SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (265 page)

“I think you do know.” Sherri took a chance and edged closer. “You seem awfully unhappy about something. I wonder if maybe you know what they’re doing, and you know it’s not right. I mean we’re both women here, huh? Think about if you were the one in this situation. How would you feel?”

The woman rested her head against the door but didn’t answer.

Sherri touched one hand to the woman’s arm. “My name’s Sherri by the way. You know, I was taking some time off to recharge before starting a new job when that Jojo guy grabbed me. All I wanted to do that night was to go back to my hotel room, get some Advil for my headache, and get some sleep. I’d kind of like my life back, you know? I’d bet that other young woman wants the same thing.”

All at once, the other woman’s eyes flashed. With a jerk of her arm, she pulled away and pulled the knob on the bathroom door. “Jojo is my mate.”

Oh. Shit. Well, talk about a miscalculation. “I’m sure he’s a wonderful mate, I’m only saying—”

“It’s time to go.”

Right. Probably best to shut the hell up at that point, especially since the door opened to the sight of Jojo pointing at Ash with a revolver. Jojo’s face displayed a swollen nose and a maniacal grin. Ash looked like he might try to go for the throat again.

Jojo smacked his lips at the sight of both of them emerging from the bathroom. “Well, well. You ladies do some nice female bonding in there? Don’t get too cozy. We have us a trip to take shortly.” The gun waved back and forth as he spoke, and a quiet threat rumbled from Ash’s throat.

Sherri put her arms around Ash, trying to make a good show of affection for the peanut gallery. She nuzzled against his ear, nipping his jaw and earlobe the way he had before with her. “He’s trying to piss you off, and it’s working. Let’s just get through this.”

Ash clenched his fingers around her waist, but some of the tension flowed out of his shoulders.

Until Jojo spoke again. “I guess you’re the kind who takes orders from your bitch. So sad, Asher.”

Ash snapped his teeth.

Okay, now even Sherri wanted to kill him. This guy was one piece of work. She glanced over to the woman who’d escorted her to the bathroom, but her eyes cast down to the floor. Poor thing. Sherri couldn’t fathom having a mate like Jojo.

The big man, Ash’s father, approached with a tall woman on his arm. “Everyone’s waiting. Time to start.”

Jojo pulled his downtrodden mate by the arm. “Come on, Zoe, time to take our place among the well-wishers.”

Sherri and Ash took their assigned positions at the front. Everyone settled around them on either side, some in wolf form and some not. Ash’s father stood before them, holding an ancient-looking tome that definitely was not a Bible. Sherri stood beside Ash, her stomach rolling like she’d eaten something she shouldn’t have.

She tried to get a read on the room, to pick out anyone who looked threatening. Frankly, the entire room looked threatening. She continued to sweep visually, but returned to Jojo each time. The deep, droning words of Ash’s father went in one ear and out the other. For all she knew, she’d just agreed to give Ash her kidney and her left arm. The mortgage to her DC condo. Dammit, he could have it all if they got out of this in one piece.

“And now…” Ramon’s voice rose to a louder volume. “Before we move to the blood rite, we ask the great Mother and Father to bless this union. Does anybody in this pack have any words of wisdom for the about-to-be mated pair?”

“Yeah, I got some words.” They all turned to see Jojo step forward with his gun aimed at Ash.

“Motherfucker.” Ash shoved Sherri to the floor.

As she went down, across the way so did… Zoe? Jojo’s quiet mate took a sudden tumble and knocked into Jojo, sending his shot wild. Above Sherri, Ash groaned through clenched teeth and slumped on top of her.

“Are you okay?” She tried to feel to find out, but her hand came away with blood.

* * *

Ash’s arm burned. He gritted his teeth at the prodding of Zoe’s tweezers. “Jesus, woman. Are you trying to take the thing out or shove it up in there so I can save it for later?”

Tiny, uncomfortable tears colored by overdone makeup ran down Zoe’s cheeks. “Sorry. It’s in the fleshy part though, this should be easy.”

“Easy my ass.” He put his head back and followed the sound of Sherri’s pacing. “Hey. You all right? I landed on you pretty hard.”

She came over and sat by the head of the bed. Her now-familiar scent coiled inside Ash’s nostrils and eased over his nerves and muscles. “I’m not the one who got shot,” she said.

He took her hand in his good one, letting his eyes caress her creamy skin. “This wasn’t the vacation you had planned. I can’t apologize enough.”

Zoe’s quiet sniffle prompted them both to look up.

“Zoe, I know it’s an emotional time for everyone, but I need your head in the game,” Ash murmured.

“I know. I’ve got it. One sec…”

Ash held back a roar. Sherri’s hand was already in his, so he went ahead and squeezed. “Fuck.”

“There.” Zoe dropped something on a towel. “Let me clean it and put on a bandage.”

Ash let his head fall against the warmth of Sherri’s leg. Allowing her to cradle his head, the comfort made him sigh.

“Zoe.” Sherri put her hand over Jojo’s mate’s while she cleaned up her supplies. “You fell on purpose, right? You were trying to help—”

“Don’t—” Zoe snapped and pulled her hand away. Tears and God knew what else darkened her shirtsleeve. “I had on new shoes. You know how stilettos can be.”

Shit, had she bumped Jojo on purpose? Ash hadn’t considered the thought. He figured she was in here patching him up because his father had insisted. Going against her mate like that—especially against one crazier than a lobotomized squirrel—fuck. “Zoe…”

Zoe tucked her hair behind her ears and rushed to pack her things in an old makeup case she’d apparently cleaned out for medical supplies. She slid a foil packed over to Ash. “Put some of this on it to speed the healing.” She glanced up with a tired smile. “You always did bounce back fast. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

Sherri ducked and scooted forward, approaching Zoe like one would a frightened child. “Zoe, remember when I said I’m supposed to start a new job soon? If anything happens to me tonight, people will worry. I’d be so grateful if I could make a phone call to let them know I’m safe.”

Zoe’s face flashed a million different emotions. “You’re not safe.”

“I know.” She took each of Zoe’s hands in each of hers. “I still have to try.”

Ash could hear every thump of his heart echo in-between his ears while he lay there with his head raised. The two women held hands and stared each other down, neither sure if it was safe to trust. Ash wasn’t sure himself. He’d grown up never trusting a soul except Jett.

In such a short time, he thought he might be getting there with Sherri. Was that a good thing? He hoped so.

Sherri’s hand squeezed Zoe’s. “What if your own daughter was taken?”

Ash closed his eyes. He’d never had kids. Never considered having any. Still, the question brought about a vivid mental picture even he couldn’t argue.

The door clicked. When Ash looked up, Sherri held a cell phone in her fist. He couldn’t believe she’d pulled it off.

“Is anybody at the door?”

Ash made his way over, moving slowly through the throbbing in his arm. “You’re good to go. Stand on the far wall to be safe. I hope you can trust this new supervisor of yours.”

“He’s based out of Phoenix. I’m sure he’s dealt with your kind, Ash.”

“Okay. Make it fast.”

Sherri nodded and dialed. “Agent Fowler. This is Agent Walker, from the DC office. I have some important information for you…”

Wild Nights with a Lone Wolf: Chapter Twelve

“So where did your kind come from? Some of the information they provided in training sounded more like speculation than fact.” The lack of food and sleep had worn Sherri down too much to stand, but neither of them could sleep. The door guards returned, giving the impression “go time” would be soon. Tension buzzed in the air.

She lay next to Ash on the bed, curled sideways so he had room to be comfortable with his injured arm. They murmured softly like two kids at a slumber party, like lovers sharing fantasies, both knowing in the back of their minds that there might be no tomorrow.

Ash “hmm-ed.” “It’s one of the great mysteries. Bedtime stories I heard as a pup have us coming from the powerful mating of a wolf and a Chupacabra under the light of a full moon.” He chuckled. “Chupacabra is a monster made up to scare children.” He moved to get comfortable, offering a grin. “Others believe we simply evolved from ancient dire wolves, or from the same wolves every dog from a Great Dane to a tiny Chihuahua did.”

Sherri traced a finger over the furrow in his brow and the dent over his proud nose. His full lips had lost some of their color, probably from the pain, and pulled thinner than when he’d kissed her like the world might end. “That doesn’t make sense. You seem so human,” she murmured.

“That’s not always a compliment to some of us.” He smiled when he answered, so she wasn’t sure if she’d insulted him or not.

“I’m… sorry?”

“I’m not. I told you my mother was human. I can still shift. My father’s blood is strong. Still, I think there’s a reason I couldn’t tolerate the baser aspects of pack mentality.”

Sherri touched her forehead to his. “You’re a good guy.”

“Not that good.”

She chuckled. “So where do you think you came from? You sure don’t seem like those cursed monsters I’ve seen in horror movies.”

“I think something weird happened in evolution. Somehow wolves and humans crossed, though I hate to think how. Maybe there was some strange magic involved. We have oral history and other evidence of our kind going back centuries, but our numbers are few so it’s gotta be some sort of fluke.”

She laughed again. “So that’s your theory? That you’re a fluke?”

“That’s right.” He gave a sleepy smile. “I’m a fluke of nature.”

“It’s biological, though? You can’t turn people into wolves like in the movies?”

“Legend says some humans can be turned at the right time by a strong enough
were
, but I’ve never seen it happen. More bedtime stories. Or more flukes.”

Sherri shook her head. Pushing up on her elbows, she faced him with dead seriousness. “You’re not a fluke.”

“No?”

She nuzzled her nose against his. “You know, for two years I dated a man who, as far as I could tell had led a charmed life. Middle class parents, braces, top of his class in college. Came through the academy with honors, had a good job with the bureau. Then he threw it all away because a hot piece of ass with a sexy Russian accent offered him a lot of money and a chalet in Switzerland.”

Ash made a disgusted noise in his throat. “Fucker.”

“Be that as it may…” Her hand helped to prop her chin on his chest. “I’ve known you for so much less time, and yet I’ve seen how you grew up. I’ve seen how honorable you are in spite of that history. You could have easily written me off as not your circus, not your monkeys, but you came here and got shot trying to get me out of here.”

Ash held up a finger. “Let’s remember that getting shot wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Why do you insist on downplaying your chivalry?”

“Nobody has accused me of chivalry before. It’s uncomfortable.”

She snorted a soft laugh. “It’s not a misdemeanor. It’s a nice thing.”

“Again. Around here, it wouldn’t be considered so.”

“Hey.” She went to slap him. Not hard, not a real slap. One of those
oh, give me a break
kinds of slaps, but he caught her arm.

“Hey yourself.” He lifted an eyebrow. “You know, in pack culture, there are severe repercussions for physically harming your bond mate.”

She mimicked his expression. Maybe, possibly, in a little bit of a teasing way. She put her lips to his ear to whisper, “You got shot before they finished the ceremony. I can do anything I want.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Ash conceded, but held firm to her wrist.

Strange that she should be the littlest bit disappointed by the fact. The ceremony wouldn’t have meant a thing, even if they had finished, and why would she care either way? Two years with Ryan, and it had been sort of an inevitable assumption that some day they would marry. It had been for everyone except Ryan, at least.

Certainly she wouldn’t, shouldn’t be ready to go down that road again soon. But standing in front of that pack with Ash had been like preparing to rappel off a cliff. Scary, but steal-your-breath-excited-scary. She shook away from her forbidden fantasy and sat herself up. “Yes. I’m definitely right. You see?”

“Hmm. Yes.” His hand slipped to her waist… her ass. He gripped hard, squeezing until it almost but didn’t quite hurt. “We
had
already said the part about obeying.”

Why on earth did that make her pulse speed up? “Had we? I have to tell you, I was a little stressed. I hardly heard a thing that was said.”

His fingers slipped under the edge of her blouse. “You’re in law enforcement, Sherri. You know as well as I do that failure to pay attention to the rules does not give you leave to break them.”

“Oh.” She coughed a laugh. “You’re really going there?”

“Really.” The wolf grin made its return. “Jett spouted that one at me when he wrote me up for doing seventy in a forty.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah. Real nice.” He pulled on the back of her neck and she let him. His kiss tasted hungrier, hotter than before.

It had to be adrenaline. Nerves. They were in danger. Ash had been shot. God knew what would happen next. Was she making up for lost time? Was she one of those followers, like the drooling, human “pack groupies” Ash had mentioned?

Sherri pushed away all the questions and kissed Ash like they might never kiss again. Soon they’d be surrounded by guys with guns and God knew what else. Tomorrow was a black hole. Right now was Ash’s skin against hers, his heart hammering like he shared her urgency. At that moment, she’d take whatever he had to give.

She let him drag her into his lap. His open palm came down on her ass. The sensation was only a mild sting, but the dull crack lit up every muscle fiber. Every nerve tingled. Her clit throbbed. “I can’t believe you did that.”
I can’t believe I want you to do it again.