by Abby Knox
Suddenly she sucked in her breath. Weird. It was just at the moment when he was thinking about what it would be like to taste her sex in the morning. Had he somehow whispered his desire into her ear? Had she somehow felt his thoughts?
“What are you thinking, angel face?”
“I was just noticing how you seem very …happy.” He pulled back a bit to look at her face. Her eyes were open and she was glancing downward. Then he realized why she’d gasped, his cock was hard as a granite countertop and pressing against her.
“Oh, that. Well, I’d be lying if I denied you were the cause of that.”
“Nobody’s ever called me angel face.”
“That’s a shame, ’cause you are downright gorgeous. Did you know?”
She laughed. “Rosie tells me that all the time. And…I guess I can’t be all that bad to look at if Vann West is getting a boner.”
“Don’t do that,” he said, slightly letting go of her.
“Do what?”
“Don’t put me in this untouchable box where I’m only a celebrity. I’m a human man with needs. And I need you.”
She scoffed gently. “You need me.”
“I need you in all kinds of ways, most of them in my bed.”
Her face flushed deeper. “Too bad we’re on a boat and not in your bedroom. I’m safe.”
“I guess I should take you on a tour, of the craft, then, ma’am.” he said.
She stiffened in his arms. “There’s a bed on this boat?”
“You know it.”
She pulled back out of his embrace then. “Vann, I have to tell you something. I’m a virgin. And I’ll understand if you want to take me home. I don’t have enough experience to impress you in bed.”
Vann reached out again and pulled her back toward him. “Doll, listen. I’m glad you’re a virgin. Because honestly, the idea of another dude getting it on with you makes me want to go back in time to kick their asses one at a time just so I could get to you and be your first and only.”
She was fighting the urges inside her, he could feel it. What was coming out of her mouth was not matching the scent she gave off, or the growing intensity of her pulse.
“That’s a little much for you, Vann. I always got the impression you’re much more chill than that,” she said.
He stared at her lips as she spoke. They were thick and luscious and aching to be kissed. “GiGi, I have zero chill when it comes to you.”
Chapter 9
GiGi
Below deck, GiGi could see that there was not actually one bed on the boat. There were three large bedrooms, each with a California king-size bed in them.
She teased him. “So that is what you can buy on a travel show salary.”
“Pretty much.”
Just then she got a little queasy at the gentle rocking of the boat. “Do you mind if we go back up on deck? I think my stomach is feeling a little unsettled and it might help if I can see the dock. I’m sorry, I guess I don’t have very good sea legs.”
She didn’t have to say another word. Before she even got the whole sentence out, she was in his arms and he was carrying her back up to the deck, rather dramatically. “It’s OK, you don’t have to carry me.”
But he had insisted, and in seconds she was wrapped up in a blanket, sitting in a lounge chair on the deck, facing the pier, a mug of hot ginger tea in her hand.
“This is a little over the top,” she said. “How did you get hot tea? Hey, where are you going?”
But he ignored her and went back below deck again.
Seconds later he was back at her side with a small vial. “Found the lavender oil. Here, smell this.” He unscrewed the top of the teensy delicate bottle of essential oil and held it under her nose.
She grinned at him and was touched at his frenzy of action around her at the mere mention of being slightly nauseated. “Between the ginger and the lavender, and watching you run around like a housemaid, I think I’m potently distracted from my silly little bout of seasickness.”
“On-board generator.” he said.
“What?”
“That’s how I made the tea. There’s a kitchenette down below.”
“I appreciate all this effort. Mainly just looking at the land is helpful. There is enough of a moon that I can see it.”
“I’m glad,” he said, inching himself down so he was sitting on the deck next to her chair. “So tell me. How did you and Rosemary end up becoming so close?”
It made her feel warm and protected with this hulk of a man this near, and this interested in her. “Well, as you know, she and I are cousins. My parents died young. Accidentally shot by deer hunters when they were … hiking … in the swamp. It was awful. Aunt Betsy and Uncle Lionel took me in. Rosie and I are like sisters, but free of the drama. So tell me about you. How did you and Ash and Bobby and Penny meet each other?”
Vann reached out and stroked her hair again. Was he aware that playing with her hair was the second quickest way to her heart? The first being cheese?
“We were all homeschooled together,” he said. “Well, it goes back further than that. We were in regular school as kids. But there was an incident. We don’t really like to talk about it much. Bobby might decide to tell you someday, but we’ve all agreed to respect his wish not to talk about it. After the incident, we were all pulled out and homeschooled by Ash’s mom, Charlene, may she rest in peace. And after she died, we finished our junior and senior years of high school at Jefferson. By that time, Charlene had prepared us to go back in to normal society without causing more incidents. We all more or less grew up at the old JB Chicken estate. It was the best. We were safe to be ourselves there. We’ve stuck together ever since.”
GiGi pressed. “So, can you at least tell me what led up to the incident? What’s so different about all of you?”
Vann sighed and looked down. He appeared to not be ready to talk about it just yet. “Let’s just say, we all come from a weird background and certain …mutations … happen when we all reach the same age, and some of us don’t handle it well the first time it occurs.”
GiGi stared at him. This was sounding weirder and weirder. And familiar.
“What kind of weird things? I mean, what happens to you?”
He hesitated but finally continued. “To put it mildly. Weird shit happens to us whenever there’s a full moon.”
GiGi froze. Could this be true? No, it was impossible. Was it? Did she really want to know?
“Say no more, Vann. I get it. In fact, I think I’ve seen it. Trust me, when there’s a full moon, weird shit happens at the restaurant, too. Staff goes missing. Patrons are extra hungry. Tips sometimes are outrageously high. The stove acts up. There are fights. Somebody gets thrown out. It’s never boring, I can tell you that.”
Vann looked at her. There was something strange, pleading in his eyes. He was trying to communicate something without actually saying it.
But all he said was, “I’m glad there’s somebody there who gets it. It’s almost, kind of like magic.”
Her stomach fluttered. “Kind of magic? I’d say full-blown in-your-face magic. Yeah. I believe it.”
The moon. Oh shit.
It was at this moment GiGi realized that the white sliver in the sky was a waning moon, not a waxing moon. Tomorrow night was hunting night for her. Of course it would be. Shit. She was about to be the deliverer of bad news, but how could she go about it? Most of the time, panthers did not have to worry about shifting into beast mode until the moon was fully waned and blackened in the sky. But if her emotions got out of control, as was likely to happen around this delicious specimen of manhood—there’s no telling what her hormones would do.
“Vann, I’m afraid we might need to cut this date short.”
But he didn’t hear a word she said because he was speaking at the same time. It sounded to her as if he had said, “I think I love you, angel face.”
They froze. And then before she could run away, he wiped the fight-or-flight expressio
n off her face with a deep, forceful but slow kiss. Her blood flooded all her dormant nooks and crannies with urgent, dark desires, but also relief. She had been aching for his lips since he had helped her remove her coat and the strap of her dress had fallen.
Chapter 10
Vann
Thank god, she was not pushing him away.
His hands closed over hers and urged her to open up the blanket that was wrapped around her shoulders. She responded by folding it around him as they kissed. She was warm and welcoming, and the scent on her skin beckoned him to get even closer. “I want to smell and taste every inch of you,” he said.
Her breath was a little shaky as she responded. “I think I might want that too. But I’m a little worried…”
God, she was so sweet and innocent underneath the tough exterior.
“I don’t want to hurt you, so we’re going to go slow…I’m going to make sure you’re totally ready for me.”
“It’s not that…”
He quieted her with another kiss, then smiled. “I’ll talk you through it.”
She bit her lip.
He waited.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Would you might if we stayed out here on the deck?”
“Would I mind? Holy shit, woman, it’s only my ultimate fantasy to bone on board my own boat since I turned 14. I’m all in favor of it.”
Vann leaned in close again and kissed her neck, and felt the intake of breath, her rush of blood, her pulse quickening. God, being a wolf was the fucking best when you found your match. The taste and smell of everything was a hundred times stronger than a basic human’s. With the blanket still around them, he slipped his fingers under the hem of her dress and stroked her thigh. She let out a small sigh as they kissed, her gooseflesh rising at the touch of his fingers. He ran his hands upward and over her bra, squeezed a little, and felt her breath catch. She pressed herself closer into his hands. GiGi seemed to like her tits to be squeezed, and he really, really liked squeezing them. His thumbs worked over her nipples and they became hard little buttons at his touch.
“God, you’re so damn sexy, did you know that?”
I didn’t,” she said, her ragged breath causing her breasts to heave closer to him.
“How do you want me to touch you?” she asked.
“I want you naked first.”
“I kind of like it when you tell me what to do.”
He smiled. “Alrighty then.” He scooped her up and tossed the blanket to the deck. “I want to see all of you in the moonlight.”
Moments later she was naked before him. The faint moon and stars and their reflection in the water casting a glow on her skin. He sighed. He regretted nothing in life until now. He regretted not knowing this woman years ago and taking her for himself. Looking at her bare was like studying a perfectly ripe grapevine and not knowing which juicy bits to take first. But he knew exactly where to start. He spread the blanket out and sat down on it, holding his hand up to her.
She put her hand in his and stepped in close. Vann closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. From this angle it was ten times as erotic. He rose to his knees, reached around and cupped her ass with one hand, and slowly stroked her sex with the other hand. First he felt her tidy little bush with the palm of his hand. He heard her gasp.
“Your body is perfection. You shouldn’t hide it the way you do.”
“You’re the first to see me like this,” she said, her words shaky with desire.
“That’s the way it should be. I’m going to touch you between your legs now.” He then began to explore with his fingers. He massaged her folds and she moaned.
“Oh, Vann. That’s…oh my god…”
He found her tiny button of pleasure and she let out a loud gasp. “Oh my god!”
“Is this good, GiGi?”
“So fucking good!”
“Have you ever touched yourself here?” he asked.
“Some…a little…not much.”
“Listen to me, angel face. There’s nothing or be ashamed about. You’re beautiful. Every last bit of you. “
He worked her rhythmically until she stumbled. “Oh fuck, Vann, I need to feel you between my legs. Now.”
Shit, what had he been thinking, making her stand? “Get on down here, babe.”
He pulled her down and she straddled him on deck. Her tits were now even with his face. For the first time he cupped her breasts.
“It’s insane how perfect these are.” He kissed them. “So soft. Your skin is a blanket for my soul.”
“Vann. Will you please break me now? I’m ready for you.”
He smiled and traced kisses over her breasts as she moaned and rocked her hips into him.
“Do you want to take it out?”
She responded by unzipping and unbuttoning his jeans and reaching in, quickly freeing his cock.
“Your hands felt amazing on me. Do you want to hold it for a bit? Have you ever touched one before?”
She gave a husky little laugh. “Maybe a little, but not one this nice.”
Vann leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows, taking in a deep breath of salt air and letting all the sensations wash over him. “We could stay like this all night. We could just stay like this, touching each all damn night and I could not be happier. I am putty in your hands, darlin’.”
“Come here,” she said. She leaned in and kissed his neck. Her legs tightened around him and he rose back up, his arms pulling her in closer. Their upper bodies were glued together. It felt like heaven, and he knew they were not going to be sitting here simply touching each other all night long. Things were hurtling fast in one direction.
She must have been feeling it too because she started making some different kind of noises along with her moans. It got him more excited knowing he was about to unlock her mysteries.
Her hips rocked toward him with need, and he knew it was time.
He quickly retrieved a condom from his front pocket—what could he say, wishful thinking pays off. Safely sheathed, he asked her again if she was ready.
She made a noise that came from the back of her throat, and then she was raking his back with her nails and smashing his lips with hers with a new intensity.
“Here we go, darlin’.” He had brought lube just in case, but he didn’t even need it, she was that wet and ready. He sank in just a bit, and then something took over her. She was like a wild cat. She was squeezing, thrusting, clawing.
Suddenly he felt her hymen give way, he braced for her cry of pain, but it was not in pain that she cried out. It was more like a triumphant roar. Yes, a roar.
It was a sound from another world, coming from this little woman. Vann didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but when he pulled back and saw her face, it had changed. She had the look of a beast, like him, but not a wolf. Very different from a wolf, in fact. Was he crazy or was this new beast … feline?
“Baby, what’s happening to you?”
But he was helpless now, and she was unresponsive on this plane of existence. She was riding him to ecstasy and he was not about to try to stop her. Something weird was definitely happening, but Vann had been all over the world and seen some weird-ass shit. Weirdness just turned him on even more at this point in his life. “Baby, your nails. Oh my god. Yes!” And suddenly she was coming; he felt her body tightening around his cock, convulsing, and the strangest noises were coming from the back of her throat. And then her mouth was at the base of his neck and he felt her bite down. Hard. “Get it, girl,” he whispered. It was excruciating but also a fucking delicious pain. He instantly came, filling the condom and probably spilling over and out. Damn. Who is this chick? Like, really, Who is she?
As their orgasms subsided, he tried to catch his breath enough to ask her if she was OK.
And then, he felt it. The warm, damp dripping down his back. And more of the same on his front. He looked down and saw red. The metallic smell. Whoa. So much blood!
Well, here’s a clue who this girl was. Hi
s virginal girl was into some freaky shit and she didn’t even know it. He looked up at her and he saw that she was coming back down to earth. She had a look of horror in her eyes, and her pupils had fucking changed their shape. And as she panted to catch her breath, he could see her teeth, and those were not just teeth. Those were fangs.
What. The. Fuck.
In Thailand he’d been tore up pretty badly by a chick who thought she was a vampire, but this was a first.
Then something come over her face. It was an expression of remorse and panic. She immediately recognized what she had done, and she hopped off of him. And screamed. She said something, but he couldn’t understand it. Or, perhaps nothing was registering in his brain because, let’s face it, he was losing blood.
As Vann opened his mouth to speak, he passed out.
Chapter 11
GiGi
“I told you everything I know, officer.”
GiGi was being held in an interrogation room at the hospital. Between sobs, she told the investigating officer who had been called to the hospital everything she could remember. Everything except the part where she had started to transform into a panther in the middle of having sex with one of the city’s most beloved celebrity chefs.
The half-truth had been embarrassing enough. She was being intimate with Vann West on his boat. Things got out of hand and she had scratched him with her nails and bit his chest. She had bitten and scratched harder when he had egged her on. And that’s all that the DuChamps family attorney would let her say.
