“I’m not a dog. And I already know what you smell like.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?” She could have projected, but she much preferred to use her voice. It was her way of pinching herself because this couldn’t be happening.
“Peaches and cream.”
“I’m not a popsicle,” she mumbled. Of course, he knew her scent. He’d been smelling it for the last ten minutes. Most werewolves smelled like some form of the outdoors. Her brothers carried a pine scent with a tinge of spring water. Although, Drew had a sweeter scent.
Growing up, she had been teased because she didn’t smell like most wolves. She carried a more human scent, and it always made her feel like she didn’t fit in with the rest of the pack. She always had to push harder. Prove she was as good as every other wolf in the pack. Her father used to tell her to slow down. That none of it mattered.
But it mattered to her. She wanted her place in the family. It wasn’t until she’d gone off to college that she saw what the rest of the world could offer her, and she dived into her work, satisfied she’d found the place where she belonged.
Then Chaz met and mated with Daphne and everything changed, forcing Cheryl back to the farm.
“I bet you taste like one.” The wolf stuck his nose against her cheek. He took in a long breath, sucking her skin tight against his nostrils.
Her body trembled as she turned her face, closing her eyes tight. “Are you going to kill me?” Maybe getting to why he wanted to kill her might buy her some time so she could come up with a plan.
The roughness of his long, thick tongue glided against her cheek in a blatant sexual advance. Rage filled her heart. She’d been manhandled once, and she swore she’d never let it happen again.
Not even when death stared her in the eyes.
Without thinking about the consequences, she coiled her fingers around his tongue and yanked.
He hissed.
“Don’t you ever touch me like that again.”
He shook his head, which pushed her to the floor. He leaned over her, showing his teeth before snagging her shirt again. Her entire body lifted from the ground.
“Put me down, you Neanderthal.”
“Wrong species. You know, maybe I’ll cage you now.” He had a low, throaty voice. Deep and sexy with a hint of playfulness and a touch of resentment. “Wonder how you will like being trapped like a rabid animal.”
“I won’t find out because you broke the damn cage.”
“Too bad.” Carefully, he set her down on the sofa, his teeth scraping against her skin. “Do you have clothes for me?” He tugged at her shirt.
“Clothes?” She bit back a chuckle. Laughing in his face would be a bad idea. “Why would you need clothes?”
“I’ll show you, but first, the clothes.”
“I don’t have any made for wolves,” she said, allowing the sarcasm to slowly roll off her tongue.
“Guess I’ll do this naked then.” He raised his head, howling like a werewolf beckoning at the moon. His body convulsed. His fur stood up as if he’d been rubbed with a balloon, making it all static. Skin soon replaced the hair just like she would have if she shifted from wolf to human.
“No way.” She tried to get off the sofa, but she couldn’t move as she watched the beast turn into a man.
A tall, dark, and sexy man.
“Wait. Are you Norse’s other half?”
“Yes.” The man knelt in front of her, his skin bronzed as if he’d been out in the sun for years. His dark hair matched his eyes, which were still as black as night, but if she looked deep enough, she could see specs of color dance in the background. “I’m Dayton. Now, I need to find a towel or something I can wrap around myself.” He waggled his brow.
Dayton? The last time she’d heard that name had been when she read about Dayton, the boy who didn’t exist. They hadn’t quite cracked the code for what that meant.
“Excuse me, but I’d like some clothes, please.”
“Um, yeah, don’t move.” She jumped from the sofa, tripping over the empty vase, landing on her face. She’d been a klutz most of her childhood, but she’d thought she had outgrown that years ago.
Guess coming face to face with a man-beast brought back her inability to walk and talk at the same time.
“Are you okay?”
Big, strong arms slid under her body, easily flipping her over and lifting her in the air.
“Whoa!” She flapped her arms about until they landed on his broad shoulders. She dug her nails into his skin, but she didn’t even make a dent “You’ve got to stop picking me up.”
“I’ll gladly put you down, but need I remind you, I’m naked, so keeping your gaze up here on my face is a little bit more comfortable for our first encounter.”
“Bedroom,” she said with a huff.
“I’m not one to turn down a pretty lady when she propositions me, but this might be too soon, don’t you think?”
“I did not come on to you,” she said, doing her damnedest to draw blood, but his skin was thicker than rawhide. “The bedroom is where the clothes are; now I demand you put me down.”
She was in no position to demand anything, but the feeling of being pinned down by a group of frat boys squeezed her throat closed. That was the first and only time she used being a werewolf to terrify anyone, but it was the only way she was going to protect herself, and others, from being raped by those savages.
They would be in prison for a long time, thanks to her and a couple of her human friends who, unfortunately, hadn’t been as lucky as Cheryl.
“I’ll put you down when I see something that will cover me. I’m not ashamed of my human form;
