An American Werewolf in Hoboken (5 page)

JC inched back against the cabinet, letting her hand rest on his ear. He lifted his muzzle up and nuzzled it to reassure her, staying close. “Not interested—not ever.”

Jess’s face went soft, his words apologetic and pleading. He ran a finger down her cheek. “I just don’t get you, JC. We had a good thing, and now you want to throw it all away because of one stupid mistake when I was drunk?”

Now he was touching her. That changed everything. He wasn’t just going to eat this guy’s face off—he was going to decapitate him.

JC pushed at Jess’s chest, shrugging him off, the tension in her voice clear to Max’s perceptive ears. “Yeah, we had a good thing going until you decided to do Snookie. Go away, Jess.”

Jess made a sad face, full of fake remorse. “I’ve apologized over and over. What else do you want?”

JC made a face at him. “Fidelity. Crazy, right? Please, just go, Jess!” She turned her back to him, planting her trembling hands on the counter.

Jess obviously wasn’t accustomed to the word “no.”
What to do, what to do?
Snarl and growl some more and maybe take the risk of ending up back in the pound for his “issues”? Or attack and take his chances?

Jess put a hand on JC’s waist, sending Max’s anger into orbit. Again with the touching.

Jesus, motherfucker. Don’t you think you’ll need that hand to pump all that iron at the gym? How will you sculpt your way to perfection with only one hand after I chew it the fuck off?

Yep. Attack was the right choice.

“C’mon, JC,” he pleaded in a husky whisper. “Let’s try to work this out. I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant and we can talk. Just talk.” He slid his arms around her waist from behind and his hand grazed her breast.

Rage grew in the pit of his belly—ugly, red rage. Douchenozzle had touched her breast. That was cause for disembowelment.

Max gave a sharp growl, no longer a warning, but a clear snarling yelp of anger just before backing up and launching himself on Jess’s back, sinking his claws deep into his leather jacket. Standing as tall as Jess, he used his full weight to knock him forward and away from JC.

But Jess reacted quickly by shoving him back hard, knocking him to the ground. “Get the fuck off me, you damn mutt!” he snarled.

It was over faster than it began. With one swift motion, he righted himself, backed up against Jess and, lifting his hind leg, he let go—full stream.

A large yellow puddle formed on the kitchen tile.

JC’s eyes widened as she bit her lip to smother a giggle while Jess hopped around from foot to foot.

“He pissed on me! I’ll fucking kill him!” Jess yanked a dishtowel from the rack and dabbed at his sodden jeans. His perfectly chiseled face wrinkled with disgust.

JC began to laugh, the husky rumble making it all worthwhile. “I
really
think you should go now, Jess. Fluffy doesn’t like you much, do you, Fluff?”

Max answered by brushing up against her thighs protectively.

Jess beat a hasty retreat out of the kitchen, shooting a fierce look over his shoulder at Max. “You’ll miss me, JC!”

Like she’d miss having the clap.

“Well, don’t worry. If I find myself overwrought with loneliness, desperate with despair, super low on self-esteem, I’ll be sure to pick up the phone and call!” JC yelled after him as the door slammed.

Good girl.

Looking down at him, she tugged his ear gently. “You ate my steak, you heathen.”

And saved your pretty, pretty ass.

“But I’ll forgive you, because you did get rid of Jess and he’s not easy to get rid of. So I guess I’m not eating steak for dinner, am I?”

He nuzzled her hand to show his remorse, waiting for forgiveness.

JC chuckled, the warmth of it slipping into his ears. “You beast. Listen here, Knight in Shining Armor, whatever I put in your bowl is
yours
. If it’s on a plate, you can be pretty sure it’s mine, unless the plate is on the floor. That makes it yours. Got it?”

Well, he couldn’t in all good conscience consent to that, now could he? He was a carnivore. Max avoided her eyes and nuzzled her hand again instead.

She smiled down at him, her blue, almond-shaped eyes crinkled at the corners. “You know, that was some pretty impressive stuff there, Fluff. Very chivalrous of you to sense my discomfort and act on it. Now if only you walked on two legs instead of four, we’d make the perfect couple, don’t you think?”

* * *

After watching three solid hours of a
Downton Abbey
DVD while sitting at her feet, Max got tired and trotted down to JC’s bedroom, where he sprawled out on her bed, tucking his paws under her pillows.

The blankets were a rumpled mess after he’d given himself a good back scratch, but he’d fully absorbed her sweet smell of sunshine and cinnamon. He lay there for a while, attuning his senses to her unique scent, looking around the room at the pictures on her dresser of her parents and friends, the dozens of shoes lining her open closet.

He’d spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what she looked like in the skimpy, pink, sheer nightgown hanging on the hook inside her closet door.

“Hey.” JC patted his belly. He fought off his lustful thoughts and slowly opened his eyes with a yawn.

“This,” she tapped the bed with a sleepy smile, “is mine, cookie. That,” she pointed to the mat on the floor, “is yours.”

Max lifted his head to see her more clearly. She had a towel wrapped around her head and one wrapped around her body.

Naked…she was naked beneath the blue towel. Steak and a beautiful naked woman he couldn’t touch just yet, all in one night. It was too much.

The gentle swell of her hip brushed against his legs as she sat next to him. Pouring lotion into her hand, JC smoothed it over her calves, working her way up to thighs he just knew were silky-soft.

He sniffed the air. Cucumber-melon. Nice. Her hands made circular motions, rubbing in the cream higher and higher. Lowering the towel, she let it rest at her waist as she dabbed some lotion on her shoulders. Her breasts thrust upward, her taut nipples beading from the cool air.

“Hey, Fluff,” she said.

He turned his head, averting his guilty eyes. “I told you to get on the floor, handsome.” JC stood and pointed again to his “bed.”

Max slunk off the bed, sliding to the floor and curling his big body on the mat.

Letting the towel fall to the floor, JC grabbed her nightgown from the hook inside the closet and slid it over her creamy skin, the glow of the lamp shading her soft contours.

His groin tightened and he tensed at the familiar call of his body to
shift
. He willed his muscles to relax and obey, focusing on remaining in his wolf form. Because shifting could be bad—not to mention traumatizing.

It was all he could do to keep from showing her he was no stray dog from a shelter. But patience was required here. He didn’t understand much more than JC was his prophesized mate, and he was wildly attracted to her. He felt her inside him. He instantly knew her soul.

He’d never believed the stories before. All the mumbo-jumbo about how you
felt
your life mate, like an invisible tether; you were joined and you just knew.

But he believed them now—because he knew.

Now he just had to find a way to get to know the rest of her without scaring the shit out of her. And dying. There was still the damn threat of death hanging over his head.

It wasn’t going to be easy. He couldn’t just say,
“Hey, JC, glad you adopted me at the pound. Thanks for rescuing me from my first round with death. By the way, did I mention I’m not just any wolf? I’m a werewolf.
Your
werewolf, baby. Wanna mate? Because round two with death is coming up.
”

He especially couldn’t say that to a human.

Something he still didn’t understand.
How
could his life mate be a human? Had some of his pack mated with humans and turned them? He’d always been taught that wasn’t allowed. Ever. This hurdle had to have something to do with the curse.

Turning off the bedside lamp, JC scratched his muzzle before climbing over him and getting into bed. Her hand hung down over the edge of the mattress. He licked her palm, savoring the soft texture of her skin on his tongue.

“Night, Fluffy. Welcome home,” she whispered, her sultry voice slicing through the velvety darkness.

Goodnight.

Chapter Four

Moonlight streamed in from the window, soft white shafts of light illuminating the sleeping form on the bed. Max stood patiently, watching the slow rise and fall of her firm, rounded breasts. The shadow of her nipples, covered in sheer white cotton, scraped the fabric with each breath she took. Beaded and tight, they thrust upward.

JC’s nightgown skimmed the top of one thigh, the creamy expanse of skin leading to the soft folds of her sex. Max’s mouth watered with anticipation as he imagined the velvet slide his tongue would experience in that place between her legs. His nostrils flared at her scent, smelling the musk of her desire mingled with the night air softly blowing through the window.

He lifted a strand of her long hair from the pillow, inhaling the fresh scent of her fruity shampoo. The silky, soft wisp curled around his finger, glistening in the darkness of night. His heart sped as she stirred and whispered his name, low in her throat.

“Max…”

She stretched her arms upward, exposing the outline of her lithe form. His cock swelled and lengthened with yearning. Soft hands tugged him forward so he knelt on the bed beside her. Lifting the sheer material, he tugged at the nightgown until she was naked. Her slender thighs spread in welcome.

He heard his own low moan in his ears when she grazed the patch of hair at the base of his shaft. Her nails scraped the tender skin, gliding over his belly to caress the ridges and planes of his abdomen.

Max sucked in a breath when she firmly grasped him in her palm. He thrust forward in that soft tunnel as his head fell back on his shoulders and he circled her wrist to guide her. His hips rotated slowly, letting JC caress him to pulsing madness.

Gritting his teeth, he stilled her hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing her palm. His tongue began a heated path along her arm. Slowly, he found his way to her shoulder in long strokes of tongue and lips. He hovered closer to her breasts, dragging his tongue between the two creamy swells. JC raised her arms to cradle his head, clutching at his hair and tugging him closer to her nipple.

Max captured the tight peak between his lips and her hips arched off the bed as she moaned softly. He allowed the pebbled surface to linger on his tongue before he suckled. Her fists tightened in his hair when his fingers drifted toward the apex of her thighs. His hands massaged the supple skin of her leg, feeling her muscles tense as he slowly ran his fingertips over the swollen lips of her sex.

With forefinger and thumb, he spread the soft flesh, making her gasp.

He smiled against her breast, loving her sharp intake of breath when he grazed the swell of her clit. She pulled him from her breast to her lips. Gazing down at her, he watched the tip of her pink tongue lick at his mouth.

The soft sweep of her lashes fluttered when she felt his cock flex in response. Grasping his face, she swept her soft mouth over his lower lip. His muscles tightened and his heart hammered in his ears as she explored him.

Max couldn’t hold back any longer, he devoured her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers, sliding it in and out of the searing recess. Pressing her to the bed, he ground his throbbing cock into her thigh as his fingers continued to caress her creamy folds. He let one drift to her wet passage, inserting a finger in slow increments.

Her hands dug into his back as she kissed him feverishly, spreading her thighs wider. He tore himself from her mouth, and strung a trail of kisses along her ribs, over her hips and across the flat plane of her belly. Max stretched out beside her, positioning his lips at her cleft, letting his thighs rest against her head.

JC rolled toward him, lifting her leg and pressing her soft body to his. He felt the outline of her ribs against his abdomen. His cock was inches from her mouth as she clamped his head between her silken thighs. Her fingers circled his rock-hard shaft, then the moist warmth of her mouth as she enveloped him.

His body shook while she held him between her lips, running small circles over the sensitive flesh. He lay with his head pressed between her thighs, inhaling her musky scent, before nudging her gently to her back.

His knees bracketed her head, his cock deep in her mouth as JC drove him to madness. Leaning forward, he slid his tongue between the lips of her swollen sex, fighting to maintain control when her hips bucked and she hissed against his cock.

Max pressed his tongue flat against the inner folds, dragging it over the soaking-wet flesh. Burying his face in her sweetness, he laved her clit, swirling his tongue as he slid his hands under her ass and kneaded.

Cupping his balls, she fondled the tight sac, pressing herself against his tongue. His hips jerked toward the warmth of her mouth, and he rhythmically circled her clit as he dipped his cock in and out between her lips. She wrapped her arms around his torso, dragging him to her so they lay tightly pressed together.

Skin against skin, he reveled in every inch of her lush form flush against his rougher one. Her beaded nipples scraped against his stomach, her groin crashed against his face. His cock throbbed against her tongue, aching for release. Her nails sunk into the flesh of his ass, sending a stingingly sweet wave of yearning through him.

Tongues suckled and licked, the wet suction pounding in his ears as he devoured her. JC tensed beneath him when his teeth grazed her clit. Her mouth slackened around his cock as she rocked against his tongue, clinging to him and crying out as she came. Max smoothed his hands over her thighs, gentling the small remaining shudders.

His cock burned now with the need to imbed itself in her tight warmth. Shifting position, he turned her onto her stomach, leaning back on his haunches to admire the curve of her ass.