What happens when a centuries-old werewolf discovers he isn’t the only creature who loves to bite?
“What have you found?” Simon asked as Youssef walked into the elegant office.
“Nothing,” Youssef replied in frustration. “There was nothing on the cameras. It was as if they were never there!”
“You said the surveillance system was operational,” Simon bit out, turning away from the window to the glare at his friend and chief of security.
Youssef ran his hand over the back of his neck as he frowned. “It is,” he muttered. “Every movement along the street was recorded. The time-date stamp showed the exact moment they should have shown up on the camera. Everything is there. Hell, I watched a squirrel play in the damn tree they were standing under and nothing. They weren’t there!”
Simon growled dangerously. Two nights until the full moon and the only female the beast inside him wanted was the one he saw yesterday. He would have to be locked up in the special room in the basement if he couldn’t find and convince the woman to stay with him. He would lose control of the beast otherwise and that could prove to be deadly to everyone, including Youssef.
He turned back toward the huge set of windows looking out over the long driveway. A white van was pulling in. As it followed the curve in the driveway, he made out the name of the company he had employed to find the exact furnishings he required for his new home.
Alexandru Carson of Magic Furnishings had managed to find all of the pieces he had requested so far. Simon wondered if the mysterious entrepreneur could find the woman he had seen yesterday. It appeared to be a task beyond his security chief’s ability.
A moment of regret washed through him as he admonished himself for being so hard on his friend. It was not Youssef’s fault the camera was defective. His friend had spent years protecting him. In fact, he bore the scars from it across his chest when Simon had lost control one night and almost killed one of the gardeners who had returned after dark when he was running.
“Replace the…” Simon’s voice died as the door to the van opened. He watched with disbelief as the woman currently on his mind stepped out of the driver’s seat.
“Simon!” Youssef called out in surprise as Simon turned and rushed by him. He glanced back and forth from the window to the open door before he cursed again and turned to follow Simon. “I really do hate it when he does that.”
Tory carefully folded the papers and slid them back into the envelope. The guards at the front gate were some of the strangest people she had ever met. They acted as if she was trying to steal the furniture instead of delivering it!
She shut the door to the van and looked up at the house. It was beautiful in a huge, I-want-to-bury-a-dead-body-in-it, kind of way. She had seen pictures of houses like this. It reminded her of the houses from the vampire movie she had watched on television a couple months ago.
She rolled her eyes as she walked up the steps to the front door. The actors had been really good, and really hot to look at, but they had gotten the whole vampire thing wrong. Hell, when the little girl had turned to ash, Tory had laughed so hard she had almost wet her pants. Then, there was the other one where they were supposed to be all sparkly in the sun!
“Not unless I took a bath in glitter,” she muttered as she raised her hand to knock on the massive door. “Damn, Hugo would love to have a set of these on his house,” she muttered as she thought of the gentle giant that lived off of Dust Bowl and Redwood back home.
“Who is Hugo?” The male who opened the door demanded.
“What?” Tory squeaked in surprise. She hadn’t heard him walking to the door, so when it opened it had surprised her.
“Who is Hugo?” The male demanded again. “Is he your boyfriend or husband?”
Tory tilted her head and frowned. Great! She came all the way to Charleston to meet… a werewolf! As if she didn’t have enough of those running around back home.
She wiggled her nose at the distinctive scent. She refused to admit he smelled a hell of a lot better than Maverick. Still, she didn’t want to meet another werewolf! She wanted to meet a cute human man, preferably, one with Type A-positive blood! It was the only one she could safely drink.
“No, Hugo isn’t my boyfriend or husband. He’s just a g… guy I know. I’m here to deliver some furniture for Mr. Drayton. Can you let him know? I’ll need some help carrying it in, as well,” she added, folding her arms as the tall male continued to stare at her. “Please.”
She decided she better add the last part for good customer service. She didn’t really need help moving it. She could shrink the stuff and enlarge it when she got it inside, but she had promised her mom, dad, Nonny, Gramps, Alexandru, and half of the town of Magic that she wouldn’t do anything ‘different’ in front of ANYONE while she was gone.
Tory sighed. That might mean biting on a Type A-positive neck is a no-no, but I can enjoy a guy’s company without biting him.
“What is your name?” The man demanded.
Tory bit her lip to prevent the word Elvira from popping out. She didn’t think he would appreciate her reference to the 1980’s Mistress of the Dark. Instead, she slowly looked over the man standing between her and a night out on the town, all on her own. He was tall and handsome with thick blond hair pulled back at his nape. The dark suit he was wearing emphasized the muscles under it. He had a wide chest, narrow waist, and… a blush rose over her cheeks at the bulge in the front.
Okay, eyes to the face, she muttered silently. Werewolves! I swear they are the horniest creatures in the world!
She rolled her eyes again. That was why Maverick, Mitch, Hanson, and Jude were never allowed to do track, swimming, or wrestling. Well, they weren’t allowed to do track after they chased down Edgar and cornered him.
No, their constant state of arousal, once they hit puberty, made it difficult for them to play certain sports. They were great at football and basketball. Their pack mentality made them great out on the field or court.
“Tory Carson,” she said, pursing her lips together. “Are you like the butler or something? Can you give me a hand with the furniture?”
“I’m…” Simon started to say when a low rumble escaped him when the woman in front of him tilted sideways and smiled at Youssef.
“Hi! Are you Mr. Drayton?” she said in a hopeful tone. “I have your furniture.”
“I am Youssef,” the dark male replied with an amused smile.
“I am Simon Drayton,” the blond male said in a deep, gruff voice.
Tory’s eyes swiveled back from the dark brown eyes glittering with amusement to the dark blue eyes that were not – glittering with amusement, that is. The smile on her lips curved downward. She hoped she hadn’t just blown Alexandru’s business with this guy. From what her brother had told her last night, it was an extremely profitable one.
“Uh… Yes… Well… I’ve got your furniture,” Tory said with a bright smile. “I guess since you’re not the butler, you wouldn’t want to help bring it in, huh?”
Simon’s lips twitched at the hopeful look in the young woman’s dark brown eyes. He literally wanted to bury his hands in her hair, drag her against him, and see if she tasted as good as she looked. His fingers clenched as he fought the urge.
He had three days! Three days to make her so mindless that all she wanted was to feel him buried inside her. The twitch turned into an easy smile. If she were anything like the other women, she would be eating out of his hand in less than twenty minutes.
He grabbed her hand as she lifted it to push a strand of hair back behind her ear and pulled it to his lips. Pressing a kiss to the back of it, he couldn’t resist letting the tip of his tongue caress the soft skin. Pleasure washed through him as he pulled back to give her a look of invitation.
Doubt flashed through him when he saw her nose wiggle and she tugged her hand out of his. She gave him an uncertain, lopsided smile as she rubbed the back of her hand along the leg of her jeans. He straightened when he heard Youssef clear his throat behind him.
“Youssef will see to the furniture,” Simon said in a dark voice filled with warning toward his friend. “Follow me.”
“Follow… I… Shouldn’t I help him? I mean, isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?” Tory asked in confusion when Simon Drayton turned and started to walk away. “Isn’t that what a delivery person does here? That’s what they do back home.”
Youssef gave Tory a reassuring smile. “I will arrange for the furniture to be brought in, Miss Carson,” he said with a bow.
Tory glanced toward Simon, who was standing stiffly, watching her with a frown. She bit her lip. If she had a choice between going with a sour-faced werewolf or staying with a… she sniffed. She almost groaned when her mouth watered.
“What blood type are you?” she asked suddenly, looking at Youssef with wide eyes.