Dayum. His arms-the muscles are almost as big as my head. The sight of his eight pack makes me want to howl at the moon. He has a wolf paw tattoo on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" I cross my arms in front of me to hide my tight nipples. His fingers go to his belt next. I throw out my hand. "Hold up, big guy. What are you doing?" Does he think we're having sex, right here, right now?
"I need to shift."
"Here? Now?" I glance around. "Garrett, no." The sound of a car below reaches us. "It's broad daylight, and anyone could come up."
He steps close, his scent washing over me. "I can't help it. You bring the change on. If I don't let the wolf out, I'm going to put you on your hands and knees and"-he cuts himself off with a dog-like a shake of his head-"do those terrible things."
Please-do them.
His skin ripples in terrifying motion.
"No." I put my palms on his chest, as if I can stop the wolf from coming out. "Stop, please." I know what it's like to be a kid, and to see things I'm not supposed to see. "Don't do this. Not like this."
"Can't stop." His voice comes out choked. He's going to shift in front of me, right now.
"Stay with me, Garrett," I do the only thing I can think of. Surging up to tiptoe, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.
Heat blasts through me as soon as our lips touch. He lifts me, fists a hand in my hair, and tugs my head back. The swell of his hardened cock presses against my belly. The kiss ignites my body, sensation blasting through me. Everything in me comes alive.
"The things I want to do to you." The raw hunger in his expression is unnerving.
"You can," I promise, and I mean it. I want it. "Just not here. Take me home. You don't have to shift." I don't know if it's my intuition or fear speaking, but there's an urgency to keeping him sane, preventing whatever he's wrestling with from happening.
He licks up my throat, my head still immobilized in his iron grasp. His lips drag across my jaw; he nips my mouth. My body responds, hips pushing up against him, the heat of my core seeking something to grind on.
He bites my shoulder so hard, I cry out in pain. It seems to jerk him out of his lust-filled stupor, and he releases me, jumping back as if I'd burned him.
"Fuck, Amber." His eyes are still silver. He drags a hand through his blond hair, breathing hard. "Fuck. Did I hurt you? Fuck!"
"No. No, you didn't." It's a partial truth. I lean forward, missing him already. My hands want to stay molded to that incredible chest. "It's okay-" I reach for him. I know what it's like to feel out of control.
"No." Fury mars his handsome face. "It can't happen again. This was a bad idea." He's breathing heavily. "I need to stay away."
"Garrett-"
"I can't be near you." He passes a hand over his face. His shoulders hunch. A large pop sounds. "Too close to a full moon. I've got to go." He whirls, striding down the other side of the mountain. Away from the road. Away from me.
"Wait!" Is he just going to leave me here? I can't drive a freakin' motorcycle. I scramble after him. "What happens during the full moon?"
His growl echoes off the boulders as he disappears, stopping me in my tracks. "I go hunting."
~.~
Let the record reflect: The werewolf abandoned his date on A Mountain.
"Thanks for picking me up," I tell Foxfire as she pulls away from the overlook. The site of a date gone awry. I'd waited a full hour for Garrett to return before accepting I'd have to find my own ride back.
"No problem. Least I could do, after making a fool of myself last night." She looks a bit wan but steadier than I feel. "Tell me again what happened. You went on a date and, in the middle of it, he up and left?"
"He's... strange." Understatement of the year. And hot. And probably a millionaire. And a werewolf.
And a goddamn asshole.
"Wait," Foxfire says. "I'm putting together the pieces. Is this your neighbor?"
"Yeah."
"And he was there last night, right?"
"He owns Club Eclipse. And, after I got home, we had a little talk." And a little spanking, followed by a not-so-little orgasm. And hot dreams all night long.
I press my hands to my cheeks to hide my blush.
"He kinda knocked on my door. I got scared and went out the fire escape. I nearly fell, and he caught me. Brought me to his apartment and told me-" I break off.
"To never set foot in his club again," Foxfire fills in my awkward pause. "Because of me."
"No, it's fine. I think he'd let us back in." He told me we could use the club for the foster fun night. I hope he meant it. "This morning, he helped me with my car, but then…"
"He took you for a ride on his motorcycle and stranded you in the middle of nowhere."
"Yes," I rub my head. My temples throb like another vision is due. Wonderful.
"This guy sounds like bad news. You're usually not the reckless one."
"I know." What was I thinking? "We have this connection."
"What could you possibly have in common with this guy? He's in a motorcycle gang. You spend nights working or organizing your pens and ironing your underwear."
"Gee thanks. Why don't you just call me boring?"
"You know what I mean, Amber. I love you to bits, but you're a control freak. That guy is chaos."
"You don't get it. I felt like I could open up to him. I told him about the visions."
"Really?" Foxfire's eyebrows arch so high they almost disappear under her bangs.
"Yeah. He's the first person I've told in years, other than you." Foxfire's grandmother was a medicine woman, so she grew up hearing about the spiritual side of things. It's one of the reason we're so close.
"I can't believe you confided in that jerkoff. He seems likes the big Neanderthal type."
"He is, but he's more than that. I had an episode in front of him, and he took care of me."
"When you told him about the visions, how did he react?"
My head swims at the word vision and I put a hand on the dash to steady myself. "He believed me."
"What'd you see?" Foxfire asks.
"A wolf." Something flashes in the desert as I stare out the window. A coyote or some other wild animal? Garrett is out there, running in his other form. For a moment, I taste the hot, dry air, powering past cacti as I run on all fours. I'm a predator, powerful, unafraid. The moon hovers just under the horizon, unseen, but my skin tingles as it calls to me, telling me to shift...
"Did you just say werewolf?" Foxfire's gasp brings me back into the car.
"No," I shake my head, dazed. Did I just have a vision? "Um, what'd I just say?"
"You said Garrett is a werewolf. At least I think that's what you said. You were kinda out of it."
Damn. "Uh... that's the name of his motorcycle club, I think. The Werewolves. They have a wolf theme. Club Eclipse. Moon tattoos. It's a thing." Please, please, believe me.
"Okay, whatever."
I stay quiet, just focusing on breathing. Amber weaves into traffic as the desert slowly makes way for urban sprawl. I close my eyes, fighting dizziness.
"Does your head hurt?" Tess asks.
"A little."
"You look a little sick, otherwise I'd take you apartment hunting, right now."
I slide down in my seat. Do I want to leave my apartment? Not have Garrett as a neighbor? No. He fucked up today, but so did I. Was there ever more proof I'm a freak?
"I don't like this, Amber." Foxfire's frown creates furrows alongside her mouth. "Garrett sounds like bad news."
"It's okay," I tell her. "I think he'll stay away from me now on." I ignore the pang in my heart. I barely know the guy. I shouldn't care if I never see him again.
"Just take me home." My voice breaks on the word. I can't lie to myself. Years of foster care, and I've never had a safe place to call home. A place I can be myself, a family who accepts me for what I am.
That's why spending time with Garrett was so special. For a few short hours, I felt like I belonged.