The Mating Game (4 page)

“Grampa! Grampa!”

“What did you bring us?”

“Did you make us more wooden trains?”

“Mom! We wanna open the presents!”

“Edward’s here!”

Samuel and Dominic rolled their eyes at each other as Christiana’s voice could be heard over the twins’ squeals of delight. If their grandfather had arrived, evidently so had Roland, his wife Helene and their seven-year-old son, Edward.

Roland had only recently returned from a long period of healing time with his wife and their grandfather. The brothers only knew a small amount of what had happened to the young man. Zachariah Rutledge could keep secrets like no other man alive, and in regards to Roland, he had decided to keep his own council.

All the brothers knew was that their grandfather had thought it imperative that Roland heal, be reunited with his True Mate and their young son. They had married in a small ceremony nearly three years ago and been living in the middle of the woods with the Old Man until recently.

When Edward and Christiana had met they had instantly become close friends, a strange bond none of them seemed to question, yet one none of them really seemed to understand, either.

As Dominic and Samuel made faces at each other, the thumping of little feet could be heard heading their way. Within seconds, four bundles of pure energy came crashing through the door.

“Uncle Sam! Uncle Dom! Grampa’s here!”

“So is Edward!”

“They brought presents!”

“All wrapped pretty!”

Dominic smiled. At least some things were easy to see and solve. Pushing aside thoughts of the luscious redhead, and his own doubts and questions, he bent down to welcome Edward and attempt to calm his excited nieces and nephew.

Solemnly shaking the young man’s hand, he welcomed him. “Nice to see you again young man. You’re well?”

Edward nodded, his black curls bobbing.

“Yes, Dom. Mom and Dad have moved into a house just on the other side of town. They said we needed to be close to Grampa Zach.”

Dominic smiled at the solemn little boy. Crouching down, he grinned at the young face. When Christiana started pulling at his arm, he turned his attention to his niece.

“Come on, Uncle Dom! We need to get Mom and Dad and everyone else. I wanna start eating that cake!”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. What’s say we go and say hello to Grandpa first? Make him comfortable. We can put the twins’ presents on the table with everyone else’s gifts.”

Taking a hand of each twin, he calmly led the children from the study and herded them towards the main living room. Greeting his grandfather, who looked remarkably handsome and healthy for his advanced years, he braced himself for a long, energetic afternoon.

With luck it would help him forget that damned redhead animated woman, though deep inside the pit of his chest, he knew nothing much would help. Silently, he counted the hours until the nearly full moon would rise.

* * * * *

As dusk arrives

Dominic stood on the very edge of his piece of land. Deep inside the forest, he could sense he was all alone.

At last.

Strangely, neither Art nor William had teased him over his pensive mood. Dominic didn’t want to dwell on whether they could read mystical signs of what ailed him, or whether they were simply too embedded in their own marital bliss to realize he had been so silent over the course of the birthday dinner.

Only Samuel had teased and jeered at him as he excused himself early to go for a run. The kids had all been too bloated on party pies, junk food and birthday cake to want to come with him.

And so here he stood, surrounded by the dark, towering trees, letting the peace and scents of the forest he had loved all his life seep into his soul, sooth his aching pride and emotions.

Closing his eyes, he felt his form shimmer, felt the change begin to overtake him as the almost full moon rose above the horizon.

Even though he could change at will, with or without his mistress the moon, something tonight compelled him to pay homage to her once more. Maybe it was because he knew he would have to pay homage on Sunday, when she was truly full, or maybe it was simply trying to not think of Mary, or the hacker. Whatever, he knew with a strange sense of innate intuition—he needed this run and needed to clear his head.

Or maybe he just wanted to turn to his animal side for a moment, to clear his thoughts and change his perspective.

In that moment between being a man and a wolf, Dominic smiled, a large, completely masculine, toothy grin.

In the blink of an eye, he felt himself change to his wolf form.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as he always did in that first moment of being a wolf and gathering his bearings.

He could smell the dampness of the earth, the rich scent and tone of the soil and life beneath his paws.

He could hear the moon shimmering and calling to him, heating his blood and filling his soul with music only She could create.

He heard each insect and pad of animal footfalls on the soil. He heard the crickets chirping and the birds humming.

The earth spoke volumes to him, and he could read it all in the manner the human side of his mind could not comprehend.

Even so, he could detect the faint scent of the humans, and a small part of his mind mulled still over the conundrum of his female hacker.

His ears pricked at the sound of a rabbit crossing his path. His interest diverted, he pounced after the animal, determined to play and maybe forget his problems for a while. The earth soothed him and the moon urged him on.

Life didn’t get much better than this.

Chapter Three

Saturday evening

Mary sat on the edge of the bar’s dance floor, playing with her light beer.

For what felt like the millionth time, she forced her doubts away. This whole escapade seemed almost too easy. The long drive had flown by, her thoughts centered on different fantasies and scenarios. In one, Dominic merely took one look at her and swept her off her feet, carrying her back to his apartment and seducing the hell out of her. In another, she could somehow magically tell by one look that he
was
a werewolf and could then seduce
him
with a clear conscience.

Overlying all of these emotions sat the eager, almost girlish anticipation of seeing Dominic in the flesh. Mary refused to think of those hours she had sat in front of her computer monitor, reading and rereading the details she found on Dominic Rutledge. She blindly ignored the restless night’s sleep, the tossing and turning. The images of that cheeky, gorgeous, smiling face, and wickedly laughing blue eyes burned into her mind and deep in her soul.

She couldn’t clearly remember the last time she had been so overcome by lust for a man. Her past was littered with lovers, yet Dominic was different. He seemed like a fever in her blood, a craving she could not deny.

Listening to his music, watching him, his brother, and a friend make music and seduce every woman in the bar, taught her much. The music was jazzy, soulful…bluesy tunes with huskily crooned lyrics that reached out and touched every woman present.

The choice of songs, the style of the music, and the depth and emotion the three men created showed Mary a small portion of his soul. Both it and the sexy man were too tempting to ignore.

While not precisely losing her nerve, Mary entertained doubts on the wisdom of her quest. Safely back at home, her thought of indulging in white-hot sex with Dominic, blending into his hundreds of other lovers and somehow finding out if he really was a werewolf, had seemed strange, but not unmanageable.

Now however, watching how every woman drooled over him, shrieked and cried out at his every movement, Mary had to wonder at her wisdom. It seemed insane to simply waltz up to him, smile at him, and offer him a night of no-holds-barred sex.

She took another sip of her beer to ease the dryness of her throat. Waiting for the right moment to approach him and offer her dare for one night of raunchy sex, Mary smiled as Samuel came back onto the stage.

While he was handsome and sexy, he didn’t ring her bell like Dominic did. He did, however, have the lustiest, most husky, sexy, singing voice she had ever heard. His crooning words swirled around the small bar, enticing and seducing every female present.

Mary was surprised when he walked past the microphone to pick up Dominic’s saxophone instead. Mary blinked, surprised, until she noticed Dominic walking up to take the microphone.

He was going to sing!

While Dominic had mostly played the saxophone, he had swapped to the guitar for a few songs. Samuel had stayed singing, until now, the last song of the night.

Lee Scott, their friend and bass guitarist for the evening, took up his spot, with Dominic taking the microphone. Drunken patrons cheered and rushed back onto the dance floor, expecting more of the quality blues and jazz they had played all evening.

Without any words or introduction, and with none really being needed, Lee stepped into the spotlight and started the instrumental. There were a few feminine cheers and shrieks—with one woman in the back screaming out “
I love you, Lee
!”

Without missing a single beat he grinned wickedly into the audience in general, his cocky grin and confidant manner earning him more whistles and shrieks, and continued the introduction. Mary recognized the tune instantly as
Night Prowler
—one of her favorite songs— and tried to stifle the sudden giggles that threatened her.

As Dominic’s lusty croon washed over her, her eyes constantly met with his. The irony of the words wasn’t lost on her. She couldn’t put her finger on how, why or when; but with the innate intuition and wisdom only a woman could have, she realized she
knew
the truth to her question.

Maybe it was in their smiles, or the way they held themselves. Maybe it was simply the raw, earthy, completely masculine animal magnetism both men had. But in that moment, Mary knew she alone in this room understood the two brothers were
true
Night Prowlers. They were werewolves.

“Somewhere a clock strikes midnight,

And there’s a full moon in the sky,

You hear a dog bark in the distance,

And you hear someone’s baby cry.

“A rat runs down the alley,

And the chill runs down your spine,

And someone walks across your grave,

And you wish the sun would shine.”

Mary could feel the intensity in the song, in the truth and conviction in Dominic’s words. Here was the real deal. She could so easily see him slipping into the role of Night Prowler. Of stalking prey, whether animal or woman. Watching them, following them.

It was an intensely sexual image she had flash across her brain—one that seared her and simply would not leave. It was incredibly sexy and slightly scary at the same time. The mix of fear and sexiness hit the exact right note with her, making her damp and excited.

She and every other woman in the bar.

“I’m your night prowler, asleep in the day,

Yeah, I’m your night prowler—get out of my way,

Look out for the night prowler; watching you tonight,

Yes, I’m your night prowler, when you turn out the light.

“Too scared to turn your light out,

‘Cos there’s something on your mind.

Was it a noise outside the window?

Was there a shadow on the blind?

As you lie there naked; like a body in a tomb,

Suspended animation, as I slip into your room.”

Mary shivered. Dominic was watching her, and suddenly she felt like a rabbit caught in a snare. She could feel the passion in his words, feel the man’s wicked intent in his seductive croon.

With the intense way he watched her, looked at her, sought out her eyes with his, she wondered if Dominic had chosen this song purposely. To prepare her, to warn her.

The electricity, the intense connection flooded between them, snapped between them as strong as any rope or silken cord could. Mary could feel her heartbeat accelerate, could feel herself growing damper and short of breath.

An image entered her mind, herself in her small but cozy bedroom, lying naked under the covers, while Dominic crept like a shadow, sliding into her room to seduce her. Seduce her with his words and wicked deeds. His hands, his tongue, his cock. She felt enticed, scared and enthralled all at once.

Somehow Dominic managed to dare her with this song. His eyes glinting in the dark bar, he grinned as he crooned the words to her. Despite his bad boy demeanor, despite his self-proclamation in that email of having a different woman every night, Mary could feel the intensity radiating from him. This was not a man she would want to fall on the bad side of.

Mary half-listened to the spectacular guitar instrumental by Lee, and before she realized, it was over and the saxophone was wailing its final notes. Samuel came forward and thanked the bar and its patrons. Mary blinked, and Dominic began to cross the dance floor, making a beeline for her.