by Lynn Lorenz
Danger and sex.
She fought the urge to rub her body all over his like a cat rubs against the furniture, purring soft and low. And what she wanted to do with her tongue from the base of his throat down to where his stomach dipped below those oh-so-nicely fitted jeans made her nipples ache.
Good Lord. Maybe she’d been so scared she’d had a stroke.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he rumbled.
Sam knew it was true. He’d been sitting on this barstool waiting for her to walk in that door. Fate, destiny, kismet, the hand of God, even the damned second moon, she didn’t care which it was, but everything that had happened tonight had brought her here to him.
Her sister would have claimed it was the family gift. Sam reasoned it had something to do with being frightened out of her mind, or how long it’d been since she’d made love. She inhaled again. Whatever cologne he wore drove her wild, made her so aroused she could feel the throbbing between her legs.
The door to the bar opened. Sam’s head spun at the sound. The man stepped in and waited in the entrance for his eyes to adjust. She gasped and without thinking, she stepped closer to the cop as if to shelter in his shadow.
“That’s him.” Sam’s eyes locked on the man.
A low, rumbling growl came from the deputy as he put himself between her and danger. The man took a seat at the bar, turned, looked her in the eye, and gave her that same cocky salute.
She couldn’t mistake what she saw in his eyes and it chilled her blood.
“Stay here. I’ll handle this.” Duke never looked at her, just kept his eyes on the biker. He’d seen plenty of dudes like this one, full of some misguided notion that being tough meant scaring the shit out of everyone.
He bared his teeth in a smile.
This biker didn’t know who he was fucking with. Duke would like to show him something he’d never seen, a neat little parlor trick that would send him screaming into the night like the worthless coward he really was.
Duke strode over to the guy and leaned close enough to bite the bastard’s ear off. Pitching his voice low so no one could hear him, he growled between clenched teeth, “Listen to me, you sorry sack of shit. If you don’t get out of here and leave my woman alone, I’m going to rip off your balls, stuff them down your throat, then cut off your sorry-ass dick, and eat it in two bites.” He glanced down at the man’s jeans and snorted. “Make that one bite.” Reaching out, Duke grabbed the man’s nuts in a vise grip and squeezed.
No one fucks with a werewolf’s mate.
Sam couldn’t hear a word the cop said or see what he’d done, but she knew it had to be some scary shit. As if a stopper had been pulled in this dude’s feet, the color drained out of him, along with all the attitude and bravado he’d been sending her way. Groaning, he crumpled, slid off the chair, and staggered out of the bar, doubled over. The bartender merely raised an eyebrow and then went back to wiping down glasses.
The cop returned to her side and ordered her a scotch. The bartender placed a glass on the bar and poured a shot.
“Drink this.” The deputy handed her the glass.
Sam took it from him, her hand trembling. Tossing back her head, she swallowed the scotch. It burned its way down her throat, steadying her.
“I don’t have to worry about him, do I?” She looked up at him. He stood next to her, legs spread, one hand on the bar, the other on her chair, a solid barrier between her and all the bad things in the world.
“No, forget about him.” Duke wanted to pull her to his body, but he held back. It was too soon, despite the fact that every cell in his being cried out for her. “Can I make sure you get to your motel safely?” The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off. To find her, then lose her, was unthinkable. She was frightened enough as it was without him adding to it.
“That would be nice. By the way, my name is Samantha Waters.” She held out her hand as she looked up into his face.
He took her small slender hand in his large paw and enclosed it in his solid warmth. Her soft skin made him long to touch more than her hand. “Duke Stevens.” She didn’t try to take it from him and he didn’t let it go. It just felt too damn good.
“Are you really a cop?”
“Yeah. A detective with the county sheriff’s office.” His thumb brushed over the back of her hand in a steady caress.
“Will you get in trouble for what you just did?” Her head tilted at him.
“What did I just do?” He gave her a lop-sided grin.
“I’m not sure, but it scared the bee-Jesus out of that guy.”
He shrugged. “Just let him know he was picking on the wrong woman.” He winked at her.
Sam’s heart caught. He looked so boyish and charming when he did that.
Her eyes memorized him. Without effort, her heart took him in and locked him inside. Sam closed her eyes, counted to ten, and opened them. Even in that short moment, it had been too long.
Good Lord, what was going on? It was as if she’d been bewitched. Bewildered? Bedazzled? And it hit her. Lust at first sight. She’d never just lusted after a man, never wanted his body, craved his touch, like she did Duke Stevens. It swelled inside her, threatening to erupt and make her do things that an hour ago, she would have sworn she’d never do.
Duke backed up, allowing her to slide off the stool. He laced her fingers in his and led the way to the door. Sam’s mind spun as her heart pounded. Before she’d walked into this bar, she wouldn’t have let a man touch her as Duke had, not without spending some serious time getting to know him, but this felt so right, so natural, as if they’d held hands a thousand times.
Good Lord, she felt so safe, so secure, her fears gone, and all because of Duke.
Opening the door, he checked the parking lot and down the road before he let her come out.
“My car is right here.” She walked over to it.
“Get in and I’ll follow you,” he said.
She unlocked it, slid in, and raised her hand in a sort of wave. Not once did she question her trust in this man.
He waited by her car until she’d started it and was ready to go, then he trotted over to his truck, hit the remote and jumped inside. Leaning forward, he pulled his Sig from the back holster he wore under his jacket and laid it on the passenger seat.
Rubbing a hand across the welcome bulge in his pants, he felt his prick jerk in response and his balls grow tight. He barked out a laugh, glad to be alive.
Firing up the truck, he drove up behind Sam as she pulled onto the road.
He had a reason to live and she was driving the car ahead of his.
Chapter Three
Reality check. She’d run from one stranger straight to another. And now he followed her to her motel, just what she’d been afraid of with the guy on the motorcycle. A sane woman, a woman with all her good sense intact, could see that this was not a good idea.
Sanity and good sense had nothing to do with the raw need that held her in its grip. It pulsed between her legs and spilled dampness onto the crotch of her panties. Her womb actually ached.
She wanted to mate with this man.
Good Lord, she’d definitely had a stroke.
When she got to her motel room, she’d say goodbye to him, lock her door, shove a chair against it and call Jane on the phone and give her what for. Oh yeah, Jane was definitely going to get an ear full, if Sam had anything to do with it.
Second moon, huh?
No freaking way. She did not believe in that witch Wicca crap. She’d loved Grandma, but honestly, the old lady wasn’t much of a witch. Not unless witches wore Capri pants, chain-smoked Marlboros, drank sherry and played the ponies.
Her imagination had gotten away from her, that’s all. That and her libido, which had kicked into overdrive, set off her biological clock and had it ticking so loud that it boomed in her ears.
This is your chance, a voice whispered. Take it.
Sam snorted. Throw everything she’d ever known out the window of this c
ar, and just go wild?
Go wild. Be dangerous.
Jane had been the wild one and she seemed so happy. In or out of love, even with her wildness, her lack of convention, her what-the-fuck attitude, Jane had been happier than Sam had ever been.
When was the last time Sam had been happy, truly happy? For that matter, when was the last time she’d been so turned on by a man she’d wanted to fuck him the moment they met?
Fuck him. Not make love, but fuck. Rut like wild animals. Mate. Couple. Hot and passionate, ripping off clothes, gasping and panting and howling.
Howling? Where did that come from? Sam giggled.
Right. The stroke. She took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out.
The love making, the slow and steady, would come later.
The motel glowed in the night, its lights strung out along the outside corridor of the two-story building. She pulled into the drive, past the portico and down the length of it until she came to her room and parked.
Duke pulled in next to her, and nodded to her through the window before getting out of his truck.
Gathering her purse, she got out, locked the car, and dug for her key. The motel still had the old-fashioned keys, not the cards and readers. On the end of the key, a white plastic diamond dangled with a black number 10 on it.
“You’ll be safe tonight, Samantha.” He stood at the front of his truck, coming no closer, giving her space, not crowding her.
“Thanks. I really appreciate what you did for me, Deputy Stevens.” She put the key in the lock and opened the door. Reaching around the doorjamb she flicked on the lights. Duke still stood at the truck.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he drawled. His gaze locked with hers and her legs felt as if her kneecaps had melted. She clutched the doorknob to stay upright.
“Well,” she smiled at him. “Good night.”
She didn’t move. He didn’t move.
She swallowed, broke away from his gaze, and stepped inside. As she closed the door, her last glimpse was of him leaning against his truck, watching her door.
Something told her that he would be there, standing guard over her all night. All thoughts of barricading the door and calling Jane had fled.
Jane could wait.
Sam didn’t want to keep Duke waiting any longer.
Pulling open the door, she looked at him, still standing there and looking so incredibly sexy.
“Well, if you’re going to stand there all night and guard me, you might as well come in.” She stepped back, holding the door open for him.
Duke pushed off the truck and in three longs strides was through the door.
“I can sit in my truck, you know.”
“Yeah, but that wouldn’t do either of us any good, would it?”
She shut the door, turned the deadbolt, and slid the chain in the groove.
“No, it wouldn’t.” He stayed put.
If she wanted him, she’d have to make the first move.
If he wanted her, he’d have to take it easy, rein in his rampant need for this woman and for once in his goddamn life, give someone else control.
Sam had fire in her. He could see it in her eyes, the way she’d looked at him in the bar, and the deepening of her voice. Passion lurked inside her like a chained beast, a match to his wolf, just waiting to burst free. And if it was the last thing he ever did, he would be the one who’d let it out.
If he acted on his impulses, he’d frighten her and then she’d run, leaving him alone, dying, and back to staring down the barrel of his gun. If there was going to be life for him, it would have to be with her.
Without her, he was a dead man.
She had to be his mate. She had to accept him. Love him. Not see a monster, but a proud and amazing creature, part man, part wolf, and all of him ready to love and adore her for the rest of their lives.
She looked up at him, her eyes telling him she hungered also. Her nipples, rigid peaks, strained at her white cotton blouse, signaling her desire, her arousal. The pupils in her eyes had grown large and dark, and her breasts rose and fell with each deep breath.
His prick, half-hard, came to full attention as he caught her scent. Fuck, she’d creamed in her panties. A moan slipped from his lips at the thought of her moist heat, of burying his prick inside her, covering its sheath in her fragrance, licking it off his fingers. Tasting her essence.
She came toward him, slow and deliberate. Each step brought her closer to him, and their destiny.
Reaching out a hand, she ran a finger along his jaw line. His eyes shuttered. Her nail raked his bottom lip, pulling it down, parting his lips. It was incredibly erotic and his cock jerked in his jeans. Pre-cum dampened his briefs, its wetness spread in the soft cotton and he smelled his own sex scent. Could she smell it also?
Her gaze bore into his, reading him, searching him for answers to questions.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“I told you, Detective Duke Stevens.”
Eyes narrowing, her head cocked to the side, she seemed to weigh his answer and with a shake of her head, she brushed it away.
“What are you?”
Sam heard Duke’s breath drag in as his eyes widened. She had no idea what she’d meant by that question, but she’d definitely gotten a reaction from him.
His secret hung between them.
Only an hour ago she’d been afraid of learning it. Now she had to know it. Everything depended on it.
No matter what it was, she would have to make a choice to accept it and him, or give him up. Turn him away without ever knowing the pleasure of his body, his touch, his cock as it slid in and out of her, as he gave her his seed. Gave her their future.
He swallowed. She watched his Adam’s apple bobble and read the indecision in his eyes. His chin and jaw had dark stubble on them, his hair curled at the ends as if a comb or brush hadn’t been near it all day.
“What do you mean?” He licked his lips and she watched his tongue, a pink point of flesh, run around his full lips. She wanted that tongue to lave her body, force its way into her mouth, and lick her clit until she screamed.
“Tell me your secret.”
Duke nearly fell to his knees. How the hell did she know? Had he been that obvious, that transparent?
“You better sit down, Samantha.” He motioned to the bed. He probably needed to sit more than she did.
She nodded, sat, and pulled a leg under herself. He sat on a chair and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. With a quick swipe, he ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
“This must be pretty big.”
“Yeah. Big.” He licked his lips again. “Do you believe that there are other things, other beings that most people have only thought existed in movies and books?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Really?” He straightened.
“My grandmother was a witch,” she confessed. “At least, that’s what my sister insists. Says it runs in our family. She says we have powers.” She shrugged.
“You’re kidding? You’re a witch?”
“Well, if you believe that sort of thing, yeah, I suppose so. Although, I’ve never embraced it like my sister has.”
“Then I suppose you won’t think I’m insane if I tell you that I’m a werewolf.” He stared into her eyes, his hands clasped together so tight his knuckles were white. This was it. She’d tell him to get the hell out, start screaming or … fuck he didn’t know what, but he couldn’t take a breath until she did something.
Her head tilted again, like an inquisitive bird, as she observed him. He tracked her eyes as they roamed over him. Her lips parted. He waited for the scream, but her face came to life as if some realization had come over her.
“I saw it in the bar. You were sitting half in and half out of the light. I had an image of a large animal, tense, caged, waiting for release.”
Duke shot to his feet. “I don’t fucking believe this. I knew it was you. The minute I saw you, heard you spea
k, inhaled your scent.”
“You could smell me?” She chuckled.
“Fuck, you smell so good, Sam. It makes me crazy.”
“What else can you do?” She gathered a pillow into her lap and clutched it to her, a small and worthless barrier between them.
“See in the dark. We’re very strong and don’t get ill. We heal rapidly, but can be killed.” He paced as he explained, wanting her to know as much as she could absorb. It was what he had to say next that he feared, but it had to be said. He froze and added, “Change at will.”
Her eyes widened and she gasped.
Oh sweet Jesus, she was going to run. He fought back a sob, a cry for her to stay, his jaw working with the strain of keeping silent, of letting her do or say what she needed. If she didn’t accept him, he couldn’t take her. She’d never be his.
Pulling her other leg under her, she sat on the bed as if afraid to touch the floor he stood on and pulled the pillow up to her chin.
“Prove it.”
Chapter Four
Duke stared at her. Damn, she was brave. “You mean it? You’re sure you want to see this?” He wiped his sweating palms on the thighs of his jeans.
She nodded, her eyes never leaving his face.
He gave her a small nod back and closed his eyes.
“Wait!”
He opened his eyes, his heart stopping at the same time. She’d changed her mind.
“Will it be a wolf or a…” She swallowed, brows furrowed.
“A wolf.” He knew she’d meant to say “monster.” Although he’d never thought of himself as a monster, he knew that was how his kind had been perceived for thousands of years.
“It won’t bite me, will it?” She’d gathered herself into an even tighter ball on the bed. Frightened, but brave.
“No. I won’t bite you.”
“Can you talk to me? When you’re the wolf?”
“No. Wolves can’t talk, but I can understand you.” He gave her a quick smile meant to reassure her.
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Go ahead.”
This time when he closed his eyes, she didn’t stop him. He quieted his mind and released the wolf. Howling, it came rushing toward him from the depths of his soul, its feet drumming a steady beat in his veins as it neared. His body vibrated with each step and the blood pounded in his ears as the wolf neared.
