by Alison Paige
He sat up, his leg touching her thigh, and scooped a handful of her hair off her back. She heard him inhale, knew he held her hair to his nose, and then she remembered the way his nostrils had flared when she asked if he blamed her for his wife’s death.
Anger burned down her spine, stiffened her shoulders. She twisted, pushing up to sit, not caring how the movement yanked her hair from his grip.
She looked at him.
He smiled.
She slapped him hard, hard enough he nearly fell over. When his head snapped back to her, his glower was set in deep lines across his forehead, his lips tight.
“What the hell was that for?”
“What did you turn me into?” Her anger was a bit misdirected, she knew. Gray hadn’t done this to her. He’d only blamed her for his wife’s death then screwed her senseless anyway. She couldn’t really complain since it was obvious she’d wanted it as much as he had. That didn’t make her any less pissed about it or make the slap any less satisfying.
“I’m sorry. But I didn’t infect you.” He rubbed the red handprint she’d left on his face. “It shouldn’t have happened. If I could fix it, I would. Believe me.”
“Fix it? Yeah. Because you’re all about doing what’s right. Like blaming me for the accident that killed my parents…and your wife.”
“I’m sorry for that too.”
Maizie’s jaw snapped shut. She blinked. She hadn’t expected him to admit to it. “Then why did you? I mean, if that’s really the way you feel, what was all…this about.” She gestured to their naked bodies and the crush of grass where they’d had sex.
He raked a hand through his mop of silvery hair, grunted and pushed to his feet. She tried not to notice the way his muscles rolled under his skin, the tempting bundle between his legs. Would he say tonight was a mistake? She might agree, but it hadn’t felt that way. She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging her arms around them, feeling small and vulnerable.
He stared out over the cliff, hands propped on his hips. “It was easy blaming your parents and you for Donna’s death. They were dead, and you were just a kid.”
The moonlight silhouetted his body in a blue-white light, made her breath shudder to look at him.
“I don’t know why,” he said. “It didn’t bring her back. It didn’t change a damn thing. But until you walked into my forest, I didn’t really give a shit.”
“So how’d I change things?”
His shoulders shook with a silent laugh, though when he spoke there was no sound of it in his voice. He knotted his arms under his chest. “By being everything to me that I couldn’t be for her. Jeezus, I had no idea. I mean, I knew it was harder for her. She was born a werewolf, her instincts were stronger. She needed to find a life mate, her life mate, and I just wanted to be married to her. After she infected me it was too late. I’d made a mistake. But I was just too damn stubborn to admit it.”
“A lot of people consider honoring your wedding vows a good thing.”
“I wasn’t honoring the damn vows. At least not the spirit of them. Not the way she needed.” His head lowered, she couldn’t be sure, but she thought he’d closed his eyes. “Our marriage was killing her. She was dying of loneliness lying right next to me. If I had understood better…”
He shook his head, raising his gaze. “I was just pissed as hell that our marriage was failing. I loved her. I know she loved me, but there was something missing, something she needed. When she tried to find it with another man I…” He shrugged. “I lost it. We had a blowout fight. Damn it, I hated what I’d driven her to, hated I couldn’t be what she needed. So when she ran…I let her go.”
“That was twenty-one years ago, Gray. Maybe you’re remembering it wrong.”
He turned his chin to his shoulder, looking back at her. “I remember like it was yesterday. I remember because I feel the bond with you I could never forge with her. Your family took my wife from me, but gave me my life mate. So, tell me, should I thank them, or curse them…or both?”
She swallowed hard not knowing if she wanted to smile or cry. She wanted to go to him but the muscles in her arms and legs still trembled from everything they’d endured.
He came to her on one knee. “Don’t try to get up. Your body needs to rest. It’s still sort of in a state of flux.”
She’d protest except she could feel he was right. “Whatever you do, Gray, you should start by letting yourself off the hook. It was an accident.”
He snorted, a short sardonic laugh. “That’s just one explanation, according to your grandmother. An accident, yeah, but predestined too.”
“You mean like fate?”
“Like a goddamn fairy tale.”
Chapter Thirteen
Maizie knew Annette was there before she opened her eyes. Her Opium perfume filled the room. It was hard for Maizie to breathe without coating her nose or the back of her throat with the scent.
She pushed up to one elbow, trying to clean the waxy perfume taste off the roof of her mouth with her tongue and blinked the sleep from her eyes. “Morning.”
Annette froze, a pair of jeans half folded in her hands. Her gaze flicked to Maizie from the foot of Gray’s bed. A genuine smile stretched her small face. “Good morning. Actually, it’s afternoon.”
Crap. Not again. Maizie noticed the empty pillow beside her. “How’d I get here?”
“Mr. Lupo carried you here last night. After you, uh, passed out.” Her little cheeks flushed. Chin down she glanced at Maizie from beneath long lashes then quickly returned her gaze to the clothes. She folded them onto the storage bench.
Maizie thought about that for a minute, pushing up to sit, sheet clutched to her naked chest. She remembered being with Gray at the quarry, his confessions, his admission of their strange, intimate connection.
He’d knelt beside her when she couldn’t get up and then…nothing. “He carried me the whole way? Wow.”
Annette’s thin brows rose above the big frames of her glasses, her nod quick and happy. “Mr. Lupo said you passed right out. I don’t think he minded. In fact I’d lay odds he quite enjoyed holding you so close. Certainly looked that way this morning.”
The small woman laughed, her toothy smile bright. She clasped her hands at her chest and for a second Maizie expected her to rub them together with an eager glee.
“This morning? So he was here earlier with me?” Maizie tried not to read too much into the fact she needed someone else to confirm her bed partners.
“Of course. He had a hard time letting you go, but he had a, ah, business meeting.”
A warm tingle filled Maizie’s belly. He’d held her all night. She remembered the warm feel of him now, the safety of his arms, the strength, the tenderness. Gawd, she liked the way he seemed to treasure her. She liked the way she treasured him. Things were good.
Maizie shoved the snarl of bed-hair back from her face and fought the goofy grin threatening to control her mouth. They were destined for each other, like a real-life fairy tale.
Annette chattered on. “He made sure I knew to get you fresh clothes and something to eat and whatever else you might need. The jeans, T-shirt and undergarments here are for you. I guessed your size, but I’m pretty good at it. There’s a peanut butter sandwich and glass of milk when you’re ready.” She gestured to the nightstand. “Mr. Lupo thought you’d like it, but if you’d rather—”
“No.” Maizie glanced at the silver tray and plate cover, smiling. “It’s, uhm, perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.”
Annette chuckled again, her shoulders high. “It is, isn’t it? He’s so romantic.”
Okay, now her giddiness over Maizie’s love life was starting to get weird. “Wow, you’re really close to your boss, huh?”
“Oh, yes. He’s just so, well, he’s just so wonderful.”
“Yeah. Exactly how close are the two of you?”
“He means the world to me.” She shrugged, wrinkling the clean line of her high-buttoned blouse for a moment. “I love him.”
“Really? I see.” So why was she so happy to find Maizie in his bed? Twisted.
Not that it really mattered. Annette was cute and tiny, early thirties, sweet with her mousy brown hair pulled to a bun, big glasses and tight-buttoned librarian look. She had pretty brown eyes and a decent B-cup figure, shapely legs in comfortable low-heeled shoes, and if she was really competition for Gray’s affection, she’d be the one naked in his bed. Still…
“So, uhm…” Maizie tried to think of a discreet way to word her question—and failed. “You two ever have sex?”
She was exhausted, her body felt like it’d been drawn and quartered, and her powerful bond with Gray had turned her brain to mush. She didn’t have the brain cells to spare beating around the bush, and going by the way the rest of the family behaved, it seemed a legitimate question.
Annette’s brow scrunched. “No. Of course not. I could never…blah…” A hard shudder shook her from head to toe. She looked as though she was going to be sick.
“Geez, don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel.” Maizie’s offense at the woman’s repulsion was too messed-up to think about.
Annette’s gaze flicked to Maizie. “No. It’s not that. I love him. I do. Just not in that way.”
“Okay, I’m lost.”
Annette laughed. “Sorry. You see, I’ve known Gray, Mr. Lupo, nearly my whole life. It’d be like sleeping with my father.”
Maizie’s cheeks warmed. That certainly explained Annette’s shudder. Gray didn’t look old enough to be her father, unless you factored in the werewolf thing. Did he really age that slowly? “How’d you meet?”
Her hands laced together in front of her, very proper. Annette came around the end of the bed and leaned her hip against the edge of the mattress. “He rescued me.”
Of course he did.
“My father, my biological father, was an abusive man,” Annette said. “And things only got worse after my mother died of cancer. I was six when Gray found me. He’d just been walking past my house and heard my father attacking me—”
“Attacking?”
“The abuse was…sexual.”
“God, I’m sorry.” Maizie suddenly wanted to hug her.
Annette shrugged. “It was a long time ago and Gray got me out of there that same day. He just stormed into the house, walked right into the bedroom and threw my father off me, across the room. Told him he was taking me someplace safe and if he ever tried to contact either of us he’d kill him. I think he would’ve killed him right there if it weren’t for me watching.”
“That’s horrible, Annette. I’m glad Gray was there for you.”
She nodded, her fingers absently toying with a thread on the comforter. “We never heard from him again. He didn’t even file a police report. Just sort of…disappeared.”
That last statement made Maizie’s blood run cold. She ignored it. Too many potential skeletons in that closet. Besides, this wasn’t the movies. Being a werewolf didn’t automatically make you a killer. Even if the guy had it coming.
“Gray’s taken care of me ever since. He and Donna were like my parents. When their marriage started going bad, I was terrified, but I knew staying together was destroying them both.”
“You knew Donna?”
Annette nodded again and inched closer alongside the bed. “She was a really great lady. Beautiful sandy brown hair, green eyes and a warm smile. They loved each other, but they were never at ease together. Y’know what I mean? Like they didn’t quite…match.”
“Yeah.” She knew exactly what Annette meant by a match. Like the way she felt with Gray, as though they were two halves of the same puzzle. A perfect fit.
“That’s why I was so happy when he brought you home.” Annette inched closer toward Maizie. “He’s never brought anyone home before. And when I caught him smiling…I knew.”
Maizie’s belly fluttered. Gawd, she was in deep. She didn’t care. It was exactly where she wanted to be.
“He’s a good man. He deserves to be happy. And now he has you. You’re one of them, one of the family.” Annette repositioned herself for the last time, now directly beside Maizie. “I’d do anything to switch places with you.”
“I thought you said you didn’t think of Gray that way.”
“I don’t. He’s not my type. I meant switch places with you in the family, in the pack.”
Maizie’s heart skipped. “You know?”
“What?” Annette laughed. “That you’re all werewolves? Of course.”
“And you’re not creeped out? You’re not afraid?” Maizie remembered her struggle to believe, to come to terms with the truth.
“No. They’re like my family and you will be too, except…” Annette sulked, her shoulders drooped. “I’m not really one of them. I’m still full human.”
“And you want to be like them—I mean us?”
Annette caught her bottom lip between her teeth, her gaze downcast. She nodded.
“But Gray won’t turn you?” Maizie guessed.
“No. He says he won’t ever bite anyone to turn them. He was bitten, not born like his wife and the rest of them. But since they weren’t true life mates his experience has been…hard. He can’t imagine anyone would choose the life. It’s not that he doesn’t want me to be one of them, he just can’t bring himself to do it.”
“What about Lynn and Rick and the others?”
Annette kept her gaze fixed on Maizie’s outstretched legs, her hand finding Maizie’s knee through the cover. She squeezed, her thumb massaging the side. “They keep putting me off. But I was thinking, since you’ve adapted to the virus you could probably pass it along already. We could make it fun.”
A warm musky scent tickled Maizie’s nose and stirred her body. Annette was aroused…for her. Keener werewolf senses made the air seem ripe with the woman’s growing excitement. Annette’s idea of fun was becoming abundantly clear.
“Uhm, Annette.” A nervous laugh bubbled out of Maizie. She squirmed, feeling the familiar rush of heat to her sex. “I’m really flattered, but I don’t swing that way. Not that you’re not…I mean you are, you’re really…that is, I’ve just never…well, I’ve always…I like guys.”
Annette pulled her glasses from her face with one hand, the other still warm on Maizie’s knee. She tossed them to the nightstand so they clamored over the silver tray. Those pretty mousy brown eyes locked on Maizie, the mouse having turned to a lioness in heat. “How do you know if you’ve never tried?”
She reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, letting it tumble down silky smooth past her shoulders. She shook her head and Maizie’s breath caught, her sex muscles flexed. The woman was attractive. There was no arguing that.
Whoa! What was wrong with her? She’d turned into a sex maniac. Maizie pushed at the mattress with her free hand, tried to scoot away. “Listen, I’m not like this. I mean you’re really…but I can’t…”
“Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with you. Werewolves have heightened senses, increased appetites. In all things.” She started to unbutton her blouse, exposing the sweet lacy bra underneath. “Besides, even though the virus is neutralized, your body is still adjusting. I did some research. You’ll be horny as hell for a few weeks. Like I said, Gray’s not my type, but we do share similar tastes.”
“Oh, please don’t bob your eyebrows like that,” Maizie said. “It’s disturbing on so many levels.”
She tilted her head to the side, her lashes seeming longer, thicker, as they shadowed her cheek. “Haven’t you ever wondered what it’s like to be with a woman? It’s not like touching yourself. Every woman’s different, but we’re enough alike I know what feels good for both of us.”
It was Maizie’s turn to shudder, but it wasn’t repulsion rippling down her back, pooling between her thighs. It was lust. Shoot. Her gaze dropped to that pretty lace bra, to the swells of flesh peeking over the edges. She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry.
“We can go slow. We’ll take turns.�
�� Annette’s hand slid farther up Maizie’s leg, slipping to the side to trace the inside of her thigh.
Maizie’s breath caught and Annette stopped, but not before Maizie’s legs opened a half inch on reflex. “Turns?”
“Uh-huh.” Annette nodded, her gaze shifting from her hand, warm and heavy against Maizie’s inner thigh, to her face and back again. “You can go first. Whatever you do to me, I’ll do to you. That way nothing gets done to you that you don’t want.”
“But I don’t really want to—”
Annette’s expression stopped Maizie’s words in her throat. Hurt, disbelief, maybe a bit of both, either way she was right. Part of Maizie was curious and another part was just plain horny. The sudden flood of heat between her thighs was proof of it.
Maizie’s belly quivered, her heart racing, anticipation tingling along her skin. “I don’t know what to do.”
Annette’s massage began again, slow, firm, erotic. Maizie felt herself inch closer, so Annette’s fingers rubbed wickedly close to her pussy. “You’re a beautiful woman, Maizie, with a great body. Honestly, I’d love to touch you anywhere—everywhere. So wherever you want to touch me is perfect.”
Annette’s gaze dropped to Maizie’s hand clutching the sheet to her chest. “You do have amazing breasts. Mine aren’t as big, but my skin’s soft. You can touch them. See for yourself.”
Maizie swallowed hard, stared at the small mounds beneath white lace. She reached out and Annette arched toward her. Her fingers brushed along the strap, tracing down to the lace that made a waving line along one breast to the center. She barely touched Annette’s flesh, but goose bumps rose, blanketing her chest, and her breath caught.
Emboldened, Maizie opened her hand, pressed her palm to Annette’s chest, felt her heart racing beneath. Annette’s breaths were coming fast and shallow as Maizie cupped her hand, slid lower, took the whole of her breast into her palm. The weight, the warmth, the supple feel of her, she was woman, she was divine and Maizie’s body hummed to life.
