Tempting a Wolf Read online

  He looked deep into her eyes. She considered climbing on his lap and kissing his neck. Snap out of it, Tamecaaaa, she sang to her psyche, which wasn’t listening.

  “Tami, right?” He raised his eyebrows.

  Her world dipped and swayed before it righted itself again. “W-Who is the man you’re talking about?” she asked. “What’s his name?”

  He chuckled. “Marcus.”

  Tempting a Wolf

  Chapter Three

  Tameca lay in bed and stared up at her ceiling. She shifted around in an attempt to get comfortable, impossible on her lumpy mattress. Pretty soon, she would have to break down and get a new bed, but she had been delaying while she decided whether she wanted to move out of the house she and Renee owned together, an inheritance, and move into an apartment with Pat. Then, she would be out from under her overprotective sister, who couldn’t see that she had long since grown up.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and ran her hand over her forehead. Who was she kidding? Thoughts of replacing her bed were not the most pressing issues to be considered right now. That guy outside her workplace had scared the mess out of her. The knowledge that Marcus wanted her and had plans to seduce her should have been exciting, but instead, she had freaked.

  Sure, the man had apologized for opening his mouth and had said that Marcus would kick his ass for saying what he did, but that didn’t change anything. She glanced down at her body, which was encased in a cutesy, unsexy nightgown. Marcus had no idea what she looked like naked, curvy but way more than was necessary for any woman. He just thought—well, she had no idea what he thought.

  “No,” she decided aloud. “Forget it. I don’t care what he wants. My first time will not be with a man that hot.” Worries about him judging her, being disgusted by her would take all the enjoyment out of the experience, if there was any enjoyment.

  With that settled, she rolled over to her side and pulled her sheet and blanket up over her shoulder. The fan she that kept going all year around gently blew her hair and lulled her to sleep.

  * * * *

  Tameca knew she was dreaming. Not by some smoky, unreal quality to everything around her, but by the fact that she was out in the middle of the woods, back pressed against a tree, and it was almost pitch black out there. She wouldn’t have been caught dead here in the real world.

  She glanced at the sky in time to see heavy storm clouds drift away from the moon. Small mercies. The trees around her came into sharp focus. Unfortunately, so did the creature that stood a few yards away watching her with glowing eyes. A wolf! A cry of terror tore from her throat, and she was off again.

  She must have been running from it all this time. Barefoot and in a dress, also clues to a dream because she preferred pants at every opportunity, she bolted through the brush. Sharp, thin branches tore at her skin while stones dug into the tender flesh of her feet with every step she ran.

  Her heart pounded, blood thudded in her ears, and she whimpered. He was going to catch up. The monsters in dreams always caught the person trying to escape. And just when they were about to bite, only then would reality return. The thought almost made her stop and surrender so she could wake up. Almost, but not quite.

  Attempting to break through an overgrown area, she closed her eyes and just ripped into it. She broke free and fell flat on her face. Dirt coated her lips after she hit the ground. “Oh, no,” she cried out. “Don’t think of what might be in that dirt, Tameca. Just get off your ass and run!”

  “Why do you keep running?” a voice nearby asked.

  She scanned the area but saw nothing. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “You.” A male voice. He chuckled, confident that he was scaring the crap out of her. “He wants you, Tameca.”

  This whole nightmare must have been produced from that guy and what he had said. But that thought didn’t wake her or change what was happening. “What if I don’t want him!” she demanded. “What then?”

  “So, you don’t?”

  “Why is he scaring me like this,” she screamed. “A real lover wouldn’t do this!” He didn’t answer. She shuffled to stand, then put one foot in front of the other and jetted. Her thighs burned along with her lungs. Her throat had long since dried, and she had run out of tears.

  Soon she came out on a small bank overlooking a river that gurgled in the moonlight. She stopped, trying to remember if you could drink from any kind of moving water.

  “Oh, hell, this is a dream.” She splashed down in the water and drank to her heart’s content. Movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention. Four wolves stood at the edge of the water. Something told her the one on the far left represented the blond god from earlier in the day. He spoke to her without moving his lips.

  “Why do you torment him, Tameca?”

  She snorted. “Me torment him? What do you call all this?” She waved her hands to take in the night, the woods, and the wolf chase in one sweep. “What do you call him pinning me against walls every time I see him, making me hungry for just one touch?”

  She pushed the back of her hand into her lips and then dropped it to her side. Who would tell him of her subconscious admission?

  “He’s a tease. He likes women to fall at his feet, even if she’s an unattractive woman who couldn’t possibly be his type.” She left off the “like me” part of that. “Maybe it amuses him to tease, but I don’t like it. I . . . At the risk of sounding melodramatic, none of my past interests have worked out, which leaves me as I am—alone and inexperienced.”

  A howl echoed through the still night. Each of the wolves looked in the direction from which she could only assume it had come. He called them, and they behaved as if they had to obey. One at a time, they ran back into the trees except for the blond god.

  “What of destiny or fate,” he asked.

  “What about it?”

  “What if I told you that you two are fated to be together, that he couldn’t allow another to have you, so he caused little . . . accidents . . . to befall the men who dared come near you?”

  She blinked, dazed. “I’d say my mind has gone into overdrive, and I seriously should not have had that last slice of pepperoni with extra cheese.”

  He chuckled. Or she heard him laugh. The wolf just stood there. He had a look that seemed as if he was about to have her for a midnight meal. He might have had no expression at all, but her mind had left reality far behind.

  “His mate must remain pure until she comes to him for the first time,” the wolf explained.

  “Meanwhile, he gets to bang everything with boobs. Am I right?” She smirked. “I’m tempted to run out and get me some from whatever guy isn’t turned away by these melons and this round belly.” She slapped her hands over her breasts and then stroked her stomach. The wolf seemed to ignore her hand movements and stared lower. She glanced down to find that the water had made her dress rise, and when she had drifted to more shallow water, it had stuck in place, revealing her thick, black curls down there.

  She stumbled backward and landed on her ass in cold mud beneath the surface. Great. She wasn’t wearing panties. The wolf waited until she got ahold of herself before he spoke again, apparently to be sure she understood what she was doing.

  “If you do that, you will force his hand. He has been patient,” he told her.

  “Meaning?”

  She heard a low growl at her obvious lack of respect for the way of the . . . well . . . the way of the wolf. Anger filled his tone. “Go to him. Give yourself to him, and avoid bringing innocent people into this. Marcus will not allow another man to have you before he does. Even if he has to kill. If you think for a moment he doesn’t know what you do and where you go at all times, think again.”

  With that cryptic statement, he turned to follow the others. Tameca drifted out of the water, then glanced around. She wondered why Marcus had sent his henchman instead of threatening her with that caveman nonsense in this dream.

  Coming to consciousness, she yawned and
stretched, while feeling her awful bed beneath her and hearing the whir of her fan. Even with it, the room was too stuffy, and she willed her tired body to get up and open the window.

  With a groan, she forced her eyes open halfway, sat up, and swung her legs over the side of the bed, then her feet to the floor. Shuffling like a zombie, she moved to the window and began to fumble with the stiff lock. Hammering it with the heel of her palm, she worked it loose and shoved the window open.

  Cooler night air rushed to greet her nose when she stuck her head out. As she rested her head on the sill, she eased back toward dreamland, but a whimper nearby jerked her awake. She pushed the window higher and leaned out to search her backyard and the alley beyond.

  All was quiet until she spotted the man a few doors down. She blinked and hoped it was a figment of her imagination or that she was still in la-la land. Half-hidden by the shadows, he didn’t appear to be anyone she knew. She sensed more than saw him nod his head toward the sky.

  Tameca glanced up. A full moon. When she looked toward where she had seen the man, she instead saw a wolf in his place. The beast nodded again and then trotted out of her line of sight.

  “A dream!” she told herself as she drew her head in from the window and slammed it down. “That’s all this is. A silly little dream. Nothing to worry about.”

  She quickly got back into bed, yanked the covers up over her head, and shut her eyes. All would be back to normal by morning. She hoped.

  Tempting a Wolf

  Chapter Four

  “So,” Vic mumbled.

  “Yeah,” Tameca answered, not really sure what the hell they were so and yeahing about. A double date with Pat and Ray with Tameca and his cousin Vic. What had she been thinking? He had to be two times as nerdy as his relative. And she had twisted her best friend’s arm to do something other than have a booty call with Ray for this disaster.

  They had already watched two lame movies the men had chosen and proceeded to enjoy more than she and Pat had. Tameca had had to put her foot down about sticking around at the theater for a third. Her mood could not bear it. She and Vic stood awkwardly in front of each other while Pat argued with Ray about where they could find a late-night place to eat that wasn’t a fast-food joint. Tameca knew they should have eaten earlier.

  “So, you work with Pat and Ray, huh?” Vic had found his small-talk mental file.

  Tameca nodded. “Yes. You? What do you do?”

  He said something, but she didn’t hear. Across the street, a man stood talking to a woman. She didn’t recognize either of them, but the weird thing was that the man seemed more interested in what Tameca was doing and the woman looked like those actors in the background scenes of movies. They moved their lips and gestured with their hands when the microphone was off. You knew they were pretending the whole time.

  Overactive imagination, Tameca. Chill.

  That dream and seeing the man in the alley had freaked her out. But it had also made her come to a decision. She glanced at Vic. His lips were moving and she heard his voice, but she couldn’t focus long enough to take anything in. She guessed he was droning on about his work. This wasn’t about dating or getting to know him.

  She let her gaze drop over his body. Decent; not muscular, but not frail. He seemed to keep himself clean, and he had stared at her boobs a few times.

  This was about her losing that huge V on her chest. Just to get it over with. Vic was the man. He probably thought he had to work for it, date her for a few months. But, no, this was the night. Then no more dreams about beautiful godlike wolf-men. She suppressed a chuckle.

  She cut across his chatter. “Do you have your own place, Vic?”

  He jerked in surprise. “Uh, yeah. Yes, I do. Why?”

  “Well.” She put a hand on his chest. His heart was already pounding. “I’m not that hungry. Why don’t you and I ditch Pat and Ray and just”—she raised her eyebrows—“you know.”

  Chewing at her lip kept her from cracking up at the stunned look on his face. His excitement got the better of him, and he began to stutter. “I-I-I. Yes!” He took her hand and practically dragged her down the street, yelling an “I’ll call you later, cos,” over his shoulder.

  Tameca shrugged toward Pat and hurried along. Note to self: Get car out of the shop or go out with men who have their own.

  They stood at the bus stop arm in arm. Twice Vic tried to kiss her, and twice a crow or what she assumed was a crow swooped down as if to attack him. Huddled with her shoulder pressed tight to his and her eyes on the sky, Tameca told herself this had nothing to do with Marcus. Nothing at all.

  “You’re so pretty, Tameca,” he told her. “I wanted you the minute I saw you. Man, I love a woman with big tits.”

  She winced at that word. For some reason she felt degraded by it, always had. She patted his hand. “Don’t worry about it, Vic. You’re in. You don’t need to sell me on spending the night with you.” At least she didn’t feel the least bit afraid like she did when Marcus was up on her. But, then, Vic’s body didn’t make her desperate for all kinds of wild sex like Marcus’s did.

  Vic seemed to be coming in for another try at a kiss, but she leaped to her feet and paced back and forth in front of the bench. “Where is that damn bus?” She glanced down at her watch, and when she looked up again, there was Marcus, right in front of her. Her mouth went dry. “M-Marcus.”

  “Hello, beautiful. Fancy running into you tonight.” His expression said it wasn’t an accident at all. And why should it be? All the signs pointed to him, but she didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t. A man like him was out of her league, she almost chanted to herself. Too hot, too experienced, and she wanted him too much.

  As alluring as Marcus was to Tameca, when he shifted his gaze to Vic, the dark look that came over him dispelled all his animal magnetism. Instead, he repelled and frightened her. Tameca could have sworn he growled under his breath. Her eyes went wide, and she glanced around them, spotting the blond god across the street with the woman. She realized only now that they were the same two who had been chatting across from the theatre. And the man at the corner could have been the one in the alley behind her house. Terror licked at her insides. This was serious business.

  Tameca turned away from Marcus and half-faced a lamp post. She rested her hand on it while pretending to check to see whether the bus was coming. Right there in Vic’s face, Marcus moved up on her until he brushed her from behind. She trembled. The man hadn’t even done anything, but she was close to an orgasm. He was sex.

  “The scent of your hair, the curve of your ass, even the tinkle of your laughter tempts me,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Marcus, don’t.”

  “Don’t what?” He moved closer, if that were possible. She fought to not push her ass into his groin. He was hard as a rock, and unless she missed her guess—huge! “Do you know how bad I want to be inside you, Tami?” He nipped her earlobe. “Do you know how many ways I can take you, how often I can make you scream my name?”

  “Hey!” Vic protested when Marcus squeezed her thigh.

  Two other men approached. One said, “Let us see you home, buddy.” They gave poor Vic no chance to protest, all but carrying him down the street.

  Tameca looked up at Marcus. “Please don’t kill him. He has nothing to do with this,” she pleaded.

  “You were warned.” The man had no remorse.

  She started to cry. “You have no right.”

  He sighed and drew back. He snapped his fingers, and his friend turned to look at him. Marcus said, only loud enough for her to hear, “Don’t kill the idiot.” His friend nodded and followed the two men dragging Vic. Tameka blinked at their sense of hearing. Were they really wolves? Some sort of shape-shifter?

  Marcus turned back to her. “There. Now don’t cry. Your tears should be of joy, because I will make you feel good. Not sadness.”

  She found strength from somewhere deep and shoved him to put distance between them. “Is that all you thin
k about? Sex? I don’t know much about you, Marcus. In these last two years my sister has worked for you, I haven’t learned what kind of business you run. Do you have brothers and sisters? Are your parents around? Where are you from?”

  He didn’t answer. He simply stood there watching her. She put up her hand to brush him off, and turned to walk away. He strolled beside her. Folding her arms across her chest and hating that she had worn uncomfortable shoes just to impress Vic, who had turned out to be a wimp, she scowled at Marcus. Of course, a guy she just met wouldn’t have stood up to a feral group like Marcus and his buddies. The date had been doomed from the start.

  After a while, she asked, “You can’t control birds, can you?”