Alpha Howl (A BBW Shifter Werewolf MC Romance) (Sons of Thunder MC: Book 2) (2 page)

“So, it’s OK, then?”

Sari put her hands back down on the tops of her thighs.

“He gives you a safe word? Something that will make him quit?”

“Yeah, he just said to tell him to stop. He didn’t do anything I didn’t like.”

I’m telling her about his BDSM thing, but not about his other problem.

Sari rolled onto her back, grabbing her knees, and I followed her into the next pose. I giggled.

She smiled along “You should not think of this pose only when you have a tummy ache.”

The contortion would always be the farting pose to me, after she told me it helped with constipation. She’d also told me the pose helped to help relax before anal sex.

In addition to regular, Sari taught tantric yoga, sex poses. I took one of these classes from her, just an introduction.

The thought made me think about Karl again.

If he saw me naked in this pose, would he like my ass?

three

“There’s something else about this Karl, something about him scares you and you haven’t told me.”

Shoot. She read my mind.

I let out a huge breath and grabbed the toes of my left foot, mimicking her position, and bringing my face close to hers.

“He changed, Sari.” My face burned red. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

She closed her eyes.

“Tell me.”

“When he reached the point…where he…,” Sweat popped from my pores.

“When he climaxed?” Sari said, breaking my paralysis with her usual directness.

“Yeah. He…fuck this sounds nuts, but he looked like a wolf. His hair grew, his teeth grew, his fingers, his freakin’ fingers grew claws.” My heart rate rose.

She opened her eyes, staring at me.

I blinked.

“Sounds like he’s a shifter. A weir. They are powerful beings who change into animal spirits when they get excited.”

“Jesus. I thought I was going mad. Like I’m in some t.v. show on the Science Fiction channel.”

She snorted. “They used to have great shows. Now it’s all sharks and tornadoes. Giant Piranhas.”

“So, giant Piranhas aren’t real, but there are men who turn into wolves?”

“Ancient tales about men turning into beasts go back many centuries before Christ, long before anyone used the words werewolf or vampire.”

Sari slowly raised her feet and head, into a difficult pose for me. The boat pose.

Boats!

I did my best to copy her.

She looked sideways at me. “Sounds like he’s powerful. The men who tried to take you, some survived?”

“Two. They escaped. The detective said something about extradition.”

“The borders of this country are porous, Grace. You need to have a plan if they come back.”

I gasped. “You think they might be after me?” I squeezed my thighs together. When I get afraid sometimes I pee.

“Oh, don’t let me scare you, I’m sorry.” Sari’s eyebrows drew together, “I don’t think you have to worry about anything.”

I put my hand to my mouth, chewing on my knuckle.

“I wasn’t worried about the pirates returning until now.”

“Let’s change the subject. Put your feet on mine.” I turned into position and we did a joint boat pose, her soles smooth and soft against the bottoms of my feat. “Now this is tantra,” she smiled, grasping my hands. “Have you been doing those other exercises?”

I flushed red, blinking. She meant the real sex poses. PC muscles. Clenching and un-clenching while breathing. Sari’s classy face made her gutter leer especially hot.

“Do you think I should practice them more?”

“For this being, I think that would be a good idea.” She smiled wider now, and for the first time I noticed the new woodcut on the wall behind her.

A wolf howling at the moon.

four

Driving on autopilot, I thought about my talk with Sari. I fucked a werewolf.

And I liked it.

“You should call someone,” my sensible angel said.

“Right. Call someone. Who are you going to call? Bill Murray?” My devil pointed out the obvious. Anyway, Karl could have killed me our first night. We made enough noise to wake the dead, and no one raised an alarm. He must pay the Ritz a fortune. So, he wasn’t dangerous. Not physically, not to me.

Obviously he’s a little kinky.

I tried to process that into something I could wrap my feelings around. Because I did have feelings for him. I wanted to see him again. Discover the answers to my questions.

“And feel his tongue again,” my devil whispered.

It’s a short ride back over the bridge to the bayside condo I share with Leslie. Living on the Key is more expensive than on the mainland, but we both loved the wild nightlife of the main drag, where live bands play late into the night, seven days a week. Since most bars and shops on the island advertise in
The Key Times
, the extra rent we paid was worth the cost. Our island domicile enabled us to check in with our customers every night, and when there was an ad campaign running, provided free drinks and food.

five

I collapsed on my couch, and then the 305 number lit my phone. Karl.

“Hello Grace.”

His voice relaxed and energized me at the same time like a shot of tequila. I didn’t want to let this man get to me.

He’s too perfect, too rich, and he moves too fast.

“And he isn’t all human, don’t forget,” my angel pointed out.

“Hi Karl.” My yoga buzz evaporated.

“Hiya Grace.”

“What’s up?” God I sound like a teenager. “Something with the police?”

“No, nothing like that. I wanted to make sure you made it home safely last night.” He paused. “I called you earlier.”

I glowered at my phone. Damn thing. Oh yeah, I always turned the ringer off at Yoga. A missed message icon blinked. I had been too relaxed to notice.

“Sorry, I was at my Yoga class.”

“Nice. I’m very flexible.”

I remembered.

“I have a great teacher. She makes me feel high.” Shoot, I should just yank my tongue out. “On life.”

“Life’s the best thing to be high on.”

Does he get high on other things?

Karl took a deep breath.

“Grace, I’d like to talk to you.”

Oh my god, he wants to see me again. In person.

“We’re talking.” I played dumb.

“I need to see you.”

My body, still half aroused from Sari’s ministrations, wanted him here right now. But, my mind needed some questions answered.

“I liked last night, Karl, but you turned…strange… at the end. You changed.” I breathed faster, seeing his fangs and his claws again in my mind.

“Yes. I want to explain...”

“My friend. She said you might be—.”

“Grace. Can we discuss this face-to-face?” His voice changed to deep and sensual. A ripple of desire ran over my skin.

“What if you change again?”

“I let you go. Did I chase you?” I swore I could hear him purring.

“You didn’t chase me down and kill me. I’m not super comforted by that.”

I wanted to see him again, but in a public place. A place where if he turned into a white-fanged monster, people would notice and call the cops.

Or animal control.

The beach at Siesta Point Park was a perfect place to meet Karl. A few minutes walk from my place, and the park is always crowded with young people going to America’s most beautiful beach.

“Do you know the Siesta Point beach access? Just down the main road from your hotel?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see you there in half an hour.”

He said nothing

“Sir,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Sir,” I gasped.

I hung up. He would show up or he wouldn’t. His call.

I cupped the phone in my hand, holding it between my breasts for a minute while I recovered my breath. I conjured up Sari and listened to her say, “Breathe.” Dodging into the bathroom I took stock of the girl in the mirror. Sweaty, barefaced, and hair in a sloppy updo. I needed to wash, slap my makeup on, and get the majority of the dishes out of the sink.

“You are not inviting him over!” My angel sounded a lot like my mother sometimes.

“I might.” I said out loud. She disappeared in a huff. I heard clapping. In my head. My devil. Already dressed in red leather. She held her hands above her head and silently mouthed, “Somebody spank me.”

I dropped the phone, jumped from the couch, peeling off my yoga pants and shirt like Superman, and dove into the shower. The beach would still be cool this early, so I wore my blue velour tracksuit. I liked the way the stretchy cloth hugged my butt.

six

“So, you are a werewolf?” I stared into his eyes from behind my hair.

We walked side by side on the hard sand pathway to the beach. In front of us a couple pushed a loaded beach cart, dropping towels and toys, and yelling at their children to pick them up.

“Please, wolves are dogs. I am no cur.” He gave a slow, disbelieving shake of his head. “Anyway, the correct word is weir.” He rubbed his chin.

“Weird?”

The pathway had been packed hard by thousands of feet. Sleepy Key is covered by fine white sand. Sand that feels like powdered sugar and made of seashells ground smooth by eons. It makes great sandcastles. The village hosts a sand sculpture contest here every year. People come from all over the world to carve huge dragons, mermaids, and multi-story castles with gingerbread turrets.

“Same root. From the old English wyrd.”

Sometimes there are controversies about the mermaids being topless.

“What English word?”

“Not word. Wyrd. Double-You Why Ar Dee. It means ‘that which turns’.”

“You turn from human into…something. Something like a wolf.”

His canines loomed larger than normal when he smiled.

We walked by some volleyballers with perfect bodies and found a spot a little apart from the rest, closer to the dunes than the ocean.

“You looked like a cat with a mouse when you…when you…”

We sat in the sand, the dune grasses waved behind his head.

“Happens when I orgasm, Grace.” He sighed and ran his nails over my stomach. They left little white lines on my skin.

“I don’t go mad when I change. You don’t need to fear that part of me.”

“Why do you turn into a werewolf?” He looked annoyed. “Sorry, a wyrd-wolf?

“My people have a long tale.” His eyes crinkled around the edges.

Great. A shifter who puns.

I poked him. “Stick to the point.”

“It’s not like the stories you see on the tube. My people wrote many fanciful words to throw normal humans off our scent.”

Karl’s shirt gaped open, showing a generous amount of chest, and an angry scar I hadn’t seen last night. I traced the raised flesh with my finger.

“Can you be killed?”

His lashes closed and he stared down his nose at me.

What long eyelashes you have, Mr. Wolf.

“I will tell you more someday. Maybe. If things stay…nice. Between us.”

“Sorry. I played Dungeons and Dragons when I was a kid.” His face turned surprised. “A fantasy game. Swords and sorcery. Got in trouble for drawing my character at school.” He closed his eyes, bored.

“I know the game, Grace.”

“Another diversion from the truth?”

“Something like that.”

I decided to change the subject. He was strange, but I trusted him at the same time. I’m not sure why, but he wasn’t going to go all fang face and rip my head off. He hadn’t saved me and wooed me just to eat me.

Probably.

Either way, I wanted to learn more about him.

“A room like yours must cost a fortune.” I left the question unspoken. In my circles we all found it insanely interesting how other people managed to survive and some even thrive in an increasingly insecure world.

He gave me a knowing look.

“A long time ago I helped a man’s family gain control of a desert kingdom. It turned out to be sitting atop a copious deposit of oil. I haven’t thought about money since then.”

OK, now for the big question. When you are planning on lying naked next to a powerful predator who says he’s not going to eat you, it’s the question that matters.

“Why do you want me?”

“You are a match for me.” He would say no more. “We have…chemistry.”

“Really? The old chemistry line?” I punched the sand hill he had been idly making, knocking his mound apart like my hand was a miniature bomb.

“I can tell you a good deal more. But not here. Not in public.”