Instinctive (23 page)

“And I’ve always believed in you, honey,” her father said, and for the first time in her life, Jaclyn actually heard genuine pride in his voice.

Jaclyn pressed the phone to her ear harder and fought the prick of tears. Her emotions were in such turmoil lately that she felt like she was on a roller-coaster ride and the only way off was to jump.

“Oh, Jaclyn, before I forget, I wanted to mention that Caroline’s daughter, Katherine, is marrying a nice young doctor. The wedding is in September. I’m sure you’ll be getting an invitation any day now.”

“Super. Can’t wait.” Sometimes it took real effort keeping the sarcasm from her voice.

After giving her time to absorb and digest that bit of information, her mother went on. “We’re going to take a drive down to see our new home, so we thought we’d stop in to see you before we headed south.”

Jaclyn increased her grip on her phone. “That’s probably not such a great idea,” she rushed out, her alarm obvious in her tone. She tried to soften her outburst and began backpedaling. “It’s . . . a . . . It’s just that I’m so busy and still trying to get settled in, and I’m just getting over the flu, and I have all these allergies.” She coughed for effect but in her jittery state ended up hitting her coffee cup. As the hot liquid poured over her table, the commotion drew the attention of those around her. She spotted Harmony’s violet eyes trained on her, gauging her carefully. Jaclyn jumped to her feet and tossed napkins on her spill. Lily came back with a cloth and Jaclyn smiled at her in appreciation.

“Are you okay, dear?” her mom queried, which brought her attention back to the crisis at hand.

Her body tensed while she scooped up her purse and made her way out into the sunshine. She sagged against the brick building and ran her hand along the back of her neck to loosen the knot. She tried to keep her voice level as she addressed the worry
in her mother’s voice. “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Just busy. You guys go on ahead to Florida and we’ll catch up when you get back. Have fun. Don’t worry about me. I have everything under control here,” she lied.

After a moment of silence, her mother spoke. “Is it because of a man, Jaclyn?” she asked. Jaclyn didn’t miss the underlying hope in her voice. “Have you found yourself a nice boy in Serene?”

Jaclyn shaded the sun from her eyes and glanced down the street in time to see Slyck making his way back to Vibes. Her pulse kicked up a notch at the mere sight of him, and need gathered in her belly. Even from her distance she could smell his warm, earthy, masculine scent as it perfumed the air. She worked to regulate her breathing and fisted her fingers as the compulsion to scurry across the street and pounce on him whipped through her blood. When their eyes briefly met and held in a lingering look, she locked her knees to keep upright. Slyck turned away and she took in his profile. It was then that she noticed the deep, fine lines fringing his eyes, and the worry shadows darkening his skin. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in a week. Her heart tightened in her chest when he pulled open the door to Vibes and disappeared inside.

“Jaclyn,” her mother said again, bringing her thoughts back around. “Is he a nice boy?”

Oh, yeah, Slyck was a nice boy.

A bad boy.

A panther boy.

All of the above. Oy!

She glanced at her sexy attire and her cute new belly ring.
Now was certainly not the time for her parents to visit, not when she was trying to convince the locals she was a libidinous lycan-in-the-making. She took a moment to consider her best approach, one that would keep her mother away.

She drew a deep breath and, focused on keeping the emotion out of her voice, calmly said, “Yes, Mom, I do have a new man. And if my parents showed up wanting to meet him, it just might scare him off. So it’s best to just let me take things slowly, and you’ll meet him when the time is right.” Jaclyn’s blood suddenly thickened, fearing that such a time would never come, because they just might not make it out of Serene alive.

Her answer seemed to appease her parents for the time being. “All right, dear, we won’t come. You take care of yourself now, and take extra care of that new boy. Make sure you make him a nice pot roast.” Jaclyn bit back a laugh. Her mother really was old school, she mused.

“And keep up the good work,” her father added, before they both hung up.

Jaclyn let out a slow breath and shoved her phone back into her handbag. With that major crisis averted, she headed back to the department store, and prayed her mother would keep her word.

 

In his small private office at the back of Vibes, Slyck unlocked his safe, and pulled out Jaclyn’s father’s file, heavyhearted and saddened that Jaclyn hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know him. But, unfortunately, and as much as it pained him sometimes, such was the way of their society. He carefully placed the file onto his
desk and moved across the room. As he stretched out on his sofa, his thoughts raced to Jaclyn and the night she’d first presented him with her panther in this very room. The animal in him roared to life, aching to mate with her again and again until the two were left sated, drained. Christ knows, a week out of her bed was a week too long.

He glanced up at the near-full moon before he surged from his cushiony seat. He stepped out into the hall, walked past the washrooms, and made his way out to the front counter. As he went to work preparing for the late-night rush, Drake sidled up to the bar and ordered a beer.

“Hey, Slyck. Look what the cat dragged in.” He jerked his head toward Jaclyn and Sunray as they moved sensuously on the dance floor, grinding against each other as if they were very familiar with each other sexually. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s turning lycan.”

Slyck lowered his voice and took in Jaclyn’s new look. “Then maybe we should leave it at that.”

“Too late,” Drake countered and took a long pull from the bottle. “Because I already know better.”

Slyck glanced around, ensuring their privacy before leaning forward on the counter. He planted his elbows on the hard oaken tabletop and murmured in a low voice meant for Drake’s ears only, “Vall only
thinks
he’s marked her.”

After taking note of the patrons, Drake lowered his voice to match Slyck’s. “And it looks like she’s got him fooled.” He made a slight, inconspicuous gesture with his head. They both took in Vall’s lecherous glare as he watched the two women gyrate against
each other. “For now, anyway. One false move and he’ll kill her, you know.”

Slyck fisted his hands and clenched down on his teeth. “I know.”

“And just exactly how is it she’s going to fool him when the moon is full in three nights from now?”

“She won’t have to.”

“No?” Drake shot him a dubious look. “Want to enlighten me?”

The less knowledge Drake had about the situation, the better, but at this point Slyck suspected that he had no choice but to fill Drake in, because in the end, he just might need his help. “I’m going to get her out of here.”

“And you don’t think that will raise suspicion?”

“Not if it’s done right.”

Drake shook his head and looked down at his beer, as if the amber liquid held all the answers in the universe. “Slyck, I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing.”

“And I sure as hell hope you can handle my position when I’m gone.”

Drake’s head came up with a start. “I can,” he assured Slyck, then in a lower voice asked, “So you’re leaving then?”

“I’ve come to the conclusion that I have no alternative.” Over the last week he’d spent many restless nights sorting through his options and coming up with only one. It was a difficult choice, yes, but he’d come to terms with it.

“You don’t look as confident and secure in your decision as you make it sound.”

Truthfully, turning his back on his brethren wasn’t an easy choice to make by any means, but it was a necessary one, and now that Drake had learned to control his beast and fight using logic, he felt he was leaving his family in good hands. Drake would now be able to help guide the youngsters and hand down knowledge and skill.

Slyck spoke quietly. “I need to be with my mate. She can’t stay here, and she won’t survive unless I leave with her. Plus I’ve been making mistakes, slipping up. The fact that Jaclyn is here proves that fact. Stepping down is best for the community.”

“So how do you plan on doing it, Slyck?” Drake’s bottle hit the bar with a thud. “How the hell are you going to get through the gates with her?”

Slyck let out a long, slow breath. “As you know, sometimes humans don’t survive the first change. It’s rare, but it happens. Jaclyn isn’t going to survive a wolf transformation, or at least that’s what the good people of Serene are going to believe.”

“He’s not going to let her out of his sight, and he’ll want to run with her that first night.”

“That’s why we solicited Sunray’s help. She’s in charge of Jaclyn until she shifts. Then and only then is she required to bring her to the den and hand her over to Vall for their first run. Vall plans to initiate her into the pack and make her submit to him come morning, after her first change, but we’ll get her out before that happens.”

“He’ll want to see the body. When he doesn’t find one, and you go missing, he’ll know.”

“The man is all about pride and power, Drake. You know
that.” Slyck’s voice hardened. “And he’ll also never admit to anyone that his lycan ran off with a ‘kitten,’ now, will he?”

“He’ll want to hunt you.”

“And you’re strong enough to stop him.” Slyck shot him a challenging look, his eyes questioning. “Strong enough to take over where I left off, and keep the brethren running smoothly.”

Drake nodded his understanding and then took another swig. “And how are we going to account for your disappearance?”

Slyck turned to see two female lycans sidle up to their alpha. A moment later, Vall slipped his hands around their bodies, guided them to the door, and disappeared into the night with them. The closer they got to the shift, the more libidinous they became.

“I’m an old man. No one can dispute that,” Slyck answered. “Tired of fighting the good fight, my friend.” He glanced around his nightclub with longing, taking it all in one last time. “Imagine if I accidentally forgot to lock up shop and got attacked by a lycan who just happened to wander in, drawn by the scent of fresh blood. There goes my last life.”

Expression troubled, Drake said, “But you have two lives left.”

“And only you and I know that.”

“No one will believe you were so careless.”

“You’ll make them believe it.”

Drake curled his fingers around his bottle. His muscles bunched. “It’s fucking risky, Slyck. What if something goes wrong?”

Slyck let out a slow breath. “Then I’m fucked, Drake. Totally and utterly fucked. But if I don’t try, I’m still fucked. Hell, we’re all fucked.”

There was a resigned sigh and Drake’s gaze drifted to the dance floor. “Speaking of getting fucked . . .”

Slyck followed Drake’s gaze and watched Jaclyn brush against Sunray beneath the colorful strobe lights, their barely dressed bodies moving in sync, sensuously and erotically, the way two lovers would move between the sheets. His glance strayed lower. His slow perusal paused briefly on her belly button. He took in her sexy new belly ring and with heated interest watched the way it glistened under the dance floor lights, calling out to him like a beacon in the night. God, what he’d do to taste that sweet crevice. He brushed the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip with longing.

When his glance moved back to her face, he saw the sparkle in her gaze and the raw desire in the depths of her eyes. In that instant he knew her sexy little performance was meant for him and him alone. As his gaze skated over her a second time, his cock thickened inside his jeans, his fingers itched, and the beast inside him roared to life. It was all he could do to stop himself from crossing that room, gathering her into his arms, and fucking her in primal form.

 

If Jaclyn couldn’t physically be with Slyck, the least she could do was give him something to think about tonight—something to help warm his blood and fuel his memories while he slept alone. As her body swayed against Sunray’s, she visualized Slyck sprawled out on his mattress, his thick hands wrapped around his beautiful cock, masturbating as he thought about her. Her entire body shook. God, if she kept that up, she’d melt to the floor in a puddle of want.

With Vall gone from the club, she could now intimately connect with Slyck, even if it had to be from across the dance floor.

She brushed up against Sunray again and ran her hands over her own body, coming perilously close to her nipples and her passion-drenched pussy. As the dance floor got crowded, she moved to the side, to give him an unobstructed view of her actions. Slyck’s dark, hungry gaze brushed over her, and she could see pure torment on his face. Jaclyn could relate, because she needed him as badly as he needed her. His eyes tracked her every movement before he turned to talk with Drake. After the two exchanged a few words, Drake replaced Slyck behind the bar, while Slyck disappeared down the hall and into his private office.

Fire burned deep in her thighs, and her body broke into a sweat as she watched him go. As she ached with need, her lascivious mind raced with wicked ideas. With Vall gone, and everyone in the club seemingly preoccupied, Jaclyn turned to Sunray and put her mouth close to her ear. “I’m thirsty. Let’s go get a drink.”

Sunray eyed her, reading her intent. Blond hair flew to the side as she cocked her head in warning. With her fists planted on her hips, she said, “It’s too risky.”

Jaclyn gathered her hands in a ball and placed them on her stomach. “I need . . . ,” was all she said.

After a long moment, Sunray conceded. “Okay, make it quick. I can only cover for you for so long.”

Jaclyn gathered Sunray’s hand in hers, and warmth moved through her when she saw tender concern and genuine affection in her friend’s eyes. “What would I do without you?”