This was bad. Oh so bad.
In his defense, when Megan had told Gavin she wanted to go he’d tried to say no. Several times as a matter of fact. Then she leaned in close, placed a hand high up on his thigh, and whispered, practically against his lips, “I’m going, and you can’t stop me. So either we go together, or I go alone.”Bested. By a woman. Which was how he found himself in a den of iniquity, with his future mate, regretting his decision. Especially when he noted the interested leers of the men patronizing the place.His lip curled in menace, and he couldn’t help a low growl, which Megan, thankfully, didn’t hear. But it did force him to put a lock on his more primitive side.This wasn’t the time or place to get jealous. He knew on a rational level that he needn’t fear competition from the men in this place, but his possessive side, which until now he never suspected existed, really didn’t like the male attention directed her way.With a boldness he would not have suspected her capable of, Megan strode to the bar, head held high, as if she were in charge.Behind the granite-topped surface, a woman with a wild mane of red curls, a freckled nose, and a top a few sizes too small dried a glass with a towel.“What can I get you?”“We are looking to speak to the owner or manager please.”“About?”“It’s a private matter.”Primly said. Gavin almost laughed. He positioned himself behind Megan, close enough to feel her shiver at his proximity. Nice to know his presence affected her. “Hey, Lulu. Short staffed today?”“Bloody idiot who bartends this shift got himself thrown into jail for a DUI, which means I’m stuck until a replacement comes in. Who’s the broad?” asked Lulu with a head dip in Megan’s direction.“My client. We’re here looking for information on a certain Pierre Jonquin. Does the name ring a bell?”“Wait a second. Isn’t she the one accused of killing him? I heard it was an open-shut case. Overwhelming evidence and all.”Megan stiffened. “I’m being framed.”“Sure you are, doll.” Lulu didn’t roll her eyes, but her tone said it all.“Certain inconsistencies have led me to believe there is more to this case than meets the eye, like the certain matter of money owing.”“Not to me, he didn’t.”“So you’re familiar with him?”“Sure. Pierre was a regular. Every day at lunch, right when Mitzy’s set started.”“He was cheating on his wife?”Lulu fixed Megan with a hard stare. “Eyeballing some scantily clad dancers isn’t cheating.”“But his wife—”“Is a psycho who used to work here once upon a time. Betcha didn’t know that. Vivi, or Vivienne as she now likes to call herself, was a popular act until she got hitched to Pierre last year.”“So they met here then? Perhaps I was hasty in dismissing her as a possible suspect. Given how they met, I can see how she might have let jealousy consume her if she discovered his noontime activities,” Gavin mused aloud.“Discovered?” Lulu snorted. “She usually joined him. And it wasn’t for the floor show. The pair of them like playing the odds.”“And losing?”“Actually no. They did surprisingly well. Too well. Bruno was thinking about cutting them off. Their wins were cutting into his profit margins.”Gavin couldn’t help but frown. “If that’s the case, then what about the rumors saying he owed large sums?”Lulu shrugged. “Hell if I know how those started. But if he did, it wasn’t here. You know the big man doesn’t allow bets that aren’t covered.”Indeed, Fabian might enable illegal gambling, but he also had a policy that demanded money up front.“I don’t suppose you know anything else?”“Nope. But hey, we just lost a girl last week. Darned chit ran off with her boyfriend. Given your client is now unemployed, she should think about a change in career. We’ve got guys who’d pay her big bucks to take those clothes off.”Gavin’s fist struck the counter before he could stop it, and he growled, “Megan won’t be working here. I forbid it.”Leaving Lulu staring at him in openmouthed shock, probably because he had referred some ladies looking for cash her way before, he grabbed Megan by the elbow and steered her out of there before his simmering anger got the better of him.He didn’t make it completely out.“Hey, buddy, how much for your—”The man never finished his sentence, probably because Gavin punched him.As Gavin and Megan exited the bar to see twilight had descended, she pulled from his grasp and whirled on him.“What the heck was that?”“What? Me hitting the guy? He implied you were for sale. A man never lets scum insult a lady.”“I wasn’t talking about that. The hitting was totally deserved. I meant the whole I-forbid-it thing. I’m not saying I’d take up stripping for money, but what gives you the right to decide what I am allowed to do? I don’t belong to you.”That was where she was wrong.She. Was. His.And it was time she started to realize that fact.He dragged her toward him, arms wrapped around her so she couldn’t escape, not that she fought him. But in case she tried to flee, he trapped her against his chest. He caught her protest before it could leave her lips, his mouth slanting across hers, claiming them in a torrid kiss.A very hot kiss.A kiss she returned.In that moment, Gavin didn’t care they were on the sidewalk in plain view. He didn’t care about ethics or rules. He also didn’t give a damn that he was announcing his affection for the world to see.I want her.Simple. Undeniable. So right.Which was why he could have ripped the tongue out of the guy who let out a wolf whistle from a passing car along with a shouted, “Twenty bucks if you get her to blow you in public!”Megan froze, her pliant lips stiffening along with the rest of her as she resisted his embrace. He didn’t force the issue, letting her escape the confines of his arms.She glared at him. “I thought I said no touching.”“And here I thought you’d changed your mind, given your tongue in my mouth.”To his delight, pink suffused her cheeks. Embarrassment, though, didn’t prevent her from retorting, “Only because I was attempting to push it out.”“Such a liar,” he chided her, his tone low and teasing. “A good thing for you I’m a man who can hear the truth beneath the lie. Are you ready to go back to your place now, or shall we indulge in more oral argument?” He couldn’t resist the inflection, not when he knew it would drive her nuts.Eyes flashing, she shot him an eloquently raised finger and stalked to his car. Enclosed within its confines, he wouldn’t allow her to simmer in anger.“Come now, it wasn’t that bad.”“No. It wasn’t. It was a great kiss. The best I’ve ever had,” she admitted, completely taking him by surprise.“Why do I sense a but?”“Because there is one. Let’s say we get involved. You’re my lawyer. Now tell me what happens if, before the trial or during, you suddenly decide we’re no good together. Or I find out you suck in bed.”“I don’t.”“Even if you don’t, let’s say you’re a god in bed. An utter erotic genius. What if you hate kittens?”“Love the little furballs.” Especially when he got a feisty one he could chase up a tree.“Don’t like garlic.”“Is there such a thing?”“Discover I snore and you can’t sleep with me. Or maybe I’ll suck in bed.”“I highly doubt that.”Again she blushed.“You’re deliberately missing the point. What if we do take things to the next level, and it doesn’t work out? Where does that leave me?”Did there exist a delicate way of telling a woman she need not fear he’d ever leave her because his werewolf heritage had deemed she would mate with him for life and that they’d live happily ever after? Or so he assumed. He’d never exactly ascertained that point.He stuck to a partial truth. “No matter what happens between us, I would never allow it to affect my duty to you and this case.”“I wish I could believe that. Really I do, because I am insanely attracted to you.”Yes!“However,” she continued, “I’m afraid attraction can’t come before my future and well-being. So please respect my wishes and keep your distance.”“For now.”While he could understand her concern, he couldn’t stop himself, though. The more time he spent with her, the more he unraveled about her personality and discovered the spitfire she hid within, the more he craved her. Wanted her. Would have her.And he wasn’t going to let weeks or months of tedious investigation while he cleared her name stop him.So I’d better solve this case quick.Once again, Gavin insisted on accompanying Megan to her apartment door. Talk about dancing with temptation.Bad enough dealing with him in the closeness of his car, especially after that devastating kiss, then having the scent of his cologne enveloping her as other building tenants forced him to invade her space. But she doubted her willpower if he entered her apartment, a place that would offer privacy and a bed. A bed that hadn’t seen any exercise since her move here.I need him to go. Quickly. Exiting the elevator, she took brisk steps to her apartment, only to slow as she approached the door to her place, a door not quite closed.Key in hand, she hesitated.“Move away from the door,” he ordered, but she didn’t jump to obey.“Maybe I didn’t close it properly when we left earlier,” she muttered, reaching out with trembling fingers to push at the portal. It swung open.Before she could truly comprehend what she glimpsed, Gavin had inserted himself between her and the open doorway, blo
Megan fumed all the way to the hotel.I can’t believe they invaded my space like that.Did they really think the loss of some stuff would make her plead guilty?Like hell.But she did find it worrisome that someone would go to such destructive lengths to try to pin a murder on her. Who hated her enough to want her in jail? Or was it she was just that the most convenient scapegoat?Of other concern was the ardent interest of her lawyer. When he’d issued his invitation to have her stay with him, her first impulse was to say yes, especially since she got the feeling he didn’t mean in the guest room. Then sanity kicked in, and she found herself refusing.Getting involved with the man who was supposed to convince a jury and judge of her innocence wasn’t in her best interest. Neither was accepting any favors from him. But what choice did she have?She couldn’t very well pull money out of a secret offshore bank account so she could hire some other swanky lawyer. Poor little secretaries didn’t
How the fuck did a cat get in the room? was Gavin’s first thought when the caterwauling started. It took only another second to realize he was getting a call. His phone sang the old Purina cat commercial song, which involved a lot of meows, which drove his inner wolf mental.Bloody Broderick. The irritating feline had gotten his hands on Gavin’s cell somehow and put it as his ringtone. Gavin had yet to figure out how to change it.I’ve really got to try that brownie recipe I found on the Internet but replace the marijuana with catnip. The resulting blackmail video might atone for some of his pal’s pranks.Sliding out of bed, leaving the warm and cuddly body of his mate—after last night she’s mine, even if she doesn’t know it yet—he padded naked, but for the phone in his hand, to the bathroom and shut the door.“What do you want?” he answered, forgoing a hello.A tad grumpy? Damned right. He’d harbored other plans for waking up that didn’t involve speaking to his friend while a naked de
The meowing ringtone woke Megan, but comfortable in the bed, she didn’t bother to stir—although she did crack an eyelid to admire the flexing, tight buttocks of her lawyer/lover.My lover.Not quite the stupidest thing she’d done lately but, given her situation, not the brightest either.At least her lapse in judgment resulted in a phenomenal night of sex. Apparently, Gavin’s skills weren’t just in the courtroom. The man knew how to play her body, leaving it pleasantly sore and, more surprising, hungry for more.Indeed, just thinking about the pleasures of the previous eve had arousal stirring and her skin tingling. How rare to find a man who attracted her and on more than one level. Not only did his body attract; his mind wasn’t too bad either.Another unexpected aspect about Gavin was her ability to sleep with him. Sleepovers weren’t her forte. Something about the vulnerability of sleep made her restless and unable to enjoy but the lightest of slumber, a habit she’d not managed to dr
ElainaFinally, we arrive at the parking lot, Anna is waiting as patiently as ever. It’s still early, and we’re the only people there, thank goodness. We step into the back, look at each other, our bodies trembling with an identical need.“Not here. Let’s go home,” he says.I grin, knowing what he means. This is home. But so is the crumbling old parking lot with the river running alongside it. He rummages in a cupboard, finds a T-shirt and shorts and pulls them on, while I slip into my T-shirt, my panties, reach for my jeans.But he stops me. “That’s enough,” he growls.He wants me to sit in the passenger seat in just my panties? Okay then.“What about your bike?” I ask as we take our seats. “Don’t you want to ride it back?”“I’ll pick it up later.” He gives me another burning look. “There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight right now.”A shiver of delight goes through me.I’m his. I’m really his, I keep telling myself.THE RAIN HAS CLEARED NOW and the morning sunshine is brillia
Emerging from the bathroom, Gavin expected to encounter a few things. An intruder with nefarious intentions. Maybe some screaming from Megan, because a normal woman would be frightened by not only someone kicking their door down and shooting but also the appearance of a living and, yes, viciously snarling Lycan.What he didn’t expect was to find his mate expertly taking down a hired thug.Naked.Straddling a stranger’s chest, her forearm across the man’s throat, her boobs hanging practically in the guy’s face, Megan had things under control—but the guy under her had a much too intimate view.That more than anything set Gavin off.His woman was touching another man while not wearing a stitch of clothing. The fact that she did so to protect herself—with a skill Gavin would question later—didn’t matter.Red, roaring jealousy infused him, followed by icy rage as the gunman, during her shocked moment of inattention, flung her away, causing her harm.He hurt my woman!Unacceptable. A civili
Such a nice bedroom, decorated in light blues and grays. Very tastefully appointed. What a shame it was about to get messy.From the comfortable club chair she sat in, Megan aimed the gun she’d taken off the guard she’d assaulted in the garden at Fabian’s forehead.It was highly doubtful she’d taken him by surprise. The man was a renowned mob lord for a reason, but his cocky self-assuredness meant he took his time acknowledging her presence.She couldn’t help a grudging admiration. It took a set of megaballs to act as if he didn’t fear her and to ignore the gun she held pointed at him with unwavering hands. He knew for a fact that she never missed.“Megan. Darling. To what do I owe this lovely crack-of-dawn visit?”“I was in the area and thought I’d pop in.”“Did you make my guards look incompetent again?”“Just the one guy. He’s out cold in the garden. The others don’t even know I’m here.”Fabian blew out a breath of disgust. “Bloody hell. I’d really like to know your tricks.”“And g
While Gavin hated leaving Megan after having declared her his mate, given her somewhat temperamental reaction he thought a cooling-off period might work in his favor. And possibly keep him alive longer.Sure, he’d not exactly sprung the news of their wolfish nuptials on her in a romantic way.However, the whole situation since he’d met her had proven less than normal or ideal.He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that the woman he’d tied himself to for life was a proclaimed assassin and spy for his nemesis.What would this mean for their future? Would she insist on pursing her career? If she does, at least she’ll have a damned good lawyer to keep her sweet ass out of jail.Speaking of law, how did he feel about the fact that his mate was a woman on the wrong side of it?The answer took less than a second to arrive. It didn’t really bother him. Gavin was used to defending criminals. Innocent or not, he’d not previously cared. It was up to him to give them their chance in cou