SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (257 page)

He hadn’t expected to see her again. He’d sold himself the lie that she was like all the others, while her body, her memory, lingered in his mind all day. Her hands caressed his skin and her voice whispered his name over and over. One whiff of that scent brought it all back.

A circuit of the restaurant’s perimeter located Sherri at a corner booth by herself, sitting in front of a half-eaten plate of
barbacoa
. Ash slid in alongside her, pressing with the familiarity of someone whose body knew another’s well. She had a few more inches of height than the average human female. Her curves fit against him perfectly. “This is a pleasant surprise.”

It really was. His fingertips zinged when his hand found hers under the table. Rather than the expected stifling sensation over having a one-off find him at his place of business, he felt a smile stretch across his face at this unexpected opportunity.

She chuckled. “I’m pretty surprised myself.”

“Hmm.” Ash drew a deep breath, taking in her scent. “You have a headache again.”

She put the menu down. That delicious stain crept up her neck. “You remembered. That’s… Wow. Yes. I do. Probably because I spent so much time puzzling over why your questionable buddy from the bar sent me here that I gave myself a brain cramp.” She held up a finger. “Hey, can you point me to a drug store before I leave?”

“Wait.” Ash drew back, grabbing her arm. “My buddy from the bar?”

“The guy you argued with last night. Your former packmate with the territory issues,” she said dryly.

“Huh. Come with me for a moment. Please.” He took her hand and pulled her from the booth, speeding through to the back hallway of the restaurant where he kept his office. “Quick,” he said. “Before someone tries to stop me for some emergency involving a broken garbage disposal or
mole
sauce.”

Behind him she laughed, but the prospect wasn’t so unlikely. Ash tried to leave most of the operations to his manager, but when he was on site, things seemed to require his attention. He whirled her around and locked the office door, putting his hands against her shoulders. Before he could think, he had his lips against hers, tasting the lingering cool of spearmint gum mixed with the moist heat of her mouth. “I wonder why Jojo sent you.”

She licked her lips. “He said his buddy had a restaurant, and he liked to send over business. You mentioned owning one. I should have put two and two together.”

Ash didn’t believe for a moment that Jojo would help him. Still, his pleasure that she’d walked into Howlers tonight knocked him backward. He should have wanted to erase the lingering images of this human from his mind, not grab his first chance to put his hands on her.

“I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“I didn’t expect to either. You walked out without leaving any kind of—” She stopped, a deep blush darkening her pale cheeks. “I’m only in town for a couple of weeks. I had no expectations. I’m only saying I was equally taken aback by finding out this was your establishment.”

Such proper language. Ash laughed, happy when he tugged at her shirt and she didn’t move to make him stop. “I confess, second dates aren’t my thing.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’m shocked.”

“Mmm.” He kissed her again, and then nuzzled along the edge of her jaw. A rapid pulse beat in her neck, loud and satisfying. The heat and scent of her arousal oozed from every pore. It smelled like honey and chocolate, gently wafting from under the oils on her skin. “I’d like to surprise you some more. You are fucking delicious. Like a candy store. I want to lick every inch of you.”

She gasped, but then pushed closer to him. Did she even realize?

This Sherri was different than any female—woman or
were
—Ash had known. She wore expensive clothes and carried herself with the confidence of a lady who knew her mind, but responded to his touch like a purring sex kitten.

“We shouldn’t…” Even as she said the words, her fingers tightened around his arm.

Heat pooled in Ash’s gut as he pressed close. Dammit, things were always easier without clothing in the way. “Should I let you leave and get back to your life, Sherri?”

“No.” From the sounds of things Sherri was having as much trouble breathing normally as Ash. “But why would that guy tell me to come here? You two clearly aren’t best buddies.”

“Hmm-mm.” Ash worked his hand under Sherri’s shirt, spanning his fingers across the taut plane of her stomach. “No. Half brother. Hates me. I’m sure he saw you and I leave the bar together last night, and he knows I don’t see the same woman twice. Probably one of his many ways of trying to fuck me over. Maybe hoping you’d get clingy, or I’d get pissed. Who knows?” He popped the buttons on her blouse, one after the other, slowly and with purpose. Each inch of silky, exposed skin got him harder.

Sherri’s throaty laugh reached down to caress his balls. “Guess the joke’s on him.” Her shirt fell to the floor.

Ash went for the zipper on her pants. “You think so, eh?”

Sherri smiled and lifted her head from where it had fallen back against the door. “I told you I’m not in town long. Even if I was, I just ended a terrible relationship. We both know what this is.” She stood before him wearing nothing but a lacy bra and underwear set, and one wicked smile. Smiles like that drove men to their knees.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Ash snarled his pleasure. “Or we will be, when you lose the underwear. And…” He pointed to her kicked-off shoes, a pair of black, suede high heels. “I’d love it if you put those back on.”

Sherri’s lips curled upward as she reached for the shoes.

* * *

Standing in the middle of a small, cluttered office, wearing nothing but her shoes, Sherri felt… awkward… vulnerable… mind-blowingly decadent.

She gasped when Ash’s fingers brushed that sensitive spot along the side of her right breast, along her ribs. Her gaze flicked to the office door. “Lock that, would you?” She was pretty sure the thrill would be gone if one of his employees walked in on the two of them naked and indecently exposed.

Ash stretched one arm back toward the door. Had she still been wearing any underwear, that molten stare of his would have seared it right off.

One tiny click of a lock engaging and her chest tightened, her breath coming in careful sips. Crap, they hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff. She was thinking maybe he’d spoiled her for humans.

Shut up. That’s crazy.

Ash stood a hair out of reach, watching. It felt odd not to have anything to do with her hands so she stepped forward, anxious to explore all those ridges and planes. He surprised her by touching each of his palms to each of hers and threading their fingers together. One kiss, then another, to the tips of her fingers.

“I can smell Jojo. I don’t like that his scent is on you.”

“He wrote this address on a napkin. I crumpled it and threw it in the trash. I think we’ll all survive.”

“I do enjoy your spirit.” Ash grinned. “The lighting is much brighter in here. I can see all of you. I enjoy that, too.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, well… Fluorescents aren’t exactly the most flattering—”

Ash pulled her arm, hard and fast, until their bodies fused together. The kiss was swift, firm, and blistering. “You’re beautiful. I like to look at you. Do you like it when I look at you?”

God help her, she did. “I… Yes.” Glory hallelujah, he’d left her speechless. No man had mastered kissing so expertly. Ash knew how deep to probe, how much pressure to use, and what rhythm to use for each stroke. And that was only his tongue.

“What about when I do this?” Two fingers trailed over her collarbone. Two became four when he stroked the top of her breast. He added a thumb when he reached her nipple, rolling it back and forth between his fingers.

“Oh, hell. Yes.” She grabbed his wrist. The maddening, unrelenting touch sent tingles straight to her core. “This isn’t fair.” She gestured up and down at herself, and then at him. “You should take off your pants.”

“You’re right. I should.” Another kiss, a series of them. Light and quick, then deep. Hard. “First though…” He reached for the clip in her hair and pulled it out, tossing it with a loud
clink
on the metal desk. Fingers combed through, pulling the strands over her shoulders. “You’re gorgeous this way. With your hair down. Wild.”

Sherri laughed to cover her rise in body temperature. She found herself wondering if she’d fallen into a time warp. His erection pressed insistently against her hip, and she went back and forth between frustration and elation so fast her head spun. Turning on a man like Ash was exhilarating stuff. Yet, the question remained, “So are you going to then? The pants thing? Removing them?”

He laughed. “Turn around and put your hands on the desk. Then I’ll take off my pants.”

She turned to take a good look at the heavy, metal object of his instruction before looking over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “The desk? Seriously?”

The hand on her hip sent tingles up her back, tightening her nipples and stealing her breath. “There’s the floor if you prefer. Or the door. Or we can always stop if you’d rather not play.”

Not play.
She shivered again. Looking down at her shoes, she asked herself when in history that particular clothing item had been the only thing she’d worn. When a desk and a wolfish hunk of a guy would ever again be something she could refer to as “play.” Never. “No,” she said. “I like the desk.”

“And I like
you
.” The husky whisper filled her ear as he pressed behind her, teasing her with his fingers, urging her legs wide.

Sherri held on, pressing her fingers into the desk to keep steady. She closed her eyes and let the sensations take over. The fur of his chest hair against her back, and the way he nipped her shoulder as he entered her set her nerves on high alert. The easy slide and gentle ache when he filled her shouldn’t have satisfied as much as it did.

He paused when he thrust inside, kissing the back of her neck and breathing against her skin. His hands cupped her breasts, gently but firmly. Everything throbbed. Everything burned. The good girl in the back of her brain shouted that she needed to shove Ash away, to forget about him and everything he stood for, before she put her career and her moral code in jeopardy. She needed to get on with her quiet vacation of shopping for knickknacks and reading trashy novels.

Instead she said, “I like… you, too.” Sherri reached back, willing Ash to move. “Please.”

He withdrew and pushed in again with a fierce growl. “Good. I want you to say my name when you come all over this office.”

Oh, Lord.
“Ash…” Screw knickknacks and romance novels. Who needed vampire billionaires and the human virgins who loved them when she had this guy, live in the flesh?

Not that she had him exactly. Whatever. Minor technicality.

“When you come, I said. Are you going to?”

Sherri’s knees jiggled. “Not long.”

The fingers of one hand made circles around her nipple. First lazy and slow, then faster. The fingers of the other did the same to her clit. How did he do that and still keep rhythm?

Tension wound through her core. Over and over, she gasped desperately for air.

“Turn around.”

Ohmygod.
“You’re kidding.” This time, Sherri was the one to growl.

Ash pulled back, out, and stepped away. “Turn. Lean back.”

She rolled her eyes, but complied. “You’d better be planning to get back in—” Oh, he sure as hell was.

With one swift move Ash thrust inside her, deep in a way that caused a satisfying ache. His hands went under her thighs and stayed there as he licked a trail up her chest and neck. “Put your arms around my neck,” he murmured.

She hooked her arms around him, holding on for dear life. He stood and lifted her, pulling her against his body as if it were nothing. The up-close view and the bright light in the room made his eyes appear warm and swirled with honey.

He kept his gaze on hers as they crossed the room. She tightened her legs around him and hoped he knew where they were going. When her back met the door he sped up, releasing a snarl that exposed his sharp canines.

He thrust faster, and with ferocity. It didn’t hurt, but he held her body in a grip that might leave marks, and she’d bet she’d have bruises from the door. Good.

A glance over his shoulder stopped her breath. Hanging from the end of a shelf full of binders was a picture-sized mirror, and for a frozen moment Sherri saw a woman she didn’t recognize: flushed face, swollen mouth gasping for air, disheveled hair spilling over her shoulders.

Who was this woman? Old Sherri had been structured and careful. Was this someone new, or someone she’d always been? Someone hidden until meeting Ash?

Ash kissed her again, and she didn’t care.

“Sherri, I’m so glad you came back. I didn’t realize…”

Didn’t realize what?
Don’t wonder.

She loved the way he kissed. Sensation enveloped her, the velvet of his tongue against hers, and his stubble caressing her chin. The warmth of his skin brushed over her, hard muscle and soft fur, moving in bursts of energy that ratcheted her need tighter and tighter.

Their lips were close enough to share breath. Sherri couldn’t take her eyes away from his.

Footsteps approached and somebody knocked on the door as Sherri’s orgasm hit. She buried her face in Ash’s shoulder, hoping his body would absorb the noise.

With his shout of “Coming!” he pulsed inside of her with deep staccato thrusts.

Sherri sank her teeth into Ash’s shoulder to keep from laughing at the absurd timing of the moment.

“Shh.” Ash chuckled. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Mary. Stop sending strays to my kitchen.”

He smiled as he set Sherri down on the floor. “This is my restaurant, Mary. Can you use her or not?”

“Maybe. I’m telling her to come back tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry.” When he turned to speak, she was already grabbing her clothes.

Sherri smiled. “It’s your restaurant. I should be apologizing. I should also let you get back to work.” She rushed to pull on her clothes.

“You don’t owe me any apology. I dragged you back here. Hell, you wouldn’t be here at all if not for Jojo.”