Doggy Tales

Doggy Tales Vol. 1

by

Tymber Dalton

Dog Walk

Ivan Biendino had an itch to scratch, and this was the only way to get relief. He drove north on US 301, away from Tampa. He didn’t care what the hell Jeremy Bruin thought. He needed it. Running on a fucking treadmill and listening to canned nature sounds on an iPod like Jeremy did not give Ivan what he craved. Maybe Jeremy had calmed his inner beast, but Ivan’s still wanted playtime.

Fucking pussy. “Go run on the treadmill,” he says. I’ll shove that goddamned treadmill up his ass if he doesn’t leave me alone.

Only a little after eight on a Tuesday morning, Hillsborough River State Park wasn’t busy. He paid the entry fee and drove until he reached his favored parking area, pulling his silver Ridgeline truck into a spot that would remain shaded for a couple hours yet.

If he had more time, he’d drive up to Withlacoochee State Forest, or Silver Lake, or even Ocala. Unfortunately, Jeremy had ordered him to have his ass back in the office by noon. He locked his truck and looked around. Still relatively desolate. A few early joggers and bikers, but where he was going there weren’t exactly any trails.

He took off down a path, making sure he wasn’t observed. Once under the safe cover of a thick cypress stand near the river, he stepped off the trail, far enough into the underbrush he couldn’t be spotted.

* * *

Lindsey Martinez couldn’t wait to get to the park. She’d looked forward to this treat for days. Normally she settled for jogging around her neighborhood, but she was dying to get away from everything.

Tampa was brighter and hotter than she was used to, even though she’d been raised there. Five years in Vancouver, Washington, had thickened her blood and dulled her senses. Screw the romance of rainy days and Pacific Northwest rain forests.

It was good to finally be home.

To finally be free.

She’d only been back three weeks and itching to visit one of her favorite places. How many hours had she spent jogging or canoeing or hiking here? Did numbers go that high?

She parked next to a silver Ridgeline and stepped out, misting herself with bug spray. She planned a full morning of walking and jogging and didn’t want to be a mosquito smorgasbord in the process. She’d do the Florida trail first, then the River Rapids trail. After that…

Lunch.

She locked the car and tucked her key into her pocket. She picked up her MP3 player and popped the earbuds in. Then she hooked it to her waistband, grabbed her bottle of water, and set off on her adventure.

* * *

Ivan streaked through the underbrush, his senses in overdrive, his heart pounding. He didn’t have time to hunt today, especially here, but he loved tracking. About the only thing worth taking down in this area was the occasional wild pig, but sometimes they fought hard, and he didn’t feel like calling Jeremy to come take him to the vet.

I’d never hear the end of that. He’d bust my balls forever.

He caught a scent, a deer. Unusual, because they normally stayed on the other side of the park. But hey, gift horse and all that crap, right? He veered off course, hyperextending his long legs, flying over the ground, blurring the brush beside him.

Now this is a run in the woods. Jeremy could have his goddamned treadmill. I don’t give a shit what he says. Real wolves run woods.

* * *

Lindsey stopped and took a long drink of water. The day grew hotter, but she didn’t care. It felt great. No more sweaters and jackets all the freaking time.

She passed a group of three teenage boys, skipping school probably, on one of the paths. Understandable, since she’d spent many days skipping school here, too. She ignored them.

* * *

Ivan made quick work of the deer’s trail, an older doe grazing at the edge of the pine woods near the northern park boundary. He crouched downwind, watching. It would be so easy to…

He shook his head. Not here. He didn’t like taking deer in this area. For one thing, they usually tasted like crap. The last one he caught had the flavor of a freaking tire from grazing on the highway shoulder all the time. The ones up in Ocala, however, melted in his mouth like prime rib. For another, if someone stumbled across the carcass here, it could cause questions. No one cared about wild pigs. They were considered a nuisance species. But if something started taking down deer, people would start asking questions.

And then Jeremy would so be on his ass over it. Especially if it made the news.

He chuffed and growled, scaring the deer. Its head popped up, and it bound away. Ivan’s amused snort started his tail wagging, and he took a minute to stretch before returning the way he’d come. Lots of kinks worked out of his muscles, that was for sure.

Jeremy can have his fucking Starbucks. Nothing jump-started his day like a morning woods run. Fucking pussy. My boss or not, I don’t care what he says. I need a good, old-fashioned run..

A glance at the sky, and from the sun’s position he saw he’d probably been out here an hour. He’d need to head to the office and grab a shower before he went back to work. He paused by the river’s edge and drank, enjoying the natural tang. The river wasn’t too bad this far from the bay, but he damn sure wouldn’t be drinking out of it on two legs.

The whiff of a scent drifted to him, and his head popped up. Nose wrinkling, he tested the air. A woman, not too far away. He had to be careful not to be seen, because off-leash dogs weren’t allowed in the park.

But maybe a little tracking for fun was in order.

He silently made his way through the undergrowth as he followed her scent. Then he found her, blessedly oblivious to her surroundings because of her music.

Ivan’s tongue lolled from his mouth, and not from heat exhaustion. She wore running shorts that showed off her great legs. A little on the pale side, like she spent a lot of time indoors, but damn did she smell great. Except for…eww…bug spray.

He sneezed and froze, but she never heard him.

Ivan padded down the trail after her, staying twenty yards behind, enjoying the view of her hips rolling under the blue fabric of her shorts. She had a gorgeous, tight ass he’d love to run his hands over. She didn’t smell like she slept with a guy, at least not last night. No trace of a man’s scent on her. Her red hair was pulled into a ponytail and hung just below her shoulders, bouncing in lively time with her steps. He bet she had green eyes, but staring at her ass, he couldn’t tell.

And what a nice ass she had.

Trim with just the right curves, a pleasure runner, not a marathoner or serious competitor. Just enough meat on her bones to make her fun, not so freaking skinny that she looked like a compilation of toothpicks with tits.

Hmm. Maybe a different kind of hunting trip was in order.

* * *

Lindsey felt watched. She paused, looking around, removing the earbuds so she could hear. Nothing but birds, bugs, and distant traffic. She shivered despite the heat. Creepy. She’d never felt like that before.

Hunted.

Okay, I’ve been watching too many freaky TV shows lately. Or read one too many vampire romances. This park was safe. She’d never had a problem here, even as a teenager.

Christ, thirty and acting like a baby scared of my own shadow.

She replaced the earbuds and picked up her pace, jogging as she followed the path closer to the river.

* * *

Ivan quickly found his bearings and started toward his stashed clothes when he crossed the trail and froze. He picked up the woman’s scent, and then another, disquieting one.

He glanced around, making sure he was alone, and put his nose to the ground. Three men, together.

Closing his eyes, he carefully sniffed then his eyes popped open. They’d smoked crack. Recently.

Dangerous.

Swiveling his ears, he couldn’t hear them, but they went the same direction as the woman. With his heart pounding in his chest, he forgot about getting his clothes and wheeled around, trying to home in on the lone female jogger.

God-fucking-damn it, please don’t let me be too late!

* * *

Lindsey tried to shake the creepy feeling, not wanting her morning ruined like this. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to spend most of her day here.

She picked up the pace. With her free hand she turned down the volume on her music. Then she heard them.

Low voices.

Now her heart thudded in her chest. She sped up, trying to close the distance, less than a hundred yards from the end of the trail and the parking area. She didn’t want to turn and let them know she’d heard them.

* * *

Ivan poured on the speed, desperate to reach her. Maybe he was wrong, but he doubted it. His intuition rarely failed him. He cut through the woods again, trying to make up distance when he heard her scream.

* * *

A hand grabbed the back of Lindsey’s shirt as another yanked her arm. She screamed as the men turned her around, the three guys—had she thought they were teenagers?—she’d passed earlier on the trail.

“Where you goin’, lady? We want to party,” the tallest one said.

“Pretty woman like you shouldn’t be out here alone,” the shortest one offered.

She screamed, backing away, trying to fight them off. The third grinned and jumped behind her, kicking her legs out from under her.

Lindsey fell to the dirt trail under them. One of the men clamped a sweaty, grimy hand over her mouth. She bit down, hard, praying the asshole didn’t have AIDS or something.

He yelled and punched the side of her head, rocking her senses, darkness blooming behind her eyes.

“Fucking bitch bit me!”

“Yeah, well, she bites something else, I’ll cut her tits off.” The sound of a zipper and then, “What the fuck?”

That was when she heard the growl.

* * *

Holy Christ, almost too late! He growled, his hackles up, lips curled, teeth bared. He advanced, snarling.

One of the men immediately jumped to his feet and ran. Ivan fought the urge to take off after him because the woman was still on the ground under the other two assholes.

The tallest of the three stood and pulled out a switchblade.

What kind of moron carries a switchblade anymore? Be original, for chrissake.

Ivan flexed his shoulders, dropping his head not in submission but warning, tensing to spring. The asshole was still close enough to the woman he could hurt her.

The third druggie sat there, frozen in fear, and Ivan fought the urge to laugh when he smelled urine.

The stupid mofo wet his pants.

Serves him right.

The woman rolled over. Ivan was happy to see all her clothes still on her body, although her shirt looked ripped. When she spotted him, her eyes widened.

Ivan winked at her then took a step forward, his gaze on the man still on the ground.

* * *

Lindsey rolled over. Holy fucking shit! That couldn’t be a dog, could it? It looked like a…like a huge black wolf. With a generous dusting of silver throughout his coat and huge grey eyes, he stood over four feet tall at the shoulders.

Did he just wink at me?

She blinked, sure she imagined it. Stress, maybe even shock, who knew?

She wouldn’t question it. The dog, or wolf, had probably just saved her.

One of the attackers immediately ran. A second stood up and backed off, and the third rolled away from her.

“Lady, look, call off your fucking dog.”

She was too numb to talk. She loved dogs, but this wasn’t just a dog.

It took another step forward, eyes on the man on the ground, the one closest to her. She prayed the dog wouldn’t attack her, and she slowly crawled toward it. It was her bad luck these assholes jumped her, and freaky good luck this canine pony happened by.

As she drew closer to the black beast, it sidled around her, putting itself—himself, she suspected—between the remaining men and her.

Only then did she draw herself to her knees and saw one of the attackers had a knife.

“Be careful,” she whispered to the dog. It didn’t seem to have a collar and tags, but his thick fur could easily hide them.

Did it nod at her?

The guy still sitting stood up and backed away. That was when the dog viciously barked and lunged.

Mr. Knife wasn’t as brave as he looked. He ran, tripping and falling onto the knife. He screamed in pain.

Stupid fuck never learned not to run with scissors. Great.

“Aw, fuck!” his cowardly friend, Mr. Pantswetter, yelled.

Lindsey screamed. “Help! Rape! Help!”

* * *

Ivan winced at her piercing cry, wishing he could tell her to put a sock in it. The braniac who fell on his own damn knife would need an ambulance, no doubt, but Ivan worried more about getting her to safety.

He backed into her and swung his head around to bump her. He felt her hands tangle in the dense fur at the scruff of his neck.

Ooh, long fingers. Strong fingers. Bet they’d feel good…

Crap, now he was sporting wood.

He sat in front of her, pressed against her, wishing she’d shut up. The second attacker, Sir Pissalot, looked at his writhing, bleeding friend, and ran.

Coward.

Five minutes later, two rangers raced down the trail, one leaning over the injured man. The other ranger dropped to one knee next to the woman, who’d blessedly stopped screaming now that the cavalry had shown up too fucking late.

“What happened?”

She sobbed, her arm circling Ivan’s neck. Despite her patina of fear she smelled…

Yum.

Fuck, and he’d almost softened again.

“I was jogging…and three of them…the other two…he had a knife and when the dog growled, he ran and tripped and fell on it…” She broke down in tears again.

Unable to help himself, Ivan licked her face, trying to comfort her.

Yeah, right, okay, so he wasn’t just trying to comfort her.

Jeremy would be totally pissed, but too fucking bad. This was more important.

“Is this your dog, ma’am?”

Ivan froze. Oh, shit.

She stroked his fur. “Yes. Yes he is.”

Ivan heard her pulse quicken at the lie.

“You do know they’re supposed to be on a leash and have a collar and tags?”

The woman tensed. Ivan whined, praying she could lie convincingly. Holy fucking shit, now he had to depend on her, at least until Matlock and Barney Fife got their act together and stumbled out of eyeshot so he could run for his clothes.

“He slipped his collar.” She cradled Ivan’s head in her palms and met his gaze, winking. “Thank God he stayed with me.”

He couldn’t help it. He winked back.

* * *

The rangers overlooked the uncollared dog considering she almost got raped. She stood just short enough she could tightly knot her fingers in Ivan’s fur at the scruff of his neck as the rangers escorted them to the parking lot.

She’d parked next to his truck. Could his day go any more to shit than it already had? He just wanted a fucking run. He knew he should have gotten a vehicle with a keypad entry. At least then he could get in his truck and go when no one noticed.

After an hour of questioning by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, she was free to go and Ivan learned her name was Lindsey Martinez. He had no choice but to jump into the backseat of her car when she opened the door and said, “Come on, boy.”

Thank God. At least she hadn’t dubbed him something lame like Fido or Spot.

She lived in a one-story condo complex in Temple Terrace. Far from the worst neighborhood, but not the best. All the way home she glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

And daammnn, she smelled good. He had to fight not to drool.

He paid careful attention to the address. Jeremy would never let him live this down.

She opened the car door. He had no choice but to follow. To get to a phone he had to follow her, because he damn sure couldn’t shift into a naked guy in public.

Not that he minded following her. Especially when his nose sat right at ass level…

He accidentally bumped into her when she stopped at her front door.

She jumped. “Listen, buddy, we’ll get along fine if you don’t go sticking your nose up my hind end.” Then she smiled.

He looked up at her. We’d get along a helluva lot better if you’d let me do just that.

His heart beat at an unsteady pace. Call Jeremy, yeah, that was what he had to do.

Umm, why?

Oh yeah. Work. He had to get to work.

He followed her inside her condo. Tidy, not fancy, some moving boxes stacked in her living room.

She rummaged in a kitchen cabinet and filled a bowl with water, knelt down onto the linoleum, and watched him drink.

She ran her hands over his body. He closed his eyes and gulped, wishing she wouldn’t do that and praying she wouldn’t stop. As her hands approached his rump, he jumped when she brushed against his balls. It took every ounce of will he had not to shift and fuck her silly right there on her kitchen floor.

Why’d she have to smell so damn good? Even with the last traces of bug spray she smelled right, smelled like—

Mate.

He looked at her.

“You are a boy. I thought so. Hard to tell with all that fur.” She cradled his head again, staring into his eyes. Hers were green, as he’d suspected, a beautiful shade of jade green he could lose himself in.

“Thank you,” she whispered, then broke down crying, throwing her arms around him, hugging him, burying her face in his fur.

He rested his chin on her shoulder. How could he leave her? He wanted to curl up in her lap and stay with her and lick every tear off her sweet flesh.

Mate.

Now that the word had pierced his conscious he couldn’t get it out of his brain. Every beat of his heart hammered it home.

Mate. My mate. My mate.

He’d never felt like this before. This wasn’t wanting a piece of ass. This was deeper, in his blood. In his soul.

When she sat back, he licked her face, whining. Jesus, I love you, Lindsey.

She laughed. “I need to get a shower. Please don’t pee on anything, okay?” She petted his head and smiled. “We need to get you a collar and a nametag, but what am I going to call you?”

“Fuck me harder” works fine for me, babe.

“You’re not some stupid wussy dog. You need a good name, a strong name.” She braced her arms against him as she stood, wincing. “I’ll think about it. I think good in the shower.”

I bet you look good in the shower, too.

He curled up on the floor at the end of her bed and watched her strip. She threw the clothes away and stepped into the bathroom to start the water.

Mouthwatering didn’t begin to express what her appearance did to him. Her nipples tightened into hard peaks as the cool air hit them. Perfect, natural breasts that would comfortably fit in his palms as his fingers brushed over her.

He whined, his erection nearly painful.

She smiled. “Sorry, puppy. That’s illegal. Hope it’s enough for you to know you’re the only man in my life. You don’t have to share me.” Lindsey walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower.

Believe me, honey, I’m not sharing you. Not on your fucking life.

Mate. My mate.

He stared through the bathroom door then reality called. He stood and streaked into the living room. Checking to make sure he was out of view of the bathroom, he shifted and grabbed the phone and called Jeremy. A glance at the clock showed it was almost noon.

He anxiously watched the bathroom door while Jeremy took his sweet fucking time answering his cell.

“Ivan? Why the hell aren’t you back yet?”

“Jer, shut the fuck up and listen. There’s been trouble.” Jeremy listened while Ivan detailed what happened.

“Where are you?”

He read off the address. “Temple Terrace.”

“I’ll be there in twenty to sneak you out of there.”

“No!”

“What?”

Ivan hesitated. “I want to stay.”

“What? Are you out of your freaking mind, Ivan?”

Ivan closed his eyes and whispered the words. “I’ve found her.”

“What do you…Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. I need some time. I’m going to be out of touch for a few days.”

“Are you sure?”

He listened to her in the shower. Lindsey hummed, a light, tuneless melody that tattooed her voice across his soul. “Yeah, dude. I’m sure. She’s my mate.”

Jeremy sighed. “What do you need from me?”

“My truck’s still over at the park. And my clothes. She’s in the shower, but she’ll be done in a minute. I think she’s going to go to the store. Can you wait outside and run me over there after she leaves? I can be back before she returns. Just wait for me in the parking lot here, a few buildings away.”

“Don’t leave me sitting all day.”

Ivan heard her moving around in the shower. “Gotta go. Bye.” Ivan hung up and shifted back, padding into the bathroom.

* * *

Lindsey closed her eyes and let the hot water soothe her sore muscles. This wasn’t a normal dog. She wasn’t into crazy psychic shit, but there was something different about that dog. He wasn’t a stray. He was well cared for. Maybe a police K9 dog or something that escaped from its handler.

She should put an ad in the paper. Shouldn’t she?

The thought ripped her heart out. She didn’t want to give him up. It was stupid, silly, and childish, but the dog saved her. He wasn’t just a dog. He was more.

And it felt right thinking about keeping him.

He needed a good name. Not some normal dog name, a name that fit him.

Sensing a presence, she looked down. He’d shoved his head into the shower, the spray dotting his black fur with small drops of moisture.

Was he smiling? If he was a guy, she’d say so.

“Hey, personal space, buddy.”

He snorted, but withdrew his massive head.

“And don’t go dragging your wet fur onto my bed, either!”

Another snort and she watched through the opaque shower curtain as he rubbed his head dry on her bathmat.

She stuck her head out of the shower and looked at him, an absurd idea hitting her between the eyes. “Hey, you.”

He looked up.

“Go get me a soda out of the fridge.”

* * *

Is she fucking serious?

He debated, then when the full force of her jade eyes nailed him, he bolted from the bathroom and carefully opened the fridge with his mouth. He gently gripped one of the cans of Coke, trying not to puncture the can, and bumped the door shut with his ass. Then he trotted back to the bathroom where she stood with her head exposed, watching him in awe and disbelief.

He waited for her to reach for the can and he gently placed it in her palm.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He sat, wagging his tail. No problem, babe. Anything else you want? Sandwich? Chips? Wedding ring? A good, hard fucking?

She slid to the shower floor, leaning against the wall. He worried she’d fainted, but she stared at him, deep in thought. She popped the tab on the can and took several long swigs, then let out a loud belch.

He laughed, which he knew to her sounded like a snort.

“You think that’s funny?”

He couldn’t help it. He nodded. Maybe it would make it easier for her to wrap her mind around the truth later.

“You’re not a normal dog, are you?”

He shook his head. Babe, you have no fucking idea.

She set the can on the floor and stood, finishing her shower. She dried and dressed, and he watched her every move. He’d do whatever she wanted. Anything she wanted.

Now he had to figure out how to tell her the truth.

She walked to the front door and grabbed her purse, then turned. “Don’t chew. Don’t have an accident. Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

He shook his head.

“Okay. I’ll be back in about two hours.” She stopped, laughing. “Jesus, I need a life. I’m talking to a dog like he understands me.”

He watched from the front window as she drove off. Five minutes later, Jeremy drove into the complex. Ivan shifted back and raced to the bathroom, grabbing a towel from the floor. He returned to the front door and opened it, waving.

Jeremy walked up with a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in his hand, tossing them at Ivan before he even reached the stoop.

“Here you go, brainiac. Jesus, I can’t believe you.”

Ivan caught the clothes and put them on, returning the towel to the bathroom. “No time for that now. You can kill me later. We need to go.”

They made it to the park in less than twenty minutes with Jeremy driving. “Where’s your clothes?” Jeremy asked.

“Off the trail.” They got out of the truck, and Jeremy followed him at an easy, loping pace. Ivan found them still hidden where he’d left them in the brush. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”

Jeremy smirked. “Yeah, well, I’ll hold you to it.” His face grew serious. “Really?” he asked. “You’re sure she’s your mate?”

Ivan looked down. “I can’t explain how she’s different. You know how normally a woman hits you between the balls when you want her? This one hit me straight between the lungs and eyes. I can’t think about anyone but her, man. It’s killing me not to be at her place, smelling her.”

“Well, good luck. Should I drop by to check on you?”

“I’ll call.”

“Any idea how to tell her?”

“I think so.”

* * *

Ivan made it back well before she did. He parked in a guest spot and prayed no one had broken into her condo while he was gone. Fortunately, they hadn’t. He put his cell in silent mode before taking it inside. He locked the front door behind him and stripped, looking for a place to hide his things.

The condo wasn’t large. Where wouldn’t she find them? He looked at her bed and inspiration struck. He lifted the mattress and jammed everything into the middle of the bed on top of the box spring, smoothing the sheet and cover after.

He shifted back and waited, pacing the condo, sniffing every square inch of it, looking for anything with even a trace of her sweet scent. Or a sign that she had been with a man recently, even though she’d said she was alone.

My mate.

He greeted her at the door when she returned not quite two hours after her departure, and he fought the urge to shift and help her unload her groceries.

“Hey, boy. Did you miss me?”

He softly woofed. She carried a huge bag of…groan…dog food. At least it was a top-shelf brand, very expensive, human-grade homeopathic food.

She’d spent some bucks. That relieved him and made him feel guilty that she spent that much on him when he wouldn’t be using it for long if he got his way.

Lindsey set the bag on the floor and knelt beside him, hugging him, burying her face against his neck and inhaling. “The girl at the store said it’s the best food, none of that Chinese chemical crap to make you sick.”

She looked into his eyes again. “I should put a found ad in the paper, but I don’t want to. I kept worrying about you while I was gone.”

Join the club, babe. You have nooo clue.

She nuzzled his nose and went back to her car for more bags. She’d bought two collars, not sure how large she needed. She looked at him as she held them up.

“I wasn’t sure what size you’d be,” she said.

And a leash.

A little BDSM? Hmm…

He tried to quiet his anxious cock at the thought. She could lead him anywhere she wanted. Of course it wasn’t kinky to her in this context. He was the perv.

Only one of the collars fit, a large choker. She slipped it over his head. “I should get you to the vet.”

He whined. Baby, these balls are staying put.

“A big boy like you afraid of the vet?”

He whined again.

“I promise I won’t have you neutered as long as you promise not to go running off and screwing around. Or don’t go peeing on stuff.”

He softly woofed, trying not to laugh. No worries on either count.

She’d also gone to Publix and spent a few bucks. She’d bought him a huge T-bone steak.

“You want it raw?”

He woofed.

She put it on a plate and set it on the floor for him. “That’s a thank-you. There’s three more.”

Hot damn, that’s more like it. He tore into it.

* * *

That night, Lindsey curled on the couch to watch TV and patted the cushion. He eagerly jumped up next to her, resting his head in her lap with a content sigh.

She stroked his head as he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent.

My mate.

When she started yawning around ten, he remained hopeful as she stood and walked to the bedroom. He waited for a cue, and his heart leapt when she stopped at the bedroom door and turned to look at him.

“Well? Come on, big boy. I don’t want to sleep alone.”

He knew she couldn’t possibly mean it the way he wanted, but he scrambled off the couch and raced past her into the bedroom. He leapt, landing squarely in the middle of the mattress.

She laughed and turned off the lights, stripping before sliding into bed. “Slide over, bed hog.”

He did, waiting until she settled to snuggle against her. She rolled over and threw her arm around his broad chest. “I still need to name you.”

Husband’s always a good one.

* * *

Lindsey wasn’t sure if she’d sleep, but she did, almost immediately. He didn’t smell like any dog she’d ever had. He reminded her of…

Of a man.

No, she wasn’t so desperate for loving, despite a three-year dry streak in her love life, to contemplate bestiality. Between his freaky intelligence and imposing physical presence, she couldn’t help it.

She loved him.

She dreamed, deeply, of a large man with the dog’s grey eyes and black hair peppered with silver. But he was young, maybe a little older than her, broad shouldered and handsome.

Her dream lover rolled over and looked at her, lacing his fingers through hers, gently, tenderly kissing each digit and nuzzling her hand. “Ivan,” he whispered.

She stared into his large, grey eyes and nodded. “That’s a good name.”

He smiled and she wanted to lean over and kiss him. Wanted to lock her lips onto his and…

Lindsey opened her eyes and looked at the dog, his grey eyes delving into hers.

“Ivan,” she whispered.

He nodded.

“That’s a good name.”

* * *

He lived with her three more days before making his move. Every night he made sure she dreamed about him, each dream going further than the rest. He pretended to like the kibble so he didn’t hurt her feelings.

He did everything possible to make her feel at ease when she was home, to try to lessen her jumpiness he knew was left over from the attack. As soon as she left every day, he shifted back and scavenged through the kitchen for real food. Then he’d take a shower and shave because he couldn’t stand feeling grungy.

On Saturday morning, he lay in bed and waited for her to wake up. Normally she would start the pot of coffee then they went jogging. He enjoyed running with her even if she wasn’t as fast as him. He always perfectly synced his steps to hers, never pulling on the leash, never falling behind. He enjoyed the looks they received, the men who watched her and warily eyed him.

Mate. My Mate.

This morning would be different. She had the day off from work, and he followed her to the kitchen, grabbing his leash in his teeth from where it hung over the doorknob.

“You have to go out now?”

He shook his head and nudged her hand. She slipped the collar over his head. It always stayed snapped on the leash. He sat.

“What is it?”

He looked at her, nuzzling her hand so it rested on top of his head.

Please let this work.

He shifted.

He didn’t dare move, her sudden gasp not breaking into the anticipated scream.

When she fell, he caught her and pulled her into his lap, her stunned eyes wide with shock.

He didn’t speak, waiting for her to make the next move.

She touched his face, ran her fingers through his hair, and finally gasped for breath.

“Do it again,” she whispered.

Ivan couldn’t contain the slight smile that curled his lips. He shifted back into his wolf form.

Lindsey sobbed, wrapping her arms around his furry neck. “Again,” she whispered.

He did, holding her.

She sat there with him for an hour, not speaking, barely remembering to breathe.

When she finally sat back, he stood, the collar and leash still around his neck. Ivan scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Lindsey’s gaze never left his, her hand stroking his cheek. He captured her fingers and kissed her hand, gently sucking each digit into his mouth, laving his tongue over them. She was taking this better than he ever dreamed. He’d expected at least a few minutes of screaming, followed by some orders to get the hell out—which he’d ignore, of course—followed by more screaming and hysterical crying.

She looked…relieved.

* * *

The man of her dreams. No, literally, the man she dreamed about every night since Ivan saved her in the park. If she’d lost her mind, it could stay permanently gone for all she cared. He wasn’t a figment of her imagination, and the collar didn’t magically appear around his neck.

Her fingers trailed down his jaw to his throat where she unsnapped the leash and tossed it to the floor.

He rolled on top of her, his huge erection poking her in the thigh. “You okay, Lindsey?”

His voice sounded the same as from her dreams, deep and strong, soothing, sending tendrils of need from her heart to her heated pussy.

She nodded. She felt way more than okay.

When he kissed her, she closed her eyes and buried her fingers in his thick black hair. He tasted good, safe, strong. Moaning when he broke their kiss, she tried to pull him back, but he chuckled.

“It’s okay.”

His lips blistered a scorching path down her throat as his hands lifted her T-shirt, exposing her breasts. Ivan’s sharp intake of breath at the sight of her peaked nipples only served to increase her need. His lips captured one, and when his tongue flicked it, she moaned.

As he gently cupped her other breast, his fingers tweaking her nipple into a similar state, she ground her hips against him.

She wanted him. Now.

Screw patience, screw caution—she wanted him to screw her! Thank God she was still on the Pill.

“Fuck me,” she begged. “Please!”

She received a deep and hungry growl in reply. He lifted his mouth from her breast. “I will, babe. Trust me. And I won’t stop once I start. You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to, ever since I met you.”

Lindsey closed her eyes and squirmed against him. She’d deal with reality later. No way in hell she would let him stop the delicious things he did to her body.

Ivan peeled her T-shirt off, and his hot flesh against hers felt perfectly right. She ran her hands over his firm body. He wanted her.

When she pushed her shorts and panties down her hips, he pulled them off her legs. He bent his head to her belly, kissing, licking, tasting.

That wasn’t exactly where she wanted him, but it was a damn good start.

Trying to nudge him lower, she tangled her fingers in his hair and pushed. It was like moving a large boulder. He wasn’t budging.

“I’m going to make love to you all day,” he whispered. “There’s no need to rush.”

Lindsey threw her head back, squeezing her eyes shut as he took an agonizingly long time exploring every centimeter of her flesh before lightly teasing her clit with his tongue.

“Do it. Please.”

“I want you, Lindsey.”

“I’m telling you to fuck me, Ivan.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

His choked voice more than his actual words broke through her passion. She lifted her head to look at him. His grey eyes focused on her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I love you.”

Every last shred of sanity screamed at her to stop, to back up, to at the very least ask for a background check or ID or a current rabies shot certificate. Something.

But his eyes. Those big, grey eyes melted her.

He saved her. At any time he could have done…whatever he did…certainly big enough to force me. He didn’t.

He protected her. And for the first time in a long time, she felt she was exactly where she should be. Safe.

Loved.

“I love you, too, Ivan.” She knew the words were true as soon as she whispered them.

“Forever?”

“That’s a long time.”

He nodded. “You have no idea.”

“We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

He nodded again.

Lindsey swallowed, hard. “Do I start doing…this?”

He smiled. If she’d had any reservations, that would have melted them away like a spring thaw on Mt. Rainier. “Long story, but no. I was born like this.” He sat up and held her hand. “Okay. No fleas or ticks, I promise I’m faithful, and I’ll rip the throat out of any guy who dares look at you wrong. But you can’t get me neutered.”

She laughed, but his desperate, pleading look pulled at her. A guy like this should look confident he’d get the girl, but he looked scared.

“Downside?”

“It’s a fucking big secret to keep. I’ll introduce you to Jeremy.”

“Who’s he?”

“He’s my friend, boss, and Alpha.”

“Alpha?”

“Pack leader.”

She sat up. “Pack? There’s more of you?”

“More than you’d think.”

Reality hung on by a rapidly fraying thread. “Upside?” she whispered.

His smile returned and he leaned in, nuzzling her just behind her ear, making her lower belly contract in a hot and pleasant way. “I get to do this to you every day for the rest of our lives.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely.”

She nervously swallowed as the abyss loomed beneath her. “Will you protect me and keep me safe?” It’d been so long since she’d felt safe. And the past few days, even with dog-Ivan, she’d felt safer than she had in…well, years.

A fierce expression blasted across his face. “No one will ever again harm you. Ever. I’ll die before I let that happen.”

Lindsey closed her eyes. “I’m yours.”

His growl might have been scary except for the fact that his lips did incredibly addictive things to her neck. Ivan gently lowered her to the bed. He quickly returned to his earlier position between her legs and dropped his head.

She hoped the neighbors weren’t home. His tongue firmly stroked her clit and sent a shockwave through her nervous system the likes of which she’d never experienced. When he slipped one, then two thick fingers inside her, she loudly moaned.

“Fuck, yes!” she cried.

Ivan chuckled but didn’t respond, his lips too busy massaging her swollen nub as his fingers skillfully stroked her to the most explosive climax she’d ever experienced. She screamed his name as he kept her coming for what felt like forever.

Well, she could ditch the vibrator. And the dildo. What was the point? They were smaller than him.

He eventually relented and moved up the bed to gather her against his firm chest, holding her, his face buried in her hair.

“Every day?” she gasped.

“As many times as you want.”

She flattened her body against him, his cock rubbing along her belly. “You’ve still got to propose.”

“Marry me. Please. If you want groveling, I can do that.”

“Yes.”

“To the groveling?”

She nipped his throat. His cock jumped in response. “No, silly. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Then he slipped his cock inside her, buried deeper than any man had ever gone. He rolled on top of her while she threw her legs around his waist, hanging on for the ride.

His eyes locked onto hers. “I’ll never leave your side.”

“That’s unrealistic.”

He smiled. “You’re a ballbuster, aren’t you?”

“That a problem?”

“No. I’m always up for a little kink.” He playfully grinned.

Lindsey laughed. “I think you’ll need a daily session on the leash to remind you who takes you home every day.” She reached up and flicked the choker collar, which still hung, albeit much more loosely, around his neck.

He plunged a little deeper, drawing a gasp from her. “Leading me around by my cock isn’t good enough, huh?”

She grabbed the collar and pulled his face to hers, thrusting her tongue between his lips.

His hungry groan flipped her heart. Who was she kidding? If this hunk wanted her she’d take him even if he turned out to be a crazy psycho—or an ultraconservative Republican.

He pulled away just long enough to flip her onto her knees and slide his thick cock inside her from behind, filling her, taking her breath away.

Ivan wrapped his arms around her waist, one hand between her legs, skilled fingers rolling her clit and teasing her toward another climax.

“I want you, Lindsey.” He growled, kissing her back, tasting the flesh over her spine. “I want you forever, for mine, for my mate.”

She barely formed coherent words. “Take me, Ivan. Fuck me.”

Then his lips, hot on her shoulder as they worked up and down her flesh, and his teeth grazing her as the slow explosion built in her clit, spreading out to the rest of her wonderfully full. Between his fingers and his cock and his mouth and the solid wall of flesh pressed against her body, she knew she wanted this forever.

“My mate,” he whispered before sinking his teeth into the top of her shoulder. At the same time he pistoned his hips hard, burying his cock balls-deep inside her. He gently pinched her clit, setting off a thermonuclear reaction of her own.

Agony and ecstasy vied for the win, with pleasure leading the pack by a mile. She was vaguely aware of his climax, his growling moan and the feel of his hot seed inside her, marking her.

Mate.

His mate.

Gasping for breath and shuddering from the aftermath of her orgasm, she collapsed under him.

He rolled to his side, his arms around her, holding her tightly, still joined.

With sanity returning, she suspected she’d hurt like hell where he bit her, but his lips and tongue carefully caressed her flesh and it felt like the best feeling in the world.

It took her a while to regain her senses. When she did, she rolled over to face him.

“Do it again,” she whispered, her fingers now around his collar.

“I’m good, but even I need a few minutes to recover, babe.”

She shook her head.

That half smile would be deadly to her reserve. She’d have to learn to build immunity to it somehow. Her fingers weren’t touching his hot flesh, but dense, black fur.

“Okay. Come back.”

The two-legged hunk laughed. “I swear, Jeremy is not going to believe you didn’t run away screaming.”

“I’m still in shock. But if you can fuck me like that and keep the bad guys away, I can deal with anything else. I think.” She hesitated. “It’s probably too late to ask this, but you don’t kill people, do you?”

He grinned. “Only if they tried to hurt you or kill me, babe. It’s not like in the movies.”

“Okay.” She traced the firm lines of his abs. “What do you do for a living?’

Ivan cocked an eyebrow. “A guy shape-shifts from a large dog into a man who fucks you silly, tells you he loves you, asks you to marry him and be his mate, and the second thing you want to know is what he does for a living?”

“You have a problem with that?”

Ivan threw his head back and laughed, long and hard, the bed shaking from his rumbling amusement. “Lindsey, damn, girl. You are too fucking much.” He reached up and rested his palm along her cheek. “I work for Bruin and Associates. We’re a consulting firm.”

“That tells me shit.”

He rolled onto his side, propped on his elbow. “Legal, I promise. We deal with a lot of industrial secrets, things like that. Studies, coordinating product trials, compiling research information.”

“Good money?”

He grinned and rolled out of bed, pulling her to him. “Let’s take a shower.”

She was surprised to find he’d stashed his things under the mattress, another paradox that amused the crap out of him. Maybe she was still in shock over the revelation, but he didn’t think so.

He opened the truck door for her. “After you.” He stole a kiss as she passed, which earned him a gentle goose in his crotch.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He slipped his sunglasses on before backing out of the parking space. “Home.”

* * *

Lindsey’s composure faltered when they drove into the private, gated community in New Tampa. “You live here?”

“We,” he corrected, smiling. “Don’t tell me you’re freaking out now?”

“Wow.” In the grand scheme of things, Ivan was slumming it with his new Honda Ridgeline, while the neighbors on either side of him drove Jags. He pulled into the garage and led her inside.

She stopped in the foyer, and he let her take it in while he continued on to the kitchen. Jeremy had brought in his mail and newspapers, stacking them neatly on the counter. He dropped his keys next to the pile and sorted through mail while she regained her voice.

“This…this is amazing.”

“It’s home.”

Five bedrooms, six-and-a-half bath with high-end Italian tile all the way through, the house had cost him over eight hundred grand. All the room was necessary when packmates came to visit from out of town.

Lindsey drifted over to the backsliders. The private screened lanai, with a large pool and heated Jacuzzi, was tastefully accented by professionally designed container gardens. “Wow.”

She drove a ten-year-old Camry. He knew from snooping through her mail and personal papers that she wasn’t broke, but she was far from rich.

He’d enjoy the hell out of spoiling her.

Eventually, she turned, not speaking, studying him.

Unable to take the silence, he asked, “Well? What do you want to see next?”

“Our bedroom.”

* * *

Lindsey knew he had to walk over to her, pick her up in his arms, and carry her to the bedroom, but it seemed to take place within one breath and maybe two blinks. She found herself flat on her back in the large bed, his lips on hers, and then…

Aw, who cares? She wanted his cock inside her again.

He took his time, slowly thrusting. “Please, Ivan,” she begged. “Make me come.”

His tongue drew deliciously warm circles around each nipple, back and forth. “Not yet, baby. I want to play with you for a while. I can’t show you all my secrets the first day. You’ll get bored.”

“I have a feeling boredom isn’t a word I’ll ever use to describe being with you.”

“I hope not.” He alternated deep, powerful thrusts with short, shallow ones that managed to bring her to the brink time and again. She’d never climaxed just from intercourse before, but she suspected she was about to experience that for the first time in her life.

He slowed his thrusts and lifted her legs to his shoulders. His cock drove deep into her, stretching her, possessing her.

Lie here flat on my back and get fucked by this guy for the rest of my life? Sure, no problemo! Happy to do it!

“Look at me, Lindsey,” he whispered.

She did, unable to resist.

He kissed her leg and drove a little deeper, making her moan. “You think you can come for me like this?”

“I want to.”

He smiled, slowing his strokes and tilting his hips. His thick cockhead glided perfectly along her G-spot, his pubic bone hitting her clit just right. “Like that?”

She nodded, not speaking, not daring to breathe or move for fear of losing that magic combination.

At first she didn’t think it would happen, sure he’d change position or speed or…

It built, slow and steady. Unlike the volcanic eruption of the prior releases he’d brought her to, this was practically gentle.

“That’s it. Give it to me,” he coaxed.

She gripped his arms and moaned as the wave hit her, softly, tenderly.

He didn’t change a thing about his movements until certain she’d finished. Then he climaxed in two thrusts, deep inside her.

He lowered her legs and leaned forward, kissing her throat, murmuring to her.

What he said she didn’t know. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his face to her chest, drifting to sleep content and sated.

* * *

She awoke alone in bed, the sheets tangled around her, the afternoon light golden through the bedroom blinds.

She rolled over and spotted the bedside clock. It was almost four. Touching her shoulder didn’t hurt where he’d bit her. It was totally healed.

“Awake?”

Lindsey jumped at his voice, startled. In his full naked glory, a smiling Ivan leaned against the bedroom doorjamb.

“Sorry I scared you.” He crossed the room with smooth, fluid strides and slipped into bed.

“How did you know I was awake? Not that I’m complaining.”

“I heard you.”

“I didn’t make any noise.”

“You rolled over in bed.” He kissed the hollow of her throat. Maybe she should be afraid, but she only wanted to pull him closer.

“You heard that?” She tangled her fingers in his hair and hooked a leg around his, hoping to keep him there with her.

“I promise I don’t howl at fire engines.”

She rolled on top of him, pleasantly surprised to see he was already aroused. Saved her the trouble.

He moaned when she impaled herself on his stiff shaft and gripped her hips.

“Ready for round two?” he asked.

“I think you lost count. This is more like three or four, isn’t it?” Rolling her hips in a slow sensual motion coaxed a low growl from him.

“I guess counting will get pointless real fast, won’t it?”

Lindsey leaned forward and gently bit his nipple, his replying gasp fueling her passion. “Do you always answer a question with a question?”

“Does that bother you, babe?”

She looked at him, his half smile firmly anchoring her heart to him. “Is it supposed to bother me?”

“Do you like playing games with me?”

“Are you trying to get the last word, or are you going to fuck my brains out, wolfman?”

He laughed and flipped her over, thrusting hard and deep. “Does that answer your question?”

She giggled. “You’re going to keep me busy for a long time, aren’t you?”

Ivan shook his head and kissed her. “All right, you win. Uncle.” He paused, slipping a hand between them, his thumb finding her sensitive clit. “Besides, I think I know a way to distract you.”

“Mm-hmm.” She worked her hips against him, loving the way he filled and stretched her. He rubbed tight circles around her nub, timing his strokes perfectly. Within minutes she had climaxed again.

He stilled his hips, kissing her.

“Hey, don’t stop now.” She wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m not stopping. I’m memorizing your beautiful face. I never thought you’d accept this so well. I figured we’d still be at the you cowering in the corner and threatening me with a kitchen implement stage.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you don’t have the market on secrets. I’ve got one too, you know.”

“Like what?”

“When I get PMS, I’m a real bitch to live with.”

He roared with laughter. “Then you’re my kind of girl, aren’t you?”

* * *

He’d have to wait until she told him the rest in her own time. Something hidden deep, and she used humor as an emotional defense. He’d learned that much in their few days together. They made love again and skinny-dipped in his pool. After, he called Jeremy and arranged to meet him for dinner.

They stopped by her place so she could change clothes. When they arrived at Outback Steakhouse, she nervously gripped Ivan’s hand as he led her inside to where Jeremy had their table waiting.

Jeremy stood at their approach, warmly smiling and extending his hand to her as Ivan made the introductions. She hesitated a moment before shaking with him, then climbed into the booth and huddled close to Ivan’s side.

After the waitress took their order, Jeremy leaned forward, folding his arms on the table. “How are you handling this, Lindsey?”

She nervously glanced at Ivan. He protectively slipped his arm around her shoulders as she answered.

“It’s an adjustment.”

Jeremy nodded. “That’s not the word I usually hear, but good. Do you have any questions for me?”

She met his eyes square on. “Can you kill those fuckers that nearly raped me?”

Ivan choked on the swallow of tea he’d taken. He’d give Jeremy credit for not reacting to that one.

Maybe this was a key to Lindsey’s deep, dark bogeyman.

“Babe,” Ivan said, “we’ll let the law take care of them.”

She glared at him. “What if they don’t find the others?”

“With their partner in the hospital, and then going straight to jail, they’ll get them.”

She tensed against him, and he nuzzled the top of her head, kissing her. “It’s okay. I promise, never again. Ever.”

She nodded.

After dinner, Ivan drove her back to her place, and they spent the night making love. In the morning he rolled over and grinned as she woke up. “What?”

He held up his collar and leash. “Want to go to the park for a run?”

* * *

He knew if he didn’t get her back to the park now, he might never be able to. She was scared, understandably so, but he didn’t want what happened to ruin her enjoyment of a place she obviously loved.

They parked in a shaded area, and Lindsey laughed as he slipped the choker over his head. “Why now?”

He shrugged. “Who says I don’t like it?”

She carried a small backpack with a couple of bottles of water and the leash. Leading her by the hand, he quickly took her off the path into a more desolate section of woods.

He noted her sly smile while he stripped. “What?”

She kissed him, wrapping her fingers around his cock, which immediately responded. “I like you like this.”

He clipped the leash to his collar and jammed his clothes into the backpack. “Keep that up, babe, and you’ll end up flat on your back and butt naked.”

“Maybe that’s what I want.”

He carefully and reluctantly peeled her fingers off his cock. “Later, I promise, you can have as much of that as you want.” He kissed her hand and gave her the backpack. “Let’s go play. Running in the woods makes me really horny.”

“Then by all means, mister. After you.”

He would kill for her smile, to keep her this happy. He shifted, loving the pleased look on her face.

They spent two hours in the park. He could have run all day, but as he sensed the tension fully drain from her, he playfully chuffed and refused her request to shift back before they left. He happily padded at her side down the path toward the parking area, enjoying the wide berth people, especially men, gave them. Only one single man dared approach her. She tensed, but as Ivan raised his hackles, the guy suddenly veered off in a different direction.

Lindsey laughed, tangling her fingers in his fur at the scruff of his neck. “Good boy,” she murmured.

His tail eagerly wagged.

* * *

Two weeks later, she received the call to come ID the other two attackers. Ivan held her hand as they walked into the station.

“I don’t know if I’ll recognize them,” she whispered.

“Don’t worry, babe. I will.” He kissed her hand. “I’ll let you know.”

They let him stay with her because he wasn’t a witness, not that the police were aware of, at least. As the first group of potential suspects marched in, Ivan struggled not to growl. Number two. The pants wetter.

Ivan’s large hand engulfed hers, making it easy for him to tap her fingers twice with his.

“Two,” she breathed.

Smart girl.

He gently squeezed her hand.

Lindsey turned to the officer in charge. “Number two.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.”

They marched the second batch in a moment later, and Ivan again fought the urge to growl. Four gentle taps.

They repeated the procedure, and thirty minutes later she was curled in Ivan’s arms in his truck, sobbing as he held her, consoling her.

“When do you let me in and tell me what happened to you?”

She shuddered. “My ex-boyfriend. I left him and he stalked me.”

“Where, there?”

“No, here. I moved out there to get away from him.”

“Can’t get much farther than Washington state without needing a work visa.”

“No.”

He stroked her arms. “Why’d you come back?” He’d met her family, and while they’d welcomed him, they’d all stayed conspicuously clear of any discussion of Lindsey’s recent past or why she’d moved out West.

“He was killed in a drug deal or something a few months ago.”

Ivan gently clamped his large hands around her shoulders. “You’re coming to work with us. Jeremy gave me carte blanche. I told you, I’m not leaving your side.” In the time since his revelation, she’d quit her job and moved in with him, and he’d taken the time off from work to be with her.

“I told you, Ivan. That’s unrealistic.”

“Let me have my fun.” He stroked her cheek, fighting the urge to make love to her right there in the sheriff’s office parking lot. “I enjoy taking care of you. And I can’t stand being away from you.”

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

Saying he couldn’t keep his hands off her was no exaggeration. Back at their home and knowing the creeps were finally behind bars, she seemed free, somehow. She pushed him to the bed and straddled him.

“Feeling better, babe?” he asked.

She nodded, working on his jeans. “Almost.”

“Almost?”

His cock sprang free as she slid his jeans down his legs. “Yeah,” she whispered as she lowered her mouth to his throbbing cock. “Almost.”

He groaned, tangling his fingers in her hair. Fuck she was so good with her mouth. She did things with her tongue that melted him inside.

He gasped. “What can I do to make you feel better?”

To answer, she had to release his cock. “I want to make you come.”

“No problem.”

She swirled her tongue around the large plum-shaped head, caressing his sac with her fingers. It never took her long to get him off like this, and as the tightness built in his balls, he gently bucked his hips against her.

“Don’t stop,” he whispered.

She deep-throated him, finishing him and setting off an explosion behind his eyes. No woman had ever made him feel the way she did.

When he regained his senses, he looked up to her teasing smile.

“What?”

She curled next to him, nestled perfectly against his side. “You’re just a big puppy.” She took great pleasure in teasing him about that.

“You tamed my beast.”

“When do I get to meet your family?”

He kissed her, his tongue tracing a gentle path from her lips down her jaw to her ear, where a tender kiss just below her lobe always melted her. “Is that when you run screaming into the night? When faced with a houseful of shape-shifters?”

“As long as none of them chew my shoes, we’re copacetic.”

He rolled over and lifted her shirt, nuzzling her breasts. “You have to promise not to make fun of Cousin Frank.”

“Why? Does he turn into a Chihuahua?” she asked with a snicker.

He laughed. “No, I wish.”

“Then what?”

He looked up, his expression serious. “He’s from a different branch of the family.”

“Well?”

“He turns into a panther.”

“And that’s a problem…why?”

“A big cat in the middle of a pack of canines? You don’t see an issue there?”

“Should I stock up on catnip? Kitty litter? Set up a scratching post?”

He rolled over, laughing. “I cannot believe you’re accepting all of this so easily.”

“Hey, wolfman, you promised me great sex every day forever. I’m holding you to that.”

“That’s a walk in the park.” He smiled.

Doggy Style

Genna Pangborn sat three rows back from the defense table and tried not to cry. She watched as Lester leaned in to his attorney and whispered. The attorney nodded and scribbled something on his yellow legal pad.

How did she get to this point? Her family had long since disowned her. If Lester went to prison, she was alone.

Well, except for the supposed “support network” Lester insisted would care for her in the “unlikely event” he was convicted.

It was her own fault for trusting him in the first place. Four years later, and she had no money of her own, nothing to her name except her clothes and her car, and Lester never failed to remind her it was his money that bought everything.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

She never met any of his “associates.” She almost pictured the air quotes around those euphemistic expressions from Lester’s lexicon. Bottom line, she knew damn well what he was, but her voluntary ignorance saved her from going to jail with him. Or worse.

He was a hit man, and she was his goomah. Technically. Although since they weren’t married, and she only lived with him, that supposedly elevated her in status to lower than wife but higher than whore.

She’d been looking for a way to escape when this happened. Dumb shit got himself, and his license plate, caught on security video when he gunned down his mark. The police banged on their door at three o’clock the next morning and hauled him off in handcuffs.

Genna had spent the next several hours vacillating between hysterical laughter and hysterical tears. Her prayers, answered? Or would he skate on the charges?

Genna tried to scan the courtroom without being obvious. She didn’t see anyone that fit the Sopranos or Godfather stereotypes. The only one wearing pinstripes was the State Attorney.

Briefly, she locked gazes with one man, very handsome, on the far side of the courtroom, near the jury box. His golden eyes burned into hers, and she forced herself to look away when her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. Hopefully he wasn’t family of the deceased.

She looked up as the jury walked in. Lester and his attorney stood, and when the verdict was read, Genna squeezed her eyes tightly shut and prayed Lester’s incarceration would mean her freedom.

“On the first count of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant…guilty.”

Genna didn’t hear the rest.

She must have sat there with her eyes closed until after the courtroom was cleared, because a hand touched hers. Lester’s attorney stood over her.

“You can come say good-bye to him.”

She nodded and mutely followed. She honestly couldn’t label her tears as sorrow, but at least she looked right. She felt lighter despite the trouble ahead. She could handle being broke. She’d spent most of her life that way.

She could practically taste the freedom awaiting her.

Living without fear. Not day-to-day fear of Lester, per se, because he’d treated her fairly well. Never threatened to beat her or hurt her. It was the implications behind their lifestyle and his veiled, and not-so-veiled, comments about what would happen if she tried to leave before he was ready to end things that kept her in a constant state of fear.

The unending vigilance to make sure she never overheard anything.

The ability to only pay attention when Lester wanted her attention.

Playing dumb, literally, so no one would ever suspect she knew anything.

Lester kissed her cheek. He was already shackled, and two large guards glowered nearby, ready to take him.

“Someone will call you in the next couple of days,” Lester said. “I promise, you’ll be fine. We’ll get it overturned on appeal.” He sounded a thousand times more confident than his attorney looked.

Genna nodded. “Okay. But I’m going to need to get a job, I think. Won’t I?” Another lesson learned, don’t think for herself. Always put it out there and let Lester think it was his idea. Playing dumb…again.

Lester started to protest then agreed. “Probably for the best.” He smiled. “It’ll keep you busy and out of trouble. You’ll wait for me, and we’ll have a blast when this is over, right, sugar?”

She forced a smile she prayed looked authentic. “Yeah. You’ll be out in no time, I know it.”

“I love you, Genna.”

“I love you, too, Lester.” Then, more for effect than genuine emotion, she added, “What am I going to do without you?” She hoped she wasn’t smiling through her tears.

“Aw, you’ll be okay. Don’t worry.” The guards led him away and she took a deep breath. Alone with the attorney, he opened his briefcase and handed her a bulging manila envelope.

“I’m to give this to you now. The Feds will most likely seize his assets when they file the RICO charges, so I suggest moving sooner rather than later. This should help you get started again.”

She wanted to open it, but thought better of it and tucked it in her purse. “Thank you.”

The attorney eyed her. “I never said this, but if you can find a new apartment and job somewhere else—anywhere else—it might not be a bad thing for you.”

She met the attorney’s steely gaze. “I never said this, but I already had the same idea.”

He smiled. “I knew you were smarter than Lester thought you were.”

* * *

Halfway to her car, a male voice called her name. “Ms. Pangborn? Genna Pangborn?”

Christ! She was sick of reporters and knew from experience if she ignored them it was almost worse than turning and giving them a no comment.

She turned to find the golden-eyed man from the courtroom striding toward her. Damn, he was big! Well over six feet, broad shoulders. He looked like his tailored suit was sprayed on his hard body.

“Yes?”

He stopped a respectable distance away. “May I talk with you for a moment?”

“I’m sorry, but I have no comment.”

“I’m not a reporter.” His calm, deep voice screamed confidence.

She looked around. The area was well populated, and hopefully someone would call 911 if she yelled for help.

As if reading her thoughts, he dropped his voice. “I just need a moment of your time.”

Genna eyed him. “Who are you, and how did you know my name?”

He slowly reached into his jacket and withdrew a business card, extending his arm across the void to her, forcing her to move a step closer to accept it.

“My name is Jeremy Bruin.”

She glanced at his card. Bruin and Associates, Consultants. With a local Tampa address.

“What do you want, Mr. Bruin?”

A half smile caressed his face, turning his strong jaw into a soul-melting, mouth-watering, heart-tripping sight. “I need an administrative assistant.”

* * *

He made no reference to being an “associate” of Lester’s. In fact, she got the distinct impression Bruin didn’t think much of her unofficially ex-boyfriend.

Lester hopefully wouldn’t figure that factoid out—that he was ex—for fifteen to life. She wouldn’t know for sure until after the sentencing hearing though.

Bruin’s cell phone rang. He hesitated after answering and said to Genna, “Can you come to my office at ten Monday morning for an interview?”

She nodded, still captivated by his eyes. In the sunlight they shifted from butterscotch to amber to gold and back.

“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so rude, but this is an important call. See you Monday at ten, Ms. Pangborn.”

He strode away talking, his powerful legs disappearing into a firm ass that…

She shook her head. Sleeping with the boss was what got her in this fucking mess in the first place.

Never again.

Ten minutes later, Genna sat in her car, waiting for the AC to cool it down in the scorching Florida heat. She stared at Bruin’s card.

Couldn’t hurt to talk to him. Right?

* * *

Genna easily located the large, four-story building near Raymond James Stadium. Well-maintained and tasteful landscaping highlighted the grounds. Apparently the entire building belonged to Bruin and Associates.

Inside the cool and tastefully decorated lobby, Genna started toward the reception desk when a massively large black and silver dog padded around the counter and stopped in front of her. His shoulders had to be as high as her waist, and she was a respectable five eight. His large grey eyes terrified her. Did she think he was a dog? He looked like a wolf.

The receptionist laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s friendly.”

When Genna was four, a stray dog attacked her. At the time it looked to be as big as this one, but she knew that was due to her relative size. Thirty stitches and years of nightmares later, she was definitely not a dog person. Although this…dog?...simply stared at her, testing the air with his nose. He didn’t growl or advance any closer than five feet from her.

This was still a Huge. Fucking. Dog.

Genna nearly turned around and walked out, but terror rooted her feet to the tasteful Italian-marble tile floor. She tightly clutched her purse, forcing the words out through taut lips. “I’m here for a ten o’clock appointment with Mr. Bruin,” she whispered. “Can you please call your dog off?”

The receptionist’s face paled. “You’re his ten? I’ll let him know you’re here.” She grabbed the phone, and even though the dog hadn’t been called, it backed up several slow, cautious steps.

As if it feared scaring her.

Genna didn’t breathe until he was hidden behind the desk. Even then she stood where she was, afraid to get too close to the monster dog.

The receptionist hung up and pointed to the elevators. “Fourth floor. He’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you.” Genna bolted, struggling against her tears. Once the door slid shut behind her, she took several ragged, gasping breaths. If she had to work anywhere near that…dog…she’d have to refuse the job. She couldn’t do it. It terrified her.

Over the years, she’d progressed to nothing more than slight jitters around small, friendly dogs. She could sometimes tolerate, for short periods of time, larger dogs like Labs or golden retrievers, if they were calm.

But she’d never overcome her lifelong fear of massive dogs, especially ones as large as that, practically big enough to saddle and ride. She’d seen compact cars smaller than that beast.

Mostly composed by the time the doors opened at the fourth floor, she stepped out and her heart skipped. This time at the site of Jeremy Bruin casually leaning against the far wall. His snug, short-sleeved golf shirt and khaki slacks emphasized his great body.

Her mouth dried. Okay, having a hunky boss isn’t a bad thing. Just can’t sleep with him, that’s all.

He stepped forward, extending his hand. “Ms. Pangborn, thank you for coming. You’re early.”

She was only ten minutes early, but thankfully didn’t wet her pants at the site of Dogzilla in the lobby, which would have forced a return trip home to change.

His grip was firm and warm and dry, his enormous hand dwarfing hers. He had to be at least six five, maybe taller.

“I hope I’m not wasting your time today, Mr. Bruin. I have some administrative skills, but I don’t know what I’d be doing.”

He motioned her to follow him through a maze of hallways, past closed offices. Then into a private reception area where an empty desk stood silent sentinel outside his office door.

“If you can competently perform basic office tasks, you’ll do fine.” He ushered her into his office and closed the door behind them, waving her to a chair in front of his desk.

Bruin waited for her to sit before he did. She couldn’t guess his age. He had very little grey in his dark-brown hair, but while his face didn’t look old, he possessed an aged air about him, like he was careworn or had a lot of living under his belt. He appeared to be in his late thirties, but she could easily be wrong.

Genna handed him a one-page résumé. “I’m sorry it’s not more, Mr. Bruin. I am good with computers. I can answer a phone and take messages. Filing, of course. I don’t have any accounting or technical training, though. I have an English degree. I can write and proofread letters and things like that. I’m a pretty fast typist.”

Her eyes glanced around the office. Tastefully decorated, not over the top, on the stark side. Mahogany paneling and Scandinavian furnishings. One wall of books.

No sign of a dog anywhere.

“How old are you?” he asked. “Not that it matters, just out of curiosity.”

“Twenty-eight.”

Her eyes returned to Bruin as he scanned the paper, nodding. “Your last job ended three years ago?”

She’d hoped he wouldn’t ask about it, but that was too much to hope. “Yes.”

“And why was that?” He focused those eyes on her again, melting her. She’d never felt like this about Lester, ever. Today, Bruin’s eyes looked like caramel pools in his face, burning holes through her core, making her clit throb and sending a hot flood of juices straight to her pussy.

“Well, as you witnessed Friday, I’m not the best judge of character.”

A slight teasing smile curled his lip. “So I was right that you were Lester Corcoran’s girlfriend?”

Genna froze, sensing a trap. “Yes.”

Bruin leaned back, dropping her résumé to his desk. “No, I’m not one of his ‘associates.’ It’s just a happy coincidence I was in the courtroom. When I saw the attorney escort you out, I made the leap in logic.”

She swallowed to form spit. “Why did you want to hire me?”

He shrugged, a heavy, rolling motion that made her want to leap across the desk and rip his shirt off his chiseled chest. “I told you, I need an administrative assistant. I’m guessing with him going to prison for several decades that you needed a job. Saves me from having to put an ad in the paper if it works out for both of us.”

That wasn’t the full truth. She sensed it. Years of being around Lester and his ilk had finely honed her senses in that way. Usually in favor of her own self-preservation, learning when not to ask questions. “What else?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Very perceptive. We do a lot of, shall we say, confidential work for clients. I need someone who can keep their mouth shut and show discretion. Either you really didn’t know anything, which I doubt, or you were smart to overlook things and ignore natural curiosity, keeping yourself purposefully in the dark as to his dealings. Someone like that I could use working for me.”

She relaxed only slightly. “I don’t want to work for someone doing anything illegal. I’d like to return to some semblance of sanity in my life.” She looked down at her hands. “Meeting Lester was the biggest mistake of my life, and I’d prefer a fresh start in all ways. Including I only want to work for someone who doesn’t engage in illegal activities.”

“That we don’t do, Ms. Pangborn, I assure you. There are many reasons for secrecy involving legitimate enterprise, especially where industrial secrets are important to a company’s survival.”

She relaxed even further. She could deal with that. The rare times Lester talked at all about his “associates,” they usually involved construction, waste disposal companies, or Northern unions.

But one more issue needed to be dealt with. “I have to be honest with you, I’m not comfortable working with that huge dog in the lobby.”

A frown crossed Bruin’s face. “And why is that? Did he growl at you?”

She shook her head. “No, he didn’t. I was attacked when I was child. I’m terrified of dogs.”

He templed his fingers. “That is a problem. We allow employees to bring their dogs to work.”

Her heart sank. “Oh,” she quietly said, tensing to stand. “I’m sorry I wasted your time today. Thank you anyway—”

“I’ll pay you fifteen hundred a week to start, for the first three-month probation period. We can negotiate salary after that.”

She froze. That was damn good money.

Alternately, her bullshit buzzer sounded. “Fifteen hundred a week? For answering phones? What’s the catch, Mr. Bruin?”

“That’s to start. You’ll be handling sensitive documents, contracts, information. I’m not in the office a lot. I spend quite a bit of time traveling. You would have a lot of responsibility once you’re up to speed. You won’t be merely a secretary answering phones. You’ll be my executive assistant.”

Genna sat again. “But I’m not that experienced. I’m not even sure what exactly you do yet.”

“I can train you. It’s easier to train skills than it is discretion.”

Dogzilla’s grey eyes haunted her. “How many people bring their dogs to work?”

“Several. Not every day. Ivan rarely leaves Lindsey’s side when she brings him. He’s great for keeping walk-in salespeople out,” he joked.

So Dogzilla’s name was Ivan.

Bruin continued. “If you enter the building as you did today, your only contact would likely be Ivan, unless you ran into someone in the elevators or outside in the parking lot. I can make it known that you aren’t comfortable with dogs, and that our staff should accommodate your fears.”

“Fifteen hundred a week?”

“And fully paid health insurance on top of that.”

She considered it. It was a lot of money. She’d already signed a lease at an apartment not too far away, the first six months paid from what turned out to be over twenty-five thousand in cash in the envelope.

“When would I start?”

He smiled, twisting her heart again. “Immediately, if you wish.”

“Is the day after tomorrow okay? I have to finish moving.”

He nodded. “All right.” He called someone and spoke to them briefly. When he hung up, he stood. “I’ll take you to Human Resources, and they’ll handle everything.” At his office door he held out his hand. She shook with him, but this time she almost fell into his deep, piercing eyes. “Thank you for coming aboard, Ms. Pangborn.”

* * *

Three hours later, Genna was back at the house she’d shared with Lester, packing another load to take to her new apartment. She didn’t bother with any of the furniture, just some books, pictures, CDs, and other items she wanted to keep. The attorney told her the Feds wouldn’t hassle her when they went after him on RICO charges, especially if it looked like she barely took anything. She’d already purchased a bed, due to be delivered later that afternoon. She could easily afford to buy new furniture with the money she had left over, stashed securely in a safe-deposit box.

By midnight she collapsed on her new bed in her new apartment. The place was a disaster, but she didn’t care.

For once, it was something all hers.

Genna still had at least three more carloads to bring over from the house, but she could tackle that in the morning. She’d forwarded her mail to a PO Box in Palma Ceia, over twenty minutes south and a pain in the ass to get to, but she didn’t want to risk Lester’s “associates” finding her too soon. If they’d even bother looking for her.

She fell into an exhausted sleep and dreamed about a large, wolflike dog, much like Ivan.

Only this massive animal possessed Bruin’s butterscotch eyes. Where Ivan’s coat was black and dusted with silver, this enormous beast was dark brown with traces of black around his piercing eyes.

In her dream, she lay in bed and watched him pad toward her, suddenly shifting and morphing into Jeremy Bruin—naked and throbbingly erect—and he crawled onto her bed.

Damn, what a fantastic dream! She felt his hands hot against her skin, and decided it was fine to have erotically charged wet dreams about the boss as long as she didn’t do anything about them. She’d always had vivid dreams, but this was beyond her wildest imagination.

His lips scorched her flesh. His teeth gently bit at her pebbled nipples, and she squirmed beneath his massive form as his throbbing cock brushed against her leg.

Real-life sex had never been this good with Lester.

Genna groaned with need as he lifted his head from her breasts. He yanked her legs apart, diving between them, his lips and tongue working at her mound, flicking her clit. She gasped, trying to squirm against him, but he gripped her thighs with his massive hands and held on tight, forcing her to stay still as he mercilessly brought her to climax three times in quick succession.

When she lay gasping and spent, he effortlessly flipped her over, driving his enormous cock home in one hard thrust, making her cry out.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to her knees as he fucked her from behind.

“Mine,” he growled, his other hand reaching around to cup her throat and pull the back of her neck against his lips.

She didn’t respond, too busy enjoying the feel of his large cock bottoming out, stretching her in a way Lester’s small tool never could.

He jerked her body, hard, against him. “Mine!” he growled again, his teeth raking against the back of her neck, sending erotic shivers through her body that settled in her suddenly very sensitive clit. “Say it.”

“Yours!” she gasped.

His tongue traced a slow path down her spine as he stopped thrusting, holding himself still deep inside her.

He growled. “You’ll never want anyone else, will you?”

Fuck no, not if the dreams were this good! “No,” she whispered. Hell, it was just a dream. Who cared what she said as long as he started banging her again.

His hands dropped to her hips, and he gripped her, hard, as his pelvis shot forward, taking her even deeper than before.

Doggy style, how ironic.

She stifled a laugh. Even in a dream she considered it rude to snicker at the guy fucking her. Especially when he was dream-fucking her so well.

He folded his body around hers and pumped into her, impaling her very depths. His breath, hot and heavy on the back of her neck, made her shiver. “Then I claim you…now.” He bit into the back of her shoulder as he rammed into her one final time, his arms around her hips, shooting his hot seed deep within.

She cried out not from pain, but from the unexpected orgasm that nearly ripped her apart from the inside out. She never came like this! Holy crap, this is fucking great!

Panting and trembling, she collapsed to the bed. He was already standing, looking at her with a strange expression.

“Go back to sleep. This is just a dream.”

Genna weakly nodded. “Of course it’s a dream, dumb fuck. I know that.” Holy hell, his cock was still huge.

Before her eyes he transformed into the dog again, silently padding out of her bedroom. She dropped her head to her pillow, content and ready to resume boring sleep when a long, loud howl outside her patio startled her eyes open.

“What the fuck?”

She climbed out of bed and peeked through the window. Outside, the dog tipped its head back and howled again, long and eerie. A moment later, two more howls sounded in response from a few blocks over, it sounded like.

Wow. What a dream! Okay, so it felt like she had come—and was sore from being fucked—but she’d been asleep and the sound of that dog outside was what likely triggered it. And the soreness was most likely due to all the moving.

Genna sat on the bed and closed her eyes. She felt exhausted. If she could dream like that every night, she had no reason to get involved with anyone.

She reached behind her, touching a sore spot on her shoulder, where the Dream Bruin had bit her. She felt something there, a raised bump, maybe? But it was already feeling better. Probably a damn mosquito. If she’d really been bitten, she’d hurt like hell, right?

When her alarm clock went off at seven the next morning, Genna wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. But she needed to get into the habit of getting up for work, and then memories of the dream snapped her wide awake.

Wow.

She took a hot shower, her sore muscles protesting another day of moving and organizing. Out of curiosity she wiped the steam from the mirror and turned to look at the spot on her shoulder. An odd pattern of pink bumps, no longer sore even, but probably from a damn mosquito repeatedly feasting on her bare shoulder all night long.

That’ll teach me to sleep naked.

* * *

Jeremy padded away from her apartment, feeling conflicted. He reached his car, parked in a dark patch of asphalt under an oak tree. No one around and hidden in the shadows, he shifted back, pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, and got into his car.

He knew what he’d done wasn’t usual. Claiming a mate was for life. He accepted that and was more than prepared to take care of Genna.

He hadn’t expected to develop feelings for her when he claimed her. She was, technically, still the enemy, even if she was now his mate.

Never mind, that didn’t change anything. Revenge for pack blood spilled by that fucking asshole took precedent over all else. Especially when the packmate murdered was his cousin and best friend.

He started the car and drove home.

* * *

It took her most of the morning to finish moving. She made another furniture-shopping run, stopping to get more cash from the safe-deposit box. By evening, she cooked her first meal in her new kitchen.

Okay, so it was a one-person omelet. It was her kitchen.

Now that she had time to sit and relax, Genna thought about the previous night’s dream. How could she dream like that again? She’d do it every night, if she had her choice.

She sipped her chamomile tea. Facing Bruin every day would be a challenge. No doubt his real body matched his dream body. Between her legs, her pussy contracted in a hot and pleasant way at yet another thought of the dream-fucking she’d enjoyed more than any real-life roll in the sack with Lester.

It was hard to go to sleep despite her exhaustion. She was too excited about starting work the next morning, too hopeful the dream would return.

Eventually she drifted, but when her alarm clock sounded at seven, she looked at it with disappointment. No dream lover had boinked her brains out, Bruin or otherwise.

“Well, damn.”

With a disappointed sigh she showered and dressed for work.

* * *

Genna decided to go in a little early and perhaps miss the worst of the dog crowd. Ivan didn’t greet Genna in the lobby, though Lindsey sat behind her desk already. The large dog could have easily been on the floor at her feet, but Genna didn’t want to risk mentioning his name for fear he’d come say hi.

“Good morning,” Genna said.

Lindsey smiled. “Good morning. Mr. Bruin called and said he’s running late this morning, but he left some things on your desk to get you started. You’re to call his cell if you have questions. And if you get stuck, call me and I’ll come up.”

“Thank you.” Genna raced for the elevators, breathing a sigh of relief when the doors slid closed behind her without her spotting any sign of Ivan. She’d brought her lunch and would hopefully not have to leave her office except for bathroom breaks. Maybe in a few weeks she’d be braver, but for now she wanted to focus on her new job.

And on not drooling over her hunkster new boss. Or worrying about passing out over a puppy.

There were several folders spread out on her desk in an orderly arrangement. She sat and read through them. The first was a specific list of several requirements Bruin had about her job. She’d signed a confidentiality agreement the other day, and he emphasized her silence was a requirement to keep her job. She could listen to music as long as it wasn’t disruptive or interfered with answering phones. She could take an hour lunch as well as two half-hour breaks during the day.

Wow, generous!

She would be available to him via phone twenty-four seven, three sixty-five for questions or issues, but those instances would most likely be rare. Still, she would receive a corporate cell phone. Travel would be a requirement—paid by the company, of course. Other specifics such as how to answer the phone, how to handle certain calls, it was a dizzying amount of information.

At the bottom of the first list, he included a handwritten comment.

I’m sure you’ll do fine, Ms. Pangborn. Relax.

She smiled at his tidy script. Lester always wrote like a trembling chicken.

When Bruin arrived around eleven, Genna had read through all the information and familiarized herself with the computer system.

He carried a Starbucks cup and wore dark sunglasses. Her heart fluttered as her mind briefly conjured the dream.

“Good morning, Mr. Bruin.”

He nodded. “Ms. Pangborn. Any problems or questions?”

“Not yet, thank you.” He almost seemed a tad…chilly.

Then again, she’d spent less than twenty minutes total with him. Who knew how he normally acted?

He paused at his office door. “I’m expecting a visitor in about twenty minutes. When he arrives, please send him straight in.”

“Yes, sir.” She didn’t want to ask the visitor’s name in case she shouldn’t know, but he looked at her.

“His name is Ivan.”

She shivered. “The dog?”

Then he smiled. “No, that’s a coincidence.” With that he closed the door behind him, and she ran her hands over her arms to smooth the gooseflesh. Her panties were already damp from just the thought of what his dream counterpart’s lips had done to her.

Nineteen minutes later, a large man walked in, nearly as tall as Bruin, with broad shoulders and familiar grey eyes, but she couldn’t place from where. His black hair was dusted with grey. It looked good on him despite how young he appeared, maybe Bruin’s age.

His stern demeanor concealed all emotion. She got the distinct impression he didn’t approve of her presence.

“I’m here to see Jeremy. Ivan Biendino.”

He made her nervous, no doubt about it. “Please go right in, sir. Mr. Bruin is expecting you.”

She held her breath until he closed the inner office door behind him. He was nearly as terrifying as Ivan the Dogzilla. Maybe Ivan was Russian for “can scare the living crap out of you with a look.” If so, both man and dog were appropriately named.

Ivan stayed in Bruin’s office for two hours. At one point she thought she heard raised voices, but she ignored it and continued working. When Ivan angrily emerged, Genna hoped she didn’t jump too much. This time the look he sent her was…

Sympathetic?

His face softened a fraction as he stared at her. “Have a good day, Ms. Pangborn.”

She nodded. “Thank you, sir.” She noticed Ivan’s ass was as cute and tight as Bruin’s.

Bruin opened his door. “Ms. Pangborn, please bring a notepad with you.” He left the door standing open as he returned to his desk and dictated several notes for her to add to one of the files. He made no mention of Ivan.

By five o’clock, she wanted to leave but stayed a little later to finish a few things. The work was easy, and from the looks of some of their clients, she understood the need for stringent secrecy. Engineering agencies, chemical corporations, medical research firms—she still wasn’t exactly sure what Bruin and Associates did, but apparently they coordinated behind the scenes activities that had to remain silent.

Most of what she read was couched in technical terms and legalese. At least she could honestly say, if ever deposed, that she didn’t understand most of it.

That night she settled in and dropped to sleep. Yay sexy dream! The enormous brown dog returned. When the dog changed into Bruin, she smiled and felt a pleasant throbbing between her legs.

He didn’t say anything, just silently stared at her for a long time with an expression she couldn’t decipher. Then he knelt between her legs and looked at her, his amber eyes liquefying her soul.

“Who do you belong to?” he asked.

“You,” she breathlessly replied.

“Louder.”

“I belong to you,” she said, her voice trembling. Damn this was a realistic dream. She felt the mattress move as he shifted his weight.

“You’re all mine, aren’t you?” he growled, lowering his head to her pussy.

“Yes, I’m all yours!”

“Ask me to make you come,” he whispered.

“Please make me come!”

His tongue laved her clit and she moaned.

“Say it again. Say my name.”

“Jeremy, please make me come!” His hot breath on her flesh drove her nearly out of her mind with need. She desperately hoped she didn’t wake up before he fucked her, that it wasn’t five minutes until seven and her alarm about to go off.

He grabbed her thighs and buried his face between her legs, making her explode twice before sitting up. “Am I better than Lester?”

She nodded, trying to regain the use of her vocal cords. “A lot better,” she gasped.

“And who do you belong to?”

“I belong to you.”

He dropped his voice. “Beg me to fuck you.”

“Please fuck me!”

“You want me to fuck you hard, like I did before?”

“Yes!”

He flipped her over, and she screamed with pleasure as he rammed his stiff cock home.

“How’s that feel?” he asked, his fingers clamping almost painfully around her hips.

“Damn good!” she moaned into the pillow.

He stopped and pulled her up. “How’s it feel, Genna?” he growled in her ear.

“It feels sooo fucking good!”

“Do you want me to keep fucking you?”

“Yes!”

He pushed her down to the mattress and thrust, hard and deep. Then he curled around her again. “Do you want me to come inside you?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t care what he did if it kept feeling this good. Ah, another great dream.

With several hard thrusts he climaxed, groaning and burying his cock deep inside her. She wanted to roll over and bask in the sensation with Dream Bruin, but he was already up and off the bed, standing there and silently staring at her.

That was strange, but hell, who cared. It was just a dream.

He grimly nodded.

“This is just a dream, Genna,” he said.

Uh, duh. Of course it is. She smiled. “Come back every night if you want.”

He paused then almost looked like he wanted to say something. When she blinked he was the dog again. Without another sound, he turned and he padded out of her bedroom.

* * *

Genna awoke pleasantly sore. Then again, she’d been sore yesterday morning from moving.

Wow, this was an unexpected bonus. Hot boss, hotter dreams.

Whoo wee.

Bruin wasn’t in the office when she arrived, but there were several things laid out on her desk for her to do. She set to work. He arrived around ten, his dark glasses firmly in place, Starbucks cup in hand.

“Good morning, Ms. Pangborn.”

Her stomach fluttered at the sound of his voice—professional, not the sexy, sultry growl of her dream. “Good morning, Mr. Bruin.”

She breathlessly waited while he walked into his office and shut the door behind him, then she sighed.

If only…

No, crap, don’t even think that. That’s how you got involved with Lester, and look where it got you!

Ivan showed up an hour later and wordlessly nodded to her before walking into Bruin’s office and shutting the door behind him. She wondered if he was one of the “associates” from Bruin and Associates?

Twenty minutes later, Ivan stormed out, leaving the door open behind him. He hesitated at her desk like he wanted to say something to her when he looked at Bruin’s door. Bruin leaned against the doorjamb, a sly, challenging smile on his face, his arms crossed.

Her mouth watered. Damn she hoped she dreamed about him that night!

Ivan left without further word, and Bruin turned, closing the door behind him.

Weird.

But not her business.

* * *

She was almost eager to get home and go to bed, hoping her dreams held. She finally got to sleep, and the dream started soon after. The dog reappeared then changed to Bruin. Without a word he stared at her for several moments. Then he knelt at the end of the bed.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Genna,” he softly whispered.

She smiled. “I want you to fuck my brains out.”

He pounced, kissing her hard, her arms automatically wrapping around him.

He breathed in her ear. “Tell me everything you want me to do to you, Genna.”

“I want you to kiss me, and make me come like you did before, then fuck my brains out.”

He lifted his head and looked at her. “Are you mine?” he whispered.

“I belong to you.” Well, in my dreams, at least.

“Are you mine to do with what I want?”

“Do whatever you want to me.”

“Louder,” he whispered.

“My body belongs to you. Whatever you want to do.”

“I want to fuck you up the ass,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

Hell, he could fuck her wherever he wanted as long as the dreams didn’t stop. “Then fuck me in the ass, Jeremy.”

He produced a bottle of lube and flipped her over. She was nervous, but playfully wiggled her hips. First the cool wetness against her virgin rim, followed by the press of a finger as he breached her tight entrance.

She froze. Should a dream include feeling like that? A slight burning that gave way to pleasure as he carefully worked his way past her tight ring of muscle. Then the finger disappeared, he added more cool lube, and two fingers pressed for entrance.

She moaned against the pillow. She’d never do this in real life, but holy fuck, this was the hottest dream yet!

After several long, agonizingly slow minutes, he withdrew and applied more lube, then three fingers.

Genna groaned, working her hips against him, desperate for relief and not finding it. For a second the fingers disappeared. Then she felt his lubed cock press against her.

“Relax and breathe,” he whispered, carefully pressing forward.

She let out a hungry groan. “Fuck my ass, Jeremy!” she gasped. “Please! Do it!”

“You ever been fucked here before?”

“No.” Well, technically she still hadn’t, she thought, because a dream didn’t count, no matter how real it felt.

He maintained a slow rhythm, then wrapped one arm around her hips and found her clit with his fingers, stroking it.

Genna moaned. “Oh, God, make me come! Fuck me!”

“Do you want me to make you come like this?”

“Yes, please!”

“You want me to come in your ass? You never let Lester fuck your ass, did you?”

“You’re the first! Do it, take me!”

He gently rolled her throbbing nub between his fingers, and she screamed as she exploded, the fullness in her ass unlike anything she’d ever felt before. When he knew she was finished, it only took him three strokes to join her. He grunted as he came, then carefully withdrew.

Bruin rolled her over and looked at her. “How do you feel?”

She smiled. “Great. I wish I could have felt like this with someone and not be asleep.” She reached out and touched his face, struggling not to break into tears. “I’ve never felt like this in real life. Thank you. I just wish you weren’t a dream. I think I love you.”

She couldn’t read the strange look that came over his face. He kissed her fingers. Without another word he stood, staring at her again with that same cryptic expression. A moment later, he changed into the dog again and left without a sound.

Dream Bruin sucked at post-coital cuddling, but oh well. No one was perfect.

Genna rolled over and went back to sleep.

* * *

Friday was a slow day at work, followed by another smoking hot dream about Bruin later that night. He fucked her every which way he could, and probably a few ways that might not be legal in all fifty states, but it felt good, and she awoke exhausted, smiling, and deeply in love with her Dream Jeremy.

Genna enjoyed her peaceful weekend off. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any more Bruin dreams. Monday morning she walked into the lobby and Ivan—Dogzilla—greeted her at the door.

Genna froze, terror nearly clamping her throat shut. Lindsey wasn’t behind the desk.

She tried not to stare into his grey eyes. Wasn’t that something you weren’t supposed to do?

Ivan stopped a few feet away from her, then sat and dipped his head. He dropped to his belly and crawled the last few feet across the smooth tile, rolling over onto his back and exposing his belly, his tail slowly swishing back and forth.

Genna was too petrified to move. This was a good thing, right?

He opened his mouth, softly panting, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in a…smile?

“Do you want me to pet you, boy?” she squeaked.

His tail swished a little faster. With trembling hands, she cautiously bent over and brushed her fingers along his broad chest.

His tail swished even faster.

Her heart racing, she dared pet his chest a little more firmly, and he whined.

“Okay, boy. I need to get upstairs to work,” she managed in a trembling voice. Where the fuck was Lindsey?

He whined again and slowly rolled over, keeping his head bowed, and he backed up.

Backed up!

Damned if it wasn’t like he was trying to reassure her.

His tail wagged nonstop until his furry, dense rump butted against the counter. Genna slowly walked to the elevator bank and repeatedly punched the button until a door slid open. She stepped backward into the car, anxiously punching the “close door” button until it did. With a relieved sigh she hit the button for the fourth floor and managed to make it to her desk before her legs gave out.

Ivan, the hunky two-legged one, walked into the office twenty minutes later. Fortunately by then, she’d had time to compose herself.

“Is Jeremy in?”

His grey eyes didn’t melt her the way Bruin’s did, but something about him…

Genna shook her head. “No, sorry. Would you like to leave a note?”

He smiled, only this time it looked warm and friendly, kind, inviting. “Mind if I sit out here and wait?”

“Sure, no problem. But I don’t know what time he’ll be in.”

He shrugged. Damn, maybe he was related to Bruin. They were both built in a similar rock-hard fashion.

“I have time. I won’t be bothering you, will I?”

“Not at all.”

He made small talk with her then finally asked a question she suspected he’d been curious about. “How did you come to work here?”

Well, that wouldn’t be divulging company secrets. “Honestly?”

“Of course.”

Genna studied her hands. “Mr. Bruin noticed me at my ex-boyfriend’s trial. He was convicted of murder and sent to prison.”

Ivan didn’t seem surprised, but said, “Wow.”

“Yeah. I made a sucky choice there, that’s for sure.” She looked up and felt comfortable opening up to someone, anyone. Especially him, even though she didn’t know why. “I was scared of him,” she admitted. “My ex. He…I didn’t know who or what he was until I’d been with him a couple of years. Then I was too scared to leave. I mean…” She swallowed, hard. “He would have killed me, I think,” she whispered.

There. It was finally out.

Ivan leaned forward. “Was that the Corcoran trial?”

She nodded. “Supposedly some of his ‘associates’ were going to take care of me. He made it sound like they’d support me, but honestly, I don’t know.”

Ivan clasped his hands and looked grim. “Do you fear for your safety now?”

That was something she didn’t want to think about. “I hope I’m safe. I have a feeling if I did run they would find me if they really wanted to hurt me. If they were going to kill me, they probably would have done it before now.”

Bruin appeared then, startled to see Ivan sitting there. “Good morning.” Dark glasses and Starbucks were his morning de rigueur, apparently. “I didn’t know we had a meeting scheduled, Ivan.”

Ivan stood, his face suddenly a hard mask. “We do now. I need to talk to you.” They disappeared into Bruin’s office, and from the release of tension in the air, Genna suspected that, for some reason, Ivan had words for Bruin.

* * *

Dream Bruin returned that night. He climbed into bed with her. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

“Genna,” he murmured, “do you enjoy these dreams?”

She nodded, something subtly shifting inside her. This was different. He wasn’t acting aloof the way he had in the other dreams. “I told you, I love you.”

His eyes studied her face. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you enjoy these dreams so much? Why do you love me?”

“They’re just dreams.” She licked her lips. “It’s not like I could ever have someone as great as you in real life, so I shouldn’t complain, right? I’ve always had really vivid dreams.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. He closed his eyes and pressed his face against her hand, nuzzling her palm. “This can’t ever be a reality, so why not enjoy what little good I get?” She choked back a sob. “At least if I’m in love with a dream lover, it’ll keep me out of trouble in real life. I won’t fall for another asshole. I’d rather spend my life with your dream-self than risk that again.”

“Did you love Lester?”

Okay, Dream Bruin wanted to talk instead of fuck tonight? Boring. But she’d take what she could get. “Not really. I thought I did. Then I was too scared to leave once I realized what he was.” She shuddered, closing her eyes. “I’m not glad anyone died, but I’m glad he fucked up and went to jail so I could escape.”

When she opened her eyes, Dream Bruin studied her, a serious look on his face. “You had no idea what he was?”

She shook her head. “Not for the first two years. I mean, I suspected he was into something illegal after a few months, but I had no idea about the rest of it. I didn’t know he killed people.”

“You really were innocent.” His voice drifted, and he looked deep in thought.

This kind of dream she could do without, but she didn’t interrupt him, afraid she might wake up.

He looked at her, his face different somehow, warmer. He gathered her into his arms and kissed her, deeply, with far more tenderness and emotion than any of their other dream encounters.

He spent hours making love to her, not the vigorous fuck-and-fly encounters of previous evenings. Not that she was complaining about the other dreams, because, da-yum. This time, however, it was more than just sex.

It was love.

He left her breathless and exhausted, wanting more, wishing she could open her eyes and find herself truly awake in his arms. Before he left he kissed her one last time.

“I’m so sorry, Genna.”

“Why?” Maybe tomorrow night she’d get old Dream Bruin back. New Dream Bruin was a buzzkill, even if he left her heart fulfilled in a way he hadn’t before.

His eyes traveled her face. “I’ll protect you. I promise.”

She sat up. “What are you talking about?”

He got out of bed, looking sad. “I didn’t know…I thought…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I swear I’ll protect you.” He leaned over and kissed her one last time, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. “I love you, Genna. I didn’t expect to, but I do. I love you.”

Desperate to lighten the mood, Genna smiled. “Hey, you made me yours. You’ve got to come back again, right? Dream hunk or not, don’t leave me hanging.”

He nodded, but didn’t meet her eyes. “Yeah. I did. And I will. I promise. But I have things to do.” He leaned in one last time and kissed her. “I will keep you safe.” With that he changed into the dog. It happened so fast she nearly missed it in the dark room, and he left.

* * *

Genna awoke the next morning feeling disquieted, unsettled. Where normally a Bruin dream would leave her with a happy morning glow, that one was just plain…creepy. Not the sex part, because that was great. That he seemed worried, that worried her.

Bruin didn’t appear in the office. At lunch she walked downstairs to eat outside in the shade of one of the trees. It was a beautiful day, not too hot. In the shade it would feel comfortable.

A man leaned against her car. Stiff with fear, she walked toward him before recognizing Lester’s attorney. Heart in her throat, she greeted him. “Hello.”

“I came to let you know we got Lester an emergency appeal. He’ll be out on bond by late tonight.”

She froze. “How did you find me?”

“He made me hire a PI to keep track of you.”

“He knows where I live?”

He snorted. “Of course he does. And where you work. And all about your little extracurricular activities. I came to warn you that you have to leave. Now. Pack and get the hell somewhere away from here. I’d say Outer Mongolia might be a nice choice. He said he’s going to take care of you personally. He wants the satisfaction of getting rid of you himself after what you did.”

“But…I didn’t testify against him. I didn’t know anything!”

“The PI showed him everything. The pictures, the surveillance video, and he bugged your apartment.” He shook his head. “Bruin sure didn’t waste any time.”

She felt an icy chill despite the heat. “What? What video? What pictures? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Those little sexcapades between you and your new ‘boss.’ I haven’t seen any of the stuff, but from what Lester screamed at me over the phone, it was interesting.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” But deep in her gut a knife twisted, burning.

“Oh, come on, you can drop the act. It’s not fooling me anymore. How long have you known Bruin, anyway?”

“He approached me the day the verdict came in. Out in the parking lot. He offered me a job.” Even her tongue felt numb, unreliably forming mixtures of consonants and vowels that somehow produced coherent words.

The attorney snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re fucking screwing the goddamned guy. You expect me to believe the cousin and best friend of the guy your boyfriend murdered would offer you a job, just like that? I was born at night, sweetheart, but not last night.”

* * *

Genna couldn’t go home yet. Her body felt too numb to drive. Her appetite gone, she drifted through the lobby to the elevators in shock, trying to process everything. Lindsey wasn’t there, but Ivan stuck his furry head out from around the corner of the desk and looked at her.

When she stepped into the elevator he streaked inside with her before the door could close. He stared at her and whined.

Genna backed into the corner and watched as he pawed at the button for the fourth floor before turning to stare at her again, whimpering.

Her tears fell. This was too much. She was losing her mind.

“Please don’t eat me, Ivan.”

His hoarse bark could have been a laugh. He shook his head. When the doors slid open, Genna stood frozen, unable to move with the large dog in her way.

He slowly approached, nuzzling her hand, licking it. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of teeth crushing bone. He gently mouthed her hand, using barely any pressure against her skin.

He tugged, whining.

With full acknowledgement that her sanity was rapidly slipping through her fingers, she let the large dog slowly lead her through the empty halls to her office. She had to force herself to breathe several times, scared at any moment he would sink his vicious canines into her. She didn’t see anyone else to ask to help her, and she was afraid to scream for help for fear of scaring him into attacking her.

Once she was in the office, he released her hand and got behind her, head butting her in the ass, nudging her toward Bruin’s office.

Too scared to resist, she let the large dog push her into the office. When she stood before one of the chairs, he backed off and gently woofed. Still clutching her uneaten lunch, she sat.

He wheeled around and loped to the door, jumping up on his hind feet and pushing it shut. Then he turned and disappeared into Bruin’s private bathroom, his low, guttural snarl terrifying her.

Maybe she could lock him in and escape?

Then the guttural snarl transformed into distinct, legible words in a familiar voice.

“Goddamn him, I fucking told him so. I fucking told him so! Where the hell does he—oh, there’s one.”

Ivan—the two-legged hunky version—appeared in the bathroom doorway, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and nothing else.

Genna stared, her jaw lax in disbelief. Dreaming. I must be dreaming. Where the hell did he come from?

He crossed the room in three long strides, kneeling in front of her, his huge hands engulfing hers.

They felt hot—or was she cold? Her teeth chattered. Was this shock?

“Genna,” he said, “listen to me. What’s going on? What happened? Who was that guy talking to you in the parking lot?”

What the hell, I’ve lost my mind anyway. “He’s Lester’s attorney…said appeals…bail…free tonight.”

“Shit.” Ivan closed his eyes. “What else did he say?”

She shook her head. “Something about a surveillance video and pictures. About Jeremy Bruin and I sleeping together…but those were just dreams…” Fear congealed in her gut, and she looked at Ivan.

His grey eyes.

His nearly naked state of dress after Dogzilla Ivan went into the bathroom.

And didn’t return.

“Oh…My…God,” she breathed.

The room swam. Her vision went black.

* * *

Genna awoke to low, growling male voices.

“I didn’t know—”

“I swear, Jer, if you weren’t my fucking Alpha, I’d wring your goddamned neck for putting her at risk like this!”

Then a familiar woman’s voice interrupted them. “Boys? I don’t mean to interrupt your little discussion, but she’s awake.”

Genna carefully opened her eyes and realized she was lying prone on the couch in Bruin’s office. Lindsey stood over her, looking down with a concerned expression. Ivan and Bruin suddenly flanked her. Bruin dropped to his knees and grabbed her hand.

“Genna, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know—”

She snatched her hand away, shrinking from him. Please let this be a dream! Please let this be a dream!

“What is going on?” she whispered. No reason for that except she could barely breathe, much less talk.

Lindsey and Ivan glared at Bruin, who flushed bright red. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

The world flared, her vision suddenly bright, her senses aware, desperate fear kicking in. She sat up, pushed past them, and raced to the door. “He said Lester would be out by tonight. I have to go. I have to move, now!”

She blinked and nearly ran into Bruin. How the hell did he beat me to the door?

“Genna, we have to talk first.”

She shoved him. He caught her hands, holding her close. Despite his unbreakable grasp, it felt like he barely touched her. “You can’t leave. We will protect you. I will protect you, I swear.” It was too tempting to melt into his arms, but this wasn’t her Dream Bruin. This was her boss.

She twisted, trying to pull free. “Let me go you son of a bitch! I don’t know what you did to me! He said there was a video, that they bugged my apartment. That we’re sleeping together! I thought those were just dreams!” Someone in the room sobbed, and she realized it was her.

Anguish painted his face. “I’m sorry, Genna. I was wrong not to be more careful. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know I was going to fall in love with you, and I didn’t realize you were innocent.”

Love? The word stopped her struggles as she stared at him. “What the fuck kind of sick man are you? What, did you drug me? Hypnotize me? Lester’s attorney told me you’re related to the victim. That’s how you knew who I was, isn’t it?”

He nodded as she renewed her frantic struggles. This time he let her go, and she bolted, barely pausing to grab her purse and keys before racing for the elevator.

Despite her tremors, Genna managed to drive home without wrecking. She struggled with her tears as she stared at the apartment. She’d have to take only what she could carry in the car.

Her legs failed, and she sat in her living room and cried, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking. She thought she had a handle on her emotions when she glanced at the clock and realized it was after eight o’clock and she’d lost several hours of time.

Startled, she clambered to her feet and raced to the bedroom, yanking her suitcase from under her bed and throwing it open on top. She grabbed armfuls of clothes from her dresser and dumped them in. She had garbage bags in the kitchen. She could fill them and take as much as she could jam in the car—

The back door thumped, glass breaking. She reached over and flicked the light switch off and crouched beside the doorway, silent tears coursing down her face.

“Oh, Geennnnaa. Where are you, darling?” Lester’s sarcastic tone told her more than anything that she was going to die. “I enjoyed the video. Bet you never thought you’d see me again, huh? Fucking whore, you couldn’t even wait until I was in jail a week to start screwing around, could you? Did you fucking set me up or what?”

It sounded like he was moving toward the kitchen. If he did, she might be able to make it out the back door.

She held her breath and listened. He was in the kitchen. She heard his steps on the linoleum.

Praying, she launched herself through the doorway, angled for the back door. She’d made it five feet from freedom when a foot caught her in the kidney. She fell to her knees, crying out from the pain.

“No you don’t, you fucking cunt.” Lester kicked her again, in the stomach, and she gasped, trying to curl up into a ball and protect herself. He punched her in the head and kicked her several times before he stopped to catch his breath.

He stood over her, shaking his head, a gun in his right hand. “Treated you right. You would have had a good life, even with me inside. You didn’t flip, a little loyalty was all I asked for—”

“Leave her alone.” Through pain-teared eyes, Genna looked at the door and saw Bruin standing there, his fists clenched.

Lester raised the gun. “Good. Now I can take care of both of you. Saves me time and trouble.”

Behind Lester, the front door exploded in a snarling, swirling mass of black fur. Lester turned, swearing.

“Jesus Christ!”

“You wish,” Bruin growled, suddenly shifting into the brown dog, his clothes falling away.

Genna shrank away from him as he leapt over her toward Lester. The man turned, screaming as Bruin struck, his jaws on the man’s throat. Lester’s startled shout immediately changed to a strangled, pained cry.

Ivan grabbed Lester’s wrist, the one holding his gun. She heard bones crunch as Ivan bit down, the gun falling to the carpet.

A red haze clouded her vision as she watched the two massive dogs hold Lester down. His heels beat against the carpet, a staccato tempo she thought would drive her totally over the brink of insanity until it eventually stopped with one last, gurgled gasp.

When it was apparent Lester was dead, the two dogs released him and turned to her. Ivan shifted back first. He crouched there, naked.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

Bruin shifted to human form, wiping a hand across his bloodied mouth and spitting on the carpet.

“Genna, honey, are you…”

The red haze over her vision transformed to purple, then black.

* * *

Oh, she longed for the good ole days, the simplicity of the hot, sexy Jeremy Bruin dreams, where he simply fucked her brains out before leaving for the night and didn’t rip her convicted ex-boyfriend’s throat out in her new living room.

Will I get my security deposit back if the bloodstains don’t come out?

Genna refused to open her eyes. She hurt. All over. Pain contradicted the firm version of reality she wanted to maintain her stranglehold on—crap, horrible choice of word. Death grip? Hmm, not so much either.

She sensed a presence outside her closed eyelids and tried to keep her breathing steady. She wasn’t lying on her bed. She knew that. She didn’t think she was back in Bruin’s office.

Men did not turn into large fucking dogs. This did not fucking happen. None of this happened.

Maybe she really was dead. Perhaps Lester had killed her before the trial and this was some funky version of Purgatory.

Yeah, that’s the ticket. That makes sense.

She moved and moaned. Nope, it was real. Her body hurt like hell where Lester had punched and kicked her.

A large, gentle hand slipped around hers, and she tightly gripped it for no other reason than she hurt and didn’t want to scream.

“Genna, honey, please wake up.”

Bruin’s soft, pleading voice.

Reluctantly she opened her eyes. He’d washed his face and changed clothes, but she didn’t know where she was, didn’t recognize the room.

In response to her unasked question he said, “We’re at my house. Our house. Ivan and Lindsey are outside.”

She would pull away from him, but it hurt too much to even think about doing that.

“What. The fuck. Is going. On?”

“We need to talk.”

* * *

They talked most of the night. Lindsey and Ivan brought food and pain medicine and ice packs for Genna. Genna repeatedly asked many of the same questions, unable to grasp the reality, thinking it was the medicine or a psychotic break.

Jeremy shifted back and forth from large dog to man as many times as she asked, sometimes while holding her hand, each time taking her breath away.

“I’m so sorry, Genna,” he said again. He wouldn’t stop apologizing to her. “I thought you knew what Lester was. I didn’t know you really were innocent. I didn’t expect to fall in love with you. I should have been more careful not to let them find you.”

She was calling him Jeremy now, and his anguish-filled amber eyes ripped her heart with as much pain as her body had endured.

Despite that, she still felt pissed. “You used me.”

“I didn’t realize he had your place bugged. I was so mad at Lester, I hoped he had people watching you and word would get back to him that you were working for me, but I didn’t want to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry. I do love you. I realized I loved you after I met you, but it took me by surprise. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to tell you the truth. But I did fall in love with you, I swear.” He’d said that a lot, too. Said it over and over again, repeating it as if his very life depended on it.

Saying that he loved her.

She fell silent and stared at him. He sat, motionless, holding her hand, waiting for her.

“Shape-shifter?”

He nodded.

“So I’ll turn into…”

He shook his head. “No. But as my…as my mate, certain things will happen to you.”

Maybe the pain meds were helping. Irritation had filtered in past shock and pain. “You never fucking asked me if I wanted that.” Not that she was complaining. Or at least, wouldn’t complain once her anger wore off.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes as if to compose his thoughts for a moment before looking at her again. “Bill was like a brother to me. We grew up together. He was my best friend. I wanted revenge so much and never figured I’d have a way to get to Lester personally. And I never dreamed you weren’t willingly with someone like him. I also didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

“I’ll wake up tomorrow and this will be a horrible dream, right?”

“No. No more bad dreams. I will spend the rest of our life together making this up to you, I swear.”

“Is he dead?” she whispered. The idea of that partly horrified her.

And more than partly relieved her. That was one question she hadn’t asked yet, although she suspected she knew the answer already.

“Yes. We took care of it. He won’t ever bother you again.”

“Won’t the police suspect me?”

“No. They’ll never find his body. And I paid off his attorney. He’s going to tell the parole board Lester left the country against the advice of counsel. He doesn’t want anything else to do with Lester, or Lester’s associates, either.”

“What if the authorities question me?”

“Then I’ll tell them the truth, that I was with you all night. And Ivan and Lindsey will testify they saw us together.”

He cautiously reached out and tenderly stroked her forehead, brushing a stray hair away from her face. “I don’t expect you to forgive me now or maybe ever for not telling you the truth in the beginning. But I swear I will try—”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He froze. “What?”

“I forgive you. Because I’ll wake up and this will be a dream. And I love my Dream Jeremy.” That was the safest way to think. She closed her eyes. “Curl up next to me.”

He did, carefully cradling her. When she awoke, her pain was still there. But so was Jeremy.

“This isn’t a dream, is it?” she asked.

He tenderly kissed the back of her neck. “No.”

“I’m scared of dogs.”

“I’ll spend my life helping you get over that.”

She laughed, and it hurt, but she couldn’t help it.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, puzzled.

She tipped her head back. “I never thought doing it doggy style would be so much fun.”

He smiled and gently nuzzled her. “I think I’ll enjoy working my way out of the doghouse with you.”

In the Doghouse

Genna lay in the king-sized bed and stared at the TV, remote in hand. Three days had passed since surviving the attack by her ex-boyfriend, Lester. While she still bore faint bruises, she couldn’t believe the worst of the pain and injuries had already faded.

Perk of being a shape-shifter’s mate, I guess. Not that she was complaining about that. Have Jeremy Bruin as her husband for life?

Um, yes, please.

They had some issues to work out, however.

Massive ones.

Like the fact that the reason he hired her in the first place, which led him to taking her to be his mate, was to get revenge on Lester after his conviction for killing Jeremy’s cousin.

Jeremy stuck his head in the bedroom door. “Are you okay?” he cautiously asked.

She nodded and put the remote down. “Yeah.”

He stepped inside, looking sheepish. Sometimes, she wanted him right next to her.

Sometimes, she couldn’t stand to look at him.

Lindsey Biendino, Ivan’s mate and wife, had spent a few hours with her that morning, explaining the basics of shape-shifter 101 to her. Lindsey met Ivan in his wolf form when he saved her from an attack while she was out jogging. Their mating had gone without a hitch.

“Do you want to talk?” he asked.

She nodded and patted the bed next to her. He quickly and fluidly climbed onto the bed without jarring her. When he settled into position, she looked at him. “How am I supposed to trust you?”

He looked even more abashed. “I know, Genna. I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness.”

She studied him. She’d thought about this for a while after her talk with Lindsey that morning. “I want us to go to a counselor.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“No problem with that?”

“Well, I think we need to leave out the part about the shape-shifting, but I mean it. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this up to you.”

She nodded and carefully cuddled up next to him. No matter how conflicted she felt in some ways about how they got together, she wasn’t too proud to admit he was a handsome hunk of man flesh. She wasn’t about to turn away an opportunity to snuggle with him.

Genna had to hand it to him. He didn’t try to grope her, either. He protectively curled his arms around her and held her, even though she felt his cock harden against her thigh through his shorts.

His scent filled her lungs. He smelled good, earthy, sensual. She loved that about him. She wasn’t afraid to admit she loved him, either.

Trusting him, on the other hand, might take her a while. Well, she didn’t doubt the part about taking care of her. He and Ivan killed Lester after Lester attacked her while out on bail. She knew Jeremy would protect her. She knew he would take care of her and provide for her and try to make things up to her for what happened.

And the conflict of her heart-melting attraction to him before all the shit hit the fan, versus finding out the truth about why he first started this relationship, understandably had put her through the ultimate mind fuck.

“If it’s any consolation,” he said, “Ivan is giving me holy hell every chance he can get.”

“It is.” She couldn’t believe she’d gone from being terrified of dogs to enjoying Ivan’s company whether he was in dog or man form. Technically, Ivan had been the one to spill the beans about the shape-shifting in the first place.

And he’d totally disagreed with how and why Jeremy claimed Genna as his mate.

He nuzzled the top of her head. “I love you, Genna. Really.”

“I know.” He’d said that a hell of a lot over the past couple of days, and she believed him.

She just needed time to adjust to her new life with him. And to the fact that he could shape-shift.

* * *

The next morning, she was surprised to look in the mirror over the bathroom sink and see the last vestiges of her bruises were completely faded. Jeremy quietly hovered, attentive and wanting to make amends with every ounce of his being. When Lindsey showed up a little after nine that morning to take Genna out shopping, Genna jumped at the chance to get away for a little while.

“Do you know somewhere we can get good discounts?” Genna asked as she buckled her seat belt.

Lindsey snorted. “Discounts?” She fished a credit card out of her purse. “Honey, Ivan gave me a corporate card and said the two of us should have fun. Specifically, that I should buy you whatever you want and run up one hellacious tab.”

Genna smiled. “On Jeremy’s tab, you mean?”

She laughed. “Ooooh, yeah. Believe me, he deserves it.”

Genna smiled. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

They’d plowed their way through their third high-end department store, with the trunk of Lindsey’s car nearly full already with shopping bags, when Genna needed a break. “I call lunch,” Genna said. “Uncle.”

Lindsey smiled. “You need endurance training. This credit card isn’t even slightly warm yet.”

Genna laughed as she plopped down at a table in the mall’s food court. “Yeah, but I’m worn out.”

Lindsey sat with her. “You okay?”

Genna nodded. “Jeremy and I talked more yesterday. He agreed to go to counseling with me.” She studied her hands. “I believe him in my head, but my heart is still having trouble wrapping around everything. Or maybe it’s the other way around. I still feel like I’m being spun around in the middle of a tornado.”

“Counseling? Really? Good. Maybe I can quit calling him Mr. Shit Weasel then.”

Genna laughed. “You really call him that?”

“Yeah. He told me to stop, and I told him he wasn’t the boss of me. Which, then, of course, he said technically he was the boss of me, since he is, you know, my boss. And he’s Ivan’s pack Alpha. But then Ivan growled at him, and Jeremy backed down because he knows he fucked up.” She smiled at Genna. “It gets easier,” she softly said.

“I know.” She studied her hands some more. “I just wish he’d wanted me for me in the first place and not because he wanted to get back at Lester.”

Lindsey sighed. “Not the most romantic of beginnings, I know.” Her voice turned serious. “But when one of their kind mates, it’s for life. Period. And he had to feel it in his soul for it to even happen, even if he thought it was revenge or whatever at first.” She squeezed Genna’s hand. “When he says he loves you, he means it. And that’s not me letting him off the hook, either. That’s me having a little insight into these dumbasses’ minds from the inside.”

Genna nodded. “I know. I know he loves me. I just need some time to process all this.”

“Agreed.” Lindsey leaned in close and dropped her voice. “Ivan saved me when we first met. Literally. He saved my life from three guys who were going to rape me. And since then, he’s kept me safer than I ever thought I could feel. Let me tell you what, I went through quite a few years of not feeling safe. I’m sure Jeremy feels like shit, but I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t disappoint you again.”

* * *

They returned home several hours later, tired, laughing, and with a trunkful of purchases. Jeremy met them at the front door, anxiety on his face. Genna thought he looked sweet until she remembered how upset at him she still was.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Calm down,” Lindsey said. “We’re fine.” She handed the credit card back to Ivan but spoke her next words to Jeremy. “Although you might not be when you get the bill next month.”

Jeremy shook his head. “I don’t care as long as she’s happy.”

Genna couldn’t help but smile. “You’re like a lovesick puppy.”

Lindsey laughed. “She’s catching on. That’s a good one.” She held up her hand. “Fist bump!” They did, and Jeremy helped Ivan unload the trunk, taking the bags into the bedroom and dumping them on the bed.

“Okay, you two,” Lindsey said, pushing the men out of the bedroom. “Out. Scoot.”

When they emerged an hour later, Genna was dressed in one of her new purchases, a pretty, flowing black dress that came down to her knees, new high heels, and a new purse. Lindsey had put on her brand new green dress. “Okay,” Lindsey said. “You two are taking us out someplace nice. And expensive.”

They all piled into Lindsey’s car, the men in the front seat. Lindsey patted Genna on the hand and sent her a conspiratorial smile.

Genna appreciated Lindsey running interference. While Genna hadn’t said so in so many words, she still felt a little nervous when alone with Jeremy. Not because she was afraid of him, but because she didn’t honestly know what to say to him other than asking him to fuck her brains out.

And she wasn’t quite sure how to reconcile that desire yet.

The men took them to a high-end steakhouse in downtown Tampa. By the time dinner ended, Genna felt more at ease around Jeremy and even let him hold her hand as they strolled out to the car. He opened her door for her and helped her in before climbing into the passenger seat.

Next to her, Lindsey flashed her a smile that Genna returned. Dinner had helped. She did feel better.

At home, Ivan and Lindsey gathered her purchases and bid them good night. Once alone, Genna returned to the bedroom and changed into a T-shirt of Jeremy’s and climbed into bed. He hesitated until she patted the bed next to her.

With a thankful smile, he climbed in and slid under the sheet. She curled up next to him, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. “Thank you for taking us out. And for the shopping trip.”

He hugged her. “Anything you want. I mean it.”

She looked up at him, and his butterscotch eyes melted her. “I do want you. I fell in love with you when I thought you were nothing but a dream.” She studied his expression for a minute. She felt his regret at what he’d put her through radiating from him. Lindsey had told her she would start feeling his emotions, that it was part of the shifter-mate stuff.

If anyone else had told her this story, she’d have wanted to run far and fast from them, especially if they said they forgave the jerk.

But she did forgive the big jerk.

Tipping her head back, she kissed him. He hesitantly returned it. She sensed him wanting more, wanting to make love to her, but holding himself back.

Another reason to love him.

Everyone made mistakes, and he was willing to atone for his.

And she was very. Fucking. Horny.

Reaching up, she wove her fingers into his hair and crushed his lips with hers, plunging her tongue into his mouth.

Moaning as his cock immediately stiffened in his briefs, he kissed her back eagerly. A flood of moisture pooled between her legs. She did want him. His body did things to her no man ever had. No reason she couldn’t get some satisfaction from him while they were working through their issues, right?

Genna hooked a leg around his and ground herself against him. Breaking their kiss, she whispered, “Please make love to me.”

He rolled her onto her back. Slowly, gently, he lifted her T-shirt and kissed her belly, his lips feathering across her flesh and stirring deep, dark desires inside her. She remembered how it felt to be totally possessed by his cock, the hot and passionate sex they’d had when she thought he was just a dream.

She wanted to feel that again.

When he reached her breasts, he took his time, cupping them in his hands and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples. Each stroke sent another jolt of need straight to her clit. He took his time, refusing to be rushed, licking and sucking first one, then the other. Back and forth, the hot, sucking pull of his mouth driving her closer to the brink. At this point, she thought he could simply blow on her pussy and make her come.

She raised her arms over her head when he finally lifted the T-shirt off her, leaving her wearing nothing but her now-sodden panties. Bending down, he grabbed the waistband in his teeth and softly growled as he worked them down her legs.

Genna laughed. He glanced up at her. The corners of his eyes had crinkled in amusement. He’d done that on purpose to make her laugh.

Releasing her panties, he kissed her left thigh, then the right one. He admitted what she already knew. “I love hearing you laugh. It’s the best sound in the world.”

“Even better than me screaming your name as I come?”

He rested his cheek against her thigh and laid the palm of his hand flat on her belly. “Making you laugh like that means you’re happy,” he said. “A vibrator can make you come. It can’t make you laugh.”

“Depends on how funny looking it is.”

With a mind of their own, her hands stroked his hair. He was willing to lie there with her, not moving even though she wanted him to. Seeing him like this, the tender side of the man who’d literally ripped Lester’s throat out with his teeth, melted her heart.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He smiled and kissed her thigh as he sat up. “I love you, too. I’ll spend the rest of our lives proving to you how much I love you.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss on the top of her mound, on the pubic bone. “How very, very much.” He worked lower, to just above her clit.

Her hand clutched his hair more tightly.

“I love you more than my own life,” he whispered. His breath blew across her clit as he spoke, making her whimper.

When his tongue caressed her swollen nub, she exploded, crying out, her back arching.

Then he went after her with no mercy, using his lips and tongue to work at her clit, gently pinning her hands to her sides on the bed when she tried to push him away. He fucked her with his talented tongue, sliding it deep inside her flooded pussy, plunging in and out before exploring every fold of her labia, circling her clit to suck on her and make her come again and again.

She lost count.

After what felt like forever, she finally begged him to stop, to give her a moment to rest. He crawled up the bed to hold her in his arms. She kissed him and tasted her juices on his lips.

“I could go to sleep right now, I think,” she softly said.

“Oh, you don’t think I’m done with you yet, do you?” he teased.

She felt the wet spot on the front of his briefs where his rigid cock leaked pre-cum and strained to be freed. He had to be nearly crazy with desire if he was able to turn her into a puddle of goo and still hold himself back.

“I want you,” she whimpered. Suddenly, it was all she wanted, to feel his cock inside her, stretching her, fucking her, owning her.

“You’ll have me.” He nipped her bottom lip, making her whimper again. “But not until I’m satisfied that I’ve taken good care of you.”

All thoughts of sleep rapidly fled her body. She eagerly nodded. “You have! You did! Please?” She squirmed against him, humping his thigh, her oversensitive clit rasping against the fine hair on his leg. She reached for the waistband of his briefs and tried to shove them down his hips, but he intercepted her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.

“We have the rest of our lives,” he said. “This is your time.”

“Then give me your cock, goddamn it!” she groused.

He laughed. “But I want to lick your pussy some more. I love making you come.”

She pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. “I’m fucking you, and that’s that!” She yanked on his briefs, pulling them down so his rigid cock sprang free. Immediately, she bent down and sucked him into her mouth, silencing his protests as he groaned with pleasure. He tasted great, salty and sweet, his engorged head smooth under her tongue as she traced the ridges and veins.

His hips thrust up, meeting each pull of her mouth.

Then she sat up again. “That’s better.” She rose and impaled herself on him, both of them moaning as he bottomed out inside her, filling her with his hot, rigid shaft.

“That’s much better,” she whispered.

His hands grasped her hips as she rode him. She braced herself on his chest, taking her time, enjoying the way his cock rubbed against her G-spot.

Then he cheated. He reached between them and started rubbing her clit with his thumb, making her explode around him.

“That’s it, baby,” he encouraged. “Ride me. Use me.”

She did, slamming her body down onto his cock as a wave of orgasms rippled through her like waves on the shore. Only he had ever been able to make her come like this. No man had ever made her feel this good.

Exhausted and spent, she collapsed onto him as he held her. She was well aware of his hard cock still twitching inside her, wanting release.

After she caught her breath, she hooked a leg around him and urged him to roll over on top of her. As she kissed him, she thrust up against him, encouraging him to start moving.

He did, slowly at first, his lips and tongue gently exploring and tasting and teasing her mouth as he kept her own fires simmering with his languid strokes. Unbelievably, she realized she was growing close to another climax as his cock stroked her clit with every stroke.

“Do it,” she whispered.

He picked up the speed, harder, faster, deeper, until his cock slammed into her, driving her up the bed under him. And still he held back.

It wasn’t until her pussy contracted with her release, and she cried out, that he finally let go. His cock hardened, swelled, and exploded, pumping his seed deep into her as his entire body stiffened and he let out a deep, growly moan.

Lying there together, spent, arms and legs tangled, softly kissing each other, she knew she could one day trust him. Not just because of the stellar sex, either. Because she felt every cell in his body screaming out his love, his regret, his desire to take what he’d done back, the pain he’d put her through.

She held him tight, his face nestled in the crook of her neck. She stroked his hair. “We’re going to be okay,” she whispered.

He let out a long, relieved sigh. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I still want us to talk to someone, before I totally let you out of the doghouse.”

He kissed her neck. “Whatever it takes,” he swore. “For the rest of my life.”

“I know.” She closed her eyes and smiled as she snuggled him more tightly against her. “I can feel it.”

* * *

The next morning, she awoke to find him propped up on one elbow and staring down at her with a loving smile on his face. “What?” she sleepily asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Just watching you sleep.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I hated leaving you every night—”

She reached up and pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. “I don’t want to talk about that anymore,” she said. “Only with a counselor.” She noticed his quizzical look. “Well, you know what I mean. The general circumstances. If I want to talk about it otherwise, I’ll bring it up. Deal?”

He nodded then sucked her finger into his mouth. He laved his tongue up and down her digit, sending a pulse of need to her clit. He arched one handsome eyebrow in a silent question.

“Okay, fine,” she said with a laugh. “Get busy.”

In a flash, he changed position, with her legs slung over his shoulders and his tongue tonsils-deep inside her pussy.

Her next laugh cut off with a moan as he quickly brought her to a throbbing climax. As she lay there shuddering, recovering, he looked up at her with a playful smile.

“I am a very oral dog,” he teased.

She laughed, loud and long. “I’m getting that.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

She shook her head, reaching down to play with his disheveled hair. “Not in the least.

They finally made it out of bed and into the shower. Lindsey called and asked Genna if she wanted company today, but she declined her offer. She looked at Jeremy, who was scrambling them some eggs. “I think we might actually make it into the office today,” she said.

He smiled.

* * *

Ivan the dog greeted them at the lobby, tail wagging and tongue hanging out as he circled Lindsey, walked over to Genna, and rubbed his head on her legs. Genna laughed and stooped down to pet him. “Hi, Ivan.”

Lindsey smiled from her seat at the reception desk. “Good to see you’re past your fear.”

“Well, of him, at least.” Ivan rested his head on her shoulder then looked at Jeremy, lifted his lips in a snarl, and growled.

“Oh, stop it, boys,” Genna said playfully, scratching Ivan’s head. “You can quit being pissed at him. We’re working it out. It’s okay.”

Ivan didn’t seem convinced, but he snorted at Jeremy before getting one final butt scratch from Genna and returning to Lindsey’s desk.

“I know I deserve it,” Jeremy told Ivan, “but my patience only goes so far.”

Ivan stuck his head out from behind the desk, looked to see if anyone else was coming, and shifted back into a man, hidden from the waist down by the desk.

He jabbed a finger at Jeremy. “Screw up and I find out about it, and you’ll deal with me.”

Genna laughed, which apparently defused Jeremy’s ire. “Don’t worry.” He pulled Genna to him and kissed her. “Lindsey, call off your dog.”

Ivan started to protest, but Lindsey laughed and put a staying hand on his shoulder. “Easy, mister.” She pointed at the front doors. “Besides, we’ve got civvies coming.” Three people were walking toward the lobby.

“Shit.” He ducked down behind the desk again. Seconds later, Ivan the dog stuck his head out around the corner. He let out one final bark as Genna and Jeremy headed for the elevator.

Jeremy turned and flipped him a bird with a playful smile before stepping into the car. “Back atcha, buddy,” he said.

When the doors slid shut behind them, Genna asked, “What’d he say?”

“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t polite.”

She laughed again.

He smiled. “But if it makes you laugh when he does it, I’ll put up with it.”

* * *

They had their first counselor appointment three days later, after work. She had to admit she felt uncomfortable talking about what happened, but she gave Jeremy credit, he didn’t shy away from the difficult discussion.

Especially when the counselor chimed in with his opinion. “It seems, Genna, you’ve already forgiven him. I’m a little confused why you’re here, what your goals are.”

When he’d directed a quizzical glance at Jeremy, he shrugged. “I was an asshole. And I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The counselor laughed. “I wish all of my clients had breakthroughs that quickly. It’d make my job a lot easier.”

By the time their hour-long appointment ended and they were back in the car, she felt a lot better.

“Why didn’t you make another appointment?” Jeremy asked her.

She shrugged, taking his hand in hers and lacing her fingers through his. “Because I don’t know if I need another appointment.” And she really didn’t. She knew her feelings for him had changed dramatically in just a few days, deepened more than she ever thought possible. Every fiber of her being told her in no uncertain terms that his remorse was genuine.

She didn’t want to spend her life dragging him through the muck out of retribution. “Let’s see how I feel over the next few weeks and go from there.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

The next few weeks bled into the next few months. As she became involved in not just the personal and business ends of Jeremy’s life, but in the shifter-politics part of it as well, the more convinced Genna became that forgiveness was the right decision.

She also came to realize she could trust him.

Especially when she learned more about Jeremy’s cousin, who Lester murdered in cold blood.

In fact, Genna found it difficult to understand how Jeremy could forgive her for being associated with the man who had taken the life of such a beloved member of the shifter community. Forgive Jeremy for some revenge?

Piece of cake.

On the night marking their fourth month together, in bed Genna straddled Jeremy and put her hands on his chest. “I think it’s time to let you out of the doghouse.”

He smiled. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He reached over to the bedside table and pulled out a small, velvet ring box. He opened it, presenting her with a gorgeous emerald and diamond ring. “Then will you do me the honor of marrying this recent doghouse parolee?”

She laughed. “Yes, absolutely.” She smiled as he put the ring on her finger. “But why did you wait this long?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want to rush you. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to push or bribe you into making up your mind.”

“Thank you.” She stared at the ring. “I’m guessing you won’t give Lindsey and me a hassle about us planning the wedding?”

He laughed. “Nope. I learned my lesson. I plan on staying out of the doghouse for the rest of our lives together.”

She grinned. “And who says you can’t teach an old dog a new trick?”

Puppy Dog Eyes

“So, what are you wearing to the party this weekend?” Tessa asked Scudder.

Her team partner didn’t look up from his computer monitor and simply shrugged. The slight gesture of his broad shoulders made her heart race.

“I don’t think I’m going, Tess,” he said.

Tessa Gilroy crossed her arms and leaned against her desk. “Scudder Harris, you’re not telling me you’re going to bail on the company Halloween shindig, are you?”

He shrugged again. She wished he’d stop doing that. Or take his shirt off before he did. Damn, I bet he has a gorgeous chest…

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” He finally leaned back in his chair and swiveled it to meet her gaze, which was deadly to her reserve. Dennis “Scudder” Harris had huge, sweet golden-brown eyes that melted her insides and sent all the juices straight to her nether regions, paired with brilliant jet-black hair that glinted with almost blue highlights when they sat outside and ate their lunch.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Why not what?”

“Why aren’t you going?”

He cocked his head. “Because I don’t know many of the people there, and I don’t have a costume.” Employees and their families from all of the regional offices were invited, so several hundred people, most likely, would attend.

“It’ll be a full moon, beautiful night, perfect for a costume party. Come on, you have to go so I don’t have to go alone.”

At the mention of the full moon, a cloud crossed his face. “I’ll pass, sorry.”

She’d broken up with her skunk of a boyfriend a week before Scudder came to work for Callahan Consulting five months prior and was assigned to her team. Team being a misnomer, because it was just the two of them. She knew Scudder was thirty-five, single, and straight, but beyond that his life was a mystery. They talked about a lot of things, just not about him.

Her pouty face usually won him over. “Please?” She leaned forward, her arms on her desk, trying to entice him to look down her blouse.

He kindly laughed. “Tess, I’m sorry, sweetie. I can’t.”

She recognized the stubborn set of his jaw. Short of begging him to make wild monkey love to her on their shared office floor, she’d thrown just about every hint known to womankind at him that she wanted to go out with him. Well, except outright ask him, but he couldn’t be that thick, could he?

It wasn’t like he didn’t flirt back, because he did. One day in particular left her gasping for breath and heading to the bathroom to freshen up when she realized he’d turned her panties into a squishy, sodden mess. He’d stood in front of her desk, those wonderful hands planted right in front of her. He leaned in, his gaze never leaving hers, until the tip of his nose was a hair’s breadth from hers. She’d been convinced he was going to kiss her, but eventually stepped back with a playful smile.

And he was gorgeous. Six two and solid, with a fluid, natural gait that left her panting after him when she watched the way his tight ass moved inside his khaki slacks.

“I’m going as a sexy witch.” She purred. “You should see how low, and high, my costume is cut.”

His eyes crinkled. “I’m sure it’s very alluring, kiddo, but we need to get this project done or you won’t be going to any party this weekend because we’ll be working.”

It was Thursday, meaning she had one more workday to convince him to take her to the annual corporate Halloween bash, held at the boss’s large, private estate north of Tampa. She would go regardless, but she didn’t want to go alone if she could talk Scudder into taking her.

At lunch he reached under his desk for his small cooler. “You eating with me today?”

She nodded. “Even though you’re standing me up this weekend.” Who was she kidding? They’d eaten together every day since they started working together.

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. “You’re incorrigible, girl.” He gently kicked their door shut and leaned over her desk. “Maybe I’d like to be alone with you, not with a loud, obnoxious group of drunks.”

Her heart pounded as his eyes playfully narrowed. “Just because I don’t want to go to a party with you doesn’t mean I won’t go out with you. All you have to do is ask.”

Speech escaped her for a moment. “I…I thought you didn’t want to go out with me.”

He gently chucked her under the chin. “I just wanted to see how long it took you to come right out and say it.” He straightened and walked to the door, opening it. She still sat at her desk, stunned.

“Well, are we eating lunch or not?” he asked.

She nodded, fumbled her lunch bag, and followed him out the door on feet that didn’t seem to touch the floor.

* * *

Tessa followed him to the elevator, unable to ask him more because three other people rode down to the lobby with them. But those huge, golden-brown eyes stared at her, slightly crinkled in amusement at the edges, as if he knew exactly what state she was in.

Damn it! How did he do that to her? And why had he kept her in limbo all these months if he knew she liked him?

Their usual spot was vacant, and they sat on the low stone wall near a fountain in the park next to their office building in downtown Tampa.

“How about tonight?” he asked.

“Tonight what?”

“Are you backing out on me already?”

“Oh. Oh! Yes. Where do you want to go?”

He shrugged. God, he was gorgeous. “Where do you want to go?”

To bed with you, she thought. He looked at his lunch and smiled as she said, “Why don’t you choose?”

“Then why don’t I pick you up tonight at seven?” He met her eyes, and she dumbly nodded.

His eyes crinkled again as he wolfed down his sandwich. God, the man could eat fast. As usual, she was still working on her sandwich by the time he’d finished his whole lunch.

He was an unusual man, with broad, strong hands, yet he could type twice as fast as she could and more accurately. His first day in the office with her he’d spent sneezing, and at the end of the day she felt embarrassed when he admitted it was her perfume. When she didn’t wear any the next day, he offered a sweet compromise, asked her to bring the bottle in the next morning.

He’d waited out in the parking lot and asked for the bottle, then showed her how to spritz it and walk through the mist to get just enough on her.

Tess would never forget how cute he’d looked, his nose wrinkling slightly as if sniffing her, then his broad, beaming smile.

Jesus, I’d kill for him if he’d smile like that at me all the time.

“Much better. That’s more than enough to make you smell gorgeous, girl,” he’d said. And coming from him, it didn’t sound the least bit arrogant or conceited or derogatory.

In fact, her heart had pleasantly fluttered at his words. “Where’d you learn that?” She never realized she used a lot, thought the small spritz she normally used wasn’t over the top.

“I have a pack of sisters,” he’d said with a grin. “Don’t worry,” he added, “you haven’t been blasting everyone out. I’m just overly sensitive, so don’t feel bad.”

That was her first experience with Scudder’s almost freaky skill of sensing her thoughts and moods, and it still surprised her every time he did it.

* * *

The day crawled. When five o’clock rolled around, he walked her to her car. He already knew where she lived, having picked her up once or twice when her car was in for repairs. He leaned in close. “I’ll see you at seven,” he murmured, and her lower belly contracted in a pleasant way at the near-growling timbre of his voice.

She quickly nodded and got into her car, speeding home to change. She showered and settled on a sundress and paced the living room for twenty minutes until he showed up right on time. He’d showered and changed into jeans and an ironed chambray shirt, casually gorgeous.

Hell, he’d be gorgeous no matter what he wore—or if he wore nothing at all.

Especially if he wore nothing at all.

When settled in his passenger seat, she was pleasantly surprised he’d opened and held the car door for her. She took a moment to study him. “So why keep me panting after you all these months?”

He didn’t look away from the road, but his lips curled in a slight twist that melted her heart. “You’d just broken up with your boyfriend when we first met, if you’ll recall. I’m not the brightest bulb, but I know a rebound relationship is usually doomed to failure. Besides, we’d just started working together. I didn’t want to come on too strong.”

Their company had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in regards to workplace dating. As long as everything personal stayed out of the workplace and there was no sexual harassment, they wouldn’t get in trouble.

At a red light he looked at her, fixing her with the full-on force of his big eyes. “I’m still not going to the party Saturday night, though,” he softly said. “It’s nothing personal, and it has nothing to do with you. Any other night, I could go. You should go. Have a good time. The truth is, I have some family stuff to deal with for a couple of days. I’ll be back for work on Monday.”

That wasn’t quite the truth, and she sensed it, but she didn’t want to push the issue. He was taking her out tonight, and she was enjoying herself already.

Until they got to the restaurant. Scudder opened and held her car door, took her hand, and led her inside. In the foyer, he left her near the door and approached the hostess for a table when she heard a familiar, coarse voice.

“Tessa, you bitch. What the fuck you doin’ here?”

Her whole body stiffened. Scudder whirled around, immediately on the defensive. She almost thought he snarled.

Then Scudder was at her side when Reuben, her ex, walked over. He’d apparently been in the restaurant’s bar and smelled like a brewery himself.

Instinctively, she pressed closer to Scudder’s side, and despite her fear she felt calmed when he put his arm protectively around her. “You okay, Tess?” Scudder softly asked.

“My ex,” she whispered. Scudder gently pushed her behind him.

“You have a problem?” Scudder said, drawing himself up to his full height. Reuben was five inches shorter than him, and definitely not in as good of shape.

“Yeah, I got a problem with that bitch.”

“Don’t call her that.” Scudder’s voice had definitely dropped to a low, warning growly tone. “You’ve got two seconds to turn around and walk away, buddy.”

Tessa peeked around Scudder’s side, her arms encircling his waist. Waves of defensive, protective anger washed off him, like heat shimmers on hot asphalt. Despite her fear, she was incredibly turned on.

No one had ever fought for her before. Ever.

Fortunately, a manager interceded and escorted Reuben off the premises. Only when he was gone did Scudder’s posture relax. He turned to her, his arms around her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and burst into tears.

* * *

He’d never witnessed her black eyes, her days of coming to work wearing sunglasses inside all day, but he’d heard from a few people that her ex used her as a punching bag. Yet another reason he never tried to put a move on her, because he sensed her fragility, carefully hidden behind her bravado and playful teasing. There was no reason to rush things, because he smelled her only interest was in him.

He was a patient, patient man.

How lucky for him he’d gone to work for Callahan Consulting and met her. He’d felt love at first sight, and knew he’d have to wait a long time before acting on it. Damn the timing of the party. Why couldn’t they have it the week before Halloween? There was no way he could go, not on that night, not this soon, but he knew she was ready to take the next step after she’d ratcheted up the flirty banter over the past few weeks. He’d sensed how disappointed she was that he couldn’t make the party, and he wanted to make it up to her.

Truth be told, he preferred a quiet evening alone with her, anyway.

He pulled her into a quiet corner in the restaurant’s foyer. “Why don’t we go back to my place? I’ll cook you dinner. Would that be okay?”

Her green eyes looked full of fear. She met his gaze and nodded. Still frightened, trembling, her heart raced like a rabbit fleeing for its life.

He put a protective arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here, sweetie,” he whispered. On the way to the car she studied the ground as they walked. Good thing, because it meant she didn’t see how he swiveled his head and flared his nostrils, looking for any sign of Reuben hanging around.

They made a quick stop at a Publix for groceries, and it didn’t take him long to pull her out of her funk. She was sweet and cute, and God help that asshole if he had five minutes alone with him. He’d rip his throat out for hurting her. At five six she was perfectly curvy and her shoulder-length, unruly brown curls begged for his fingers to tangle in them. Something caught in his throat when he imagined what she’d look like naked in his bed.

His jeans tightened as he tried to stifle the thought. Unfortunately, he’d already spent plenty of nights stroking his cock with his hand as he thought about Tessa’s beautiful green gaze.

They had a good dinner and ended up on his couch in a passionate embrace he was reluctant to end. By eleven o’clock, he knew he had to take her home or take her to bed, and he didn’t want to rush that end of things.

He gave her one final, deep kiss before sitting up. She tried to pull him back down on top of her, and it took every ounce of his will not to let her. “All good things come to those who wait, darlin’,” he said. “Don’t you know that?”

She stared at him from the couch, her cheeks flushed and her hair even more disheveled. “I don’t want to wait, Scudder. I want you to make love to me.”

He stood and caught her hand, pulling her up. “Not tonight, sweetie. Believe me, I do want that, but I want you to get to know me better before we take that step. Besides, I don’t have any protection.”

She tried to kiss him again, and his reserve faltered as she ground her hips against him. “You don’t need any,” she said, her voice husky with desire. “I’m on the Pill.”

“You don’t know where I’ve been, sugar. Maybe the vet hasn’t given me my shots and tags lately.” That was a fib. He was clean, and her sweet, fresh, natural scent could only mean she was, too.

She pouted. “You’re a bad liar.”

He grinned. She was already attuned to him in some ways. “Seriously. Let’s take things slow.” He pulled her to him. “We’ve had a great night, but we work together. Let’s do this the right way so we don’t screw things up.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. “It would break my heart to lose you as a friend just over one night in bed. I’d rather have you in my life for the long term.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “All right?”

* * *

She rested her head against his strong chest, his arms protectively around her, and closed her eyes. He never wore cologne, and she’d toned her cologne down even further over the months. He smelled, good, warm, strong. “Then you’d better get me home.”

He kissed the top of her head. “How about I take you out tomorrow night for dinner?”

“Okay.”

When she casually draped her arm between the seats during the ride home, he took her hand and gently squeezed. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right, but what a welcome relief it was. Reuben had pushed quick and hard for a relationship and sex. In retrospect she understood why, because he was controlling and abusive.

Scudder was nothing like Reuben. When he stood between them in the restaurant, she instinctively knew Scudder would have protected her had Reuben tried anything.

Back at her house, Scudder opened the car door for her and walked her to her front porch. “Do you want me to go in with you and check it out?”

She shook her head. “I’ll drag you into bed.”

The moon wasn’t quite full yet, but it was more than bright enough to reveal his sweet smile. “Soon enough, Tess,” he whispered, brushing one last kiss across her lips. “Soon enough.”

* * *

He waited until she was inside and had locked the door to return to his car. His nose worked the air. There was something…wrong. He froze, listening, cocking his head, but after a moment he got in and drove a couple of blocks away to a Walmart Supercenter that was open twenty-four hours. He parked in the distance, near a shadowy stand of trees on the edge of the lot.

It wasn’t a full moon, but it was close enough.

* * *

Tess turned on all the lights in the house as she walked, checking the sliding glass doors and making sure all her blinds were drawn. Maybe she should have asked him to check the house. It had been a shock running into Reuben like that. A really bad shock.

Terrifying flashbacks had started her trembling, but Scudder’s gentle voice and strong touch had soon soothed them away. He wanted to take it slow. It was agonizing, but she would let him lead her now that she knew he liked her.

Her car alarm went off and she jumped, startled. Probably a stray cat. She grabbed her key ring and opened the front door, clicking the button on the remote. The alarm shut off, but there was a large, dark shape standing by the trunk. When she stepped closer, she realized it was Reuben.

“We’ve got unfinished business, bitch,” he said.

Her feet froze, old terrors immobilizing her. “Get out of here. I’ll call the cops. I have a restraining order against you.”

He took a step toward her, staggering slightly. He was really drunk. “Who cares?” He charged. She screamed and tried to turn to run when a large shadow rounded the corner of her house and slammed into Reuben, knocking him to the ground.

A dog.

She raced for the house and slammed the front door behind her, locking it. With trembling fingers she dialed 911.

The dog’s vicious snarls and Reuben’s panicked screams for help drifted into the living room, but in less than five minutes she heard a siren and peeked out the front window. When the deputy arrived, the dog leapt off Reuben and trotted to her front porch, sitting there, staring at her through the window, its tail wagging.

It looked like a huge, jet-black Lab.

She cautiously opened the front door, and the dog wagged its tail harder, his whole butt wiggling, almost seeming to smile at her. Then it trotted over, turned, and sat facing the front walk.

Reuben was still screaming as the deputy handcuffed him, so he couldn’t be hurt too badly. After another deputy arrived and they locked Reuben in the backseat of one of the cruisers, the deputies took her statement. Lucky for Reuben, he didn’t have a mark on him, but apparently he’d wet his pants as the dog had grabbed his throat and held on without breaking the skin.

Tess idly stroked the dog’s head after it nosed her hand. “Is that your dog, ma’am?” the deputy asked.

She shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen him before. But I’m damn sure glad he showed up.” She had a horrifying thought. “You won’t take him, will you?”

“Not if you don’t want us to. He didn’t bite him.” The deputy looked at the dog. “He’s a good-looking dog, doesn’t look like a stray. I suggest getting him to the vet tomorrow if you can’t find his owner, get him his shots. That way, no one can say anything.”

She nodded. When the deputies finally left, she stopped at the open door.

“Want to come in, boy?” She assumed he was a boy, but she hadn’t examined him.

He padded through her front door, his huge club-like tail happily wagging. God, he had to be well over a hundred pounds! She’d never seen a Lab as big as him.

She poured him a bowl of water, and he eagerly lapped it up. Kneeling next to him, she ran her fingers through his fur, checking him. Yep, a boy, and he didn’t have a collar. He also didn’t appear to have any fleas or ticks, thank God, and he seemed pretty clean.

Cupping his large head in her hands, she looked into his huge, golden-brown eyes. Something about him calmed her, made her feel protected, beyond what he’d done for her. Surely he belonged to someone to be in such good shape.

“Thank you, boy.”

He nuzzled her cheek and licked her face.

After that scare, she let him curl up on her bed. Putting her arm around him felt right. He smelled good, too, almost…familiar?

She fell asleep and dreamed of her dinner with Scudder, wishing she could be curled around him.

* * *

Around five o’clock, before false dawn even touched the sky, she was gently nosed awake by the Lab. He stared at her, licking her cheek, softly whining.

The events of the night flooded back, and she looked at her overnight guest. “Hey, boy.” She stroked his head and laughed when he rolled onto his back so she could scratch his belly. “I hope you’re homeless, because I’ll adopt you if you are. If not, I owe your owners a huge thank-you.”

He sat up and whined again, looking toward the bedroom door.

“You gotta go out?”

He jumped off the bed and paced halfway to the door and stopped.

“Okay, hold on.”

He patiently waited for her at the front door. She opened the door, and before he went outside, he turned. She knelt down and he licked her, nuzzling her neck. His breath brushed her cheek. When she met his eyes, she realized he was leaving. She didn’t know how, but she sensed it.

Great. Now I’m talking to dogs. I need a life.

The dog panted, almost smiling, and licked her one last time before bounding out the door and around the corner of her house.

Tess tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded her. She took a long shower, thinking about the feel of Scudder’s arms and lips—

Why didn’t I call him?

She thought about it. Why hadn’t she? He should have been her first call after the deputies got there, but…

That dog had saved her.

She hoped the Lab was okay, and if he was homeless, she hoped he’d come back.

* * *

Scudder dropped his keys on the table by his front door and scrubbed his face with his hands. At least he’d gotten a little sleep. It wasn’t worth trying to go to bed now. He needed to take a shower and get to work.

He left early enough to stop through the golden arches and pick up coffee and breakfast for both of them. She arrived at work ten minutes after he did, and they ate on the hood of his car.

“You aren’t going to believe what happened last night after you left,” she said.

“What?” He hoped she wasn’t totally attuned to him yet, couldn’t tell how badly he was lying.

She told the story, and he nodded and looked shocked in the appropriate places.

“I should have stuck around, Tess. I’m really sorry.”

Tessa shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You had no way of knowing.”

“I wish you’d called me.”

She looked down. “I’m sorry I didn’t, it’s just…” She met his eyes. “This is going to sound really weird, and I don’t want it to come out sounding the wrong way, but that dog was just so comforting, I didn’t even think about calling you.”

He smiled, amused. “So you’re saying I need to run around on all fours and get a flea collar?”

Tessa laughed, but knew his feelings weren’t hurt. “I think what’s weirder is you do understand what I mean.”

He caressed her cheek. “Buy him some beef jerky as a reward in case he comes back. The real stuff, not the crap for dogs.”

“Maybe I’ll do that.”

* * *

Working was hard for her, because every time she looked up she caught Scudder’s eye and smiled. She wanted to lock their door and crawl into his lap and kiss him. By the time lunch rolled around she was more than ready to go. They lucked out in the elevator, having it all to themselves and stealing a quick kiss on the ride down.

“So I’ll pick you up tonight at seven, and we’ll go somewhere your ex won’t be, right?”

She laughed. “Right.”

He almost seemed to catch a whiff of her thinking that she wanted to say something else and gently encouraged her. “What is it, Tess?”

“Thank you for last night, for standing up to him for me.” Her eyes finally found his. “No one’s ever stood up for me like that in my whole life, and now in one night, two guys protect me.”

“Two?”

“You and my mystery dog.”

* * *

He loved her smile, craved making her laugh. She was more relaxed today than he’d ever seen her despite the previous evening’s events. After lunch was over, he reluctantly returned to the office. He wanted to sit there in the park with her all day.

A little after two, Ron Osborne stuck his head in their doorway. “What are you guys dressing up as for the bash?”

“I’m going, but Scudder’s ducking out.”

Scudder didn’t like the way Ron’s eye gleamed at that news. “Really? Why not?”

Scudder fought to control his voice and keep the growl out of it. If he was in his canine form, his lips would be curled and his hackles up. Even Ron’s scent had changed. “I have a prior family obligation.”

Ron’s gaze focused on Tess. Scudder knew Ron was attracted to her, but the few times he’d tried to connect with her, Scudder had successfully interceded so she never knew about it. The guy was a slimy asshole.

And Scudder didn’t share well with others.

“I’m going as a witch,” Tessa said, casting a glance at Scudder. “And not the Good Witch, either.”

Damn it! She was trying to make him jealous, and it was working far more than she knew. Fortunately, she couldn’t see how he tightly gripped the arms of his chair to keep from jumping up and shoving Ron out the door and slamming it in his face.

“Do you need a ride to the party? I don’t mind,” Ron said.

Tessa glanced at Scudder. Perhaps his poorly hidden scowl clued her in. “No, that’s okay.”

“Oh, all right. See you there.”

Ron left, but Tessa’s eyes were locked on Scudder’s. “You’re jealous,” she whispered, her delicious lips curling into a sexy smile. “You’re jealous of him.”

He rolled his chair across the office, open door be damned, and crooked his finger at her.

When she leaned in, he brushed his lips across hers. “You don’t want Ron, do you?” he whispered.

She gasped and shook her head. No, she wanted only him. Her scent told him that much. If he locked the office door, she’d be in his arms in a heartbeat.

Scudder smiled. “I know I have no right to be jealous at this point, but I’ll be honest that I don’t share well with other men. I’m not jealous of friends, but that man wants to be far more than a friend to you.”

She sat back, startled. “Ron? No.”

Scudder nodded.

Tessa was quiet the rest of the afternoon, but he felt her eyes on his back.

* * *

He picked her up, and this time their dinner wasn’t interrupted. They had a fun time, and he reluctantly took her home around eleven.

“Do you want to come in?” she whispered.

He kissed her, his tongue gently stroking hers. “Want to, yes. Should I? No. Not yet.” He stepped back. “I’ll leave early tomorrow morning. Won’t be back until late Sunday. I’ll see you Monday morning, okay?”

She nodded, her disappointment strong and sharp in the air. His heart ached that he couldn’t stay, not yet.

He stepped forward one more time and kissed her again. “Just remember,” he whispered, “I don’t share well. Well, except with your four-legged friend. But not with any other man. Have fun tomorrow night, but please, stay safe.”

She nodded and finally went inside and locked the door.

He drove to a friend’s house nearby, where he’d arranged to leave his car for the weekend. He took a few moments to get what he needed, and then made his preparations. No matter what, she couldn’t go to that party alone. Not with Ron there.

He smelled wrong.

* * *

She watched his taillights drive down her street. God, she missed him already. Walking into the bedroom, she started undressing for bed. She went to get a glass of water in the kitchen and spied the grocery bag on the counter. She’d stopped on her way home from work and picked up two large bags of beef jerky, the good stuff for humans. Probably wouldn’t ever see the dog again, but at least it would keep. Who knows—

The scratch on the front door startled her. Cautiously, she crept to her front window and looked out. She spotted a black, furry butt and a wagging tail at her front door.

Her heart jumped at the sight. For a dog? What is wrong with me?

But she threw open the door and sank to her knees, burying her head in his fur.

“Hey, fella! I’m so glad you came back.” He licked her cheeks and nuzzled her neck, happily whining. She stood to let him in and noticed the small plastic sack on the porch next to him. “What’s this?”

His soft woof made her laugh. He pounced on it, snagged the handles, and dragged it inside.

After closing and locking her front door, she sat on the floor and went through the bag, puzzled. A leather leash and matching studded collar, a sleeveless leather doggy jacket, and a…hat? He would look like a biker.

Tessa looked at the Lab, and his lolling tongue and happy panting made her laugh. “You brought your own Halloween costume?”

He barked, his tail wagging harder.

Her boss was an avid animal lover. Well-behaved dogs were always welcomed at his big company parties. It was a family affair, not just for adults, and he usually had games for kids as well as dogs.

This was creepy though. Someone must have set her up. Dogs didn’t pack their own costumes. It had to be some sort of joke.

She cupped his large head in her palms. “You are a mystery, aren’t you?”

He softly woofed and licked her nose.

* * *

He slept in bed with her again that night, and he loved the beef jerky. This time he didn’t wake her up early, and when she let him out to go to the bathroom in the morning, something in his demeanor told her he wouldn’t run away.

“You need a name,” she said, studying him. “I can’t just keep calling you boy.” She looked into his eyes and then it hit her. “My boyfriend’s first name is Dennis. You remind me a lot of him. You’ve got the same eyes and hair, and you take good care of me. I’ll call you Den. You like that?”

He barked and happily wagged his tail.

Her new friend held still while she dressed him. Everything fit, and he drooled a little when she leaned forward in her costume, exposing her cleavage.

Tessa laughed and patted his head. “That’s against the law in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.”

He made a strange chuffing sound that sounded like a laugh.

It was strange. He wasn’t like any other dog she’d ever owned. It was like he really understood every word she said.

They left for the party. Riding in the car, he sat on the front seat, didn’t pace, didn’t drool, didn’t bark at other cars. His focus was solely on her, and she found herself talking to him.

When they arrived at the party, his leash manners were perfect. He didn’t pull or bark at the other dogs or any of the people. But when Ron walked up to her, Den placed himself between them, leaning against her shins, blocking her with his huge body.

Ron looked at him and smiled. When he reached out to pet him, Tessa felt rather than heard the low growl rumble through Den’s chest.

“I wouldn’t do that, Ron. He doesn’t like it when men get close to me. He’s very protective.”

* * *

Scudder watched Ron through narrowed eyes. He smelled even more wrong now. He had something in store for Tessa tonight. He wasn’t sure what, but the scent of treachery was undeniable.

Ron stepped back. “He’s a very big dog,” he nervously said.

Tessa stroked the Lab’s head. “Yes, he is.”

“I didn’t know you had a dog. How long have you had him?”

“Not long.”

Good girl, Scudder thought. He smelled her hesitation, probably remembering their office discussion. She was withdrawing, trying to distance herself from Ron.

Carefully, he shifted his weight against her legs so she was forced to take a step back.

Ron wasn’t giving up. “Listen, Tess, why don’t you and I go out to eat later, after this is over?”

“No, I’m sorry. It’ll be too late, and I have plans for tomorrow morning.”

“Then how about tomorrow night?”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve got plans already.”

Scudder shifted his weight again, and she took another step back. Her scent had changed, shifting from anxiety to fear, probably an ingrained reaction from the years of abuse she suffered at Reuben’s hands.

“Oh,” Ron said, looking at her empty glass. “What are you drinking? I’ll go get you another one.”

“Okay, thank you.” Her relief at his departure only increased Scudder’s alarm. He wanted to drag her out of there, because now he knew. Her sexy, low-cut costume dress had caught not only his eye, but Ron’s as well, and the man fully intended to fuck her. The unmistakable odor of rut surrounded him like a thick cloak.

Scudder carefully pulled on the leash and got nowhere. Then he gently took her hand in his mouth and tried to lead her away, but Ron was too fast. He returned and handed her a new glass. Scudder knew, from the drink’s odor and from the predatory gleam in Ron’s eye, that he’d drugged it.

Damn it!

Scudder waited until she tried to drink to bolt, yanking on the leash and causing her to spill part of it, but he thought she might have still sipped some.

“Den, no! Don’t do that!” She dropped the slack in the leash and stepped on it, freeing her hand so she could drink without him pulling on her. He didn’t want to hurt or scare her, but Ron’s eyes had narrowed to a reptilian stare. Scudder knew whatever he’d used would work fast. There were plenty of secluded, wooded areas around the large property he could drag her to and rape her.

Scudder whined, pawing at her, trying to get her to dump it, but she shook him off and took a few sips.

Then she met his eyes, and he tried sending her a silent plea.

Tess, baby, please don’t drink it!

* * *

Den went crazy. Even when she dropped the leash and stood on it, it was like he didn’t want her drinking from the cup Ron brought her.

“Den, what has gotten into you?” She took a couple of quick sips, and then the dog caught her eye. About that same time a really bad feeling swept over her, a horrible sensation of fear.

There was something in her drink.

Her eyes flicked to Ron, then back to Den, who was begging her with his eyes.

She put the drink down, and that was when she felt the first weird sensation. “Den, car. Now. Let’s go, boy.”

Ron moved to catch her arm, and suddenly, Den was between them, silently baring his teeth.

“Are you okay, Tessa?” Ron asked.

It was an act, and she knew it. Damn it, I should have listened to Scudder in the office!

“I’m fine, but I have to get home. I just remembered that I forgot to give Den his medication.”

The Lab caught her hand in his mouth and gently led her around to the front of the house where the cars were parked. She was having trouble focusing now, even walking was difficult. Whatever Ron had doped her with, it was strong and quick. She was afraid to pass out for fear of Ron doing something.

Ron still followed her a few paces behind. “Tessa, why don’t you let me drive you home?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Den whined, trying to move her along faster. “Okay, boy,” she whispered. “I know. I’m sorry. I should have paid attention to you. You tried to warn me.”

Ron kept up, but his voice had changed pitch, and even she recognized it. “Tessa, I will drive you home.”

They were now hidden from the other partygoers by a thick stand of trees. Den whirled and snarled, curling his lips and baring his teeth.

“Like hell you will.”

She gasped. She would swear she heard Den say that through his protective growl. That had to be an effect of whatever Ron doped her with. Dogs couldn’t talk.

Ron stopped and held up his hands, but he didn’t back off. Trembling, she finally got her finger on the remote and managed to unlock the car. Den stood to the side while she carefully slid behind the wheel. There was a quick movement, and then Den was snarling and barking at Ron, who’d tried to rush the car when the dog’s back was turned.

Ron backed up, an angry look on his face. “Don’t you dare drive, Tessa. You need to be taken home. I’ll take you.”

She forced her eyes to focus on Ron. “What’d you dope me with, asshole?” Den put his front feet on her lap, and she sensed he wanted her to unclip his leash. She finally managed it.

“You’re imagining things, Tessa,” Ron lied. She heard it in his voice. He darted for the car again, and Den was on him, jumping up and bouncing off his chest, knocking the man down and growling at him.

“Stay. Away. From. My. Mate.” Den didn’t do any damage, but ripped at Ron’s Joker outfit, forcing the man into a hasty, scrambling retreat.

She should get the car doors locked and call 911. That was definitely a hallucination. Imagining a dog talking was a really bad side effect.

“Den, come.” He wheeled around and leapt through the open driver door. She pulled it shut and slammed the lock button just as Ron ran up again and yanked on the door handle, beating on the window.

“Tessa! You’ll regret this, goddamn it!”

She fumbled the key into the ignition and managed to start it. Thank God it was an automatic transmission. Fortunately, she’d parked on the far end of the field, and there were no cars in her way. She drove down the winding driveway, out of sight of the house, and when her vision tripled she knew she had to pull over.

She sobbed, putting the car into park. “I can’t, Den. I’ve got to call someone. God, I wish I’d stayed home.” She felt close to passing out.

Her head felt too heavy to hold up on her neck. She closed her eyes, praying Ron hadn’t followed her.

It had to be an effect of the drug that as she finally passed out, she swore she heard Scudder’s voice calling her name and felt his hand caress her cheek…

* * *

She heard sirens, barking, agitated voices. Her eyelids barely budged.

Tessa heard the door locks disengage. She tried to swipe at the button to lock them again, but felt Den’s paw on her arm.

Then a strange voice. “Ma’am? Are you okay…?”

* * *

Lights…movement…strange voices…

What felt like days later, she finally opened her eyes and realized she was in the hospital. Her boss and a deputy stood by the side of her bed.

“Den? Where is he?”

“He’s okay, Tessa,” her boss said. “My wife has him at our house. Damndest thing, they said he unlocked your car doors when the EMTs showed up.”

She licked her lips and relaxed. “Ron doped my drink.”

“We know. One of the bartenders saw him do it, and they tried to get help, but you’d disappeared by then. Then when the 911 call came in, the responders found you in the driveway. Why did you try to drive?”

“Ron was chasing me. I wanted to get away from him, but I didn’t call 911.”

“No, some guy did. From your phone.”

That broke through the leftover haze. “What?”

The deputy nodded. “That’s right, ma’am. We don’t know who he was, because when we got there, it was just you and your dog locked in the car.”

She lay back and closed her eyes. She was too tired to figure this out now.

“What did he dope me with?”

“Ketamine. He admitted it after we searched his car and found more. You’re very lucky.”

She closed her eyes. “Den tried to warn me.”

“Ma’am?”

“My dog. He tried to warn me. He kept Ron away from me when I went to the car. He protected me.”

* * *

It was late the next afternoon when she was discharged. Her boss picked her up and took her back to his house to pick up her car and Den. The Lab happily barked and rushed out the front door, practically tackling her, vigorously licking her face, his tail wagging fast and furious.

She hugged him, burying her face in his fur. “You can’t leave me, boy. That’s twice you’ve saved me.” She cupped his head in her palms. “You’re staying with me forever, got it?”

He softly chuffed.

Her boss had bought a huge bag of dog food for the Lab and sent it home with her. When she tried to give Den some, he turned his nose up at it and stared at the remaining bag of beef jerky on the counter.

She laughed and fed him the whole bag. “You earned it. I should feed you filet mignon, you big stud.”

He softly chuffed in agreement.

She tried to call Scudder and reached his voice mail. She left a brief and hopefully not too worrisome message before curling up in bed with Den. It was still daylight out, but she was exhausted.

Wrapping her fingers in his thick fur, she held on to his collar and buried her face against his neck. “I love you. God, I should have listened to Scudder. He was right.” She gently nudged the dog. “You’re not allowed to growl at him, hear me? You’re named after him, and I love him. Got it?”

His tail thumped.

* * *

She awoke sometime after two o’clock in the morning. Den had rolled over in bed, but she still had her fingers around his collar. She opened her eyes and realized she was face-to-face with him, his huge, golden-brown eyes staring into hers.

Just like Scudder’s, she thought, then froze.

The dog watched her with awareness, his eyes narrowing slightly.

What she thought she heard before she passed out, that was her imagination, right?

“No.”

She gasped.

Den’s eyes followed hers, locked in an intense gaze, her fingers still tangled through his jet-black fur…

She sat up. Den didn’t move, just watched her with those huge, golden-brown eyes.

“Oh. My. God.”

He slowly sat up, his eyes never leaving hers.

She ran her hands over his fur then cupped his face again. Okay, she was going to blame this on a bad side effect of what Ron had doped her with.

Den softly chuffed and gently pushed his nose against her hand.

Full moon.

She scrambled across the bed away from him, staring.

“Tess, please.” His eyes pleaded with her.

“They said a man called 911.”

The dog nodded. She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them to her. “So this is what it feels like when you lose your mind?”

The dog chuffed again and lay down, belly crawling across the bed to her, softly whining.

“You’re not crazy, Tess.”

“Oh my God!”

Those huge, golden-brown eyes. How could she have missed it? She’d never seen anyone or anything with eyes like that before, and then to have a dog show up with Scudder’s eyes and hair…

“If you’re really him, then change back!”

The dog jumped off the bed and went to the window, his front paws up on the sill, nosing through the blinds. Apparently satisfied, he returned to the bed and sat in front of her and nuzzled her hand. Once she had her hand on his collar, he looked her in the eye.

His face shifted, changed. Suddenly, Scudder was crouched on the bed in front of her, and she had her fingers tightly hooked through the collar around his neck.

Tessa’s eyes widened in shock. She finally sat back, releasing the collar. Then she realized he was naked.

Shock took a momentary backseat to desire, because he was extremely well endowed. Then back to shock.

“You…what…no…”

He nodded, not speaking, fixing her with those sweet, golden-brown eyes. After a few minutes, he unfastened the collar and dropped it to the bed. “I’m sorry, Tess,” he whispered. “It’s not like I could just tell you.”

She stared.

After another silent minute, he carefully shifted position so he sat cross-legged on the bed and made no attempt to cover himself. “I couldn’t very well order you not to go to the party. I damn sure didn’t want you there alone with Ron,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

None of the words she tried to form would come out as anything other than a random, jumbled series of vowels and consonants that made no sense.

* * *

He slowly reached out and took her hand. She stared at it, but didn’t pull away. “Please, Tess,” he whispered.

After an agonizingly long time, she met his gaze again.

He leaned forward and kissed her, and as if a spell was broken, she fell into his arms, greedily kissing him back.

There was no way he could resist her now, not after what happened and what she knew. He took his time making slow, sweet love to her, enjoying her scent on his skin, making her moan with pleasure.

He’d waited so long for this, to make love to her, and he’d damn sure make it last. He worked his way down her body with his lips and tongue, pausing at her breasts and licking her nipples, gently biting at them. The responding moan he received from her made his cock throb even more, but he refused to rush.

Her fingers plunged into his hair, her nails digging into his scalp and adding a pleasant bite of pain to his pleasure. When he finally reached the juncture between her thighs she moaned even more loudly and held on tight to his head.

With his hands wrapped around her thighs, he slowly laved his tongue through her pussy lips, closing his eyes at his first sweet taste of her. He lapped at her clit, not letting her escape his grasp until he knew he’d gotten three orgasms out of her and she begged for mercy.

He stalked up her body, his cock painfully hard and dying to be embedded inside her sweet hole. “I want you to be mine. Forever.”

She looked dazed from the last echoes of her climaxes bouncing around inside her, but she eagerly nodded. “Please take me!”

He crushed her lips with his and thrust, hard and deep, inside her. With every ounce of his will, he held still, wanting to regain a little of his control. Following the line of her jaw, he traced her flesh with his tongue, down her neck, to her shoulder, where he grazed her flesh with his teeth.

She grabbed another fistful of his hair and held on tight. At this rate, he might end up with bald spots, but he realized he didn’t care. He sank his teeth into her shoulder as he started fucking her again, enjoying the feel of her body engulfing him as she screamed out in pleasure from another climax. He didn’t let go, holding on, marking her inside and out as his own release ripped out of his balls and pumped deep inside her.

They collapsed onto the bed, sweaty and spent, his arms protectively cradling her to him.

* * *

As they lay entwined on her bed, she whispered, “You called 911 from my car.”

“Yes. I shifted back long enough to do it. That’s why I couldn’t leave your boss’s house once they took me back there, because I had witnesses around all the time. From what I heard, you were doing okay. I figured it was best to wait for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be at your side.”

“So, am I going to turn into one, too?”

He laughed and rolled over on top of her. “It doesn’t work like that. I was born this way.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You called me your mate!” She playfully shoved him.

“Yeah, well you called me your boyfriend. You said you loved me.”

She blushed. “I thought I was talking to a dog.”

“You were talking about me.” He nuzzled her nose with his. “I love you, too, Tess. I was afraid to tell you. I’m sorry you had to find out like this. I’m sorry I couldn’t—”

She kissed him hard. “I should have listened to you about Ron. You saved me.”

He stroked her cheek. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

His golden-brown eyes never left hers. “I know. This is the other reason I wanted to take it slow.”

“I thought people like you turned into vicious werewolves.”

“That’s a myth. Shifters change into lots of things, not just wolves.” He laced his fingers through hers, kissing her hand. “I hate to interrupt this, but do you feel like going to work?”

“We need to. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do.”

He sat up and pulled her to him, kissing her again. “Then you need to take me to my car so I can get my clothes.”

A sly, playful grin slid across her lips. “What if I want to keep you naked?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You can have me naked all you want at home, sweetie. But we don’t want to get fired, and spending all day in bed doesn’t pay our bills.” He nuzzled her neck. “You can have me every night if you want me.”

Warm, erotic heat flooded her. He was so much more than she ever dreamed he’d be, and not just the weird shifting stuff, either. “Promise?” she whispered.

He nodded. “I promise.”

It was still dark, and he wrapped a large beach towel around his waist for the walk to her car. He gave her directions, and in a few minutes he’d retrieved his clothes and car and followed her back to her place.

“I need a shower,” he said, stretching. Dawn painted the sky as he carried his overnight bag inside her house.

“Want some help?”

He caught her around the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her throat. He growled. “Do you even need to ask?”

* * *

Scudder drove them to work. They even managed to make it on time. The corporate grapevine went into overdrive. All morning, people dropped by their office to see how she was doing and offer their support and sympathies.

Including two men who Scudder instinctively sensed were off. This time, Tessa deferred to his judgment, allowing him to scowl and run them off with grumpy warnings that they were buried in work with no time to chat.

But she smiled, and at lunch she closed and locked their door.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She crawled into his lap for a long, deep kiss. “That.”

* * *

After two weeks, she moved in with Scudder. By the next Halloween party, fortunately during a waning quarter moon, they sported wedding bands. For their party costumes, she went dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, while Scudder went dressed as a biker.

Complete with a studded, leather collar.

A Nearly Cat-astrophic Christmas

Tessa put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree and stood back. The beautiful star looked perfect perched on the topmost branch. She plugged the lights in, then turned and gasped at the effect.

Their first Christmas in their new house.

Beautiful!

They had family and friends coming over tomorrow night for a holiday party and dinner. It would be interesting to see how everyone got together.

She hoped the fur didn’t fly too badly.

Literally.

Jeremy and Genna Bruin, the pack Alpha and his wife, were coming over for the first time. So were Ivan and Lindsey Biendino, the pack Beta and his wife. And Scudder’s family.

And her relatively normal family.

Normal being relative, as opposed to a bunch of shape-shifters. Although calling some of the members of her family normal was a pretty far stretch to begin with.

Scudder walked in from the garage with an armful of garland for the mantle. She’d shooed him out of the living room when he insisted on helping her and instead drove her nuts. He was sweet, but he spoiled her rotten.

Being the wife of a shape-shifter had taken a little getting used to. Tessa found out that Scudder’s branch of the family still had a tendency to be guided by the moon. Not like the bullshit Hollywood myths, but it was a more powerful time of the month for them. Although she felt sorry for Scudder’s parents. With six girls and Scudder the only boy, Colin and Sherrie Harris must have had their hands full when their children were kids…

Well, pups.

“The tree looks beautiful,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. “How are you holding up?”

“Nervous as hell. Lindsey said one of Ivan’s cousins is coming with them.”

“Oh, good!”

“He’s a panther.”

Scudder nearly choked. “Um, okay.”

She poked him in the chest. “I won’t have anyone teasing him or making catnip jokes. Understand?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He put down the armful of garland where she told him to. “This’ll be interesting.”

The next evening, Tessa nervously finished up the last of the preparations with Sherrie’s help. She loved her mother-in-law and felt extremely close to her, as close as with her own mother.

Sherrie grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at her. “Stop worrying.” She smiled. “I remember how nervous I was the first time I hosted a family gathering.” Sherrie wasn’t a born shape-shifter, but had been married to Colin nearly forty years. “Everything will be fine.”

“And if the fur flies? Remember, my family doesn’t know about the shape-shifting stuff.”

She shrugged. “I brought extra bourbon to spike the eggnog.”

Scudder and Colin’s job was to greet people, take coats, and get drinks for their guests while Sherrie and Tessa put on the last touches. By the time Tessa discovered all their guests had arrived and it was time to serve dinner, she realized she hadn’t yet been introduced to Frank Biendino, Ivan’s cousin.

She supposed he was the handsome blue-eyed blond hunk standing in the corner with a cup of eggnog and chatting up her pretty and single cousin, Kaylie.

Oh, boy.

Nervous, she tried to calm her stomach, but when she caught sight of the two of them sharing a good-bye kiss on the front porch at the end of the evening, she elbowed Scudder. “Aren’t you going to do something?” she hissed in his ear.

“Do what? Wish them mazel tov?”

“He’s a…” She realized her voice was going up. She quieted her tone. “Shouldn’t we warn her off or something?”

He shrugged, turned, and planted a panty-melting kiss on her lips. He leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Would you have wanted someone to warn me off of you?”

Gulping, she shook her head. No, she loved Scudder.

“Then let Cupid have his fun. And them, too.”

* * *

Kaylie drove home, her head spinning. Frank Biendino was a cutie, a total hunk. With blond hair and crystalline blue eyes that seemed to penetrate to the depths of her core, she realized halfway through the evening her panties had a huge wet spot, and that was just from talking with him!

Now she had his number programmed into her phone. He’d promised to call her in the morning, once she had a chance to check out her upcoming work schedule, to set up a date. She never had good luck with men and didn’t want to get her hopes up too much, but…damn.

She got home, took a hot shower, and went to bed with her vibrator sporting a fresh set of batteries. Two orgasms later, with Frank at the center of her fantasies, she finally managed to get to sleep.

The next morning, she found she had absolutely no problem springing up out of bed and rushing into work at the department store she worked at. Her supervisor was just posting next week’s schedule when Kaylie rounded the corner at a dead run into the employee lounge.

“Is that it? Next week?” she eagerly asked.

The woman laughed. “Yeah. What’s up with you? Got a hot date to plan?”

Kaylie smiled when she saw she had Tuesday night off and all of Wednesday. “Something like that, Lily. Met a hunk last night at my cousin’s Christmas party.”

“Sexy and single?”

Kaylie giggled. “Yep! For once, I think I found a handsome, normal guy who isn’t a freak!”

* * *

As promised, Frank called her and set up a date with her. When he hung up, he smiled and licked his lips. He’d spent the entire evening trying not to drag Kaylie into an empty bedroom and fuck her brains out.

Finally, in a room full of dogs, he’d found a mate.

Ivan will love to bust my balls over this.

He didn’t care how much his cousin would tease him. He could close his eyes and conjure Kaylie’s scent, complete with the overlying musk of her arousal.

He’d made women horny before, but never had someone responded to him like that before.

Ever.

By the time of their date Tuesday night, they’d spent several hours talking on the phone. When he picked her up at her apartment a little after five, it took every last ounce of his will not to push her back inside, rip her clothes off, and claim her right then.

But that kind of claiming was generally frowned upon nowadays, even if he already knew she was the one for him.

And he knew. She was already wet, and they’d only walked from her apartment to the car.

He’d picked a small family restaurant near his townhouse in Hyde Park, west of downtown Tampa, for their dinner. Decorated in beautiful Christmas lights inside and out, it was romantic, quiet, and even better, only five minutes from his door.

* * *

Kaylie excused herself to the bathroom. She couldn’t believe the lack of self-control she had over this man. She was already a wet mess.

I should have brought spare panties.

Fuck it, hopefully her panties would be off by the end of the evening. She’d even brought a few condoms with her in case things worked out the way she hoped. If it made her a slut, she didn’t care. Just the fact that he turned her crank the way he did was good enough for her. She’d been over a year without a man in her bed and was sick of being alone.

She returned to their table and caught his amused smile.

“What?” she asked as she took her seat.

He leaned in and nipped her earlobe. “You are a wet, wet girl, aren’t you?”

Her body heated at the purring tone of his voice. How the hell could he purr when he hadn’t said any r’s was beyond her, but he did.

She managed a squeaky, “Uh-huh!”

“Would you like to go back to my place?”

She started to stand when he chuckled and placed a staying hand on her shoulder. “I meant after dinner.”

“Why wait?”

He looked at her before bursting out into gales of laughter. “I guess you’re right.”

They were practically ripping each other’s clothes off before he even kicked his front door shut behind them.

“I don’t normally do this,” he rumbled against the base of her throat where his tongue was doing delicious things to her libido even without any contact with the more sensitive regions of her erogenous zones. “I don’t normally take a woman home on the first date.”

“Neither do I,” she gasped, “but I don’t care!”

He scooped her up into his arms and carried her into his bed. He was totally naked by the time he pounced on her and pushed her legs apart. She heard the rip of fabric, and then he tossed the remnants of her panties over his shoulder onto the floor.

“I’ll buy you new ones,” he said before his head disappeared beneath her skirt.

She fell back to the pillows, moaning, his tongue rasping along her clit and dissolving conscious thought. Shirt and bra off and somewhere on the living room floor, she realized he was making a purring sound as he licked and sucked at her pussy.

“You…taste…sooo…good,” he murmured between strokes.

She moaned in reply, unable to speak as the first of several orgasms wiped out her fine motor skills for a few minutes.

When he finally came up for air, he pulled her skirt down and flipped her over, pulling her up to her knees and yanking her skirt the rest of the way off.

She heard the sound of a condom, then the biggest, hardest cock she’d ever felt started slowly pressing for entrance.

Fists buried in the pillows, she fucked herself back onto his enormous rod. “Oohhh god, yes!” she screamed as yet another orgasm washed over her.

Never…this…good…ever!

He held still inside her until she recovered, then he started moving again, slowly at first, then picking up speed and force until his thighs slapped against the back of hers and she felt like her body would never stop rippling in waves of pleasant passion.

He let out a roar that reminded her of a mountain lion’s scream as his own climax hit. His body slammed into hers, her brain turning into some sort of pleasure-filled soup as they collapsed onto the bed, his weight comfortably pinning her to the mattress.

She found his hand and laced her fingers through his, pleased when he squeezed her hand. He nuzzled the back of her neck, gently nipping, his cock and her clit simultaneously twitching with renewed interest.

He purred in her ear. “You are so wonderful.”

Again with the purring. He reminded her of a big cat.

“You’re pretty damn great yourself,” she managed.

With lithe agility, he rose up, flipped her over, and covered her body with his again. “I want you,” he whispered. “I want you to be mine.”

Reality struggled for a foothold in her brain. “Huh?”

He kissed her. “Marry me. Be my mate. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

Sitting up, she pushed him off and scrambled up the bed away from him. “What? Are you crazy? We just met!”

He followed her on all fours, stalking her, his blue eyes blazing. “Tell me you don’t feel it. I can smell it on you. Tell me you don’t feel something for me that you’ve never felt before for any other man.”

“I…I…” She always was a sucky liar. “Okay, yes, something, but marriage?”

He grabbed her and kissed her again, nearly melting her reserve until her sanity sent her a telegram. She pushed him away again.

“This is crazy!”

He sat back and shook his head. “I know what I know. My kind does. Just like Scudder and Tessa.”

“What?”

* * *

He was taking a huge chance. The only reason he did was because he knew, one thousand percent, that she was meant to be his mate.

“Scudder is a shape-shifter like me. Well, sort of like me. He’s a canine. I’m a feline.”

Startled, Kaylie’s face went blank for a moment before she started laughing. “That’s a good one. Riiight. Shape-shifter. Sure. I think that orgasm fried your brain.”

He realized his cock was still sheathed by the used condom. He yanked it off and threw it on the floor to deal with later. Then he closed his eyes and shifted.

* * *

Kaylie’s laugh died in her throat, followed by something she thought might have sounded like a strangled scream, except she couldn’t seem to force any air into her lungs. A huge panther with blue eyes and blond fur the same color of Frank’s now sat on the end of the bed where Frank had just been.

Frozen in place by fear and disbelief, she realized she couldn’t move as the large cat silently stalked up the bed again until it lay between her legs, its chin now resting on her belly.

And as it started vibrating, she realized it was purring.

How had her evening gone from mind-blowing sex to something out of a horror movie? “Nice…kitty?” she whispered, too terrified to move.

She swore the beast smiled at her.

* * *

Frank waited her out. He knew from talking to some of his cousins that once the initial shock wore off and the screaming stopped, that usually the mates started processing what their eyes were showing them and their minds started working again.

He was just glad his neighbors were in Bermuda on vacation. Her screams wouldn’t attract unwanted attention.

She slowly started to move out from under him. He moved with her, following her as she backed out of the bedroom and down the stairs, her eyes never leaving him. He continued purring and hoped they could get past this stage quickly and get back to the fucking portion of the evening.

He could spend all of his life with his cock buried inside her.

And spend his life loving her. Without a doubt.

In the living room, she grabbed her purse. He wasn’t sure where she thought she would go with nothing but her purse, but then she glanced around and before he could shift back, she spun around, dashed into the guest bath, and locked herself in.

Crap. He shifted back and lightly tapped on the door. “Kaylie? Honey, please, come out and talk to me. It’s going to be okay.”

He heard her speaking to someone in low, hysterical tones. He knocked a little louder, heard her nearly panicked squeak and the speed of her conversation pick up. Sure he could either break the door down or pick the lock, but that would only terrify her more.

Before he could talk to her again, his cell phone rang. He ignored it and pleaded with her to come out, to listen to him. Then his house phone rang. He let it go to the machine when he heard Ivan’s voice.

“Frank? Pick up right the fuck now.”

“Crap!” He leapt the couch and grabbed the handset before the machine could cut him off. “What?”

“What the fuck is going on? I’ve got Scudder Harris on the phone saying his wife’s cousin is hysterical and locked in your bathroom!”

He let out a groan. Fan-fucking-tastic. “Yeah, I just showed her my shift. I asked her to be my mate.”

“Oh, Jesus H. Christ! I’m on my way.”

Before Frank could respond, he was listening to a dial tone.

Damn it! He tried knocking on the bathroom door again, but all he got in response was the whispered, panicky sound of Kaylie talking on the phone.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the door. He took a deep breath and struggled to keep his voice in what he hoped was a calm, reassuring tone. “Kaylie, sweetie, please come out.”

After five minutes of that, he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere. He took the stairs two at a time, threw on a pair of running shorts, and grabbed his bathrobe for her. Hopefully, Ivan could talk her out.

Thirty minutes later, someone pounded on his front door. He opened it, and Ivan, Lindsey, Tessa, who was still talking on a cell phone, and Scudder all pushed in.

“Where is she?” Tessa demanded.

He sat, dejected, on the couch and pointed at the bathroom door. Lindsey spotted the bathrobe he’d left by the door, and she and Tessa ordered the men into the kitchen as they gathered around the bathroom door and started speaking to Kaylie through it.

Frank grabbed a bottle of scotch from a cabinet and poured himself two fingers, neat, gulping it in one swallow.

Scudder and Ivan scowled at him, and he held up the bottle. “Help yourself.”

Ivan shook his head. “You dumb fuck. On the first date? You couldn’t control yourself better than that?”

“She wanted it, too! She practically ripped my damn shirt off. Buttons were flying all over the place!”

Scudder leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah, sleeping with her is one thing, but you couldn’t wait a little bit at least to show her what you are and to claim her?”

He studied his bare feet. “She’s my mate,” he muttered. “You don’t understand.”

“Fuck me, I don’t understand,” Ivan said. “Believe me, I do. But obviously, scaring the shit out of the poor woman isn’t the best way to do it!”

He glared at his cousin and the man who would hopefully become his cousin-in-law. “I’m sorry I’m not as perfect as the two of you.” He caught the sound of the women out in the living room and started toward the doorway. Ivan and Scudder each caught him by an arm and dragged him back in.

“Let me go!” Frank angrily said. “I need to see if she’s okay!”

Ivan jabbed him in the chest with a finger. “You wait here with us, dumb-ass, until the women say she’s okay. If she’s really your mate, one thing you’ll quickly learn is you might be Alpha in bed, but she’s going to rule the fucking house if you want your happily ever after with her.”

Scudder nodded.

With a snarl, Frank shook them loose and paced the small kitchen for the next hour while Scudder and Ivan silently kept watch on him. Finally, Tessa appeared in the kitchen doorway, frowning when she saw Frank.

“You really fucked this up, buddy.”

“Yeah, so they told me.”

“Get your ass out here.”

Lindsey sat with Kaylie on the couch, a protective arm around her shoulders. Kaylie was wearing his bathrobe and shrank against Lindsey at the sight of Frank.

Her eyes looked wide with shock.

“Are you okay?” he asked her. He wanted to be the one comforting her.

“They said…they said all three of you can do…that,” Kaylie whispered.

The men nodded.

“Do it.”

Ivan and Scudder looked at each other, then to their respective women to confirm that was what they should do.

“It’s okay,” Tessa said, now sitting protectively on the other side of Kaylie with an arm also around her. “Do it. Show her how you guys shift.”

Shrugging, Ivan and Scudder quickly stripped and shifted. Ivan transformed into a large black wolf with a dusting of silver in his coat and grey eyes. Scudder turned into the largest black Lab Frank had ever seen, nearly as large as Ivan, with golden-brown eyes.

* * *

Kaylie felt the breath sucked out of her. If it wasn’t for the grounding presence of Tessa and Lindsey on either side of her, she thought she’d pass out.

“Now you,” she whispered to Frank.

He shucked his running shorts and shifted back into the panther.

She still couldn’t believe it.

“Are you okay?” Tessa asked.

She shook her head. “No. I think I need to go home…”

She lost consciousness.

She awoke sometime later in the backseat of a moving car. She was, she realized, still dressed in the bathrobe, which she knew to be Frank’s from the scent. She hugged it to her, inhaling deeply until the entire evening came back to her.

Tessa reached over from the front seat and touched her arm. “You okay?”

Tessa carefully sat up. “Where are we going?”

“Back to our house. You’ve had quite a shock.”

“You ain’t kidding.”

“I got your clothes and your purse,” Tessa said.

“Thanks.”

Back at the Harris house, Tessa plied her with a spiked eggnog, and the women sat on the couch and talked about everything until dawn. Finally, exhausted and with her brain—and heart—hurting, she collapsed on their guest bed.

When she awoke later that day, she felt horrible. Tessa had laid out some of her own clothes for her to wear, and after a shower in the attached guest bath she made her way out to the kitchen.

Tessa hugged her. “You okay?”

“Tell me it was a dream or a nightmare or something.”

Tessa shook her head. “Frank turned into a panther.”

She collapsed into a chair at the table. “I don’t understand this.” She burst into tears. “And I think I love him! How can that be?”

Tessa smiled and sat with her. “Can I invite him over here for dinner? He’s been calling every thirty minutes to check on you.” Her cell phone rang. “And that’s probably him right there.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Kaylie nodded. “Will Ivan and Lindsey be here, too?”

“Yes. And Jeremy and Genna. Jeremy is the local pack Alpha.” She grabbed her phone and glanced at the screen before answering. “She just woke up. I’ll call you back in a few.” She hung up on him and put the phone on the table. “There’s a lot to learn.” She kindly smiled. “But let me tell you what, once you get over the shock, you’ll never regret it.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Dinner. Sure. I think I can handle that.”

* * *

At six o’clock on the dot, Frank knocked on the Harrises’ front door. Anticipating his punctual arrival, Ivan and Jeremy had arrived at five thirty. Kaylie felt nervous when she saw Frank standing in the front doorway.

She also felt her nether regions throb at the memory of their hot sex.

Fuck!

He stepped in, looking worried, his eyes never leaving her. “Hi, Kaylie,” he hesitantly said. “Are you okay? I’m sorry about last night.”

She nodded and pointed up. She was standing under a sprig of mistletoe fastened in the doorway. “Let’s start with this and see where we get.”

Before she finished her sentence, he’d raced across the room, taken her into his arms, and kissed her.

Without a will of their own, her arms encircled him as she closed her eyes and savored his taste, his scent.

He purred.

Something inside her broke free and melted. “Yes,” she whispered, not understanding why she’d suddenly lost her mind. “I want you.”

He scooped her up and headed to the guest bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them.

* * *

The others stood there, stunned, then laughing as the muffled sounds of rough, animalistic sex filtered through the closed door.

“Well,” Jeremy said. “I guess Frank got his Christmas wish a little early this year.”

THE END

WWW.TYMBERDALTON.COM

Content

Doggy Tales
Doggy Tales Vol. 1
by
Tymber Dalton

Dog Walk

Doggy Style

In the Doghouse

Puppy Dog Eyes

A Nearly Cat-astrophic Christmas