Her traitorous body had responded to that, just like it was responding to his very presence now. But getting him to go away would be simple enough. Not simply because seduction wouldn’t be possible, but because no wolf liked to be around menstruating female shifters. Shifter PMS was a bitch—a time filled with excessive fatigue, mood swings, irritability, cramps, bloating, aching breasts, tension, increased appetite, sleeplessness, and hot flashes. “So that’s why you’re snippier than usual,” said Onyx. “It explains what your pretty ass is doing out of bed so early, too—you usually have major trouble getting up in the morning.” It also explained why her breasts were bigger than usual. But he wouldn’t comment on that. He wasn’t stupid. She gasped, indignant. “I get out of bed just fine each morning, thanks. And I’m not snippy.” If he was sensible, he’d walk away. Female wolves with PMS were likely to eat someone’s fa
Wearing a reprimanding expression, Onyx tsked. “Yes, you are, baby,” he insisted softly, tapping the tip of her nose. “You always will be, no matter what. You were made for me, belong to me in a way you could never belong to anyone else.” He soothingly combed his hand through her red corkscrew curls. “I love how soft your hair is. Like silk.” The compliment seemed to disarm her, and he got the feeling that she hadn’t gotten a lot of them in her life. “What will it be: the sofa or the bed?” She sighed, slumping in defeat. “Sofa.” Her eyes widened as he curled her legs around him and carried her to the living area. He placed her gently on the sofa, where she immediately curled up like a fetus, and handed her the TV remote. Instead of leaving the house, he disappeared back into the kitchen. Hearing the banging of the cupboard doors, she realized he was unpacking her groceries. A part of her wanted to yell at him to get out, but then she’d have to do the unpa
The total lack of recrimination was a balm to his wolf’s scarred soul. Onyx wanted nothing more than to take her mouth, but he forced himself to resist. Needing some sort of contact, he leaned his forehead against hers and traced her cheekbone with the tip of his finger. “See, you deserve better. But I’m going nowhere. I know that makes me selfish. I know another male shifter might have walked away. But I can’t do that, Tasha. I tried it once—it didn’t work. Don’t you get it yet? My life’s worth shit without you in it.” She did her best to ignore his words, to not let them worm their way inside her—she really, really did—but they crept into that lonely spot she had, warming it. The possessiveness in his eyes melted her wolf. As he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, Tasha almost shuddered. Having him invade her personal space like this, touching her, should have annoyed her, but it was instead arousing her. Her nipples were hard, and her clit was ti
When she woke, it was to find that it was dark and that Onyx was sitting on the sofa with her feet resting on his lap, watching the TV on a low volume. He must have sensed she had woken, because his eyes moved to hers. “Hey, baby. Feel any better?” She did, actually. The cramps had gone, and the edginess had eased. She nodded. “Good. Just so you know, your juicer is now fixed, the kitchen tap is no longer leaking, and your dinner’s in the oven, waiting.” Did he have to be so nice to her? “I noticed the faulty boiler, too. Your landlord will need to take care of it. I don’t want you having cold showers.” Ha. Her landlord didn’t address any problems. He’d say, “Oh, I’m starting to think I may have to sell the house, I can’t afford to keep repairing it,” which was, of course, an indirect threat—if she didn’t deal with the problems herself, she’d be out of a home very soon. “I’ll call him tomorrow,” she said cas
After three weeks of Onyx doing his best to immerse himself in her life, Tasha was about ready to cry…because it was working. To her dismay, he was utterly consistent in everything he said and did. Each morning, he would be waiting at his car with a coffee and an offer of a ride, which she had given up on refusing. Each day at work, a gift and a text message would arrive that brought a smile to her face and made her want to laugh. Every lunch hour, he came to take her to lunch wherever she wanted to go. At the end of each day, he was there to collect her from work with a meal he’d cooked for her. And every Sunday, he helped her with grocery shopping and offered to do any jobs around the house. Although he touched her often and teased her with the things he’d like to do to her, he never pushed for more, never took advantage of the arousal that was coming close to ruling her body. That same arousal was responsible for the dream
Groaning inwardly, Shaya shot her a sweet smile. “Nothing.”“I have to say, I’m surprised he’s interested in you. I mean, I look at him…and then I look at you…and it just doesn’t make sense.”“Paisley,” cautioned Kent.“I’m not being insulting.” For once, it seemed that Paisley wasn’t being intentionally offensive. She appeared genuinely confused. “He’s clearly a very dominant guy—I’d be surprised if he doesn’t enjoy the D/s lifestyle. Someone like you, Shaya, well…I just can’t see you being able to cope with Nick as he is. You’re like the watered-down version of what he’d want—too testy and defiant, not to mention inexperienced. You…you’d be better with a guy who’s practical, sensible, sensitive, and gentle and all that stuff. Maybe a librarian or someone like that.”“A librarian?”“You know…someone safe and timid.” Paisley shrugged. “Now Nick, well, he’s far from that. I can’t imagine that you have experience with guys like him. And you might be sort of pretty, and you may
When Danna returned to the reception desk to answer the phone, Jean said, “Well, if you’re set on going on this date, you can at least tell me about him.” “His name’s Jackson. He’s a web designer.” “Sounds boring.” “All you’ve heard is his name and occupation.” “Exactly. Already he sounds boring. Now, if he was a tall, ash-blond alpha male with an inner wolf—” “Jean,” she groaned. “Fine. So where are you going on this date?” “We’re going to the Moroccan restaurant near your place.” One of his brows lifted. “Oooh, maybe I’ll pop in then.” “No. You’ll grill him like he’s being interrogated for a murder charge.” “Yes, for your own good. For all you know, he could be a murderer. An ax murderer, even. There could be bodies hidden under his patio.”She growled, “You’re a pain in my ass.” She continued to be a pain in her ass all day—dedicated it to poking fun at a guy she hadn’t
Again Tasha had to resist the urge to fiddle with her new violet-black skirt. It had been one of those love-at-first-sight purchases. She loved how the outer edges, running from her hips to just over mid-thigh, looked to be laced up—as if just a tug would have the whole thing on the floor. She also loved the feel of the black silk underskirt against her skin. Shame it hadn’t had some kind of warning label to alert her to the fact that whenever she sat down it was going to creep up her thighs. She smiled at Jackson as he poured more wine into her glass. The guy had been okay so far. The date, as a whole, had been okay so far too. Therein lay the problem: it was “okay.” There was no sexual tension, though he had given her compliments that indicated he would happily take over for her vibrator. There was no teasing between them or banter. He seemed to be too nervous to joke. She had to give him credit where it was due, however—he was doing a fan