Part of me cringed at this. But another part of me was too busy remembering how good his hands on my body had felt. How good his mouth had tasted on mine. How delicious he’d smelled, like a dash of some expensive cologne mixed with natural musk. My belly lit up with heat. I put on a poker face so the assistant couldn’t tell what I was feeling.
She waited for me to pick up my bag from where it sat by the front door, then handed me my coat. “I called you a taxi. It’s waiting outside.”
Without a word, I pulled on my slingback heels and walked out the door. It closed behind me.
As I looked back, the whole night already felt like an incredible fantasy. If it weren’t for how relaxed I felt, I might have believed it was, too.
But now, with the seed of a baby growing inside me, I knew the night had been all too real.
I tried calling Grant’s cell phone again. It went straight to voice mail.
Anger, hot and red, flooded my vision. So he was busy. So what? No one was that busy. He could take a second to call me back.
Plans raced through my mind. I couldn’t get back through his gate without permission; there had been a keypad. But I wasn’t giving up just yet. Since he liked hitting up dive bars, maybe I’d find him there again.
It was a long shot, but one I was willing to try. I just knew I couldn’t have any alcohol myself. No sweat.
Full dark had set in by the time I got into my car. It was silly, maybe, but I couldn’t leave until I’d changed into a form-fitting green sheath dress and sparkling black stilettos, fixed my hair, and applied more plum lipstick and mascara. It was for me, I told myself. I needed to feel good before I went out and tried to find my future baby’s daddy and convince him to care.
The thought of trying to pay for everything by myself, trying to be a mother myself, was so huge and horrible, I shoved it right out of my head. Hell, no. Instead, I concentrated on driving. I didn’t know if it was the full moon rising or what, but everyone was driving like a lunatic. I slammed on my brakes just in time to avoid someone cutting right in front of me. To keep from getting hit, someone else whirled and spun out of control and just managed to right their car before slamming into the median.
I dared a horrified glance into the rearview mirror. What was wrong with people?! I sure hoped that driver was all right. Of course, the car in front of me sped up to at least ninety miles an hour and tailgated the cars in front of it, forcing them out of the way.
Holy hell. Maybe I should have stayed home.
But instead, I clutched the steering wheel and focused on the road until I reached the turnoff for the bar. Everywhere I looked, the parking lot teemed with cars, and I had to circle around twice until a spot opened up. What had I been thinking, going out on a Friday night? No wonder people were acting crazy! I gritted my teeth, hoping the person vacating the spot wasn’t too drunk to drive. But it was early yet, so probably not.
With a sigh, I pulled into the space. I got out of the car, and the strength of the moonlight shocked me. It was so bold, so white, so intense, even I was tempted for a second to throw back my head and howl. Just for a second, though. Then the chill hit and chased me inside. Brr!
I scanned the packed room. It seriously was packed, too. For the first time in my life, I felt bad for sardines. This had to be what it was like, packed into that tiny can. I sure hoped everyone here had bathed recently.
But although I got a few appreciative looks from some good-looking men, and a few triflin’ ones, too, I kept looking. I wasn’t here to get picked up; that had already gotten me into this situation, thanks.
Well, maybe if one certain person tried to pick me up . . .
But he had to be here first! I pushed my way toward the bartender and ordered a water with lemon. The bartender, poor guy, did not look impressed. “Got a bun in the oven?” he asked, his eyes lingering on my round belly and instantly eroding any shame I had for not ordering a pricey drink.
“None of your business,” I snapped, grabbing my glass off the counter. Seriously, what was in the air tonight? Had the whole world fallen prey to the moon?
The bartender snorted and turned away to help another customer. “Damn heifers, gettin’ cheaper every day, I swear.”
Heifer? What did he know about my life? My cheeks flamed. I wasn’t cheap by choice. Normally I tipped big. I knew what it was like to work in a service industry. But right now, I couldn’t. Hell, I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t had to come find Grant.
The bartender deserved a full-out tongue lashing. But I forced him out of my thoughts. I had bigger fish to fry—or billionaires to corral, as the case might be.
The more I looked around, the more ridiculous it felt. What had I been thinking, coming out here? Like Grant would ever slum among us again. I’d just have to keep calling. It had only been a day, after all.
I should go home. I knew that. But the thought of my basement room made me want to cry. Enough. I’d had enough. Suddenly I didn’t even have enough energy to fight my way back through the crowd to get to the exit. With a sigh of defeat, I decided to sit and finish my water. The lemon tasted sour on my tongue, just the way my heart felt.
I pulled out my phone just to keep busy, scrolling through pointless Facebook updates about what people had eaten for dinner and people who wanted to spite their partners by posting nasty things about their latest fights. Yeah, classy with a K. At least Avon had never resorted to nonsense like that.
“Hey, girl,” some guy said, walking up to my stool. His leer traveled up and down my body, settling on my chest. “You look lonely. Why don’t you put away that phone and spend some time with me? A fine-lookin’ thing like you shouldn’t be alone on a night like this.”
“Nah, I’m doing all right on my own,” I said coolly, secretly bracing myself for a fifteen-minute argument about why he knew better than I did what I wanted.
To my surprise, the guy shrugged and wandered off to go hit on some other unsuspecting woman. “Your loss.”
Relieved, I scrolled through a few more pointless updates. Grant wasn’t going to come back here. Who did I think I was kidding? Why would anyone come here?
Suddenly a glass crashed a few feet from my stool. My head jerked up just in time to see a fist flying through the air. It connected squarely with a nose, making a sick breaking sound. Blood spurted down the guy’s face, spraying everything nearby.
Before I knew it, a brawl had erupted in the middle of the bar, with men jumping in from all sides. Shrieks flew all around my head, and people rushed past and shoved one another to get to the door. With my heart racing like it was going to burst out of me, I ran for the exit. Then I fell forward as someone pushed me. For a second, I couldn’t breathe at all. Then I stumbled on something slippery and toppled forward into someone’s arms.
It was a guy with blue-green eyes. No, it was a guy with a wolf’s head. I did a double take, then screamed. “Let go of me!”
When I looked again, it was just a guy. A guy who ignored me and made for the door. Desperate to get free, I thrashed against him, but he didn’t even seem to notice. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as the bartender got pulled into the fight. Someone downed him with a right hook almost immediately. I couldn’t help the tiny bit of satisfaction at thinking the bartender might want to watch what he said next time, but the rest of me just wanted to get the hell out of there.
Right before I turned around again, I saw something impossible. I blinked rapidly, but no, the wolves were still there.
Two silver-white wolves leaped out of the fray, growling to make you pee your pants. What the hell were wolves doing in a bar?
I flinched, knowing they must be about to attack someone. But instead, they ran right past all the cowering patrons and up to the guy carrying me through the door. I almost passed out. Their panting tongues were so red, like blood, and the fury in their—blue-green?—eyes promised a quick death.
Then we were outside, and the moon’s bright light spilled down on us. Even kn
owing I was surrounded by angry predators, I could hardly tear my eyes away from the moon. There was something about it . . .
The guy tossed me into an SUV and started driving. The wolves chased after us. “Where the hell are you taking me?” I shouted, my heart slamming against my ribs, my hands so sweaty I thought I could drown in them.
He didn’t answer, just pulled onto the road and hit the gas.
What the hell had I gotten myself into? My hands cradled my belly. And my unborn child. Would we make it out of here?
A couple minutes later, the guy made another right turn into an abandoned strip mall. I told myself I should be glad we got away from the wolves, at least. But when the guy got out of the car and came around to my side, my stomach roiled with fear. Wolves or no, this was bad. He’d kidnapped me.
He offered me his hand, but I ignored it and stepped down out of the car myself. We were alone in the parking lot. Well, except for the wolves that had somehow kept up. I stared, trying not to shake.
The sky itself was so dark, I couldn’t see any stars. Just the moon. And how it shone around these wolves. They seemed to shimmer, even. I stared, frozen, as the light danced over them and they transformed.
Seconds later, full-grown men in business suits stood before me. I backed away, but really, where was there to go?
A Hummer pulled into the parking lot. The engine cut out, and a man got out. A sexy man with yellow hair in a ponytail, golden skin, and eyes the color of the ocean. The moonlight wrapped itself around his gorgeous face like a caress. “Grant Beal,” I whispered.
“Boss, I got her after she saw us,” the guy holding me said to Grant.
“Yeah, and you can let me go, you creep,” I spat. Grant nodded, and the guy released me. I immediately put ten feet between us.
“What the hell is going on?” I stared at each of the men in turn and realized what they had in common. All of them had eyes the color of Grant’s: blue-green.
And three of them had been wolves.
I had thought when I saw him, I would demand to know why he hadn’t called back. Instead, I stared at Grant and pointed at his men. “Unless I’m going crazy, and I might be, but I don’t think so, they were just wolves. What. Is. Going. On?”
Grant sighed. “I got your messages,” he said. “As you can see, it’s kind of a busy day for us. Full moon always is.”
Full moon.
People acting like lunatics.
Full moon.
I scoffed helplessly. “You really expect me to believe you’re werewolves?”
Grant shrugged. “You don’t have to believe it, but that’s like not believing in gravity. It really doesn’t care what you think about it; it just is.” He snapped his fingers for effect, and suddenly he was shimmering, too. Barely five seconds later, there stood a huge blond wolf, just the color of the sun, with a thick pelt, slavering jaws, and eyes the color of the ocean.
My mouth hung open. I had so much to say but no idea where to start. The other men stood with their arms crossed, daring me to speak.
The wolf that had been Grant padded over to me, its tongue hanging out. I closed my eyes, waiting for the wolf to tear me apart. Why else would his men have dragged me out here?
Instead, a rough, wet tongue licked the back of my palm. My eyelids shot open to find the wolf leaning back on its haunches and studying it me with those beautiful eyes. It whined, and its ears rose.
I couldn’t believe it. Was Grant asking me to scratch his head? I put out a tentative hand and scratched between the wolf’s ears.
The wolf leaned its head back and let out a howl of pleasure like nothing I’d ever heard. It sent shivers of arousal over my spine. I wanted to howl like that, too.
The other wolves, including my abductor, joined in. I just watched, spellbound. I would have wondered if I’d fallen into a movie, but it was all too real—the bite of the cold night on my face and ears, the song of the wolf, and the damp spot on my hand where Grant’s tongue had been.
At least the song finished, and the wolves transformed back into men. It looked like magic.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” Grant said pleasantly, as if the entire world hadn’t just turned sideways. “That bar is one of the places we conduct our nocturnal business, and it got a little out of hand today.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I said, shaking my head.
Grant waved his men back. Once they were out of earshot, he looked at me. “So you had something to tell me? I don’t usually hear back from my lovers, so I assumed this was as urgent as you said.”
“So why didn’t you call back?” I exploded. “If you thought it was so urgent?”
“Because I was busy dealing with my oil business and then later because I was dealing with lupine affairs.” Grant stayed cool as an ice cube, completely unruffled. Watching him, I understood why Little Red Riding Hood could be tempted off the path. He was so—so sensual in his poise. He sounded like a man who made things happen, not a man things happened to. What could be hotter than that?
My thoughts flashed to how he’d made me come whether I’d wanted to or not, and despite the complete inappropriateness of the current situation, my pussy flooded with hot juices. I gave a mental groan. God, I wanted this man. Even now, even knowing what he was. I wanted him again and again and again.
“So are you going to tell me what you have to tell me?” he prodded, his deep voice calm. “Because while it might seem that we have all night, I really do need to get back to the bar.”
The idea of Grant Beal doing business at a dive bar made me laugh. “A werewolf Mafia?”
“Something like that.”
I sobered up. This wasn’t funny. What had I gotten myself into? “I’m pregnant,” I said.
Grant’s eyes narrowed. “Say that again.”
“I’m pregnant.” When Grant didn’t respond, I added, “By you.” I braced myself for him to blow up or panic or anything but what he actually did.
“Damn it,” he said, shaking his head. “I knew it.”
I waited for him to tell me how he knew and why he didn’t think I was making shit up. But he didn’t. “You were the only person I’ve . . . been with in months,” I made myself say, staring at my glittering black shoes. “And I guess the protection didn’t work that first time.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he said. “I can pay for your expenses. That’s not a problem.”
“Then what is it?” He was accepting this way too easily. Something wasn’t right. I wanted to kick myself, but I couldn’t keep from asking. “Aren’t you, I don’t know, upset? How do you know I’m telling the truth?”
“Accidents happen, and I’ve certainly got enough money. As for the matter of your honesty, a simple DNA test will clear that up.”
“So what’s the problem?” Whatever it was, if it could have Grant Beal this upset, it couldn’t be a good thing. “And how can you be so cool about all this?”
“I’m not. I was until now, since I hadn’t heard from you. I was sure the condom had done its job. Apparently it didn’t.”
Okay, but that still didn’t explain what had him worried now. “So what is it?”
“That night was a month ago.” He exhaled heavily and pointed to the sky, where the round moon shone down on us. “Any other night, it wouldn’t mean anything. You probably wouldn’t even be pregnant. But because it was a full moon, there’s a good chance the baby could be a werewolf.”