My Sister Is a Werewolf (14 page)

He rolled over, trying to pull in a breath and get his bearings, but before he could do either, something grabbed him, fingers knotting into the front of his shirt. Then he was bodily lifted from the ground and slammed into the side of the barn. Weathered clapboards dug into his back and shoulder blades.

Still completely unsure what the hell had just happened and who was attacking him, he tried to remain calm. He had to figure out what was going on.

He squinted, trying to see the features of the dark, very strong form that held him. Literally held him off the ground. He dangled in the air like an insect held by a long, steel pin.

Jensen wasn’t a small guy. Six feet tall, a good 180 pounds. Yet, whoever held him didn’t even seem to be straining. Again, he told himself not to panic.

“You said you were going to stay away.”

The voice sounded familiar, but it took a moment to register where he’d heard it before.

It was Elizabeth’s brother. The pale-eyed one. For the first time, he was also aware of another black silhouette a few feet away, pacing as if he was anxiously awaiting his turn.

But before Jensen could reason with the guy, he was lifted away from the wall and pounded against it again, hard.

A groan escaped him. Damn, this guy was strong.

“You—” the brother started again, but his words were halted by a light flicking on behind them, then the front door banging shut.

The brother holding him turned in the direction of the sound. Jensen remained still. His head and back throbbed from where he’d made repeated contact with the side of the barn. Yet he did manage to focus past the pain to see Elizabeth. She stood on the porch, stock-still, as if she couldn’t figure out what she was seeing; then it suddenly seemed to register, and she dashed down the steps.

“Put him down!”

His captor didn’t let go. Jensen struggled again, but he was held fast.

“Christian, what are you doing?”

“We told him to stay away from you.” Christian glared at him, then turned back to his sister. “He didn’t listen.”

“Oh my God,” Elizabeth said. “Am I still fifteen years old and need you two to watch out for me?”

“This guy upset you,” the other brother said. “We aren’t going to let him bother you again.” He stepped toward Jensen, and he tried to steel himself for whatever the other brother intended to do. Not easy when he was winded and hanging in the air.

Elizabeth made a disgusted noise. “Sebastian, don’t. Christian, let him down.”

Christian stared at Jensen, fury clear in his eyes. Then Jensen dropped, barely managing to get his balance as his feet hit the ground. But t
hank
fully, he did manage to keep his footing. It was embarrassing enough that a guy who was about the same size as he was had managed to restrain him so easily. Not just restrain—he’d seriously manhandled him.

Trying not to show his pain, he stepped away from the brother, which put him farther away from Elizabeth. He peered at her in the shadowy light. He couldn’t see her face clearly.

“I want you two to go,” she said, her voice sounding huskier than normal.

“No way,” the brother named Sebastian said. He crossed his arms over his chest and shot Jensen a look that matched Christian’s.

“Elizabeth, just let us make him leave.”

Jensen found his voice. “If she wants me to leave, I will.” He peered at her, willing himself to see her expression. “But Elizabeth,
you
have to tell me to go. Not these guys.”

Christian made a noise low in his throat, and took a step toward Jensen. Jensen didn’t move, but he did brace his body to take another hard hit to the barn wall.

But before Christian could make contact, Elizabeth grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

“No!
Don
’t touch him.”

Christian looked as if he wanted to shake his sister’s hand off and attack.

“Jensen, I do want you to stay.”

“Eliza—” Sebastian started, but Elizabeth turned and glared at him.

“You two need to go. And I need to talk to Jensen by myself.”

Christian and Sebastian looked at each other, then reluctantly stepped away from Jensen. They didn’t leave, but they moved from between their sister and the man that they obviously thought was the spawn of Satan.

“Go on,” she said, like she was shooing away a bothersome pair of vermin.

“Elizabeth,” Sebastian started again, but Elizabeth’s raised hand stopped him.

“I’m a big girl. I can handle this.”

Again the brothers looked at each other, the need to argue clear even on their partially shadowed faces.

“Please,” she added. “Leave us alone.”

Jensen had the feeling that she knew what she was doing. “I can handle myself,” she told them.

“It isn’t you that we’re worried about,” Sebastian stated, and even with the lack of lighting, Jensen could see that he was looking at him like he thought he was a degenerate.

Their reaction seemed a little over the top, given that they knew virtually nothing about him other than that he’d been interested in Elizabeth, and then he’d showed up with another woman. While that had been stupid, it hardly merited being smashed, repeatedly, against the side of a barn.

He fought the urge to rotate his aching shoulder.

“You don’t have to worry about me or him,” she said. Then she added in a flat tone, “Both of you should know, if anyone can handle a situation, it’s me.”

Jensen studied her, trying to decipher what her words and tone meant. She sounded ashamed. Was she ashamed of what had happened between them? Was she ashamed of her behavior? Because he’d be the first to remind her that he’d gone along with everything very, very willingly. In fact, he’d encouraged it.

Of course, saying anything like that in front of her irate brothers was akin to a death wish.

“Go!” she said again, the one word just a fraction of a decibel from a full-fledged yell.

“Elizabeth,” Sebastian said, his tone almost coaxing.

“
Don
’t.
Don
’t do that,” she warned him. Apparently that was a tone he’d used with her before. “I can handle this.”

The brothers hesitated, but then Christian finally nodded. “You call me if you need anything.”

She nodded, not moving, still watching them as if she knew if she turned her back, they might not leave.

They both gave pointed looks at Jensen. Looks that clearly stated he was a dead man if Elizabeth ended up hurt.

He didn’t intend to hurt her.

As soon as they left, speeding away in a silver Porsche that easily cost as much as the bar Christian owned, Jensen took a step toward Elizabeth.

She held up her hand to stop him, just as she’d done with her brothers. Again, he wished that the lights from the porch weren’t behind her. He really wanted to see her face, to see her eyes.

“Jensen, why are you here?”

Chapter 14

“I
had to see you.”

“Why? That blond woman seemed like she was nice. She—she suited you.”

“She is nice,” he agreed. He didn’t agree that she suited him, however. Once he would have agreed that she was his type. Now he realized his type had changed.

He waited for Elizabeth to say something more, but she only stared at him, remaining still in a way that was unnerving.

“Then I think you should go back to her. She would be good for you. A nice woman is what you need and deserve.”

“Well,” Jensen took a step closer, keeping his movements slow and steady as if he were approaching a skittish animal, “I know another nice woman. And I’d really rather be with her.”

Again she stared at him, but this time he didn’t need to see her features to know what her expression was—disbelieving.

She spun and headed toward the house, her long legs moving her in a near trot across the grass.

“Just go, too, Jensen,” she called over her shoulder, not slowing her pace to see what he was doing. “You shouldn’t have come.”

He hurried after her, not catching up until she was on the steps to the porch. He snagged her arm, tugged her to a halt. Still she didn’t turn to look at him.

“Elizabeth,” he said softly. “You know as well as I do, we seem powerless to stay apart.”

She stared down at the worn boards making up the porch stairs.

“Please,” her voice sounded huskier than usual. Tired. “I asked you to go away.”

“I can’t,” he said simply. “I just—can’t.”

She remained still, not struggling against his hold, but not turning to him. Not letting him in.

“Elizabeth. Just tell me why you don’t want to give us a chance.”

She lifted her head then, and pulled in a deep breath. Slowly, she turned toward him. The light was still behind her, casting her features in shadow, but he could see her. He could see her beautiful moonstone eyes, her lush lips. And he could see she’d been crying. Redness rimmed her eyes, making her thick lashes more pronounced. The sight made him feel like more of a cad. More selfish.

“Elizabeth,” he said softly, stroking his thumb up and down the soft skin of her wrist. “I didn’t mean to hurt you tonight.”

Her eyes held his, and he could see emotions warring there.

“You should just go,” she said again.

He didn’t release her, he just continued to stroke her skin as if she were an agitated animal. She didn’t pull away.

“I’m not that nice girl,” she told him.

“I think you are.”

“How can you possibly think that after the way I’ve acted around you? The ways I—I pursued you.”

He smiled at that. “I found your pursuit particularly nice.”

Her gaze left his, dropping to the ground, and he knew she was blushing, even though the damned light wouldn’t allow him to see it.

He still held her wrist, but with his other hand he touched her hair, brushing back the short tendrils that clung to her temple.

“Elizabeth, I realize we don’t know much about each other, aside from this strong attraction. But I do know I want the opportunity to find out more about you. Everything, if you let me.”

She started to shake her head, but he cut off her motion by stating sharply, “If you decide that I’m not a person you could be interested in, then the next time you tell me to go away, I will. I will leave you alone forever. But I really think we have something here that we should check out.”

She didn’t respond immediately, and he could tell she was weighing the idea.

“Jensen, I’m not the right kind of girl for you.”

She’d said that more than once, and for a moment, he wondered if she somehow knew about Katie. Except she didn’t know anyone he knew. She couldn’t know about his deceased fiancée.

“I’d like to be the one who makes that decision,” he informed her, then gave her a little smile.

Her gaze dropped to his lips just briefly, then snapped back to his eyes.

“I think you should just trust me on this. It will save you a lot of time.”

His smile widened at her glum tone, but more than that, he smiled because he realized he was wearing her down. She wasn’t saying, no, outright.

“Come on. We can date.”

She lifted an eyebrow at that suggestion. “Can you go to dating after the things we’ve already done?”

“Absolutely. And we won’t do those particular things again until we decide we actually do like each other.”

Elizabeth glanced down, staring at the ground but not really seeing it. She had a hard time looking at Jensen, both because of her own embarrassment, and the fact that she found his smile so appealing.

“You have to admit it’s a rather backward way to start a relationship.”

He shrugged. “Well, I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way. I just want the opportunity to get to know you.”

She wanted that, too. She wanted to know him. But she wasn’t sure he could ever know everything about her. Mina’s words rang in her head. She couldn’t control this. It was too powerful. And maybe he would understand.

She looked up at him, and again she was so tempted to just say, yes, she would date him. She’d do anything just to spend more time with him. And not have to see him with that other woman ever again.

But reality held her back. She could have him for a while. But she couldn’t ever offer him anything long-term or permanent. Hiding the fact that she turned into a wolf once a month was feasible with a casual relationship, but she’d never be able to be with him as a wife or even live with him.

Not that she could be his wife, anyway. She was mated to another—that was the fact, even if she wished it wasn’t so. And that wasn’t fair to Jensen, either.

Still she gazed at him, seeing the hope in his green eyes. Seeing that adorable tilt to his lips, and she felt her own lips moving before she even realized what she intended to say.

“Okay.”

Jensen’s smile faded, and he narrowed a probing look at her. “Okay?”

What was she doing? She couldn’t tell him that she would date him. The whole idea was ludicrous.

“Yes. Okay.” Who the heck had control of her mouth and her brain?

Jensen rocked back on his heels and looked for all the world like he’d won the lottery. Which he had, if the lottery winnings were a female werewolf with a mate. That was more like a booby prize, really.

Still he grinned at her, and she was lost. Lost and suddenly excited that she’d agreed to see him. Even though she knew it was doomed. What was wrong with her?

“So I think we should start tonight.”

His words managed to pull her out of her confused thoughts. “Tonight?”

“Yes, I want to go back to your brother’s bar.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea. My brothers aren’t exactly fond of you at the moment.”

Jensen rotated his shoulders slowly and stretched his back. “Yes, I noted that.”

She frowned, immediately moving to his side, placing her hands on his shoulders to shift him around. He allowed her to, and stood still as she untucked his shirt, peeling it upward.

She gasped as she saw his back. The skin was already mottled with red and purplish bruises.

“Oh my God, Jensen,” she whispered, heartbroken that he’d been hurt. Hurt over her at the hands of her brothers.

“I’m so sorry.” She trailed her fingers lightly over the marks as if her touch could erase them.

After a few moments, Jensen stepped away from her, then cleared his throat. “I think maybe you should stop that, if we plan to have our first official date.”

She frowned, confused at first by his meaning. Had her touch caused him enough pain that he’d have to leave? Did he need medical attention?

Then she saw the way his eyes had darkened to a deep pine green, hooded and intense.

“Oh,” she managed to say, even as a surge of reaction coursed through her.

“Let’s go to the bar.”

She tried to push away the longing growing inside her and focus on his words. Words that made no more sense.

“The bar? Leo’s? I don’t think that’s a good idea. You really are hurt—maybe you should just go home and rest.”

When he looked unimpressed with that idea, she added, “I will see you tomorrow.”

He smiled, her promise seeming to appease him a little.

“No. I want to go to the bar. I feel fine.”

She raised a dubious eyebrow.

“Okay, I’m a little sore,” he admitted. “But I don’t want to leave you yet. I think I definitely earned some time with you.” He rolled his eyes to the side to indicate the beating his back had taken for her.

“Then come inside.” She walked up the steps and waited on the porch proper for him to follow. He glanced at the house, a definite expression of longing on his face, then he shook his head.

“Nope. Come to the bar.”

She frowned. “Why? Why would you want to go anywhere near my brothers? I know I don’t want to see them for a long while.”

“Because the bar is where we first met. And I want it to be where we meet again—this time on a real date.”

She paused, touched by what he was saying.

“Plus, I should have been with you there tonight. So I want to start the night again.”

God, he was sweet.

But instead of telling him that, she glanced at her watch. “It’s nearly midnight. Isn’t that rather late for a date, anyway?”

“The bar stays open until three. Not a long date, but it’s a start.”

She shook her head at his persistence. Then she laughed. “I guess it’s time we did something slow.”

“Oh, we’ll do plenty of stuff slow.” Then he grimaced. “That probably wasn’t an appropriate comment for a first date, was it?”

“That’s okay.” Elizabeth had to admit, it was hard to take things slow. Not when she already knew what he felt like against her and inside her.

“Come on, let’s go back to the bar and start this all over again.”

Damn, he was so appealing—and damn, didn’t she want to say yes?

She nodded, then touched her face, running her fingers underneath her eyes. “I hardly look ready for a first date.” She gestured to her black yoga pants and gray sweatshirt.

He stepped forward, touching her cheek. “I think you look beautiful.”

She laughed. “Hardly.”

He studied her for a moment, then gestured to his truck. “We’d better get going. I hear there is a great band playing at Leo’s tonight.”

His response caught her off guard, and she laughed. “Yes, I’ve heard the same thing.”

He held out his hand and she accepted, loving the feeling of his broad palm against her smaller one and the way his fingers curled around hers.

He led her to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door for her. She remembered him doing that the first night. He’d been a gentleman then, while she’d been more like a wild animal. The memory caused her to hesitate, a blush burning her cheeks. That behavior now seemed so over the top, so not like her.

“Are you okay?” he asked when she just stared into the cab of the truck, not making a move to get inside.

She nodded and untangled her fingers from his to brace her hand on the door and lift herself in. Jensen’s hand moved to her elbow, helping her. He hadn’t done that the first night. In fact, she’d been the one who first touched him. His lips.

She cast a sidelong glance at him. His mouth was still the most beautiful she’d ever seen.

He hesitated as if he was going to say something, then he closed the door.

He rounded the front of the vehicle and opened his door. He didn’t speak as he got inside and turned the ignition.

Elizabeth tried to focus on the road, on the sound of the engine, on her own breathing, but all she could remember was what they had done in this truck. On this very seat. The steam on the windows, the hitched sounds of their breathing, the way he smelled, like woods and sex. The way he’d felt deep inside her, her legs straddling him as he pulled her down against him, groin to groin.

She realized that he’d pulled out of her road onto the one leading to the bar, before he spoke.

“This is harder than I thought.”

“What?”

“Pretending this is our first date.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

“I really kind of liked our first date,” he said, slanting her that adorable, cocky grin.

Elizabeth felt herself blush. “I don’t think that constituted a date.”

“Oh, I do,” Jensen said adamantly.

“I’m really not like that,” she felt the need to reiterate.

“I do know that. Frankly, I choose to be flattered.”

She paused at that, then cast him a small smile. “Well, I guess you should be.”

He smiled back. “Well, I am.”

They both still sported a smile as they turned into the gravel parking lot of Leo’s Karaoke Tavern and Saloon.