One Night with the Shifter

She couldn’t help but laugh as he opened the door and climbed out, coming around the truck to open her door for her. He offered a hand to help her down from the truck. Jess slipped her hand into his much larger, warm one. A zap of something potent zipped along her nerve endings, an instant attraction that made her warm all over despite the chill in the air.

She stood for a second looking up at his face. “You’re the first guy I’ve met who doesn’t see that as a problem.”

Ty shrugged. “I have—had,” he amended quickly, “more brothers than I care to count.”

Her smile faded. He sounded so sad. She could hear the mourning in his voice. “I’m sorry. Something bad happened to them?”

He shook his head. “It’s not that. They’re still alive. Just don’t want anything to do with me, that’s all. And right now the feeling is mutual.”

“Oh.” It really was the only thing Jess could say. She couldn’t imagine life without her brothers. Okay, that wasn’t totally honest. She imagined life without her brothers interfering all the time, but that wasn’t the same as living without them for the rest of her life.

She’d been surrounded by her brothers, knew what it was like to live with a bunch of overprotective men, but Ty jumping in to protect her from that creepy trio of guys at the tavern was somehow different. He wasn’t trying to protect her from living her life, like her brothers did, he’d been trying to make sure danger didn’t touch her. And that bumped his sex appeal up to a whole other level. What girl didn’t want a good-looking prince charming, even if he was a dark knight?

They walked, holding hands in companionable silence, toward the house. What exactly was a person supposed to say to someone she invited into her bed for just the night? Glancing at his strong profile, Jess could easily see herself falling for someone like him. Hold your horses, girl. You don’t even know him, her intellect said firmly. Her libido put intellect into a half-nelson wrestling hold, as she’d seen Davis do a dozen times to Paul, and screamed for her to go for it.

They stepped onto the wide railed porch that surrounded her house. She pushed her key into the lock. Beyond that door was a whole empty house, just waiting for her to take advantage of any available surface she pleased, including the thick plush rug before the large fireplace. Her heart rate sped up at the thought.

“Do you mind if we just stay out here for a moment before we go in?” he asked.

Jess turned and glanced at him. “You really are the outdoor type, aren’t you?”

* * *

She had no idea. Most nights he spent hunting. But Ty had his own reasons for wanting to scout out the grounds before going indoors. He didn’t teach anything to his students he didn’t do himself. He needed to know precisely what his surroundings were.

Gravel in the driveway would alert him to any cars pulling in. The house was two stories, but the balcony walkway that surrounded the second level made access far too easy. Wind was from the west, blowing across the water, making it easier to smell trouble coming.

Ty was grateful she wasn’t the type to chatter just to fill in the quiet. She seemed comfortable with who she was, but underneath he could scent a yearning for something just a bit naughty—peppermint, spicy yet sweet.

“I run an outdoor survival school. Guess it kind of comes with the territory.”

“I know.” She leaned her hip against the railing. “There’s not much people around here know about you, but they do know that.”

Which was just the way Ty wanted to keep it. The less the locals knew about him, the less risk there was they’d find out the truth. People were just getting used to the idea that vampires existed. They’d freak if they found out Weres did, too. Especially in a community like this. Vampires in Seattle were something safe and far enough away they could cope with it. Something paranormal living in their own backyard, taking their young soldiers out into the woods for training, hunting just outside their town, was something else.

The lights of downtown and the small marina area sparkled white diamonds on the shining black satin of the water. The moon broke through the clouds, illuminating the snow in a brilliant wash of white along the caps of the Olympic mountain range. A light breeze blew across the bluff, scented with the tang of salt water and teased with the deep green scent of fir.

“You’ve got a hell of a view here.”

She twisted, looking out across the water toward the mountains, the moonlight bathing her face in an ethereal glow that made his chest clutch tight. “That’s the reason my great-great-grandpa built it here. He wanted to look out over the docks he was helping to build.”

Ty came up right behind her, his large hands resting on the feminine curve of her hips. The edge of his chin and cheek rubbed against the back of her nape, just behind her right ear, as he inhaled the hint of lilac from her skin that blended with warm female and the mint scent of her hair. “Smart man.”

She shivered beneath him, a fine tremor that started at the base of her neck beneath his lips and rocketed through her system all the way to where he touched her at the hips. Ty took that as encouragement. His fingers strayed slightly higher, just beneath the edge of her sweater, skimming the warm skin above the edge of her jeans. Jess made a small sound in the back of her throat and leaned her head to the side, giving him better access.

Her skin was silky smooth, inviting and warm as he brushed his mouth across it, making him wonder if she was just as silky elsewhere. “Mmm, right there,” she murmured.

She arched back against him, the curve of her ass pressing against his erection. A bolt of intense need pierced him, making it hard to breathe.

Mesmer or not, the thought of how she’d feel beneath him, around him, overwhelmed him. Intellectually he knew that Mesmers could really screw with a Were’s brain, the need to claim one’s mate taking over every other drive. But what he didn’t know was if it worked the same on humans. He was afraid of getting too aggressive and wolfing out as a result of not being able to control himself. So Ty held himself ruthlessly in check. He needed to let her lead.

Her delicate hand was surprisingly firm in its hold as she guided one of his hands up beneath her sweater to cup her breast as he continued to kiss her nape.

Beneath his fingertips Ty could feel the edge of lace that covered the soft globe of her breast and what his eyes couldn’t see his fingers filled in for his imagination. He brushed the hardened tip, wondering if her nipples were a soft rosy pink like her lips, or more apricot like her satiny skin.

Her hand reached back and gripped him through his jeans. His dick pulsed, happy to be so totally acknowledged. He clenched his jaw and hissed out a slow breath between his teeth. There was only so much a man, even if he had the superior strength of a Were, could take.

Jess twisted to face him, her eyes hot and sultry enough to make him want to strip her where she stood. She tucked the tips of her fingers in the waistband of his jeans and pulled him with her as she started to walk across the porch. “I think it’s time to go inside, don’t you?”

Well, how could he possibly argue with that?

Chapter 3

They barely made it through the front door.

A simple brush of their lips as she’d shoved open the door had transformed into a mind-blowing inferno kiss. The frenzied rush to have more struck like lightning, igniting her senses, burning away any inhibitions and leaving her stunned at the intensity and power of it. Standing in the dark entry hall, Jess yanked his T-shirt out of his jeans and pulled it quickly up and over his torso and head.

Hot, deeply tanned skin spread in a smooth sheet over ridges of hard muscle. There wasn’t an ounce of extra on him. Ty reminded her of a Greek statue, perfectly sculpted, lean and athletic. But Ty wasn’t playboy perfect, he was real. An angry red scar marred his ribs on one side, but Jess didn’t linger too long on it, not when there was a whole buffet of gorgeous guy to explore.

“How—about—that—shower.” She managed to get the words out between heated kisses. His mouth moved in a sensuous slide against hers as she nipped at his bottom lip. She ran her hands along the firm plane of his back and around to the ridges of muscle bisected by a line of dark hair that disappeared at the edge of his jeans.

“Too many clothes.” His low, husky voice rumbled in her ear.

“When you’re right, you’re right.” She pushed back from him long enough to pull her sweater off in a slow, flirty slide and fling it to the floor. She kicked off her flats and ran her fingers through her hair. Raw desire flared fever bright in his eyes as he watched her hands trail down her sides, then lower to unzip her jeans. She shoved them down her hips to pool around her feet.

Heat suffused every inch of her skin, a delicious warm glow that kept her from being cold even as she stood in just her bra and underwear. It didn’t take a doctor to tell that he found her attractive; the evidence was there in his face, in his ferocious heartbeat and in the hard line at the front of his jeans.

“Tag. You’re it.” She smiled, deliberately brushing her lower lip in a seductive slow motion with her finger.

Ty swallowed hard, but didn’t say a word as he shucked off his boots. She couldn’t wait to find out if it was boxers or briefs. Either way, if he was built below the waist like he was above, she was going to enjoy touching him.

The moment he pulled off his jeans, Jess realized that Ty was a man who wore neither.

He stood gloriously naked, his body only marred by a few dark bruises and white scars. The throb at her core thumped harder. Wet heat pooled between her thighs.

She looked up at him through her lashes as she undid the front clasp of her bra and let the dark blue lace and satin slide off her arms to land on the floor behind her. She crooked her finger at him in a slow come-with-me motion. “This way.” Having the run of the house made Jess bold, or perhaps it was the man in front of her. Something about Ty tapped into her deepest fantasies.

He didn’t wait for more invitation. He ate up the space between them in two strides, pulling her close to him with a growl that made her quiver. The hair on his chest rasped against her bare breasts, causing jolts of pleasure. His thick, heated ridge pressed against her belly as he kissed her deeply. Jess reached down, grasping his firm length, letting her fingers test the velvety texture. The tip was as slick and damp as she was.

He pulled back and closed his eyes for a second. “You keep doing that, and we’re not going to make it upstairs.” His voice was raw, a man on the edge. When he opened his eyes, they were predatory, hungry and focused on her. He was breathing hard and his tongue lightly licked his lips. “God, you look good enough to eat.”

He slid his hot hands beneath her bottom, lifting her. Jess straddled him, wrapping her legs around his lean hips and her arms around his neck to balance herself. He ground the hard heat of him against her damp panties, causing bursts of color across her vision. She gasped at the sensation.

He groaned. “Last chance. You sure about this?”

“You always talk this much?” She bit his lip and pressed herself closer until there wasn’t space for even air between them. While it was sweet that he was waiting for her to set the pace, there were times a girl just wanted things hard and fast. Slow could come later.

Jess wriggled, arching up until she could feel the pressure of him pressed against her with only the thin barrier of fabric between them. “You better put something on now, ’cause I’m not waiting,” she told him as a shudder rolled through her.