In Heat (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #1) (7 page)

“No, Alistair,” he said and took a step away from him. His whole body tensed. His voice lowered, trembling with his anger as he thought about what their mother had gone through. “It was you. It was always you. It was because you were so much like him and she saw him in you. The whole ugly truth. The sex, the lies and the violence. She saw it and it made her see it in father when she'd been blinded by love before. You made her hate him. You're the reason they're both dead!”

He turned and walked out the door, not giving Alistair the opportunity to think of a comeback. His heart thundered with adrenaline, so much that he was shaking. He stared unseeingly at the pavement, ignoring the click of the paparazzi cameras. Trying to rein in his feelings, he fought the desire to give himself over to them. He couldn't change, not here and not when he was feeling like this. Surrendering to the anger was the start. It would bring him that one step closer to being like Alistair and his father, and he didn't want that.

He growled, letting it rumble through him and soothe him as it drew out all his pent up feelings of aggression and hatred.

Getting into his car, he turned the music on loud and started the engine. He revved it, listening to it roar and feeling the vibrations running through his body. Slamming his foot down on the accelerator, he wheel spun out of the parking space and shot down the road.

A long drive and he'd be back to his normal self again.

Tomorrow he'd go running. It always helped clear his head and gave him a better perspective on things.

Tonight, he'd dream of her.

K
im breathed steadily as she jogged around Hyde Park. It was another gloriously sunny day. Not one cloud marred the sapphire sky. She smiled to herself and adjusted her headphones on her ears when they showed a hint of slipping off.

Last night had been just what she needed—a little alone time to think about everything that had happened over the past few days. She'd soaked in the tub for almost an hour before foraging in the refrigerator for something to eat and finding a cheesy romance movie to watch. Of course, she'd thought about Erik all the way through it, imagining he was the lead and she was the woman.

She couldn't get her mind off him. All night she'd dreamt of him. It was different this time. She'd just been laid beside him and he'd been softly stroking her skin, pressing gentle kisses against it and being close to her. It was a nice change, but she wouldn't have said no to something more passionate and frantic. After their moment in the lift, she'd been full the brim with desire and it was just waiting to overflow.

Catching her foot on a bump in the path, she almost fell but recovered herself at the last minute. She took it as a sign that running while not concentrating was probably going to end in disaster and stopped. Jogging on the spot in the shade of a huge oak tree, she looked around the park at all the people. The sun was certainly bringing them out. There were brightly coloured blankets spotting the grass, usually with a couple lying on them, or a group of friends having a drink and a laugh.

She stopped jogging and stretched.

The dappled sunlight shone off her water bottle as she brought it up and took a long drink. Removing her headphones and stowing them safely in the pocket of her shorts, she squeezed a little water over her face and then wiped it off with the bottom of her spaghetti-strap top.

Looking down at the shade of the tree she was standing under, she saw that not many people were using it as an umbrella and walked over to a wide open space. She sat down and brought her knees up to her chest, staring at the beautiful park and trying not to think about Erik.

She really wished she'd said yes to his offer of dinner.

Since she'd met him, her dreams had been getting hotter, much like the weather, but last night's one threw her. It was so different, as though she was being shown another side to dream Erik. She wondered if the real thing would be the same. Would he like to lay naked with her, just quietly exploring every inch of each other's body with light touches and soft kisses?

She sighed and lay back, staring at the sky where it peeked through the rich dark green canopy above her.

Closing her eyes, she stretched out and focused on how relaxed she felt.

She hadn't even realised she'd dozed off until she opened her eyes and found herself lying on the bed in that mystery room. She stared at the ceiling, feeling incredibly content and smiling to herself.

Someone touched her foot and she looked down the length of her body at Erik. He smiled, a little mischievous looking. She realised she was dressed in nothing but her underwear again.

She craned her neck to watch him as he began to plant long, wet kisses to her left leg, slowly easing himself up the length of her. Her eyes became hooded when he reached her thighs. His fingers ghosted over one while his mouth explored the other.

She gasped when his hand brushed against the front of her knickers. Liquid heat settled in her abdomen, warming her pussy. She writhed a little, feeling the slick arousal in her panties and groaning when his hand touched her again. Her pelvis arched off the bed, hungry for his fingers to come back. He did better.

Pleasure melted her as he kissed the front of her lacy shorts. His tongue laved her through the material, exquisitely close but painfully far away at the same time. She brought one knee up, letting it fall to the side and exposing herself to him. He took the hint and dipped his head again, licking up the length of her crotch through her panties. She mewled and reached down, running her fingers into his lush black locks and holding him against her.

A sigh of relief escaped her when he slipped his fingers into the waist of her underwear and slid them slowly down her legs. Her hands lost their grip on him and she reached out, desperate to touch him again, to feel the velvety softness of his hair beneath her fingers. She caught hold of him the moment he came back, tossing her underwear across the floor. She smiled at him when he looked at her, luring him to her. Fire and hunger darkened his eyes.

He growled.

Her stomach clenched and her heart leaped in her chest. She gasped, shocked by her reaction to his growl.

He growled again, trailing off in a deep rumbling purr as he lowered himself towards her.

She flung her head back, arching off the bed as his tongue parted her nether lips and darted inside. Her mouth opened, forming a wide ‘o' as he licked up the length of her, his fingers assisting him. He circled her pert clit and flicked it with the tip of his tongue, and then delved lower. She groaned when he lapped at her entrance, purring and licking up all of her arousal. She wanted to tell him it was all for him. He was the one who made her so wet and hungry, dying to feel him inside of her.

Her other knee came up and she spread her legs, her eyes squeezed shut as he devoured her, his tongue laving her hard.

Her eyes shot open when he slid a finger inside her and she moaned.

“Oh, Erik.”

“Kim.”

She frowned when something touched her foot.

“Kim?”

Fluttering her eyes open, she wondered where the bedroom had gone. She stared at the sky above her and heaved a sigh in an attempt to slow her heart rate and calm herself back down.

“Dreaming about me?” A deep familiar voice made her eyes shoot wide open.

She lowered her gaze and found Erik smiling at her. She was suddenly overly aware of the fact that her nipples were painfully aroused and probably showing through her top.

“Huh?”

“You said my name.” He smiled and she died a little inside again as she blushed. If he hadn't known she was dreaming about him, he probably did now. “I thought it was you when I was running along the path. I had to come over and say hello. I hope that doesn't contravene your client-act.”

Now that he'd mentioned it, she noticed what he was wearing. The black tank top was fitted achingly tight against his upper body, revealing his muscles with each breath he took. His shorts were black too. The way he wore it, black was definitely sensual.

She looked him over from head to toe, from the strong, defined muscles of his arms and torso, to his powerful looking long legs. Damn, he looked hot.

“Client-act?” she said, a little dazed from her perusal of him and her daydream.

“You said that I'm a client so you couldn't come out with me.” There was the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice. “Would it be terrible if I sat down? My legs are killing me.”

She didn't know what to say. She stared at the heavenly legs in question. It would be a crime to leave them killing him. If he wanted her to, she'd more than willingly return the favour he'd done for her and massage them. Damn she was dying to touch him. She looked at the spot of grass next to her and then back at him.

“Not here,” he said. “Come out into the sunshine. It's far too good to waste.”

She got up without thinking and followed him into the light. It warmed her through, relaxing her as she sat down on the grass. He lay down beside her, closed his eyes and stretched out, his hands resting behind his head like a pillow. Again she found herself thinking how content he looked, laying in the sun like a cat.

Seeing he wasn't about to open his eyes and catch her, her gaze ran over him again. He had a terrific body, lithe and toned, powerful.

He took a deep breath and held it, and then breathed it out slowly.

When he looked at her, she smiled awkwardly, trying to think of something to say to fill the silence. She was happy just sitting with him, but it felt so intimate, and somewhere deep inside, that made her panic a little. How could she be so comfortable sitting in silence with a man she'd only just met? Normally she was a non-stop talker around guys until they'd met each other and spoken at least a dozen times. With Erik, she was fine not saying anything. There was a pleasure in just being with him that she'd never found with anyone else.

“What is...” she hesitated and then continued when he raised a brow, interest sparkling in his eyes, “...paragraph 157?”

He rolled his eyes and smiled at her.

“You know the deal,” he said in a husky barely-there voice, his gaze returning to the sky. “Dinner for an explanation.”

She heated up a little inside at his words. He still wanted to go out with her. Hell, she was dying to say yes, but her conscience and the fear of discovery by someone at her company made her shake her head.

“I can't be seen with you,” she said, her tone more than apologetic. She couldn't hide it from him. She hated the idea of saying no to him, but she had to. He looked at her. Disappointment shone in his honey eyes. She felt the need to add more to what she'd said to convince him. “I'd be shot.”

His lips curved into a wicked smile. “Doesn't it just add to the excitement of being with me?”

She told herself that it did, but it wasn't necessary to make him exciting.

She shook her head again.

He frowned for a moment, looking thoughtful, and then propped himself up on one arm, leaning on his side.

“It doesn't have to be dinner then,” he said, a smile gracing his lips again. There was an air about his expression that said he'd found a foolproof plan to get her to go out with him. If he pressed her a little more, she'd agree to anything regardless of the risk it put her at. There was only so long that she could hold out before her heart won over her sense. “How about drinks? And before you say no, like I can feel you're going to, I know a place where no one at your work would know. You'd be safe there.”

She doubted that. She'd be safe from the company but not from herself. If they went to a place where no one at work could possibly see her, she'd have no reason to control herself around him.

“Come on, Kim.” He touched her hand and a jolt ran through her over the brief contact between them. “A couple of drinks and I'll tell you everything you want to know about me.”

She nodded, not stopping to think because she knew if she did then she'd say no again. She wanted to go out with him, wanted to sit across a little table, or beside him at a bar, and listen to him talking all night long. Was that too much to ask? He'd practically promised that no one would see them. She trusted him.

“Give me your address,” he said.

She froze, her sense battling her heart again.

“What for?” she said in a shaky voice.

He gave her an incredulous look. “So I can pick you up of course.”

“Maybe this isn't such a good idea.” She cringed as she said it, not wanting to upset him but knowing she had when his expression clouded.

“You already agreed,” he said in a flat voice that clearly expressed his displeasure.

“I know, but...”

“Why are you always fighting me? Don't fight me, Kim. Just say yes and I promise no one will see you.” He touched her hand again, fingers lightly caressing it, coaxing and convincing her.

What he'd said struck her hard. He kept telling her not to fight him. Dream Erik told her that too. She remembered it.

She stared down at his hand where it was still resting against hers. He wasn't going to sprout fur and purr. He wasn't. The real Erik and the dream one weren't one and the same.

But how did he keep saying things she'd heard in her dreams?

Maybe she hadn't heard him say that in her fantasies. Maybe her memories were hazy enough that things he'd said to her in real life were blurring with them. When she'd dropped the files, he'd told her not to fight him. It was probably that time she was remembering, not a time in her dreams.

She stared into his eyes. He was waiting for an answer, his look a little eager and hopeful. For once, she was going to do what she wanted. He'd promised her now. No one would see her. Besides, it wasn't everyday she had a drop dead gorgeous man practically begging her to go out with him. She'd be a complete idiot to turn him down and spend another night in alone.

She nodded.

He grinned.

She wondered what he was doing when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. He pressed a few buttons and then handed it to her.