Her Fierce Wolf (Marked by the Moon Book 2) - Shifter Paranormal Romance

by Kamryn Hart

  Gwen kissed Willow’s forehead. “I understand.”

  Nick and Gwen hung around silently as Willow locked her suitcase, wiped the bits of mascara from her face, grabbed her white purse, phone, keys, and headed out the door. She put everything inside of her turquoise Ford Thunderbird. Then she took a deep breath. She gave Nick and Gwen a little wave before starting the engine and driving away.

  To get to Boise, she had to drive past the motels. That meant seeing Casey and his family again. They were in the same place she had left them, but Julie was with them now. She was hugging her son with tears in her eyes. It felt like a betrayal.

  Willow hurriedly wiped more tears from her eyes and told herself there would be no more crying. She concentrated on the road ahead, running alongside Blue Forest. Soon she’d make it to Boise. She’d forget all of this and have a good time.

  Now she was the one running away.

  Chapter 4

  AFTER SUCCESSFULLY PAWNING OFF Erin Smith’s belongings, Derek made his way to Boise, Idaho. Yeah, he wanted to get away from things and relax for a while, but he didn’t want to be out in the middle of nowhere. He was more at home in a city. It was what he knew. What would a wolf shifter like him do in the boonies? No, he wanted a place with a club, with a selection of beautiful women.

  Tonight he was at the biggest club in Boise. Of course, it was nothing he hadn’t seen before, and it paled in comparison to many, but it wasn’t bad. He didn’t care about those things so much tonight. What he really wanted was to get laid. He had a need that had to be filled. A release was long overdue.

  Now he just needed to pick a woman.

  He leaned against a wall, his arms folded. He was dressed all in black and probably would have gone unnoticed if he were an ordinary guy, but his wolf shifter good looks weren’t easily ignored. Plenty of women were eyeing him as they danced under colorful bright lights with their male partners grinding against them.

  Tonight he wanted to pick the best of the best. He got enough money from Erin to shit it all away for a while before he’d have to find himself a new target to cheat and steal from. The woman he picked tonight would need a lot of vitality for the mood he was in. This kind of need and hunger wasn’t unusual for him, but something was different about it tonight. He physically ached in a painful kind of way. It was almost like it was linked to a deeper emotional pain—which was fucking ridiculous and untrue.

  He shook his head, reminding himself to watch his prey, to pick one. Why did no one here hold his attention? Something was different tonight. It was almost like all of this, fucking hot chicks, stealing, living a nomadic life, wasn’t quite enough anymore. And it didn’t make sense. He was perfectly happy with this life.

  At least, that was what he had been telling himself for years.

  He scanned the dance floor and forced his eyes to linger on a woman drawing a lot of attention. She was a brunette with big boobs that were hanging half out of her maroon dress. If she kept jumping sporadically like that, her boobs were going to fly free, giving the thirsty dogs around her a show. Derek wouldn’t mind a show either, but he wanted more than a glance at her boobs.

  Derek pressed off the wall and walked toward the woman, weaving his way through the dance floor without brushing elbows with anyone. When he got to the circle of men caging her, he shoved a guy away so he could enter. The guy tried to protest, but as soon as he saw Derek and took in his size, he clammed up and walked away.

  The brunette’s eyes widened in surprise when Derek was standing right beside her. She stopped her incessant bouncing to take him in, head to toe. She gave him a seductive smile as she shimmied closer to him. By this point, the ring of guys surrounding her had given up. It was obvious she had picked Derek. The rest of them didn’t stand a chance now.

  Reaching out his hand, Derek pulled the brunette into his rock-hard chest. She let out a moan only his wolf ears could pick up in the loud club. He could already smell her arousal. This woman was ripe. Perfect.

  She squeezed his huge and flexed biceps, skin exposed because of the muscle-t he was wearing. “These bad boys can’t be real,” she said as she kept exploring the muscles in his arms. Eventually, she started massaging his chest. She was getting off on the feel of him. Her eyes were fluttering. He’d be able to take this woman fast like he needed to. Hopefully, multiple times.

  “What’s your name?” he asked her.

  “Serena.”

  “I’m Derek. What do you say we blow this joint and have some fun of our own?” He wanted her back in his hotel room. He’d fuck her good and hard for as long as he needed to, and then he’d kick her out. He never actually slept with any of the women he fucked. That was off limits. He slept alone, and he would always sleep alone. Sleeping with someone else made you vulnerable.

  Serena drew little circles on his chest. “I like the sound of that, Derek. Where to?”

  “I’m staying at the Sherlton hotel.”

  She latched her arms around one of his, squeezing against him, pressing her huge boobs into him. “Lead the way, hon.”

  Women like Serena were the kind Derek liked. They didn’t ask questions. They weren’t interested in playing hard to get. They wanted to fuck as bad as he did. Those were the only kind of women he got involved with, and they were relationships that didn’t even last an entire night. That was how he lived. He wasn’t close to anyone. It was him and his Fat Boy motorcycle. That was all he needed.

  There was no reason to stick around the club any longer. Derek began guiding his woman to the exit, eager to satisfy the ache in his body. There was always something inside of him that couldn’t be filled, but nights like this with women like Serena helped. They provided a temporary satisfaction. A temporary release.

  Derek’s eyes were on the exit. He picked up the pace as his impatience grew. Serena didn’t complain. They were almost there when this scent came crashing into his nose. He slowed and eventually came to a complete stop. Serena said something to him, but he ignored her. He sniffed the air and got a nose full of that refreshing scent. It was almost like rain, but it was sweeter. Sugar rain. It was an absurd thought, but that was the only thing he could compare it to. He realized this scent belonged to another shifter—a wolf to be exact. He hadn’t met many shifters in his life, and he had maybe met another wolf once, but this scent was unmistakable.

  He searched the club’s entrance, trying to locate the source of the scent. His heart froze in his chest when he saw her move past a bouncer. Time slowed, allowing him to drink in every detail of her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had luscious curves that got him hot. Her face was the face of a damn angel. Her hair was almost as white as snow. She stuck out as a beacon of light in the dark club. Her silvery dress was like a disco ball. She drew more eyes than Derek’s. For good reason. The sight of her made him want to weep at her feet. Like, literally, she made something inside of him warm, emotional even. Which was the second fucking weirdest thing he had felt tonight.

  Derek tried to shake off the feelings setting him off balance, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t take his eyes off the angel who had just entered the club. She had consumed him in an instant.

  “Derek!” Serena said in exasperation. She must have been trying to get his attention the whole time he was spacing out. She wasn’t hanging on to his arm anymore either. “Are we leaving or not?”

  “We’re not,” he said bluntly, and then he walked straight for his angel. Serena huffed and stomped away, but he didn’t give a damn. His eyes were for the angel. He wanted her. He needed her. And he was going to take her tonight. She would quench his thirst.

  He intercepted her before she had a chance to walk five feet from the entrance. He stood in front of her, blocking her way, and all words left him. She looked up at him with inquisitive brown-amber eyes. There was wonder in those eyes, a light that seemed to come from inside rather than a reflection of the lights in the club. Her pupils dilated, and her scent grew more intense. There was somethi
ng about her scent that was irresistible. It was as if that scent was begging him to fuck her. His dick was hard and uncomfortable against his jeans. He had never experienced such an intense need. It sounded dramatic, but he felt he was going to die if he didn’t fuck her. Like right that moment. He had never needed anything more in his life than he needed this woman right now. Her body was telling him the exact same thing, making it all the worse.

  Mine.

  Time was distorted in her presence. He knew it had been less than a minute since he had set eyes on her, but it seemed like he had been waiting in agony for eternity.

  She was the first to speak, “It’s really you. It has to be.” Her words were soft, full of pain, happiness, excitement. He could only hear her over the noise in the club because of his wolf hearing. He didn’t know what those words meant, and he didn’t care. He was burning for her.

  She shook her head and smiled at him. Her glossy pink lips and the delicate curve as they upturned deepened the ache inside of him.

  “What’s your name?” she asked. Her voice was like a song on the wind, the kind of voice that could be sweet and delicate or perhaps fierce, energetic.

  “Derek Myers,” he said, managing to find his voice. He didn’t know why he gave her his full name. It just sort of slipped out.

  “Willow Sipe,” she replied. She held out a delicate hand. “Mind showing me around, Derek?”

  Hearing his name on her lips sent shivers through his entire body. “I’d much rather take you back to my hotel room,” he informed. His voice was low and breathy with his need. He was practically panting. His cock throbbed when her arousal hit him again. This woman was really trying his self-control. He wouldn’t have been against taking her into one of the bathrooms and fucking her immediately if he had thought to bring a condom with him, but he wasn’t usually into public bathroom fucking so he hadn’t had the foresight to. He wasn’t going to fuck her unless he had a condom. He had that much sense left. But this was excruciating.

  “I just got here and paid to see this place,” she replied. “Show me around first.”

  Great. She was being coy even though her arousal told him she wanted him as bad—if not worse—than he wanted her. There was something about her scent he couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t like a human woman’s scent that simply grew stronger when she was aroused. There was a base to Willow’s scent that was ten times as powerful. Was it because she was a female wolf shifter? Or was it something else? She was certainly the first to ever make him feel this way.

  Fuck. He was in trouble with this one. If she could really resist him, insist on him showing her the club despite this chemistry, he was in for a long, horrible night. The best thing to do would have been to cut his losses, get as far away from her as he could manage, and find another woman like Serena to take back to his hotel room. The thought sent a bad taste to his mouth. He couldn’t let Willow go that easily.

  He held out his arm to Willow, and she wrapped her delicate fingers around the crook of his elbow. Her touch was powerful. His knees almost buckled from underneath him, but he somehow held himself together.

  “You want a drink? A dance? What’d you come here for tonight?” Derek asked, trying to please her as soon as possible so she’d come with him to his hotel room. The problem with a woman like this was that she probably wanted to spend all of his money and then dash away before she ended up in bed with him. The only reassurance he had was her arousal.

  “I came to have a good time and put some shit behind me,” she said. “Why don’t we dance?”

  She tugged on his arm and dragged him to the dance floor. He wasn’t used to a woman being this strong. He only fucked human women. Fucking a female shifter was… well, it seemed like more trouble than it was worth, and yet here he was ready to break that rule of his.

  He thought Willow would lead him to the middle of the dance floor. She seemed like the vivacious type that probably thrived off of attention—based on how she looked. Maybe he was right, maybe he wasn’t, but he was surprised when she led him to the edge of the dance floor where the concentration of sweaty bodies was a lot less intense.

  She let go of him, causing a chill to course through his body. He wanted her to touch him again, but she was already shaking what her mama gave her. Good Lord, she was adorable. She had an energy in her that seemed to transfer to those around her—especially him. She revealed plenty of her supple skin with her little silver dress, but the dress actually fit her, hugging and accentuating those killer curves of hers instead of threatening to throw her boobs loose like Serena’s dress had.

  Derek moved in close to her when he noticed another man shuffling forward with ideas of his own. Derek let out a low growl the guy most likely couldn’t hear over the constant pounding beat of music, but he retreated anyway, getting the message loud and clear. Willow was Derek’s. He’d be damned if he let some other man steal her away tonight.

  Mine.

  Willow caught Derek’s hands, urging him to move with her. She was beaming at him, filling him with warmth. Why did she look so happy?

  He matched her movements, easily falling into the music’s rhythm. He guided her into a spin. She arched her back, lifting her leg up high as he caught her and placed her back on her feet. They moved closer and closer together, facing each other. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other. Derek caught Willow’s hips, eager to move behind her so he could grind against her. He was certain she already knew how turned on he was, but he wanted to feel his hard dick against her plump ass, even with their clothes in the way. He needed something or he was going to fucking lose it and take control of the situation and force her back to his hotel room. He was always the one in control, so why was he humoring her like this? It wasn’t like him. He could convince her to go. He knew he could. He always got the woman he picked. In his time. Not hers.

  “How long have you been in Boise?” Willow asked as her hands gripped his arms, keeping him close. She spoke at a level only he could hear.

  He dropped his hands to her waist, resting them on her defined hips, testing his self-control. “Not long. A couple days,” he replied, his voice surprisingly steady.

  “I got in last night.”

  She looked at him thoughtfully, reaching one of her hands up to his face. She slid her fingers along his strong jaw, catching her pink nails on his stubble, before resting her hand back on his arm. The move sent another shower of sparks through his body.

  “How long have you been a wolf?” she asked.

  Derek grew a little stiff, a little apprehensive. “Years.”

  “Do you have a pack?”

  “No.”

  “You’re a lone wolf then. How long?”

  Derek shrugged. This was troublesome. Most women didn’t ask questions. They took one look at his body and they were ready to fuck. That was how he liked it. He didn’t want to get to know any of them. He didn’t want to know Willow, and he didn’t want her to know him.

  “Sorry,” Willow said quickly, obviously sensing his unease. She remedied it by easing closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Despite the beat of the music being anything but slow, the two swayed. Touching Willow was pure ecstasy. He moved his hands down her back, resting them loosely just above her ass. She let out a soft moan that ramped up his desperation to have her.

  “How much do you know about being a wolf?” she asked.

  More questions? A disconnect was starting to form. Derek was beginning to think this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her. They were like magnets. When they were this close, they were stuck together. Someone else would have to pry them apart or else they would stay like this.

  Willow pressed into him more firmly. Making it impossible not to feel the soft flesh of her breasts flatten against his abs. His cock was hard at her stomach. She was making it impossible for him to think.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Derek said in response to her question.

  “It doesn�
��t matter,” she said wistfully.

  She pushed gently against him, making enough space in between them for her to run her hands down his black muscle-t, deliberately feeling out the ridges of his muscles. The closer she got to his cock, the closer he got to losing it. He caught one of her hands and spun her around so her back was facing him. She was already moving again, shimmying to the beat of the music. She rocked her head back and forth, sending her long, curly hair every which way. Her hair was such a light shade of blond, it took on the multicolored lights. So did her sparkling dress. She was a rainbow in motion. Elusive.

  But not for Derek.

  He sunk down low, grinding his pelvis against her ass. She responded in kind, urging him on. Damn, being this close to her, almost feeling her the way he desperately needed to feel her, was a cruel torture growing worse with each passing moment. This was it. He was going to snap. He wouldn’t humor her anymore. He’d make her so hot she would be begging him to take her back to his hotel room.

  “I’m ready,” Willow said before Derek could act.

  “What?” he asked, slowing the feverish rhythm they had both set.

  Soon they were both standing still on the gyrating dance floor. Willow turned to face him again. “I’m ready to go to your hotel room. This place blows.” She had a sensual, blood boiling smile on her face.

  Derek smirked. This proved it. There was no way she could last for long. She felt the breaking point at the same time he had. “As you wish,” he said, finally feeling like he was back in control.

  She walked in front of him, and he came up to her side, resting a hand on her waist as he kept her close while escorting her out of the club. No one was going to take her from him.

  Mine.

  Neither of them had brought in any jackets to grab, so Willow only had to reclaim her purse and they were ready to go. They felt the full force of the cool autumn night when they exited the building—though it didn’t bother them. They were wolf shifters after all.