Night Critters (Collection) (2 page)

Roni could feel her chair getting wet. What was a hunk like him doing on a dating service site? Any bitch would be willing to lift her tail for him if he were were-folk. What was with human females, anyway? Couldn't they see how gorgeous he was? Oh, right. There weren't that many anymore.

She continued to read. “'I love moonlit walks on the beach, romantic steak dinners by the fire.'” She could almost swear she was dripping on the carpet. Beaches and steaks were her kind of date, cliched though they were. The exotic nature of a human who sounded like a werewolf in his tastes was damn sexy. “Oh, boy. Tell me you like your sex on the furry side of life, handsome. Please? I love dogs. I am one!"

She emailed Tall, Dark, and Romantic before she could talk herself out of it. “You have my attention. Now you have my email. The ball is in your court.” Staring at his picture, she could feel the heat radiating off her body. In full lust, Roni slid her hand between the blue lace of her panties and her sweating flesh.

Best-case scenario, she really wanted an Alpha, but those rare males willing and able to rule a pack were few and far between. Like coveted stud racehorses, they kept to their own circle of the wealthy, and the loveliest the pack could provide were at their disposal.

A mutt like Roni didn't qualify, but that didn't prevent her from dreaming. Could Corbin be an Alpha human? Did those exist? Well, why not? This was her fantasy, after all.

Corbin's eyes glittered in the moonlight of her fantasy. His breath smelled deliciously of their steak dinner, and his hand slid down her back to where her tail wagged from under her skirt. “I happen to find tails very sexy."

Roni saw herself kicking off her heels until she could nibble easily at his nipples right through his shirt. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and she shuddered, lying back in the big desk chair. Her fingers busy, Roni imagined Corbin moaning and disarranging her hair until it fell around her ears like a blanket.

"No fair. I want those luscious tits.” Like she would object to that. Right. Corbin took her lifted chest as permission and ripped off her shirt until it hung in tatters from her shoulders.

His work-roughened hands slid over her skin, tickling and teasing her nipples to hard peaks. His mouth, hot and firm, suckled her breasts until she thought she'd scream.

His mouth inched lower, doing impossibly hot things to her body. She hardly felt her own furiously working fingers anymore, so deep into her fantasy was she.

Roni was close to howling in pure ecstasy when her computer brought her out of her haze with the age-old phrase spoken in a robotic tone. “You've got mail."

"Of course,” she groaned. “Oh, my.” Her heart stopped. Tall, dark, and romantic had responded, setting a date for next Friday. “Oh, shit.” Nervously, she looked around, not knowing exactly what she was looking for. “I have nothing to wear. I need to go shopping. Retail therapy to help my nerves. Yeah."

Roni jumped up and raced for the door. Grabbing her purse on the way, she stepped outside, then immediately ran back in as the cold night air pinched her almost naked nipples. With her back plastered against the cool wood door, Roni remembered she was still in her nightie. “What the hell was I thinking? I'll go shopping tomorrow. Now my only concern is what does a bitch wear to date a human?"

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Corbin sat in his Lexus hydrocar in front of his date's house, his fingers clenched in a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. He looked around at the ancient forest as if seeking an answer in the sighing of the wind through the oaks. The whole area surrounding the seventies-style house was straight out of the previous century, with large trees, neat flowerbeds, and real grass. Someone was obviously willing to get their hands dirty to keep up the display of middle-class prosperity. Real wealth like his father had as pack leader was rare indeed. Most people couldn't afford acres of land for the pack to run in, but many could afford the half-acre of land to aid in sustainable oxygen renewal with a few trees. Eco-awareness had come to the world with an ugly bang in 2020, when most of the oilfields dried up. What little was left was conserved ruthlessly, and that had started the whole world “going green.” He patted his Lexus affectionately. It really wasn't that difficult to treat Mother Earth well when the alternative was very cold and dark.

"What the hell am I doing?” Corbin sighed heavily. “I can't date outside the pack. It's not allowed and never been heard of.” He dropped his hands to his lap, rubbed them on his chinos and then put them back on the wheel. “I can't do this. My father wouldn't approve."

Visions of his father and the pack at one of the boring monthly meetings floated before his eyes. The memory of the unmated females’ hungry stares helped Corbin decide and outweighed any anticipation of his father's ire.

"Why do I give a damn what my father says?” Corbin squeezed the steering wheel briefly as guilt gave one final gasping attempt before it died. He'd never had reason to blatantly disregard pack tradition and his father's wishes but the bitches of the pack were about as interesting as wet cardboard. “I'm just nervous... or am I scared?” Nerves. It had to be nerves if he was talking to himself. “I don't know. I should just get this over with. I should tell her the truth."

He'd lied in his profile on the dating service, but, dammit, he didn't want to date another pure werewolf from his pack. All they wanted was a chance to be the mate of the most eligible bachelor in the largest pack in three states. Corbin wasn't a male to them. He was a title—Heir to the Thornburn Pack.

He put his hand on the door release. “So why the fuck am I not getting out of the car?” An owl hooted laughter at him from the sighing trees. He hated to be the butt of jokes, and a blind date was the equivalent of asking the cosmos to shit on him. “Come on, Corbin. Are you an Alpha or are you a mouse?” He drew a deep, fortifying breath. “Woof fucking woof."

The front door opened and a woman walked out on the porch. Short and gorgeous stood on the porch wearing a pair of low-cut black leather pants with a shimmering soft dusky blue halter that draped around the neck with an oval cut-out showing just enough of her round, perky breasts to make his blood boil. The black leather mini-jacket did him in and presented a dichotomy of leather and silk sensuality. She smiled and walked down to meet him.

"Chubalicious, my ass. That woman is voluptuous.” He had no hesitations about getting out of the car now. He did have some difficulties, however. Forgetting to take off his seat belt held him back a little. Fighting with the mechanism to unbuckle himself, he finally made it out of the death trap of a vehicle and met his date on the sidewalk next to the passenger side of his car.

For three seconds he lost himself in the biggest brown eyes he'd ever seen. Corbin forgot her name from the emails. He cleared his throat. “I'm Corbin, my lady. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Perfect white teeth flashed a cheerful smile. “It's nice to meet you, Corbin. I'm Roni.” Roni looked down at his feet. “It's seems you've forgotten something."

He followed her gaze only to see that in his struggle with the seat belt he had lost one of his loafers. It was a wonder he hadn't noticed, but the girl had kept all his attention.
Great image presentation, Mr. Heir to the Thornburn Pack
. In an attempt to save what was left of his dignity, he reached into his coat and pulled out a rainbow colored teddy bear with a bright pink bow. “I didn't know if you were allergic to flowers or candy."

Charmed, she cuddled the bear close, clearly enjoying the soft plush body until he envied the toy. It almost looked as if she began to melt right there on the sidewalk. “It's very cute. Thank you. So where are we off to tonight?"

"How do you like your steak?” Even a human like he pretended to be knew to take a werewolf out for real meat and not any sappy seafood or salad bar.

"Still mooing.” Her chin lifted as if her response was a challenge. Maybe it was. For omnivores, humans could be squeamish.

"My kind of girl.” Corbin opened the door for her in a display of old-world courtesy females still appreciated.

She looked up, her eyes glittered in the moonlight. “Not the final question of the evening but an important one. How do you like your potato?"

Once again Corbin found himself enthralled by her brown eyes, and this time the scent of leather teased his nose as well. He struggled to formulate a coherent answer. “Baked, with everything."

Her eyes lit with pleasure, and her smile widened with approval. “I think I'm in love."

Could an Alpha melt on the sidewalk in the moonlight? This she-wolf was a real kick in the gut. Corbin's mouth opened before his brain recovered from the urge to chase her into the woods. “As long as you're also in lust ‘cause I am."

Roni's eye widened to the size of saucers. She didn't back up, which earned her kudos for courage on a blind date. Her lip didn't even curl into a were-bitch's snarl for male arrogance.

Embarrassment flooded his face and soul. He probably stood out like an aircraft beacon in the darkness.
Way to go, Mr. Sophistication. You've been hanging around construction sites too long
. “Did I say that out loud?"

Her reply was a soft “Yeah.” Incredibly, her lips twitched into a mysterious smile worthy of the Mona Lisa. Maybe he hadn't screwed up the entire evening. “It's okay. It was cute, and the possibilities are there.” She slid into the passenger seat as if she owned the evening and buckled the full-body restraints required of all passengers.

Elated, Corbin closed the door and refrained from skipping around the front of the car to the driver's side. Sliding into the seat, he suavely put his seatbelt on without strangling himself and surreptitiously put on his shoe. He'd do his best to repair his slip of the tongue, but at least she'd subtly let him know he'd not blown the evening completely. “How about we dine and get to know each other first?"

Mischief sparkled in her dark eyes, and her tone insinuated much more. “Isn't it stupid that we're going to busy the only orifice that we can legally be interested in publicly?"

His brow furrowed. Orifices? Was she really implying that he wasn't the only one with erotic designs on the brain? “Is that a trick question?"

The sexy confidence in her eyes was breathtakingly different from the average werewolf ladies of his acquaintance. Roni was a bitch who knew who and what she was with no shame. “No, darling. Take it as a glimpse of the future."

His hopes of at least chasing the sexy lady around a bedroom increased exponentially. “You're beautiful and sassy. I think we're going to have a great time.” Corbin stomped on the accelerator and sped down the street to the sound of her laughter.

At the steak house, Roni and Corbin listened to the waitress run through her opening lines. When she pointed out the salad bar Roni stopped her by raising one hand, palm out. “I did not climb to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables."

Corbin thought he was going to die of either laughter or suffocation from trying to hold the laugh back. Instead he choked and coughed politely into his napkin. “Excuse me. We'll have the special."

The annoyed waitress frowned and brushed her feathery hair, identifying her as at least part Nephylum, back over her shoulder. “I understand, ma'am. I'll be back with your order shortly.” He thought he heard her mutter, “Carnivores."

Soon the waitress returned, fully composed, with two plates. T-bone steaks just brown enough to sizzle but still bleeding sided with two mounds of butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese, and chives topping what Corbin hoped was a baked potato. The scent was enough to make any were-folk howl with pleasure.

Roni had no lies to restrain her. “Pardon me while I forget that I'm a lady. Cover me. I'm going in.” She picked up her fork and knife without modesty and started slicing.

She really was the woman of his dreams. Like a good carnivore, she was unashamedly all about the meat. Yet she'd had the courtesy to beg forgiveness of her supposedly human date. Corbin squirmed, caught in a trap of his own making and hating his lie. Now for the ultimate test. Could she handle his favorite fantasy? “Here's another question for you. What do you think of roller coasters?"

Her fork paused at her luscious lips, meat dripping deliciously down the metal. Her brown eyes twinkled with delight and challenged him silently. “My favorite is the Aneurysm at the theme park on Evergreen."

"Where do you like to sit?” Corbin leaned closer and watched her put that beautiful chunk of meat into her mouth. Corbin's vision blurred as he fantasized about other meat she could put between those full red lips. She chewed the meat so seductively he thought he was going to come right there at the table.

She swallowed the steak and bared her teeth in full challenge. “The front, where I can scream."

His dick was so hard he could have hammered nails with it. Challenge accepted. He had to challenge her back. “The roller coaster won't be the only thing making you scream tonight."

Even the Mona Lisa didn't have a smile that mysteriously enticing. “Promises, promises."

Corbin shivered as her foot slid slowly up his leg and settled between his thighs. When exactly had she taken her shoes off? Corbin immediately forgot the question, and his dinner, as she tickled his balls with her toes.

Roni's smile was feral and enticing. “I think I'm going to enjoy a wild ride, aren't I?"

The crystal tumbler hit the wall paneling and shattered into a thousand sparkling shards. Duke took a few calming breaths and stared up at the holo image of his deceased wife. He missed her every day. How would she have handled this? The news was so unexpected. “My son has a date with a
what
?"

The informant blanched at the dangerous tone in his boss's voice, but stood his ground. “A Chuskie, sir. She's a mutt. I dated her last year and recognized them in the restaurant."

Duke stalked over to pour himself a fresh whiskey from the decanter, his lupine eyes dark with thought. The pickings weren't that slim among the unmated bitches of the pack, but Duke understood Corbin's disgust. The ladies, no matter how beautiful and accomplished, made no secret of their interest in wealth and power. Even he, graying at the temples but still in shape, felt like a prime piece of beef for sale. Still, a mutt was an unacceptable substitute, even for a one-night stand. “I do not approve of my son dating a mutt. I will stop this. Go."