by Beverly Rae
“No! I’m not going. You can’t make me.” John tried to scurry away, but a snarl from a nearby werewolf curled him into a fetal position.
“Good grief. How old is he? Five?” Tucker knelt down, cocked his head to see John’s face. “Do you need your mommy, little man?”
“Leave him be, Tucker.” Daniel leveled his gaze at the rest of his pack. “Let the council and the pack decide his fate.” A couple of werewolves mumbled their disagreement, but the majority didn’t speak. He took their silence as their approval. “Besides, I’ve already given him a special punishment.”
“And what would that be, dear brother?” Devlin poked the hunter in the ribs. “I hope it’s something real good.”
Daniel knelt beside John, wanting to see the hunter’s face when he learned his fate. “I bit him. Not in the way we normally bite hunters, but in the way we do if we want to change someone.”
Snickers mixed with gasps as werewolves and hunters reacted to Daniel’s revelation. John’s eyes grew wider as panic set in.
“Did you know there’s two kinds of werewolf bites, Johnny? One kind is just a bite. Painful, yes, but nothing more. The other, however, includes an added ingredient that changes your entire chemistry.”
“No. No-o-o-o.” John shook his head, unwilling to hear the worst.
“That’s right, Johnny. You’re going to become the thing you despise. You’re going to change into a werewolf.” Daniel couldn’t help the rush of delight filling him.
“Why the hell would you do that?” Tucker looked to the rest of the pack for confirmation. “We don’t want him in the pack.”
“Because, my fellow pack mates, I’m going to recommend to the council that they send Johnny to Chicago.”
A stunned silence spread over them. Tucker chuckled. “Damn, man, when you lay down a punishment, you lay it down hard.”
Lauren took his arm. “What’s in Chicago?”
“Chicago is well known for its huge and nasty pack. They don’t like intruders. Add a very active hunters’ group to the mix and that city isn’t a good place for visiting werewolves. In fact, I’ve never heard of an outsider werewolf going there and surviving.”
“Lauren, please, don’t let him do this to me.”
Lauren, however, backed away from John. “I’m sorry, but you deserve whatever you get. At least they’re giving you a fighting chance. That’s more than you gave the shifters you killed.”
“Devlin, what do you think?”
His brother took his time, thinking over the idea. “It’s a different approach than I would’ve taken, bro. But let’s do this your way.”
“Good. Will you take him? I have something I need to do.”
Devlin nodded, then barked orders to the rest of the pack. Daniel took Lauren’s hand and led her to a corner of the room, away from the others. “Do you feel up to taking a walk with me?”
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren welcomed the yellow glow of the sunrise, lifting her face to enjoy the warmth. She wouldn’t mind if she never saw another fun house again. “Did you want to talk to me, Daniel? Or was that an excuse to get out of that place?”
Daniel took her hand, a simple gesture that melted her insides. “Both.”
He led her to the rundown carousel and lifted her, placing her on top of a horse with a black mane and tail. Most of the glitter that had once covered the wooden animal was gone and the paint had faded.
For a moment, Lauren indulged her imagination and pictured the horse as a beautiful white steed and Daniel as her charming prince. But soon reality forced her to ask, “What did you need to tell me?”
“We’ll talk, but first I need to do this.”
Daniel stepped on the edge of the horse’s platform, leaned over and kissed her. Lauren closed her eyes, reveling in the softness of his lips on hers. The softness, however, didn’t last long, his lips growing more intense, more demanding with each second. She cupped the back of his neck, holding him, and took his tongue inside. His tongue circled hers, making her head swim. His kiss, so simple, gave her chills, but these chills heated her body. Answering the fire he’d stirred within her, she arched her back to press her breasts against his chest. She yearned for him, ached to have his hands discovering every secret curve and valley. His kiss demanded more and she wanted to give that to him.
When he broke apart from her, she almost fell off the horse. “No. Don’t stop.”
His eyes boasted golden flecks and the desire she saw sent her own lust soaring.
“If I don’t stop now, I won’t stop until I’ve had you.” His jaw clenched, a thrilling sight that signaled his need. “I want you, Lauren, in every way that I can have you.”
She couldn’t, wouldn’t, contain her delight. “Don’t you know I want you just as much? I don’t want you to stop. Ever. I want you right now.”
He closed his eyes, the struggle to restrain his lust decorating his face. Taking a deep breath that shuddered through him, he opened his eyes. “No, we can’t. Not yet. We have to talk first.”
Lauren tilted her head and batted her eyes, deliberately teasing him. “I’d rather you take me first and then talk.”
“You, woman, are the real animal.”
“You think so? Then tame the beast in me, Daniel.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pulled up her T-shirt, ready to tug it off.
“Damn, you drive me crazy.” Daniel smoothed out her shirt and shook his head. “Come on, Lauren. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
She gasped, unready for what lay ahead. Had she misinterpreted his signals? She knew he wanted her, but was something else going on? Did he want her in every sexual way, but not in the way that mattered? She giggled, then slapped her hand over her mouth. If she could ever learn to control her nerves, now was the time. “Daniel, are you breaking up with me?”
At least his confused look reassured her. Still, had they ever been a real couple? Or had that been a wild dream?
“You sure ask me that a lot. Hell, no, I’m not breaking up with you. In fact, I’m trying to do the exact opposite.”
“You are? And the exact opposite would be…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Not with fear mixing with anticipation to build a logjam in her throat.
Daniel slipped her off the carousel, then carried her to a grassy area decorated with rotting picnic benches and rusted grills. Unsure of what to make of the gesture, Lauren laid her head against his chest, her hand placed over his heart. She listened for the beat of his heart. Was his heart beating as fast as hers? He gently lowered her to the grass and sat down beside her.
Lauren bit her lip, silencing the nervous giggles. If she weren’t so afraid of what he was about to tell her, she would’ve enjoyed the quiet peacefulness and the slight breeze blowing his hair around his strong face, like soft grasses framing the side of a mountain. Instead, she couldn’t help but feel like a condemned prisoner ready to hear the judge’s decree.
“You know how much Torrie meant to me.”
She nodded, although she doubted he noticed. He continued to stare straight ahead.
“She was my mate, my lover, my everything.”
Lauren understood how much he’d loved Torrie, but hearing him put it into words nearly tore out her heart. If only he’d turn to her and take her in his arms. She needed to have his embrace around her, needed him to tell her that he loved her, too. Giving herself the hug she wanted from him, she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“I thought my world ended when she was killed. And I blamed myself. If I’d made her stay home, or gone with her, then nothing would’ve happened to her. John wouldn’t have murdered her.”
Did he still blame himself for Torrie’s death? Did a part of him still blame her? She hadn’t killed Torrie, but she’d had a part in it. She’d attempted to kill her. Lauren glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but his unreadable expression remained the same.
“I wanted to find the hunter who’d
taken her from me. I wanted to tear him apart, make his loved ones grieve the way I did. For Torrie and for me. I thought that would rid me of my guilt.”
Lauren couldn’t allow him to continue to torture himself any longer. “You can’t blame yourself. She wouldn’t want you to. No woman would want the man she loves to live with that kind of pain.”
Tension tightened her neck. Please, get on with it. Tell me to leave. Tell me you don’t care for me the way you cared for her. But don’t torture me. Don’t make me wait for the axe to fall. But she wouldn’t hurry him. He needed to do this in his own way, in his own time. If he wouldn’t take her heart, she’d give him time.
“I know. And I don’t any longer. You made me see that my guilt solves nothing. But then when I thought you’d shot her…” He twisted to look at her, his eyes filled with the emotion he’d kept from his face. “I didn’t know what to think.”
“I know, Daniel. I wish I could take it back. I wish I’d never met John or gone on a hunt.”
“I was torn. Part of me wanted to see you die, to see you slowly bleed to death.”
Lauren trembled at the thought and, for a moment, feared him. “I don’t blame you. Wouldn’t blame you.”
Daniel placed his hand on her arm. “But another part of me, a stronger part of me, wanted you in my arms and in my bed. I tried to fight it, but I had to give in. At first, I thought if I took you, without love, without feeling, I’d get you out of my system.”
What was he telling her? Could he forgive her? She hoped he already had, but now she wasn’t certain. Had he changed his mind about her?
“But having you only made me want you more. I let that other part, the stronger part, take over.”
A flutter of hope lifted her spirits. “Are you sorry that you did?”
A soft smile tweaked the corners of his mouth. “No. I’ll never regret being with you.”
The tension building inside her broke apart, flowing out of her in waves of relief. “Can you forgive me, Daniel? Will you?”
He shushed her, placing a finger to her lips. “I forgave you a long time ago. Even when I thought you were the one who took her from me. Then when John told the truth, that your shot wasn’t the one that killed her, I had the strangest sensation. I was happy for the first time in a long while. Happy that I no longer had to think of you in that way.”
She swallowed, cautious to ask, “You were happy?”
“At first. Then the anger, the hatred came back and I wanted him dead.”
Daniel lay back and she did the same, stretching out beside him. “Why didn’t you kill him? You had every chance to.”
He pulled her against him, soaring her delight.
“Trust me, I struggled with the decision, going back and forth trying to decide. But every time I started to, I saw Torrie’s face. Torrie wouldn’t have wanted me to hurt him.” He skimmed his fingers along her hair. “After I’d gotten to know you, I found that you’re a lot like her. You’re loving, caring and forgiving.” He tunneled his fingers through her hair. “What choice did I have? You and Torrie would’ve wanted me to keep him alive. Killing him would’ve felt like a betrayal of both of you.”
“Are we that alike?” Lauren fidgeted, unsure of the answer she wanted. Although she was glad he found qualities in her that he liked, she wanted him to want her for who she was. Not because she reminded him of Torrie.
Daniel cupped her chin, making her look at him. “I’m not replacing her with you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She wanted more, needed to hear more of an explanation. “But, like you said, we’re a lot alike.” Did she really look like Torrie as well? Perhaps too much like her? She wished she’d seen the female werewolf in her human form.
Daniel propped his head on his hand and frowned. “Do you believe me? Do you think I’m using you as a replacement?”
Lauren couldn’t speak and her silence served as her answer.
“Lauren, I thought you were smarter than that.”
Did he just insult her? Irritation welled inside her, giving her the strength to glare at him. “Look, if you’re going to keep telling me how dumb I am, then I’ll get the hell out of—”
His mouth crushed hers, cutting off her last word. Heat, passionate and real, scorched from his lips to hers. She moaned, wanting everything, anything he would give her. The kiss went on, sending the fire from her lips to the cleft between her legs. She ran her hands along his shoulders and toward his back, her fingers dancing over the muscled curves.
Daniel broke off the kiss, then touched her swollen lips. “I didn’t mean to insult you. But can’t you tell that you’re more than a substitute for Torrie? Can’t you tell how much you mean to me?”
“Well, I—”
“Lauren, you and Torrie share a lot of similarities. Both of you were very lovable, very sexy and all woman. But you’re also very different. You’re spunkier than she was and I like spunk. I didn’t know how much until you came along, but I do. Plus, Torrie wouldn’t have put her life on the line to save random hunters. Not that she wouldn’t have cared about them. She did. And she wouldn’t have wanted to see them hurt. But she wouldn’t have had the courage to do what you did either.”
Lauren fought to hold back the tears. Not only was she different, but he thought she was brave. And spunky. Hell, she liked that she had spunk, too. “Go on.”
Daniel’s chuckle was as warm as the sun. “You’re funny, too. Smart—at least most of the time.” He dodged her halfhearted attempt to swat him. “And you’re witty, too. Comparing Torrie and you is like comparing a summer breeze to a windstorm.”
“Are you calling me a big bag of wind?”
Giving her a quick peck on the tip of her nose, he added, “I’m saying that I like having a feisty woman like you. I’m saying you’re very much your own woman. Lauren, I fell in love with you because of who you are, not because you sometimes remind me of her.”
The heat his kiss had started flickered into a low fire that promised to burn hotter with each kiss. A fire only he could put out. Searching his velvet eyes, diving into them, into his soul, she watched as his irises sparkled with amber. Her stomach fluttered with anticipation. “Does the animal inside you always come out when you’re turned on?”
“The animal and the man are one and the same. You can’t have one without the other.” He trailed his tongue down the side of her neck, the licks soon turning to kisses. “Does that frighten you?”
“No. Not anymore,” she answered in a breathy voice. His attentions took her over the edge, driving any reservations she’d had away. “Daniel.”
Reaching behind her, he slipped her shirt over her head, then moaned at the sight of her naked breasts. Their clothes soon lay strewn over the grass, the light skimming on their bodies as the sun lifted into the sky. He gripped her sides, lifted her and placed her on top of him. His already large erection pushed at the wetness between her legs.
“What if the others come out and see us?” Lauren feathered her fingers on his bare chest and pushed her breasts together, plumping them for his satisfaction. She tossed her hair, the tips tickling her shoulders.
“Then they’ll know I’m one helluva lucky man.” Daniel suckled one breast and fondled the other.
She leaned forward, closing her eyes to revel in the delicious sensations racing through her. The warmth from the sky heated her back but it was no match for the warmth testing the boundaries between her legs. She rubbed, sliding over him in a sexual tease and heard his groan of frustration. “Easy, big boy. Easy.”
“I can’t take it easy. I need you now.”
He gripped her neck, holding her head still, startling her. He could kill her with one squeeze, but she knew she was safe in his hands. “Tell me what you want, Daniel.”
The bits of amber in his eyes suddenly grew, taking over most of the brown.
“I want to eat you.”
“I want you to eat me.” She removed his hands, twisting around to place her
pussy over his head. “But fair’s fair.”
His growl, deep and masculine, sent more juices flowing. Seizing her buttock cheeks, he guided her to his mouth. His tongue swept over her and, although she knew what was coming, surprised her with the ensuing surge of desire. She mewed and lowered to cup his cock in her hand.
Their bodies molded together, each matching the rhythm of the other, moaning their pleasure to each other. His mouth on her sex lips sucked and teased, and she mimicked him, giving him as much ecstasy as he gave her. Her legs quivered as wave after wave of release rushed though her, but she held on, stroking him, licking him, sucking him.
“Damn, Lauren, you’re going to make me come.”
A warmth of delight surged through her and she chuckled, liking the way his shaft jerked as the hot air spread over his wet cock. “Isn’t that the point?”
“No. I want to be inside you when I come. Not like— Ah, shit, that’s good.”
Lauren took him inside her mouth, sliding him in until he couldn’t go any farther. She swallowed, tugged, pulled, then repeated the movements over and over. He moaned, leaving her pussy to encourage her with sweet words, then returning to treat her. At last, however, he reached his peak.
In one quick move, he had her on her back, then lifted her torso until only her shoulders, neck and head touched the ground. A low rumble echoed through his chest, into his shoulders and into the inside of her thighs. Staying on his knees, he yanked her bottom upward, positioning her legs over his shoulders, higher still until he pressed his mouth to her throbbing clit.
“Oh, oh, oh. Yes!” Breathing became more difficult, thinking impossible as he savored her, drawing every ounce of flavor from her body. Unable to grasp any part of him, she writhed on the ground, clutching the grass and tearing it out in handfuls. “Daniel. You’re going to make me— Oh, shit, please, please.”
“Please what, Lauren?” His golden eyes blazed into her. Almost as though meaning to torture her, he sucked harder, then swiped his tongue across her tender skin and sucked more.
