by Fawn Lowery
She turned her head on the pillow. The other form had spoken to her, traversed to the edge of her bed, stood leaning over her, offering…
She was aware then that he held something in his hands. Momentarily he reached toward her and took hold of her wrists. She felt the touch of silk, cool and soft as it coiled around her skin. She allowed her arms to be raised upward, pulled over her head and across her pillow. The other man joined in, smiling down at her as he secured her wrists to the head of the bed.
She sighed and felt expectant.
They threw aside the light covers from her body and with other silk scarves, secured her legs spread eagle at the foot of the bed, binding her ankles so she couldn’t move.
She laid there, her gaze on the men as they paused, looking down at their handiwork. She sensed they were pleased that she was immobile and at their mercy.
Suddenly one reached down and lifted her gown up over her burning crotch. She sighed as the coolness in the room touched her naked skin. He pulled the gown up to her breasts, then past, freeing her aching nipples. They peaked rosy red and tall, as though stretching for the hands that could bring them pleasures.
“I want you both,” she whispered, her mouth dry and parched. She beckoned to the forms, knowing they were men she had somehow conjured up in her desperate need. She didn’t care; she needed the release they offered her.
The bed dipped as they joined her, climbed in on either side of her body. They reached out big hands to touch her…She blinked her eyes, waiting…wanting to feel their hands on her, wanting them to take her, to ravish her body with their hands, their mouths, their bodies…
The touch of silky hair suddenly caused her to gasp. A quick glance along her prone body revealed a blond head at her crotch…
The feel of a stroking finger drew her eyes to her breasts…a long slim appendage careened along the arc of her flesh, aiming at her nipple…A smooth palm grazed her inner thigh, touching lightly and causing her to pull in a quick breath. The heat of his hand sent a shard of longing careening through her insides. Her need to be touched was overwhelming.
From both sides of the bed she became the object of attention. Hands stroked and caressed, tweaked and massaged. She felt her senses soar out of control. She closed her eyes and became one with the mesmerizing caresses. Her crotch was on fire; ready to welcome a hard cock between her legs.
She felt him as he climbed onto her body, felt his weight and the touch of his naked chest to her bare breasts. A delicious shiver of desire zinged across her flesh. His long hot cock poked teasingly against her belly, promising of the thing to come. She arched her back and pulled against the silk restraints holding her wrists and ankles.
Suddenly the moment she had been waiting for, arrived. Hot, pulsing, hammer hard and pushing into her body in one quick stabbing thrust!
A scream tore from her throat!
She bolted upright in bed—
Her heart hammered in her breast as she jerked her head from side to side, searching for the men she had envisioned touching her—on the verge of seducing her!
Or had she been begging them to make love to her?
She flopped back against her pillow, her body flushed with heat, her heart racing. The room was still, moon lit in pale shimmers of ebony and silver. She was alone—though every fiber of her being argued otherwise. She raked her fingers through her hair, pushing the heavy mass off her pillow. She was loathe to admit that she had dreamed Rick and Nick were in her bedroom, and one of them—she couldn’t say which one—had pushed his hard cock inside her.
Chapter Eight
She spied the two cars parked outside her house as she went to the kitchen to make herself coffee. Rick was parked in the driveway and Nick was on the street. Both men were awake and starring at the house.
“What a couple of dolts,” she muttered as she went toward the front door. She opened the door and waved to them, motioning them inside. Last night’s dream came to mind as she watched them get out of their cars and come toward the house. It had been so vivid—almost to the point of making her think she had conjured them into her bedroom—
“I’m not promising either of you anything except coffee,” she informed them as they stepped up on the porch.
They both looked amazingly alert—for such an early hour. It was barely five o’clock. The sun was just on the horizon, spearing the waning darkness with its stark yellow brightness.
The two were cordial to each other, avoiding eye contact and choosing to stay on opposite sides of the small kitchen to drink their coffee. Janna chuckled and excused herself taking her coffee mug into the bedroom to get dressed, leaving them to help themselves to the remaining coffee in the pot. She hoped last night’s argument didn’t redevelopment—she barely had any furniture left.
Both men were surveying the damage in the living room when she emerged from the bedroom, her purse in hand so she could leave for work. Neither commented on the splintered furniture and Janna left matters alone. She had taken their money and truly intended to spend it on a new coffee table and lamp, new drapes and a new throw rug to cover the ragged carpet.
They were unusually quiet and Janna grew curious though she dared not voice her concern. Surely they had come to some compromise during the long hours of the night—some compromise that they would reveal—eventually. She slid beneath the steering wheel of her car and started the motor. Rick was parked behind her and she peeped at him in the rear view mirror, aware that his keen eyes were pinned on the back of her head.
Who had thrust into her last night—he or Nick?
She felt her senses shake with the memory. It had been so vivid. But then, her dreams were more real than fantasy most nights—ever since she had her first Change. Things had taken on a dreamlike quality—even during the day. She gave her head a shake, dispelling the thoughts.
Janna was aware that both men trailed her to work. She pulled into the parking lot and got out of her car, slamming the door in agitation.
“Before you get all bent out of shape—“ Rick warned as he exited his car. "I have a right to be here. I own the damn paper.”
Janna’s jaw dropped open.
So he’s the new owner everyone has been wondering about.
“Nice of you to finally make yourself known,” she remarked.
“Actually, you’re the only employee to know, aside from Elmer McCoy. I have no intentions of running the paper—I merely bought it for investment purposes.”
Janna met his gaze. There was more to it than that. His green eyes alluded to the fact.
Nick Austin was suddenly in their midst and Janna let the matter drop, though she made a mental note to question him later about the matter. What better way to squelch any rumors—true or false—about werewolves in the area, than to own the only newspaper apt to print any revealing news? She gave Rick a knowing glance, then turned her gaze on Nick as he stopped beside her.
“Please find something else to do, besides harass me all day.”
“You’ll never know I’m around,” Nick promised, taking her arm and urging her toward the rear entrance of the building.
Rick followed the pair, rushing ahead and opening the door for Janna as she approached the building.
She could feel the tension between the two weres. It was so intense it was almost pliable and Janna hoped no other were was in the vicinity for he would surly pick up on the unsettled situation and feel it his duty to investigate—which would more than likely, lead him to her. She sighed and walked through the open door, both weres on her heels.
Rick went to the main office and Nick took a seat at Janna’s desk. Janna tried to ignore him, though his scent made it difficult. Every time she glanced up, he was staring at her, those pale eyes of his sending her senses reeling. She felt her pulse increase speed, felt her insides heat up—
The telephone sitting on the corner of her desk rang suddenly, making her jump.
“The Coroner has managed to make an ID,” Lieutenant Barton
said.
Janna felt a nervous twinge race along her nerve endings as she reached for a pencil to take notes.
“A missing person’s report was filed on John Melton. Seems he went out for a walk two nights ago and didn’t come home. His wife called the station when she read about the murder in the park. She provided Hank with dental records and he was able to make a positive ID.”
Janna wrote down the Melton address so she could talk to the widow. When she hung up the phone, she left her desk to report to Elmer McCoy and get permission to interview Mrs. Melton. As she walked the short distance to the Editor’s office, she was keenly aware that Nick Austin was hot on her heels. She paused at the door and turned to face him, a glaring look on her face.
“Stop following me,” she gritted out. “I doubt if anything is going to happen to me here at work.” She shook her head, sending her blond hair cascading across her shoulders. “For Pete’s sake! Go have a cup of coffee and leave me alone!”
Elmer McCoy was with Rick when she pushed through the door of his office. She pulled up short, intending to apologize, but Rick waved her inside instead.
“It’s alright,” he said. “We were just going over a few things.”
Janna didn’t know which man to speak to. Her gaze flitted from one to the other, until Rick finally realized her dilemma.
“Elmer is still your Editor. You report to him, Janna.” He took a seat on the corner of the desk and watched her while she related the information about the victim in the park.
“Go talk to the widow,” Elmer instructed.
When Janna left the editor’s office, she noted that Nick wasn’t in the newsroom, or standing outside the door of the office waiting for her. She breathed a little sigh of relief, and hurried to gather her purse and notepad before he showed up and insisted on accompanying her.
She rushed out to the parking lot and got in her car, holding her breath that she had successfully given Nick the slip. She pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the residential section of Madison in search of the Milton address.
She didn’t relish the idea of interviewing Mrs. Milton. Whenever a death occurred—regardless of circumstances—a nosy reporter was at the bottom of the list of wanted guests. She mentally rehearsed what she would say as she drove to the Milton residence.
The widow was an elderly woman with a cap of curly gray hair, a tear-stained face and stooped posture. She forced a smile for Janna and invited her inside.
“I told John it was too late to be going out for a walk.” She shook her head. “But he wouldn’t listen to me. Then I begged him to take his gun. He bought it just so he could feel secure when he walked late at night.”
“Had he encountered trouble in the park before?” Janna asked.
“No. He found it a very peaceful place.”
“Did your husband have any enemies?”
“You mean, someone who would want him dead?” Her voice shook and tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. “I don’t think so—but you never know. John was a criminal lawyer—retired. I suppose some of his clients might have felt that way about him—but the coroner said he had been mauled—as if by animals.”
“Have you heard any talk about wild dogs in the area of the park?”
She shook her head and dabbed at her eyes with a rumpled handkerchief.
Janna offered her sympathies and left the Melton house, leaving Mrs. Melton with the assumption that her husband had been attacked by a pack of dogs. It would do little good for the woman to believe otherwise. In the event a werewolf was found, no one in the town was likely to believe it anyway.
Janna started her car and backed out of the Melton driveway—only to spy Nick Austin sitting in a parked car across the street. He waved one hand at her and pulled in behind her car, prepared to follow her back to the office.
Janna bristled, her anger getting the better of her. Shortly after leaving the neighborhood where the Milton residence was, she pulled over to the side of the road and shut off her car. Yanking the door open, she set her sights on Nick and marched stiff-legged toward his car as he pulled off the road and parked.
“I want you out of this town before dark!” she yelled at him. She propped both hands on her hips and glared through the driver’s window at him.
He smiled at her, a slow, seductive smile that she found she had to fight to keep from allowing it to melt her kneecaps. He opened the door and stepped out, catching her around the waist with one long arm and pinning her against the side of the car.
“You’re one luscious fuck, do you know that?”
Surprised, Janna pushed at his chest as he pressed her back against the car, her buttocks and shoulders meeting the unyielding steel with a sudden jolt.
“I’d like nothing better than to spread your long legs and dive inside you.”
His body was all muscle and brawn pressing so tightly against Janna that she found it nearly impossible to breathe. She leaned her head back, then to the side when she thought he was going to kiss her. His heat immediately penetrated her navy blue business suit and the uncomfortable stance with which he forced her against the car, hiked her skirt up onto her thighs.
He ground his hips into the hollow of hers, pressing his hard erection against her belly so that she was completely aware of him. Her breasts flattened against his muscled chest, her nipples growing hard despite the circumstance.
“Let me go,” she ordered, her voice sounding less authoritative than she wanted. “Let me go.”
“You feel good,” he said, raising his hands and running them along her hips and thighs. He pulled her skirt up around her waist, and pushed his knee between her thighs, opening her legs despite her efforts to fight him off.
The urge to Change gathered in her mind. In an instant he could have his hands full of raging female werewolf—
“I’m certain my father sent you here to rape me,” she said in an angry whisper. She pulled in a deep breath and called the Magic. In the blink of an eye she felt it rolling over her body, pulling at her muscles and stretching her bones.
She let out a loud yowl and shoved him away so viciously that he staggered backward into the road, surprised at her sudden ability to Change so rapidly. She pounced on him, pinning him against the ground, her muzzle snarling and her sharp teeth gnashing in warning. She dug her long claw-
like fingers into his chest, ripping his shirt and striping his chest. Another warning yowl and she bounded away, disappearing into the brush along the highway.
She shook her muzzle, feeling her heart hammer in her werewolf chest. She called the Magic, throwing herself flat on the ground while it transformed her back into human form. If Nick decided to pursue her, there was little she could do now, except try and Change back into wolf and fight him—but she hoped he would take the warning she chose to give him and not make more out of the situation.
Nick was sitting in his car when she emerged from the brush, her human form restored. She didn’t even glance in his direction as she strode to her car. She slid beneath the steering wheel and stared the motor.
Damn! If I were a smoker—I’d have to light up!
Chapter Nine
It was lunchtime by the time Janna sent her column to copy. She had managed to ignore Nick altogether since returning to the office. As odd as it seemed, he followed her back to work, and resumed his vigil at her desk as though nothing had taken place between them. She did catch him staring at her quite peculiarly a time or two, but she put that off to her having Changed into wolf form and getting rough with him. Surprisingly, he hadn’t mentioned one word about their little incident—nor did she think he would. Changing into wolf form right before his eyes had probably gotten her message across in no uncertain terms.
She shook her head and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
She turned to see Rick approaching her desk.
“Nothing,” she replied, sliding a warning glance at Nick. Should he open his mouth and tell Rick of their litt
le skirmish—well, she hated to think of the consequences. Last night’s brawl in her living room suddenly came to mind.
“Let me take you to lunch,” Rick said, taking hold of her left hand. He aimed a piercing gaze at Nick. “You can go spend the next hour licking your furry ass, for all I care.”
Nick lunged out of his chair, ready to fight.
“Stop it!” Janna bit out, jumping to her feet. She yanked her hand from Rick’s, ignoring the jolt of sexual want starting to assault her senses, and raked him with her gaze as well. “I’m not eating lunch today. I’m shopping for furniture to replace what you two tore up last night. And I’m going by myself.” She picked up her purse and marched away, leaving the pair to stare after her.
What in the hell am I going to do with those two?
She grimaced at the thought of being rid of Rick altogether. She actually didn’t want him gone from her sight, but Nick—well he was a different story altogether. She took out her cell phone and dialed her father’s office. Surely there was something he could do—short of chewing her out again for not wanting his help.
“Nick Austin is a good man, honey. He’ll protect you.”
Janna rolled her eyes in agitation. Should she spill the beans and rat out Nick Austin?
“You shouldn’t have sent a werewolf, Daddy.”
“One of our kind is exactly what you need. He knows what you’re going through.”
He’s trying to get in my pants!
“Nick is big enough to take on any were and win. And he’s a professional on top of it.”
“Daddy, there was a murder in the park two nights ago.” She was keenly aware of the silence on the other end of the phone. “The next day, Nick Austin showed up at my job.”
And I’m not sure where Rick was when the murder was committed.
She bit her tongue to keep from uttering the words. “I’m certain it was a werewolf kill.”
“You’re not suspecting Nick—are you? I can vouch for him, honey. I’ve known him for years. He does investigative work for the firm.”