by Ashlyn Chase
***
Roz opened the door to her Smart Car and smirked as Konrad folded himself to fit inside.
“How did you get me out with bail set so high?”
“I called in a few favors, and found an anonymous donor.” She had been saving that money for a down payment on a condo, damn it. “This is a high-profile case. I had to agree to include a team of publicity-seeking lawyers.” She started the car and pulled into traffic. “That’s not a bad thing, though. The more power players sitting on our side of the aisle, the better.”
Konrad swallowed. “As long as you’re the one doing the talking, I guess it’ll be all right. Do you think Reginald has something to do with this?”
“That’s a theory I intend to look into. I asked Morgaine to expect us to drop by.”
“What a schmuck. I’d like to ring his virtual neck.”
“You need to stay the hell away from that museum…and every other art museum. Remember, I vouched for you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m serious. And even though you’re not considered a flight risk, you’d better curb your nocturnal activities for a while too.”
“The full moon is going to happen, like it or not. As long as I can shift before I leave the building, no one should suspect a thing.”
“If I’m really safe with you in wolf form, I’ll let you out…doggie.”
Konrad laughed. “Thank God your sense of humor is returning.”
After a short silence, he asked, “Why didn’t Morgaine warn us if she was the one interpreting for Reginald? ”
“Either she didn’t realize what he was up to or she was sworn to secrecy.”
“Yeah, and she really lives by that witch’s-oath thing. It’s one of the reasons I admired her. Now I’m not so sure I like it.”
“Maybe we can use it to our advantage. What is it exactly?”
“I think it goes something like, ‘If it doesn’t hurt anybody, do what you want.’”
“Hmm…if she refuses to divulge what she knows, it could be considered harmful to you. We’ll find out anyway at discovery, but I’d like as much advance warning as possible.”
“Yeah, maybe we can get Chad to talk to him, ghost to ghost.”
“Do you think Morgaine can persuade him to do that?”
Konrad sighed. “We can ask.”
***
As much as Morgaine doubted Chad would be willing to travel to the Gardener Museum, she said she’d ask him to help. She confirmed that Reginald had reported new evidence, but wouldn’t tell them what it was until she double checked the legality of doing so with an independent legal expert.
Konrad and Roz had done all they could do for the case and decided to continue following their bliss list for a while. Culinary classes were next up. It would take their minds off the case, Roz had said. Konrad hoped it would accomplish more than that.
At her apartment, picking her up for their cooking date, he said, “Thanks for agreeing to another date, Roz. I don’t know what changed your mind, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“Are you calling me a horse?”
“No!” Oh crap.
Roz laughed. “I knew that. I was just teasing.”
Konrad gulped. “Don’t do that. I feel like I’m walking on thin ice with you as it is.”
“You are.” She looked down pensively. “But I talked to a couple of friends. They seemed to think I was being a jerk.”
“You were scared, not a jerk. I would have been frightened too.”
“Yeah, and it didn’t help that you were hiding things from me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it without alarming you. I know your need for proof. I guess I was scared, too…of losing you.”
“So you waited until I fell for you, and then you gave me the good news, ‘Guess what, Roz? You’re dating a werewolf!’ How was I supposed to deal with that?”
He eyed her sadly. “I know. I should have prepared you for it, somehow. I just couldn’t come up with the right words.”
“I’m not sure there are any right words.”
“Now that you’re willing to listen, you can ask me anything and talk to me about your feelings. I promise not to hide the truth anymore.”
“Really? You promise?”
“It’s hard to hide anything from each other now that we have the dubious gift of telepathy.”
She chuckled. “By the way, did you ever find out what that weird ability is all about?”
He took a deep breath. “As far as Nick and I know, it only happens between true mates.”
“And are werewolves like regular wolves, in that they mate for life?”
He leaned over and rested his forehead against hers. Looking right into her eyes, he said, “Yes. You’re the one, Roz. I’ll never look elsewhere.”
She spoke under her breath. “I’m so confused.”
“What did you say?”
She moved so she could look up into his eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you forgive me.”
“I forgive you.”
He lifted her off her feet and kissed her.
“Whoa! Put me down.”
“Still don’t think I’m strong enough to carry you?” He held her a few inches off the ground.
She chuckled. “No, I just prefer to feel the floor under my feet.”
He set her down. “Want to skip the class and—” He nodded toward the bedroom.
“Maybe later. We paid for the class, and I really do want to find another career. Roz Wells can’t take many more strange cases. Besides, I think I’d enjoy the culinary arts.”
“Even though my case might make you a famous lawyer?”
“Especially so. I hope it will be my last case, Konrad. The public will be rooting for the prosecution. They want a fall guy, someone to punish. If I succeed in getting you off, and I intend to, I won’t be popular.”
“Crap. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I really want and need another job.” She looked at her watch. “We’d better get going. Maybe I’ll become a famous chef instead. That I could live with.”
“And after, maybe we can cook up something spicy in the bedroom. That I could live with.”
Roz smirked. “Horndog.”
***
Even though Roz still wondered about her sanity, being with Konrad felt right. All the way to the class, Konrad had spanned the short distance between them in Roz’s car to stroke her thigh or touch her hair. Each time she glanced over at him, he was smiling, and his eyes seemed sincere.
In class she tried to concentrate on what the chef was saying, which was not an easy task, when fifteen of them stood arm against arm along the crowded prep counter. She remembered how Konrad’s warmth seeped into her when they first met. If anything, she was even more aware of it now.
The chef was French, arrogant, and short. Didn’t matter. She’d brave anyone, even a jerk with a Napoleonic complex, for the chance to change her profession.
“Sweetheart,” Konrad whispered.
She gazed up at him and lost herself in his eyes. “Yes?”
“All these knife techniques are great, but I’m barely able to concentrate. All I can think about is you. I’m afraid I’ll chop my fingers off.”
She stifled a chuckle. “Pay attention, then,” she whispered back. “We need your fingers.”
He grinned and slipped an arm around her waist. When he pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead, the instructor looked over at them.
“Excusez moi, am I interrupting you?” he asked with obvious sarcasm.
Konrad cleared his throat. “Um, no. Sorry.”
Roz elbowed him playfully and pulled her attention back to the matter at hand. Yes, chopping veggies without chopping off one’s digits, always a good idea.
“Now, everyone, take the vegetables in front of you. Use the proper knife to seed and chop them. I’ll come around and watch each of
you.”
Roz picked up the small paring knife and cut open a green pepper. She glanced over at Konrad and noticed he was using the huge butcher knife for the same job. Yup, one of them hadn’t been paying attention.
“The gentleman with the blond hair, what is your name?”
Konrad stopped struggling with the pepper. “Konrad.”
“Well, Konrad, are you inventing new ways to seed a pepper? Perhaps you can explain your reason for using the largest knife in front of you?”
“Yeah, I have big hands.”
The class tittered. Roz grimaced.
“We pick our instruments based on the size and texture of the ingredients, not our thick, meaty hands.”
“Oh. I guess I’m not very good at this.”
The chef frowned. “All you need to do is watch and repeat the technique I use, exactly.”
“Okay, I’ll try to do better.”
The annoying man sighed and moved on to the other students. “Very good. I’m glad some of you managed to watch and learn. When you all have your vegetables prepared, we’ll move on to meat.”
At last everything they needed for the recipe was ready, and they were instructed to split into pairs and find a stove. Next they had to add olive oil to a large frying pan and turn on the gas.
Konrad sneaked over to Roz and copped a feel as he poured the oil. She squirmed and giggled. Finally she slapped his hand away. When he lit the burner, a huge flame shot up, setting off the fire detectors, and Roz’s hair began to blaze.
“Crap! I must have missed the pan.”
Roz ran to the sink to fill a pan with water, not realizing her hair was burning. Konrad tackled her and patted out the fire with his bare hands.
The chef yelled, “Stop! Turn off the gas. I’ll get the fire extinguisher.”
Roz bolted back to the stove and shut off the gas, but the flame continued to burn. The chef charged toward them with the extinguisher and sprayed foam all over their stove, covering their meat and vegetables.
He set the fire extinguisher down and crossed his arms. “I’m afraid you two must leave. When you can pay greater attention to food preparation than to each other, you can come back.”
“Damn,” Konrad muttered. “I’m sorry. Are you sure we can’t have another chance?”
“Another chance to burn down my kitchen? I think not.” The chef tipped his nose in the air and waited for them to gather their things and go.
***
As they entered Roz’s apartment, Konrad said sheepishly, “Roz, can you forgive me for ruining the cooking class…and your hair? I’ll cook dinner for you and pay a hairdresser to make up for it.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. I feel really awful about it. It seemed like you were getting more out of the class than I was.”
She set her purse down. “I’ll get over it. Since all I learned to do was chop stuff, if we stay together you’ll probably get nicely cut up meals. I can’t guarantee their taste, though.”
“That’s fine. When I’m old and have no teeth, I’ll appreciate bite-sized pieces.” He grinned. “But at the moment, the only thing I want to eat is your pretty pussy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re incorrigible.”
“But consistent.”
It had been hard to look at him and try not to want him. Roz felt her panties dampen. Can he smell my arousal? If he’s part wolf and a canine’s sense of smell is so much better than a human’s—
“Yes, I can,” he said.
“Oh damn. You heard me?”
“Heard, smelled, and noticed a few other signs. You’re ready to mate, sweetheart, and I can’t wait much longer.”
“Fuck. I’m ready to fuck. I don’t know about mating yet. You’ll have to convince me.” I’m not going to respect myself in the morning, but who cares?
He stepped into her space and pulled her close. “I intend to.”
Roz’s nipples hardened and brushed against her blouse. He lifted her and tossed her over his shoulder. She squealed as he headed to her bedroom.
He dropped her onto the bed and crawled over her. “I’m in love with you, Roz, and now that you know what I am, I want to take you the way a wolf takes his mate.”
She shivered inside but tried not to let him see her need. “And exactly what does that mean?”
“Doggie style.”
“Appropriately named.”
He laughed as he began unbuttoning her blouse, but his hands shook. Was he nervous? Afraid of rejection? If what Morgaine had told her was true, he had a lot at stake.
“Here, let me. It’ll save time.”
He jumped off the bed and stripped out of his jeans and T-shirt before she reached the last button.
“You seem as eager as you did when we first made love,” she noted.
“I am. It’s been a while, sweetheart, and I can hardly wait. I’ve missed you.”
She nodded at his huge erection. “I can see that.”
At last her blouse was unbuttoned, and she sat up so she could remove it. Everything was taking too long in Konrad’s estimation. As soon as it was off, he reached behind her, popped open her bra, and flung it across the room. He pushed her onto her back and began to suckle her breast as he tugged open the zipper of her slacks.
She moaned her pleasure, and he stripped her in seconds.
“Well, I thought it would save time if I did it myself. Clearly I was wrong about that.”
He leaned back to take in the view of Roz’s naked body. “Dear lord, I’ve missed seeing you like this.”
“Like what? Nude?”
“Nude, ready, and primed, waiting for me to take you and make love to you as my own.”
He moved to her other breast and suckled harder. She arched and moaned some more. His hand slid over her abdomen, reminding her that he didn’t mind the extra flesh there. His hand kept traveling downward until he kneaded her thighs. There was a bit more flesh than she liked there too.
Eventually his fingers slipped into the crevice at her apex, and she shuddered at the sensation. Oh, how I’ve missed this.
“Me too, sweetheart.”
Would she ever get used to the intrusion on her thoughts? At least they weren’t able to hear every little nuance that traveled through each other’s brains, but when a strong thought voiced itself to one of them, it was as if the thought occurred in the other one’s head too.
What had he said that was about? True mates? Didn’t she have a choice in this?
He crawled down her body and replaced his fingers with his tongue. She lost all train of thought as he teased her nether regions. He feathered light licks and kisses over her mons at first, then zeroed in on her clit.
By the time he lapped her bud, she was so sensitized she yelped and her body bucked involuntarily. She grasped the pillow and stuffed it over her face in hopes of stifling the scream she knew was coming.
He flicked his tongue over her mercilessly, until she was vibrating inside and gripping the sheet with her other hand. Sooner than expected, she came apart.
He held her tight and continued his assault on her clit while her thighs shook violently. The pillow barely contained her muffled screams. Blissful release blasted from her core and radiated over, through, and beyond her body.
At last, when she settled down and removed the pillow, her hair, except for the back, flew out in soft, straight strands from the static electricity. She peered up at Konrad. He was grinning.
“Pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you, stud?”
He chuckled. “If I accomplished my goal of giving you the best sex of your life, then yes. I’m darn proud. Of course, we’re not finished yet.”
He nudged her legs open with one knee and crawled up between them. “Are you ready for me, angel?”
She could have offered to give him some oral too, but not only was she still spent, she also wanted to let him show her the best sex of her life. Hey, that was his goal, after all. Who was she to get in
the way of a man’s goal?
She bent her knees so she could lift her hips to meet him and then remembered something. “Didn’t you want to take me doggie style?”
“You look tired.” He cocked his head, “Of course I could let you lie back and relax while I make love to you now and then flip you onto your knees and do it all over again later.”
She giggled. “Pretty sure of your endurance, aren’t you?”
He hung his head. “Yeah, maybe I’m being overconfident. It’s been quite a while, and I can’t wait to get inside you.”
“Then don’t.”
His gaze shot to her eyes. “What? Don’t? What do you mean, don’t?”
“I meant don’t wait. Fuck me now.”
He exhaled audibly. “Thank God.”
Without waiting for anything to happen that might change her mind, Konrad positioned himself at her entrance, and in one smooth motion, plunged inside her. He let out a low moan of satisfaction and stayed fully seated, as if savoring the moment.
Roz welcomed his heat as he stretched and filled her. How she’d missed him. The long hiatus between lovers in the past hadn’t bothered her nearly as much as how she’d been longing for Konrad.
He’d said it to her first. You’re the one, Roz. I’ll never look elsewhere. Could she say it to him too? She felt it. She’d felt it ever since they’d confessed their love for each other. She wanted no one else…just him, for the rest of her life.
Konrad began his slow, rhythmic thrusts. She answered each one. Their building desire increased the tempo naturally. Her heart knew the truth and her head could no longer deny it, so she let herself go and threw herself into the moment. Before long he was hammering into her, and she clung desperately to his neck while she welcomed each lunge.
A subtle sensation began building, but there was something different about it. The only direct pressure reaching inside of her apex was Konrad’s cock. He must have been stimulating her G-spot. While she concentrated on the sensation, waves of heat flowed into her face and perspiration broke out on her forehead; meanwhile, something else yielded inside her. Somehow deeper, richer, a new feeling shook her to the core. Tears filled her eyes, yet she didn’t know why.
Konrad let out a soft grunt, and the pistoning gave way to a few jerky motions. At last, he stilled and collapsed.
