by Rose, Aubrey
“This is my ride,” the guy named Mikey said, leaning against his car. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offered me one. I shook my head. He lit his own and began to puff away. I stood with my arms crossed, waiting for them to unlock the door.
“I—uh, thank you,” I said. “For giving me a ride.”
“Sure thing,” the first guy said, coming over to stand in front of me. “Before you head out, though, maybe we could have a little fun.”
“Fun?” I looked over at Mikey, who turned to stroll away, blowing cigarette smoke in the air.
“You don’t want to end the night without a little fun,” the man said. His hand reached out for my thigh, and when I tried to twist away he planted his legs on either side of me, blocking my path. He leaned in and I recoiled against the side of the car.
“No,” I said, panic rising in my chest. “This—this was a misunderstanding. Sorry, I just wanted to get home.”
“Well, sure,” the man said. He was touching me now, his hand sliding down to cup my ass. “But a ride home, you think that’s free? That’s not free.”
“Let me go,” I said, trying to push him away. He grabbed my arm and shoved me hard against the car. My hip hit metal and a shock of pain ran through me. Adrenaline pumped hard in my veins, and I could feel the monster simmering up through my body.
“Come on now, baby,” he said.
“I’m not your baby. Let me go!”
“Ooh, you’re a fighter. That why you came here? To watch a fight? Or to have a little fight?” He leaned close to me, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I tried desperately to keep myself from shifting. I hadn’t let the monster out in so long, and I didn’t want to now, unless it was my last chance. I could get out of this myself. “We can do a little fighting, if that’s what you’re into.”
He swept one leg between my thighs, pushing hard against me. His erection pressed into my leg.
“I haven’t had a good fight in a while,” he said, his eyes gleaming. His fingers pulled up on the hem of my dress.
“Don’t—”
“Try to stop me, just you try,” he whispered. “It’ll be fun if you try just a little.”
I breathed in hard. The monster was right there. Right there. All I had to do was let my guard down, just a crack—
“Hello, boys!”
The man spun away from me, and I swallowed the monster back inside. My hands trembled as the guy stepped away, letting me go.
Standing in the middle of the parking spot next to us was the fighter that I’d run into, the one who had pointed to me.
Hutch.
“Hutch, you dog!” Mikey went strolling over to the fighter. He tossed his cigarette butt down, grinding it out with his heel.
“What are you two lunatics doing sticking around after a fight?”
“We were just having a little fun,” the guy next to me said.
Hutch looked straight at me, and his eyes seemed to look right through my face into my other self. His brow bled from a cut he’d gotten during the fight, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all. I was still on the edge of shifting, trying to keep the monster back, and his smell was making it hard for me to stay human.
“That right?” he said.
“Aw, Hutch, you know these townie girls,” Mikey said. “They get lost.”
“And you were trying to get her unlost.”
“Sure.”
“What a gentleman.” Hutch dripped sarcasm. “Thanks for taking care of my girl until I was done cleaning up.”
“Your girl?” the guy next to me asked. His mouth dropped open in astonishment. “But—”
“Yeah,” Hutch said, snapping a look at the man that made him shut up in a hurry. “My girl.”
“Oh, sure. Sure thing, Hutch,” Mikey said. “Anytime.”
“You all done with having fun here?” he asked me pointedly. “Ready to go?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Okay, great. This will just take a minute.”
As he stepped past me something passed over Hutch like a ripple. He seemed… bigger somehow and his eyes. I was sure they were blue, but now it was like they were glowing like dull orange embers in a dying fire.
As he approached Mikey, his arm shot out, grabbing Mikey between the legs. Mikey gasped, and as Hutch began to lift him off the ground he began to whimper.
“Hutch… I didn’t know she was yours. I s...swear.”
When Hutch replied, it sounded like his voice was being broadcast through gravel, it was deep and rough and the sounds rolled off his tongue with a deep inhuman growl that sent shivers down my spine.
“It doesn’t matter that she’s mine. She could be anyone’s. But you don’t come into my home and behave like this. You got that?”
“Sure. I got it man.”
“I don’t want to see you or any of your asshole friends here again. You got that?”
“Aww man, but where else can we—” Mikey’s reply terminated in a shrill screech as Hutch applied more pressure before leaning in and taking several deep sniffs.
“I’ve got your scent now. I know where you work. I know where you drink. I know where you sleep. Next time you decide to have a little fun with someone, you might want to keep that in mind. You got that?”
All Mikey could muster was a high pitch peep and when Hutch released him, he fell to the ground and curled up in a ball, whimpering.
He turned and winked at me.
“I think he got it.” Then he stepped forward and offered me his hand.
He was huge, muscled, and for a half second I debated just turning to run away. The men in the parking lot were horrible, to be sure, but I could shift and defend myself against them. With Hutch, I didn’t know if I could defend myself in any kind of way, even if I let myself lose control. But he was waiting patiently for me, and when I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t look away.
I swallowed hard, willed myself to keep the monster inside, and took his hand.
Chapter Eight
Hutch
“Here you are,” he said. “You gotta put on a helmet.”
“A helmet?” I stared at the helmet in my hands, uncomprehending.
“You wanted a ride home, didn’t you?”
“A—a what?” I looked up at him, realization dawning for the first time. “On a motorcycle?”
He grinned at me, and oh, dear Lord, I almost melted to the floor at his smile. He shrugged on a leather jacket but left the front open. I had to tear my eyes away from his hard muscled chest peeking out from the black leather.
“Come on,” he said. “You’ll love it.”
I didn’t think I would love it. In fact, I thought I would hate it. I had never even considered riding a motorcycle before, and if I had known that this was how Hutch was going to take me home, I might have taken my chances with the guys in the parking lot. My knees shook as we walked to the bike. He got on and looked back at me.
“Hop on,” he said.
“I...I don’t know how,” I mumbled.
“Just step up onto the peg and throw your leg over the bike,” he said.
“Like, one leg on either side? How do I do that?” The bike looked huge, intimidating, and I really didn’t want to clamber up onto it like some awkward rock climber.
“Straddle it like you would straddle me.” He winked and my mouth went dry.
“But I’m wearing a dress.”
He laughed, and I stood there mortified. He wanted me to spread my legs and just... I closed my eyes.
“Okay,” I said. “But don’t look.”
Hutch’s grin spread wider and he closed his eyes. I stepped forward and grabbed the back of the bike with one hand. I stepped up on the peg with one foot. That’s where I stopped, frozen. I was sure that as soon as I put my weight on the bike, it would tip right over.
“Here we go,” Hutch said, turning and grabbing my waist with one arm. I squealed as he picked me up and slung me around the back of him as though I weighed nothing. He
laughed.
“See? Easy.”
“Sure,” I said, breathing so hard that the helmet plastic in front of me fogged up. “Easy.”
“Hard part is getting off,” Hutch said.
“Wait, wha—”
With a roar of the engine, we pulled forward. I flung my arms around Hutch’s waist and held on for dear life. I was sure that I would slide off immediately and die.
The engine roared under my body, and adrenaline shot my system into high gear. My fingers tightened around Hutch. What if my hands got so sweaty I couldn’t hold on? What if he turned to one side? I prayed that I would die a quick death, that I’d hit my head and not know what was happening.
After a few seconds on the bike, I realized that I wasn’t going to slide off. My breath grew a bit more steady. I scooted to one side, trying to adjust my weight more comfortably. Hutch leaned back and spoke loudly.
“You doing okay?”
“I can’t see!” I said. The plastic visor was so fogged up with my heavy breathing that the world was blurred.
Hutch glanced back and laughed. He reached over his shoulder and flipped my visor up. Immediately I could see.
Immediately, I was terrified again.
Without being able to see, it seemed like we were going slowly. Now, though, I could see the road whizzing by under the wheels.
“Oh my god,” I said. My heart beat fast in my chest. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. How fast are we going?”
“We’re going thirty-five,” Hutch said. “You okay?”
“Great,” I said, swallowing hard.
“Good. Hold on and let’s go for a ride!”
“I am holdin—”
The bike surged forward and I clenched my eyes shut instinctively. My arms were wrapped around Hutch, and as I breathed in his scent, I felt myself grow dizzy with desire.
My legs were spread apart on the bike, and the vibrations of the engine weren’t helping at all to calm me down. Behind my eyelids flashes of red told me every time we went over a speed bump. The motorcycle roared, and with every gear shift I prayed that I wouldn’t fall.
I knew that if I let the monster out, I’d be done for. My entire system was surging with hot terrible impulses. The heat of his chest under my hands made me ache between my thighs, and the engine churned.
Then he braked before a curve, and my body was thrown forward against his. There was nothing between his body and mine, and before I could shift my weight back again, we were turning and I was holding tight again. I opened my eyes for a glance and saw the bike tilted in a sharp curve. I closed my eyes again. The pressure against me down there was unbelievable, and I found myself tilting my hips forward, trying to relieve the ache—
“Look out there,” Hutch said. I opened my eyes, swallowing the fierce lust that threatened to destroy me.
We were going over an overpass. From this height I could see the city below like a bowl of sparkling jewels in the darkness. The pinpricks of light shimmered white and yellow and red in the distance.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. My voice was so soft that he couldn’t hear it, but I knew he could tell what I thought. He turned and I could see the slight glimmer of a smile underneath the helmet visor.
“Ready?” he asked, and I only tightened my arms around him slightly, my heart quickening, before we shot forward into the night.
By the time we arrived in front of my dad’s house, I was insanely worked up. Hutch swung me off the bike just as easily as he had swung me on, and I adjusted my dress before taking off the helmet and handing it to him. His body smelled so damn good that I wanted to throw myself on top of him. I restrained myself, though, and he looked at me expectantly.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said.
“Anytime,” Hutch replied. His eyes flickered up to the house windows. The lights were still on. My dad must be waiting up.
“Uh, I’d invite you in, but I’m living with my dad right now.”
“Oh?” Hutch kept smiling at me, and the empty silence between us made me squirm. I didn’t know what to say or how to act.
“Um, you want to have a beer?” There was a cooler in the garage that I’d stocked up with fresh food and drinks yesterday. My dad’s fridge was overflowing with Tupperware containers of half-eaten leftovers that I hadn’t gotten a chance to clear out yet, but at least I could get us some decent things to eat and drink.
Hutch nodded, his smile still making my stomach butterfly in circles, and I led him to the garage before realizing how insanely cluttered it was. The door opened and I pointed over to where the cooler was, across from a couch covered in bicycle parts and cardboard boxes.
“Here,” I said. “Just let me, um—”
“I got it,” Hutch said. He leapt over the couch and picked up the huge cardboard boxes easily, putting them up on a shelf above his head. His leather jacket swung open and my mouth went dry at the sight of his muscles working, every inch of his skin taut over his hard chest.
He shoved the bicycle parts into the corner and swept his hand over the half of the couch that was now empty. He patted the seat cushion and a puff of dust rose into the air.
“Have a seat, darling,” Hutch said, the grin never leaving his face.
I tiptoed through the cluttered mess in the garage over to the couch. Leaning over to open the cooler, I became aware that Hutch was staring baldly at my backside. I flushed, pulling the beers out of the cooler quickly.
“Nice view from over here,” Hutch said.
“Sorry for blocking so much of it with my ass,” I retorted, handing him a beer and leaning back against the cooler. He chuckled and snapped the cap off of the beer bottle with his keychain. I handed him mine and he did the same.
“I like them wide,” he said, giving me back my opened beer.
“Not like your girlfriend?”
I wanted to clap my hand over my mouth at the words. I hadn’t meant to mention the woman who’d come into the ring after the fight, but Hutch wasn’t embarrassed at all.
“Nah, that’s just Gina,” he said, as if that explained everything. “She’s a wolf, too.”
“Too?”
“Like you.”
I stared at him, unsure what to say.
“What?” he asked. “You think I don’t know you’re one of us?”
“I’m not one of you.”
“You’re a shifter, aren’t you? Come here, sit down. I’m lonely.”
He reached out and took my wrist. No, not took it. He caressed the side of my hand and my body simply went with the motion. I sat next to him and took a sip of beer. It was cold, and I couldn’t taste anything else but that.
“I...I haven’t shifted in a while,” I said. “Not since I was a kid.”
“Why not?” He leaned back and slung his arm over the back of the couch. The inside of his wrist just touched my shoulder, and I couldn’t stop focusing on the heat of his skin on mine. I couldn’t move away. I wanted to move closer. I couldn’t move closer.
“The last time. Didn’t end so well.”
“I want to see you do it.”
I looked up at him in astonishment.
“What, like right now?”
“Sure, why not?” He leaned back and took a swig of the beer. When he tilted the bottle back down, it was half empty.
“I’ll ruin my dress.”
“It is a nice dress; that would be a shame. You could always take it off first.”
Real subtle, but I couldn’t help grinning at his rough charm.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Hutch shrugged, but I sensed he knew this wasn’t the real reason for my reluctance.
“I don’t—I don’t want to hurt you,” I said.
Hutch laughed. It was the first time I’d heard him laugh out loud fully. His laugh was a deep bursting kind of laughter, the kind that came from the gut. His arm wrapped around me and pulled me tighter to him.
“Oh, you little thing, you think you can hurt me?�
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“I’m not sure,” I said. That was the first time anyone called me little, but I suppose to him, I was. My insides were trembling at the touch of his body on mine.
“Let me show you something,” he said. His eyes caught mine, and I saw flashes of desire dancing through his irises. I lifted my chin and he smiled, and every part of my body shivered with the nearness of him.
“Alright,” I whispered.
He leaned forward and kissed me. Even as I felt the heat of his lips so close to mine, I willed myself to be brave.
As his lips brushed mine, there was an instant where I wanted everything. I wanted this rough, dangerous stranger to take me right here. I wanted him against me. I wanted him on top of me. I wanted him inside me.
But I couldn’t. Something in me had broken five years ago. Hutch wasn’t Tommy, and the rational part of me knew I posed no danger to him. But it wasn’t enough.
I hesitated and took a half-step backwards, away from his kiss and everything it promised.
He growled. A low rumble in the back of his throat.
“I... I’m sorry. I can’t.”
He looked at me for a moment as if considering his options and just as the silence was beginning to become uncomfortable, “Thanks for the beer. Maybe I’ll catch you around some time.”
No, no, no! “Wait Hutch, I’m sorry. I want to, it’s just… Tommy, those guys, you, me, everything. I need time.”
“I’m sorry too, but I don’t have time for all that. We like each other. We fuck. The rest is all bullshit.”
Hutch, it appeared, wasn’t exactly a romantic.
“I just need a little time to process it all. Ask me on a date. We can write off tonight. Ask me out and it’ll be different.”
He grunted by way of a reply. I crossed my arms and stood there, waiting. I wasn’t going to beg him again.
“I don’t really do dates,” he said finally.
“And I don’t really do motorbikes, but sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone, y’know?”
Another grunt as he turned to leave, his massive frame so broad and tall, silhouetted by the streetlight. He stopped and turned his head.
“Yeah. Okay. Tomorrow. Eight?”
I bit my lip. That was probably the best I was going to get from him. If I hadn’t been so worked up, I would have tossed him out on his ass. As it was, though, I nodded back in a semblance of calm.
