Kathy Love - My Sister Is A Werewolf

“Elizabeth,” Christian said, appearing at her elbow. “Are you okay?” His voice was soft and steady, as if he knew he was talking to someone who was more animal than human.

Shame filled her. What did her brother think of her now? There was no disguising that she was not the Elizabeth he remembered. Not now.

She didn’t meet his eyes as she nodded.

“Is she okay?” the man she’d just shoved demanded. “She’s the one who attacked me.” He jabbed an angry finger in her direction. “Crazy bitch.”

She opened her mouth to apologize, but only a low, angry growl escaped her throat. Christian stepped between them.

“Then maybe you should take your hands off a lady when she asks,” her brother said, his voice still even but leaving no room for argument.

The man glared at them both, then called to his friends, loudly announcing what he thought of this establishment and its owners.

Once he and his buddies left, Jolee came on the microphone announcing that the still-gaping man at the mic was going to start his song again.

As soon as the music restarted, the bar patrons settled back into normalcy, most of them continuing their socializing, only a little more subdued than before.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Christian asked again.

“I’m okay,” she assured him, even as she felt the wolf rising in her again. She had to get out of here. “I’m just going to go.”

Christian looked as if he wanted to argue, but then he nodded. “Be careful.” Then he smiled. “Although I think you are pretty capable of taking care of yourself.”

She thought she might have seen pride in his eyes, but she was too embarrassed and too afraid to be sure.

She mumbled her farewell and rushed to the door. She needed to go back to her house, away from people. She was dangerous. She’d never acted like this. Never. Something was very, very wrong.

Rain now fell in a steady drizzle as she stepped out into the parking lot. She put distance between herself and the bar, stopping in the shadows among the parked cars to gather herself.

Raising her face toward the sky, she prayed for the cold rain to dampen down some of the heat inside her. Heat from embarrassment and from the desire still swirling inside her, unsatisfied and growing.

She had no idea how long she’d been standing there when she heard the bar door open and the crunch of footsteps on wet gravel. Her body tensed. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know who was coming in her direction. She could smell him. Woodsy, clean, and so, so tempting.

She opened her eyes to see her man, walking right toward her, his tall, strong body silhouetted against the lights of the bar. And just like that, the wolf was back and in full control.

She stepped out of the shadows in front of him.

“Hi there,” her voice was low, husky, and full of hunger.

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in giving me a ride.”

Jensen came to a halt as the figure appeared from between two parked cars, directly in front of him. It took him only a fraction of a second to recognize who the tall, slender form was. The watcher. She’d seemed to materialize out of the darkness, appearing now as quickly as she’d disappeared.

He’d noticed that she was gone as soon as he’d come out of the rest room, making an escape of his own. He’d assumed she’d left with the rough-looking giant, whom he’d noticed talking to her. He’d felt oddly disappointed, even as he told himself she, with her leather jacket and pants, appeared well-suited to the dangerous-looking man. And it wasn’t as if Jensen was going to talk to her himself.

Or so he’d thought.

And now she was asking him for a ride. And he got the feeling she was talking about a ride that wouldn’t necessarily get her safely home. Again, his muscles reacted, tensing with need.

Stop, he ordered his rebellious libido that had suddenly chosen tonight to decide it had been long neglected.

“Are you having a problem with your car?” he asked, managing to sound far more relaxed than he felt.

“No,” she said, taking a step toward him. The movement brought her into the light.

His eyes started to move down her trim body, but he stopped himself. “Did your ride leave you?”

“No,” she said again, then smiled. His pulse reacted instantly to the wide curve of her lips-his muscles vibrated with desire. She was definitely a beautiful woman.

You’re not interested, he reminded himself. Despite what his body might think. And it thought being alone in a vehicle with her was a freaking fantastic idea. Still, he ignored his body’s enthusiasm.

“So, if you aren’t having car problems, and your ride hasn’t left you, then I’m not sure why you need a ride from me.”

Her smile turned indulgent as if she knew that he wasn’t comfortable with the idea of being alone with her.

“I have my motorcycle,” she said, tilting her head toward a silver-and-black bike parked against the bar. “Not a good night for driving on these twisty roads.”

She held out her hands, palms up, as if to display the rain falling on them. “At least not on two wheels.”

Jensen couldn’t argue with that, but reluctance still kept him motionless. He couldn’t be alone with this woman.

“But I guess if you aren’t interested in helping a lady in distress… ” Her words trailed off, and she started toward the bike. A bike that looked too big for her to handle on a dry, straight road, much less a rain-slicked, winding one.

Shit. He couldn’t have her on his conscience, too.

“My truck is this way,” he said, walking away from her, not waiting, not looking. Like that would stop his body from reacting to her.

Just give her a ride, then go home. No big deal.

He heard her boots on the gravel, then she was beside him. Though she was at least a couple of feet away, he swore he could feel the heat radiating off of her body.

This was not good, he told himself. His body sizzled merrily in her heat, not listening.

She didn’t speak until they reached the truck; he unlocked her side first and opened the door, making sure he made no contact with her.

“Gallant,” she murmured with another smile as she slid up onto the bench seat.

He laughed wryly. “I don’t know about that.” Not with the way he was feeling at the moment.

He crossed to the driver’s side, unlocked the door, and joined her in the dark vehicle. He didn’t glance at her as he slid the key into the ignition.

“I wouldn’t want you to be too gallant, though,” she said, her husky voice brushing over him. The desire crackling through his limbs flared.

He shot her a quick look, then shifted the truck into Drive. When they reached the road, he braked. “Which way to your house?”

“Right,” she said, pointing in the correct direction, her eyes never leaving him.

He nodded, trying to concentrate on driving, which was no easy task. He could feel her eyes locked on him, studying him.

“I guess I should introduce myself,” he said after a moment, the uneasy silence making him more aware of her gaze. “I’m Jensen.”

She smiled. “Hi, Jensen.” She didn’t offer her name.

Again silence filled the vehicle, the only sound the whir of the tires, and the rhythmic swish of the wipes. Yet, his senses were overwhelmed. He could feel her just a few inches away, smell her, realizing the spicy, rich scent he’d smelled in the bar had been her-although that didn’t seem possible.

“You can turn here,” she said, her voice almost startling him. She pointed to a narrow dirt road that he wouldn’t have even noticed if she hadn’t gestured toward it.

Slowing, he made the sharp turn, and the truck was quickly encompassed by gray, nearly bare maples and oaks and thick evergreens.