They walked a ways in silence, their hands entwined and lightly swinging. With her free hand, she held her coat tighter to her body and he saw this, and wrapped a warm arm around her. “That better?”
“Much. Thank you.” She met his eyes.
The patience he saw in her was stunning. He stopped walking and searched her face, dying to know what she knew. “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
He shook his head a little with impatience. He knew why he’d brought her here, it was the closest thing to a forest and nature as there was in the city. It calmed his wolf and made him feel at home. That made Nathaniel easy, but tonight it wasn’t working. Her pull on him combined with his curiosity at how much she knew was too powerful. “Why are you so comfortable here with me right now?”
Gazing up at him, he saw a decision pass over her pretty face. “I know it was you who saved me.”
His blood froze and he nodded slowly. “I see.”
“I just don’t know how…”
With his heart pounding in his ears, he rasped, “Don’t you?” He’d thought she hadn’t seen him, but was he wrong? “What did you witness that night?”
She glanced around to make sure they were alone. He knew that they were. He could hear a half-mile in every direction and that included heartbeats, if he paid as much attention as he way paying now. She reached up and touched his cheek, tracing her fingers down it as she looked into his eyes with tenderness. It eased the battle waging inside him. Her voice was so gentle as she said, “I was too terrified to look back, but I heard your voice telling me to leave. And today on the roof, when you were angry at Eli–”
“You recognized it?” She nodded. He grabbed her hand and held it to his cheek, closing his eyes. “I can only imagine how I sounded. You aren’t afraid of me?”
“You saved me from a lifetime of pain. How could I be afraid of you?”
He pulled her close, kissing her deeply. “Michelle!” he said hoarsely against her lips. He kissed her again and she slid her arms around his neck, allowing herself to be consumed by his kisses, meeting his tongue as it reached for hers. They explored each other’s hot mouths and he couldn’t believe how good she tasted.
She tasted like love.
Pulling away, he struggled to catch his breath, his wolf thrashing about inside him desiring to claim her and put his stamp forever on her. But he’d never shown what he was to a woman before. He’d kept all females at a safe distance, and that caution wouldn’t last here; he felt it! “I don’t want you to ever be afraid of me,” he whispered against her lips, tortured by the images of exposing the whole truth.
“I couldn’t be!” She kissed him. “Not ever!”
He grabbed her head roughly and looked into her eyes. “You don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me!”
The thought that he could do just that, that the words were on the tip of his tongue, was devastating. He let her go and took her hand, leading her deeper into the park. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“What are you?”
He glanced over, surprised by the question. “What do you mean, what am I?”
“I know you’re not human.”
He halted abruptly and stared at her in shock. She pressed her body to him and tucked her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around to hold him tight. The lamb was back and he wanted nothing more than to protect her, even if that meant from him. “I’m a man. Plain and simple,” he whispered. “And I want you so badly I can hardly stand it.”
She met his eyes, her chin resting on his chest. He saw she didn’t believe him but for some reason he couldn’t fathom, she didn’t push for more. “Nathaniel, take me home. I need to feel your skin against me. I need you.”
Heat rushed though him and he nodded, kissing her hard on the lips before grabbing her hand and leading her back to the car so quickly she had to jog to keep up. He pulled out his phone and said, “Text Nigel.”
The phone’s computer voice replied, “Okay. What would do you want to say to Nigel?”
“Come get us.”
“Okay. I’m sending your text.”
By the time they arrived on 51st Street, the car was waiting with Nigel at the ready. “Take us back to Ms. Nero’s apartment.”
“Yes, sir.”
Inside the car, the privacy of the large backseat drove him insane. He sat away from her, holding her hand firmly on the leather between them. He felt her looking at him and when he turned, there was worry in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She licked her lips self-consciously. “I’m just wondering why you’re way over there.”
A rueful smirk pulled at him. “If I start touching you now, I won’t be able to stop. And Nigel has a way of hitting the brakes when we least expect it. I need you alone. Really alone.”
“Oh!” A relieved smile flashed in her eyes and on her lips. She stroked his hand and watched out the window as the buildings passed. He took the opportunity to trace her body with his hungry glance. She was full-figured and proud of it and he couldn’t wait to taste her. The scent of her arousal lost to most human males, drove Nathaniel’s wolf wild for her. Grabbing the door handle with white knuckles, Nathaniel waited until the precious moment when he could open it and whisk her upstairs.
Chapter Eleven
He wasted no time to get her inside her building. When the elevator doors opened, Michelle gasped as he picked her up and planted her against the metal wall, his body up against hers. The strength of him was such a turn-on that she felt dizzy. Before the doors closed he was exploring her over her dress, running his hands down her sides, her back, over her ass where he squeezed, all the while looking at her with hooded eyelids filled with raw hunger. Her lips were parted and her breaths came in short heated bursts as she stifled a moan. The doors opened and he glanced over, saw no one there and led her to her apartment. The way he knew where to go reaffirmed he’d been the one to return her clutch to her. She smiled to herself as he stopped confidently in front of her door without explanation. She pulled out her new keys and handed them to him, wanting him to drive everything tonight.
He took them without hesitation, not noticing their un-scuffed shine, and opened the lock. He listened to the room and glanced around, checking for unwanted visitors. She knew there would be none, there never were, but to watch him being so protective made her heart skip. He closed the door and locked the deadbolt, turning to look at her.
“Walk.”
“Sorry?”
He motioned with his hand. “Walk around. I want to watch you in that dress before I rip it off. I’ll buy you a new one.”
Her lips parted with pleasure and she blushed. With her spine straight and her ass swaying a little more freely than normal, she paraded in front of his ravenous stare, the heat pooling out from between her thighs more and more with each slow step.
“Again.”
She glanced over, smiled and did as she was told. Sometimes she looked at him, other times not. Being watched, admired and wanted so carnally was an aphrodisiac to her senses. She floated before him and when she finished the second circle, she turned and pulled her hem up just a little, exposing more of her leg. One of her hands rose and she slid her fingers under the low neckline of her dress, just enough to make him begin to pant.
“What are you?” she asked boldly.
He blinked, his eyes aflame. “What?”
“Tell me what you are, or I will ask you to leave.”
He chuckled with confidence. “You wouldn’t.”
She walked dangerously close to him on her way to the door, casting a sideways tempting glance his way. Her hand rested on the deadbolt, ready to unlock it. “Leave, please.” She knew he wouldn’t force himself on her. She had him right where she wanted him. As much as she needed him, she wasn’t going to allow that until she had all the facts. “This is my body, and I get to decide who, or what, gets inside it.”
He huffed and raced away from her, the close
proximity too much for him to bear. Flipping around, he rasped, “What if you hate me for it?”
She rested her back against the door, her hands behind her. “I have a very strong undeniable feeling I could never hate you. But I have to know.”
“You’ve got me in a bad way right now.”
“I can see that. But I know you won’t hurt me.”
The look in his eyes changed to pride and he stood straight. “I wouldn’t, no. I’m not thinking of that. I’m afraid you’ll send me away when you know.” He exhaled, deeply lost in thought. “Please reconsider what you’re asking.” He looked for an answer and found only a willful shake of her head. “Fine.” He glanced to the floor. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this. I might regret it for the rest of my life.”
She swallowed, worried for the first time. She had an idea what he might be, but had to know for sure. She didn’t dare offer up what she thought. If she were wrong, he might laugh in her face. What she thought he might be was impossible but it seemed the only logical explanation. Had she not heard what she heard, had the reports not come back as they had, had the police not said…
“I’m ready.” She wasn’t sure if that was true, but it sounded believable even to her own trepidation.
Struggling, he paced back and forth. Finally he stopped and looked at her, resigned. A wall that hadn’t been there before was between them and she hated to see it but she had no choice but to push for the truth. “Are you sure you want to know this? It will change your view of the world forever.” She gave him the tiniest of nods. “I’m not human. I’m a werewolf.”
She blinked and gulped, closing her eyes with strange relief. “I thought so.”
His eyebrows rose. “You did?”
“Yes.” She stayed by the door, pressing herself closer into it as though it might suddenly become pliable and warm. She needed a hug. “Yes. The growl. The way they described the body in the news. The policemen asking–”
“About a wolf,” he interjected. “Right. Of course you would deduce from all that… What do you want to know? Now that I've told you my secret I'll answer any questions you have for me.”
“My mind is a blank.”
He stared at her. “I'm not surprised. Well let me just clear up a few things. My bite or scratch can't turn you into what I am. I don't only change during the full moon; I have full capacity to shift whenever I please. I was born this way, as were most of the others.”
“Most?” she whispered.
“For some of us, a very few, the change was brought on despite the fact that they were born from human parents, by very special circumstances. But that is delving deeper than I wish to go right now, into details that don’t apply to me. I assume you want to know about my situation and who I am?”
“Yes.”
He met her eyes and held them. She wondered if he could tell how awestruck she was.
“You want me to show you? I’ve come this far. I want desperately to show you. It’s been all I’ve thought about for days.”
It was her turn for eyebrows to rise. “It has?” On his affirming nod, she whispered, “Please show me.”
He groaned and his head fell back a little. “You will be the very first human being to ever see this and live to tell about it.”
What a way to put it! She stared at him, her heart thudding in her ears. “I’m honored.”
He took a deep breath. “Just know that I’ve always been this. I have complete control in both forms. I will not hurt you.”
“Okay,” she whispered, terrified and rapturously excited.
He walked to the windows and closed all the blinds. When they had total privacy, he walked to center himself in front of her, ten feet away. He raised his hand in a calming gesture and held her eyes. Then his began to glow, the green becoming instantly paler and iridescent. He slipped off his blazer, and unbuttoned each button of his shirt while staring at her. He tossed them to the couch where they fell with a soft thump. Unzipping his slacks, he glanced her way and smiled. “This wasn’t the order I was expecting to do this in. I was thinking your dress was coming off first.”
She smiled, speechless and nervous now for more reasons. She was about to see him naked and from his chest and the structure of those arms, she couldn’t wait. He kicked off his shoes and his slacks dropped to the floor around his feet. In black boxer briefs, he bent down to remove black dress socks, throwing her a self-conscious smile. “I’m really doing this.”
“Looks like you are.”
He grinned and shook his head. The smile disappeared as he kicked his socks and pants to the side and met her eyes. With one fluid motion, he slid his briefs down, kicking them away to stand naked before her. He was majestic. His body was beautiful and his cock called to her, standing at attention. But it was the look in his glowing eyes, the pride and regal strength there that undid her.
Then without another word, he shifted. She heard the most amazing cracking sounds as his bones reformed so quickly it took her breath away. In the movies the change was always so dramatically painful but he didn’t look agonized at all. It was as if he blended the two forms, transported swiftly from one to the other until there he was, a wolf standing in her apartment gazing at her as if it belonged.
It had dark fur the color of his hair. Its eyes shone beautifully in the low lamplight and she stepped forward in awe. It was larger, much larger, than any wolf she’d seen during road trips to ski up north. “Nathaniel, can you hear me?”
The dark beast approached her, eyes free of danger. They were soft and watching for her reaction. It nodded.
“Can I touch you?” Her hand drifted toward him and he stepped closer until all she had to do was lean down. She stroked his back slowly, bewildered that the man was now a wolf, the miracle of that. After a few moments of petting him, she kneeled. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. “You’re gorgeous,” she whispered, tracing her index finger from his forehead to the end of the long black muzzle. She lifted his chin and he gazed at her. “Thank you for trusting me.”
He stepped back. The sounds of bones cracking echoed off the walls again as he shifted to his human form. As his head completed shaping, he raised it and met her eyes. There was so much emotion staring back at her! She walked to him and he met her halfway. Touching his cheek, she tilted her head for a kiss. He brushed pink lips against hers and whispered, “I am overcome.”
She shook her head and smiled, overjoyed and quieted by the respect she had for him. “I have no desire to run from you. I just want to get closer.”
His eyes blazed hot and the glow returned. He picked her up and mangled her lips with hot kisses as he carried her to her bedroom, flipping on the light. “I want to look at you.”
“Whatever you want. I’m yours,” she breathed, gasping as he kissed her harder and searched her mouth with his skillful tongue. The sensations his kisses sent choked her up. She’d never been this happy in her life and as he lowered her to the bed, she ordered herself silently not to cry. She was with a supernatural being, and one who seemed to have eyes only for her. The tears stopped cold from excitement as his fingernails sharpened and like razor blades he used them to rip her dress from her body. Her lacy nude bra and panties were exposed to him and torn red fabric lie on either side like a frame. He stood up, his body lit from the side, the floor lamp dim and perfect for this moment. Every muscle had shadows. He looked like Heaven.
“Do you want to keep your lingerie items?”
She blinked down at her body, happy to find the shadows did nice things for her curves. Her breasts in this underwire were fabulous with her resting on her elbows and gravity doing its best to make them shine. Her tummy could use some toning, but since he didn’t seem to mind, she threw that self-conscious thought out the window where it belonged. “Tear them off.”
He bent down, his shoulders sinewy as he slipped a long fingernail under the middle of her bra and ripped it in half. Her breasts tumbled freely and he stared at them with all-consumin
g need. Falling on his knees, he took one into his mouth, the heat from his tongue sending her into euphoria. He teased and kissed and sucked her dusky pink crest, holding her other breast with his hand, the sharp nails gone. He rubbed her other nipple with his thumb as he worked this one with his mouth and she moaned.
His nostrils flared. “Your scent. It’s killing me.”
Horrified, she gasped, “What?”
“I can smell your arousal,” he said, thickly, against her tender bare skin.
She relaxed. “Oh. Do you like it?”
“Like is too weak a word. I yearn for it.” He travelled blazing hot kisses down her stomach and looked up. “Say the word.”
She moaned under the gentle rubbing of his thumb on her nipple. “Taste me. I want you to. Tear my panties off with your teeth if you can.”
He chuckled and repeated, “If I can,” as if the idea that he couldn’t was ludicrous. His teeth grew sharper as she stared. He smiled a dirty smile and bit the tiny strand of flimsy lace that rode on her hip. Running his fangs the length of the front of her panties until he was on the other hip, he paused. Then with one tear they were off. As his teeth went back to normal, he watched her with interest.
“Still don’t want to run?”
She shook her head. “See what I taste like.”
He groaned at her command and spread her legs to gaze at her pussy. He pushed open her folds and stared, drinking her in with glowing eyes. She started to throb under his stare. His nostrils flared as he bent down and spread her with his fingers, his tongue extended slightly. She moaned, waiting for him, the ache growing painful the more he looked at her. He buried his face in her sex and explored every secret part of her with languid sensuality, building up speed until she was crying out his name. He murmured into her wet flesh, “You taste so good.” Her back arched and her breasts thrust upward as she fell back onto the bed, trembling. He lapped at her and teased her with tiny flicks to one side of her clit until she was begging him to make it end. He slowed down, holding her on the brink of her orgasm, the heat of the burn focused in that one tiny little spot his tongue teased. Then with long licks, he brought her away from it until she thought it wasn’t going to happen. But suddenly, his tongue returned to the spot and flicked again, keeping its methodical talented rhythm until she screamed. The orgasm tore her down the middle and she fisted his hair and held him there as her body writhed against his open lips.
Werewolves of New York: Nathaniel (Werewolf Shifter Stand-Alone Paranormal Romance Book 1) Page 8
