Wanted: Undead or Alive

“Wow,” Brynley breathed. He’d stood up to his dad. Something she’d never had the nerve to do with her own dad.

“Then I told him to leave and never come back.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah.” Phineas shrugged. “Turned out he had another woman on the side, so he just moved in with her.”

“What a pig.”

“He got what he deserved. His girlfriend had cheated on him and passed the AIDS virus to him.” Phineas sighed. “He’d passed it on to my mom.”

“Oh no.”

Phineas was silent for a moment with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, they glinted with unshed tears. “She died of AIDS when I was nineteen.”

“Oh, Phineas.” Brynley leaned her head against his shoulder and rested a hand against his chest. “I’m so sorry. I know how it feels.”

“Do you?” He placed his hand on top of hers.

“Yes.” Tears filled her eyes. “I lost my mom when I was eighteen.”

“Really?” He squeezed her hand. “I thought werewolves could live for centuries.”

“Not with lung cancer.” Or a broken spirit. She’d always suspected her mother hadn’t fought to survive.

“I’m sorry.” He laced his fingers with hers.

“Do you still have your aunt?” she asked.

“Yes.” He leaned his head back against the wall. “She worked hard to support us. And I won some money in boxing matches, so we managed all right. But toward the end when Mom was really sick, we ran up some bad medical bills. And then there was the cost of the funeral.” He grimaced. “I did something really stupid.”

“What?”

“I agreed to throw a fight for a lot of money. I thought it would solve all our problems. It did pay everything off, but . . .”

“It screwed up your career?”

He nodded.

“Oh, Phineas.” Tears crowded her eyes once again. He’d destroyed his boxing career in order to bury his mother.

“I couldn’t get a decent fight after that. Or when I did, they expected me to throw it, and I refused. They didn’t want me around anymore.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I tried getting a regular job, but it wasn’t enough to support everyone, especially when Aunt Ruth had to retire. She has diabetes really bad. I felt responsible for my younger brother and sister. I was the one who’d chased off their father. So I . . . I made another stupid mistake.”

“That’s when you sold drugs?”

“Please don’t ever tell my family. It would kill them. It . . . well, it did kill me. The Malcontents attacked and transformed me so they would have a drug connection.” He heaved a long sigh. “So now you know what a screwed-up, miserable excuse for a mortal I was. And why I didn’t want to tell you. You’ll probably hate me now.”

She blinked away the tears in her eyes. She could never hate him. “Why did you tell me, then?”

“Remember how I said I like you just the way you are? I guess . . . I want you to like me the way I am. And so—”

“You told me everything,” she finished his sentence. She’d been right. He was a survivor. Like her. He’d lost his mother like her. He’d tried to take care of his younger siblings like she had. All this time she’d thought they had nothing in common, when in truth they were very much alike. Their wounded souls were reaching out to each other.

And she was falling for him. A tear rolled down her cheek. God, no. She didn’t want to feel this strongly for him. Not when there was no future for them.

“I know you hate vampires, Brynley, but it’s really the best thing that ever happened to me. It gave me a second chance. I have a good job now, and I provide for my family. And I’m doing something important, helping to keep the world safe from Malcontents.”

She wiped her cheek. “You’re able to be a hero now?”

“I try to be. Angus and the other guys have given me some good examples to follow. I want to be . . . honorable like them.”

“Phineas.” She touched his cheek. “How can you be so dense?”

He blinked. “What?”

“You were always honorable.”

He scoffed. “I was a damned drug dealer.”

“You were a young man, desperate to take care of his family. You threw away a promising career to get the money to bury your mother. You were brave and selfless.” Another tear fell down her cheek. “You were always a hero.”

He regarded her with a stunned look. “You don’t think badly of me then?”

“I think you’re wonderful.” Desire swelled up inside her. She wanted him so bad. But she didn’t want to love him. It would hurt something awful if she lost him. And she would definitely lose him if her father and his minions found out about him.

Then don’t love him, her inner wolf whispered. Just screw him.

She drew in a sharp breath, and her inner wolf latched on to Phineas’s scent. Animal lust flooded her, overwhelming her womanly desire. Take him. You know you want him.

Her heart raced. She couldn’t do this. She was just distraught, and that always made her wolf aggressive. Give in to me. Trust the wolf. The wolf knows best.

Moisture seeped between her legs, and she stifled a groan. It would kill her if she got close to Phineas, only to lose him. Don’t think about the future. Take him now!

Phineas stiffened when she suddenly straddled his lap. “Brynley? What are you doing?”

Her hands trembled as they skimmed over his shoulders. “I have a sudden, insatiable hunger—”

“I brought you a hamburger—” He inhaled sharply when she popped the snaps open on his shirt. “What —”

“Oh my gosh.” She smoothed her hands under his shirt. “You were right. Your chest is pure, hard muscle.”

He gave her a dubious look. “What happened to last night’s ‘you’re so easy to resist’ strategy?”

“Why fight it? You want me. I want you.” She brushed her hand over his jaw, and the prickle of his whiskers made her all fluttery inside. Just like his voice did. “Say it for me.”

“Say what?”

“You know. The line you say in the commercial. ‘Hello, ladies.’ I love it when you say that.”

He frowned. “I don’t know why women like that.”

“Don’t you know how sexy your voice is?” She skimmed her hand down his neck to his chest. “You’re sexy all over.” She leaned closer, pressing her hands against his chest. “Say it. Say the words.”

“Hello, ladies?”

“Yes!” More moisture pooled between her legs. Her inner wolf caught the scent of her arousal and clawed its way to the surface. Take him! She ripped open the rest of his shirt, then attacked the huge buffalo-shaped buckle on his belt. “Let’s do it!”

“But . . . we haven’t even kissed.”

“Oh.” She let go of his buckle. “Okay, then.” She lunged forward, planting her mouth on his.

“Wait,” he grumbled as she ground her mouth against his. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean? You said you were attracted to me. And that you liked me. I saw your eyes turn red. That means you want sex.”