by Tasha Black
On the other side, stood Sheriff Clive Warren, his service pistol drawn.
Mac had known Clive for years, since he sat in Global Studies, drawing football plays and flirting with the young ladies instead of whatever it was Mac had asked him to do. Clive hadn’t been much of a student, but he was a good cop, and one hell of a wolf. His shoulders were also almost as wide as the doorway. Mac was surprised he hadn’t knocked it clean off its hinges.
Clive’s heart thundered in his chest. He seemed way too amped up for such a mundane call. And why on Earth had he drawn his gun?
Clive’s expression wavered between glory and terror.
“I understand there’s been a crime, ma’am,” he said to Dr. Thayer.
“Yes, there has,” she agreed.
Clive’s eye caught the tape outline and his brow furrowed.
“Where’s the body?” he asked.
Everyone looked around in confusion. Then Andrew Farthing, slowly raised his hand.
“What the hell?” Clive asked.
“I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding,” Mac explained. “This is a murder mystery dinner party. With a wild west theme.”
“So why am I here?” Clive growled, holstering his weapon.
“Dr. Thayer’s keys have been stolen,” Mac replied.
“Her car keys?” Clive asked. “Or her house keys? Doesn’t she have a spare?”
He turned to Dr. Thayer.
“Don’t you have a spare?”
“No,” Mac answered for her. “ Not like that. Antique keys. Old keys to different places in Tarker’s Hollow.”
A siren outside announced the arrival of another police car. Clive must have called for back-up.
The sheriff rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell phone.
“Never mind about back-up - it’s not a 1-8-7, it’s a…” Clive broke off, and sighed, then tried again. “It’s whatever the code is for stolen keys… No, no, not car keys, not house keys, just like, like, old OLD keys… Yeah, okay, I’ll explain it later.”
He stuck his phone back in his pocket, then turned to Dr. Thayer.
“Do you want to file a police report?” he asked doubtfully.
“You’re darn skippy I do,” she replied.
“Okay, then, let’s go someplace we can talk,” he said.
He turned to face the group.
“Nobody here can leave. But you can go on and do…” His eyes drifted over the unusually clad dinner guests. “Whatever you were doing before.”
As Clive and Dr. Thayer headed back to her study, Mac worried the keys in his pocket.
Parker approached him and threaded her arm through his.
“Why the long face?” she asked. “This is probably the best thing that could have happened tonight - a real mystery. Or are you just worried you won’t get me alone again?”
Something dreadful occurred to Mac. He was surprised it hadn’t occurred to him sooner.
Only one person could have had access to his person in a manner that would have allowed them to slip the keys into his pocket unnoticed.
And that person was studying him now with cool gray eyes and a half smile.
For the second time in a single evening, Mac found himself dragging Parker Everly out of the room.
10
When they reached the music room, he let go of her hand and spun to face her. Before he could speak, she gave him a welcoming smile.
“Listen, J.D.,” she said, placing a suggestive hand on his chest. “I am totally coming home with you tonight. I’m a sure thing. But the scene out there is starting to get interesting. Can we just, like, hold off on all this, and see what’s going on out there?”
“Nice try, Parker. Why would you steal the keys?” Mac asked.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Don’t be cute. What did you want with them?”
“I hope you’re joking, J.D.,” Parker protested. “You know I wouldn’t steal her keys.”
Her voice was higher now, and Mac could hear her heartbeat speeding up. She was upset, probably because he’d called her out.
“No one else could have done it. I know you like to have fun, Parker, but Helen’s really upset,” he said firmly. “And I could lose my position at the college because of this.”
“Everyone said you’d gotten weird since Michael Connor died,” Parker sighed angrily. “But I always liked you. I only came here tonight because my mom said you were coming. God, I’m an idiot.”
“What do you mean, you came here because I was going to be here?” Mac heard himself ask.
“What do you think I mean?” Parker spat.
“But the keys,” Mac spluttered.
“Oh, screw it!” Parker said, shaking her head.
She slapped him hard across the face.
Mac grabbed his stinging cheek as Parker brushed past him. He wasn’t proud to feel his body reacting with pleasure to her slap.
Someone behind him let out a soft gasp.
“Excuse me,” Parker sobbed from the hall.
Mac heard her shoes clicking away.
“Mr. MacGregor? Are you okay?” asked a familiar soft voice from the doorway.
11
MacGregor turned and looked into the doe eyes of Ava Gray.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Ava’s face filled with concern. She took a step toward him and placed her small hand on his forearm.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Just an argument, I think this incident with the keys has everyone on edge,” Mac told her, rubbing his cheek and trying not to look at her breasts. It was like trying not to think about a purple elephant.
Ava nodded seriously.
“Yes,” she said. “I was heading back to Dr. Thayer’s study to see if the keys could have been dropped on the floor somehow. Then I heard that lady yelling at you, and…”
“Some night, huh?” Mac smiled down at her.
Ava looked away modestly, unable to meet his gaze.
Mac nearly growled. His inner wolf smelled prey. She was such a delicious little thing. She must be responding to his alpha.
He almost felt bad about Parker, but then he had to remind himself that Parker was the kind of person who would steal Helen’s keys, apparently on a whim.
Ava, on the other hand, was a darling girl. He’d always thought she was a bit on the serious side, but after Parker’s wild behavior, serious sounded good.
“I never really liked the idea of this party,” Ava admitted, “but Dr. Thayer thought it was important to do something to uplift the community. I asked what she meant and she said ‘just in general.’ And she’s right. There’s a weird vibe with everyone right now, it’s more than just the Connors’ car accident.”
The pack had been in total disarray since the loss of its beloved alpha. It didn’t surprise Mac that Ava noticed something amiss.
“Did you ever feel like there was a secret?” she asked. “Like, a big secret, that everyone was in on, except you?”
Poor thing. There was a big secret, of course. But Mac couldn’t tell her about it. He’d often wondered how the non-wolf population of Tarker’s Hollow could fail to suspect what was happening under their noses every full moon. Maybe they weren’t as oblivious as he thought.
Ava looked so forlorn that he reached out and put a hand on her elbow. He even ignored the spark of heat the touch ignited.
“Hey, don’t look so down,” he said. “Let’s go look for those keys. I’ll help you.”
Maybe he could slip the keys into the study while they searched. Then Ava could find them and have the glory of returning them to Dr. Thayer. Win, win, win. There was no point making things worse for Parker.
He worried the keys in his pocket again. They were heavy, ponderous things, except one. That one felt like it had a little design on it - a funny little swirl. He hadn’t been alone yet to look at them.
Suddenly, Ava was in his arms.
“Oh, Mr. M
acGregor, you’re so kind and you’re so handsome,” she whispered hotly against his neck. “That woman was very stupid to slap you.”
Mac froze.
Ava was all over him. Her lush breasts pressed against him, feeling warmer and firmer than in his wildest fantasies. Her breath smelled like peaches. And she thought he was handsome.
Before he knew it, his arms were around her. Ava melted in his embrace, like she had been born to mold her curves to his muscles.
Instantly, his cock swelled so hard it hurt. Every cell of his body was determined to possess her.
There were footsteps in the hallway.
Fuck.
Ava didn’t pull away.
But Mac wasn’t going to manhandle her in front of everyone. As a matter of fact, he was starting to think he would be very happy if no other man ever looked at her again.
“Let’s get out of here,” he growled in her ear.
“But we’re not allowed to leave,” she breathed.
“You know the house. Where can we be alone?” he asked, pulling back to look into her eyes.
She colored prettily.
“Upstairs,” she replied. “I have a room here, for when Dr. Thayer needs me to be on call.”
“Perfect,” he said.
She blushed again at the praise, and he was struck with an inhuman wave of lust.
They headed out, passing a group of guests heading to the study.
“Did you check the library?” Carol asked in her quavery voice, looking suspiciously from Mac to Ava and back.
“Yes, all clear,” he replied too brightly. “Just heading to find something to drink. This is thirsty work.”
Carol scowled, but continued with her little group toward the study.
Ava had gone on without him, and Mac had to walk quickly to catch up. Her pert little bottom was making sensuous figure eights in the snug gray dress as she walked.
They crossed the center hall and continued through the kitchen to a small den. It must have been the place where servants sat in the old days. There was even a bell box with buttons and labels corresponding to each room: front parlor, back parlor, front hall, dining, kitchen, etc., so that servants could be summoned to any room in the house. It was all very high tech for its time.
At the back of the servants’ lounge, there was a backstair. Such was the grandeur of the Thayer mansion, that even this servant’s staircase was lustrous carved chestnut.
As Ava gathered her skirts and ascended the stair, Mac tried not to think about looking up her dress. But the sweet smell of her and the milky skin of her dimpled thighs called to him.
They climbed past the second floor and on up to the third. At last, Ava arrived on a landing, and used a key in her pocket to open a door.
12
The door swung open to reveal a classic Victorian bedroom. There was a brick fireplace, a wide plank wood floor, gauzy curtains, and even a four poster bed with a canopy and a sheepskin rug at its foot. A small bank of windows with a window seat overlooked the moonlit gardens behind the mansion.
It looked to Mac more like a room for a little girl than an adult assistant.
The Lloyd-Thayers had never had children. That meant this must have been Helen’s room when she was a child. Or maybe it was one of her sisters’ rooms.
Except that none of this stuff was antique. It all looked new, and it felt like something that came from one of the hip stores in King of Prussia.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Ava whispered.
Mac nodded.
“Dr. Thayer wanted me to have a pleasant place to stay when I was here. She and Brad got all this stuff.” She smiled indulgently. “I guess it’s a little babyish.”
Maybe Dr. Thayer had wanted a daughter, and Ava was the closest she was likely to come to having one.
His body was racked with excitement to be with Ava Gray this close to a bed. But recognizing how Dr. Thayer felt about her gave him pause.
“What are you thinking about?” Ava asked, moving closer to him, and touching his arm with concern.
He closed his eyes and tried to count to ten in his head instead of noticing the reaction his body had to her touch.
“Are you okay?” She cupped his cheek in her palm, running her thumb across his forehead.
He could smell her peachiness and hear her heart throb. Her hand was so soft. And her breasts were already skimming his chest. Sweet heaven, could her nipples be stiff enough for him to feel it through that gown?
He opened his eyes. She was gazing at him intently.
“I wish I knew what was happening in this town,” she whispered, almost to herself. “Everything is worse, except you. You seem…taller, or smarter or something. And so strong…”
She ran her hands up and down his biceps, licking her lips unconsciously as she stroked his muscles.
It was too much. He had to claim her.
Mac took her face in his hands and kissed her, hard.
She stilled, then relaxed into his hold.
The feel of her softness excited Mac terribly. He thumbed her jaw, opening her mouth to plunge his tongue against hers.
Ava tasted as peachy as she smelled. Her tongue slid against his in a way that made him want to feel it other places, too.
She snuggled her body up against him, as if seeking his heat and his protection.
Mac’s wolf roared in his chest, demanding satisfaction. This girl was the one. She was going to make him whole again.
Already, her clever fingers tugged at his chest, freeing buttons and pushing both shirt and costume duster over his shoulders and onto the floor behind him.
Her hands were so small and so soft where they brushed his skin. It was almost hypnotic.
She knelt gracefully, slipping his belt out of his jeans before he could stop her. She slid his jeans down around his ankles, and waited for him to step out of them.
He did, and for one terrible instant, Mac realized that she might discover the keys in his pocket.
But she simply shoved the jeans aside and looked up at him longingly.
His whole body stood at attention already, but the sight of Ava on her knees had him raving.
She placed those magical hands on his abs, then eased them down, down to where his boxer briefs tented over his rigid cock.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm the wolf inside him that threatened to grab her hair and take what it wanted.
Her fingers slid under the waistband and then the cool air of the room swirled on his taut skin.
He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She smiled up at him tremulously, somehow more wanton in the high necked velvet dress than she would have been naked.
Without blinking, she leaned forward and placed her full lips against the tip of his penis.
Her pink tongue darted out to taste the drop of pre-cum that already gleamed there.
The pleasure was so acute, it was almost agony.
Mac let his head fall back and groaned loudly as the warm, wet satin of her mouth enveloped him. She moved slowly, but her tongue swirled and flicked.
Too soon, he had to pull away.
She whimpered a little, but he pulled her to her feet and kissed her again, fumbling with the back of her dress to see how it came off.
He sighed at the feel of the hundred tiny buttons going all the way down to her waist.
“It’s just a costume,” she whispered happily, pulling out of his arms and turning her back to him to reveal the velcro at the top of her collar.
The sight of her presenting herself to him, back arched and round bottom tilted toward him made him delirious with lust.
Mac wrenched the velcro open and pushed the dress down around her ankles.
Ava turned back to him to reveal a frilly black thong, a sweet round belly, and a lacy bra that strained under the weight of her glorious breasts.
Mac felt himself begin to pant.
Ava had a look on her face that told him she was shy about her abundance.
“You’re beautiful,” he told her in a rough voice.
She laughed nervously and looked down.
Again, the submissive gesture provoked his wolf.
“Go lie down,” he told her through gritted teeth.
Her eyes widened, but she obeyed immediately.
Mac tried not to let his jaw drop at the sight of her curves in motion.
She crawled onto the bed and turned to face him, leaning back on her elbows. She was sucking in her belly, he could tell.
“Exquisite girl,” he allowed part of his inner monologue to come out of his mouth to reassure her.
The corners of her mouth turned up and a dimple appeared on her left cheek. He saw her rib cage relax a bit, allowing that sweet round belly to reappear.
Carefully, he crawled onto the bed on top of her.
She was so warm, so willing. It was hard to control himself.
He reached out and swept a lock of her dark hair over her shoulder. It was so soft. Everything about her was soft and sweet.
She turned her head to brush his hand with her lips.
Mac felt that gentle friction all over his body. He growled, and lowered himself to nuzzle her neck.
Ava arched up into his mouth and he found himself biting and sucking at her neck and collar bone.
He could feel the lace of her bra prickling against his chest, and he moved lower, trying to pace himself and prolong the moment of finally ravishing those incredible breasts.
Ava wiggled beneath him, as if to show him she couldn’t wait for his touch.
Mac tightened his jaw, and slowly peeled down one lacy cup to reveal a large brown areola.
Ava cried out as Mac circled it tenderly with his tongue.
Her nipple tightened, and he bit it gently, so gently.
Ava bucked her hips beneath him, pressing her warm thighs into his pulsating cock.
For a moment he was afraid he might come apart at the seams. He held his breath, praying for strength.
Somehow, he managed to keep his control and pulled down the second cup to lavish Ava’s other breast with the same teasing attention he had given the first.
Ava tossed beneath him, begging him with her body to give her more.
