Wild Nights with a Lone Wolf (3 page)

Again, his teeth bit into her shoulder. Harder this time. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to make Sherri’s nerve endings dance like puppets. Puppets for which Ash held the strings.

He thrust a hand into her hair and pulled her head back. She considered resisting. No man had been so pushy in bed, and it made her breath stop in her throat. But he’d said he wouldn’t hurt her. The mix of aggression and coiled restraint rippled in his muscles, even as his tongue made a trail up her neck.

She didn’t want to resist.

His nose followed, sniffing greedily at her throat. “Jesus, the way you smell. You must have men dying to fuck you. You’ve got me ready to come from the pheromones rising off your skin. Well tonight, Sherri, you’re mine.”

You’re mine.

Thump- thumpthumpthumpthump.

“Oh, God.” Nobody had said anything like that to her before. All of this was so new. Off-the-charts-seeing-colors-for-the-first-time amazing brand new.

She’d been watching him move. Following the artful undulation of his muscles and the places where their bodies joined. She lifted her gaze at his ominous utterance of
you’re mine.
A quiet, guttural growl that should have sounded all possessive and freaky coming from a near stranger. Instead, it hit her straight in the orgasm button.

Sherri tightened her thighs and dropped her head back. Her breasts brushed his hard pecs, her chin swiped against all that gorgeous stubble. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, gasping her way towards her gathering release. “Oh, God. Yes.”

“No.” Ash grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. His amber eyes glowed like that glass of scotch had when she’d swirled her drink and decided to do something so completely out of character. “You look in my eyes when you come,” he demanded.

“Yes...” His stare held her captive as shockwaves wracked her body. She felt floaty, intense, and utterly amazing. Then, his lips descended on hers

He thrust up again, growling and raking his nails down her back as he roared his release. The scratch didn’t seem sharp enough to scrape her flesh. As he breathed with his forehead against hers, she wondered why the thought that he hadn’t marked her was disappointing.

Not a good road to go down. There was walking on the wild side, and there was buying land there and putting up a summer home.

His hand slapped down on the bed. “God damn. That was fucking great.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She didn’t have the words. Really didn’t.

Ash kissed her, and as her sex high and alcohol buzz faded, Sherri was left heavy with exhaustion and wondered how to politely ask him if he’d be willing to let her get some sleep. The terrible past few months, her arduous flight, the overwhelming feeling of what they’d done and how much she enjoyed it, all threatened to drag her beneath their weight.

It’s been real? I have to get up for an early appointment? It’s not you it’s me? I like you and all, but if anyone finds out I slept with you, my job could be in jeopardy, and I’ve already got a really huge strike?

Maybe not the last one.

The too bad part was she
did
like him. She could see wanting to get to know him better under different circumstances. The conditions were simply too dicey, even if he was no longer affiliated with a pack. Besides, in a couple of weeks she’d be in Phoenix, which was too far to drive for someone she hardly knew. No matter how good their night together had been. Even if she probably wouldn’t feel her legs for a week.

Ash ended up making it easy. She hit the bathroom and came back to find him dressed and pulling on his boots. “Hey, that was really amazing.” He grabbed his jacket and came over to kiss her again. He did that neck and hair nuzzling thing once more, but offered no further affection. Or information. “Listen, I’m sorry to run out, but I’ve got a restaurant up the road. I gotta go help close.”

She nodded. “Sure. Yeah. It was great...”
Stepping entirely out of my comfort zone? Having sweaty, interspecies sex with you?
“Uh, take care.”

He flashed that toothy grin, and disappeared into the hallway.

Sherri sagged against the door when it closed.

He’d offered no phone number, no name of his place of business. The realization washed Sherri in equal parts disappointment and relief. Mostly relief. Right?

No strings. That was good. Better for everyone. After everything, she needed uncomplicated in her life.

Sherri rubbed at her temple. The headache she’d had on the plane still lingered, but her bones had all the fortitude of chewed-up gum. Bliss and wonderment at her behavior followed her into bed as she crawled between the messy sheets and fell into a coma.

B
oy, how plans changed.

On the trip from DC, Sherri made some loose mental plans to spend her first full day in Nogales wandering around. Her brief perusal of a travel guide had culled mentions of a quaint-looking local museum and an interesting mix of food and architecture.

After her wild and out of character romp with a gorgeous stranger, her sight-seeing plans got waylaid by an apparent need for sleep. And sleep. And more sleep.

Maybe the trip wiped her out. Maybe the headache. Maybe the stress finally caught up, or her body needed time to recover from the best sex she’d had since ever. Whatever the reason, Sherri hadn’t conked out like that since a major bout of the flu in college. She didn’t wake up until late afternoon. Even after all that rest, she’d bummed around her room with little energy to do much except flip channels until dinnertime.

Disoriented, dehydrated, and ready to gnaw on her own limb, Sherri finally stumbled down to the hotel bar. The fact that she’d crashed for almost an entire day made the night before feel like a distant hallucination. An excuse she’d buy were it not for the fact that her sheets smelled of spicy aftershave and she ached in all the right places.

The memory made Sherri smile as she put down a menu she’d grabbed at the bar entrance. Nothing in the short list of finger foods was going to satisfy her. This situation called for an actual meal. Vegetables.
Protein
.

The mere thought of steak made her want to lick her chops. Jeez, one night with a werewolf and this was the direction of her thoughts? She waved a hand to get the bartender’s attention. “’Scuse me.”

The man turned. “What can I do to help you?”

Sherri’s spine went rigid when she recognized the man Ash had been arguing with the night before. She tried to keep the reaction off her face, but he probably remembered her, too. She cleared her throat. “Just looking for a place nearby to grab dinner.”

The responding grin was open and gleaming like Ash’s, but lacked the same warmth and crinkle around the eyes. “Sure.” He pointed. “They’ve got burgers right around the corner, but you look like a woman who appreciates culture. You ought to check out Howler’s. Up the road a ways, but worth the trip. Best carne asada you ever had.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” The mere mention of savory meat made her mouth water.

Still, after witnessing Ash and this guy arguing, she deliberated. This man, or supposed werewolf, whoever he was, clearly wasn’t someone Ash trusted. Not that Sherri knew Ash well after one night, but going someplace a shady former pack member of his wanted to send her sounded as sketchy as the individual making the suggestion.

“Here.” He slid a napkin across the bar with an address. “My buddy runs the place. I try to help throw him business.”

In theory, that could be a harmless enough reason. Curiosity sparked her interest.

The safe thing would be to eat anyplace the bartender had not recommended. Old Sherri would have done the safe thing.
Old Sherri
wouldn’t have had the most amazing sex of her life with a member of a dubiously alternate species
.
Old Sherri had been missing out.

She stepped into the muggy evening and looked down the block to the glowing sign for the burger joint. Faint odors of greasy meat and fries wafted on the evening breeze, and didn’t appeal one bit to the gnawing in her stomach. Checking this Howler’s place out on her phone, it appeared to be well-lit, high-traffic, and reasonably legitimate. Maybe she was over-analyzing.

She’d plug the address into her rental’s GPS. Anything looked weird, she’d turn around and hit the drive through at the burger place. Grab the romance novel out of her carry on, and call it a night.

***

A
sh hated turning girls away. After he’d renounced his pack, Howlers became an unofficial haven for all the local werewolves with no ties of their own. He’d bristled against it at first—he didn’t want any responsibilities of an alpha—but over time, he appreciated being able to do some good.

Nevertheless, lines needed to be drawn. This skinny thing with the knocking knees, she couldn’t be eighteen. Her identification said so, but damned if that thing wasn’t as fake as plastic fangs on Halloween.

“Sorry,” he said to the young blonde. “I don’t need any more servers, and you’d need to be over twenty-one to bartend.”

“I’ll do whatever you need. I could wash dishes, maybe?” She clasped her hands tightly, turning her knuckles white with the effort.

Ash tried to ignore the shine in her eyes. “I don’t need a dishwasher.”

The girl bit into her trembling lower lip. “I— I understand. Thank you for giving me your time.”

Shit. Why’d she have to be so fucking sweet? He grabbed the kid’s shoulder when she started to turn away. “Can you cook at all?”

Her eyes brightened. “Absolutely.” She tugged nervously at a thin, gold cross around her neck. “My abuelita taught me—”

He cut her off with a wave of a hand. Through the spices and onions and peppers sizzling in the kitchen, a newly familiar smell had entered his territory. Lavender and peppermint, like he’d smelled while making love in the brand new hours of that morning.
Sherri.
He needed to find the source. “All right, Kiddo. Head over to the kitchen. Ask for Mary. If she thinks you’re good enough, you can stick around.”

“Oh my God. Thank you! I won’t let you down.”

Ash waved off the scampering pup as he prowled away in search of that smell. The one that stirred his lust, remembering what had happened after the last time he inhaled those soothing, intoxicating oils on Sherri’s skin.

He hadn’t expected to see her again. He’d sold himself the lie that she was like all the others, while her body, her memory, lingered in his mind all day. Her hands caressed his skin and her voice whispered his name over and over in his head. One whiff of that scent brought it all roaring back.

A circuit of the restaurant’s perimeter located Sherri at a corner booth by herself, sitting in front of a half-eaten plate of
barbacoa
. Ash slid in alongside her, pressing with the familiarity of someone whose body knew another’s well. She had a few more inches of height than the average human female. Her curves fit against him perfectly. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

It really was. His fingertips zinged when his hand found hers under the table. Rather than the expected stifling sensation over having a one-off find him at his place of business, he felt a smile stretch across his face at this unexpected opportunity.

She chuckled. “I’m pretty surprised myself.”

“Hmm.” Ash drew a deep breath, taking in her scent. “You have a headache again.”

She put the menu down. That delicious stain crept up her neck. “You remembered. That’s... Wow. Yes. I do. Probably because I spent so much time puzzling over why your questionable buddy from the bar sent me here that I gave myself a brain cramp.” She held up a finger. “Hey, can you point me to a drug store before I leave?”

“Wait.” Ash drew back, grabbing her arm. “My buddy from the bar?”

“The guy you argued with last night. Your former packmate with the territory issues,” she said dryly.

“Huh. Come with me for a moment. Please.” He took her hand and pulled her from the booth, speeding through to the back hallway of the restaurant where he kept his office. “Quick,” he said. “Before someone tries to stop me for some emergency involving a broken garbage disposal or
mole
sauce.”

Behind him she laughed, but the prospect wasn’t so unlikely. Ash tried to leave most of the operations to his manager, but when he was on site, things seemed to require his attention. He whirled her around and locked the office door, putting his hands against her shoulders. Before he could think, he had his lips against hers, tasting the lingering spices from her dinner mixed with the moist heat of her mouth. “I wonder why Jojo sent you.”

She licked her lips. “He said his buddy had a restaurant, and he liked to send over business. You mentioned owning one. I should have put two and two together.”

Ash didn’t believe for a moment that Jojo would help him. Still, his pleasure that she’d walked into Howlers tonight knocked him backward. He should have wanted to erase the lingering images of this human from his mind, not grab his first chance to put his hands on her.

“I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“I didn’t expect to either. You walked out without leaving any kind of—” She stopped, a deep blush darkening her pale cheeks. “I’m only in town for a couple of weeks. I had no expectations. I’m merely saying I was equally taken aback by finding out this was your establishment.”

Such proper language. Ash laughed, happy when he tugged at her shirt and she didn’t move to make him stop. “I confess, second dates aren’t my thing.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m shocked.”

“Mmm.” He kissed her again, and then nuzzled along the edge of her jaw. A rapid pulse beat in her neck, loud and satisfying. The heat and scent of her arousal oozed from every pore. It smelled like honey and chocolate, gently wafting from under the oils on her skin. “I’d like to surprise you some more. You are fucking delicious. Like a candy store. I want to lick every inch of you.”

She gasped, but then pushed closer to him. Did she even realize?

This Sherri was different than any female—woman or
were
—Ash had known. She wore expensive clothes and carried herself with the confidence of a lady who knew her mind, but responded to his touch like a purring sex kitten.