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“Your clothes fall off? Is it like an Incredible Hulk thing?”
“Incredible...?” Ry couldn’t help a chuckle. “What’s with you and the superheroes?”
She shrugged. “I like comic-book heroes. Anything wrong with that?”
“Nothing at all. Not like the Hulk. When I shift to werewolf my body grows a little taller, more muscular and hairy, and my head takes on wolf shape, as do my legs and feet and hands. I’m mostly man but a lot of wolf.”
“And you’re naked?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Sorry, I like to have all the details. Helps me to picture it better. And then you run around naked in the city?”
“I never shift to werewolf in the city. Not completely, anyway. It would be foolish and asking for trouble. We of the paranormal ilk know the only way we can survive in the mortal realm is to keep our truths hidden.”
“Wow, I suppose so. That’s got to be tough. Trying to survive in a world that doesn’t believe in you. And if they did, they’d think you’re a monster. You’re not a monster, are you?”
“Do I look like a monster?”
“Not now you don’t.” But she wasn’t completely on board with believing otherwise, he suspected.
“I’m not a monster, Indi.” He clasped her hand and rubbed the back of it along his cheek. She smelled so good. And he didn’t scent fear in her. Interesting. “I am a man first and foremost, who happens to have a proclivity for nature and running about as a wolf, especially on the night of the full moon. I also shift to wolf shape, which is exactly the creature you know as a wolf.”
“Four legs and a howl?”
He nodded.
“That’s so interesting. Do you have wolf friends?”
Despite the odd and uncomfortable questions, at the very least, Ry could be thankful she was open and not screaming right now. “Wolf friends? You mean who I run about with in the forest?”
She nodded.
“Yes. And no. Most werewolves live in packs. I haven’t been in one for a while.” Not by choice, either. “When I shift I do it alone. I own some property a couple hours out of Paris that is wooded and has a lot of acreage. If I encounter another of my species while shifted, we might have a tussle or just avoid each other. We’re protective of our property.”
“Alpha?”
“Yes, but I’m considered a lone wolf after leaving my pack.”
“Why did you leave?”
“That’s not something I want to get in to right now.” He pulled up her hand again and this time kissed the knuckles. “Any more questions?”
“Well, tons! I mean, how does the whole faery thing work in? If you don’t have wings? You can’t fly?”
“Can’t fly. Don’t have the desire to fly. I have a faery sigil on my hip that allows me some weak faery magic and the sight that I’ve already explained to you. And I do dust when I come.”
“You what?”
Ry smirked. That was always an interesting one to explain. And it only happened with a forceful orgasm. Something he tried to avoid when with women. Otherwise, how to explain the sudden glitter explosion? The jacking off when he got home thing was getting stale, though.
“When faeries have sex,” he explained, “they put out dust when they orgasm. I, uh, do that.”
Indi’s jaw dropped open, so he pushed it closed and then she caught his hand with hers, thumbing the side of his hand as she stared at it.
“A werewolf,” she said in that awe-filled voice. “Who would have thought? You’re not even Batman, you’re Wolfman.”
“I don’t like that term. Just call me Ry.”
“Ry. Ryland James. The billionaire werewolf who fights crime. What compelled you, a werewolf, to fight the bad faeries?”
“As I’ve explained, they are stealing human children. Isn’t that reason enough to want to stand up and make it stop?”
“You’re amazing. So selfless. And your philanthropy. You’re quite the package, Ry.”
And his own package was starting to harden again. She hadn’t dropped his hand, and each time she stroked her thumb over his skin he grew a little harder. He’d love to kiss her until she begged him to strip her bare and have sex with her on the sofa. But she might like that. And he was in a weird place. A little freaked that he’d spilled all to her.
Could he trust his instincts right now?
“You probably need to give what I’ve told you a good think,” he mused.
Pulling out of her grasp, he tapped her lips and pondered another kiss. That was the easy way out. Now was no time to press the easy button.
“I need to repeat how important it is to keep this information about me quiet,” he said. “If the paparazzi and tabloids ever got wind of this—”
“Oh, never. I promise.” She made an X-ing motion over her chest. “I swear to you. I won’t tell.”
He could almost believe her. “The photographers for those trashy rags have their ways. They find out I have a new friend? They’ll go after you.”
“Why?”
“Those bastards are always trying to dig up something on me. Can’t accept that I don’t do interviews and that there is nothing to tell. Except that there is a lot to tell. Which is why I avoid the press like the plague.”
“And that only makes them go after you all the more?”
“Exactly. I’d rather battle hundreds of collectors than face down one hungry tabloid reporter. They’re ruthless.”
“I’ve seen that. I myself am a socialite.” She beamed, but it wasn’t one of those entitled poses, but was rather sweet actually. “I attend a lot of balls and social events. I’ve never been in the spotlight like a celebrity, but I do understand. You can trust me, Ry. We don’t know each other that well, but we’ve been through something together. And... I want to know you better.”
“I’d like to get to know you better. Can we go out on a date? Something official? I mean, if you can handle dating someone who isn’t human.”
“I’d love that. And you seem very human to me. How about this weekend?”
He winced. “Can’t. Full moon.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped, but then she perked up. “Oh? So you and the full moon...?”
“I have to shift on the night of the full moon. Which is going to be an issue this month. I’ve only been slaying the collectors for a couple weeks. This weekend will present a challenge. I normally leave for my cabin on the night before the full moon. There I have the freedom to shift without worry of being caught out. But I can’t leave Paris this weekend. I have to be in FaeryTown at midnight to stop the collectors.”
“But if you shift to werewolf in FaeryTown, will humans see you? You said they couldn’t see FaeryTown, so...” She offered a hopeful shrug.
Ry hadn’t considered that. Could he shift in FaeryTown? Of course, he wouldn’t be seen by humans. But he risked the chance of his werewolf leaving FaeryTown for regular Paris. And would that wild part of him be satisfied with a romp about the city? No trees or fields? No long stretches of human-free acreage to let loose and howl in?
He’d have to figure this out within the next few days.
“It’s something to consider. Can we make the date for next week? Sunday maybe? Because the day before and after it’s full I also...have needs.”
“Like what?”
The days before and after the full moon? He also wanted to shift, but that compulsion could be squelched with sex. A lot of it. How to work that out this weekend? “Another one of those things you don’t need to know about.”
“You certainly are a man of mystery. But I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to share some of those secrets with me. You can trust me, Ry. Sunday?”
“Later in the day, after I’ve returned to Paris.”
“Maybe we could do a late-afternoon picnic?”
“Sounds like a plan.” He grabbed his cell phone from the coffee table and handed it to her. “Enter your info for me so I can call you. I don’t even know your last name.”
“I’m Indigo DuCharme.”
“Of course. A princess wouldn’t have any other but a romantic name. We’ll figure things out Sunday morning when I give you a call.”
“I can’t wait. In the meantime, I’m going home to—”
“Google werewolves?”
She bowed her head, because he’d hit it right on the nose. “Maybe.” Indi typed in her name and phone number, then also put in her address.
“What you read online will only be fiction,” Ry explained, feeling the need to do so. “Although some writers do get a few things right. Just take it all with a huge chunk of salt, okay?”
“Deal. I imagine it may be weird for you to have someone asking you questions about yourself, but I’m going to warn you that I may have many more questions on Sunday.”
“It is weird, but I’m not feeling so nervous about this as I was when you initially asked me. Maybe we both need a few days to let this sink in. If by Sunday you’re not on board with me, then I’ll understand.” He took the phone from her.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Indi stood. He’d just given her an opportunity to leave. And while he wanted her to stay for a few more kisses, Ry guessed her brain was humming with so much new, strange and curious information that she would need to be away from him for awhile, take it in and give it a good think.
She thrust out her hand for him to shake. Really? They’d gone beyond that silly gesture.
Ry pulled her in and bent to kiss her. The woman’s body melded to his as if fitting into a mold. And as his hard-on gave him away, Ry delved deeper into the kiss to grasp her sweetness just in case he might never see her again. Parting from her happened with a sigh from them both.
“Sunday is so far away,” she said, walking to the door. “It’s going to be a long week. Thanks, Ry, for being honest.”
“Thank you for not freaking out. But if you freak later, you can call me and we’ll cancel plans.”
“No canceling. And besides, my BFF is always on call for my freak-outs.”
“No telling the BFF about me.”
“Right. I can tell her I met a handsome man, though. She’d never forgive me if I kept that one to myself.”
Another kiss sent her on her way. And Ry waited in the doorway, listening as her footsteps sounded down the stairs.
What had he just done? Revealing himself to a woman he barely knew? Something was wrong with him.
“Or maybe it’s finally right.”
Chapter 7 (#ucb55dd12-1f56-5278-b0ae-28279fd7849d)
Days later
After slaying the two collectors in FaeryTown, Ry hopped in the Alfa Romeo and headed out of Paris. For reasons that were innate, the full moon always seemed to pull hardest at him around midnight. The witching hour? More like the wolfing hour. Even though, rationally, he knew the moon would hit its peak fullness around 2:00 a.m. this month. Other months it could be fullest during the day, but no matter, his werewolf waited until midnight to clamor for release.
But he could hold it back with the knowledge that soon he’d let out his werewolf and it would be free to run. The drive to the cabin was one of the prettiest trips when he managed it during the day. His night vision was excellent, and as he neared his property, he spied groups of deer in the ditches and the paralleling forest.
Ry pulled up the long curving gravel drive to his place and left the car out front. He’d considered having a garage built to protect the Alfa, but he wasn’t so hung up on material possessions, and while he kept it maintained, he wasn’t owned by the upkeep of it.
He unlocked the front door and tossed his duffel bag to the floor. It was cool and quiet inside. He didn’t bother to close the door because he immediately began to strip and toss aside his clothes.
Nothing felt better than a four-legged lope through the forest. And it was rare he got farther than the front doorway when he came here for two or three days of quiet and relaxation.
Shifting was immediate. His limbs loosened and shortened and coalesced to that of a gray wolf, which, when standing next to a natural wolf, would be perhaps six or eight inches taller and longer, but not much bigger.
Strutting out into the night, the wolf loped around the fieldstone walls and then raced toward the grassy field spotted with wildflowers. When he reached the forest, he let out a long and rangy howl that was answered by another natural wolf many miles off. He would ignore the howl. It was merely a property marker, not an invitation.
Charging through the forest, the night crisp against his fur, the wolf reached the small clearing that was lit like a stage with cool white moonlight.
And as the beast soared into the wild grasses and, briefly, all four limbs were off the ground, again the shift overtook Ry and his body lengthened. His legs grew and tight, furred muscles wrapped about his burly chest. He landed on legs similar to a man’s, yet his feet were powerful paws with claws that could dig into the ground for propulsion, or kick and kill with a slice of those sharp weapons.
Head growing and yet remaining in wolf shape, Ry stood tall. He thrust back his shoulders and arms, and lifted his chest. His lungs deflated as he let out a howl that mastered the night and laid claim to his territory.
And with a sniff of the air and a tilt of its ear, the werewolf tracked a nearby fox. He took off toward the small creature, the invigorating rush of adrenaline, and the release after a month in human form, quickening his strides.
* * *
The website had been updated. The bills were paid. And the new product samples had been delivered an hour earlier. Indi looked over the many assorted boxes that she’d received from companies vying to be featured by Goddess Goodies’ new self-care line. While she’d thus far stuck with adding a few hair accessories and one pretty moonstone necklace to the website, Janet had suggested she branch out to a few more female-centric items. Books on self-care. Healthy teas. Crystals. And...why not a vibrator? Self-pleasure was a big part of being a happy, gorgeous goddess. So Indi had agreed to at least consider the vibrators.
And the research could prove interesting, if not also satisfying.
Chuckling at what her job description required, Indi stood up from the boxes she’d unpacked and stretched. She’d been working all morning. Her office was the front living area at the side of the house. It was walled on the curved side with windows and sat up two short steps from the main sunken living room. A dressmaker’s dummy, currently wearing vintage Alexander McQueen, was her main project. While she employed a staff in a small warehouse, and they managed the bulk of the sewing and online orders, she did choose a few gowns to revamp because she loved the process of redesigning what had been a gorgeous piece to begin with, and she was an excellent seamstress. Home economics had been a favorite course in high school, and she’d taken fashion, textiles and business in college.
It was Saturday and the sun was high in the sky. She tried to keep her weekends free and not work too much. And she did have fresh peaches in the fridge...
Stripping away her clothes, Indi walked away from work and into the weekend.
Later, she floated on an inflatable lounge chair in the pool behind her home, eyes closed and one hand clasped about a peach sangria. No swimsuit. Nudity was her thing. Her shrubs were tall enough that she didn’t worry about nosy neighbors.
