by Susan Shay
Finally I could take a full breath. Apparently he could, too, because he took a deep breath, then after holding it a moment, blew the air out in a rush which tickled the back of my neck.
He put his lips against my forehead and drew another deep breath. I knew he smelled the new fragrance I’d maxed out one of my cards for.
We moved together as if we were one, but I’m not sure my feet grazed the floor. His fiery touch made my body heat shoot higher. How would I ever pull away from this man who made me feel like so much sugar in a warming pan, slowly melting and changing until I was just a puddle of caramel?
By the dazed look on Bella’s face, I could tell she had a great time, too. When the band took a break, she was so disappointed she looked like a little girl who’d lost her favorite doll. As it started again, she zoned out to a space where I couldn’t reach her, not to wave or smile or even acknowledge I existed.
Doc and I’d danced together several times then Sam cut in. Although I hated to, I couldn’t make a fuss when Doc had already taken his mother in his arms, spinning her across the floor. I was extremely leery of dancing with Doc’s father, especially in my current state.
Being in heat did strange things to a girl. Parts of my body swelled enough at times that just walking could occasionally be a stimulating affair. So dancing with a man who had mature good looks and sex appeal, like Sam, could be a dangerous proposition.
If I made a pass at Doc’s father, it would certainly kill any further relationship between Doc and me. I knew staying as far away as possible from the good looking older man was the best course. But with him standing in the middle of the dance floor, holding out his hand to me, what could I do without looking like an absolute idiot?
Dredging up any bit of resistance I had lurking in my body—and it had to be in the corners of my little toes because everyplace else was filled with hot longing—I stepped into his arms. Luckily, the music switched to a western swing with a tempo fast enough that I wasn’t expected to snuggle close to him, as much as I was tempted. He kept me at arm’s length as we two-stepped around the room. The length of his legs made it hard for me to keep up with him and soon, I was breathing hard beneath my newly designed heavy-duty undergarment—the offspring of a boa constrictor who mated with Satan.
That’s when I started thinking of my total body girdle as a chastity belt. Getting into the garment had been like trying to shove toothpaste back into the tube. First I had to stand with my feet crossed to get the thing started. Then as it stretched a bit and I gained strength, I hauled it farther and farther up, until finally, after blowing out every ounce of air in my lungs, I’d edged it up, over my stomach to my breasts.
To get out of it, I would need the Jaws-of-Life.
Just the idea of trying to pry it off with a man looking on cooled my libido—at least a little. Especially a man as old as Sam. If he tried to help, and had a heart attack from the exertion, no one in Doc’s family would ever forgive me.
I almost laughed out loud at the meandering of my mind. As if Doc could forgive me for having his father help me take off my underwear even if he didn’t die trying?
Finally the music stopped and the floor cleared. The orchestra took an intermission. Time to go home? I looked around for Bella, but she’d disappeared, and so had Spence.
I fled back to the table and grabbed my glass of water. After a long drink, I noticed Mack had taken the seat next to me where Bella had been. “Can I have the next dance?”
Before I could answer, Drew leaned over his shoulder. “I’ve got you for the one after that.”
“But I’m first,” Mack said, sticking his jaw out.
“No.” Relief poured through me as Doc sat in his chair, sliding his arm along the back of my chair.
“No?” Mack bristled with Drew backing him all the way. “What do you mean no? And who are you to say? We’re aren’t asking—”
“I said no!” Doc didn’t yell, threaten or get out of his chair, but apparently the intensity of his voice made an impression. “She’s going to dance with me from now on. Only me. Then I’m going to drive her home.”
Who says? I wanted to ask, as I normally would have if anyone played caveman around me, but I was in no shape. In fact, I looked forward to having him drive me home. I only hoped I could make it all the way to my apartment. I just hated backseat sex.
As the music started again, he took me onto the dance floor. I used steel control to keep from kissing him. From tugging his shirt from his trousers so I could run my hands over his back, his chest. I wanted his flesh under my palms. I wanted our bodies pressed together so there was nothing between us.
I wanted to ravage and be ravaged—like the animal I was.
There was something about his touch—even on that dance floor—that I couldn’t get enough of. I don’t know what it was, maybe just the wolf hormones coursing through me, but I wanted more. Much more. And not just the sexual part.
With a scowl at Doc, Drew and Mack each grabbed a girl and dragged her onto the dance floor. Anytime I looked up, one or both of them were looking in our direction. What was it with these guys? Trying to piss off their big brother or what?
After a while, one song started running into the next. We didn’t stop dancing for the rest of the night. And no matter the tempo, Doc kept me close to him, snuggled in and loving it. The only thing that might have been better was to put those offices to the use I’d warned Bella about the night of the Halloween party.
Then Bella stormed into the room—her face blazing, her jaw set and her brows shoved so close together it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other began. She was practically running, and the spark in her eyes made me wonder what Spence had done. Had he grabbed another woman out there in the moonlight or done something equally as heinous? I didn’t know, but I knew I was going to find out.
She marched onto the dance floor, took my arm—making me feel like a school girl caught smoking in the bathroom—and without a word to Doc or anyone, pulled me into the night.
****
Bella stopped next to Jazzy’s Z4 and, without releasing her twin, held out her hand. The anger boiling through her made her sound sterner than she intended. “Give me the keys. I’m driving.”
The look Jazzy flashed was typical. Her smug, I-don’t-care-if-it-cripples-the-governor-I’ll-do-what-I-want half smile and the lowered eyelids made Bella want to fight. Thank goodness, Jazzy only went into heat once a year.
Why hadn’t she remembered? And why hadn’t Jazzy said something? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t realized much earlier what was going on.
Taking her sweet time, Jazzy opened her tiny bag and pulled out the keys, which she held up and let swing between her fingers. “It’s my car. I think I should drive.”
“Where? Someplace you can go after innocent bystanders? No, thanks.” With a quick move, Bella snatched the keys from her sister’s hand and pushed the remote to unlock the doors. “Get in.”
Jazzy shrugged, turned and strolled to the passenger door, a deliberate sway to her walk.
They had to get home. Now. Bella would decide then what to do.
Once inside the car, she started the engine. “Buckle up.”
The belt snapped immediately, followed by the sound of Jazzy’s sigh, which was anything but quiet. “Okay, Bella, I’m in heat. I haven’t lost my mind.”
Slamming the car into gear, Bella pushed the gas pedal so hard the tires squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That I’m in heat? Why bother, when you already know everything, Doctor.” Clearly finished with the conversation, Jazzy turned away to look out the window.
“You always have some kind of warning. I know you do.” Her stomach tensed, the anger roiled higher. First Spence, now Jazzy. What was it with the people around her?
“Maybe I didn’t want to.” Jazzy tipped her head to one side then glanced at her sister. “Maybe I like surprises.”
Bella gritted her teeth to keep from screaming. “Ma
ybe you do, but I don’t. Not this kind, at least.”
Jazzy turned back to the window again then mumbled something.
“What did you say?” Bella shot a sharp glance at her as she stopped at the end of the zoo’s private road before steering onto the highway.
“I said maybe you should have been an animal psychiatrist. You think you know everything about every creature. If your shingle said you were a shrink, you could prove to the world that you know how their bodies and their minds work.”
It was all Bella could do not to snap back at her sister. But a fight wouldn’t make her feel better. After what Spence had said, nothing would.
When several minutes had passed, Jazzy opened the console and pulled out her planner. Flicking on a small overhead light, she studied the pages intently before glancing up. “Where are we going this time?”
Home was the obvious answer, but something told Bella there was more. Something she’d overlooked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean—” Jazzy paused dramatically, as if the night hadn’t been stressful enough—”we’re coming to an eclipse. Have you chosen a place to hide out?”
“You’re going to be in heat during a blood moon phase?” Bella almost missed their exit as she tried to accept what her sister said. Blood Moon Wildness—as they’d nicknamed it while they were in their teens—was the only time Jazzy couldn’t keep herself from going wild. But to have a BMW while she was in heat had never happened before. It could spell disaster. “No wonder you’re so…so…”
“So what?” Jazzy was all sweetness. Way too innocent for it to be real.
“So blatant. So out there. So sexual.” What she needed was a chastity belt that would fit a wolf.
Jazzy stroked one red nail along her jaw, then tucked it between her teeth. “Yeah,” she breathed.
“Stop it!” Bella all but shouted.
With a small smile, Jazzy lowered her chin as she focused on Bella. “Stop what?”
The rigidness had moved from Bella’s stomach to her jaw, making it difficult to speak. “I know how your mind works. I know what you think you want to do.”
“Do you?” Jazzy lifted an eyebrow.
“I’ve been through it enough times. I should.” Bella turned onto the street to their apartment.
“And how are you going to handle it this time?”
“I’m going to keep you busy tonight. Packing.”
****
Waves of helplessness crashed over Chase as Bella towed Jazzy away from him. Grabbing the back of a chair, he gripped it to keep from running after her. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t have held onto her, wrenched her away from her sister. But the look on Bella’s face was one he’d seldom seen, and when he did, he knew it meant something. He had enough respect for his colleague to let them both go—but later he would ask her what set her tail on fire.
Shaking his head, he found his way back to the table where his brothers and parents soon gathered. Sam gazed at him for a moment, then asked, “Ready to head home, son?”
Chase nodded then shrugged. Why go home? Why stay?
Why did he suddenly feel so empty?
During the long ride home in the back of the Hummer, he tried to keep his mind off Jazzy.
The evening was darker than most, even with the moon practically at its fullest. Heavy clouds surrounded it, throwing them into darkness as they drove through the night. Toward home.
How was it that a place meant to be filled with welcome and warmth, even with his entire family nearby, just looked bleak? Maybe he needed to have a decorator in to give his quarters whatever it was missing—add a fireplace, some quilts.
He had to stop. He sounded like a girl, whining.
Maybe Spence could help him hire someone.
The long weekend stretched before him, and he was stuck in that colorless shell of a house. No, he wouldn’t stay there. He’d head for the lab and do some work, something good, even if only for future generations.
The thought of work gave him a measure of relief. At least while working, he couldn’t think about Jazzy. The way she’d danced with him had been almost more than he could handle. She’d snuggled into his arms as if she’d found home, her body moving against his as if she belonged exactly there.
Could they make a go of a relationship? Not a short term one, but one like his parents’ that would last forever? He shoved down the need to laugh. Him, make a relationship work? Not if his past was any indicator.
But there was something…different about Jazzy. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Chase stayed in the car while Sam got out, circling it to open Beatrice’s door. She glanced over her shoulder at her grown sons. “I baked apple dumplings today. Would you boys like to come in for a bite?”
“We’ll be there in just a moment, Mom,” Spence answered with a nod. He turned to Chase. “All right, big brother. Time for coffee and a cold shower.”
Chapter Four
Chase glared at Spence. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Jazzy.” Spence’s voice was easy, as if he hadn’t heard Chase’s tone. “Yeah, she was nice. Yeah, she could have been some fun. But she’s gone now, and you have a life to live.”
“It’s not as if she lives on another planet. I’ll see her again.”
Light jabbed Chase’s eyes as Spence opened his door. “Then stop acting like she’s gone forever and come on.”
Getting out of the car, Chase walked shoulder to shoulder with his brother until the idiot again opened his mouth. “Besides, I have a feeling Jazzy’s a wild one.”
Knowing their mother was nearby, Chase couldn’t bloody his brother. At least not immediately. “Why would you say a thing like that?”
“Didn’t you see the way the men all wanted to dance with her?” Spence shrugged as he opened the front door. “She had some kind of vibes going out, and they were picked up by every guy in the place.”
Heat seared his skin. Who did Spence think he was to speak of Jazzy that way? Chase spoke through gritted teeth. “Those damned brothers of ours, and probably the rest of those men, don’t have sense enough to pour piss out of a boot before they put it on, much less act like well brought up human beings. How’s that Jazzy’s fault?”
As if he hadn’t heard, Spence strode into the house.
“Get in here, son, and shut the door.” Sam motioned to Chase from the kitchen.
“I’ve got coffee on,” Beatrice added as Chase walked through the door, then patted Sam’s shoulder. “Decaffeinated—so your father will be able to sleep tonight.”
Sam grimaced then grinned at Chase. “I hate unleaded, but I do like a good night’s sleep.”
Spence came out of the bathroom with his jacket over his shoulder and his sleeves rolled up. “With apple dumplings swimming in ice cream, you’ll never even taste the coffee, Dad.”
Chase took off his jacket and laid it across the back of a chair, then accepted the dessert and coffee from his mother. Moving to the kitchen bar, he set his plate on the counter and slid onto a stool.
Cutting into the flaky crust, he took the first bite. Tart apple combined with cinnamon for mouthwatering sweetness. As he sipped from the steaming mug, he finally relaxed the muscles tensing his shoulders. But try as he might, he couldn’t get the image of Jazzy out of his mind.
****
I lay across the couch as Bella rushed around the apartment, pulling out suitcases. Did she really think leaving town would make the incredible heat sizzling through my body go away? It was as if I’d traded in my blood for an infusion of caramel macchiato—hot, sweet and topped with creamy lusciousness. It made my toes sweat and gave the rest of me an interesting tingle. Well, I had news for my big sis. I didn’t want to lose it.
“Are you going to pack? Or would you rather buy all new clothes while we’re away?” Bella’s words sounded like yips from a small dog.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Just to irritate her, I picked u
p an emery board and smoothed a tiny nick on the nail of my right index finger. “I can’t pack if I don’t know—”
“Snowstorm!” Bella tossed a handful of underwear into her bag. “We’re going to the spa at Snowstorm. It’s the ski resort with the highest elevation in Colorado, so there’s sure to be snow, even if they have to manufacture it. You can ski until you’re too exhausted to do anything else. And we’ll have healthy meals, massages, facials, anything that’ll make us feel…”
“Human?” When she hesitated, I couldn’t keep from tossing out a word guaranteed to make her feel guilty. Sometimes it was as if my problems were harder on Bella than on me.
But this time Bella didn’t care. “Human…normal… Call it what you want, but we’re going to be gone until you are back. Now pack, because we’re leaving tomorrow.”
A few hours later, we were on our way to Denver. The flight was uneventful—all right, it was boring. As usual, the airport teemed with people. As if she were afraid I’d escape, Bella glued herself to my side while we shoved our way through the swarm of travelers. At the first rental desk, she made arrangements for a car.
Her entire body shivered by the time we got to the courtesy van, which would take us to pick up the car.
“You shouldn’t have packed your coat.” I gave her a sweet smile.
She practically snarled as she climbed inside. “And wrestle it the entire time we were on that plane?”
“At least you wouldn’t be cold now.” I shook my hair back from my face—a gesture she hates—and shrugged.
The fact that I wasn’t cold simply because I was in heat infuriated her. It was as if she could forgive the fact that often, I didn’t have human skin, teeth and senses but instead had a pelt and fangs, but couldn’t forgive the fact that the animal hormones raging through my system kept me well warmed.
And I couldn’t help reminding her of it.
When we’d gone through the line and filled out the papers, I was ready to move. Too much sitting always made me hyper. “I’ll drive,” I said, holding out my hand for the keys.
