In a Dark Embrace (4 page)

He threw the words out as if daring her to argue with him. The clever bastard was baiting her. He wanted her to declare that she’d last longer than a piddly eight months, wanted her to react against the idea of being just another fuck in a long line of willing women. She sidestepped the trap.

“You’re not used to dealing with women as equals. The novelty will wear off pretty quick. Just don’t do anything stupid when it does.”

His eyes widened. Jeremy threw back his head and laughed. “I’m not sure your novelty will ever wear off. And if I do something stupid I’m sure you’ll let me know.”

Lee frowned in the face of his amusement. She just couldn’t seem to get him to take her seriously. Then again, she liked his self-confidence and sense of humor. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. That, of course, caused her breast to lift and shifted his attention away from her face. He zeroed in on his target and had her nipple in his mouth before she managed to lower her arm.

Jeremy’s stomach grumbled loudly. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her a bit sheepishly. “Werewolves have to eat regularly. How does bacon and eggs sound?”

“Wonderful.”

He got out of bed and opened drawers, pulling out boxers and a t-shirt.

“Can I borrow one?”

His head popped out the top of a white t-shirt. “Three Peaks Triathlon” was printed on the front. “What?”

“A clean t-shirt. Mine’s beyond disgusting.”

“Oh, of course.” He tossed her a shirt. She held it up. This one said “Run for the Cure”.

Jeremy left the bedroom. Lee pulled on his t-shirt. It fell to the middle of her thighs. Her underwear and jeans were a mess too. She’d have to wear the jeans for the ride home but the other two items she decided could be tossed. Leaving the jeans in a crumpled heap on the floor, she wandered into the kitchen wearing only the borrowed shirt.

Lee sat down at the small table and watched him work. The coffeepot was already turned on and he had a piece of bread stuck in his mouth as he dumped a whole package of bacon into the pan.

“You run in a lot of races,” she said to make conversation.

“Yeah. It’s fun.”

“Not really fair to the competition.”

“I hold back. Make sure I cross the line in the top ten but I let the guys who have to work for it get the glory.”

“That’s good of you.”

He shrugged. “I don’t want to be noticed too much.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling.”

He threw her a look of understanding then turned back to the stove. “It’ll be a while. Feel free to take a shower if you want.”

She nodded. A shower was a good idea. After that she could eat and leave. Lee was working on a time limit. Her self-healing earlier gave her about four hours of high-octane fuel. After that she was going to come down hard and would need to sleep like the dead for several hours. By the time they ate there wouldn’t be a lot of leeway. Riding her bike once the exhaustion hit would not be safe. Lee thought about staying at Jeremy’s place but rejected that idea. She didn’t trust him enough to drop into a near coma in front of him.

Lee walked back into the kitchen twenty minutes later, freshly scrubbed and fully dressed. The table was set for two. Jeremy poured her a cup of coffee. She added a generous amount of milk and enjoyed the first sip as it pooled warmth into her belly. The smell of bacon made her realize how ravenous she was. Jeremy put a heaped plate of scrambled eggs and bacon down in front of her. She helped herself to toast off the stack.

“This is wonderful,” she said between mouthfuls. “Thank you very much.”

“Least I can do is feed you.” He chewed through another big bite. She sensed he wanted to say something more but wasn’t sure how to start.

“Do you have tomorrow off?” Lee asked.

“Yeah. I go back to work on Monday.”

“I have to work tomorrow but not until eleven. Why don’t you come into town for dinner tonight? My treat, seeing as you supplied brunch.”

“Sounds good. Where do you live?” His voice was smooth but inside she sensed a little boy jumping for joy.

“Yaletown.”

“Some nice restaurants in the area,” he said casually.

“Yeah. I’ll make a reservation. How about you come by my place at about eight?”

“I can do that.”

Lee lifted her coffee cup and looked at him over the rim. Jeremy was emanating infatuation like a pet dog. Make that a rabid wolf. She had to admit that he was the hottest thing since the invention of fire but that didn’t mean she was going to write home to mother about him. Lee smiled. Mom would be thrilled, maybe not with the werewolf part but she’d forgive him that minor flaw if he could put up with her willful daughter. The “r” word came to mind and she fidgeted in her chair. They’d had great sex—that wasn’t a relationship. She was still making up her mind up about him. Dinner somewhere public would give them a chance to get to know each other without the temptation to skip the talking and jump into each other’s pants.

Jeremy picked up an extra piece of bacon and popped it into his mouth. He licked his fingers and smiled at her. A jolt went through her. Damn, he was sexy. She’d better make her excuses and fly before it got hot and heavy again.

“I’ll write down my address and phone numbers. Then I should get going.”

He frowned. “Already? It’s only two.”

“A girl needs time to pretty herself up.”

“You don’t need prettying up.”

“Okay, so I want to fit in a nap. In case it turns into another late night.”

That prompted a smile. “I can guarantee a late night.”

He took away her empty plate and fetched a pen and paper. Lee wrote down the required information, took a final swig from her coffee cup and stood up, directly into his waiting arms. He held her close and ran a hand over her ass.

“Sure you can’t stay a little longer?” he coaxed.

“A little longer will turn into a lot longer, given half a chance,” she said dryly.

“We could order in pizza for dinner…”

“No. I want to go home, get clean clothes.”

He released her with obvious reluctance. Lee made herself walk into his laundry room and pick up her jacket and helmet from the top of the washing machine where she’d tossed them last night. Jeremy followed her out into the garage.

“Nice bike. You like the Virago?”

“Not a lot of choice for my height,” she answered, pulling on the jacket. “I’m tempted to get a Harley but they cost so freaking much. And then you have to worry about someone stealing it. No. The Virago’s a good bike. Does what I want it to do.”

“Which is go fast?” He grinned at her.

She put on an expression of wide-eyed innocence. “Oh no, Officer. I never speed.”

“The hell you don’t. Bet if I ask my coworkers at least a few of them will remember a hot redhead on a fast bike.”

“There’s a couple who might give you more of a story than you want to hear,” she warned. He grabbed her arm and kissed her with bruising force. She pulled away, irritated more by the flare of jealousy than the demanding kiss.

“Anyone stop you in the future, mention my name,” he said.

“Will that get me out of a ticket…or just warn them off?”

“Both.”

Lee shook her head. “Flirting has always worked for me in the past,” she tossed at him and saw his back stiffen. The engine roared to life and she took off down the driveway without a backward glance. Damn possessive wolf. He’d better get over that or she’d end up hexing him with boils.

Chapter Four

Jeremy watched Lee ride away and cursed himself for being an idiot. He hadn’t handled the goodbyes very well. She roused such strong urges in him. Every minute of their time together he’d been feeling the need to make her completely his. It wasn’t rational. The thinking part of his brain wasn’t even sure if he really wanted this strange, spiky little woman. Well, he wanted to fuck her but that didn’t imply a commitment. However the other side of his nature had already made up its mind. She was the alpha female he’d been waiting for and believed he’d never find. The fact that she was reluctant to step into that role itched on his wolfish impulses. He wanted to force her submission and Lee’s response was to pull away. Damn. He’d done things all wrong at the end there. Playing it cool probably would have been more effective. Still, she had asked to see him again.

For dinner. At a fancy downtown restaurant. He frowned.

Jeremy had the feeling that tonight’s dinner was a test of some sort. A test to see how he managed in public, to see if he could behave himself and fit in with her chic urban crowd. He’d have to leash the wolf in him tightly. The city made him jittery at the best of times. The mingled scents of too many people, the multiethnic stew of foods, the stink of cars and garbage, it all combined to grate on his nerves. When he had to go into the city for work he managed by focusing on the task. Tonight he would be trying to impress a woman who, all by herself, tore at his control.

He went inside and checked his closet. What the hell should he wear for a night out in the big city? Jeremy grabbed his phone and flopped onto the messy bed as he dialed. Eric would know. The two of them had worked together for five years and he was as close to a friend as Jeremy had. Eric was a couple inches taller than him and twice as wide. He was the most imposing-looking guy on the force. They had circled each other warily for the first six months of their association, both used to being the pack leader. Then a house party had turned ugly and the two of them had been targeted by a bunch of juiced-up hockey players. Between them they’d laid flat a half dozen of the idiots and the rest had backed off. Ever since Eric had subtly acknowledged his dominance and they’d gotten along splendidly.

A gruff voice barked a hello.

“Eric, I need your help.”

“What? That you, Jeremy? I must have heard wrong. Sounded like you said you needed help.”

“I did. Got a date tonight and I’ve no idea what the fuck to wear. She’s Yaletown. Think I should dig out a suit?”

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. “Let me get this straight. You, the guy who has fucked so many different women over the past three years that you can’t remember their names, are worried about what to wear on a date with a Yaletown girl?”

“Yeah. She’s got one of those fancy restaurants in mind.”

“What does she look like?”

“What difference does that make?” Jeremy snapped.

“Big difference. Depends what type of Yaletown girl she is. Is she a polished career woman? The artsy kind? Or a tarted-up secretary looking to marry rich?”

Jeremy thought about it for all of two seconds. “None of the above. She’s petite, reddish-brown hair and beautiful without a drop of makeup. Rides a motorcycle and works as a counselor. She’s really…different.”

“Huh. Must be. Where did you meet?”

“In a park.”

“What, just now?”

“No. Last night.”

“During one of your middle-of-the-night strolls? Geez, man, haven’t I told you that you give people the creeps by doing that? You know who hangs out in dark, secluded forests at midnight.”

“Yeah. The big bad wolf. But I met Riding Hood and she didn’t run away. Now answer the fucking question.”

“All right already. Definitely not a suit. She doesn’t sound like the type. My call is those Gap khakis you have and a button-down shirt.”

“Thanks. I owe you.”

“Don’t hang up,” Eric shouted into the receiver and Jeremy grudgingly put the phone back to his ear.

“What is it?”

“You met her in the park last night.”

“Yeah.”

“Then what happened?”

Jeremy was surprised at his reluctance to answer. He’d been pretty loose with information about his sexual adventures over the last little while. The women hadn’t meant anything to him and he figured if Eric wanted to pick up where he left off his friend might as well know the score beforehand. Besides, bragging about a good fuck was just something guys did.

“Jeremy, buddy, come on. Did you bring her home? Was she hot?”

“Yes and yes.”

“Better than Melissa?”

Melissa was one of the women they’d shared, passing her back and forth several times over the past year. She was terrific in the sack, plenty of enthusiasm and damn fine physical attributes but without the critical mass of brain cells required for intelligent conversation.

“There’s no comparison. Melissa doesn’t even rate.”

Eric chuckled. “I look forward to meeting this girl.”

“I’m not introducing you so get your hands out of your pants.”

“Do you have any idea how uptight you sound? I don’t think you were this tense even with Emily. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went.”

Eric hung up and Jeremy was left holding a dead phone to his ear.

Emily had been his last attempt at a real girlfriend. He had wanted to make it work with her. And it had, for eight months. But there had been too many unanswered questions, too much aggression in him and not enough answering fire in her. She’d delivered the “I can’t trust you enough to marry you” line and taken her toothbrush out of his bathroom. He’d tried so hard to act normal and she hadn’t fallen for it. Jeremy admitted to himself that it had been disappointment more than hurt that consumed him when she left. The failure of their relationship confirmed that the usual sort of life with a wife and kids wasn’t going to happen for him.

Why he expected it to was a mystery. His father had never found a woman to stick with. He brought home one woman after another but none lasted above a few weeks. The other werewolves he knew were just as bad. Dustin had a woman he went back to regularly but that was nothing more than easy sex. Garet was married to a sad, submissive little rag. He screwed around on her all the time with no more consideration than he’d give to the furniture. Werewolves made shitty role models, Jeremy thought dryly.

Why hadn’t any of them found a wild witch as a mate? Maybe witches were even more scarce and secretive than werewolves. Certainly he’d never believed they were real before meeting Lee. Even now he wasn’t sure. She clearly thought she could face him down but so far the only powers he’d seen her display were the ability to read his emotions and put feelings into him. That had been the strangest thing. He hadn’t felt that kind of panicked fear since he was a kid. It had startled him but it wouldn’t have stopped him from snapping her neck if he’d wanted to.