A Shift in the Air (4 page)

“
A start?” She laughed,
shucking the black shirt, trailing her fingers down over her body,
and then flicking open the button at her waist. She shimmied out of
her pants, dropping them on the floor.

“
Shite. Don’t stop there,
luv.” He swiveled to sit up, widening his knees so she could step
between them. Liam feathered kisses across her tight stomach,
enjoying the quiver of the muscles under his rough fingers. A quiet
whimper escaped her when his lips pressed to her mound. “Shh. Let
me taste ya.”

He lost himself in sensation: the
sweet taste of her skin, her quiet mewls, the way her knees buckled
when he slid a finger into her wetness. The pervasive scent of fig
blossoms filled his nose. He didn’t care that he was imagining it.
For one night, he could almost feel Caitlin, reach out and touch
her skin, hear her laugh, see the silver flecks dancing in her
eyes.

Laying her down, he raked his gaze
over her pale curves. A tight, pink nipple beckoned, and he swirled
his tongue around the bud. “Ya taste like honey, luv. And I’ve a
sweet tooth.”

Her back arched, and he slid an arm
under her, holding her close as he nibbled at her throat, up to her
ear. At her moan, he reached down and massaged the sensitive bundle
of nerves nestled in her slick folds, and she flew apart, hoarse
cries and shudders wracking her slight body.

He held himself over her, watching her
come down from the first of several orgasms he planned on giving
her that night. The idea of only taking, of stealing his release at
the expense of hers, didn’t sit well. Even tonight, when all he
wanted to do was lose himself in an anonymous woman, he’d give as
good as he got.

“
Inside me,” she managed
and hooked a finger around the drawer handle, pulling it to the
floor and sending a box of condoms tumbling. “Dammit.”

“
Shh, luv.” He reached down
and snagged a foil packet, sheathing his erection and then pressing
gently against her entrance. “I’ve got ya.”

He took his time, savoring the tight
heat around him, the way she writhed, and the scent of
her.

“
Harder—God, please! I
need…more!”

He thrust, matching her rhythm as her
short nails raked down his back. A growl hummed in his throat, and
when her eyes widened, he flicked a thumb to the tender bud nestled
between her lower lips. Her cry shattered his own control, and he
lost himself in the memory of his Caitlin.

When her shudders faded, Liam nestled
his head against hers on the pillow. A satisfied sigh escaped her
kiss-swollen lips as she settled closer to him.

“
I should go, luv,” he
said, tracing lazy patterns on her naked hip. As the words tumbled
out, his wolf raged against them.
Stay
, the beast demanded.
She’s yours. Even if only for tonight.
The nameless woman in his arms didn’t reply, and
he gave into his wolf, enjoying the way she fit against him and her
satisfied hum as he pressed a tender kiss to her neck.

He let himself drift
towards sleep with the scent of fig blossoms surrounding him.
“
Mo chuisle, mo chroí
.”

Chapter Three

Bella’s eyes popped open. He’d just
said something. Not English. She reached for the red crystal at her
throat and fought not to panic. The bourbon fuzzed her thoughts,
but the connection with Katerina helped calm her. She shouldn’t
have let herself drift off. Not with a strange man in her bed. An
anonymous fuck was one thing. Sleeping with a man without even
knowing his name? Stupid.

Though the tenderness in his touch and
the way he’d held her soothed the raw misery of the day. That and
the bourbon. What the hell was he still doing here? Sleeping? Oh
hell, no. She rolled over to stare at him by the streetlight
slanting in through her bedroom window, and curiosity momentarily
quelled her ire.

He’d well outpaced her at
the bar, and yet she would have sworn he was almost sober by the
time they’d collapsed against one another, spent and sated. His
eyes, bloodshot and pale when they’d left Teddy’s, had turned amber
with his release—and they’d glowed. She’d only known a few types of
creatures with color-changing eyes. Elementals, but he didn’t smell
like any of the four elements. She’d met a vampire once, while the
man had been flying through Phoenix on his way to Alaska. His eyes
had shifted between purple and black. But vampires ran a few
degrees cooler than other creatures, and this man felt like a
furnace.
Shit
.
Could he be…a werewolf? Worse yet, could he be one of Bowman’s
pack?

In sleep, his firm, straight mouth
curved up at one corner. His long hair fanned out over her pillow,
and she leaned closer, frowning as she inhaled his scent: the sea
air, freshly cut wood, and something spicy. Aftershave, perhaps. A
deep scar slashed across his pectoral muscle, and a burn on his
forearm deepened her scowl. Lifting the sheet, she peered lower.
God, he was cut. Taut abs angled towards his cock, and warmth
pooled in her belly. She licked her lips, the lingering taste of
him dredging up a long-ago memory that flitted away before she
could grasp the smudged edges.

A tattoo curled over his shoulder.
Bella reached back to turn on the bedside lamp. The soft glow
illuminated his pale skin. Blossoms floated in a pool of tears, and
the profile of a wolf in mid-leap against craggy cliffs tugged at
her heart. Feathers glowed amid red flames surrounding the wolf,
and along the bottom, a date. April nineteenth.

The crystal burned against her chilled
skin.

“
Fuck. Who are you?” She
scrambled out of bed and took the blanket with her, clutching it to
her breasts. “What’s your name?”

He groaned and shook his head. “What
is it, luv?”

“
Name. Now.” Bella backed
up towards the baseball bat she kept behind her bedside
table.

“
Liam.” Blinking hard, he
pushed up on an elbow. “I thought ya didn’t want names.”

“
Your tattoo. What does it
mean?”

He covered his shoulder with a meaty
palm and turned away from her. “I lost someone once. A long time
ago.”

“
Who?” Behind her, the
drapes flapped against the wall, and she took a step back to grasp
the bat’s smooth handle, hoping the distance between them and the
weapon in her hand would calm her nerves. Her element sang a
haunting melody only she could hear, and she held her breath,
waiting for his answer.

Liam—how did she know that
name?—stared into the far corner of the room. His rough, strained
voice beckoned her closer. “Her name was Caitlin. And I failed her.
I’ll not say more. Don’t ask.”

The sudden, fierce urge to vomit
assaulted her, and Bella dropped the blanket, racing for the
bathroom. “Get out,” she managed, before she slammed the door and
fell against the toilet, heaving. The bat clattered into a corner,
and Liam’s footsteps approached quickly.

“
Luv, are ya all
right?”

“
Go away!” The alcohol
exacted revenge with violent spasms, and Liam pounded on the door.
“I said,” she gasped, vomited again, and then laid her head against
the cool porcelain, “get out.”

The floor shuddered, or perhaps that
was the bourbon, but a few minutes later, her front door shut with
a bang. Bella sagged, and when the tears fought to escape, she let
them.

***

His bike rumbled to life. The alcohol
had burned out of his system, leaving him with a sour stomach and a
pounding headache. He took advantage of the quiet night to speed
through the streets of Seattle, the wind stinging his
cheeks.

He rode all the way to Kenmore,
parking at the northern edge of Lake Washington. Slivers of light
from the crescent moon sparkled in the gentle scallops of the
water, and somewhere, a frog called out to a mate. Liam ducked
behind some bushes and stripped off his clothes. He needed to
run.

The slight dampness at the edge of the
water chilled his bare feet. He hated this part. Before the wolf
emerged, but after the man started to disappear, the agony
overwhelmed him. Sinking to his knees in the sand, his fingernails
hardened, and every bone in his hands and feet broke, shrunk, and
reformed. His wrists and ankles followed. The sensation of his hair
shrinking back into his scalp was uncomfortable, but his teeth hurt
the most. Wolves had ten more teeth than humans, and when his extra
teeth grew out of his jaw, the pain shot right into his brain—or so
it seemed. His nose broke, as did his spine, ribs, legs, and arms.
Throwing his head back to howl in pain, he stared at the moon,
needing comfort. This he knew. This he could control. When his ribs
reformed and fur sprouted all over his body, he trembled from the
pure exhilaration. And then a deep calm overtook him. The first few
seconds brought a dull roar to his ears, but then quickly faded,
and he sat on his haunches, panting and thrilling in the raw power
of his lupine body.

He took off at a slow trot along the
shore, but quickly sped up, his tongue hanging out of his mouth,
the spring air unusually warm, full of the scent of fig
blossoms.

***

He should go home. But instead of
turning the bike down Northeast Eightieth towards the pack’s house,
he continued south to her dingy apartment building. He tried to
talk himself out of every step, but when he stood in front of her
door, the memory of her wrapped around him drove him to knock. The
door swung open, and something crashed inside her
bedroom.

Fear skittered down his spine, and his
wolf growled. “I’m comin’ in.” He made it three steps inside before
his legs rooted themselves to the floor. “Shite.”

Tangled, mahogany curls half-obscured
her tear-stained cheek. A silk robe draped her body in a deep blue.
The empty bottle of whiskey rolled away from the toe of his boot,
and the scent of her, mixed with sickness and the drink, filled the
small space. She flinched when he dropped down to a knee and
whimpered at his touch.

“
Luv, can ya hear me? I
need ya to answer.”

“
Go…way.”

“
No.” He scooped her up in
his arms and carried her into the bath. The baseball bat she’d
threatened him with earlier rested along the back wall. “If ya
don’t get it out, it’s going to be worse for ya later. Trust me.
I’ve lost myself to the drink a fair number of times.”

Holding her hair, he cradled her next
to the toilet.

“
Nothing left,” she managed
and rested her head against his shoulder.

“
Ya sure?” Liam pressed his
lips to her clammy forehead.

“
Uh-huh.”

He rose, drawing her closer. “A shower
then.” She stiffened against him, but as the soothing spray filled
the small space, she stopped her struggles and peered up at him
through thick, smudged lashes.

“
Why are you
back?”

“
Maybe ya remind me of her
a little too much. I’m going to get ya safely into bed before I
leave ya again. Now, can ya stand on your own?”

At her nod, he set her on her feet and
reached for the clasp of the chain around her neck. “Don’t!” She
batted his hand away and grabbed the red crystal. “You can’t steal
it. Not again!”

Liam stepped back and tried to make
sense of her words. He hadn’t taken a damn thing. Unless you
counted several orgasms, and he thought he’d given those. “Calm
down, luv. I won’t harm ya.” He unbuttoned his vest, then his
shirt, and tossed both into her bedroom. The woman sagged against
the counter, fumbling for the belt of her robe before he stilled
her fingers. “Let me.”

“
I don’t want to think
anymore. It hurts too much.” The tremble in her voice stirred a
memory of another woman, another country, and another life.
Goddammit. He didn’t want to think either. Every time his thoughts
wandered, he remembered his Caitlin: frightened, tears staining her
cheeks, running away from him.

The robe whispered over the
woman’s pale skin, and he turned away. Beast clashed with man,
perilously close to the surface.
No.
Only days away from the new moon, his control
ebbed, but she was too fragile for his wolf to assert himself. If
she noticed his eyes churning with gold, he feared she’d
break.

When the animal backed down, he shed
the rest of his clothes and helped her under the spray. Smoothing
her soap—something soft, feminine, and floral—down her arms, over
her belly, and up her back, he couldn’t help when his cock
stirred.

“
Fuck me again,” she
demanded and pulled his head down so his lips rested against the
pulse point of her neck. The thrum quickened, her short nails
sending electric shocks along his spine.

“
Ye’re too shattered, luv.
I won’t take advantage.”

The woman pressed closer. “I’m
afraid,” she whispered in his ear. “Please. I need
this.”

The chains he’d locked around his wolf
snapped with a feral growl, and he dropped to his knees, invading
her with his tongue and savoring the taste of her
arousal.

“
Yes. Liam,
more!”