Prologue #3
Her shoulders sank, her confidence deflating. She could usually tell if a man was into her or not. The spark was there, she just knew it, but he refused to act on it. Maybe he has a girlfriend.
Or a wife.
Unlikely for a Lone Wolf who never stayed in the same place for a long time, but not impossible.
Her heart sank, thinking of some other woman in his arms. Which was ridiculous because she’d only known him for five minutes.
She glanced back toward Times Square, focusing her gaze until the glittering lights blurred her vision.
Shaking her head, she braced her hands on the ledge and blew out a breath.
“He’s just not that into me,” she muttered to herself. Her entire life, everyone had told her she was beautiful and desirable. Tonight, she’d been knocked down a peg or two. She just had to accept it.
God, I hope I don’t run into him again. That would be so embarrassing.
Her agent did ask if she wanted to do a last-minute show in Hong Kong this weekend. Flying halfway across the world because of a bruised ego sounded extreme, but it wasn’t like she had anything else going on. Her wolf, in the other hand, yowled in protest.
She ignored it, as well as the strange pang in her chest. No use pining over someone she’d never see again.
This was a terrible idea.
But that was what Eli Blake told himself the last couple of times he went to Blood Moon, and so far, nothing bad had happened.
Well, there was that time he nearly exposed his secret.
A couple of weeks ago, that idiot rock star, Devon Hale, had lost control of his Lycan side and unleashed his wolf on the packed dance floor of the club.
Eli had knocked him out with a stunning potion.
A stunning potion he wasn’t supposed to have.
The wild wolf had injured a young Lycan woman, and Eli had to stop him before he seriously hurt anyone else. So he did what he had to do.
He pressed his palm over the breast of his leather jacket, feeling the small vials he kept in the inside pocket. No one could find out about them.
Never let anyone know, little bird. Promise me.
Thankfully, his companions that night didn’t ask how he obtained the potion in the first place.
Otherwise … well, he didn’t want to think about the consequences.
Not after everything he’d been through. All the secrets he’d kept until now, all the lies he’d told.
However, that wasn’t the reason why coming here was a bad idea.
Maybe the night would end the same way it always did.
The lights would turn on at four forty-five, everyone would file out of the building, and Eli would be the last one out as they shut the door behind him.
Or tonight could be the night he’d been waiting for all these weeks.
“Are you sure you really want to be here, man?” Jacob Martin asked as he set his drink on the table. “You look like you’re watching over a prison yard. We’re supposed to be having fun.”
Eli didn’t even spare his coworker a glance, keeping his gaze on the dance floor.
He wasn’t sure yet if he did or did not like Martin, though he was leaning towards not, especially after spending the last couple of days with him in Toronto.
They had been sent there to babysit some self-important CEO and Martin yakked his head off the entire time, never shutting up.
It drove Eli crazy and wound up his already agitated wolf.
His inner wolf, still seemingly angry at him, growled. It had been this way for the last couple of weeks and though he ignored it and denied it, he knew exactly why.
Why do you think I’m here? Why I’ve been coming here?
The wolf let out a huff and lay down.
“Have you seen St. Vincent?” Martin asked.
Adrian St. Vincent was the last member of their trio and the one who had instigated this little outing.
They had only landed in JFK three hours ago when he invited them to go to Blood Moon.
Eli had already planned on going anyway, so he agreed and they all cabbed over.
They’d been here ever since and started with a few drinks, with Martin and St. Vincent shooting the shit and blowing off steam, but it seemed the former had gotten antsy and began to prowl the club, probably to seek some companionship.
Ever since the existence of their kind had been exposed to the public, Blood Moon wasn’t short on eager females, especially human ones who wanted to experience what it was like being with a Lycan.
Suffice to say, St. Vincent had been taking full advantage.
Eli had last spotted him in the middle of the dance floor before disappearing into the sea of undulating bodies.
“Probably on his way back home with some tourist,” Eli mumbled. “Won’t see him until tomorrow.”
Martin smirked. “Figures. No judgement or anything, I’ve done the same. These human chicks can be wild. Some of them think we’re gonna go all wolf on them mid-fuck.” He nudged him. “Right?”
Eli wouldn’t know, so he just took a sip of his drink then turned back to the dance floor. He’d been coming here for weeks, and yet—
His heart stopped for a second, and he blinked just to make sure he wasn’t imagining it. But no, he wasn’t just hallucinating. He definitely saw it.
A flash of silvery hair.
Eli bolted from his seat, ignoring Martin’s calls.
His focus was razor sharp as he tore through the crowded dance floor.
As he drew closer, the silvery head of hair turned in his direction, and his gaze crashed into surprised eyes the color of violets.
Her pretty face paled, and she quickly spun around, dashing away in the opposite direction.
Run after her, his wolf urged.
Way ahead of you.
She was fast, but he was faster and more determined.
She was near the exit when he surged forward, blocking her way.
Surprise, then annoyance crossed her face as her lips pressed together into a tight line.
Eli could only stare at her as they stood there.
The people around them, the club itself, seemingly melted away as his attention fixed only on her.
For weeks, he thought he’d imagined her.
No way a stunningly beautiful woman like her would go for someone like him.
But that night they met, she was giving all the signals, practically waving flags that she was interested in him.
But he couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t risk being involved with anyone.
With opening up and exposing himself. Who he really was.
Not after everything he’d been through and the things he did to get to this point to escape the hellhole of a life he’d been living for the last fifteen years.
Leaving the rooftop that night might have been the smart decision, but all he could think about since then was her.
He didn’t even know her name, and yet her delicious cinnamon pastry smell, her gorgeous eyes, those lips that he could have tasted.
All of it, all of her, haunted every corner of his mind, driving him to madness.
He went to Blood Moon every opportunity he could get, hoping to run into her again, driving himself crazy wondering where she was and what she was doing.
And now that she was here, right in front of him, he didn’t even know what to do or say.
“Well?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you going to get out of my way or are you just going to stand there like a lump?”
He could smell the annoyance rolling off her. When she huffed and sidestepped him, his hand reached out to gently wrap around her wrist. A bolt of awareness shot through him like lightning at the touch of her soft skin.
Her plump lips parted. “What do you want?”
You, every fiber of his being screamed. Just you.
But the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth, so instead, he decided to show her. Tugging her back, he shuffled them into a darkened corner, his other arm wrapping around her waist.
She gasped, but didn’t protest or push him away. “You acted like you couldn’t get away from me fast enough the last time.”
A rumble vibrated through his chest. Whether that was him or his wolf—or both—he wasn’t sure. “I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because if I had stayed, I would have done this.” Instinct took over him as he bent his head down to press his mouth to hers.
The lips he’d been dreaming about for weeks were warm and plush, and yielded to him so easily that his natural dominant nature wanted to take over everything and devour her.
She deserved better, so he kept it under control.
But she seemingly wanted more, angling her head to deepen their kiss, her hands sliding up his chest and up his shoulders to the back of his neck to bring him down.
By the time she pulled away, he was pretty sure his brain was fried from lack of oxygen.
“Do you live near here?” she murmured
He cursed silently, thinking about the studio he rented on the Lower East Side. “No. You?”
She shook her head. “How about we go to a—”
“Hotel?” he finished.
A dreamy expression crossed her face. “Let’s go.”
His body and wolf protested as she disentangled herself from him, but before he could do anything, she grabbed his hand, leading them out of the club.
Everything blurred around him as he followed along, focusing on her and trying to keep his desire under control.
He could barely speak, so he was glad she took charge, walking into the first hotel they passed by and taking care of checking them in.
Breathe.
Was this really happening? It seemed like a dream. After weeks of regret, of longing for her, going to Blood Moon hoping to run into her, this moment was here. And she wanted him as much as he wanted her.
Why?