The secret was that he was stymied by her interest in him. But then again, maybe he should stop thinking like a Northwoods hick and accept the Parisian ideal. Whatever that was.
Slipping his fingers between her legs, he found her swollen apex and stroked her until she gripped at his shoulders and tossed back her head. The scent of flowers and salty sweetness and...something so familiar filled his senses as she cried out in pleasure.
Stryke inhaled deeply, testing the scent she gave off and wondering... It was too familiar not to recognize. Was she really? There was no mistaking her feral scent. He knew it from long runs in the woods with his brothers while they were in wolf form and from the rush of adrenaline the wolves got when chasing prey.
As Blysss body softened above him, Stryke gripped her by the shoulders. Youre a werewolf?
Chapter 4
Blyss pushed out of Strykes demanding grasp and shuffled off the bed. She clasped her hands across her breasts, the urge to protect herself heightened by his out-of-the-blue question. And his strangely accusatory tone. Inhaling, she fought to not mentally return to that moment in high schoolthe moment life had turned against her.
How could he have known?
In all the years she had been taking a pill to suppress her werewolf, never had anyone guessed her truth. Sure, she tended to live and socialize only with humans. Not too often a human was going to make the jump to ask Could you be a werewolf? But on occasion she sensed a vampire or other in the crowdvamps could be so obvious at times. None had ever guessed at her beastly origins.
Yet Stryke knew. In the moment when she had cried out as an orgasm had swept through her, and then he too had come
Was it possible another werewolf could scent her during an aroused state?
Apparently it was. But not simple arousal, rather climax. It was the first time she had come when with him.
Blyss? Are you...?
A frightening truth assaulted Blyss like a blow to the gut. The only way Stryke could possibly guess such a thing about her was if he was also a wolf.
She had just slept with a werewolf.
Oh, mercy, what terrible thing had she done?
Its okay. He moved to the edge of the bed, his hands up to placate. His eyes softened, as did his voice. I didnt realize you were my breed. Im werewolf, he offered, obviously sensing her distress. I didnt realize what you were last night in your office. Usually I can scent another of my kind. Maybe your perfume overwhelmed my senses.
I cant talk about this right now.
The innate instinct to flee when cornered moved Blysss limbs. She excused herself to go to the bathroom and rushed across the hardwood floor. With the door closed behind her, and the cool bathroom tiles beneath her bare feet, she turned on the faucet and splashed her face with tepid water. Her reflection could not overlook that twitch at the corner of her heart that manifested in a frown. Her hair was tousled, her lipstick worn away. Her eye shadow still looked perfect, but...
Nothing was perfect. He knew.
And while she should have laughed off his guess and made a grand and confident exit as stunning as her entrance, she couldnt simply leave. She had come here for a reason. Her very life depended on securing the black diamond she had planted in Strykes suit pocket.
Merde. Stryke Saint-Pierre was a werewolf.
Her heartbeats dropped to her stomach. Blyss pressed her palms to the cool vanity sink, bowing her head. He hadnt scented her because the pills she took to suppress her werewolf made her virtually human.
How did he know? she begged her reflection.
It had to have been the sex. When she had climaxed and her body had released...something had clued him to her heritage. Pheromones or something like that. No man had noticed before because shed never had sex with a werewolf.
What luckthe one man she had picked out from the crowd to help her should be the very man she needed to stay away from. Wanted to stay away from. But now could not.
Not until she found what shed come for.
She straightened and nodded firmly at the mirror. She would go out there, dress, and she had to check the closet for the suit hed worn last night. How to do that without raising suspicion? And how to avoid the werewolf questions?
She wanted to run away from it all. As she had so many years ago when her fellow classmates had stared at her with horror.
You can do this. You have to do this. She winced. Could Stryke possibly help her? No. She had a plan. She would stick to it. He must never know what kind of trouble Im in.
With a few adjustments to her hair and a pat of a towel to dry her face, Blyss wandered back into the bedroom. Her lover stood by the window, naked, with an erection. The sun beamed across his face and shadowed his body, silhouetting that proud jut of manhood before the glass. Gorgeous. Something she would miss. She already missed him. The whole man. His kisses. His firm yet loving touch. His sexy smile...
Hell, what was she thinking? Get your head on course.
Blyss sat on the end of the bed. She picked up the red velvet dress from the floor. Where was her purse? Must have left it in the kitchen when shed entered. Your water is nice and hot here.
Is that a good thing? I mean, isnt it all over the city? He strode over to her and stroked his fingers over her hair. A shiver trickled down her neck and tightened her nipples. He smelled like fire and strength and sex. It was annoyingly distracting.
Usually takes mine five minutes to warm nicely in the winter, she provided in an attempt to stick to the plan. I may live off the Champs-Élysées, but the plumbing doesnt care that it is the ritzy section of town.
Is that the street with all the fancy shops on it? The one that leads up to Napoleons statue?
Blyss smiled and stood to face him. She trailed a finger down his chest that was dusted with brown hair. His muscles gleamed in the sunlight.
Its not a statue. Its a monument. The Arc de Triomphe was erected by Napoleon to commemorate his military victories. She kissed his jaw. Avoided touching his hard-on. Not an easy task. Wish I had a toothbrush.
I might have seen an extra in the drawer. Give me a few minutes to brush my teeth. Then Ill set one out for you. Okay?
Perfect.
He kissed her on the mouth and she pushed away from him. I just said
Are we going to discuss the werewolf thing?
Heartbeats rammed against her rib cage. I dont want to. I... No. Please let it go, Stryke.
He sighed and nodded. But for a few seconds he studied her. Trying to look inside her? Figure how he had missed that she was a werewolf?
If only she had known the same about him.
Finally, Stryke strolled toward the bathroom.
Tearing her gaze from his sexy backside, Blyss sighed. The life she led was a difficult achievement. And she did strive for it. But it was to be her undoing.
When the bathroom door closed, she slipped the dress over her head as she made a beeline for the closet door. Inside, the walk-in closet was vast and empty. Only the first rack held a few items. Two pairs of mens shoes sat on the floor beside a large empty suitcase.
When the bathroom door closed, she slipped the dress over her head as she made a beeline for the closet door. Inside, the walk-in closet was vast and empty. Only the first rack held a few items. Two pairs of mens shoes sat on the floor beside a large empty suitcase.
She touched the hung items. A few T-shirts. Some jeans and a pair of dressier slacks. One white dress shirt. Nothing designer. And one black tie that wasnt silk but rather something like polyester.
Blyss shuddered. The mans wardrobe was hideous. Not a natural fiber in the lot, and yet the suit last night had been Zegna, if she was not mistaken. And she rarely misjudged couture. Though it had been poorly tailored to fit him, it had been expensive. She was sure of it.
Where was the suit?
Hey.
Blyss startled. She hadnt heard Strykes return and now he stood in the doorway, filling the space with an easy confidence, shoulders set back and head tilted. Hed put on a pair of jeans that hung low, revealing the hard cuts of muscle that veered toward his groin like some kind of traffic alert that screamed Go this way!
What are you doing? He held a boxed toothbrush in his hand.
Uh, just...looking. She spread her palm down the front of one of the T-shirts. Shit. What to say? Im a bit of a snoop. Werent all women? A girl can learn a lot about a man by standing in his closet.
Oh, bad save, Blyss. Very bad save.
Is that so? Tell me what youve learned about me?
That youre a terrible traveler. Didnt you say you were in town for a wedding? Wheres the suit you wore last night?
It was a loaner. I dropped it off at Vails earlier today. Ive been doing a lot of running around for my family, picking up things they need for the wedding.
Vail?
A vampire. Hes the father of the groom. I borrowed the suit for the night. Ive been informed by the female faction of all this wedding madness that Ill have a rental for the wedding. Although...I imagine Vail will probably wear the suit for the wedding.
Vail, she muttered. I dont think Ive heard of him.
You probably havent. Vamps tend to stay off the radar.
Yes, I suppose.
He discussed vampires with her so casually. As if it was something she was familiar with and engaged in discussion every day. The paranormal breeds were something she avoided with a passion. And talking about them made her uncomfortable.
But since you dont want to discuss the werewolf thing, Ill assume vampires are off the table, too?
She nodded and dropped her hand from the front of the dress shirt.
So, do you want to go to a wedding? Stryke offered as he waggled the toothbrush before her.
Blyss accepted the packaged offering and tapped it against her lower lip. A wedding with vampires? Oh, mercy no. But if the suit was going to be there? Had she any other choice?
The last thing she wanted to do was associate with werewolves and vampires.
Weddings are always fun, she managed to say brightly. When is it?
Saturday. Its an evening wedding. Ill pick you up around six?
She nodded. Its a date.
Step three of the plan had failed miserably. On to step four. Emergency procedures.
Ill need your address.
Blyss strolled out into the bedroom, stepped into her heels and spied his mobile phone on the nightstand beside the bed.
Ill enter it for you.
She typed in her address on the contacts app, but she didnt enter her number. She never gave any man her number.
When Stryke took the phone he leaned in to kiss her, but she performed a twist and managed to avoid the contact as his lips brushed her cheek. She clicked toward the bedroom door, abandoning the toothbrush with a toss toward the bed.
Im so sorry to rush off, but I have to get back to the gallery!
She didnt listen for his reply, but suspected he was probably kicking himself for inviting her to the wedding after that cold brush-off. Of course, now the man would have another day to think and wonder over her. Not a good thing.
Grabbing her scarf and purse as she breezed through the kitchen, she hastened through the front door and skipped toward the elevator.
A vampire wedding would prove a challenge. But if she did not find the suit, she would not be able to pay off Edamite Thrash. And life as she knew it would never again be the same.
* * *
It freaked me out, Stryke said to his brother Kelyn as they strolled down a narrow cobbled street somewhere in the 5th arrondissement. Trouble walked ahead of them. I had no idea she was werewolf.
Something must be wrong with her, Kelyn offered in his usual quiet tone.
Of the four Saint-Pierre boys, Kelyn had no wolf in him and was 100 percent faery, thanks to their mothers genes. Physically he looked like no one in the familysave their motherand was tall, lithe and pale. He usually covered the faint white markings that traced his arms, chest and back of his neck. Faery markings even he wasnt sure about. His violet eyes had a tendency to make women swoon. And Stryke had heard more than a few whispers about Kelyns prowess between the sheets that made the ladies collapse in delighted exhaustion.
His sidhe brother seemed to navigate Paris as if he knew the city, yet used the ley-line excuse when Stryke asked about it. Faeries were inexplicably connected to the ley lines that crissed and crossed across the planet.
Trouble, who strode in front of them, his shoulders swaying with each sure stride, eyed a pair of women in stilettos and brandishing patent leather purses as they sat sipping café au lait before a chic café. The dark-haired Trouble winked and nodded to them. The women ignored his blatant flirtations with a chill Stryke was all too recently familiar with. Blysss quick escape earlier had made him want to check if icicles had formed on the doorknob.
There was something up with her. Beyond the weird aversion to discussing the fact they were both wolves. That was why hed asked her to the wedding. He needed to know more. Andto have one huge question answered.
The city girls are snobs, Trouble said as he slowed and parted Stryke and Kelyn to walk between them. I cant get a rise out of any of them. Im ready to go home.
I like Paris, Kelyn commented. It feels familiar. And Stryke found himself a werewolf without even trying.
Dude, really? Howd you score that? Trouble wrapped an arm about Strykes neck and gave him a noogie. Thought you were at some fancy-schmancy gallery last night with Blade? Did you hear about Blade?
What? Kelyn asked.
Scored twins, Stryke confirmed.
That man is a master, Trouble said in awe. But a werewolf, eh? Bout time my little bro hooked up with his own kind. Dad will be happy to hear you are serious about starting a pack. Whered you find her? Vail hook you up?
I met her at the gallery. I think shes the owner, but we didnt talk about much. Mostly I pushed her up against the wall and had a quickie. Because brothers shared everything. And he had to tell someone about the insane but amazing encounter.
Nice. Trouble wasnt the most discerning when it came to women. He liked them fast, sexy and amiable. And they couldnt be too fancy or prissy. Trouble was a mans man, and he liked a woman who did all the kinds of things he liked to do.