Lust. Lechery. Excessive thoughts of a sexual nature. Intense or unbridled sexual desire. Lasciviousness.
*****
"Who the hell is she, T? Better question, what the hell is she?"
Standing in the alley behind Orgasm, Thane Wulff contemplated his Beta's questions. He took one last pull of his hand rolled before dropping the butt to the tarred pavement and grinding it under his boot. "The hell if I know."
Cael's discomfort with hearing the answer was evident in the uneasy shifting of his weight from foot to foot. Neither man was used to dealing with the unknown, dealing with things out of their control. "I'm not overreacting though, right? You felt it?"
Yeah, Thane had felt it all right. Intuition in the form of a sharp twist settling in his gut the moment the woman had stepped foot inside his club. His wolf had been restless ever since. "Unfortunately, my brother, yes."
"So...what do we do?"
Thane sighed. Leave it to his Beta to ask the good goddamned questions of a lifetime. "What else can we do? We take her."
"Then what?"
"Whatever's necessary."
Up to, and including, killing her.
Else he had a feeling shit was going to go terribly wrong.
*****
Rayn Holland sat at a table in a dark, smoky corner. Her only company was her half consumed apple martini and two purses, one which belonged to her best friend and the other to her younger sister.
What a way to spend a Friday evening
.
On purse duty
. She would much rather be home parked in front of her LCD watching a Monk or Law and Order marathon with a bowl of kettle corn in her right hand and a liter of Pepsi in the left.
Why had she agreed to this torture? She'd already known this was how the evening was going to end. It always did whenever she accompanied her free spirited best friend and sexually liberated sister anywhere at the same time.
Separate, she could deal with them. Together, they were an unbearable menace. Hell, not even the threat of eternal damnation was enough to put a damper on their fun.
Rayn shuddered, thinking of the time they'd all gone on The Gospel Celebration Cruise. It was a wonder the other cruisers hadn't demanded the captain lock the two in the bowels of the boat with nothing to eat and drink but consecrated bread and wine.
Then again, it had been hard for the other cruisers to say anything. They'd all been thoroughly engrossed...otherwise.
Taking a sip of her martini, Rayn looked around. The club teemed with men dressed in leather and half naked women in micro-minis.
Bad asses and bitches. And a few butches in leather thrown in for good measure.
A couple at the table next to her going at it pretty hot and heavy quickly found themselves joined by a third female. Rayn averted her gaze, not understanding the attraction of these places to Nicki and Alexis. This so was not her cup of tea.
Rayn caught sight of her sister careening wildly towards her and jumped back in her chair just as Nicki used their table as a landing pad. Pissed she'd almost had a rib cracked by the marbled tabletop, Rayn snapped, "Watch where you're going, Nik."
"My bad." A giggle slipped pass her lips.
Rayn groaned. They'd only been in the club twenty minutes and apparently Nicki had already managed to convince one or more men to contribute to her lifelong goal of perpetual intoxication. This was going to be a
long
night. "Why don't we leave. Go out and catch a midnight matinee or something. Where's Lexi?"
"Leave?" The expression on Nicki's light cocoa features was bewildered. "What for? We just got here." As a new song blared through the speakers of the upscale club, she snapped her fingers and swayed her hips to the tune. She was almost on beat. But not quite. "I love this song!"
"You love every song when you're inebriated, Nicki."
"And you love being a buzz kill, Rayn. Guess we're even. Now loosen up. The night is young and there's way more fun to be had."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Rayn griped under her breathe.
Alexis appeared at that moment, the beads of sweat dotting her forehead and the light sheen of dampness coating her bare shoulders a testament to her love of gyrating with unknown men, and the occasional woman, on the dance floor. A Cheshire grin in place, she grabbed her purse. "I'm out of here, ladies."
"Where-" Rayn stopped short as a blond Adonis walked up behind Alexis and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Never mind. I don't want to know."
"Toodles." Alexis winked then waggled her fingers as she was led away.
Turning her attention back to her sister, Rayn asked, "Can we-"
"I'll be right back," Nicki cut her off.
"Where are you going?"
"To find me one of those. No way I'm letting Lexi have all the fun tonight."
Shaking her head, Rayn watched her sister depart. Maybe she would be back home in time to catch her Monk marathon after all.
"You're not enjoying yourself nearly as much as your friends, princess," a warm, seductive voice breathed in her ear. "How can I rectify the situation?"
*****
The woman whirled in her seat and Thane's breath was knocked from his lungs. Since returning from the alley, he'd been watching from afar, putting his plan in motion to separate her from her friends.
But he'd been so focused on trying to figure out what the fucking deal was with the powerful aura surrounding her, he'd completely missed her breathtaking beauty.
Her mocha complexion was flawless and the layers of her shoulder length hair artfully framed a heart shaped face. Her hazels were intoxicating and beautiful, flecked with specks of green.
Thane reeled under the force of his wolf's reaction: he wanted her. Like he had never wanted another female. Hell, he never had wanted another female. His wolf usually remained impartial whenever the fairer sex was involved.
Even during the heat of sex.
But he couldn't have her. At least not here, in front of everyone. Plus, Thane didn't even know what the hell she was.
But his wolf was too far gone to listen to reason.
Orgasm had been a firm nightlife fixture in downtown Columbus Ohio for years. The bar was frequented by as many humans as it was supernaturals, therefore revealing his dual nature would be no good. That is, unless his goal was to drive his business towards a premature death. Which would quickly be followed by authorities coming to arrest him because humans loved to study, poke and prod at the alien. Validating the existence of a shape shifter would be akin to the holy grail of supernatural discoveries.
Which meant an increased risk of exposure for his entire pack. And as Alpha, Thane could never risk the chance. Ever.
So unless he wanted his beast to burst forth, Thane needed to keep a safe distance. He forced himself to take a step back, his wolf instantly chafing at the reins.
Mine
, the beast snarled.
Mine.
"Who are you?" the beauty asked, her tone soft and melodious. She was completely unaware of the intense battle which waged within him.
And of the way she'd just exasperated his wolf's agitation tenfold.
Yours.
"Thane Wulff."