In a Dark Embrace (12 page)

His dad snorted. “You should try a serious book now and then. It would do you good to read something other than girlie magazines.”

“There are very intelligent articles in my magazines.”

“Yeah, but you just look at the pictures.”

“And you don’t?” he shot back.

His dad grinned. “What have you been up to? Haven’t seen you in over a week.”

“Been busy.”

“Even on your days off? Thought we could go for a run on the weekend but no one picked up the phone at your place. So where’ve you been sleeping? Not a ditch, I hope.”

“I met someone.”

“You always meet someone.”

“This one is different,” Jeremy said. “She’s a witch.”

His dad’s eyes widened. “No shit? Heard about witches but never met one myself. Can she really do magic or just that psychic-aura-reading crap?”

“She’s an earth witch. That means she could open up a hole in the ground and drop you into it.” Jeremy wasn’t about to tell his dad about the mind reading.

“You actually see her do this?” His dad sounded skeptical.

“No. But I felt her reach into the ground and it’s alive when she touches it. And I’ve seen her do some other stuff. Lee is for real.”

“Huh. Pretty?”

“Stunning.”

“Well, aren’t you a lucky boy. Going to keep her around for a while?”

“As long as I can.” Jeremy watched his father’s face carefully. “She knows what I am and it doesn’t faze her.”

He was ready for it when a hand shot out to grab his shirt. Jeremy let his dad pull him closer and calmly listened to the verbal explosion.

“You fucking little idiot. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Telling some pretty cunt about us is the most selfish piece of stupidity you’ve ever pulled. You know the rules, the consequences of doing something like this. You’ve signed her death warrant. You—”

“She’s a witch. Don’t you understand? That means she has her own secrets to keep.”

“What the fuck difference does that make? You think we survived so long because we made exceptions for beautiful women with dark secrets? Hell no.”

Jeremy’s insides turned to ice. Maybe telling his father wasn’t such a good idea. He had really thought that with Lee being a witch his dad would treat the situation differently.

“You won’t touch her,” Jeremy stated coldly.

The fury in his father’s face just grew stronger. He put down the book and stood. Jeremy got up to face him. They were the same height but the old man still had a good twenty pounds on him and it was muscle, not fat. A hard finger stabbed him in the chest. “The rules are simple. She knows, she dies. And it’s your dumbass fault.”

Jeremy glared back at the hard blue eyes. “Anyone who tries to harm her will have to face me. And that includes you, old man.”

His father jabbed toward his stomach. Jeremy sidestepped the fist and kicked at his dad’s legs. The bastard barely staggered and swung at him again. This one landed on his shoulder and Jeremy sucked in a breath at the pain. His fist was already lashing out though and he got in a good shot on the side, just under the rib cage. The old man might be bigger but Jeremy was faster. They circled one another warily.

“She wanted me to pass along a message,” Jeremy said. “If she senses a werewolf nearby she’ll act first and ask questions later. And believe me you don’t want to get on the bad side of this witch.”

“She dares to threaten us?” his dad sputtered indignantly.

“Only in response to our threat. I explained the rules to her. And by the way I didn’t actually tell her. She sensed me following her in wolf form. Knew what I was right away.”

“But you showed yourself to her, didn’t you?”

Jeremy shrugged. “It happened. She knows about me and I know about her.” He flashed a brief, feral grin. “We like the situation just fine, so stay out of it.”

“You’ve been bewitched, all right. Had your brains sucked right out through your cock.” His dad dropped his arms and seemed to give up the fight. Jeremy allowed some of the tension to drain out of him.

“Whatever you’re hoping for it won’t work,” the old man continued, dropping back into his lounge chair. “She’s no different than the others. One of these days she’ll say or do the wrong thing and you’ll blow a fuse. That controlled, civilized exterior of yours will be gone in a flash. And she’ll run. Then the rest of us will have to hunt her down and kill her.”

Jeremy winced inside. There was a chance his dad was right. A werewolf in a fury was frightening beyond words. Even Lee might break and run in the face of that. But he wasn’t about to admit the possibility to his father.

“Never,” he answered. “For one thing she hasn’t a drop of fear in her. She’s seen the real me and glared right back. For another you go after her and you’re the one who will die. This woman has power you can’t even imagine. Don’t test her…or me.”

His father stared silently up at him for a moment then shrugged and said, “Fine. Go fuck your witch. Get some pleasure out of her before the whole dreamscape collapses. You always want more than you can have, Jeremy. It’s a dangerous trait. I just hope you don’t get burned too badly before you learn the wisdom of our ways.”

“Our ways stink,” Jeremy spat out. “Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. Maybe get a kid if you’re lucky. We’re dying out because we won’t trust. How many younger werewolves have a son, Dad? None that I know of. Damn right I want more. I want this woman. I want the life we can have together. Maybe even a real family. It’s a dream…and maybe it won’t happen. But it’s a damn sight better to reach for a dream than to settle for a lifetime of soulless fucking and an empty house.”

His father didn’t answer, just picked up his book. Jeremy walked out of the yard and got into the car. He tried to put the key in the ignition and couldn’t, his hand was trembling too hard. He slammed the steering wheel and growled. For more than forty years he’d lived with his father’s quick fists and cutting words. They’d been jabbing at each other almost nonstop since he was a kid but he had never opposed his father on any of the important things. Not until now. He took a deep breath and steadied his hand. The key slipped into the ignition and Jeremy put the car into gear.

The narrow country road ran beside fields greening up in the late June warmth. There were a few monster houses tucked in between the hovels that had been here for years. The area was changing, drawing wealthy city folk who were willing to do the long commute into town for their yuppie jobs. Jeremy paid little attention to the passing scenery.

Why couldn’t his father understand that Lee was different? She was one of them. A semi-human remnant of some genetic hiccup in the distant past now hiding in the shadows of ordinary life. She was almost as fearful as he was of being exposed. Lee might let others catch glimpses of her extraordinary abilities but she kept her true power tightly under wraps. She knew people would be afraid of what she really was.

Their kind had been captured in stories that would not go away, no matter how cleverly they hid themselves. Parents still told their children the dark tales, full of misunderstanding and based on the actions of a wicked few. It was very rare for a werewolf to kill people for pleasure but it did happen. Jeremy wondered briefly how witches policed themselves. A werewolf that went bad was taken down by others of his kind. Such killing was justified. He firmly believed that. Still, the memory sat like a rotten canker on his soul. He was wolf enough to kill a man but human enough to regret that the act had been necessary.

What he had said to his father was true. They needed to learn to trust. If they continued along the same path another couple generations and werewolves would no longer exist. Once upon a time his kind could venture forth from their damp, gloomy castles and take a village girl to bed until they managed to get an heir. Life was easier then, especially if you had wealth. And wealth was easy enough to come by. His ancestors had amassed considerable fortunes during less rigidly law-abiding days. Jeremy did not need to work. There was a significant sum of money stored away in Switzerland. He could live like a rich playboy, except that would inevitably draw media attention. These days living like a wealthy eccentric just created more problems. So he did his best at pretending to be an average middle-class guy.

But he wanted so much more than what he had right now. Not the money, not the rich lifestyle—he wanted a home and family. Someone to wake up next to, arguments about what color to paint the bedroom, kids tugging on his sleeve and plastic toys scattered around the living room. The impossible life of TV sitcoms. With Lee he felt he had a shot at that. He knew it was damn stupid to pin all his dreams on one wild little woman. He was afraid his dad might be right and fear would eventually drive her away.

No, Jeremy swore to himself, not this time. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He’d keep his temper around her even if it killed him.

Chapter
Nine

Lee strode down the street, dodging lampposts and slow-moving pedestrians. It was Friday night and she had a hot date. Jeremy would be arriving within minutes and she wanted to get home early enough to prepare. She chuckled, not that she’d be dressing up—it was more of a stripping down that she had in mind.

Lee tossed her keys on the side table and started stripping. Her sensible black leather pumps and trench coat landed in the closet. She unbuttoned the cotton blouse on the way into the bedroom and pulled off her slim skirt. Bra and plain, boring panties got thrown into the laundry bin. She reached into her dress-up drawer and pulled out a black corset and stockings. Jeremy would love that. She just had time to slip into a short silk robe before the buzzer went off.

She stepped into black spike heels and went to answer the door. Jeremy’s eyes raked over her outfit and he grinned like a boy being offered a new toy. He had a brown paper bag in one hand and a sports bag in the other.

“Oh, baby. You look good enough to eat. And I’m suddenly very, very hungry.”

She smiled and raised an eyebrow at his luggage.

“Change of clothes for tomorrow.”

Lee shrugged. She doubted he really needed to bring a whole bag of clothing for one night but maybe he wanted to stake a claim to her closet.

“Let’s put out the sushi,” she said.

Jeremy dropped the paper bag onto the table and then came up behind her while she was reaching for plates. His hands went straight for her bare ass, sticking out between the corset and stockings. She put the plates down and he pulled off her silk wrap.

“Wow, that’s sexy,” he murmured into her shoulder.

She pushed him away. “First we eat.”

“Please, pretty please, can’t I have dessert first?” he whispered into her ear.

Lee ignored him and began unpacking the containers of sushi. He had picked up all her favorites—tuna, salmon and ebi sashimi, dynamite rolls, california rolls and futomaki. She picked up a piece and popped it into her mouth. Then she turned to offer some to Jeremy, who was still busy exploring her backside.

“Sit down, my hungry wolf, let me feed you.” She pushed him toward a chair.

He sat down and she straddled his lap. “Do you like soy sauce or wasabi?”

“I like them naked or barely dressed. Sort of how I like you,” he replied and licked the tops of her breasts. She tried the tuna sashimi and it melted in her mouth.

“Mmmm, you have to have one of these. They’re perfect.”

“I think I will,” he said and lifted a breast out of her corset.

“Not that…this.”

He gulped down the delectable morsel in a sinful rush before returning his attention to her breasts.

“Jeremy, you’re not doing this meal justice.”

“I know. How about you eat while I play?”

Lee managed to get down another half dozen or so bites. Jeremy rubbed her clit and sucked on a nipple while she sat on his lap and ate. Her body was starting to tremble with mounting desire. He noticed and moved his stroking fingers deeper into her cunt. His mouth clamped down hard on her breast and she moaned. She writhed on his lap, pressing herself onto his hand.

“This is too distracting,” she murmured between gasps of pleasure.

Jeremy raised his head and smiled. She kissed him hard, thrusting her tongue into his mouth as he jabbed even deeper into her slippery-wet cunt. With a groan she bit his lower lip. Her hand reached down and rubbed the hard bulge in his jeans.

“I give up,” she declared. “Let’s go have dessert.”

She slipped off his lap and headed for the bedroom. Jeremy followed, tossing off his shirt en route. Lee sat on the bed and watched as he pulled down his pants. He came toward her, his swollen cock jutting into the air. She put her arms around his waist as he stood in front of her. She licked his cock from base to tip and then moved her tongue slowly around the cap. His hands cupped the back of her head and nudged her on. Taking him into her mouth, Lee sucked hard, released the pressure then sucked again.

Jeremy groaned and pulled away. “Keep doing that and I’ll come.”

She smiled up at him. “I can wait for the next course.”

“A very tempting offer, my witch. But I’ve been dreaming about the sounds you make when I fuck you. I want to hear those animal shrieks again.” He pulled her up and his mouth descended on hers. Then he turned her around and suggested, “If you get down on all fours on the bed I can probably take you standing up.”

She eagerly got into position. Jeremy slid into her, his hand gripping her waist and pulling her onto his long shaft.

“Oh yeah. This is good,” he said between thrusts. “I can fuck you hard like this.”

“Yes. Please yes. Fuck me hard, my wolf.”

He was penetrating so deep that she could feel his cock slamming into the top of her vagina. It sent shock waves of ecstatic pain-tinged pleasure into her. She reached back between her legs and took hold of his balls, tugging gently. He howled and almost lifted her off the bed with his next thrust. She gasped out a muffled shriek, struggling to keep her cries muted. Then her climax hit like a black wind. It tore away her control and she screamed.

Jeremy joined her in an equally loud orgasmic release.