The Strip (7 page)

“Christ, I know I’m gonna to wake up any minute now and boy am I gonna be pissed to find this was all a dream.” With that, Mary Jane downed the shot of liquor in front of her and made a face. “Tequila. Damn… that
hurts
…
so good
….” She gritted her teeth as the alcohol began to work its magic and then she shook her head quickly, as if to clear it. She pursed her lips, sucked her cheeks in, and then laughed. “I’m outta here, sweetie.” She stood, throwing Charlie a devil-may-care smile as she pushed in her chair. “Don’t wait up.”

Charlie laughed too, shaking her head as her friend sauntered from the table and approached the blonde stranger.

His eyes sparkled in the multi-colored lights of the club as he stood from the stool on which he’d been seated and gazed at Mary Jane with stark, open desire.

Charlie shivered.
That’s a hungry look, if ever there was one
, she thought to herself. She watched with keen interest as the man took M.J.’s hand and led her to the dance floor. And then she put her beer to her lips again, only to find that it was empty. She frowned and raised her hand to call the waitress for another order, when a shadow fell over her.

A deep, British accent sliced effortlessly through her consciousness. “Allow me.”

Charlie glanced up. And for just a moment, the world actually stopped turning.

Chapter Four,
The Ante

Cole gazed down into Claire’s incredible ice-blue eyes and felt his stomach tighten. He recognized a series of emotions floating in their frozen depths and the space between them was instantly charged. Time slowed down. She was surprised. And then she was frightened. The third emotion to cross her features was one that set off his own hard reaction. Lust.

All of this, he took in with expert ease and grace as he smiled innocently down at her and gestured to the empty beer bottle she held in her hand. “May I?” He bent to take it and her fingers slowly slid away. He wanted to catch them and hold them fast.

“Um… yes. I mean sure. I mean –” She closed her eyes, shook her head once, and then re-opened them, focusing them once more upon his face. “Yes please,” she said. “Thank you.” She stumbled over her speech, her soft voice wrapping around him as swiftly and as surely as his own voice had always done to others in his sway.

It was stunning, and Malcolm realized with a sinking feeling that it was going to take every ounce of his strength tonight to keep cool and not turn her before the sun rose.

Cole turned to gesture to the waitress who was standing several tables away. He easily caught the woman’s attention, whose eyes widened in recognition when she realized who he was. She blushed furiously began to approach him. He could tell she was about to call him out as Malcolm Cole the famous author, and he wasn’t in the mood to slip into that role tonight. Not now. Right now, he was in the mood to bed Claire St.James, and that was about it.

So, he let a bit of his power loose and it swirled around the waitress, binding itself around her will like a vice. She stopped mid-step and blinked. And then her smile was back, but this time, it was easy and fake. It was the smile she kept hanging on a hook beside her apron and willingly gave to all of her patrons.

“What can I get for you two?” she asked as she approached.

“Another ale for the lady, please.” He glanced at Claire, who still seemed stunned, but who was hurriedly collecting herself while she thought he wasn’t watching her. “And I’ll take one as well.”

The waitress nodded and left.

Cole turned his attention back to Claire. He listened carefully as her heart fluttered wildly. Her cheeks had become rosy. He could smell adrenaline coursing through her blood stream. But just beneath it, faint and ever so enticing, was the intoxicating scent of her arousal.

Again, his hunger spiked. He pulled out the chair that Claire’s friend had abandoned and gestured to it questioningly. His grip on the back of it was a little tighter than it needed to be. “Do you mind if I sit down?” he asked.

She hesitated. And then she cleared her throat and shook her head. “No, please. Sit.”

He could sense that she had wanted to say no. Despite the fact that she was obviously attracted to him, her defenses were up. He wondered why. She was certainly beautiful enough to have attracted all manner of dangerous scum in her life, and he could understand that such a penchant would cause her to be cautious toward men. But they were sitting in a crowded club with a good ratio of very large bouncers. It wasn’t just the fact that he was a man that was scaring her.

The waitress came with their drinks and Claire immediately grabbed hers and took a long, deep pull. Cole watched the smooth column of her throat as she swallowed the liquid. She didn’t put it back down until it was half empty.

Now she smiled.

His breath caught, his gums aching where his fangs wanted to break free. He felt himself begin to harden and he had to reign his wolf in, forcing it to heel when all it wanted to do was hunt down its mate and fuck her like there was no tomorrow.

Her tongue darted out for a fraction of a second to lick the moisture off of her top lip. Malcolm’s vision began to swim with tiny stars. He felt a change coming on; he was losing control. He’d never –
ever
– lost control before. What was happening to him? Why did she have this effect on him?

He decided he needed to touch her. Like a moth to a flame.

When she released her bottle, he offered her his hand. “I’m Malcolm.” He smiled his best disarming smile and sensed her arousal growing stronger. In his mind, he was swearing vehemently. There was no way in hell he was going to make it through the night without tasting her.

She gently placed her own hand within his and he wrapped his fingers around her, his touch light, but possessive. He couldn’t help it. He was a wolf.

“I’m Claire,” she said. “But my friends call me Charlie.” She blinked then, as if she couldn’t understand why she’d just told him that. After all, he wasn’t a friend. She’d only just met him.

Hope began to flare within him, a match struck in a night that had been too dark for far too long. “Charlie,” he said softly. He could swear he saw her muscles relax as he said her name. And it was having the opposite effect on him. He wanted to jump her bones. Instead, he sat back and took a long pull on his own beer. Beer had no effect on him, but she would run for her life if he began downing entire bottles of Everclear in front of her. At least it was wet and cold. That helped a little.

“So, Malcolm….” She let the name linger on her tongue, as if trying it out.

Malcolm swallowed hard.
Christ.

“Are you in town for business or pleasure?”

“Honestly?” He put his beer down and lazily turned it between his thumb and forefinger. “Both.”

She nodded. That was everyone’s answer when it came to Las Vegas. He could scent the alcohol in her blood now – just beginning to work its magic.

She took another drink and he waited. When she finished, he asked, “And you?”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, a little harder than she perhaps should have. He imagined that her senses were dulling as a result of the beer.
One kiss
, he thought,
and
I can bring them roaring back to life.

“As cheesy as it sounds, I’m a drummer,” she admitted to him, shrugging as she said it. “And my band just got this… deal.” She frowned. “We’re playing at that casino down the street – the really tall one.”

He continued to study her, taking everything in as she finished off her beer and he raised his hand to summon the waitress. Across from him, Claire chewed on her lip again, her expression at once nervous.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she said. “Honestly, I never drink this much. I mean….” She was embarrassed suddenly, as if admitting as much made her some horrible cross between the drunk blonde bimbo and the teetotaler. “I mean, I may not be able to drink it if you order it.” She smiled sheepishly and put her hands in her lap. “But, thank you.”

Malcolm’s hunger ripped through him with a vengeance. Every time she bit her lip, every time she smiled, he lost a little more control. He was a very strong alpha; from birth, he’d been granted abilities that other werewolves did not have. In the same way that some humans could run a faster mile and others could lift more weight, Malcolm possessed powers which set him apart from his werewolf community. Though these powers came in handy quite often, he honestly hadn’t planned on using any of them on Claire St.James. He’d gone down that dark road in the past and his actions haunted him now, riding him with guilt.

This time, he had truly wanted to get to know Charlie; to have her get to know him. But she was too tempting. And the effect she was having on him was far too strong. It shouldn’t have been like this. He needed to regain ground with her, and fast.

So, with both resignation and determination, he released another tendril of his power and let it coil around his blue-eyed prize. She squirmed in her chair for a moment and he knew it was lighting fires within her. He willed her to let go. To stop caring.

“Another beer, sweetie?” The waitress guessed, before Cole could order. Claire nodded, smiling. “Sure thing. Be right back.” She picked up the empty bottle and strode away.

Then Claire looked up as something over Cole’s shoulder caught her attention. He turned to look and smiled when his gaze settled on Jake. He was holding Claire’s companion, Mary Jane. And he was kissing her.

“Oh my god!” Claire exclaimed softly. “She just met him!” She blinked, obviously stunned at what she was seeing. Though she was clearly shocked, he could also hear the humor in her tone. She shook her head admonishingly. “How dare he?” she asked, trailing off into a chuckle.

Good girl
, he thought.
Let go
.

“It takes two to kiss like that, luv,” Malcolm drawled casually, his gaze still locked on the two figures.

When he turned back around, it was to find that Claire was staring at him openly. He felt pinned to his chair beneath her baby blues and the air around them heated with un-spent electricity.

He blinked. And then, when he realized that her breathing was shallow and quick and her eyes were glittering, he allowed himself a slow, dangerous smile. “Anything else you would like me to do for you, luv?”

Claire’s gaze flicked from his eyes to his lips and back up again.

“Here you go, sweetie.” The waitress set the beer down on the table and, luckily, was quickly rushing off again, because neither of them were able to pay her any attention.

“Um….” Claire distractedly picked up her beer and placed it to her lips, swallowing a few small sips. Her eyes were still glued to Malcolm’s. “Yeah, but….”

“Charlie, I’m gonna head back to the hotel.”

Claire blinked and finally managed to rip her gaze away from Cole’s in order to look up at her friend, who had just approached the table. Jake Samson was behind her, his arm around her waist. Cole met Jake’s eyes and registered the barely perceptible nod his second in command gave him.

Across from him, Claire pushed out her chair and stood. “What? Why? Are you okay?”

Cole stood as well. He frowned as he felt his powers begin to slide and slip from where they’d been wrapped around Charlie. It was as if she was somehow pushing them away. Was that even possible? He redoubled his efforts and could sense her strength relinquish a little under the onslaught.

“I’m fine, I just….” Mary Jane fanned herself and swooned a little. Jake easily steadied her. “I think I’ve just pushed myself a little too hard.”

Though Claire was weakened by Cole’s will wrapped so tightly around her, she was also visibly upset by her friend’s sudden condition, and Malcolm cursed himself for not thinking to wait until Mary Jane had downed more alcohol before allowing Jake to control her with his kiss. It would have been more believable. He wouldn’t have had to resort to this brute force.

“I’m….” Claire swallowed and ran a hand over her face, as if to clear her head. “I’m coming with you,” she said as she somehow managed to side-step her chair and move with fluid grace around the table to take her friend’s hands.

Cole was stunned. She was incredibly stubborn. Not to mention, impossibly graceful and strong.

Mary Jane immediately pulled her hands out of Charlie’s grip and put them on her hips. “Absolutely not,” she said, sternly. She glanced at Malcolm and then back at Claire. She leaned in, wobbling just a touch, and placed her red lips a breath away from Charlie’s ear. What passed between them then was meant to be secret. But Malcolm heard it loud and clear.

“There’s no way I’m letting you pass up this chance, Charlie. That man is a god. You be good to him.” She backed up, gave Charlie a no-nonsense look, and then moved in again. “And besides, I’m not going back to the hotel alone.”

At that, Claire blinked. Mary Jane straightened, a lascivious smile on her ruby lips. Charlie’s lips parted in sudden comprehension and her eyes widened as she blushed. “Oh,” she stammered. “I – I see.”