In Heat (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #1) (8 page)

“Write it down,” he said quickly, as though he feared she'd change her mind again if he took too long.

She did. Carefully entering her address into the note he'd opened, she checked it was all right and then added her mobile number to the bottom.

She'd never given a guy her number before.

She felt a little giddy.

Handing it back, she smiled at him as he checked it and then looked at her. She hoped he wouldn't mention the number. It was impulse making her do it. She told herself that it wasn't impulse. It was just in case he was late or got lost. It had absolutely nothing to do with some futile hope that he'd call her out of the blue for no reason other than to hear her voice.

“Nine pm sharp,” he said, standing.

She stared at his backside as he dusted bits of dried grass off it. “Uh huh.”

A flash of a smile in her direction and he was running off into the distance.

She sighed and flopped back onto the grass, staring unseeingly at the sky above.

What had she been thinking? Was she hoping it would turn out like her fantasies? She was crazy. He was just a man that matched her dream guy a little. That was all. Now she'd gone and made him the dream guy. The voice at the back of her head said that he was damn persistent about going out though.

She smiled at the sky.

Maybe he did like her.

I
t was stiflingly hot. The gentle breeze blowing in through the window did nothing to cool the room. Erik lay on his back with his eyes squeezed shut as Kim ran short nails over his chest. He growled, urging her on. She giggled, a light sound in his hazy lust-addled mind.

Her fingers travelled lower, caressing and sweeping over his stomach. He tensed it, showing her the power his body held in the only way he could right now. She moaned appreciatively and ground her pussy against his hard cock. Another growl escaped him.

He felt her shift, and then felt the kiss she pressed to just above his navel. She kissed around it, licking occasionally as she explored his stomach. He propped his head up on his arms and watched her, not moving a muscle as she touched, licked and kissed him. It was fascinating to watch her learning his body.

He laughed as she found a ticklish spot on his side just above his left hip and she gave him a sly smile, as though she'd added it to her list of things about him that she had learned and was saving it for use at a later date. He didn't like being tickled. Well, only behind the ears.

She lowered her head again, kissing down until she reached his curly hair. She ran her fingers over it, study it, and then her gaze shifted across to his hungry cock. Another smile teased her lips, this time one that spoke of power and knowing. She could see how hungry he was for her, how badly he wanted her to touch there. By now, she could probably sense it, smell it on him like he could smell desire on her.

Her fingers trailed down over his thighs as she sat back, her gaze still lingering on his length.

His breath hitched in his throat and anticipation coiled in his stomach as she raised a hand. She lowered it slowly and stroked the tiniest tip of one finger lightly down his erection.

He tried to sigh but it turned into a low purr in his throat.

She smiled, looked a little more confident when he did that. He knew why, could see it in her eyes. It was the power she felt when she made him purr. As though she was the only one who could make him do it.

She was.

“What do you want, Erik?”

He smiled at her question. She was getting bolder in the dreams, and in real life too.

“You,” he breathed.

“You want this?” She lowered her head and slowly licked up the length of his cock.

He groaned and managed a nod.

He tried to watch her as she licked him again, her tongue tracing the ridges and veins of his length. She reached the soft head, exploring it carefully and making him want to hold her there. She stayed, as though she'd felt his need, and flicked her tongue against the sensitive sides of it.

His fingers curled into fists and he jerked his pelvis up, wanting more contact between them. She moaned and ran her tongue around the head of his cock, slipping the tip of it into the crack. He was about to groan again when she wrapped her lips around him and took him into her mouth. His groan became a strangled noise in his throat.

The strangled noise became a deep purr.

She took him in further, so deep he knew he wouldn't last long, and sucked him hard on the way back up, her tongue pressing firmly along the underside of his cock. When she reached the head, she flicked it with her tongue, and then plunged him back into the sweet abyss of her mouth. He lost himself there as she sucked hard on the way back up and then slid him back inside. Her rhythm was a slow steady torture, too divine for him to handle.

His fingers gripped the pillows as he tried to resist thrusting into her mouth but found that he couldn't. Her hands held him down, the sense of restraint only adding to the pleasure. Her tongue danced against the head of his cock and then she sucked him again, her tempo increasing until he was panting hard in time with her movements. He screwed his eyes shut, his moan becoming a snarl as his whole body tensed, waiting for the sweet moment he'd find release.

She rolled his balls in her hand and then pressed against the spot beneath them. He roared and came into her mouth, his cock throbbing as she continued to suck him and lick him.

He relaxed back into the bed, carried away on a hazy sea of bliss and sedated to the core.

Erik opened his eyes and looked down at the mess on his bare stomach and his hand where it still held his cock.

He rolled his eyes. Another shower before going out tonight then. He frowned and reached over for a tissue from the box beside his bed. Wiping up the mess, he almost laughed at himself.

Twenty-seven years of masturbating over the same girl. His brother would laugh at him, always did. Alistair couldn't understand why he kept himself celibate, resisting the women that life put in his path. He resisted because he wanted his mate, not some quick fuck.

Twenty-seven years though.

The dreams had been infrequent at first, only occurring three or four times a year. He'd known what they were instantly. God knows how old Kim would have really been when he'd started having them, but she was always the same age she was now, or thereabouts, in his visions. It was only once he'd fully matured fifteen years ago that they'd began to become more frequent, increasing until the point, two years ago, where he'd had them every night.

It would be different for Kim. She would only have had them the past year or so. Human females that were coming into heat didn't have them consistently until just a couple of weeks to a month before they were ready for mating. Judging by the way Kim smelt and the way she acted around him, she was ready.

He couldn't quite believe that he'd been waiting almost thirty years for her and this moment. He just hoped that she was receptive to the idea. He wouldn't be able to keep it hidden from her forever. To mate with him meant leaving humanity behind and becoming like him. Her aging would slow to a stop as she reached maturity herself, and then she'd live forever like him.

He frowned and sat up.

Unless someone killed her when she was in her prime. He wasn't convinced that his mother had killed his father and then taken her own life. It wasn't like her at all. She'd hated his father with such a fiery passion, but she never would've killed him.

Walking into the bathroom, he tossed the used tissue into the toilet and flushed. He looked at himself in the mirror, studying his face and watching his eyes slowly yellowing as he allowed his primal side to the forefront.

He shook his head and turned away, looking back into the bedroom at the large double bed. Its crisp white sheets were crumpled where he'd been lying on them. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but after returning home from his run and having a shower, he'd had nothing to do but wait. Time had passed impossibly slowly, dragging the afternoon out until it had become unbearable. He wanted to see her again.

He'd lain on the bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of silence, while enjoying the cool breeze that was bringing the smell of summer in through his window. The next thing he'd known, he was lost in a fantasy.

Turning back into the bathroom, he turned the shower on, making sure the water was deliciously cool before stepping under the jet. He closed his eyes and thought about tonight.

In just a few hours, she'd be with him again.

Shortly after that, he'd see just where the hunger between them would take them.

He wanted her.

He was damn well going to get her.

* * * *

Kim almost fell over when the door buzzer rang through the flat. She hopped towards it, desperately fighting her shoe and squeezing it onto her foot just before she reached the intercom.

She pressed the answer button.

“Hello?” she said.

A little black and white picture flickered into life. It was Erik. Her heart pounded at the sight of him as he leaned in close to the camera and smiled winsomely.

“Going to let me in?” he purred the words at her.

She nodded, as though he could see her, and pressed the button. “Sure. Third floor. Don't take the lift.”

The screen went black and she struggled to get her other shoe on. She repeatedly smoothed the little black summer dress down over her body, struggling to breathe normally as questions crowded her mind and her stomach danced with the thought of seeing Erik again.

She looked down at herself. It was the only black dress she owned and she was glad it still fit her. It was snug at the top but flared out at the hips, making it light and breezy. Perfect for such tropically hot weather. She did the top button up and wondered what Erik would think of it. She'd chosen it purely because of his love of black. She was wearing black underwear too. Not that she was jumping to conclusions, but it was best to be prepared.

She pushed a strand of hair back into her ponytail and went into the kitchen. Taking the rosé wine out of the refrigerator, she poured two large glasses and carried them with her to the door. Placing them down on the side table in the narrow hall, she readied herself.

Someone knocked. Her heart jigged about in time with her stomach. She took a deep breath and told herself that this was it. There was no need to panic. It was just drinks with Erik and finding out what that paragraph meant. That was it. It wasn't going to go any further than that, so there was no need to be disappointed if it didn't.

She opened the door, a bright smile on her lips.

God Almighty, if she didn't want to melt into a puddle right then and there. Her smiled faded, replaced by a look of hunger she couldn't wipe off her face when she looked him over. He leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed and his brow raising as she stared at him. The black slacks and shirt he wore made him look impossibly hot, and there was such a look in his eyes as he looked at her, so much fire and passion, that she could only stare at him.

He smiled.

Her chest ached, her stomach tensing with need.

Picking up a glass of wine, she held it out to him, squeaking as she tried to say something.

He held a hand up and raked his eyes over her. She swallowed, her hands trembling as she saw the hunger in his gaze. His eyes narrowed and swept back up her.

“You look pretty tonight,” he said in a deep bedroom voice that had her thinking that going out wasn't really necessary and she could just grab him, pull him into the flat and screw his brains out.

She extended the glass of wine again, hopeful that he'd take it so she could drink hers and kill the brain cells associated with the dirty little thoughts swimming about her head.

He held a hand up again. “I'm driving. I can't drink.”

“Oh,” she said, still trapped in his eyes. She swallowed the entire glass of wine in one go and started on the second. They did nothing to stop the nerves growing inside of her, or the dirty thoughts. Her head felt fuzzy and her cheeks burned up as the alcohol swept like fire into her veins.

She frowned as her brain finally caught up.

“Why are we going for drinks if you're not drinking?” She went into the kitchen and refilled her glass with shaky hands.

He followed her. She could feel his eyes on her and when she glanced across at him, she found he was staring at her backside.

“I know the owner of the club. I can leave the car there and get a taxi home.” He smiled and then chuckled when her eyes widened. “I assure you, I'm not out to get you drunk.”

She lifted the glass to her lips but he strode across the kitchen and took it from her.

“You're doing a pretty good job of that without my help,” he said and drank the wine. “How about we get a taxi there, too?”

She nodded and then realised that his car would be outside her apartment block all night. He'd have to come back tomorrow to pick it up. The voice at the back of her head said that she could make things easier on him and let him share her bed tonight so he didn't have to go home. She shut it out, telling it that it wasn't going to happen.

Smiling at Erik, she watched him pour the remains of the bottle of wine into the two glasses. He handed her one, and sipped his.

“You look pretty too,” she said and furrowed her brows when he cocked one at her. “In a very manly way...of course...for a client.”

“I'm not sure whether to thank you or be offended that I'm pretty, but in a very manly way.” He finished the wine and put the glass down on the side. “Ready?”

She picked up her mobile. “I'll call a cab and then grab my jacket and we can go.”

She walked out into the corridor, cringing to herself as she listened to the phone ringing at the taxi company. What on Earth had possessed her to tell him that he looked pretty? Men weren't pretty. She should have said that he looked delightfully fuckable or insanely sexy, or one of the other million things that had been floating around her head in that moment. God, he did look good though. Adonis had nothing on this man.