Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (22 page)

Human Harper wanted to find Donald Crisp, to make sure he was safe. Werewolf Harper wanted the same thing but had much darker methods for achieving her goals.

I reached under the bed and pulled out the top cardboard box. On the side I'd written BOOKS in big black letters.

I didn't know if I was going to leave town but I was sure of one thing: I wasn't going anywhere until I'd had it out with Edward Toulouse.

Whatever that meant.

*

T
wo hours later and I was sitting in Boris with my phone tapping buttons and reading mindless websites as though somehow I could summon Edward Toulouse like a genie from a bottle.

I was parked in the same street as the first time I'd met him but thus far I hadn't seen him or even a single police car.

It wasn't the greatest plan in the world but short of strolling into the local police department I didn't really know what else to do. I'd already checked the phone directory but there wasn't a single Toulouse listed. Werewolves liked their privacy, clearly.

I was still pondering All Things Red and why I hadn't walked up the hill instead of driving into town. It was the mootest of moot points right now - we still hadn't done the very simple and obvious thing where we exchange phone numbers and I couldn't call him now even if I wanted to.

"You're avoiding him because you get all hot and bothered and lose your mind," I murmured to myself.

It was true. Although my anger at Edward was still simmering away in the background, I found myself thinking about Red more and more. His eyes glinting gold. His smile. His strong hands. His body and his scent. His cock in my mouth. More than once I'd caught myself in a daydream about me and him and a dark bedroom.

I saw Red at the ball, wearing his suit with a cowboy hat and holding a glass of white wine. I saw Red underneath me, his eyes blazing gold, feeling his hands on my hips.

Snap out of it Harper.

I glanced at myself in the rear-view mirror and saw my eyes were turning gold. I moved in my seat and felt the heat between my legs. I was getting wet just thinking about Red and the sensations from down below were a feedback loop. Stop thinking about Red, feel a jolt of pleasure as I moved, go off into a daydream, get even more worked up, come out of it, tell myself off, rinse and repeat.

Home. The cabin. That's where I needed to be. Not here sitting in the street hoping to see Edward Toulouse. Drive home and then walk up the hill. Or turn into a wolf and howl so Red came down to me. Or stand naked at his window and see what happens...

I slipped the key into the ignition, ready to abandon my plans and move on to much more exciting ones when I saw Edward Toulouse. He was on the far side of the street in uniform and cliché of all cop clichés was eating a sugary donut.

hesmashedyourthingsandkidnappedcrispandtriedtoframeredandbitehimbitehimbite

I leapt out of Boris and slammed the door shut behind me before rushing across the street. I passed an alleyway between buildings before Edward looked up from licking sugar off his fingers and his eyes widened. He glanced behind him as though he was expecting Red to be following him.

As I got closer I could smell his scent and it made my blood boil. I could also smell the donut. Jam and sugar and fat. A summer carnival and happy families and kisses behind the rollercoaster. The sudden image pushed me off my course and I stopped in place. I was going to grab him, attack him, tear him apart but now...

Now I had a new plan.

"Hey Edward," I said and gave him my best sultry look.

He looked at me, his eyes glancing down to linger on my cleavage and then back up to my face. He pulled a wet finger out of his mouth, now clean of sugar.

"New Finch," he said, and sniffed.

"I think we should talk."

I put a twist on talk that suggest talk was not talking.

Edward dropped the hand holding the donut to his side and then sniffed again in my direction. My plan had come out of nowhere in an instant but it was, thus far, a clever one. I'd been sitting in Boris daydreaming about Red... and now Edward could smell my arousal.

"I'm on duty. We're very busy trying to find a missing citizen."

I ignored this and undid a button on my shirt. I saw his eyes follow my fingers every movement. I took a step backwards, towards the alleyway I'd passed.

"Did you read about my Great-Aunt and Big Blue in an alleyway?" I asked, taking another step backwards.

I knew my eyes were glowing gold now, initially from my thoughts about Red and now from some mixture of anxiety and anger. Edward had a gun on his hip and it was broad daylight. The alleyway was dark and went around the back of the building but there was still a risk of being discovered. Or of Edward just shooting me. I suspected somehow that he wouldn't do that because then Red would come looking for him.

Edward took a step forward, slowly following me.

"I didn't get to read that. I was interrupted."

I reached the mouth of the alleyway and stepped into it.

"When she was young, she fucked a werewolf from another pack up against the back of a building."

I took another step back into the alleyway and saw Edward's eyes flash golden. He licked his lips and then sniffed again.

"So I follow you in here and Red's waiting for me?"

"You know Red's not here."

Edward dropped the remains of his donut on the ground and stepped into the alleyway. He sniffed again, breathing in deeply.

This was no garbage strewn alleyway. It was reasonably clean and all I could smell was dirt and the cold cobblestones. Apparently satisfied, Edward took another step towards me.

I continued to step backwards, moving into the alleyway and the sounds of the street diminished. Cars still drove by and I could hear people walking around but the further we moved back, the quieter it became. Now I could hear my own heartbeat, thudding along. I could hear Edward breathing and the sound of his black polished shoes on the cobblestones.

I undid another button and stepped around the final corner. I glanced back and saw it was a dead end. The rear of another building extended across, blocking the area off. There was only a tiny window covered in mesh. No way of escaping through there.

My heartbeat sped up and I felt a moment of terror. Edward was a werewolf and although he wasn't as strong or fast as Red, he might be stronger than me. He had handcuffs somewhere on him and this could go bad very quickly.

Edward followed me around the corner, his hand resting lightly on the butt of his gun. As soon as he saw the dead-end was empty he smiled and stopped in place, putting his hands on his hips.

"Come closer."

My voice was barely above a whisper. It wasn't intentional - I was terrified and had about a billion gallons of adrenaline pumping through me.

"Women," Edward said and moved towards me. The word sounded dirty in his mouth. He had bought into the fantasy. I was some crazed sex slut and he was a cop who I wanted to fuck. I was cheating on my man with him. Women.

I reached for him before he could reach for me and his scent intensified as he stepped close to me.

Then I felt the handcuff close on my wrist.

"You like it rough, don't you?"

I looked down to see he'd somehow locked the other end around his own wrist without me noticing. He'd trapped me.

Or so he thought.

"As rough as you want baby."

I moved closer, our lips almost touching and reached down to grab his cock. What there was of him was hard but it wasn't saying much. Not compared to Red. It was like touching a few short chopsticks tied together. I saw his eyes glow golden and then he closed them.

I dropped down, twisted and then slammed my fist into his balls.

Edward tried to scream but he had no air. He crumpled, folding practically in half so quickly that he hit me in the cheek with his forehead before pulling us both down to the ground. I tripped over on top of him but managed to get my balance a moment later. He had his gun holster unclipped and I reached in and pulled the gun out. I threw it away. It clattered to the ground against the far wall of the alleyway. Yes, I could have hit him with it but I didn't know much about guns. Certainly not enough to know if the safety was on or if it would accidentally go off.

Edward was making keening noises and still having trouble breathing. I reached into his pockets but I couldn't find a handcuff key. If the idiot had cuffed both of us without having a key on hand this was going to get really awkward. I gave up the search five seconds later. It was a problem to be solved after I'd gotten information out of him.

I dragged Edward across the alleyway to the wall and gave him another solid punch, this time to the solar plexus. He was holding his balls and living in a world of pain but I didn't want to trust he'd stay that way.

"Where is Donald Crisp, Edward?"

He continued to try to gulp in air, his face bright red.

I hit him again, this time in the face. I felt my fist hit him, my knuckles against his face and for an instant I wanted to keep going, to pound him until there was nothing but a mess of blood where his head used to be.

I took a breath and moved back as far as I could. I wasn't a murderer. I needed information, not blood. Even if he did destroy my laptop and possibly my lifetime of work.

The anger rushed back and I kicked Edward, just once. It wasn't a good kick, seeing as we were cuffed together but it was satisfying.

"Where is Crisp?"

I pulled on the handcuff and Edward groaned as his hand came away from his balls.

"I don't know."

His voice was strained. Kinda like it gets when an angry curvy girl hits you in the balls.

"I don't believe you Edward."

Kill him. Just do it. Just change into a wolf, rip his throat out and escape. Do it. Do it. Do it.

I felt the change, as close as a breath on the back of my neck. As easy as tensing a muscle. I could smell Edward's fear and it was intoxicating. I could see the blood beating in his neck and I wanted to sink my jaws into it. I felt all the rage and fury that had been building up ready to break and end him.

Change. Just change. Just-

I was on the edge, ready to topple over into violent madness when a large gray wolf came skidding around the corner, teeth bared and growling. I saw a flash of golden eyes before I heard a crunch and then Edward's hand was gone, bitten clean through at the wrist. I fell backwards, the handcuffs suddenly free. The wolf shook its head and then opened its jaws, the hand falling to the ground.

Edward screamed and gripped his wrist that was spurting dark blood. An instant later the wolf transformed.

Eadie Crisp.

Naked and wrinkled with blood on her face.

She knelt down and pulled Edward's belt from his pants before looping it around his upper arm. She pulled it tight and the spurting blood slowed.

"Where is Donald?"

It was more a threat than a question. Edward didn't answer. He just kept whimpering.

"If I pull this tourniquet off then you'll die in minutes. If you tell me where Donald is then maybe you live. Where is Donald?"

She put her hand on the belt and growled. I felt it in my bones.

"Finch mansion."

"Where in the Finch mansion? Lots of rooms there Edward."

"I don't know. I don't know, I swear."

"Do you think you'll miss your cock when it's gone?"

He groaned, turned white and passed out. Without a word, Eadie shifted and ran away, around the corner. She hadn't even looked at me. I was still on my back on the cobblestones.

I scrambled up and looked down at Edward. He was white as a sheet and unconscious. There was a pool of blood under him and his hand sat a few feet away.

This was bad. Now that death was so close I didn't want it. The crazed bloodthirsty Harper was gone. I didn't get a chance to panic though. A truck drove into the alleyway and a moment later Red was there, closely followed by Fen and Jake.

"Get him to the hospital. Sawmill accident."

Fen and Jake picked up the unconscious Edward and loaded him into the back of a truck, shoving his detached hand into a cooler full of drinks. Fen found the handcuff key on Edward and tossed it to me. They pulled out and were gone a few seconds later leaving me and Red standing in an alleyway full of blood.

I don't know what I was expecting. Rage? Fear? Red yelling at me for being so crazy maybe. Not anything good.

He stepped close to me and I saw him breathe in. Heard his rapid heartbeat. Smelt the anxiety flowing off him like cold from a block of ice. He stepped close and just when I thought he'd yell-

He kissed me.

A kiss that went forever and absorbed me. He pulled me against him and I felt the power of his body. Red. My gardening, white-wine drinking werewolf. Alpha of his pack.

"Good work," he whispered when we broke apart.

"He's in the Finch mansion."

"Boris nearby?"

"Yeah."

I suddenly grinned at him, a wave of happiness washing over me. Red picked up Edward's gun (that was two of his guns he had now), I undid the cuffs and together we rushed out of the alleyway, heading towards Boris.

Heading towards the Finch Mansion.

Heading towards Donald Crisp.

*

"J
ust hit the plus thing and it should work."

We were zooming as fast as Boris could zoom (which, admittedly, was more of a fast crawl) towards the Finch mansion and for the first time ever, Red and I were doing something normal dating couples do - we were exchanging numbers. He was typing his into my phone and also sending himself a text message so he'd have it.

There was a buzz as the message arrived and Red saved the number with my name.

"Done. Now I can send you some awesome cat pictures."

I glanced sideways at him but I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. I wouldn't put it past him to send a cat picture just to stir me up.

At that thought came a sudden guilt - I'd been thinking of leaving and now we'd swapped numbers so there was no way to get away clean. I felt the guilt thud into my chest like a lump of lead. I'd been so worked up by what happened to Edward and now the rush to the Finch mansion that I'd put my thoughts about leaving aside. Now they were back. What was I doing? Eadie was running to the mansion and Red could go by himself, surely. Or call on his pack to come with him. I'd definitely had it out with Edward Toulouse. So why was I now driving with Red out to the Finch mansion?