by Nora Snowdon
“Risky? How?”
“Well what if that person goes to the police or the newspapers? Or if they’re blabbermouths when they have a few drinks? We didn’t even know how it worked until recently since no one had bitten a human for a few generations. Then a girl in our pack got jealous and bit my brother’s human girlfriend. That’s Rosie. You’ll get to meet her. She enjoys being a werewolf, now.”
“She didn’t originally?”
“Well, she freaked out about it at first, until she transitioned. But you’ll see what I mean in five days. Have you noticed anything yet? Like a sensitivity to smells or better hearing?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Anything else?” He couldn’t ask if she was horny, but he’d been told that was another symptom. He didn’t want her seducing any other men, but if she wanted him, well… His lips turned up at the thought.
“Nope.”
Hell. “When you do start feeling strange you can call me anytime and I can help.” He pulled out his wallet for a business card and handed it to her. “It’s my cell number.”
“Thanks.” She dropped it into her purse before finishing off the last bit of her dinner.
The waiter instantly appeared to take their plates. “Can I get you some coffee or tea? And would you like to see our dessert menu?”
Ella shook her head. “No thanks. That was perfect.”
“Just the bill, please.”
The waiter scurried off.
“That was a great dinner. Thank you. I’ll have to remember this place.”
“You’re welcome.” He took the last sip of his wine. “I have a favor to ask.”
She eyed him warily. God that expression made him nervous. She was already preparing to dig her heels in.
“It’s nothing much. I’d like to read your article before you submit it. Not that I don’t trust you but—”
“But you don’t. That’s okay. I won’t take it personally.” She sniffled dramatically and he chuckled.
“I’m not sure how much of our conversation you can use.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll just write about what a dog you are.” She flashed an adorable grin.
“Or, we could hang out together for the next few days and get you more grist for the gossip mills.” And he’d be available when her lust did kick in. He glanced up as the waiter placed the credit card machine on the table. A few buttons pushed later and he ripped off his copy and handed the machine back to the waiter. “Thank you.”
“No. Thank you, sir.” He nodded to Ella and disappeared. Much preferable to the fawning waiters in the pretentious places.
Robert stood to pull back her chair, but she beat him to it. Oh well. She couldn’t fault him for not trying to be chivalrous.
As he drove back to her place she finally seemed to have run out of questions which was good. But she hadn’t agreed to see him again. Not so good. Her reticence was killing him. He wanted her, and he wanted her bad. Patience. Go to a safe topic.
“How do you like working for LoveLifeStyle? Do they always let you choose your articles or do they also assign them?”
“I like my job. I wish my main editor was a little less of a micro-manager, but everyone’s friendly there. We have pitch meetings to plan what goes in the next issue, but if someone gets a lead or—” she smirked. “—happens to run into a famous werewolf designer, they’ll sometimes let us go off on a different tangent.”
“Don’t even pretend you’d consider putting inside jokes about my wolfish grin or whatever.” He reached across and tweaked her ear. He needed to touch her, establish physical contact regardless of the context. “Your readers wouldn’t get the humor and my family would freak out.” He rested his hand on her shoulder lightly stroking her collarbone with his thumb. Damn, he wanted more.
“I won’t. But it would be funny.”
“No it wouldn’t.” He was pretty sure she was kidding but he’d feel safer about her keeping their secret once she transitioned. Or once he got her into the sack.
They lapsed into silence again as he drove the last few miles to her house. He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled up to her curb. She waited in her seat until he opened her door and then she got extra points for smoothly exiting the car without flashing her underwear. Why couldn’t famous people learn her style? Unless they wanted to show the world they were going commando. Hopefully Ella’s discretion would carry over to her writing style.
Her back tensed under his hand as he walked her to her door. Was she mentally preparing to send him away? He stopped on the second to last step below her and tugged her hand to turn her toward him. Her face was almost level to his. “Thanks for coming out with me tonight.”
He leaned toward her wondering if she’d stop him. She didn’t pull back so he kissed her gently. She still hadn’t committed either way. Threading his fingers through her silky hair, he pulled her closer, his lips teasing hers, asking for entry. Sucking on her bottom lip, he slid his tongue inside to taste her. Oh yeah. That’s it. She murmured something but it wasn’t until her hands slid up his shoulders to loop around his neck and her breasts squished against his chest that he knew he had her.
He angled his head to get better access, enjoying her small moan as he molded her body to his. She stiffened in surprise when he pressed his more than ready erection against her belly. Had she thought his “accident” more damaging than currently evident? Then her hips rubbed against him and he let out a low growl. Damn, that felt good. He slid his hand south, testing the tight curve of her butt. Yup, damn. As he suspected, underwear. His hands strove for more possession, pulling her tighter against him.
With a sigh, she pushed herself away. “Hey. Thanks again for a lovely evening…”
What? Noooo! Play it cool. “The pleasure was all mine.” Robert raised her hand to lightly brush it with his lips then tugged her to him for another kiss. Her hand slid up to his chest, holding him off. Damn. He thought he had her. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 6:30 for dinner.”
Her smile was shy. “I’d like that.”
Or you could just invite me in now. He kissed her cheek then watched as she unlocked her door and went inside. He waited a few more seconds hoping she’d change her mind and then walked back to his car. Tomorrow she’d be his.
CHAPTER 3
I jumped out of bed at seven unable to spend another minute lying down. Jeez! After tossing and turning until the wee hours, I’d assumed it’d be excruciating crawling out of bed in the morning. Could that be an after effect from Robert’s bite? Or had my newly awakened lust superseded the need for sleep?
After dressing for work—black pants and my blue stripy sweater—I checked out the effect in the mirror. Damn! I looked sexy. That was a first. My eyes and skin practically glowed with health. I turned and surveyed the rest of my look. Yes. Wow, somehow my curves and model-fresh skin made even my cheap Target sweater look like it cost a fortune.
And I was going to see him again tonight. I let out a squeal of happiness then glanced at the phone. No. It was too early to call Leanne. I felt like a silly teenager but I wanted to brag to someone about my hot date. Obviously I couldn’t tell anyone at work. They’d approve of me sleeping with my interview subject for the dirt, but that wasn’t an impression I wanted to give.
Was I going to sleep with Robert? Hmm, maybe the question should be, when was I going to sleep with Robert? If I gave in too soon he might just dump me. I wasn’t his type so he was probably only interested in the chase. On the internet he always had tall, gorgeous babes hanging off his arm. I wondered how many of those women were actually werewolves. Bitches. I smirked at the thought of the parade of model types wagging fluffy tails.
But I should sleep with him before the full moon because he might lose interest if I didn’t turn into a wolf. Could I turn into a wolf? Nah. I couldn’t see that happening.
I did a little clean-up around my house, turned on the dishwasher and then went to check out back to see if the squirrels or
raccoons had tipped over my bird feeder in the night. Something had set my neighbor’s dog into a barking frenzy at four in the morning. As I stepped outside my foot connected with a shiny blue gift bag, tipping it over. A small, bloodied body of some poor dead animal tumbled out and I let out a scream then ducked back into my house. What the hell?
Pacing my kitchen, I tried to make sense of that thing. Was one of the neighboring kids a budding psychopath? Should I call the cops? Or, more likely given the timing and the packaging, was it some sort of initiation gift from Robert? Ew. If that’s what werewolves do to say hello, I’d hate to see what they do when you piss them off. Or maybe I had pissed off another werewolf by going out with Robert?
I grabbed several plastic shopping bags and put them over my hand like an ill-fitting plastic glove. Steeling myself, I opened the back door and quickly picked up the remains and the wrapping and bagged and tied it—all without throwing up. At least today was garbage day so it wouldn’t have to hang around in my garbage can for any length of time. Then I pondered how I could broach the subject with Robert. Would he expect me to thank him for the gift? That would be too weird. Or if it was a warning and I thanked Robert, he’d be appalled that I thought he’d sent it as a gift. Jeez, it was hard enough understanding men, add in the werewolf component and it was impossible. And if he had given me that gift, I couldn’t even contemplate sleeping with him no matter how good looking he was.
Eventually I gave up trying to figure it all out and went into work an hour early. It turned out I still had a sexy vibe, which was embarrassing. The security guard at the door even let out a low whistle when I entered the building then caught himself and contritely muttered, “Good morning.”
Dani raised her eyebrows when I strode past her office and Kaity and Arnold both stopped mid conversation to stare. Kaity speechless—that was a new one. The office looked clean and bright, but I noticed the janitors had missed several gatherings of spider webs. And there was the undeniable odor of an orange peel in a waste paper basket somewhere. I dumped my purse and lunch into my desk drawer, booted up my computer and sat down to start my article.
Robert Colbert is a mass of contradictions. On the one hand he is an ultra-rich, attractive, and confident TV star, but on the other, there’s a sweet insecurity lurking below the gregarious public persona.
Ha! Scratch that. Not any insecurity there that I could detect.
Robert Colbert is noticeably press shy so, quite frankly, when he agreed to sit down with me for an interview, I was shocked. He is as attractive in person as he was onscreen in Designed by Colbert. He’s also as polite and
No. That sucks, too. I grabbed my pen and paper from the drawer and wrote out the meager facts I’d gathered during our date. Minus the canine information. Jeez, I was a crappy reporter. I hadn’t gotten much and had totally lost my angle on sex sells that I’d started out with.
After dating a string of stunning models and actresses, Robert Colbert is still looking for love.
I smiled. Now that sounds like a LoveLifeSyle kind of opening.
Devoted to his family, most of whom work in the family decorating business, and his enjoyment in creating those divine condos and mansions, Robert seems like the perfect catch. But is he?
I wouldn’t mind finding out, so I sat down to interview him. Unfortunately most of our conversation centered on his last TV show, Designed by Colbert, and the fact that he’s currently in talks for a new series, subject undisclosed. Witty, urbane and oh-so-smooth, Robert glides through life like an impervious movie star bestowing his dazzling smile and warmth upon everyone in his path.
Ah, screw it. Too restless to continue, I went in search of caffeine. Then I ate a second breakfast to go with my coffee. It wasn’t my fault; someone had restocked the cereal section with new selections and there were still Cocoa Puffs available. There’s always room for Cocoa Puffs.
The day crept forward like a narcoleptic turtle until it was finally four o’clock. I could almost taste quitting hour and then I got the phone call. I snatched up the receiver hoping maybe it was Robert checking if I was still available for tonight. I don’t know why I even considered he’d do that. It was not as though he probably ever got rejected. It was not Robert on the line.
“Hey, Ella! Ready for a night of drunken debauchery?” Leanne sounded like she’d already started on the drinking, but that was unlikely. Leanne considered drinking before dinnertime a cardinal sin.
“What?” A niggling thought pinged in my brain.
“You’ll love what I’ve got planned for us. I’m starting thirty off right, this time. You know what they say, third time is a charm.”
Oh shoot! I forgot about Leanne’s birthday celebration. Could I cancel her for a date with Robert? “Oh my gosh! That’s tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ve been working on my plans for the evening all week while you’ve been off gallivanting with rich TV stars. I figure we’ll start at Hernando’s for dinner and then go to Kaleidoscope and see if we can pick up a guy for my birthday present.”
“Yeah. That sounds great.” Damn, I’ll have to call Robert and cancel. Do I even have his phone number? “I’ll drive to your place and then we’ll take a cab?”
“That’d be brilliant. I am so gonna get wasted tonight. I’ll see you at six?”
“You bet. Happy Birthday!” I hung up and rooted in my purse for Robert’s business card. Hmm, I guess I wasn’t going to get laid tonight. I dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring.
“Hey there, LoveLifeStyle.” His warm rich voice had me melting in my swivel chair.
“Hey yourself, Robert. Look about tonight—”
“I’ve got reserv—”
“I can’t make it.” I interrupted quickly so he couldn’t sway me with some fabulous, out-of-this-world date.
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry. I’d forgotten I’d already committed to going out with a friend.”
“So cancel.”
“No. Sorry. It’s her birthday.”
“Okay. That’s too bad.” His voice had lost that warmth. I guess he really wasn’t used to rejection, but jeez, suck it up, buttercup.
“Yeah, sure.” I waited, but he didn’t suggest a different night. Should I ask him out? No. I didn’t want to seem like a groupie. Frig! “Okay, well… talk to you soon.” I hung up and banged my fist on my desk. Ow. Great. Now I felt rejected and my hand hurt.
****
“You broke a date with Robert Colbert?” Leanne had to shout to be heard over the club speakers blaring out Beyonce. “I don’t know whether to be more impressed by that or insulted by the fact you forgot my birthday in the first place.”
“Well if you knew the way he kisses…”
Leanne’s jaw dropped. “You’ve made out with him already?”
I shushed her to get her to lower her voice.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought he was just trying to get that stupid picture from you.” She drained the rest of her Brown Cow and turned to search for the waitress. “I need another drink for news like that!”
“Maybe he’s just using sex to get the photo.” If you substituted “turning me into a werewolf” for “getting stupid photo” I wasn’t really lying. “I mean, he seemed attracted to me, but then again, guys will screw anything. He might’ve figured if we had sex I’d give it to him. Anyway, he sounded annoyed when I cancelled so I doubt he’ll ask me out again.”
“I’m sure he will. And not because of the damn picture. He’s probably angry you cancelled because he really likes you.” Leanne caught the waitress’s eye and pointed to our glasses. “But do you like him? I know he’s cute but if he can’t take no for an answer…”
“I enjoyed going out with him. He’s funny, attentive, and he kisses well. He’s just too used to always getting his way.” And he might mutilate small animals in his spare time. Hmm, can’t mention that concern out loud. How the hell was I going to ask Robert about it? If I hear from him again, of course. “Anyway, i
t’s good I found out he was controlling early. Although now I wish I’d slept with him last night. I bet he’s a fantastic lover.”
“You don’t mean that!” Leanne looked shocked. Her small town upbringing hadn’t really prepared her for life.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Sometimes I feel I’m missing out on stuff by being too cautious.”
“Yeah, stuff like AIDS and herpes. I won’t have sex with a man until they show me a recent doctor’s note saying they are free and clear of all communicable diseases.”
“You have heard of condoms, right?”
Leanne shook her head vehemently and then stopped to nod her thanks to the waitress depositing our drinks. She looked like a demented bobble-head doll. “Condoms don’t always work!”
“True,” I conceded. Still, I didn’t think I could get a doctor’s note from Robert before the full moon. And that was if he was still interested. I glanced around the club. “Hey! There’s a guy for you.” She followed my nod to the blond hottie across the bar.
“He’s cute, but those tattoos, ugh!” She scrunched her face. “Tattoos are just as bad as guys wearing make-up and getting manicures. I like my guys to be less concerned with their looks and more appreciative of mine.” She took a large gulp of her drink. How anyone could guzzle Brown Cows was beyond me. They were too sweet for that.
I nudged her. “Well he’s heading this way, so I guess he is appreciative of your looks.” Guys were always coming on to Leanne. They were attracted by her mass of curly red hair and big boobs and then, somehow, even more entranced by the challenge of her constant rejections.
“Hello, lovely ladies.” His voice was nice despite the cheesy intro. “Would you like to dance?”
Oh shoot. He was staring at me with an odd intensity. I glanced at Leanne whose eyes had widened with surprise. This just didn't happen when I was out with her.
“Um, sure.” I pushed my wine closer to Leanne for her to guard and followed him to the dance floor. Oh well, it wasn’t as though I was likely to see Robert again.
