Tempting a Wolf
TemptingaWolf
Tempting a Wolf
Copyright © October 2008, Tressie Lockwood
Cover art by Amira Press © October 2008
Amira Press
Baltimore, MD 21216
www.amirapress.com
ISBN: 978-1-935348-01-6
No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter One
For two years, she had watched him. Her sister’s boss. He stopped by the house every now and then, ostensibly to pick up papers Renee had been working on, but Tameca had her own theories about why a man so fine, so made for a woman to bow in submission at his feet, would bother coming to his employee and not the other way around.
Tameca often blocked out that he might want Renee, and so he chose any excuse to see her more often than three days a week, her work schedule. And what man wouldn’t want Renee?
She sighed with her cheek pressed at the corner of the wall between the hallway and the living room of their tiny home. While Renee tilted her head to discuss something found on one of the sheets of paper, her long sheet of perfect hair fell forward over her shoulder. The sunlight caught it just right. Marcus would be a fool not to notice that and everything else about her older sister.
Tameca tugged at her unruly hair. On any given day, if it wasn’t frizzy, it was limp. Today was a frizz day. She reached up, not taking her eyes off Marcus, to smooth it down with both hands. The movement brought her attention to her breasts. Too big. She groaned in frustration.
To her shame, the sound caught Marcus’s attention. He gave a slow, sexy grin that set her body on fire. He turned in Tameca’s direction. “Well, hello, Tami.”
Her heart threatened to stop at both his nickname for her and the timbre of his voice—deep and seductive.
“Leave her alone, Marcus,” Renee warned.
He ignored her sister and strolled over to tower above Tameca. The top of her head came to his nose. He was a good height at somewhere around six-foot-five, above average, but not too tall.
He played with a lock of her hair, probably fighting not to frown in confusion at its wildness, she thought. “And how’s my little mocha beauty today?” he whispered. “Did you miss me?”
I’m twenty-five, not an impressionable teenager , she reminded herself. The pep talk meant zip. He smelled too good. Not cologne, or not only cologne. There was an animal scent to him, something wild and untamed. She longed to rip her clothes off and beg him to take her.
She tried playing it cool instead. “Hey, what’s up, Marcus?” She flattened her back against the wall and folded her hands behind her. She wanted to be cool, but the knack had all gone to Renee. Instead, she was a dumpy, plump woman, still a virgin at her age. Not normally down on herself to the extent she was feeling now, she figured it was Marcus’s fault. He brought out the worst in her.
His deep brown eyes, almost black with intensity, narrowed as he looked down at her. He rested an arm beside her head and moved so close that the heat of his body alone produced the wetness in her panties.
His gaze dropped to her lips. She alternated between licking them and chewing the bottom one. His head lowered until his full lips were a fraction of an inch from hers.
“Do you wonder what I think about you?” His breath warmed her mouth.
“W-What’s that?”
He shifted his hard, muscled frame, which caused his thigh to brush hers. She had to fight not to spread her legs in invitation to him. The flick of his eyebrow toward his hairline was an indication that he knew how he affected her.
“I wonder what your mouth would taste like, whether you would be sweet and intoxicating.” To her relief, he turned his head after he spoke, but he soon ran his nose along her neck. As if she had no command over it, her head tilted back to expose her throat to him. “Because you smell like you’d be delicious,” he declared.
Before her knees could give and she sagged against him, Renee jerked him away. “Marcus, get the hell away from my sister! I told you, she’s off-limits!”
Why, why, why! Tameca fought a groan of frustration. The man got her wet and excited every time he came to their house, but he never did anything other than tease her. So unfair.
When he pushed his hands into the pockets of his slacks and strolled toward the front door, Renee directed an angry glare at her. “I told you he wants one thing and one thing only, Tameca. Besides that, he’s out of your league. Now, stop encouraging him!”
Encouraging him? Men did not line up at her door to spend time with her. There was no manual written on how she should seduce him, not a man like Marcus and a woman like her. So, at what point had she been encouraging him?
“I didn’t do anything,” she grumbled. “If you want him so much, just go ahead and jump him. A man like Marcus wouldn’t be a problem for you to get.”
Renee looked over to Marcus, who appeared not to be paying either of them any mind. She bet he was straining his ears to pick up their conversation despite the look of disinterest. Nor did he look like he needed to take a cold shower, which is what Tameca felt she needed to cool down her raging lust. Her sister hooked her arm and dragged her along the hall and into the kitchen. Tameca rolled her eyes. There was more than enough distance between them and Marcus to keep him from overhearing. Renee was being dramatic.
“Tameca, it’s your hormones, your desire for him that’s driving him.”
“What are you talking about? A man like that can have any woman he wants, and you said yourself enough times, he’s all sex.” She shrugged. “From where I’m standing, he doesn’t have to be provoked. And I still maintain that I didn’t do anything this time or any other. You act like I’m breaking the damn law just to look.”
Renee paced away, clenching her fists at her sides. “I don’t want this life for you.”
“What life? What are you talking about, Renee?” She glared at her sister. From the first moment Marcus had begun to tease her and she had started to lust over him, Renee had gone into “Mama Bear protecting her young” mode. The attitude seemed blown out of proportion, especially given that Tameca was not a young innocent who couldn’t look out for herself.
“I can’t explain it to you. Look, when you lust over Marcus, he picks up on it. Men like him are more attracted to women who want them. A blind man can pick up on the vibes you send out.”
Tameca crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t have to be insulting. I still say there’s nothing wrong with looking. But quit worrying. He’s what, thirteen years older than I am? Rich. Successful and sexy as hell. I know he’s out of my league, okay. I’m not going after him. Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but I’m not the prettiest woman on the block.”
Capturing her in a bear hug, her sister crooned, “Aw, baby, you’re beautiful, and you’ll find the right man soon. Not a sex-crazed wol . . . ah . . . man like Marcus. Trust me.”
Tameca wiggled in the viselike grip. “Okay, okay. You can stop with the mothering, Renee. Message received.”
Renee laughed and left the kitchen to see her boss off. Tameca sank into a chair and rested her head on her arms. She prayed her sister was right, that she would find someone.
Unlike her sister, who didn’t seem to care if she herself found a steady guy, Tameca longed for someone special in her life. The men picking up Renee from one week to the next were varied and many—all of them sizzling hot. Yet, from conversations she’d had with Renee, the woman didn’t have a drop of feeling for any of them. They were no more than bedroom fun or someone to spend an evening with at din
ner, taking in a movie, or dancing. What Tameca wouldn’t give for just that much.
After the slam of the front door reached her, Tameca looked up to see her sister as she strolled back into the kitchen while flipping through a stack of mail. “Bills, bills, bills. Not!”
“Not what?” Tameca spotted an orange and black postcard in the stack. “What’s that?”
“It doesn’t concern you, Tameca.” Renee would have thrown it into the trash if Tameca hadn’t leaned over the table and snatched it away.
Ignoring the comment, she read the glossy card. “A Halloween Bash! At Marcus’s mansion! Oh, wow, are you going, Renee?”
“Not on your life. I can just imagine what goes on there.”
“Who cares?” Studying the invite, Tameca imagined a giant ballroom with Halloween decorations and low lighting filled with writhing bodies swaying to spooky yet sensual music. She would kill to go. “I bet you any amount of money, it won’t be the lame event my office party will be. Look at that, same night. While I’m fighting against dropping dead of boredom, Marcus and his crew will be having all the fun.”
Renee laughed. “His crew? Trust me, you wouldn’t enjoy it.”
“You keep saying that, but I can’t bring myself to believe it.”
“It’s a moot point.” Renee reached across, snatched the postcard back, then ripped it in half before she dropped it in the trash. “Dispute settled. Now, I have to run. I’ll catch you later. Don’t include me in dinner. I might be back too late.”
With that, her sister was gone, leaving her to wonder just when her dreary life would take a turn for the better.
Tempting a Wolf
Chapter Two
“So, why do you even listen to her? You’re a grown woman, Tameca, and it’s not like she’s your mother.”
Tameca heard Pat but pretended she didn’t. She pooched out her lips and bobbed her head in sync to the music blaring from her headphones. She lay with her head on Pat’s lap and her feet up on the bench’s armrest.
Pat reached down, pulled out the earpieces, and repeated her question.
“Habit, I guess. She practically raised me. We never knew our father, and when our mother took off for parts unknown, she didn’t have a choice. It was either that or foster care.” She shivered at the thought. “I want to go to that party, though.”
“Why don’t you?”
Tameca sat up and twisted to swing her legs around and her feet to the ground. She glanced around the neat, little tree-lined area outside her office building. The place looked like a mini park, all well manicured with birds chirping in the air. If you looked at it, you would never believe that inside the concrete structure adjacent was a zombie fest. Then again, maybe that was a good thing for the coming holiday. Except that the zombies were the drones who worked for Carrington and Associates, the deadest engineering firm in the world.
“Because a part of me agrees with her.” She tilted her head back and stared with slitted eyes up at the blue sky. “You know that stupid saying you hear loser guys say on TV sometimes, ‘You’re so fine, I would drink your bath water’?”
Pat burst out laughing, which caused her to choke on her roast beef on rye. “You’re not serious.”
“Girl, if you had seen the man. Yum! I want him so bad, it’s not funny. I mean I’ve seen hot guys before, and I’ve felt like, ‘oh, if only.’ You know how I prefer white guys. But
Marcus . . . He goes beyond that.”
Her friend’s eyes lit up. “Describe him.”
“Walking sex.”
Pat snorted. “Seriously.”
“Okay, deep brown eyes that go almost black when he’s excited. Straight, thin nose and full lips. He has this long, rich, dark brown hair that’s like six or seven inches past his shoulders. When I see him, I dream about running my fingers through it while he—”
“Got you!” Pat shrieked.
Tameca laughed. “Well, you asked.” She sighed. “His invitation said there would be a full moon on Halloween night, and the bash at his mansion will start at eleven. I imagine it will go all night. Truth be told, I’m scared. He acts like he wants me, too, but Renee says he goes from woman to woman. What would I look like pursuing a man like that?”
“You’d look satisfied.”
They both dissolved into laughter, Tameca inwardly wishing she had the boldness to do more than look. She had often wondered if Renee had ever slept with Marcus. She’d never asked, and her sister hadn’t volunteered any info. That might explain some of the bitterness her sister displayed sometimes when talking about Marcus. And the thought that she would be getting her sister’s leftovers should have turned her off, but it didn’t.
When her mirth eased, Pat continued. “Seriously, you’re not looking for love, right? And neither is he.”
“Who says I’m not looking for love?” Tameca scowled.
“Not with him.”
“True.”
Pat shrugged. “So, he’s had many different women, has a lot to teach, and maybe this time around, he wants a woman with a little meat on her bones.”
Tameca flared her nostrils, then put her headphones back in place. “That’s your way of saying he’s considering a fat girl.”
“You’re not fat.”
“I’m pushing a size eighteen!”
“Tight sixteen.”
Whatever.”
Pat laughed. “Well, we’re two of a kind. I’m chunky, too, but Ray likes it. Says ‘more cushion for the pushin’.’”
Tameca rolled her eyes. “Original. But Ray will say anything. He’s just glad you’re giving it up to someone like him. Goodness knows none of those other geeky guys in the office is getting any. How much do you want to bet our party is lame again this year?” She groaned. “I just criticized the geeks, and I am one of the ones who doesn’t get any. My life bites big time.”
“Hey!” Pat cried out. “I’m trying to convince myself that I give a flying you-know-what about him and that I’m not just giving it away with no hope of a real relationship.”
Tameca sighed. “All right, I admit it. I’m jealous. Even of you and Ray.”
“Don’t be.” Pat’s downcast expression mirrored what Tameca was feeling. All of a sudden, her eyes went glassy, and her mouth dropped open.
Tameca followed her dazed friend’s line of sight, which stopped on two people—a man and a woman who had paused in their bike riding to take a drink from their water bottles. The woman was beautiful, but Tameca’s gaze skittered past her to the man. He rivaled Marcus with his blond good looks and toned body. What caught her attention in particular, though, was his boldness in wearing biking shorts. Not a bad thing in general, but the man was so well endowed that the bulge in his shorts was unseemly. And the arrogant ass knew it!
He braced a fist on his hip while the other hand held his water bottle to his lips. Tameca was sure she’d seen him glance at the women nearby. Feminine eyes were glued to his crotch. Every one of their mouths must have been watering as they took in this godlike man.
Pat slapped Tameca’s arm, which made her wince. “Am I dreaming, Tameca?”
“Nope.” She laughed. “He’s got way more than any woman needs. But, boy, oh, boy, wouldn’t it be fun trying to work it all in.”
“You have such a dirty mind for a virgin,” Pat accused her.
“That’s why I have a dirty mind.”
The man stopped speaking to the woman and turned their way. Tameca’s eyes widened, and she held her breath. He seemed to excuse himself, and then he sauntered over to them. To Tameca’s embarrassment, her eyes were glued to his crotch.
He paused before her. “You’re her, aren’t you?”
“Uh?” She tore her eyes from his groin to glance up. “You’re talking to me?” Pat made a disappointed noise at her side, likely hating that she was her, whoever her was. Her mind was muddled.
He stooped over, his muscled legs parted and one hand resting on his knee. Why was he tormenting them? He waggled a finger
toward her and sniffed the air with a knowing look in his eyes. “Yes, you’re her. The one he wants. The one he’ll have.”
Tameca stared in disbelief. This must be a case of mistaken identity, because there was no way there was some man out there who wanted her, who had decided he was going to have her no matter what. Not outside her fantasies anyway. Still, she didn’t mind that blond and beautiful thought she was the one. He smelled just like Marcus, with that animal wildness. His scent was stronger, maybe because he had been exercising, but it was not a bad smell by any means.
She and Pat both leaned closer like he had them under a spell. He grinned, no doubt used to women drooling over him. With supreme effort, her mind pieced together a sentence, and she mumbled it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not who you think I am.”
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