Forbidden Attraction

by Lorie O'Clare

  These were dangerous werewolves, feared and hated by most breeds on the planet. A mixture of trepidation and excitement made her insides tingle as she followed him to the truck. Leave it to her to be turned on by someone she definitely couldn’t have.

  “I really appreciate this,” she mumbled, situating herself next to him in the cab of the truck.

  “Your tires aren’t good for this kind of weather.” He didn’t look at her but stared ahead, his long, dark fingers wrapping around the steering wheel.

  “Thanks for the update.” Maybe she didn’t have the best car in the world, but it was all hers.

  “And you have the money to buy this battery?” His expression offered no sign of what he thought. But his scent swarmed around her—the smell of a dominating male, confident and sure of his next move.

  Something told her he’d get pissed faster if he smelled a lie on her. She licked her lips, wishing her heart would quit pounding in her chest. “I have our pack’s credit card,” she confessed. “I’m supposed to be getting office supplies.”

  He pursed his lips. She stared at his strong jawline and the thickness of his neck. With the way his hair fell, straight and ending before it reached his shoulders, she bet it would be soft and thick if she ran her fingers through it.

  “Maybe you should contact your pack leader for authorization.”

  “Maybe I should just tell him later.” She already had approval to sign on the card.

  He searched the stores as they drove down the street but turned his head to give her a quick, assessing look. “Don’t get yourself into trouble that you can’t handle,” he growled.

  “Is there something here I can’t handle?” Her heart swelled to her throat when he cocked his head and looked at her.

  “I’m sure there is,” he mumbled and then looked back to the road.

  “You think?” she said too quickly. Did she have a death wish trying to take on this Malta werewolf?

  Nicolo’s grin made her heart race so hard she almost hyperventilated. Damn good thing they pulled in front of an auto parts store. She jumped out, sucking in the freezing air and feeling it sizzle against her suddenly too hot body. Nicolo carried the battery as he sauntered around the front of the truck. Heidi joined him on the sidewalk, already covered with freshly fallen snow. She looked up in time to see the “open” sign on the door get flipped over so that it said “closed”.

  Nicolo growled and the human behind the glass door backed up quickly and disappeared into the depths of the store.

  “I should have stayed in the truck.” Heidi tried to stuff her frustration.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The humans wouldn’t wait on me at the office supplies store either.”

  “And you think they would serve a Malta werewolf over a lunewulf?”

  “I doubt they know the difference.”

  He held the battery like it weighed nothing while his gaze dropped slowly down her body. “I’m sure they can tell the difference.”

  He probably meant that her skin was white and her hair light blonde while he was darker-skinned than the sun would ever make her. His shiny black hair and dark eyes made him stand out like a deadly protector next to her. His gaze burned over her like fire and made it damned hard not to put other meanings into his words.

  “What is your name?” he asked, surprising her.

  “Heidi Lutgard.” She doubted this would count as a formal introduction, but in some circles, such an introduction would traditionally allow the werewolf a bit more liberty with a female. “And you?”

  “Nicolo Spalto. Get in the truck and out of the cold.”

  Heidi pulled open the passenger door and climbed into the truck. Nicolo placed the battery in the back of the truck, then climbed in next to her, closing in smells of winter cold and his dangerous masculine scent. Pressure built inside her, desire raw and daring swarming to a level she feared would too easily be detected. Nicolo struck her as a predator who wouldn’t miss a thing.

  “You’d be smart to contact your pack leader now.” Nicolo slid the key into the ignition but didn’t start the truck. “The only way to return you to your pack is to tow you there. It will protect your honor.”

  “If Bob thinks I’m disgraced because several Malta werewolves were kind enough to help me, then he only makes himself look narrow-minded.” The last thing she wanted to do was call her pack leader and bring attention to herself.

  Nicolo moved too quickly for her to react. He grabbed her by her neck. Strong fingers gripped her shoulder as he dragged her across the seat toward him. She fought for a moment, instinct kicking in without thought. Unable to get free from his grasp, she slapped her hand over his thigh, at least needing to balance herself.

  Every inch of this werewolf had to be hard as steel. Solid muscle twitched slightly in his leg when she touched him. She stared into smoldering dark eyes that were now inches from her face.

  “Do you think I don’t smell your lust and curiosity, little bitch?” he growled, his lips barely moving. “Any rank I may have in my pack would mean nothing to yours. And I would never disgrace any bitch, whether they were from my pack or not.”

  He let go of her with some force, shoving her back to her side of the truck. She hit the passenger door, fighting the urge to leap at him and strike out for being treated so brutally. Such an act would be fool’s play. She pulled down the visor, adjusting the mirror to look at her neck. He’d gripped her hard enough that she swore his fingers were still there, wrapped around her. Her flesh was red, but it was nothing that wouldn’t fade in the next minute or so. Her insides twisted with outrage over being pawed by this werewolf, although at the same time desire escalated so quickly her heart raced. Nicolo Spalto would be a rough lover, aggressive and demanding more than any werewolf she’d ever imagined.

  “When I mark you, you’ll know it,” he told her and turned the key in the ignition.

  Nicolo stopped the truck behind Heidi’s parked car. His littermate and Josie stood watch on the sidewalk, like two sentinels. The street appeared abandoned, the bad weather and werewolves in town enough to send all humans behind closed and locked doors. Good place for them to be. It would make rigging Heidi’s car to the back of the truck a lot easier.

  She hopped out before he could tell her to stay put. Getting out on his side, Nicolo quickly told Dimitri about their luck in buying a new battery.

  “Our bitches aren’t entering lunewulf territory,” Dimitri made clear after they’d secured Heidi’s car to the back of the truck.

  “You don’t have enough room in your truck for all of you to ride.” Rosa waved one of her hands at the truck while scowling at Dimitri. “And I can take care of myself as well as you can, wolf man,” she hissed, lowering her voice while staring him down.

  Nicolo gave Dimitri credit for not knocking the mouthy bitch into her place for speaking to her pack leader like that. Instead he turned from her, ignoring her last comment.

  “Josie. Ride with the two bitches back to our pack. Nicolo and I will escort the lunewulf to her pack.” Dimitri didn’t wait for confirmation. He walked up to Nicolo. “One of us drives the truck and the other rides in her car to navigate it.”

  Nicolo didn’t hesitate. Something about this little lunewulf bitch appealed to him, although Dimitri would throw a fit if he told him that.

  “I’ll drive the truck.” He ignored Dimitri when he cocked his head and searched Nicolo’s face, sniffing the air between them. Instead Nicolo walked over to Heidi, who stood a few feet away from the rest of them with her arms crossed, staring at the ground. “Get in the truck and call your pack leader like a good little bitch. We’re taking you to your pack.”

  “I don’t have a signal,” she snapped at him.

  The little lunewulf bitch dared to stare him down. He growled at her, stepping closer, until she jumped out of his path and hurried to get into the truck.

  Snow stuck to the windshield, making the trip over the mountain a dangerous one,
especially towing Heidi’s car. Nicolo doubted they’d get a thank you for their efforts, but he wouldn’t allow her pack leader to bash Heidi for her predicament. She sat quietly next to him, but her nervousness was easy to smell.

  “Check your phone for a signal,” he told her, breaking the silence. It wouldn’t hurt to give her a distraction. “Let him know we’re bringing you to your den.”

  She made a face, looking as if she’d rather do anything but place the call, but she didn’t argue. In the next minute, she explained to a growling werewolf at the other end of the line that they would be at her den soon. She spoke respectfully to her pack leader, but didn’t hesitate or stumble over her words. Heidi expressed appreciation for the Malta werewolves’ help and didn’t sound regretful over any of her actions. When she hung up, she straightened, tilting her head at him with an almost defiant look.

  “He’ll meet us at my den,” she told Nicolo, clutching her phone in her lap.

  The little bitch ran true and would acknowledge her actions to anyone without regrets.

  “I’m sure he will.” Nicolo didn’t care about any reception they would receive in lunewulf territory.

  Heidi hadn’t asked for this, and he would make damn sure her pack leader knew it. Her actions were proof of a bitch to be honored. He wondered why she didn’t have a mate. Maybe none of those lunewulfs were good enough for her.

  They pulled up in front of her small den, a cottage-type home set back from the quiet road with other houses lining the block in similar fashion. The lunewulfs had a quaint-looking town on their mountain. Nicolo experienced a twinge of envy. With proper funding, Malta werewolves could live as well. If only Werewolf Affairs would get over their fear for his kind.

  “Do you live here alone?” Nicolo got out of the truck and walked around when Heidi jumped out into the snow on her side.

  “Yes.” She glanced up and down the street while Dimitri started undoing the tow chains. “I finally have my own den.”

  “Give me your keys.”

  Heidi looked at him, her blue eyes hitting a deeper color while her scent turned toward something like hesitation.

  She bit her lip. “It’s not locked.”

  Nicolo growled. A bitch as fucking hot as Heidi, living by herself and not bothering to lock her den, needed a strong leash. He marched through the snow and climbed her porch steps, which were barely noticeable under the mounds of snow covering them. He shook his head, his protector instincts kicking in when he grabbed her doorknob and pushed the door open easily.

  He kicked snow off his boots, then ran his fingers through his damp hair before entering. What the fuck was he doing? Drop the bitch off and leave. She was a lunewulf, a breed quite possibly trying to destroy his kind. He’d be safer sniffing after a human.

  Worse yet, he wasn’t looking for a bitch. Not at all. The pack barely had its paws on the ground. With so much work to do, he had no time to see any bitch.

  He pushed her door open, sniffing the air inside her den. He’d make sure her den had no strays lingering and waiting, and then he’d leave. Instantly, his lungs filled with her scent. It wrapped around him, drawing him in and hardening every muscle in his body. And his cock.

  He walked through her quiet, orderly den. All appearances showed she’d told the truth. One toothbrush in the bathroom, one towel, a clean kitchen and a nicely made double-sized bed in a sweet-smelling bedroom. Heidi lived alone.

  That didn’t mean other werewolves didn’t stop by from time to time.

  Which was none of his fucking business.

  He smelled her before she spoke. Turning around, he took her in, arms crossed over her chest, her head cocked and an almost amused expression on her face.

  “Are you satisfied?” Heidi’s blue eyes glistened. She scraped her teeth over her lower lip and sucked in a breath.

  “Hardly,” he grumbled, loving how her eyes widened and streaked with silver when he approached her.

  She’d taken off her coat, giving him the first full view of her hot little body. Her athletic build appealed to him, which struck him as odd because he’d always been partial to the more full-figured bitches. Heidi was anything but full-figured. She was slim and not too muscular. He hadn’t seen many lunewulf bitches that he’d cared for—most of them were too petite. Her breasts were small and perky, her stomach flat and her hips perfect for grabbing a hold of while he slid her down on his cock.

  “What would satisfy you?” she whispered, the words tickling his ears and making his skin prickle.

  “I might take the time to find out.” He ignored the rational side of him, the side that told him there was no point in tasting her, seeing how her skin felt under his touch.

  He paid no attention to any of that and instead stepped closer until she’d backed up against her wall. He didn’t smell fear, just curiosity. Closing in on her didn’t upset her—instead, lust hung heavily in the air around them. And on her, it had a rich, sweet smell.

  Nicolo leaned down, nipping at her lip. He scraped the smooth flesh with his teeth, tasting her and instantly wanting more. Heidi cried out, grabbing his arms with her small hands.

  “Are you this big everywhere?” she asked, her voice taunting while she dared flirt with him.

  His cock stretched toward his belt, instantly eager to prove his size to her—to show her what she ached to know.

  Her hair was short, but still long enough that he could grab it, pull her head back and devour her mouth. She stretched against him, but he pressed into her so that she couldn’t move with the wall behind her. In spite of her size, Heidi had little fear. Her gutsiness added to her incredible sex appeal.

  She hissed into his mouth, opening for him, giving and taking while her tongue danced around his. Her fingers dug into his arms and then scraped a path to his shoulders where she held on. The slight pinch of her nails through his shirt gave hint to how wild a lover she’d be.

  God! He ached to find out.

  Moving his hand between them, he cupped her small breast, finding her nipple hard and erect and tweaking it between his finger and thumb. This time when she cried out, it was into his mouth, feeding him with a lust more savage and on fire than he’d experienced with any bitch before.

  “Nicolo!” Dimitri’s bark sounded far away.

  But Heidi jumped and quickly lowered her face. He hated the feeling of being caught doing something he shouldn’t have done. More than anything, he wanted Heidi to know they had unfinished business. But not once in his life had he made a promise he couldn’t keep. And he wouldn’t do it to this sweet little bitch now.

  Turning, he put his hand protectively out, keeping her behind him. Dimitri stood on the front porch, staring into the den.

  “What?” he demanded.

  “Her pack is here. Get your ass out here,” Dimitri hissed and then stomped off her porch.

  “Shit,” Heidi murmured from behind him. “They can’t come in here.”

  He understood her meaning. The den reeked of their sexual craving. He wouldn’t disgrace her like that. With two long strides, he moved across her small living room and out onto the front porch. Heidi had her coat back on her, covering her lustful scent with smells from the outside when she hurried onto the porch following him.

  Dimitri stood next to the truck, speaking with an older lunewulf. With a swat, Nicolo could have sent him flying.

  “That’s our pack leader, Bob Abbey.”

  “That’s right. I vaguely remember him.” Nicolo glanced at Heidi, who’d moved next to him on the porch.

  “Don’t judge him by appearance.” She suddenly sounded defensive, as if she’d judged by his look that he didn’t think much of her pack leader. “He’s done a hell of a lot for our pack since we’ve been here.”

  Suddenly, he had questions—lots of questions. Where had she lived before here? Where was her den from? It bugged him how much he ached to know more about Heidi.

  For now, he’d let her know one thing. “I want to see you again.”


  She looked up at him, biting her lip as if he’d just shared a secret with her. Her eyes glowed when she nodded her head slowly. “You got it, wolf man.”

  He shouldn’t have said it, should have left well enough alone. Their worlds could quite easily collide with each other, and he’d no more ask her to give up her heritage than he would give up his own. That reality settled heavily on his heart. Nicolo bounded down the stairs, stomping through the snow until he reached Dimitri.

  “All I’m saying is that barbed wire sliced one of our pack members almost in two,” Dimitri said to the lunewulf pack leader.

  Nicolo didn’t regret missing out on this conversation. Bob Abbey didn’t look pleased. He turned his sour expression on Nicolo.

  “What were you doing in her den?” he demanded.

  “In our pack, single bitches lock their dens. You’d do well to see to it that she does too in the future.” Nicolo enjoyed watching the pack leader’s eyebrows go up.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  Dimitri must have been satisfied with what he had to say to the lunewulf. He nodded to Nicolo and the two of them got into the truck and headed out of the drive. Nicolo fought the urge to look over his shoulder to see if Heidi still stood on her porch.

  Chapter Three

  Heidi took Tamara’s cub from her and let the baby wrap his small hand around her finger while she absently stroked the infant’s fluffy white tail that stuck out from his diaper. Most werewolf infants didn’t learn to hold on to one form until they were four or five years old. Tamara’s cub was barely a month old, making it way too soon to determine how quickly he would develop.

  “I hope this pack meeting doesn’t last that long,” Tamara told her as she lifted an overstuffed diaper bag onto her shoulder. “My Martin told me we’d take the baby running in the snow later tonight.”