Linda O. Johnston

by Alpha Wolf

  He felt her tug at his trousers and moved to help her get them off. His shorts, as well, and his erection sprang free, hard and yearning, and she grabbed it with searching hands.

  “Wait,” he ordered. Too fast, and he would lose control. He breathed steadily, pulling back enough to undress himself.

  Her hands reached up to rub gently against his bandages, even as her eyes, hot yet unfocused with need, glanced toward his injured shoulder. “We should stop,” she said softly. “Not now. Not while you’re hurt. Not—”

  “Not stopping on my account,” he inserted gruffly, and undressed her, too.

  This wasn’t right, Melanie’s mind insisted from somewhere far away. Too much. Too soon. With a man so different. Hurt.

  Gorgeous. Hot. Muscles everywhere where it counted. Even—especially—down below, where the sight of his bare body made her nearly pant with lust, as if she were as much a wild creature as he.

  She was consumed by need for him. And when he removed the last of her clothes and touched her there, where she ached for him, she cried out.

  “Melanie,” he said gruffly, even as he pulled away. She groaned. Would he be the one to come to his senses?

  Not now. She needed him. Now.

  She heard something crinkling, realized he had grabbed for protection, appreciated it, appreciated him. She lay back on the sofa, her senses piqued by the wait. The velvety material scratched softly at her back. His breathing was loud, irregular, blending with her own. And then, there he was, between her legs, smiling. Hot. Eyes slitted but filled with need, with lust. He teased her with the tip of him against her sensitive folds until she cried out, “Please.”

  And then he was inside her, fiery, thrusting until she nearly sobbed with pleasure at each stroke. Harder and harder until she called, “Drew!” and climaxed.

  Chapter 16

  S till breathing hard, Melanie opened her eyes and saw Grunge’s golden eyes staring from beside the sofa. His expression looked both quizzical and comical, and she laughed.

  “Your dog’s a voyeur,” she told Drew, who had collapsed on top of her. He was heavy, but the weight was all welcome.

  All sexy.

  “Yeah.” He turned his head on top of her chest to look at Grunge. His dark, silvery hair tickled her. “Forget what you saw,” he commanded, then gave a brief hoot of laughter.

  Slowly, he lifted himself off Melanie and looked down. Was that still lust shadowed in his eyes?

  The thought of more sex with him sent a twinge through Melanie’s own body, and she took a deep breath—until her gaze lit on his bandaged shoulder.

  “You sure you don’t want to go home tonight?” she said, praying he’d say no.

  “No way,” he said. “Although a bed might be nice.”

  “We’ll sleep better that way,” Melanie agreed.

  “Who said anything about sleep?” His eyes gleamed greedily once more.

  Grabbing her clothing, fully aware of the bare, incredibly tempting body beside her, Melanie led him down the hall to her bedroom.

  Only…

  She had to be direct. How could she be otherwise? Sitting on the edge of her queen-sized bed, she drew the blue-and-white comforter around her and looked at Drew. Lord, was he gorgeous. He hadn’t picked up his clothes, nor did he appear to be self-conscious at all as he stood in the doorway looking at her.

  “What?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that.”

  “You know better. It was phenomenal. And I appreciate that you thought of protection. But…well, you’ve already said that matings between regular humans and shapeshifters can result in babies. Shapeshifting babies. I’m just—well, curious. Concerned. How does it work? I mean, I’m interested, from a scientific and medical perspective.”

  Not to mention the emotional perspective.

  He joined her on the bed, draping a warm and strong arm around her shoulders. His touch was reassuring, not seductive. But despite the fact that she’d been sated only a few minutes earlier, the idea of another heated bout of pleasure with him started percolating deep inside her.

  But not yet. Not until she had more information about what she could be getting herself into. Not that she would ever agree on unprotected sex with him. Yet accidents did happen…

  “Our gene makeup is dominant, so nearly all children of those matches are also shapeshifters. And for reasons I can’t explain, I know more people like me who marry humans like you than I do unions of two shapeshifters.”

  “Could be my kind finds your kind irresistible,” she said, only half joking. “Or maybe whatever the magic is in you, you’ve found a way to hypnotize poor, ordinary women like me. Or—”

  “Yeah, I know your kind considers my kind unreal and woo-woo. But do you really want to argue about who’s hypnotized who?”

  “Well—”

  “Hush now,” he said softly, punctuating his words by kissing her so sensuously that the idea of further questions fled.

  He’d been right about at least one thing, she thought drowsily a long time later, when, even more satisfied, she lay beside him in her bed, breathing hard, yet, even then, wanting more of him.

  Who said anything about sleep?

  Her clock radio woke her on time, at 6:30 a.m., as a talk radio host rambled about spring weather on the Eastern Shore. Melanie’s gaze met Drew’s. Was that lust she saw in his eyes…again?

  She had lost count of their heated encounters last night. Surprisingly, he’d brought enough condoms to ensure she wouldn’t need further genetics lessons from him just now. He’d obviously thought ahead—or at least been hopeful. She didn’t own any condoms, since she’d thought she had sworn off men. Maybe she should feel irritated about Drew’s arrogance…but instead she was happy for his foresight.

  Her insides stirred when she realized she remained bare beneath her sheets. “Hold that thought,” she whispered. “I have a day full of patients about to descend.”

  “Yeah, and I’ve got lab work to complete this morning or I’ll need to start over.” His deep voice was a low, sexy rumble.

  “I might be able to squeeze out another ten minutes if I hurry later,” she said hopefully and was gratified when Drew’s bare arm reached out, pulling her close. When his fingers started exploring again, she tingled everywhere. Rushing—later—to get ready would be a good thing.

  It was a half hour later that Melanie finally sprang from her bed. “I really have to get started,” she said regretfully. “But I’m glad you stayed here last night to…to take care of me.”

  “Yeah, me, too. Good thing no one tried to break in. I was a little distracted.”

  “Grunge would have warned us.” Melanie patted the dog, who’d stood and started wagging his tail. “Want to go outside, boy?” she asked. She threw on a robe and showed Grunge out the back door.

  Drew was right beside her, his camouflage pants on, gorgeous chest bare in the cool April morning air. His bandages looked askew. “I’ll change those for you if you’d like,” she told him.

  “If you touch me again, it’ll be even longer before I can get out of here,” he said with a slow, sexy grin.

  “You’re right.” Melanie turned to watch Grunge, who romped playfully in the small backyard where a few flowers had begun to bloom. Suddenly, he stopped, nose in the air.

  “What is it, boy?” Drew stepped into the yard. He, too, raised his head as if smelling something.

  Which reminded Melanie not only of all the wonderful stuff they had done last night. This man had talents she couldn’t begin to imagine.

  Both man and dog returned to the back door shortly. “Anything wrong?” Melanie asked.

  “Someone was around last night using a lighter version of whatever was used to disguise the odor in my lab the other day.” Drew looked angry. “You should be fine in daylight, with your staff and patients around, but I’ll be back this evening.”

  “Good excuse,” Melanie said, running her fingers up the warm, smooth skin of his back, even
as she trembled inside. What really was going on around here?

  And Drew—were his senses enhanced even while he was in human form? She’d smelled nothing out of the ordinary from the usual aroma of her backyard in spring.

  “Do I need an excuse to come back?” Drew looked down at her once more.

  “Nope,” she said, and stretched up to kiss his sexy but grim mouth. “But I think one of us had better make a run to a drug store today.”

  “Melanie, thanks for taking this call.” Drew sounded as upset as Melanie had ever heard him.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. She sat at her desk making notes. It was late afternoon, and her last scheduled patient for the day had left.

  She had thought of Drew a lot today. No big surprise, after the night they’d spent together. Sex with him had been awesome. More wonderful than she had ever imagined a joining of two bodies—especially two such disparate bodies—could ever be.

  Of course she had been tired, but she had not allowed her exhaustion to affect her treatment of patients that day. Fortunately, her schedule hadn’t been heavy.

  “Can you come here, to the base? An issue’s come up that requires a vet’s attention.”

  Melanie read between the lines. He didn’t want to explain over the phone, but it probably had something to do with one of the shapeshifters.

  “I can get there in—” she looked at her watch “—half an hour. Will that be all right?”

  “It’ll have to be.”

  Melanie quickly checked the bag she always kept ready for non-clinical emergencies, then informed Carla she was leaving for the rest of the day.

  “Where are you going?” her assistant asked.

  “One of the dogs at Ft. Lukman had an accident.” Melanie wasn’t sure it was a lie, and she needed a story Carla would buy.

  This time, the guard at the entry kiosk waved Melanie in as soon as she identified herself. Drew met her. “Thanks for coming.” He slipped into the passenger seat of her SUV. She parked where he told her to, but before she got out he grabbed her, gave her a hot but brief kiss.

  “Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Melanie asked breathlessly.

  “I’ve got to show you.” He led her into the K-9 building and down the stairs. “Ever treated a lynx?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, taken slightly aback.

  “But you’ve worked with other cats.”

  She nodded. “This one is a shapeshifter, too?”

  “That’s right. It’s Lt. Nella Reyes. Her apartment’s near mine in the officers’ quarters. We’ve been working with a new formulation of the tonic that allows shifting at times other than during the full moon, or even at night. I’ve taken it, and so has Patrick Worley. And Nella—but something’s wrong.”

  “I—I’m not sure how this works. When she—you—are in animal form, I thought you said you maintain your human awareness. Can you shift back at will?”

  “Yes, and no. That’s one thing we’re working on, but right now there appears to be a minimum of an hour or two before electing a change back.”

  Drew led her down the hall. Inside the lab stood Jonas Truro, Patrick Worley, and a couple of guys Melanie hadn’t met. Facing them on the floor near the door to the clean room, hissing angrily, was a moderate-sized feline. The area where she stood shone wetly. And even Melanie, with her normal, human senses, could tell something smelled awful.

  “What—?” she began, but Drew lifted his hand.

  “Watch her for a minute.”

  The lynx spit, then began coughing uncontrollably. She threw up, and whatever came out was a grayish-green liquid that suggested bile. The animal collapsed and moaned.

  But when Patrick approached her, she stood again, issuing angry, defensive sounds while arching her back. Jonas mopped up her mess.

  “Any idea what caused this?” Melanie reached for her medical bag that Drew had insisted on carrying.

  “It started soon after she changed. She’d tried some of the newest generation of shapeshifting tonic under the same old catalyst light. The stuff worked fine on me, and we planned a trial run in the field. But then this happened.”

  “Has Lt. Reyes ever used your tonic before?”

  “The last generation, but not since we’ve made the latest changes. We increased the kick and enhanced the stuff’s qualities big-time. The additives were fairly innocuous. Or so I thought.” He gave her a rundown of the mostly natural ingredients.

  “Nothing sounds bad, but…well, let’s see what we can do.” Melanie gingerly approached the lynx, talking quietly and soothingly. “Nella, I understand that shapeshifters around here retain their human awareness. I’m here to treat your symptoms so you can feel well enough to change back, okay?”

  That seemed to calm her. Melanie was able to get close enough to check her over, then gave an injection to calm her stomach.

  A while afterward, she was rewarded by the lynx’s slow, apparently painful change back into human form. Melanie felt her heart rate accelerate but tried not to freak out watching this latest proof of the truth of the Mary Glen legends.

  Soon, a young, slender woman with sandy hair lay writhing on the laboratory floor. Drew covered her with a blanket. “Can you tell us what happened, Nella?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she gasped. She explained her theory, that it was a female thing, her two forms’ reproductive organs reacting to the tonic and, maybe, against each other. “Lynxes generally breed early in the year, so this was a little late for my cycle, but I also happened to have my human period, and somehow, the reaction combined with the tonic…Well, it wasn’t fun.” She drew herself into a sitting position. “Looks like you’ll be helpful to have around the base, Dr. Harding, since our changing experiments are really increasing these days. Thanks.”

  “Why?” Melanie asked a while later.

  Before Drew allowed Nella to return to her quarters, he’d conducted a medical exam. Then, he had Jonas walk her back to her apartment.

  Now, he sat with Melanie in the cafeteria, where they both nursed soft drinks. He appreciated the deep concern that caused her soft brown brows to knit together.

  “Why what?” he asked softly, wanting to smooth away her frown.

  “Why are your changing experiments increasing?” she whispered, leaning toward him while looking at others in the room. They’d chosen as secluded a table as possible, but there were still people nearby, and Drew appreciated her discretion.

  “We’re preparing for our first multi-unit field exercises,” he said.

  She scooted her chair closer. “You mean, you guys are shapeshifting and going undercover somewhere? Where?”

  “That’s still classified,” he said after a brief nod of acknowledgment. “It’ll only be those like Patrick and me.” Meaning werewolves. Nella’s situation that afternoon suggested that those who shapeshifted into other forms might not be able to fully use the latest, greatest form of elixir. Or maybe just female members of their unit needed further experimentation and observation.

  Otherwise, they were nearly good to go. Or at least to do some field testing. Their unit had been formed nearly two years earlier. Time to show positive results.

  Not near Mary Glen, though. Certainly nowhere that the lunatic fringe of wannabe shapeshifter groupies would know what was going on.

  “Then you’re leaving soon?” Melanie sounded sad. Which did odd things to him inside. He wanted to reassure her that he would return.

  Only…that would imply some kind of commitment. Not a good thing. He couldn’t get enough of her luscious body. But commitment meant trusting. Completely.

  “What?” she demanded, as if seeing his doubt on his face. “You’re not going to answer? Then you are leaving, without explanation. Without trusting me.” Her voice hardened, then grew more sarcastic. “Anything else I can do for you first? Any more animals to treat? Secrets to keep?” She stood, her hands on her hips. “Never mind. I asked if I could help, and I meant it. But right now, I need to go home.”<
br />
  “I’ll go with you.” It was one thing to have his doubts about her. But he needed to assure himself that she was safe.

  “Don’t bother. Surely whoever’s getting kicks out of shooting animals around my clinic has had enough by now, especially since the world is now apparently accepting that you were shot, and not a werewolf.” The last word came out as a taunt. She grabbed her medical bag from the chair and started to storm from the cafeteria.

  Outside, where a soft spring rain had started to fall, Drew grabbed her. “I’ll come to your place now, Melanie,” he said. “Grunge and I will. And if you don’t object too strongly, I intend to make a detour. To a drugstore, to pick up some supplies.” He placed a gentle finger over her mouth when she started to protest. “Just in case I can convince you that, whenever I go, even if I can’t say more about it, I’ll come back here. And what happens between us? Well, we’ll just have to see. But, in any case, the other place I’m hitting tonight is an electronics store. It’s time to listen to that cop. You need a good security system in your clinic and home, but I want to install something in the interim, to ensure your safety and your patients’. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She sounded as if all the air had been let out of the balloon of her ire.

  To make sure it had, Drew bent down and, despite the rain and their public location, gave her one hell of a kiss.

  Chapter 17

  C rack!

  The sound was followed by a loud slap that sounded as if someone had struck the house. Grunge leapt against the bedroom door, alternating ferocious growls with his barks, and the alarm Drew had just installed late the night before started to wail.

  Melanie sat up in bed. So, beside her, did Drew.

  Crack…crack!

  “Wait here,” he commanded. He stood and reached for the jeans he had shed along with the rest of his clothing early that morning, when their passion had brought them hurtling into the bedroom in a torrent of kisses and caresses.

  “Forget it.” Melanie blocked his path. “Those damned lunatic werewolf groupies! You’re unarmed, Drew. No sense getting shot…again. Who’s to say they’ll stop shooting just because you don’t look like an animal? Remember the Worleys? I assume none of your group was changing last night.”