Chapter Seven

Nick’s mouth was on Jo’s before she could say another word. She gasped against his lips, feeling the rumble of a soft growl and moaning in response. Wrapped in an eternal euphoria, she could only cling to him as he slowly pushed her backward onto the sofa. This has been all she wanted tonight, all she needed, but now that it was finally happening, Jo was stunned to helplessness, afraid that even the slightest movement would break whatever spell had been casted over them in that moment.

Passion roared to life as his lips slipped over her cheek and nibbled down her neck, nuzzling into the little hollow at the base of her throat. He nipped the sensitive skin in the bend, groaning with a raw need as Jo reacted to him.

Jo noticed she was trembling with desire—with need. It rampaged through her like white water rapids, her arousal almost too strong to keep tame. It was dizzying in its power, washing over and under her in wave after wave of pleasure in time with Nick’s hungry kisses. She called out his name as his bared teeth scraped against her skin in an act of raw lust, and he growled deep and reverberating against the soft flesh of her throat, holding her prone body close to him in a tight, almost superhuman grip.

Quick breaths turned to gasps; Jo nearly drove herself insane with her need for Nick. She didn’t know what was happening to her, the fire in her abdomen was growing, working her into and inferno. Her entire body felt like it would burn away to ash. Nick’s touch scalded as he tore at her clothes, clawing them away from her skin with an almost feral vigor. The taut flesh of his torso was feverish under the thin fabric of the shirt, and he responded to her touch by ripping the shirt off, tearing it away violently at the collar. His eyes were bright like burning coals, scorching Jo wherever he looked and burning his uncontrollable hunger for her into her memory for the rest of eternity. It drove her insane and she wanted more. She usually wasn’t one to like it rough, but for Nick… she’d definitely make an exception.

Jo felt Nick abruptly shudder violently against her, as if he was struggling to make his body move the way he wanted it to. His breath was coming fast and hard, filled with a searing desire that matched hers in perfect tempo. “I can’t stop,” he breathed, his hands tugging roughly upward on her long john top. He lowered his body, and Jo’s flesh felt charred where the naked skin of his muscled torso touched hers.

“I don’t want you to,” Jo moaned. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop, Nick.” Her panting was manic, breath coming quick and fast as his hands burned heat down her body. Her hands gripped his hair, tugging reflexively as the pleasure surged uncontrollably within her.

A basal growl tricked out of his lips as he shook violently against her body, and it only excited her more. “Please,” Jo whimpered, her nails scratching over his strong shoulders and back before plunging her hands downward. She felt him hard and ready, pressed against her inner thigh with a dark promise of things to come, and it almost sent her over the verge with the sheer ecstasy of knowing just how much he wanted her. Her fingers clawed eagerly to the button of his pants. “Please, Ni—”

“No!” Nick tore himself from Jo, jumping to his feet and running two hands roughly through his hair. Something like pain and anger passed through his eyes, amplified by the heat of his blazing need. He took deep breaths, almost gasping as he visibly fought to regain control of his body and mind. His eyes fluttered shut, and with one final deep breath, he said, “I have to go. I shouldn’t be doing this.”

Without another word, he turned and left out into the night, not even bothering to salvage the shirt he’d torn to tatters.

***

“How much is there to fix?” Nick asked, shouldering his way roughly into the back shop where Tom was still working. The door banged loudly against the wall, the sound making both brothers cringe. Nick could hardly muster the capacity to care. He wasn’t really in the mood for finesse.

Tom grimaced, looking down at the half-fixed car. “Mostly the cosmetic stuff, if I’m recalling correctly. And the part we ordered, of course. The lights still need a bit of wor—Nick, what the hell, man? Where’s your shirt?” Tom asked, the incredulity in his eyes beginning to bleed into anger.

Nick shrugged. The last thing he wanted was an ‘I told you so’ lecture from his baby brother. “Spilled some wine on it. Waited until I left and ditched the shirt because the smell was giving me a headache. What of it?”

Tom glared at his brother, thoroughly unconvinced. “Uh huh. Funny how I don’t smell even the slightest hint of wine on you. And you don’t look like you’re damp, so you didn’t take the time to wash up.” Tom’s eyes narrowed further. “In fact, you smell an awful lot like a particular human we both just met today, so why don’t you cut the bull—”

“Don’t. Start,” Nick warned. “We just talked.”

“Bullshit,” Tom spat.

“I don’t want to hear it, Tom,” Nick growled dangerously. “I’m not in the mood for your nagging.”

“So then tell me what happened!”

“It’s none of your goddamned business!”

“Uh huh, so you just ate and talked, and then you left?” Tom asked, voice dripping in skepticism.

“Yes.”

“Without a shirt on?” Tom asked through gritted teeth.

“Tom—”

“I’m not stupid, Nick!” Tom bit out. “Do you honestly think I haven’t seen you today? How you’ve been practically salivating over her since the moment you laid eyes on her? Stop trying to play the fool!”

A rattle bubbled from deep within Nick’s throat, giving his brother one final warning off. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just shut up and get the work done. For our customer that we’re helping. That’s all. Nothing more.” Even as he said the words, he knew there was so much more. That was too close a call, he thought to himself. I can’t go near her again. Not like that.

Tom looked at his brother with an expression of mild disgust on his face. “You’re normally the smart one, Nick. But when it comes to her…” He shrugged, his arms falling defeated at his sides. “Your brain’s not right, man. All this chaos, and for a human no less.” His nose wrinkled, as if the word left a foul stench in the air.

Nick had heard enough. The rattle that shook inside changed to a full-on growl, his whole body tensing. His spine cracked as the bones in his body began to lengthen, shorten, and change. The violence of the change tore a feral scream from his throat, the muscles morphing and turning the cry into a vicious roar. Fur spurted in rippling waves over his skin, his body already wound into a deadly coil in anticipation for the attack to come.

If Tom wanted a fight, he was damn sure about to get one.