"Oh dear, gawd," I said, bringing a hand up to my face. I recalled hearing a while back wolves could sense a woman's desire and it was clear my thoughts hadn't only affected me.
A smirk played on his lips at my reaction but as before, I had a difficult time concentrating on his face as I wondered just how big he actually was. As if reading my thoughts, he stepped from around the table and approached me, so quick I only had time to take one step back before he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close and pressing his length into my belly. The sheer size of it had me gasping as tingles slivered down my spine.
I shoved back as far as I could, staring up at him with an expression that must have been shock and confusion. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Before I could finish that statement, he dipped his head, capturing my mouth with his, stealing away every word I'd meant to say. Every thought was replaced by him as his tongue slid across my bottom lip. It took me a bit to realize he was holding himself back, seeking permission to push the kiss even further, but as I stood in his arms, I no longer cared if Calista was spying on us through a hidden camera. All I cared about was his lips on mine, the feeling of his arms wrapped around my waist and the length of him pressed against my belly.
I parted my lips and that's all it took for him to deepen the kiss, pulling me so close I could feel his heart beating against my chest.And damn if it didn’t feel incredible. With nothing more than a kiss, he had every nerve ending in my body firing up all at once. I leaned into the kiss, savoring the taste of him. He groaned into the kiss. I’d almost forgotten where I was, until I felt him tense up, effectively breaking the spell.
I opened my eyes and gave him a confused stare. With an apologetic grin, he stepped away from me.
"She's on her way here now," he said.
It took me a moment before I realized what he was talking about, but when I did, I gave him a nod and took another couple steps away from him for good measure. I ran my hands over my clothes to straighten them, and ran my fingers through my hair. Thanking the heavens for his enhanced hearing, I waited for the door to open. Within moments, Calista burrowed into the room as if she suspected something was going on. For a moment, I wondered again if she had cameras watching us. Anxiety formed a knot in my throat as she stood there, her hands on her hips and her lips pursed.
I inwardly cursed myself for being so stupid. I needed the job. It was the only way I could make enough money to live off of until I was able to come up with a plan to take my father down. Losing that opportunity would set me back and that was the last thing I needed.
Calista's gaze slid over to Storm, "do you have something to tell me?"
I followed her gaze noting the slight smirk that played on his lips. Was he going to write me out? I highly doubt it considering he participated as well, but I couldn't be to certain. After all, I knew nothing of the guy except that he was a werewolf. A very attractive one at that.
"Well, anyone with the right amount of training will be able to do this job, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to give her a shot.
"Calista's frown told me she wasn't exactly happy with the news, but she gave him a nod anyway. "As you wish sir."
With that she spun on her heel and exited the room, leaving me there in a state of confusion.
My eyes went back to Storm, taking in the arrogant grin of his. It wasn't long before I realized what was happening.
"Let me guess, you own this place," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Not exactly. The pack owns this place." He took a step toward me, his eyes searching for a reaction. "And a few others like this."
Just my luck. Of course, I'd end up working for the man I'd spilled my guts to the night before. Not to mention the man I just allowed to shove his tongue down my throat. I seized up at the thought of that.
"So, with a kiss part of the interviewing process?"
His brown eyes turned cold at the accusation and he shook his head. "About that, I wasn't entirely in control of myself. I'm sorry if I offended you."
"Not entirely in control of yourself?" I asked with a huff. "Let me guess, you are possessed by an evil spirit that controls your every action. I get it."
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door. Before creature, she closed the distance between us and grabbed my hand. I turned to confront him, but his heated expression caught me off guard. That and the fact that I realized he was still standing before me nothing but a towel. My eyes raked over him, reigniting the flames I felt earlier. Never before have I felt so affected by anyone. It was like some sort of animal magnetism that pushed and pulled at the same time completely disarming. Yet, I couldn't break the hold it had on me, even if I tried.
Perhaps sensing my reaction, she drew away from me. "Look, if you want the job is yours."
"No, I'm not letting you off the hook so easily," I said. "I need you to explain what you meant."
He shook his head. "There's no easy way to explain it. Regardless, it was completely unprofessional of me. It will never happen again."
Though those words should've put me at ease, I found that it did anything but. And that terrified me more than it should have. Even as he continued to look at me with those deep brown eyes full of the same heat and desire I felt, I could see there was something else behind them. Something more animalistic that called to me in a way I’d never felt before. And damn I wanted whatever it had to offer, whether it made sense or not. In that moment, I felt more alive than I had since leaving everything I’d ever known behind and the thought of losing that feeling was terrifying.
I looked away from him, worried he’d see my expression as another invitation. Regardless of how I felt in that moment, I knew nothing good could come of it. Not when I had plans that were dangerous for me and anyone who got too close to me.
“I’ll leave so you can get changed.” I reached for the door handle, before tossing a glance back toward him. “When can I start?”
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Without another word, I walked out of the room. In the minutes it took for me to change back into my day clothes, gather my belongings, and rush toward entrance, I found I couldn’t get that kiss out of my head. Not when the source of my attraction was so close I could feel his presence following me outside. That presence lingered with me, warming me and distracting me so much I hadn’t noticed the twins standing in front of the door until I ran straight into them.
A shriek left my lips as my body collided with the younger of the two. Bouncing back, I rubbed my forehead before the thought occurred to me I should be running. But by that time, it was too late. Each one of them had me by an arm and were dragging me behind the building before I could do anything about it.
Chapter Four
Joslyn
There I was being dragged out by Tweedledee and Tweedledum, enforcers my father foolishly sent after me. The thought of it nearly made me cringe. Of all the people my father could've sent, I was amazed he chosen to send the dumbest of them all after me. Especially when there are far better choices in these two.
I cringed at the thought of being taken down by idiots who lacked the proper skills to at least keep himself from being seen. Thwarting their efforts so far had been easy enough because all I saw him coming. I'd managed to get away from them a few times already, which was a mercy for them considering what I'd done to the other enforcers my father had said after me.
I allowed my mind to think about the enforcers whose bodies were laid to rest in the deserts surrounding Alamogordo. There had been seven of them. Seven fathers who never get the hug their children. Seven husbands who never get to kiss their wives. Seven sons who never get to embrace to mothers again. I found myself almost feeling sorry for them. Almost. They brought it all on themselves, following a man whose lust for power had destroyed many lives over the years including my mother and my grandfather's. But they were expendable, plain and simple. The thought did make me wonder if he'd sent the twins simply to get rid of them. It wasn
't Bonita may use me to kill anyone who got in his way, or simply annoyed him to the point of no return. My father never really needed a good reason to kill anyone. I'd figured that out a long time ago. But I was different. I never found joy in killing. Instead, I only kill when I needed to, when I had no other choice. Just like today. I knew regardless what I said or what I did, the twins would never stop until I was dead and I couldn't allow that to happen.
I allowed my body to go slack, allowing my feet to drag along the ground. I winced as they tighten their grip surrounding my arms, their nails bite into the tender flesh there.
"Damn this bitch is heavy," Tweedledum grumbled, further tightening his grip on my arm.
Tweedledee nodded his head in approval, but otherwise didn't say anything. He was always the quiet of the two, a man of few words who preferred to use his time fighting and killing.
I tried to come up with their names, hoping a bit of casual conversation would provide the distraction I needed to come up with the plan. But no matter how hard I tried, I came up empty. I'd never tried to learn their names, always referred to them as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the jackasses who felt that just about every operation my father sent them on.
We were halfway down the side of the building when a gust of wind brushed up the back of Tweedledee's jacket. Light glinted off the gun he wore tucked into the waistband of his pants at the small of his back and I couldn't help but smile. Typical thugs, they lacked the foresight to keep himself from being so predictable. Were they smart, they would've held their guns and holsters beneath their jackets will would be difficult to disarm them. But not these two, luckily for me. Foolishly, they give me the advantage I need to disarm them in a giddy tremble slid down my back. This was going to be easier than I thought.
Not giving myself time to overthink it, I planted my feet, pull myself backwards, and my arms from their grips. Before they had a chance to react, I grabbed both of their guns, dislodge them from their waistbands, and grimaced when I realized they hadn't even been smart enough to equip the guns with silencers. The last thing I needed was the police showing up before I had a chance to relocate the bodies. I've been careful so far, keep myself out of their radar, but a report of shots fired or bodies left in the alley could end all of that.
They turned to face me, the muscles tensed and ready for a fight. I grinned at them both. If they wanted a fight, I'd make damn sure they got one.
As expected, Tweedledee was the first to engage, rushing toward me with his arms outstretched. As fast as I could, I grabbed his arm, using his for momentum to spin and toss them into the brick wall of the building beside me. His head smacked against the wall with a thud before his body hit the ground. Taking advantage of my distraction, Tweedledum step toward me and before I could react he grabbed a good chunk of my hair and he yanked me forward. I lost my balance and stumbled forward just as his other fist connected with my chin.
I yelped from the pain that caused, but there was no time to nurse my wound. Within seconds, he'd managed to get in another round of punches that had me falling toward the ground. With a self-satisfied grin, he placed his hands on his hips and shook his head.
"Dumb girl. We're going to have fun with you." He licked his lips, his eyes raking over my body and I knew what he'd been thinking. It was the same thing the others thought, the very thing that made taking their lives easy for me.
I glanced up to make sure Tweedledee was still on the ground. Satisfied he was, I pulled up my knee and slammed my foot into Tweedledum's crotch. He doubled over as an anguished scream tore its way from his throat. The scream was high and shrilly, the perfect sound for a little bitch who thought himself man enough to suggest he'd be doing anything sexual with me against my will.
Pushing myself to my feet, I stepped forward, took his head in my hands and brought up my knee to connect with his nose. The satisfying crunch of bone hit my ears and I smiled as he tumbled to the ground. Taking them down had been easier than I thought, and though I would have liked to continue the fight, I knew it would be taking a big risk. Instead, I reached for a blade I wore strapped to my ankle. It was time to end it, to send these two fuckers to their deaths by silently slitting their throats and watching them bleed out on the cold, hard pavement.
I shook my head at the thought of it, taking a step toward Tweedledum. It was more mercy than they deserved and had we been anywhere else, I would have liked to take my time with them and make them beg for death between torturous slashes and stabs deep enough they’d feel the pain of it, but without enough pressure to kill them.
I turned toward Tweedledee, expecting to see him still laying on the ground, but all at once every bit of control was taken from me. Within seconds, I realized my mistake. He was standing before me, holding on to the barrel of his gun as the butt came racing toward my head. It connected with a sharp crack of pain and I was instantly dizzy, falling to the ground in a crumpled mess. As the world started spinning around me, my vision blurred until I could no longer see anything. All I heard was a few growls and yelps surrounding me until the crack of gunfire split the air, silencing everything around me. The last thing I heard before falling into oblivion was a heavy body hit the ground and the sound of footsteps retreating away from me.
Chapter Five
Storm
The sound of Shadow and Ash arguing woke me and I immediately wished it hadn’t. I was in pain, more pain than I’d thought possible, even after being shot twice. If the bullets entering my body hadn’t been painful enough, the healing process was taking its toll on me as muscles, tendons, and nerves worked overtime to knit themselves back together. Like vampires, we healed, only the process was much harder for a wolf. We didn’t need blood or anything close to that to start the healing process but the amount of energy it took left us vulnerable.
I winced as another sharp pain laced its way through me. At the sound, my brothers ended their argument and were at my side in seconds.
“Do you need anything?” Ash asked.
“Let him suffer,” I heard Shadow say, his voice full of venom. “This asshole may have put the entire pack at risk today over some girl. Was she fucking worth it?”
I grumbled a few expletives as my mind went back to the events that led me there. I’d been standing in the room, wondering how I’d managed to fuck up so royally with Joslyn and wondering why I even cared. I didn’t know the girl, but my wolf seemed to believe she belonged to us. He’d believed as much the night we met. He sensed her pain, even before her cries reached my ears and he’d completely taken over. Racing from the room, he directed me to the back exit, shifting the moment we were clear of the building. Last thing I remembered was seeing her sprawled out on the hard pavement with two men standing over her, a flurry of motion, and the crack of gunfire just before bullets ripped through my body.
“Is she okay?” I asked, though the words only came out as a whisper.
“She’s resting,” Ash responded, placing a hand on my forehead. “And you’re burning up. I’ll go grab you some water.”
His hand left my forehead and I could hear his hurried footsteps exiting the room.
I tried to pry my eyes open but the light that hit them only amplified my pain. With a whimper, I tossed my arm over my eyes, ignoring the stab of pain that action caused. It would be hours before I was well enough to move, hours I’d lay there worried about the girl while Storm ranted on about my decision to save her.
“Are you trying to fuck things up for us? As far as HU knows, there are no wolves in the area. You could have exposed us.”
I could feel him pacing the room.
“She needed my help,” I said, hoping he’d understand.
But in typical Shadow fashion, that only made him more angry. He huffed out a breath of air and I could imagine him running his hands through his hair, doing everything he could to keep himself from attacking me right then and there. Not that he would have hurt me much, but the man did have a reputation of being a hot head. My mind flitted thro
ugh all the times we’d fought growing up. We still held scars from it, even after hundreds of years. Ash and I’d grown out of that phase but Shadow was a different story.
I drew in a deep breath, ignoring the pain that caused. “I wasn’t completely in control of myself.”
His breathing ceased and I knew my admission stunned him. He knew full well what that meant, as all wolves did.
“You can’t be fucking serious,” he said, and I could hear a slight tremble in his voice.
Nothing terrified my brother more than the thought of being stuck with one piece of pussy for the rest of his life, and before today, I’d felt the same way. Now, after meeting Joslyn, I had to admit the thought of it intrigued me. I could imagine spending the rest of my life with her.
My wolf gave an approving nudge at the thought.
“And of course you couldn’t pick someone who didn’t come with a shitload of issues.”
“She doesn’t...” I began.
His voice cut me off. “Dammit Storm. Do you even know who she is? Do you know what she’s done? Do you know anything about that girl?”
I thought about it for a moment. Of course, I knew nothing about her. I’d only just met her, but that didn’t change how my wolf felt about her. I let my mind tumble through the questions he’d posed before realization hit me.
“Ash looked her up, Storm.” He answered the question before I had a chance to ask it. “That girl is nothing but trouble. “She’s fucking dangerous.”
“How so?”
“For fuck’s sake, she’s mafia royalty. Martinelli. Remember them?”
I did, though I wish I hadn’t. They were notorious for the way they brutalized their enemies and most knew better than to stand in their way. We’d had a run in with that family decades ago, and it had cost our pack a lot of lives before we were able to escape them. Even wolves were no match for their cruelty.
Save Me Page 3