When, Were, & Howl
Book 2: Vampires Bite
Jeanette Raleigh
Copyright by Jeanette Raleigh
May 5, 2011, Revised March 3, 2014
All rights reserved. Written permission from the author must be secured to use or reproduce any part of this book except for brief c to provide critical review or articles.
The characters and settings in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons or locations is coincidental.
Available by Jeanette Raleigh
The Zombie Cowboy Two-Step
Dark Visions: First Love
When, Were, & Howl 1: Moon Struck
When, Were, & Howl 2: Vampires Bite
When, Were, & Howl 3: A Tryst of Fate
When, Were, & Howl 4: A Grave Awakening
When, Were, & Howl 5: Werewolf Wedding
When, Were, & Howl: A Very M-Were-y Christmas
Fallen: A Steampunk Novel
Death Knell (As J.B. Raleigh)
Chapter 1
Rob yawned and stretched, opening his eyes with a smile, feeling the press of warmth against his body while his hands caressed Jen’s smooth shoulder. The soft skin shocked him awake.
Groaning, Rob shook Jen. This was bad. This was really bad. And good. “Jen? Jen! Wake up.”
His mind replayed the night before. They curled up together man and wolf with nary a thought of sex between them. Well, he sure wasn’t thinking of sex then…but now? The way her body nestled against him did things.
He looked down, hoping she wouldn't notice those things when she awoke.
Jen opened her eyes and sleepiness gave way to dismay as she covered her breasts with her arms. “Oh, Oh, crap. I’m sorry.”
Rob took a deep breath, searching for the right words to ease the situation. He flushed a deep red, anxious to make Jen feel comfortable, to say the right words, but what could he say? Jen pushed herself away, her eyes piercing his soul and stealing his breath. Did she blame him?
He thought she liked him and he muttered something to that effect aloud.
Jen answered back. “I do like you. I like you a lot.”
Rob froze, the pain of losing her darkening his thoughts. This wasn’t the first time he’d crossed the line between office and romance. But it mattered with Jen. And after the week they had spent comfortably together, Rob knew he wanted a full moon date.
For a moment Jen seemed ready to run screaming from the room. No one was more surprised when Jen leaned forward, and pulling Rob close to her, kissed him, the amulet swinging between them, a taunt to look down. Rob kissed back, drawing her close with his hand tangled in her hair. Her heat warm against his body.
For a moment, the world fell away, and she was everything. The smell of shampoo in her hair, the gentle warmth of her lips as they pressed against his. He breathed in her scent and knew he was home.
Inhaling a sharp breath, Jen pulled away suddenly, her hands returning to her breasts in sudden awkwardness. “We can’t do this.”
Two thoughts flitted through Rob's mind one right after the other. Can't do what? and Why can't we?
He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but she was already pulling away and running from the room before his brain could shift from Wow! to What? Jen's rather shapely figure slammed the door to the bedroom before Rob could say a word.
And the third thought, What just happened?
Rob was not terribly opposed to cuddling with Jen as a human. He'd gotten used to her presence in the house, even if half the time he was worried about fleas. It's not something he could ever say to Jen, but letting her in the house after her foray into the barn signaled something deeper than an office friendship—at least to him.
Spending so many hours together at work, he discovered that she was intelligent, funny, and warm. A woman might present herself as hot, but when she opened her mouth and turned out to be a snob or bubblehead, the distaste for that particular woman set in. He liked it when his opinions were challenged. He liked having someone to share things with.
Seeing Jen naked, well, Rob felt his body heating up at the memory, a distant memory from the way Jen fled. Yes, he desired her, which completely complicated things. Only just now had he realized that everything with her fit just perfectly. And then somehow a wall between fell, and she was running for the bedroom.
His hearing was fine. She'd stopped changing, which meant that she'd gone into hiding. He imagined her sitting on his bed wondering what to do next. He called out, “You okay in there?”
Opening the door, she padded out in the sweats the landlady had picked out from her drawers. They made her look cute. Jen looked a little worse than embarrassed. Ashamed, maybe. She nodded, looking everywhere but at him. “Fine.”
“Come sit on the couch with me.” Rob sat up, but suddenly the friendship between them had turned into awkwardness.
Jen sat on the opposite side of the couch, with a deer in the headlights look that made Rob want to go beat up the bastard that made her feel so uncertain, but he wasn't in the habit of beating himself up, so he could only rage helplessly at the situation.
“I thought I was going to be stuck in wolf form forever.” Jen stared at her hands, then at the wall, then at Rob's shoulders. When her gaze finally touched his, he noticed a peculiar look of longing and guilt.
“Me, too. Nothing has to change between us. With all the times you've changed at the full moon, surely someone has gotten a glimpse before.” Most were-animals weren't prudes. Kind of hard to be when changing required a bare-all approach.
“Sometimes...”
Rob waited for Jen to decide that what happened didn't matter, that they were both adults and friends, maybe even friends ready to date, and that they could get past this awkward moment. A moment to laugh over when they were in their rockers on the porch. Rob was beginning to think they might even be sitting on the same porch together.
The honesty of the daydream assaulted him. He really could imagine Jen in that rocker, her hair graying on the sides, laughing about the latest thing one of the kids had done. Strange, he'd never had that happen with anyone else.
Could Jen be the one?
Jen disappointed him when she said softly, “Can you take me home?”
Chapter 2
The drive to Jen’s house, short in miles, stretched in time and silence. Parking in front of the apartment complex was a brief if harsh relief. Jen forced a smile, “Thanks for your help. For everything.”
Rob cleared his throat and stared at the ground. What could he say to make this right? But nothing came to mind. “Sure.” Rob paused for a second. “Why don’t you take the day off? It’s been a long night.”
Jen’s eyes widened and the hurt shining back was more than Rob could bear. He waited helplessly for her response, knowing that taking it back would be worse. “Fine.” Jen nodded once with a swallow, the pain reflected so clearly in her gaze, and then fled.
When his cell phone rang hours later, Rob grabbed it with a smile, thinking of Jen. He didn't even look at the Caller ID, he was so sure that she had finally called. His smile faded when Francis spoke. “I’ve received the images you sent and would like to schedule a walk-through of the house, the one with the fruit trees and the barn on Grady Way.
“Would you be more comfortable with an evening meeting?” Rob knew vampires. As a vampire, Francis looked dead, not just road-kill animal dead, but animated, creepy, almost-human dead. And while vampires could travel in sunlight, they preferred to skulk in shadows.
“This evening would be perfect.” Francis said.
“I’ll set it up.”
Thinking back to the uncomfortable parting with Jen, Rob felt his face heat at the thought. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh.” Francis sounded disappointed. “I hope I didn’t make her uncomfortable. I don’t often drink from weres, too wild for my taste.”
Adrenaline pulsed through Rob's arms and he clenched his fists wanting to punch something. Francis had better not even think about drinking Jen. He closed his eyes and counted to three. “Not at all. She’s taking the day off.”
“Are you sure she won’t be able to join us?” The vampire’s voice seemed to take on a pleading quality, and Rob found himself wondering if the vamp had lied about his tastes.
Rob would probably lose the sale, but if that kept the bastard away from Jen...“She’s taking a personal day.”
“Are you sure she can’t come for a few hours? Just ask her.” Something about the way Francis needled him about Jen bothered Rob. The hairs on his arms rose and the muscles connecting shoulder to back tightened to a fierce ache, leaving Rob determined to keep Jen as far away from Francis as possible, up to the point of sending Francis to a competitor.
“I’m sorry. She’s unavailable.” Rob said with cold finality.
Francis backed off, “I didn't mean to offend. Your assistant struck me as someone who didn't judge me. Anyway, I can't wait to see this new house. I have the feeling it's exactly what I need.”
Rob couldn't focus on work. Jen haunted his thoughts. Several times he picked up the phone, only to return it to his pocket. He didn't exactly have anything new to say. He'd just bumble it. Tomorrow, Jen would come in and they'd clear the air. He just wished he'd said something different, the right words whatever they were.
Poor Jen. She must have felt so awkward waking up naked in his arms. A dream come true to Rob, but she must have felt so embarrassed, but surely she had thought of the possibility. No, this was definitely not a phone conversation.
The day dragged. Rob drove on auto-pilot and realized he was almost to Jen's apartment complex. He drove past, furious with himself. As much as he wanted to see her, they'd spent a lot of time together. She was the one who wanted to leave his house. He had to give her space.
If the office was lonely without her, his house was doubly so. Wandering the house, he chuckled to himself when he realized he was wondering what Jen would want for dinner and then realized he was cooking for one. Only a few hours until his appointment with Francis. For once Rob was grateful for the interruption to his evening.
Chapter 3
The house was a few miles down a gravel road, tucked back into the forest. The trees wouldn't lend themselves to ranching, but Rob could see the appeal for a vampire. Not a lot of traffic and people would leave Francis alone.
He parked his car in the front. The lock on the front door, the sturdy one used by real estate companies, was already unlocked and the door opened. Rob frowned. The seller's agent hadn't sounded like she was going to come out. He'd give her a call and let her know he found it open once the walk-through was complete.
Francis still hadn't arrived. Rob walked around for a few minutes, checking his cell phone for missed calls. Vampires weren't the most reliable creatures in the world.
Glancing at his watch, Rob sighed, “Fifteen minutes late. You'd think a vampire wouldn't have anything better to do.”
Pushing open the door, Rob stepped into the hallway. The carpets smelled like cat. He'd never be able to sell the place to a werewolf without a major overhaul of the floors. A vampire might not notice. An old sofa had been shoved up against the wall, probably left by the former occupants. Rob would guess a foreclosure. The signs were there. The house felt uncared for.
Stepping through to the kitchen, Rob frowned when he noticed one of the burners on. The electricity should be turned off. Something was going on here.
He sniffed the air. The smell was definitely vampiric in origin. “Francis? Francis, are you here?” Rob called out. Somehow one of the scents didn't quite feel like Francis. He wondered if the vampire planned on having a roommate. Rob was convinced that Francis had already walked through the house within the past few hours.
And from the scent of death, specific to vampires, Rob guessed that Francis brought a friend.
A muffled cry rang out from somewhere below him. Something was definitely wrong. The house was a two-story with a basement. Rob turned the knob off on the stove and quietly inched his way through the kitchen.
He pushed the door to the basement open and stepped down the first stair. “Hello, is anyone there?”
Werewolves, even in human form, typically have great hearing. So Rob wasn't too worried about anything creeping up behind him. Perhaps he should have been. Someone stepped behind him and bashed him on the head.
After feeling a sharp pain, Rob grabbed the rail to stop himself from falling. Either way, his ears were ringing, stars crossed his vision, and his stomach flip-flopped. Dizzy, Rob used the railing to lower himself and didn't stop until he felt the cool of the basement wall against his cheek.
Then he lost consciousness.
* * *
Jen fretted during her whole day off, dreading the coming night which of course would lead to the next day. She baked a batch of M&M cookies and spent the afternoon on the couch wishing that she could just call Rob and make a stupid joke about the whole thing and move forward. That's what any sane person would do. So why was she such a big chicken?
She climbed into bed feeling that her day off had been wasted.
The next morning, the alarm clock droned with annoying beeps just long enough for Jen to hit the snooze button with the side of her hand.
Dragging herself into the shower, Jen scrubbed her hair while carrying on fake conversations to somehow sort her life out. She imagined what Rob might say, what she would say, what Rob would say back. It’s not as if they didn’t share a bit of passion on that couch. Rob returned her kiss. Yes, he kissed her back--if she remembered the moment properly. But then, what girl hadn’t he kissed?
And the temptation was so strong to be kissed. She liked it in Rob's arms, and now the crush she'd had on him was turning into something deeper. But what did Rob feel?
That was the problem. She fell asleep the family pet and woke up naked in his arms. What else would he do? It's not like he loved her or shared the same feelings that she did. Men were built different. They could kiss and move on.
When she dressed for work, Jen wore the black jacket and short skirt that made her look ‘business hot’. Sometimes it felt good to wear her business armor, the kind that ruthlessly said, 'I am worthwhile'.
She hoped he would say something off-the-wall, something that took the sting out of her fears. Maybe she should make an effort. Rob must have been just as surprised at the turn of events.
With a couple of lattes picked up at the local coffee shop as a peace offering, Jen hoped she and Rob could step back into a comfortable routine. The next few days might be a little awkward, but they were adults. It’s not like anything really happened.
With her hands full, Jen hit the door to their office at full speed, expecting to greet Rob with a smile, fake though it might be. The door, still locked, held firm. One of the cups slid out of Jen’s hands, spilling all over the entryway while the smell of coffee overpowered the morning scent of pine.
“That’s just great.” Jen mumbled, fishing for her keys and unlocking the door, coffee dripping from the sleeve of her jacket.
An envelope on the floor caught Jen’s attention. She picked it up, threw it onto the desk with her purse and hurried to the bathroom for paper towels to clean up the spill. Annoyed that Rob was late, Jen cursed under her breath while mopping up the mess. “Serves him right. He can turn into a wolf at the full moon and lick it up if he wants coffee that bad.”
Jen grumbled throughout the cleaning, hating the fact that she dressed in her best clothes to make an
impression and now they were splattered and smelly. She tossed the paper towels into the garbage and wondered where that annoying werewolf could be.
Not once had Jen arrived at work before Rob, unless he took the day off. If not for the horrible start to the morning, she would have been more worried. As it was, Jen grabbed a yellow pad and wrote a quick note. Rob knew her cell phone number. Not that he would call. She certainly wouldn’t call him.
What if he had called that woman who'd been bouncing on his desk last full moon? Jen disappoints, so call the next woman. She felt anger rising. The whole drive home she reminded herself to give Rob a break. They could be friends, even after the awkwardness.
An hour passed before Jen sat back at her desk in a pant-suit, her second favorite, feeling frustrated, flustered, and not a little bit annoyed that Rob was still gone.
With a loud sigh, she dialed his number which of course went immediately to voicemail. Jen tried for casual, “Hey, thought you’d be at work by now. Just checking in.”
The envelope caught her attention and Jen examined it as she was hanging up. She'd forgotten all about it. Her name was scrawled across the top. While it wasn’t like Rob to leave a letter, nothing about the last few weeks had been normal.
Jen tore open of the flap and pulled out a piece of paper, the kind with rough edges that looked like it had been torn from a spiral notebook. Jen read the letter and her heart sank. Tears filled her eyes and she immediately called Ali.
Ali whispered into the phone. “Jen, I can't take phone calls at work.”
Jen sniffled, grabbing a tissue from the box on her desk. “I need your help. Someone kidnapped Rob and they want the amulet. Can you get off early?”
Ali whispered, “I am SO going to get fired. Oh, what the heck. You’re practically family and this is an emergency. Where are you?”
“The office.” Taking a deep breath, Jen scrubbed her eyes and sat straighter. She had to get herself together.
Vampires Bite: Book 2 (When, Were, & Howl Series) Page 1
