City Wolf 2 Read online

  City Wolf 2

  Copyright © April 2009, Tressie Lockwood

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Did you enjoy this story? | City Wolf 3 is available now.

  Chapter One

  Lucas leaned back in his chair and took on an expression of boredom. He let his gaze sweep the room, categorizing every woman as he went, who would be good to fuck, who he already had—and of course, who to avoid at all costs.

  Deliberately ignoring Gloria meant nothing to her. She slunk to his side and rested long manicured nails on his thigh with a pout planted on her red lips. Even before her hand slid higher to stroke his shaft, he had begun to harden. No matter how she had betrayed him, he still loved her. She was the only woman he ever would love, maybe even the only person he’d ever care about outside of his half brother Brant.

  “What the fuck do you want, Gloria? Run out of lovers for the night?” he spat. He’d displayed too much vehemence when he should have been indifferent.

  Her smirk told him she had noticed. “Aw, still pining for me, baby?” She stroked him harder, and damn if he wasn’t ready to come. He shoved her hand away and stood. Gloria wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her forehead on the back of his shoulder. At one time he thought it sexy as hell her being that small.

  “Get lost, Gloria,” he muttered with more control this time. “I’m meeting someone here. My newest bed partner, so don’t get in my way.”

  “What?” She lifted her head and searched much like he did. “Which one is it? No, matter. You can tell her you’re taken for the night. Remember how we used to fuck all night long?”

  “Not really.” He freed himself and walked out onto the dance floor, looking for a likely target, anyone he could use to put some distance between himself and Gloria. If she hung on him much longer, he’d give into her and wake up with a shattered heart the next morning. He may have liked to walk around like he was made of ice as the others had described him, but the truth was a whole other story.

  A young woman with her back to him, swaying to the rhythm of the music, caught his attention. From his vantage point, she had an ass he’d like to ride and smooth brown skin that looked sweet like sugar. He scanned the area near her and found no man lingering close enough to claim her—not that it would have mattered—and he sidled up behind her.

  Matching her movements, he swayed with her and leaned down to kiss her neck. She gasped and would have moved away, but he caught her around the waist. “No, don’t move. Just turn your head and let me get a taste of that mouth.”

  “What?” She elbowed him and spun around with her hands on her hips and eyebrows lowered in a scowl. “How dare you presume I want to kiss you?”

  Lucas blinked and took a step back. The studious one. What was her name? This was one of Zandrea’s friends. The name slipped into his mind. Nita. He stood there staring at her while she railed at him, probably going through the expansive vocabulary she had picked up in all the years she’d been in university. He wondered what fears kept her from actually living rather than hiding out as a student for so long.

  Whatever the reason, he needed her right now, whether she knew it or not. He had seduced many women in his time, and this sexy little thing wouldn’t be any different.

  While she continued to complain, Lucas reached across the space between them and scooped her up close to his chest. He was aware that he was exuding the pheromones that would make her melt in his arms, and that was just fine with him. Without hesitation, he lowered his head and covered her protesting mouth with his own. The second he slid his tongue between her luscious lips, she melted.

  Deepening the kiss, he tightened his hold and ran a hand up her back to cup her head. His shaft, which had begun to calm walking away from Gloria, hardened all over again with his body pressed to Nita’s. She was not his type, if he truly had one. He liked petite blondes, aggressive little wolf shifter females that could give as much as they got. But the sweet thing in his arms was leggy and tall. Her handful sized breasts, pressed into his chest was nothing like what he usually went after, yet still, he was about ready to burst kissing her.

  “Come to one of the back rooms with me,” he demanded when he pulled back.

  Her large brown eyes were unfocused, and her lips were swollen from his kiss. She nodded unsteadily. “Yes.”

  “Hell no!” someone snapped.

  Lucas looked up over Nita’s head to the angry woman behind her. This was the other friend, the toughest of the three who would probably attempt to kick his ass should he try to take Nita for his own pleasure.

  “This has nothing to do with you,” he told her. “Nita is a grown woman who can decide who she takes as a lover.”

  “Whatever.” Stacy snatched his prize from his arms. “She’s not going anywhere with you. I saw you before.” She nodded to a point somewhere behind him. “Over there letting that woman rub all up on you. So when you got bored with her, you came over here to get Nita. I’m not having it.”

  Lucas felt his eyes darken in anger and was glad of the low lights to hide the change. He breathed in and out a few times to calm himself, but it wasn’t working. Instead, dislike of this woman ran through him. He glanced down at Nita. With his anger up, his seduction had eased. Nita blinked as if her mind was clearing from a fog. Damn. He still wanted her, and this woman wasn’t going to keep her from him.

  * * * *

  Nita blinked and stood up straight. She watched a little dazed at Stacy arguing with the sexy man who had kissed her earlier. Wait, kissed her? She couldn’t imagine that she had let a stranger rub all over her body and stick his tongue in her mouth. She was a little on the desperate side lately, and more than a little jealous at the fact that Zandrea had found a man and was hiding out somewhere in a bed with him, but to let this guy use her this way?

  She focused on Stacy’s words, and became more alarmed with each word.

  “I saw you letting that woman over there rub you. So you think you’re going to get my friend in the back to do the same thing? Not!”

  Nita turned to him, realization dawning. “What did you do to me? Some kind of hypnosis? Who are you? And how did you know my name? I’m sure I didn’t tell you.”

  His lips tightened, for some reason reminding her of how he had tasted. Whatever he had done to her wasn’t present now, and yet, she ached to crawl back into his arms and offer her body and soul to him. Then again, the man was gorgeous, the epitome of dark and dangerous male. Almost black eyes, dark thick curls atop his head, hard muscles, and he dressed with casual grace in a collared black shirt and slacks. The shirt sat open at the neck, giving her a peek at matching black curls on his chest. A vision of running her fingers over that delicious expanse rose in her mind, and she turned away.

  She needed a drink. Without another word or waiting for him to answer, she headed to the bar. Stacy could handle him. A man like him wouldn’t look twice at someone like her. Maybe he was trying to make his girlfriend jealous. Whatever. Easy come, easy go.

  Nita slid onto a stool at the bar and ordered her favorite
drink, a Red-headed Slut. When the bartender placed her shot glass in front of her, she thanked him and scooped it up to down in one gulp. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the burning sensation in her throat to pass before she slammed the glass down on the counter.

  “Yeah, I needed a stiff drink after the first kiss with Lucas, too.”

  Nita looked around to see a beautiful blonde standing beside her. The woman gave the man occupying the stool a look, and for some reason he cowed and fled. She sat down like the whole occurrence was typical for her.

  “Excuse me?” Nita said.

  The woman smiled, although truth be told, the coldness in her eyes could freeze a person. “Gloria Rampart. You?”

  Nita hesitated. “Nita James. Nice to meet you.”

  Gloria waved a hand. “What I was saying was the first time I kissed Lucas, I was lost. Until I realized he would never give me his heart.” She stuck a cigarette between her red lips but didn’t light it. Nita watched to see if she would, given that smoking here was prohibited. “You see, Lucas is the ultimate Alpha male. He barks commands, expects you to follow and he doesn’t give a shit about anyone, least of all women. He likes to have several women a week, sometimes several a night. So, if you had aspirations of getting with him—don’t.”

  Finding no words right away to respond with, which was a rarity for her, Nita said nothing. Yet, even a blind woman could see Gloria was jealous and that maybe things weren’t like she wanted them to be between her and Lucas. She paused in thought. Lucas? Sexy name.

  Glancing back over her shoulder, she spotted him just turning away from Stacy and smiled. No one could out argue her friend. That was for sure. Nita refocused on the woman at her side and took on what Zandrea had termed her school marm attitude to beat down the pretentious. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Soon enough you’ll come to realize that a man like him isn’t conducive to a strong and healthy self-esteem. I would not direct my attentions on Lucas for all the money in the world.”

  Chapter Two

  Lucas stood in the trees outside Nita’s dormitory. What the hell was she doing still in school? And why were they allowing it? It could be that her family had money. When he was trying to clean up behind Brant, and his debacle of taking a human mate, Lucas had done a thorough background check on each of the three friends. Zandrea had worked at the hospital, Stacy for a car rental place and Nita was a perpetual student living off a trust fund.

  He should have let it go after the scene her friend made on the dance floor. After all, he did not do human women—ever. In no stretch of the imagination could she ever meet his sexual needs, and yet here he was lingering like a fucking pimply-faced teenage boy, hoping for a glimpse of her.

  Laughter somewhere nearby caught his attention, and he shrank back farther in the trees. Two men, probably barely into their twenties strolled up and came to a stop in front of Nita’s building.

  “Where are you headed, man?” the shorter of the two asked.

  The other man hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Gonna get me a piece of this woman named Nita. She stays here. Older woman, by five years, but she’s ripe. Boy is she ripe.”

  “I hear you, dog.” The first man grinned. “Give me a call tomorrow, tell me all the details.”

  “You know me.”

  They touched fists and went in different directions. Lucas felt the beginnings of a growl rise inside him without conscious thought. If that fool thought he would get his hands on Nita, he had another thought coming. Lucas would have no qualms about ripping him to shreds. The vehemence of his feelings gave him pause, but he ignored it. He would be just as violent toward another male sniffing around any other woman he wanted.

  He considered shifting but thought better of it and instead ran across the street and entered the building. The door should have been locked, but someone had wedged a wad of tape in the gap where it closed, probably waiting for a lover to come. Lucas took advantage of it and slipped inside.

  Just as he passed the threshold, a low tapping caught his attention. The man was already on the third floor, knocking at Nita’s door. Lucas tensed. How the hell had he gotten there that quickly? Lucas had been only a step behind. No human could. He sniffed the air, picking up the scent of cheap cologne that wafted behind the man, but nothing else. Maybe it was his imagination.

  Lucas climbed the stairs without making a sound, his ears strained to pick up anything unusual. One flight down from Nita’s room, he paused. The rattle of the lock being undone reached his ears, and the door opened.

  “Deandre, what are you doing here? I’m just about to go to bed.” Nita yawned. Lucas poised himself ready to spring up the last flight of stairs if the fool dared try anything.

  “Hey, baby, is that any way to greet a friend? I thought were getting closer the last few times we were talking.” The guy chuckled. “And there was definitely some vibes passing back and forth earlier tonight after Chemistry.”

  “Were there?”

  Lucas smirked at the vagueness in her voice.

  “Uh...” All the bravado drained out of Deandre’s mack. “Well, anyway, I knew you were going out with your girls to the club, and I didn’t want to sweat you, you know. A woman has got to have time with her girlfriends. I understand that. It’s the kind of guy I am.”

  Lucas peeked up over the stairwell to catch a glimpse of Nita resting her hip against the doorframe, her head tilted to the side and a slight smile on her lips. She could not be falling for this. He frowned and clenched his jaw.

  “Is that right?” Nita chuckled. “You realize I’m older than you, right? Like what six or seven years?”

  “Five,” Deandre corrected. “And I love older women.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll give you a chance.” She ran a finger along the sleeve of his jacket. “Just because I think you’re kinda cute.”

  Lucas released a low growl and had to duck down before they spotted him. Deandre made an exclamation, and Nita gasped. Lucas descended the steps to the first floor and waited in the shadows of the space beneath the stairs.

  “Slow down, Mr. Eager,” Nita said after a few minutes, when they had obviously assured themselves no dog was about to attack. Lucas imagined Deandre had thought she was about to let him into her room. “We can go out to eat or something, maybe catch a movie. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

  Deandre grumbled. “You’re direct, aren’t you?”

  “That’s the kind of girl I am,” she affirmed.

  “Okay, then. I take it.” Deandre’s step sounded on the stairs. His mack had returned. “Be prepared to fall hard for me, baby. That’s a promise.”

  Lucas waited in his hiding spot while the man came down and passed him. When he was directly in front of Lucas, he inhaled and still there was no scent from this man other than the cheap cologne. From his experience, all humans had a scent, and his sense of smell was one hundred times that of a human’s. He should have been able to pick something up.

  Deandre turned his head to look directly at Lucas, and although his expression didn’t give the impression that he could see Lucas, that Deandre knew he was there and didn’t consider him a threat irked him to no end.

  Deandre chuckled low in his throat and shoved the door open. While Lucas waited a beat before he followed the man, he watched as if in slow motion as the tape that had kept the door open fell to the ground. The lock clicked in place.

  Lucas pressed the door handle and eased the door open a bit. After a moment, he peered around the edge of the door and scanned the street. No one was in sight. When he had stepped out on the sidewalk, he stiffened at the click of heels on the cement. A woman rounded the corner of the building. She pressed a hand to her chest at seeing him and then strolled up.

  “Hey, sexy. You scared me.”

  Lucas barely acknowledged her, but passed by and crossed the street to his vehicle. He tapped the unlock button on his key chain and snatched the door open before hopping inside. As he pulled off, his tires screeching, he
realized two facts. One, the woman also had no scent, and two, there had been that lingering cologne in the air around her. He put both observations down to being tired and sexually frustrated. He would have to find someone to take the edge off and fast.

  * * * *

  With the sun shining in his eyes and a sense of being watched, Lucas opened his eyes. A sexy blonde whose name he couldn’t recall lay at his side, leaning on his elbow while she stared in his face. He took stock of his libido. While he could take her a few more rounds, he felt somewhat satisfied. She was a shifter, so they had fun the night before. And the activity had served to free him from the temporary obsession he had had with Nita. She was human. He had no need of them. Case closed. Let her friend Stacy protect her from whatever creature the guy from last night had been. She seemed like she was time enough for him anyway.

  Lucas threw back the covers revealing his morning erection and swung his legs over the side of the bed. A growl sounded behind him before his lover wrapped her fingers around his shaft.

  “Oh, looks like someone’s all raring to go,” she cooed.

  “I just have to pee,” he grumbled. “Let go. What we did was a one time deal. I don’t do seconds.”

  “Not what I heard.” She followed him when he stood and pressed her big breasts into his back. A flash of his fingers kneading them while he sucked her nipples went through his mind. His shaft pulsed, but he pushed the thoughts away.

  “Okay, I do seconds, sometimes even thirds. However”—he shoved her hands off of him—“I have no desire to fuck you again.”

  She gasped. “You cold bastard! I should have known not to sleep with you. I should have ignored your call. Fuck you, Lucas.”

  He bowed in her direction, his face impassive. She snatched up all her clothes and stomped toward the bathroom knowing he had been headed in that direction. The door slammed in his face, and the shower came on a second later. He tried the knob but it was locked. With a grunt he turned back to search the motel room for his clothes. He’d have to wait until he got home to relieve himself. These were the hazards of the single life. For a second, he considered following in his half brother’s footsteps and getting himself a mate, but then he dismissed the idea. None of the shifter women he knew was the faithful type, and crazy as that seemed for a man like him, he knew if he did take a mate, he’d never want to share her with another wolf. Ever.