Read Things That Go Hump In The Night Online
Authors: Amanda Jones,Bliss Devlin,Steffanie Holmes,Lily Marie,Artemis Wolffe,Christy Rivers,Terra Wolf,Lily Thorn,Lucy Auburn,Mercy May
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Delta Shift: Michael
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Chapter 1 – Too Sexy for His Suit
"Still here?" asked a deep voice, making Nicole start in surprise.
She looked away from her computer screen to see her newest client, Gabriel Amestra, standing at the entrance to her cube.
And was reminded, once again, that he looked like he should be earning his living as a cover model for romance novels, not working as the Executive VP of Marketing and Sales Operations.
He had dark hair, intense dark brown eyes framed with sinfully long lashes, sculpted cheekbones…and an
extremely
kissable mouth.
And he smelled good, too, a healthy, masculine scent with just a faint hint of spicy cologne. Not the kind of guy who marinated in his aftershave. With her preternatural sense of smell, Nicole was grateful for that.
She remembered Ramin, one of the developers she'd worked with, two consulting gigs ago. Even ordinary people could track Ramin through the labyrinth of the cube farm...a half-hour after he'd walked that way.
"Uh—" Her train of thought completely derailed, Nicole hoped Gabriel hadn't noticed when her brain went into hormonal overdrive. She recovered as smoothly as she could. "Sorry, you startled me, Mr. Amestra. I just have a couple of bugs left to fix, then I'll check in the code to the repository and generate a build so that Rafe can start testing tomorrow morning."
He clucked his tongue and shook his head, looking mournful.
God, he can really work the sad-puppy eyes!
"My little brother gets called Rafe, and I'm
Mr. Amestra?
I look around for my dad every time you call me that." He sighed dramatically. "Ms. Jaeger, what do I have to do to get you to call me Gabriel?"
She grinned and leaned back in her chair a little. "You could try calling me Nicole, rather than Ms. Jaeger," she said. "I'll try to remember to call you Gabriel, though I gotta tell you, any guy wearing a thousand-dollar Italian suit is just begging to be called Mister."
He sighed loudly and clapped one hand melodramatically over his broad chest. "Thousand-dollar suit?
Please
, Ms. Jaeg—Nicole. This is a
hand-tailored
Italian suit. It's more like a five thousand-dollar suit."
Her jaw dropped.
He winked at her and gave her a grin that made her want to rip all five thousand dollars' worth of suit off his sexy body.
He'd been dead serious when he had interviewed her a month ago, and her first impression had only been furthered by the product development meetings she'd attended since signing on for this project as a contractor.
It hadn't taken long before she started to think of him as "Mr. Serious Business." Which hadn't stopped her from developing a slight crush on him. Which in turn made her try to avoid him, because she didn't want to embarrass herself.
Apparently, After-Hours Gabriel didn't have the same stick up his ass that Business-Hours Gabriel did.
Which is why she actually said, "Holy shit, Gabriel. Your suit cost more than my car!"
He gave her a wry grin. "I know. I've
seen
your car." He paused. "We're not paying you nearly enough, it seems. Or is the car a bargaining chip to convince me you deserve a raise?"
If only I had the balls to use that kind of leverage..
.
She gave him a bright smile. "Nope, but the fact that I've already managed to create all six of the code guards to insert into your application binary might do it," she said. "Betty Chang still has to run the regressions, but based on my unit tests, I'm pretty confident they'll work the way you want. Once I fix these last two bugs, that is."
The admiring look in his eyes warmed her right down to the pit of her stomach.
Down, girl. He's your client, and even if he wasn't, he's probably already dating a model.
"I can see we made the right decision in hiring you, Ms. Jaeger," he said crisply. "Prakash spent four months trying to do what you've accomplished in a fortnight."
Fortnight? Who the hell uses
fortnight
, outside of a Jane Austen miniseries?
Gabriel was still talking. "It seemed like a disaster for our project schedule at the time, but maybe his sudden decision to return to India to get married was a good thing for the company, after all."
"If I'm going to call you Gabriel, it's going to sound weird if you keep calling me Ms. Jaeger," she reminded him, both warmed and a little embarrassed by his praise. "I'm Nicole. Just don't call me 'Nicky,' please."
Not Nicky. Not ever again,
she thought with an internal shudder.
He
had called her Nicky. His Nicky-pet.
She couldn't think about it.
Wouldn't
think about it.
Trying to distract herself, she asked, "I've been wondering, though...why Archangel Security Networks? Is it because your product is supposed to guard your customers' apps?"
"Partly. But mostly because of our names," answered Gabriel.
Nicole looked at him blankly.
"Oh, that's right. You haven't met my older brother yet. He's on vacation with his girlfriend right now, but he's the other founder of this company, and his name is Michael. When the three of us were getting things started, Rafe and I almost got Michael to agree to 'Archangel Security Systems.' That would have been fun at our first venture-capital presentation. Sadly, Michael actually noticed the acronym before we filed the paperwork, so instead of ASS, we're ASN."
Nicole giggled, then stopped, shocked at the sound. She hadn't laughed like that since...since
before
.
"Look, Nicole," Gabriel was saying. "I was just on my way out to grab some dinner. There's an Indian place not too far away—it's a total hole-in-the-wall, and Sameer the counter guy yells at you if you take too long deciding what to order—but they have the best tandoori chicken and naan in the city."
"Shalimar, right?" Nicole said instantly. "God, I love their chicken meatballs in curry sauce."
"So you'll come with me? Protect me from Sameer?" he wheedled. "My treat..."
"I'd love to," she said honestly. "But I can't, not tonight. I have somewhere I need to be."
And soon
. She could feel the beast rising inside her, trying to take control.
Nervously, she glanced at the clock on her monitor, trying to calculate how much more time it would take her to fix those two bugs and check in the files.
"Maybe another time, then," Gabriel said smoothly, but she sensed disappointment under his controlled façade, and it was...flattering.
"Look," he continued. "You've made great progress today. Why don't you leave the bug fixes and build until tomorrow morning? I know the QA team is in meetings until noon—best-case scenario, they won't begin testing until after lunch."
"I don't know...," she said.
Her instinct screamed to take him up on his offer, while her conscious mind hated to walk away with work left undone.
But tonight of all nights, she couldn't afford to cut it too close. She
had
to get home on time.
"And this way, I can walk you to your car," he said. "It's late, and the parking garage is a bit..." His voice trailed off, as if he were trying to think of the correct descriptor.
"...scream and no one will hear you?" she quipped.
At least that was one thing she didn't have to worry about nowadays. No ordinary human would be able to get the better of her.
Too bad she had something inhuman pursuing her. But
he
hadn't tracked her down to this place. Not yet. She still had some breathing room. She'd finish up this contract and then move on.
"Exactly," Gabriel agreed, with a slight smile. "All that's missing down there most nights is a power outage and knife-wielding maniac."
"I see we share the same taste in movies," said Nicole, turning to save her work before locking her screen. "Though I was thinking 'zombies' rather than 'knife-wielding maniac.'"
She rose, grabbed her jacket and purse, and walked out of her cube.
Gabriel gave her a graceful half-bow and offered his arm. "Mademoiselle, may I escort you to your coach?" he intoned in a fake French accent.
"
Oui, monsieur. Merci
," she answered, resting her fingers lightly on his forearm, feeling hard muscle underneath the soft wool of his sleeve. "And that's all the French I know, other than,
'Garcon, l'addition, s'il-vous plait
.
'
"
"'Thank you' and 'the bill, please,' are always good places to start," said Gabriel. "When I'm learning a new language, I usually try to start by memorizing the phases for 'Where's the bathroom?' and 'Does your hotel have WiFi?'"
It was the weirdest thing, but touching him made the beast inside her settle down. Suddenly, Nicole didn't feel like she was in imminent danger of losing control.
"How many languages do you speak?" she asked as they headed towards the elevators.
"I can order beers in six languages and ask direction to the nearest bathroom in seven," Gabriel said. "Does that count?"
"...of course, my German wasn't good enough to realize that
Einbahnstrasse
wasn't actually the name of the street where my hotel was located...it just means 'one-way street,'" Gabriel was saying as he escorted Nicole to where her old Honda Civic was parked in one corner of the dimly lit parking garage.
Everyone else had already gone home, and the place did indeed resemble the set of a horror movie.
"You should have
seen
the look that the taxi driver gave me!" he finished as they walked through the deserted structure.
Nicole laughed, looking more at ease now than she had earlier, when he had first stopped by.
Gabriel hadn't intended more than a quick chat, maybe a bit of light flirtation when he stopped by her cube, just to see if she might be interested in him as more than just a client.
She was beautiful and brilliant and her software engineering credentials impressive…but more than that, her aura blazed with the rare gold tint of a born
philtata
…laced with the even rarer cobalt-blue of a shape-shifter.
But what he had seen tonight had worried him.
The blue veins in Nicole's aura were dangerously swollen and pulsing with magic. She appeared on the verge of involuntary transformation, her control stretched to the breaking point.
Gabriel had only met two other shape-shifters in the course of his long life. But then again, he was still young for a Child of Lilith.
Both of the shape-shifters had been bound as
philtatoi
to Children of Lilith, and thus their shape-shifter magic was always kept to manageable levels.
But Nicole's magic was rapidly approaching uncontrollable levels. Where was she going? What would she do when she lost control of the beast inside of her, as must happen shortly?
Worried by what he had seen, Gabriel had been able to siphon off a tiny bit of her overflowing magic when he touched her. He had hoped that an impromptu dinner date might give him the chance to drain off the worst of it, but she had thwarted his plan.
Why had Nicole let her magic build up to such dangerous levels? Why hadn't a Child of Lilith found her already?
A terrible thought occurred to Gabriel. Was this Nicole's first transformation? Would the beast-magic take her by surprise tonight?
A newly turned shape-shifter had no self-control while in beast form. If Nicole transformed in the middle of a densely populated city, it would be more than dangerous. It would be a
slaughter
.
"Mademoiselle, your carriage," Gabriel declared with a bow and a flourish as they came to a halt next to the little red Civic.
His own vehicle, a sleek Tesla coupe he had chosen as his "office car," was parked some distance away.
Making a quick decision, Gabriel deliberately dropped his key fob. When he bent to retrieve it, he deftly slipped a tiny GPS tracking device onto the undercarriage of her car.
Normally, he would never have done such a thing without permission, but he was worried about Nicole...and any innocents she might encounter if she did not actually have control over her transformation into beast-shape.
"Drive safely," said Gabriel, smiling at her.
She smiled back before unlocking her car, and he was encouraged by the interest he saw.
He also noticed the glitter of perspiration along her brow and temples as she fought to control the magic that was slowly overwhelming her.
"Maybe we could try Shalimar another time," she said shyly before opening the car door and slipping quickly inside.
Gabriel waved as she pulled out of her space and hit the gas, hard. Her taillights disappeared rapidly up the ramp to street level.
Then he headed for his own car. He would follow her and make sure she was safe. Make sure the city was safe.
* * *
"Scream down here, and no one will hear me," Nicole whispered hoarsely as she stepped inside the soundproofed basement of her rented Victorian house.
Some previous tenant had set up the windowless space as a recording studio and had lined the walls and ceilings with sound-absorbing material. The real estate agent who had showed Nicole the house had mentioned she might want to use the space as a home theater, where you could crank up the surround sound as high as you liked and never annoy the neighbors.
Nicole had immediately seen the room's potential for her own unique needs and had signed the rental agreement on the spot.
Her skin was slick with cold sweat, and her hands trembled as she pulled off her top and unhooked her bra.
Thank God she had taken Gabriel's suggestion to go home rather than trying to finish up at work!
She had been fooled by the fact that the beast inside her had gone temporarily quiet when Gabriel stopped by to talk to her.
Once in her car, though, it had roared back to malevolent life, and it had been all she could do to make it home safely.
She wondered what kind of impression her quick getaway had made on Gabriel. And wished that he had asked her out to dinner on any night but tonight.
It had been such a long time since Nicole had allowed herself to make friends—they made it too hard to move on, when the time came. But after just a few minutes of talking to him, she felt like she and Gabriel had known each other for years.
She wanted to get to know him better. Sure, he was drop-dead gorgeous, but more than that, he was funny, smart, and refreshingly down-to-earth, and he liked the same kind of movies she did. She hoped they would become friends...if not more.
She wondered if he was a good kisser.
Don't be stupid. You can't afford to stay in this city too much longer. Maybe Erik already knows where you are.
Nicole sighed. She knew she would have to disappear again, and soon.
Gabriel had joked about her car, but if it wasn't for the need to continually put money into her "Oh Shit!" accounts and pay for relocating to a new city every year, she'd be driving something a lot nicer.
She made good money as a consultant and contract programmer...but having to abandon everything on a moment's notice and start fresh somewhere else was really expensive.
No way was she going to buy a nice car. It was easier to drive junkers and less painful to abandon them if she had to run again.
Erik had almost found her once before.
Almost
.
She'd been forced to leave town that time with only the clothes on her back, her purse, and her laptop bag. Thank God she'd had her laptop with her! She never let it out of her sight now.
She had long since given up buying hard-copy books. As much as she loved the feel of paper, they were too heavy and bulky to move easily. Her beloved library now resided on the Kindle in her purse.
When she first went on the run, Nicole had borrowed a large chunk of money from her parents and used it purchase a fake identity that included a college degree and a shiny new resume, since she'd be reduced to waitressing and retail jobs if she couldn't get a job in the software industry.
And it hadn't helped. Erik had found her. Erik
always
seemed to find her.
Erik had taken everything from her.
She didn't dare visit her family or let them know where she was living, so her contact with her parents was limited to the occasional email message, sent from a disposable account using the WiFi at a café or public library. She had told them she was in hiding because she was being stalked.
Which was the truth, even if it didn't encompass the full, terrifying scope of her predicament.
As she continued removing her clothes, Nicole wondered how her little brother was doing. He was halfway through college by now and probably having the time of his life.
Her jeans joined the pile of folded clothes on the carpeted floor, then her panties. She was naked now except for a red string bracelet pushed high up on her forearm.
She could feel it pulsing like a living thing against her skin, strangely warm. She knew, deep in her gut, that it was not only responsible for the werewolf curse that bound her, but that it gave Erik a connection to her, somehow, despite all the years and the miles that separated them.
One day, she would figure out how to rid herself of the bracelet.
But for now...it was nearly time for Cage Night to begin.
Nicole reluctantly pulled the heavy canvas cover off the large steel structure that was the basement's only furnishing.
She looked at its gleaming silver bars and the large dog-bed that filled the interior, and she shuddered.
Erik had kept her in a cage exactly like this for a year and a day.
After she escaped, she had sworn that no one would ever lock her up again. That resolution had lasted just one month. Then she had turned into a wolf and run wild.
When she woke up the next morning, she had been sprawled naked in a bed of poison ivy in the wooded area of a local park, her face and hands sticky with drying blood.
For days thereafter, Nicole had watched the news and scanned the Web anxiously for news reports, terrified that she might have hurt or killed someone. In the end, she concluded that it had been animal blood, but the fact that she didn't know for sure, and couldn't remember, had spurred her to try the known solution.
She had gone to a big-box hardware store to buy the necessary tools and materials and had spent a week building a cage from memory. She made a few improvements along the way. For one thing, her new creation was collapsible, so that it could be disassembled and packed flat whenever she had to move.
When it was assembled, all its parts locked together into a sturdy prison that kept the world safe from her. Her beast hated it, hated the fact that she locked herself inside every twenty-eighth day, when she could no longer control her transformation.
She hated the awful memories that came to visit her every time she crawled inside and locked the door.
A wave of pain moved over her, reminding her that she didn't have much time before bones and muscles began to rearrange themselves and her consciousness vanished in a haze of red rage and burning hunger.
No option except grit your teeth and get on with it.
Nicole dropped to her knees and reluctantly crawled inside. She pulled the heavy cage door shut behind her and locked it, placing the key within arm's reach outside.
At least werewolves don't have opposable thumbs
, she thought with grim humor, and let her wolf out at last.
* * *
Gabriel followed the GPS tracker on Nicole's car until he pulled up in front of a rundown Victorian house and saw her Honda parked in the driveway.
He slowed, frowning.
Had a shape-shifter on the verge of losing control really just...
gone
home
?
Why?
It didn't make sense. If she knew what was coming, then she should be trying to leave the city as fast as possible and head for one of the many local regional wilderness areas.
And if she
didn't
know what was coming...it was going to be bad.
Really
bad.
Gabriel parked his own car around the corner, out of sight of her house, then walked quickly back.
He approached her car and stooped to remove the tracker from the undercarriage. He didn't need it now. Then he climbed the stairs stealthily to her porch.
Gabriel stood in the shadows, wondering what to do next. Should he knock? Break in and confront her before it was too late? Or should he wait to see whether she actually went out of control?
Though he hadn't met many shape-shifters, he'd heard how Children of Lilith drained off the excess magic from their shape-shifter companions and kept them from losing control.
Gabriel was a Child of Lilith, called
incubus
and
demon
by the enemies of his kind. Nourished by the strong emotions of mortals, he had made love to many women and even a few men.
He imagined Nicole naked and willing and overflowing with delicious, dangerous magic.
Concealed by the darkness shrouding her porch, he shuddered with intense desire at the thought of plunging his cock deep into her hot, slick flesh, of drinking deeply of her orgasm as she writhed against him and moaned with pleasure.
He wanted to make her come again and again, until she fell asleep in his arms utterly satisfied, her beast-magic absorbed and tamed by his own special hunger.
Unwilling to commit to someone who might age and die, leaving him bereft, he had never taken a
philtatos
, a Beloved Companion, of his own.
But he had never wanted someone as badly as he wanted Nicole right now.
Part of her attraction was her air of deep reserve, of controlled calm.
Self-control was a necessary part of being a shape-shifter, but ever since meeting her, Gabriel had been wondering what it would be like to make her lose that control, to make her surrender utterly to her feelings—and to him.