Foxy Lady (7 page)

Gabby nodded. “Ned’s been staring at you since you arrived. You’re going to have to talk to him at some point.”

“I know. No time like the present.”

Tilda and Meghan stood to gather plates. Though the men didn’t offer to help, they did compliment her for the meal. Gabby and Julia rose as well and helped clear the table.

Julia reached for Ned’s plate. “Ned, can we talk?”

Chapter Five

Ned pushed back his chair and stood faster than she could blink. “Been waiting all night to talk to you.” He glanced in the direction Ty had gone and nodded to himself.

Julia sighed, handed Gabby the plate, then motioned to the back door. “How about on the porch?” In private. She looked pointedly at his brothers.

Itchy quickly said, “We’ll go with you.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to miss this,” Snitchy added with an evil grin.

Julia held back a growl. “Ned? I want to talk to you.
Alone
.”

He glanced from Itchy and Snitchy to her. “Good idea.” He shoved his brothers back and herded her toward the back door.

From the other room, Julia heard Ty and Ned’s father swearing over the muted sound of the television. What the hell was he doing with Ned Sr.?

The pair of them bemoaned Gonzaga and cheered Syracuse. Good Lord. He was bonding with that odious man over basketball?

Ned prodded her outside, past the surprised faces of his mother and her sister, and she shivered at the brisk wind slapping her face.

“Nice weather, huh?” He leaned against the porch rail and crossed his arms. “See, I can make small talk.”

“Ah, okay. Ned, I just wanted you to understand—”

“I cut my hair. Had Mama iron my jeans.”

She stared at him in bemusement. “Right. So I just thought we should clear the air. You don’t—”

“Don’t need fancy manners to impress a woman. I drive a big rig, did you know that? An International.”

“International?”

“Yeah. I drive a flatbed from the mill to lumber factories around the state. It’s my own rig.”

“Rig?”

“My own truck,” he said with pride. “I’m an independent contractor, Julia. Make a good living.”

“Er, okay.”

“So about Saturday—”

This time she interrupted him. “Ned, you won’t take no for an answer. You shot out the tires on my SUV!” Not to mention Ty’s tires, but she didn’t think it prudent to mention Ty just now.

He frowned. “I got angry. What the hell did you expect me to do when you’re parading around with that jackass? What do you see in a guy like that?”

Besides smarts, a sexy body and a wily fox?
“I’ve known Ty since we were young. We grew up together. He’s the love of my life.” All so true, and so devastating to a young woman who had nothing to offer a prodigal son from one of the finest fox families in town.

“Love.” He snorted. “That’s not real. Hell, look around you. You really think Jason and Meghan are going to last?”

She didn’t, and the notion suddenly depressed her. She sighed. “Ned, I don’t love you. I don’t even like you half the time. The only things I know about you are that you’re a bully and you’re stubborn. You live here, right?”

He scowled. “You like me fine enough. Yeah, I live here. Nowhere is my home.”

“Well, mine is in Montana, and I don’t ever plan on leaving it.”

“You’re here now.”

Like talking to a brick wall. “I’m here for Meghan. She’s only here because of Jason. She’s leaving for Seattle in a few days.” The sooner the better. Julia preferred Seattle to this place. For all that Ned’s relatives seemed friendlier than she’d expected, there were still way too many Williamses in the area for comfort.

“Look, Julia, I know this is sudden for you. But I like you. I really like you.” He sounded so earnest.

She felt her first stirring of sympathy for the big guy. Though a bully with a temper, he had feelings. And then he finished his thought, and her empathy vanished.

“You’re fuckin’ hot. I’m the town catch. You and me together? Perfect. I’ll give it to you good, baby. And hell, things work out, maybe we’ll make a go of it. A kid would make Mama happy. I don’t see the problem.”

“You wouldn’t. Sorry to break it to you, Ned, but we—you and me—are not happening.”

The meanness returned to his gaze. Danger threatened. Flight or fight for Julia meant flight. On four feet, no one had ever managed to catch her. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the freedom to turn at random in Nowhere. She was really starting to hate this place.

“I’m sick of asking. So now I’m telling you. No one says no to Ned Williams. You’re mine.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Think of it this way. I can take care of you and your sisters. Nothing bad can happen to Gabby and Meghan if I’m with you, you get me?”

His obstinacy she’d tolerated. Threats against her family ended it. Rage swelled, and the careful control she exercised at all times started to slip.

“You don’t like to be told no. I get it. But I don’t like to be told what to do either.” He’d hurt her family if she refused him? She gave her fury full reign. Stubborn men. A sister who wouldn’t listen. Relatives who hated her. Responsibilities for everything thanks to a foolish mother and an irresponsible father. No longer keeping her attitude in check, Julia railed at Ned, heaping her frustrations and indignities upon him.

“You don’t own me, Ned. No one does. I’m tired of being told what to do, how to act, what to say. I don’t like Nowhere. I don’t like my sister falling for an outsider. I don’t like arrogant assholes who think they know what’s best for me and everyone around me.” She poked him in the chest, startling him with her aggression.
Take that Ned, Uncle Harry, Aunt Lynn and Ty.
“I’m going home. Gabby and Meghan are coming with me. And if you so much as look at my family the wrong way, I’ll cut you off at the knees.”

The animal desire to defend herself came out of nowhere. A lifetime of hiding secrets, of fitting in despite her need to live her own life, and wishing for what could never be, bombarded her like sharp needles prickling at her flesh. Now, for the first time, she intended to fight. Pain pushed through her fingertips until the lethal edge of claws appeared. Her teeth pricked her gums, and the bones of her jaw tingled with the need to realign.

Ned stared in horror at her face, but she didn’t care. Before she could strike out at him, Ty wrapped his arms around her from behind. She hadn’t heard him approach.

“Easy, baby. It’s okay. No one’s forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do,” he crooned in her ear, his scent so alluring she inhaled deeply to take more of it in.

It took her a moment to calm down, and when she did, she noticed Ned’s shock.

Hell.

“Son of a bitch,” he whispered, turned on his heel without another word and slammed into the house.

Julia shook as the rage left her. Appalled to have lost control like that, she struggled in Ty’s arms.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “It really is. You didn’t change more than your eyes and claws, a trick of the light. Everything else will keep. Don’t worry. You’re fine.” His soothing voice transitioned her discomfort into another form altogether. Her sex throbbed as he spoke, and then his words suddenly ceased into an intense silence.

He turned her in his arms and kissed her. A wild, earthy, sexual meeting of the mouths that promised a blissful outcome if they hurried out of their clothes.

Ty ended the kiss and nipped her lip. “Damn, Julia. I want you. But our timing sucks. I’m with you on not liking this place. We need to get home.” He lifted her hips and ground into her, his erection imposing and so very welcome.

Think, Julia. Sex with Ty is bad.
Julia wished she could remember why, because her hormones screamed at her to finish what he teased with that kiss.

She licked the flesh of his throat then bit hard enough to leave a mark. He groaned and tightened his hold on her.

“Fuck, Julia. Stop before I come in my pants. I swear, you’re driving me crazy.”

“Hmm?” She continued to kiss him, trailing her lips down his throat to the parted V of his shirt.

“The last time I came on your shirt. I’m about to come in my pants. Stop,” he rasped when her hand slid under his jeans and wrapped around his cock. “God, you are so sexy. I’ve dreamed of taking you in so many ways.” He moaned and thrust against her palm. “If you don’t let me go, I’m going to fuck you in full view of anyone who comes out the back door.” His growly warning forced her to look up at him. The slit pupils staring back at her showed her how close he straddled the edge of reason.

With regret, she drew back. A drop of come clung to her finger and she licked it, daring him to protest.

His gaze brightened, like orbs of molten silver. “You’re really pushing it, baby. Flat on your back, my cock up that pussy. In about five seconds if you don’t turn away and walk back into the house,” he hissed.

His posture screamed dominance, and she wanted to show her belly and submit. Then turn over onto her hands and knees and present herself for a true mating, lifting her tail in the air and—

Hell, I’m really losing it.
Julia jumped back as common sense returned. She blushed at the harsh look of lust on Ty’s face. “Oh, man. What was I thinking?”

“You weren’t. And neither was I.” Ty swore under his breath and shifted his arousal in his tight jeans. “Go into the house, Julia. Your scent is hell on my control. Tell Jason we need to leave. Pretend you’re sick or something. Then as soon as we get home, we’ll finish this.”

“No.” She took a deep breath for calm. “As soon as we get home, we’re leaving Nowhere. We can shift and run to the nearest town for transportation. You and I are a mistake waiting to happen.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said. You don’t need another notch on your bedpost, Ty,” she said nastily but unable to help it.
Oh God, I sound catty.

“Notch on my what? Don’t tell me you listen to rumors, Julia. You should know that half the stories floating in town are bullshit.” He scoffed.

“Oh? So Katie Heasting? Reggie Ross? Were they lying when they talked about how hot you are between the sheets?”

The dull flush on his cheeks answered for him. She slowly, deliberately walked away.

“Oh, come on, Julia. That was a while ago.”

“Three months is not a while.”

“You’re keeping track?”

She didn’t turn around to see the astonishment she could clearly hear in his voice. Time to find Jason and leave. And time to convince Meghan about the error of her ways.

Ty stared at the end of a fluffy black tail disappearing around a tree before him. Julia had to be one of the fastest silver foxes he’d ever raced. The minute they’d returned to the cabin, she’d excused herself to her room, where she’d loudly locked the door behind her.

Gabby retired as well, and Meghan left them to spend the night with Jason at their cabin a mile away.

Following Julia, Ty increased his speed, no longer caring if she heard him or not. Who the hell did she think she was to deny their connection? Even if his animal spirit hadn’t demanded he finish this dance between them, he refused to ignore the pull of Julia Easton. Everything about her resonated on his level. He loved her seriousness, the subtle twinkle in her eye that told him when she liked something or not.

The dichotomy of her passion with her family and her stoic professionalism at work further intrigued a man who lived to solve puzzles. Julia was one large riddle he couldn’t resist.

Racing after her, he jumped over tree roots, avoided a huge-ass owl after a field mouse and skirted several large rocks. The thrill of the chase added a dangerous element to his pursuit, as the animal in him began to seriously take over.

Running for nearly an hour, he lifted his head and followed her sweet scent. To his delight, he found a hint of musk that identified his little fox’s intense arousal.

Mindless to everything but capturing and mounting his prize, he let his animal lead the way.

He found her panting in a darkened cave illuminated by the haze of moonlight passing through a natural skylight overhead. Bright yellow eyes glowed in the shadows. She growled as he neared, her ears back, her hackles raised. Yet her scent called to him on another level entirely. She made him hunger in a way he never had for any other female.

With a loud bark he jumped her, accepting the bites and scratch marks of a worthy adversary. Never had the prize been so sweet, and he fought for all he was worth as he gradually subdued the smaller but no less fierce vixen.

Unable to stop himself, and finally assured she’d capitulated, he waited for her to ready herself. She nudged him, lifted her tail, and teased that very hungry part of him. With a soft woof and a purr of victory, he let his desire and his animal spirit take charge.

While mating in animal form, they remained tied as he poured himself into her. He’d swear a solid
click
locked into place between him and the stubborn woman who made him complete. As one, they both shifted back to their human forms and then they fell asleep, exhausted from their trek through the forest.

Sometime later under the glow of moonlight, Ty roused and turned to Julia, not surprised to find her awake.

He stared down into bright brown eyes glinting in the dark.

“You okay?” he asked gruffly, embarrassed he’d lost himself to his silver fox.

She nodded but didn’t speak. Her eyes searched his, the intensity in her gaze palpable.

“I’ve never done that before. I mean, the fox, he’s never… Normally I’m in control.” He was making a muck of it. To his relief, she nodded again.

“It’s okay. I was, ah, kind of lost too.”

Ty stroked her soft hair and watched the pleasure reflected in her smile. “You’re so beautiful.” He sighed and leaned down to kiss her, aware the ground had to be cold, rough and generally uncomfortable. Still, his dick hardened to the point of pain when he tasted the ripeness of her lips.

“Um, Ty?” She squirmed under him, bringing his hot shaft in better contact with her slick thighs.

Taking advantage, he grabbed his dick and pushed it between her legs, not penetrating, just caged by her limbs. Her hot moisture stirred him like nothing could.