J.C. be the kind of legendary monster that snatched children from their beds simply to delight in a midnight snack? Did he chase women for nothing more than the entertainment their screams provided? Deflower virgins and bathe in their blood?
Eve shook her head at her own foolishness, willing her pounding heartbeat to return to normal. She was just about to ask what was taking so long when light flooded the room, making her squint against the unexpected brightness.
“Enjoy this, babe. It’s likely the only look at a real werewolf you’re ever going to get.”
Eve’s breath caught in her throat as her sight returned. J.C. stood before her, completely naked, his hands on his hips. Unmoving, he looked like something out of an adult fairy tale. Not a shred of clothes marred the lean perfection of his body. Eve blinked a few times to clear the last of the cobwebs from her vision, then allowed her gaze to travel up J.C.’s hard length.
His feet were mostly human but for the fur covering the tanned skin of his toes. His muscular, well-shaped legs sported more fur, though not as much as she’d expected. Strong thighs gave way to a nest of dark hair at their apex, from which sprung the most magnificent cock Eve had ever seen. She gritted her teeth to keep from gasping, unwilling to give him the satisfaction.
Thick and impossibly long, J.C.’s cock looked even better than it had felt in her hand only minutes before. Veins snaked up the length of the imposing shaft, leading up to the large mushroom head. He was fully aroused, rock hard and straining. His dick twitched slightly at her inspection and she glanced up to see his jaw clenched tight.
A smile played over Eve’s lips. Obviously, he wasn’t immune to her, either. The thought should have been unsettling and absolutely unwelcome, but it had the opposite effect. Her pussy tightened in response and cream flooded her core. She could almost feel his cock entering her, his length stretching her needy cunt to capacity.
J.C. growled. “Well?”
The sound startled Eve out of her sexy reverie and she stared at his face, so unlike a human’s. His nose and mouth had lengthened, turning his jaw into a wolf’s muzzle. He kept his jaws tightly clenched so she couldn’t see his teeth or his tongue, but she imagined they were as ferocious as any beast’s. His dark, wavy hair formed an unruly mess around his features and his face sported thick stubble. Only his eyes, brilliant blue and flaming with intense awareness, reminded her that he still expected an answer.
She shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s it?”
J.C.’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He dropped his hands from his hips and tried to flex them into fists, but his elongated claws wouldn’t allow it. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?”
Eve leaned back against the wall and stretched her legs out in front of her. “After all your talk, I’d expected you to look more… monstrous.”
Brad chuckled. “She’s got you there.”
“Hey!” J.C.’s voice sounded like a low growl. “You’re the one who fainted, remember?”
“I haven’t eaten lunch today,” Eve lied. “I have low blood sugar. It must have caught up with me.”
J.C.’s mouth opened as though he meant to say more, but he clamped it shut again. Eve had a brief glimpse of long incisors and a pink tongue. She shuddered at the thought of what that tongue could do to her already heated pussy.
Outside, a man laughed as he walked in front of the window. A shadow fell on the wooden floor, then disappeared. Moonlight snaked inside in its wake. A perfect silver beam played over the dark fur sprinkling J.C.’s chest and as Eve watched, he began to change.
His claws retracted, his muzzle receding to reveal full lips and a prominent nose. The hair that had covered so much of his body disappeared, leaving a light dusting of curls in its wake. Eve groaned.
J.C. the werewolf had been magnificent.
J.C. the human was breathtaking, drop-dead gorgeous, and sexy as hell.
Her gaze slid lower and she breathed a long sigh of relief. His cock hadn’t changed. It remained just as long and thick as it had before he’d turned back to his human shape, and just as stiff.
She fought the urge to tear off her sundress and leap into his arms. Instead, she rose unsteadily to her feet. “Look, this has all been very… educational, but I really should be going.”
“Oh, I see.” J.C. reached for a pair of jeans lying on the floor in a corner of the room. “You barge in here, see me as I really am, and you expect to just walk out afterward. Do I have this right?”
A hint of panic rose like bile in Eve’s throat. “Sure. Why not?”
“We’ve been over this. Humans don’t simply get to realize werewolves exist one day and have their eyes opened to all the secrets of the otherworldly. It doesn’t work that way.”
“What do you propose, then?”
J.C. zipped his jeans. They were torn in a number of spots along the thighs and at the waist, as though sharp claws had shredded them. She didn’t even want to know what would have prompted J.C. to try to dress in a hurry while he was still in werewolf form.
“I don’t know,” he said at last. “But I’m not ready to just let you walk away.”
Eve released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “I have to find my friend. Angelina came in here to sabotage the fireworks display, but I haven’t heard from her in hours, and I’m worried.”
Brad pulled on his jeans. “Angelina Moore? Griffin’s ex-lover?”
Hope fluttered in Eve’s chest. “Yes. Have you seen her?”
“Not tonight, no, but I know Griff thought she’d show up here. He was right, then? She came for the fireworks?”
“Yes.” Eve swallowed hard. “He stole her formula, the only thing she ever had that was uniquely hers. The only thing she could be proud of. But Griff knew she planned to come here, didn’t he? Angelina’s scheme wasn’t a surprise at all.”
“He knew she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get back at him, yeah. That’s why he advertised the fireworks display in every major newspaper and magazine in the entire state.”
“Oh, God.” Eve slid back down to the floor. “Do you know what he planned to do with her once she got here?”
Brad laughed. “Yeah. He planned to fuck her senseless.”
Eve gaped at him. “He planned to rape her?”
Brad’s laughter died on
his lips. He frowned and knelt before her. When he spoke, his voice was low and indulgent, as if speaking to a child. “No. He planned to tell her he loved her. By the end of the evening, he figured he’d have her convinced.”
That sounded almost as preposterous to Eve as her misunderstanding of the situation. “He stole her formula and abandoned her. Right. That has love written all over it.”
“And what makes you such an expert?” J.C. asked, pausing briefly while buttoning a navy shirt over his flawless chest.
Eve licked her lips. “I never said I was. But I’m no fool, either. There has to be more to this plan of Griffin’s than he’s told Brad.”
“Believe what you will.” Brad rose and crossed the distance to the window. “But I know Griffin, and he loves that woman as much as I’ve ever seen a man love someone else.” There was a touch of wistful yearning in his voice when he spoke, and it sent a wave of answering longing to Eve’s stomach. Before she could analyze her emotions any further, she got to her feet and headed for the door.
She gripped the doorknob and turned back to J.C. “I’m going to find my friend.” Lifting her chin in a silent challenge, she dared him to stop her.
That’s when J.C. lunged.
Chapter Four
“Let go of me this instant.” Eve’s voice was surprisingly level, considering the apparent anger roiling just beneath the surface of her sapphire eyes. “Angelina’s in danger. I know she is.”
J.C. tightened his grip on her arm and watched her grimace. “You’re not calling the shots, little girl. You don’t think I’m fierce? You’re not scared of me? I’ll give you a reason to be.”
She peered at him intently, as though trying to memorize his face. “This isn’t you.”
His gut churned as if she’d hit him. He tried to feign nonchalance, but his words came out low and sullen. “What isn’t me?”
“This.” She waved a hand in the air, the gesture encompassing all of him. “The threats and the viciousness. It’s not you.”
“And you know me so well, do you?”
She shrugged. “Perhaps better than you think.”
He released her arm. “This is ridiculous. I’m not just going to let you walk out of here.”
Eve rubbed at the spot where his fingers had gripped her arm. Angry red imprints stood out vividly against her flawless ivory skin. “What do you want me to do? Cry? Beg? Plead?”
Shame washed over him and he averted his gaze. “Of course not.”
“Good. Then you have no reason to keep me here another minute.”
He scowled. Couldn’t she be just a little afraid? It wasn’t every day that a werewolf showed himself to a human. He liked her first reaction better, when she’d fainted instantly at the sight of him. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized she’d probably fainted at the sight of two men fucking and not because one of them was in mid-shift. He didn’t want to ask and have that theory confirmed. It would be much too embarrassing.
Behind him, Brad cleared his throat. “Let the girl go. She didn’t see anything.”
“What?” J.C. and Eve asked in unison, turning to gape at him.
Brad grinned, showing a dimple in his right cheek. “You didn’t see anything as silly as a werewolf, did you, darlin’?”
Great. Brad’s deep south accent only came out when he was trying to impress someone. J.C. himself had fallen for it more than once. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited. This ought to be good.
“Uhh…” Eve hesitated. “No?”
“Of course not.” Brad took a step forward to emphasize his words. “Because werewolves don’t exist. And no one would believe you if you started spouting off about them anyway. Isn’t that right?”
Eve cleared her throat. “Yes. Yes, of course it is.” She turned to J.C. and quirked an eyebrow at him. Her lips twitched upward. “The only thing I saw here were two men having a good time.”
Her smile grated on his nerves. She’d seen a hell of a lot more than that, and the fact that she could be so nonchalant about it irked him on a fundamental level. He was going to show her what it meant to be a pack alpha werewolf; what it meant to be afraid of one.
He matched her expression with an arrogant grin of his own. “Then you won’t mind if I escort you around the park.”
Her face turned serious. “Suit yourself. Though I doubt I’m in any danger from the men here. Their tastes don’t seem to run to skinny blondes.”
But J.C.’s did. The constant stirring in his groin was permanent proof of that.
He gritted his teeth and yanked on the doorknob, determined not to let her know the effect she had on him. Her bizarre mix of arrogance and naiveté had to be an act. A game. It just had to be.
Thin channels of moonlight flittered through the trees bordering the park, and J.C. took great care to avoid stepping in the path of any direct beams. The last thing he needed was for the shift to hit while he strolled past the candy apple booth. He had enough trouble with one woman knowing about his true appearance. If he started shifting in front of a few hundred people… well, it would be a whole lot harder to convince all of them to pretend they hadn’t seen anything.
He took Eve’s hand and stalked beside her, keeping her close to his side as they wove through the throng of men. Laughter and the sounds of passion permeated the air, giving the night a surreal, sensual feel. Or maybe that was just the woman beside him. Her hair smelled like apple shampoo, fruity and natural. It drove him crazy.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked at last as they neared the edge of the park.
“Why? Are you afraid I’m going to lead you somewhere away from prying eyes and take advantage of you?”
She gave an almost inaudible snort. “Of course not.”
Of course not. J.C. tightened his grip on Eve’s hand and clenched his jaw firmly shut. Oh, how her flippant words grated! Didn’t she think him capable of taking her, whenever and wherever he pleased?
He stopped behind a cotton candy stand and yanked her to him, pressing her body to his. He gripped her head in both his hands, keeping her lips inches away from his own. Eve’s mouth parted slightly and her eyes widened in surprise. Her pupils stood out, large and dark against the backdrop of her blue eyes.
“Maybe you’re wrong,” he murmured.
She started to shake her head, but he wouldn’t even allow that much motion. He had only to lower his mouth a fraction of an inch and he’d be able to kiss her. A tempting thought, but one that would be much too easy.
There was nothing easy about Eve. Every line and curve of her scrumptious body, every tempting word promised a challenge. He wanted to give her one.
He pressed harder against her, knowing his erection would be firm against her belly. Her gaze flickered down to his belt, then back up to meet his eyes. “I could scream, you know.”
J.C. tilted his head, listening to the sounds of the park. He’d spent at least one night a week here for the past three years. He knew every one of them. The moans of passion, the cries of orgasm, the buzz of excitement. A woman’s scream might cause a few raised eyebrows, but not much else.
He stroked her temples with his thumbs while he ground his hips against hers. Eve’s lips parted, a sigh escaping on a flutter of warm breath. It caressed his mouth, made his cock harden so powerfully he thought it might explode.
Abruptly, he released her and turned to his right. He was not going to let her get to him like this. He wasn’t going to lose control. And there was no way he was going to have sex with a woman -- not with any woman, even one as… delectable as Eve. Not as long as the elders were pushing him to mate.
He gestured in the direction of a row of trees in the distance. “Come on.”
They were still a few minutes away, but he knew the trees bordered a large parking lot on three sides, keeping prying eyes away from the nightly festivities. It was normally used to park trailers and other park necessities, but tonight it would be mostly empty.
E
ve hurried to catch up to him. Her ragged breathing rang in his ears and he had to fist his hands at his sides to keep from touching her again.
“Do you really know where Angelina is?”
“If she’s still here, there’s only one place she would be.”
“The fireworks display,” Eve murmured as they made their way into the lot. A large flatbed truck that had housed the firework shells earlier sat silently silhouetted against the dark sky. Behind it, an expensive-looking trailer had been set up, but no lights glowed in the windows to indicate it was occupied.
The spotlights that had been set up around the parking lot earlier had been turned off, but the neon glow from Hard Delights glittered through the foliage behind J.C.
It was impossible to find shade out here. J.C. glanced up warily, thankfully to find that the bright silver moon had ducked out of sight behind an imposing cloud.
“That’s our best bet. She came here for the fireworks, didn’t she?”
Eve nodded. “Maybe I can reach her now.”
She dipped two fingers into the valley between her breasts. J.C. swallowed hard, his dick stirring against the hard material of his jeans. His mouth went dry as she fidgeted inside her cleavage and pulled out a black cord. A microphone, J.C. realized with a start. Apprehension snaked up his spine.
“Has that thing been on all this time?”
“What?” Eve glanced at the small object. “Oh, this? Yeah. But don’t worry, no one heard us.” She gnawed on her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowing. “At least, I don’t think anyone heard us. I haven’t been able to reach Angelina since minutes after she stepped through the park gates.”
J.C. threw his hands up in the air. “That’s great. Next you’ll tell me you have our entire conversation on tape.”
She shot him a look that could melt steel. It almost worked, too. His cock twitched, softening slightly under her withering glare. “Are you always this paranoid, or is it a trait I bring out in you?”