by Alisa Woods
BRIAN: I’m watching my favorite movie, Sleepless in Seattle. How about two hours? I don’t want to miss the ending.
AMY: You’re putting me off for a movie?
BRIAN: It gets me in the mood.
AMY: You’re kind of sentimental for a hot shifter guy, aren’t you?
BRIAN: Yes. Also naughty and very good at picking locks. Two hours at the Skylark motel? Message me the room when you get there?
AMY: I’ll have extra handcuffs ready.
Emily waited, checked the data streams, but still nothing. It was possible the message board was being hacked without her realizing it, but she didn’t think so. Plus all the chats were flushed out of the less-secure buffers and sent to the more-secure archives after about five minutes of inactivity. There shouldn’t be any security holes in the first place, but if there were, she should see the hack in the real-time buffers. Which was why she had to catch the hackers in the act. Even if they could erase their digital footprints, or somehow they got wiped when the data went to archive, the hackers couldn’t avoid leaving a trace in real time. But after five minutes, there was still no sign of intrusion.
Emily logged out of the message board—going offline was her signal to Noah that the hackers hadn’t taken the bait. That little hookup between AMY and BRIAN would just fade into the archives, one more fake hookup that would never happen in reality.
Although Noah seemed intent on hooking up with her for real, once all this was over.
That sent a shiver down low in Emily’s belly. On one hand, it was a shiver of anticipation. On the other, she couldn’t imagine actually going through with it. But with each chat message they closed out, she was both more desperate to take him to bed and more terrified it would break her heart. The safest thing would be to just stay friends. Maybe even flirty friends.
Colleagues.
Right.
She didn’t know how much of this flirting was real—well, she knew none of it was real, but she didn’t know if Noah was enjoying it as much as she was. Most likely, he was just doing his job. That would make more sense than him lusting after her the way she was panting at the prospect of having him touch her… far more panting than she’d ever done for any other guy, even in her occasional fantasies about the cute programmer down the hall. Everything about Noah was just over-the-top perfect—he was a shifter, he was incredibly hot, and being a wolf, she knew she was safe with him. Plus he was smart and funny.
That last part was killing her. Because he was the kind of guy she actually might like to keep around… and Noah would never want her long-term. Although he’d definitely made it clear he wanted a short-term hookup. The question was: why? She couldn’t really imagine. Supposedly, all guys were hot for any kind of sex anytime, and shifter libido was legendary. They were sex gods among men. But they were also ridiculously hot and could have any girl they wanted. So why bother with her? There was literally nothing about her that a sexy shifter like Noah couldn’t get just as easily from AMY or SHELLY or APRIL… or any of the other profiles he’d flirted with tonight.
Her brain kept nagging at that and coming up frustrated.
Meanwhile, her screen pinged with another message coming in—this one was also from a male shifter initiating contact with a human female he had matched with. That was the typical profile. The shifters could have their pick of the women, generally speaking, but they were also looking for a fast hookup… so they usually made first contact when they were available, working their way through the list to see who would respond the fastest. Human females with any sense jumped right on that opportunity when it appeared… so Emily quickly routed NICK’s message to Noah along with her response as TRISH to get things rolling and appearing normal.
NICK: Wow, your smile is making my wolf growl.
TRISH: Yeah?
Noah’s first foray into the discussion came quickly…
NICK: Like you don’t even know. Which is unusual… my inner beast typically only responds to other shifters. Are you sure you’re not part wolf?
Of course, he knew she was human. But it made her heart thump anyway… why was he taking the message in this direction?
TRISH: Positive I’m not a wolf. But I love everything about them.
NICK: Have you ever been with a wolf before?
Emily felt her face heat up. Why was he asking this?
TRISH: No. First time. Is that okay? Does that turn you off?
NICK: The opposite. I can’t wait to explore your wild side.
Her face was definitely ten degrees hotter than the room now.
TRISH: I guess you want my chat number, then?
NICK: I want a whole lot more than that, but I’ll settle for the number.
TRISH: 347-2290
Emily’s hands shook a little as she closed down the messenger and logged into the secure chat board again. Okay, maybe even online and halfway across the city wasn’t enough distance to keep her from feeling the heat that Noah generated in her.
“NICK’s” chat message lit up right away.
NICK: I have to be honest. I’m drooling at the thought of getting closer to you.
Gulp. Oh God, were they really going to do this? Message sex-talk? It wasn’t like it didn’t happen—she’d seen it get scorching hot online—but she’d never imagined doing it herself. Much less with a man she knew she’d see again sometime in the next twelve hours.
TRISH: Um… don’t drool on the keyboard. Could cause problems.
So lame. She had no idea how to do this.
NICK: Can’t help it. You’re so damn sexy.
She should just cut to the chase with this, so they could move on to another, less aggressively sexy, persona. And she could go splash cold water on her face. Something.
TRISH: You’re pretty hot yourself. Maybe we should hook up?
NICK: Maybe. Depends.
Wait… what? Noah wasn’t supposed to play hard to get. What was he doing?
TRISH: Depends? On what?
NICK: On how long you can last. Are you up for a whole night? Are you well rested? Have you had your dinner? Because you’re going to need your energy, sweet thing.
Oh God.
TRISH: I can handle whatever you’ve got in mind, wolf boy.
NICK: I’m not a BOY. And what I’ve got in mind starts with just my hands, all over your body, every place that can be touched. Then my mouth is going to taste you, inside and out. And when I’m finally inside you, believe me, you’ll know just how much MAN I have to give. I want to feel every ripple of your orgasms like you’re part of me.
Oh. My. God. Emily pushed away from her desk, her heart pounding and pushing hot blood throughout her body… and pooling it between her legs. How could she look him in the face the next time they met, now that he’d said those things? And what could she possibly say in return?
Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed hard. Then an off-tone ping sounded, and it took a moment in her panicked state to realize what it was: the alert she’d set up for an intruder.
She slammed back to the keyboard, opening a separate window to track the intrusion.
Yes! There he was, the hacker, lurking in the background of their supposedly secure chat… he was just a surge in the data download that wasn’t there a moment ago but was unmistakable now. She put a trace on it, even though she didn’t expect that to turn up anything. More importantly… she had to set up the meet!
NICK: Are you there?
Oh shit.
TRISH: Yes! Damn… sorry… just overheating from your last message.
NICK: Thought maybe I scared you off.
TRISH: No. God no. Can’t wait to feel your hands on me for real.
NICK: Yeah?
Shit. He didn’t know this wasn’t for real. Or maybe it was, but that part didn’t matter right now. What mattered was getting the hookup set before their lurker gave up on them.
TRISH: Oh yeah. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there. I’ll keep going as long as you can.
&nb
sp; NICK: Promises, promises.
TRISH: You’re the one with all the teasing. How about you show me what you can do offline?
Dammit, Noah needed to hurry this along. Then she smacked her palm to her forehead—his phone! She snatched her phone off her desk and quickly searched for Noah’s number. It took agonizingly long to find it. Meanwhile, “NICK” was still messaging her.
NICK: I’m not teasing. I’ll make every fantasy you have about wolves come true.
She quickly typed…
TRISH: When and where?
Then she texted Noah on his personal phone, Hacker is watching us. It took a moment, but when he texted back, it was simple. Copy that. Then “NICK” messaged her again.
NICK: Are you ready now?
TRISH: Yes!
NICK: How about the Stryker Motel? One hour?
TRISH: Perfect!
NICK: Message me with your room when you arrive.
TRISH: Can’t wait.
Then she logged out immediately—their signal that the meet was on. As soon as she did, the trace disappeared… and so did the hacker. Emily searched the archives, but there was no indication that he’d been there or anywhere else in the system. If she hadn’t captured the feeds real-time, there would have been no evidence at all that something strange had happened on that particular chat.
But it had.
Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Noah. We need to move fast. Need to get there before him.
Copy that, she replied, then grabbed her stuff and ran for the elevator.
“She’s late. Something’s wrong.” Noah peered through the back window of the Riverwise pack van, scanning the streets darkened with rain and glistening with the city’s night lights. The traffic was light but steady—this shady side of downtown never slept—but there was no sign of Emily’s silver Prius. He’d given her the address of the liquor store where they were parked, but maybe her GPS wasn’t working…
“You could text her again while she’s driving,” his brother, Daniel, said from the driver’s seat. “Because that was such a great idea the last two times.”
“Something’s wrong,” Noah said again, his hand palming his phone in his pocket, itching to do exactly what his jerk brother was saying he shouldn’t do.
“She’s not even late. The meetup isn’t for another fifteen minutes.” Daniel climbed out of the driver’s seat and joined him in the back of the van.
Noah glared at him. He shouldn’t have said anything, just texted Emily like he wanted to. Now, Daniel’s big-brother look of concern was all over him, and he couldn’t do it without taking crap. Chatter in Noah’s earbud distracted both of them for a moment—the rest of the pack was checking in from their stations around the motel. Two of them had rented rooms, posing as legit customers. The others had arrived surreptitiously, joining them or staking out spots in the darkened stairwell corners or parked at the IHOP next door. All told, they had a dozen Riverwise shifters ready to take the bomber down, if he showed. It should be more than enough.
But having Emily in the middle of it was making Noah unexpectedly nervous.
The chatter died down, and just as Daniel opened his mouth to say something—something Noah was sure he didn’t want to hear—a silver Prius pulled up alongside the van.
“She’s here.” Noah pushed past his brother to slide open the van door.
Emily climbed out of the driver’s seat, and her smile lit up when she saw him. It warmed him and flushed cool relief through him, all at the same time. Which was a fair description of the feelings she was stirring up in him—all conflicted and bothered. Ever since their chat had gotten hotter than he had planned, and then she’d pulled back from him, it had left him nervous. Afraid she thought he was only after sex from her… and then afraid that he actually wanted more.
He waved her into the van.
She looked Daniel over with wide eyes. “Hi,” she said to him, but it was soft and a little breathy. Like she was shy, or maybe attracted to him. The flush of jealousy that surged up stunned Noah so badly, he fought for a moment to say anything at all.
“So, you’re the famous Emily-the-programmer,” Daniel said with a smirk, managing to be an asshole in less than ten words.
Emily’s shyness disappeared. She lifted one eyebrow and looked to Noah. “Famous?”
Noah just shook his head. “Please don’t listen to a thing my brother says. Please.”
“What?” Daniel’s ridiculous look of innocence wasn’t fooling anyone. “I’m just saying—”
“Don’t.” Noah glared a threat at him, then reached for Emily’s hand and pulled her further into the van, away from Daniel. “Ignore him,” he said softly. “Are you all right?”
She frowned. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“I just… nothing.” He would explain about the chat later when they were alone. “Okay, here’s the plan. Riverwise is already in place. They’ll have eyes on you from the moment you enter the motel parking lot. You go ahead and check in, then message me the room number. I’ll follow in about fifteen minutes, so it doesn’t look like I was hanging out at the liquor store right around the corner.”
“Sounds good.” Emily glanced at Daniel, then back at Noah. “So then… what? We just wait?”
“We’ve been watching the place for the last half hour,” Daniel said. “Two couples have checked in, but that’s it. Unless the bomber miraculously got here before us, he hasn’t shown yet. But when he does, we’ll be waiting for him.”
“But you don’t know what he looks like,” she protested.
Noah’s stomach clenched. “No. Which is why I’ll be straggling in. We want to give him plenty of time to get here and see me arrive. I’ll keep my hood up, just in case he’s downloaded the profile pix from the hookup.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked, her cute nose scrunching up. “I mean, what if he decides to just shoot you as you’re getting out of the car?”
Noah worked to keep the smile off his face. She wasn’t worried about herself walking into a sting operation to catch a bomber… she was worried about him. “I doubt he’ll do that. It’s much safer for him to wait, make sure I’m the right guy by going to the right room, then slip out of whatever cover he’s keeping to plant the bomb on my car and slip away. He could be watching from across the street or the forest preserve behind the motel or any number of places. And he’s sure to be extra careful this time because we’ve already caught his co-conspirator. He might even show up much later after he’s sure we’re… indisposed inside the room.”
She lifted both eyebrows. He prayed she wouldn’t mention any of their sexy chat-talk in front of Daniel. But she just said, “Okay. That sounds, well, reasonable, at least.” She glanced at her phone. “I better go.”
“Okay.” Noah wanted to hug her or reassure her or… something. Instead, he just said, “Be careful.”
She smiled, and he swore it lit up the inside of the van.
Damn, he was in trouble with this girl. How did that happen so quickly? It must have been the hours they spent online, talking and flirting and spilling little details about their lives.
He watched her climb out of the van and back into her Prius. Just like the first time they met, he was almost hoping the bad guy wouldn’t show, or at least would take his time, just so Noah could be alone with Emily in the motel room. Only this time, he just wanted to talk. Find out how much of those chats were her and how much were a front. See if he really threw her with the sexy talk or not. And, okay, maybe kiss her as well.
So much trouble.
“You like this girl.” Daniel’s voice was drenched in disapproval, as usual.
Noah closed his eyes, reining in the urge to just have it out, right here, in the van. Preferably with claws and fangs. “That’s not a crime, you know.”
“She’s human.” Daniel was still aghast.
“I noticed.” Noah forced out a breath, opened his eyes, and turned to his brother. “It’s not like I’m mate material
, Daniel.”
His face grew instantly serious. “You’re talking about Afghanistan.”
Noah sighed. Fifteen minutes stuck in a van with his brother, and already they were on the worst possible topic. “Yes, because of what happened in Afghanistan. And the cages.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “The experiments affected you.” He was guessing, but it wasn’t a wild leap.
“Let’s just say, I’m not the wolf you grew up with.”
“Noah.” For once, his brother seemed genuinely distressed. Which was somehow worse than all the condescension and arrogance. Because he had to believe there was something really, seriously wrong with his brother to turn this kind of soft.
The temptation to tell Daniel about their grandfather, the white wolf of disgrace, was overwhelming… it would knock him back on his arrogant ass to know he was descended from a lying, cheating male witch. But Noah couldn’t bring himself to do it.
