STORY EXCERPT

Samantha Winters felt eyes on her, and the hair on her nape stood on end. Where is that coming from? She didn’t dare glance around the small-town diner, afraid that she would turn on her stool and come face-to-face with Gerard.

He can’t have followed me. The last place she thought she’d seen him was at the New Mexico border. Filling her rusted-out bomb with gas that she could barely afford, she’d thought she saw the shifty bastard on the other side of the pumps. Even as she told herself she was just being paranoid, she’d ripped out of that station so fast she was surprised she hadn’t melted the asphalt behind her. Not until arriving at the outskirts of Aztec did she let her foot up off the gas.

Now she wasn’t so sure she’d just been succumbing to paranoia. The sensation at the back of her neck wasn’t going away.

She finished her coffee and left money on the counter for the bill. She hesitated for a moment as she sifted through her last remaining dollars, but in the end she left the tip the waitress deserved. Having waited tables herself, she knew how much tips mattered, and at this point it didn’t matter how much Samantha tried to hoard her pennies. She was going to be out of cash soon.

As she left the diner, her eyes took note of the shops lining the main street of Aztec, but she was also aware of the people around her as they went about their business. She still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She had thought she was safe here, so far away from her hometown of Sebring, Florida.

She decided to step into a store. If anyone was following her, maybe she could give them the slip. Glancing up, she saw a doorway and, beyond it, racks of clothes. She darted inside without a second thought.

The sales clerk gave her a slightly cool welcome accompanied by a dubious once-over. Samantha wasn’t wearing anything half as fancy as these clothes, but she gave the clerk a smile and went to the rack near the front windows. While her hands sifted through the clothes on the rack, her eyes watched the pavement through the window. Beyond the well-dressed mannequin, pedestrians passed in both directions, but she saw no one suspicious.

Being on the road for so long was getting to her. Between her weariness and the financial strain of being on the run, she wondered if maybe she ought to hang out in Aztec for a little while. All she really needed was to find a job.

Samantha warmed to the idea. Maybe she could even work here. Her gaze went to the jacket she’d been pretending to examine. I can see myself wearing something like this.

Then she flipped over the price tag. She let go of the jacket like it had burned her.

Hazarding a glance over her shoulder, she found the sales clerk watching her through narrowed eyes. Samantha felt her cheeks burn. Squeaking a thank-you to the clerk, she went back outside.

The prickling on her neck had relented inside the store, but now it was back. Feeling more unnerved than ever, she stood on the sidewalk and tried to figure out who was giving her that feeling. Kids walking home from school? No. Mailman? Nope.

Samantha looked directly to her right and froze.

Gorgeous guy standing by a tree?

About twenty feet down the sidewalk, a very tall man wearing a black T-shirt was fiddling with his cell. At least, he was now. Samantha was almost certain that a moment before she’d set her eyes on him, he’d been watching her.

She put her back to him and made for her motel. Hurrying down the street to the room she had booked a couple of hours ago, she knew she wouldn’t feel safe again until she was behind a closed, locked door. But the feeling she was getting now wasn’t exactly fear. She wanted to look over her shoulder and see the tall guy again. The idea that he might be following her should have been scary, but she found it strangely comforting.

Girl, you’re losing your mind. The last thing she needed right now was anyone following her, tall and good looking or not.

Back in her room, she crept to the curtain-covered window and peered out into the parking lot of the motel but couldn’t see anything.

Sighing, she moved over to the bed and sat down. That moment of feeling watched and protected had fled. Now she just felt watched and scared again.

God, what am I going to do now? I have only a few dollars left and am down to the last quarter tank of gas.

Sam spied the local paper on the coffee table in the room and picked it up. She flicked the pages open until she found the employment section and started to peruse the classifieds. There wasn’t much in the paper she was capable of doing, since she only had supermarket, waitressing, and bartending experience, but she was determined to find something before the day was out. She had to, otherwise she would have to take to living in her car and going hungry. A giggle of hysteria rose in her chest and burst out from between her lips. Sliding sideways on the small sofa she was seated on, she curled into a ball and clutched her knees to her chest until the laughter gave way to great wracking sobs. Her life was a mess, she was a mess, and she had no one to turn to for help.

ADULT EXCERPT

Picking up his pace, he followed her to the bathroom door and dropped her bags to the floor. There she was, standing uncertainly, her face flushed and clean from her bath, wrapped in his robe. Inhaling, he growled when her scent mixed with his assailed his olfactory senses. As if in a dream he reached out and snagged her around the waist and drew her up against his body. Her waist was so tiny he thought he may be able to wrap her with his arm.

She tilted her neck, and he could tell by the angle she would end up hurting her muscles, so he pulled his arm free and grasped her hips in both his hands. He cursed the fact that he could feel her hip bones jutting into his flesh even through the bulk of his robe. He lifted her until she was on eye level with him and dropped his gaze to her lush lips, hankering for a taste. Placing her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, she licked those cupid bows and glanced up again.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

Knowing damn well she knew what he wanted, he didn’t answer. Instead he slowly lowered his head until their lips were a scant inch apart. When she didn’t protest but lowered her eyes to his lips, he groaned and moved forward until their lips met.

Not moving for a brief moment, Chet savored the first contact of her mouth to his, then, growling, he brushed his flesh over hers in soft, slow passes so she could become acquainted with his touch. Again, when she didn’t protest or pull away, he deepened the kiss.

He opened his mouth and licked her lips with his tongue. Her soft moan made his balls ache and his cock throb. Pushing his way into her mouth, he tasted every inch of her sweetness. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, which only made it harder for him to control his wolf and his raging desire. Her warm, wet pussy was now against his crotch with only the material of his jeans as a barricade, and the heat of her seared his cock. She whimpered into his mouth as he moved his hand from her ribs down under the robe to her ass. Kneading her fleshy globes, he thrust his cock against her wet, fragrant pussy as their mouths stayed connected and their tongues fought for supremacy.

The sweet aroma of her desire called to him and his wolf. He had never smelled anything so delectable in his life. Wrapping his tongue around hers, he drew it into his mouth and suckled on her like he imagined her doing to his cock, making his wolf howl. Moving a couple of steps, he planted her back against the wall in the hall and pinned her with his body. Easing an arm beneath her ass, he slowly untied the robe, spreading the material aside so he had access to her naked flesh. Growling into her mouth when she withdrew her tongue and finally her mouth from his, he rested his forehead against hers and opened his eyes and nearly came in his pants.

Her irises were nearly hidden by her largely dilated pupils and were glazed over with lust. Following the pink in her cheeks he looked down her neck and chest. She was absolutely exquisite. He knew she would be, but his imagination hadn’t done her justice. Hard brown-and-rosy nipples stood out on her breasts, which were creamy white, the delicate blue veins visible under her skin, and her mounds were a delectable handful.

Chet moved his hand up and cupped her warm, soft flesh, groaning with delighted arousal as her turgid peak stabbed into the palm of his hand. His mouth salivating for a taste, he kneaded her breast and slowly lowered his head. Her citrusy scent wrapped around him, and he opened his mouth, sucking the hard tip in between his lips, and he knew in that moment that one taste of his mate would never be enough.

He let her flesh go, moving his hand away, but kept suckling on her sensitive nub and smoothed his hand down over her belly. She bucked her hips into his and mewled when he thrust his forward. His jeans were becoming damp from the juices leaking out of her cunt, and he needed to feel her slick heat against his fingers. Moving his palm down over her stomach, he caressed his way around her thigh, touching her soft, wet labia with the tips of his fingers. She was so hot and wet and her scent was calling so strongly to his wolf, he could barely restrain his animal from taking over and claiming her right then and there.

Knowing he had to get control, he threw his head back, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. His wolf was on the precipice of taking over. He felt claws erupt on the hand under her ass and quickly withdrew his fingers from against her wet pussy. He looked down. Seeing her eyes widen with shock, he knew his eyes had changed to gold. Releasing her, he let her slide down his body, and when she was steady on her feet, he stepped back and turned away as she clutched the gaping robe.

“What the hell are you?” she whispered through ragged pants for air.

“Sam,” he growled. “Go to your room, darlin’, and lock the door.”