Keeping Her kh-1

by Kelly Lucille

  Keeping Her

  ( Keeping Her - 1 )

  Kelly Lucille

  A Contemporary Erotic Romance with a shape shifting Alpha Male trained as a Navy SEAL and the short curvaceous artist who drives him crazy.

  At 28, Clytie Persephone Jones has reinvented herself into exactly what she wants to be. She changed her name, put herself through school and is taking chances on a risky art career. She’s not looking for marriage; she doesn’t need anyone to run her life for her. What she yearns for is passion. She wants to burn under a mans touch. A lukewarm simmer won’t cut it. She’s holding out for the real thing.

  Demon is a Wolf Shifter. A seven foot tall ex-Navy SEAL, with no name but his call sign. He was Outcast from his pack at fifteen and entered the Navy as soon as he was legal. Banding together with other outcast shifters and rogues for safety and the first real brotherhood he has known, He asks for nothing in life but the protection and solvency of his self-made “pack”.

  Clytie is waiting for a blind date when she strikes up a conversation with Demon. Right away he is captured by her lack of fear and artifice, but she is so obviously a good girl and he is way out of her league sexually. Then Demon, being completely uncouth where women are concerned, says exactly the wrong thing and Clytie storms off cursing men in general and him in particular. Sure that he has nothing to lose and wanting badly to taste her, he grabs Clytie and forces a kiss on her. Everything changes when she kisses him back.

  Neither of them expects the connection that flares so fast between them. Clytie wants time to get to know him. Demon figures he’ll just bring her right in to his home and bed and keep her there.

  Can she deal with both the reality of an Alpha shape-shifter and the danger presented by Demons’ past?

  He thought Claiming her was hard. Now he has to keep her safe.

  This story contains explicit sex.

  Keeping Her

  Kelly Lucille

  Chapter One

  “Nice tattoo.”

  He glanced over and met the twinkling green eyes of the woman beside him at the bar. A busty little red head as out of place in the present meat market as he was. However, where he would be more at home in a down and dirty biker bar, she should be at a church social.

  At the most five foot four, a good foot and a half shorter than him in her short healed boots. Her loose jeans gaped a bit at the waist and curved along her rounded hips without cutting off any circulation. Loose fit all the way down the legs, her only concession to a night on the town appeared to be a black and grey bustier clinging to her curves. She wore it above a white button down top. The cleavage peaking through the top opened buttons was impressive, but modest by club standards. Her hair glowed thick and shiny in one of those chopstick numbers. Between her clear green eyes, soft mouth and soft red hair he was hard pressed to pick out his favorite feature, well maybe not so hard.

  “Nice tits.” He said, taking a swig from his long neck, expecting her to get huffy and turn away. A sex kitten she was not, though she had the soft rounded shape for it. Clearly slumming, as soon as she got a good glimpse of him she’d run.

  She peered down at her D size breasts and let out a sigh. “I don’t know,” She met his eyes again, hers still holding a teasing glimmer. “You don’t think they’re too small?”

  He choked on his beer. She laughed and his two buddies caught the clear honest sound and leaned back in their stools to get a good eyeball, either because someone was laughing at him, or because the laugh was sexy as all hell. He stood up from the stool and turned to face her head on. One good look should scare her away before he grew any more interested. It had the added bonus of blocking her from the sight of his friends. As neck deep in ass as they usually were, he had no interest in adding this particular woman to their fan club. He could handle scaring off the little bit, but in no way, shape or form, did he want her moving over to those players.

  Why he needed to protect a woman he met at a bar about a minute ago he didn’t question.

  “You only need a handful.” He said, presenting his hands. As big as he was tall, and proportionately sized everywhere, his hands were the size of dinner plates. She compared them to her impressive breasts and laughed. Her eyes lit, she studied his face, getting a full view for the first time. The scar covering his right cheek was not the scar of a romance novel hero. Not on his homely face. It puckered and twisted from his jaw up to the hairline shaved to a precise buzz.

  She examined hard lips that rarely smiled and the howling wolf tattoo on the left side of his thick neck. Between his gargantuan size, the scar, and the tattoo, most people, men and women, got a deer in the head lights stare and left his presence stammering out a good excuse. She considered him from head to toe and back again, which took a while. He was a harsh seven-foot warrior of solid muscle. He looked like he should carry a bloody sword in his hands. These days the weapons were more high tech, but the gist was the same.

  She shook her head with a serious air, “I get it. One day you looked in the mirror and realized you needed a touch of danger in your looks. Eureka, a tattoo! Of course! It would give you the little extra edge of danger you were missing.” She appeared serious but her eyes were laughing expecting him to share the joke.

  Used to a certain reaction from women, he had no idea how to deal with her teasing. He heard Ben, close behind him, laughing his fool head off. She smiled again, leaning to the side, trying to see the source of the laugh. He leaned as well, growling at the thought of her seeing Ben, who had the unfortunate code name of Romeo for good reason. She straightened her expression questioning, but he had her full attention and he planned to keep it.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Clytie.”

  “Kite-y?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Cly-tie, it’s from Greek mythology… Never mind,” she waved that away, as if she had given the same explanation too many times to count.

  “Demon.” He said.

  “Excuse me?” Now she appeared confused and Demon was bemused to note that when her forehead scrunched he wanted to run his lips across it. Of course, when she laughed he wanted to kiss her and when she spoke in that smooth as cream voice… O.K. so he wanted her, no way was it going to happen. He liked down and dirty sex, the harder the better and as frequently as possible. She looked like she woke up every morning to birds braiding her hair as they sang happy songs. Fuck.

  “My name is Demon.”

  “Wow, and I thought my name was bad.” She laughed again, then something caught her attention behind his back. Demon glanced back to find Ben giving her a come-hither gaze and flashing a toothpaste ad smile. Demon glared, thinking fondly of grinding bones into dust when he sensed movement and turned.

  Reacting to a possible threat, he almost knocked Clytie on her delectable ass just for trying to jump off her stool. Thankfully, he caught her just as fast, sparing her the fall. Her softness gave all along his hard length. He growled, and her eyes snapped up to his. She finally seemed nervous, but that could be the massive erection poking her soft belly like a steel rod.

  The growling probably wasn’t helping either.

  It was her lips, he thought, his eyes locking on to target, definitely his favorite. He leaned down wondering if she would taste as good as she smelled. Like goddamn fresh baked cookies. The wolf inside him stood up to take notice.

  He stopped his forward progress trying to remember she wasn’t his type. She cleared her throat, her lips pursing with the act. A little pink tongue darted out and whipped moisture across her bottom lip. Any blood he had left in his brain promptly headed for his dick.

  “Uh, Demon.” She said her breath coming faster and her eyes wide. “You can let me go now.” He felt his brain attempting to click bac
k into gear. He let go, knowing if Ben turned on the charm, he had no chance, and for once the thought bothered him. Bothered him so much he seriously contemplated mayhem when she managed to slip out of his arms.

  Ben grabbed her hand pulling her around Demon into the space between them. Demon’s wolf came so close to the surface he could feel the brush of fur just beneath his skin. Neither of them liked the cat touching their female. Demon turned and glared wolf gold over Clyties head. The heat of that stare should have been enough to incinerate Ben on the spot.

  “Don’t let Demon scare you away.” Ben said, teeth flashing. At 6’1”, he had piercing blue eyes and the golden toned body of the jungle cat he held inside him. Of course, he might not look so good without teeth. Something to think about.

  Ben smiled down at the little red head. Short and plump, pretty but a little too Suzie homemaker, he wouldn’t have noticed her except she had the sexiest laugh he’d ever heard. It was pure sex and she’d been sharing it with Demon, which meant she was unusual enough to merit his time. Demon growled again, his wolf trying to warn the other male away. It just plain tickled Ben’s funny bone. It was rare anything got to Demon. He upped the wattage of his smile. “I’m Ben.” He said, squeezing her hand. She smiled a little, removing her hand from his.

  “Hello.”

  A throat cleared behind Ben so he waved his hand over his shoulder and said dismissively “That’s Mac.” He smiled again, flashing a dimple as he took a leisurely but thorough study.

  Clytie laughed at his audacity then something caught her eye from across the room. She glanced over her shoulder at Demon standing close behind her, glaring at Ben with murder in his eyes. “Nice to meet you both.” She leaned around Ben to smile at Mac “all of you really.” She turned back to Demon; the dimple peaking out matched the wicked gleam popping up in her green eyes. “Now remember Demon, repeat the mantra. ‘I am dangerous, I am tough. I have a scarey tattoo on my neck.’ In no time at all everyone will believe it.”

  She gave a sympathetic pat to one of the rock hard arms crossing his barrel chest. Then she slipped away, grabbing a dark purse from beside her stool and leaving him alone with Ben who sniggered until Mac spoke up.

  “I don’t know what you’re laughing about.” He said, his deep voice holding his own wicked humor. “She didn’t even notice you. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen your legendary charms fail Romeo.” Mac, the shortest of the trio at 6’ nothing, was rock hard and wiry with the build of a swimmer. He had brown hair and hazel eyes that turned almost silver when his animal came to the surface. He tended to blend into crowds until he all but disappeared. Demon had cause to know he could do the same thing standing alone in the middle of the desert. Despite appearances, he was probably the most lethal of them all. His code name was Ghost.

  Ben frowned, staring where Clytie had disappeared across the busy club. Mac had a point; she had seemed to prefer Demon to him. Nah. That would be ridiculous.

  Demon smiled at him with many teeth.

  “Seriously Demon, if you smiled at her like that it’s no wonder she ran. That would scare anybody.” Ben frowned again when Mac snorted.

  “Right, she patted Demon like a poodle and looked right through your best come hither smile because he scared her. Face it Romeo, you crashed and burned as badly as Demon did.”

  “Hey,” Demon lost his smirk. “She liked me.”

  “Of course she did. That’s why she’s way over there with another man.”

  Demons’ head snapped up, finding it easy with his height to see over all the humans packed into the bar area. Clytie was in fact next to some suit. They sat down at an intimate table around the back end of the large stone column separating the dining area from the bar.

  “What the fuck?” His wolf growled, loud enough that several people turned, blanched and then skittered out of the way as he tramped through their midst.

  He stood right next to the column before he realized he was about to make a complete ass of himself in a public place. Fuck! He thought of Mac and Ben back at the bar, probably already rolling around on the floor heckling his reaction to a pint sized human. They were never going to let him live this down. He was about to turn around and head back to face the taunting when the conversation grabbed his attention with two words. “…blind date…”

  Standing right behind the tall column, he heard every word. If he was stealthy, enough he could see Clytie around the sides of the pillar without giving himself away. He was SEAL trained, stealth he could do. Her date was still talking.

  “.. I don’t think this is going to work long term. You seem like a nice enough lady, but I’m a health nut myself, like to keep fit, ride bikes in my spare time, hiking, the outdoors. I don’t think we’d have anything in common.”

  The little shit thought he was in shape? He wouldn’t last five minutes on an obstacle course. An hour of survival training and he’d be calling his mommy to pick him up. Nevertheless, as long as he made his way out of the date with Clytie, Demon would let him be.

  “I enjoy the outdoors.” Clytie mumbled before going on in a louder voice. “But you’re right.” She said, her cheeks a littler redder than they had been before, whether from anger or embarrassment Demon didn’t know. “We can have a friendly drink and go our separate ways.” In other words, Demon thought, don’t let the door hit your skinny ass on the way out. That a girl.

  “I won’t hear of it.” The mouth continued his nasally tone hitting Demons last fucking nerve. “We are clearly not compatible for a long term relationship but we can enjoy tonight. I just wanted that out of the way so no one misunderstood and got hurt.” He reached across the table and patted her hand leaving no doubt who he thought would get hurt.

  Fucking little prat.

  The voice lowered in a clumsy attempt at seduction. “My place is around the corner. Now that we know where we stand, no one gets hurt, and” he paused meaningfully “We have all night.”

  Demon could easily picture the spineless little fuck dangling from the end of his fist. There would be a lot of blood. Bones would be broken, limbs detached.

  “The thing is,” Clytie said, her voice a little strained. “I shouldn’t be out at all. The doctor said it would be at least another two weeks before the infection clears up and I’m no longer contagious.” His hand whipped off of hers and he slid back in his chair fast. Demon tried hard not to laugh aloud. Clytie seemed to brighten at a new thought. “Though I think as long as I keep most of my clothes on and you don’t touch any of the actual infection we should be OK.” She blinked innocently and nodded decisively. “Absolutely.” Then her eyes narrowed in thought. “You wouldn’t want to touch my vagina would you? The pustulates can be really itchy if they pop.”

  Demon didn’t listen to the excuses the little shit stammered as he bolted, running into Demon as he came around the column like a whip. Wolf growled, showing a lot of sharp teeth and the little man made a mousey sound and paled, running for the exit like a hunted rabbit. It made his wolf want to chase, but he wanted the female more.

  Clytie was on her cell phone as soon as her “date” disappeared.

  “Megan.” She said into the phone peeking towards the club. She looked straight across to the bar and saw Mac and Ben now surrounded by bevy of big hair, big boobs, and peroxide, which had her rolling her eyes. She didn’t see Demon. Too bad. “You are going to die a slow agonizing death when I get a hold of you. Do not call me when you get this.” She hung up her cell phone and put it back in her purse. She sighed and stood up, throwing some money on the table. She nearly ran into Demon as she rounded an obnoxious faux column. It was actually a little disappointing that she managed to stop herself in time.

  “Demon.” She looked way up into his eyes, “What are you doing?”

  “Waiting for you.”

  “What? Why?” Her face heated to red before her eyes narrowed “For how long?”

  He pretty much ignored all her questions. “You have a car?”

&nbs
p; Her brow furrowed. “Yes.”

  “Give me the keys.”

  One of her eyebrows shot up. “Oh really?” The way she said the words left, no doubt she had taken exception to his authoritative tone. “And why would I do that?”

  He stepped closer, crowding her back against the pillar, his hand beside her shoulder, keeping her contained. “You like me.”

  She opened her eyes wide and made a face that asked ‘yeah so?’ “And?”

  “I like you. Let’s go fuck.”

  Demon wanted to wring his own neck when those words came out of his mouth. Was it too much to ask for a little finesse? This one time when it goddamn mattered?

  Her mouth opened in shock and then snapped shut with a hiss. She ducked under his arm and started away with two heartfelt words: “Men suck.” Shit. He followed her as she hit the entrance hall and they were cut off from the people at the bar and restaurant. He watched her fantastic ass sway as she stomped toward the exit wondering how he could fuck this up any more. He couldn’t. There was no possible way he could fuck this up further, so he had nothing to lose.

  He went with his instincts. He grabbed her arm, pulling her around. His free arm went around her waist and he lifted her up against his chest so her feet dangled. Damn, She was soft everywhere.

  Before she could do more than squeak indignantly, his lips were on hers. Her lips were silky and warm, and as this would probably be the first and last time, he would ever get to taste them he went for broke, pushing into her mouth with an insistent tongue and squeezing her ass with his free hand. His other hand was a steel bar holding her against him. Not a soft kiss, or particularly tender, he plundered and possessed, nipping with his teeth and soothing with a hot tongue.

  And he almost came right there when she moaned and kissed him back. She captured his tongue sucking and twining around it, then followed into the cavern of his mouth to explore. He groaned, hoisting her up so the junction of her thighs rubbed against the shaft trying to drill through his jeans. He grabbed her delectable ass with both hands. He kneaded the two handfuls as he pulled her closer. Her arms and legs wrapped around him, neck, and waist. He was completely gone.