Bad Moon Rising: A Loup Garou World Novel (Tempting Fate Book 2) Read online

  I had to push on his chest a good deal to get him to stop when in truth, I wanted him to continue. When finished, I let out a nervous giggle, sounding like some of the bubble-headed chicks who had been at the bar near me earlier.

  Jay set me down gently and took my hand in his as he cast the vampire a look that screamed “mine.” Guiding me through the club, he walked me right into one of the many small rooms in the back. I’d been to enough vampire clubs to know the rooms were used for sex and feeding, which generally went hand in hand.

  I glanced around to find a chaise lounge there. Decorative pillows were on the floor against the wall to the right. The walls were painted blood red, which was ironic when one thought about it. And sound-absorbing panels were placed strategically, no doubt to block screams.

  “Is anyone listening?” I asked, knowing his shifter hearing was far superior to a slayer’s.

  “No,” he said, his breathing hard.

  “Where’s your date?” I asked, knowing Jay liked the ladies. “I’m sorry I pulled you away from her. I’ll explain the kissing bit. Sorry.”

  He touched my cheek. “I’m here alone.”

  I lifted a brow. “For real?”

  He nodded.

  “Jay, you’re smart enough to know this club doesn’t cater to your kind. I’ve only seen a handful of shifters here tonight and the vibe they’ve let off is not great.”

  As an alpha wolf shifter, he knew as well as I did that vamps and shifters often refused to play nicely together.

  “I know what this place is. Imagine my surprise when I got a call telling me you were here by yourself.”

  “What? Why would someone call you to report where I’m at?” I asked.

  He ignored my question, only to pose one of his own. “You on the prowl for a bloodsucker to spend the night with? That what you’re into now? I thought better of you, Gina.”

  I’d have taken offense if I didn’t sense his concern for me. “Jayson, I’m working. I’m here checking out the club to report back to Zachariah. I’m not on the prowl for anyone or anything, or did you miss the way I threw myself at you to get away from Reynaud?”

  He exhaled slowly, relief showing on his face.

  “I’d have called you if I wanted to go out clubbing and this place wouldn’t have been my first choice,” I stressed, my gut telling me he needed to hear that. “I’ve been here over an hour doing my best to turn down a seemingly endless line of guys who do nothing for me. Well, the last one gave me a hinky vibe. He’s more than what he looks like.”

  Jay drew me against him. “You shouldn’t be here alone. They would gang up on you and tear you apart if they knew what you really are.”

  I put my hand on his chest. “Jay, one of them will smell what you are if we go back out there. You don’t let off a dark vibe. They’ll tear you apart too.”

  “I’m not worried about me,” he said, keeping me close.

  I couldn’t look away from him. “I worry about you.”

  For a second, neither of us said a word.

  I glanced around the room. “Well, since we have the place to ourselves, how about we get naked and rub all over each other?”

  Jay stiffened. “Gina?”

  “Relax. I was joking. Kind of. I want you safe, so you need to take a seat.”

  He didn’t budge.

  I yanked on Jay, tapping into my slayer strength so that I could move him. I pushed him back and onto the chaise. He landed on his butt, sitting upright, his feet on the floor, his back to the wall. Wasting no time, I climbed onto his lap, straddling him. I then unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it open.

  “Gina!” he said, trying and failing to get me off him. “Are you trying to make me lose control here?”

  “I’m trying to mask your scent with mine. Zachariah gave me something to help hide what I am,” I said, laughing at him. “Now, rub yourself against me until my scent covers your wolf.”

  He licked his lips and smirked as he stopped trying to escape. He took hold of my hips, settling in nicely. “It’s like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped into one.”

  I’d have laughed if I wasn’t so worried that he’d end up a one-man blood bank to the vamps in the club. “Jayson, hurry.”

  He reached between us and adjusted himself. “Baby, the problem is going to be getting me to slow down. Not hurry.”

  Used to his humor, I sat up and eased the front of my already low-cut dress open more. “Okay, get to getting here, buddy.”

  He thumped his head against the wall as his hands found my exposed thighs, making my body heat even more. “Gina, I’m pretty sure I had this exact fantasy when I was a teenager. Okay, I had it yesterday, too.”

  “Having a chick on your lap?” I asked with a laugh. “Somehow I think you’ve made that a reality quite a few times in your life.”

  His gaze locked on mine. “Having a hot redhead on me, pressing her chest against my face.”

  Groaning, I tugged on his shoulders, as the darkness I’d sensed from Reynaud seemed to permeate through the wall. “Jay, please.”

  Jay drew me to him more, his hands sliding higher on my thighs as his face pressed to my neck first. His lips skimmed my skin, and suddenly I wasn’t so sure having him mask his scent by using me was such a great idea.

  He’d become my secret obsession over the past several months, but I couldn’t figure out why. I’d known him for years and had never been sexually attracted to him before. It was as if someone had flipped a switch on my sex drive and suddenly, it only had eyes for Jay.

  The only real issue was Jay cycled through women like there was no tomorrow. Well, he had cycled through them. I hadn’t noticed him around any women in the last several months or so, but I didn’t spend every hour of every day with him either.

  Anything was possible.

  Jay lifted me slightly.

  I took a moment to wrap my arms around his head, effectively leaving his face right between my breasts. Thankfully my groin was off his, or it might have gotten very damp down there, very fast.

  “Yep, my lucky day,” he said against my chest.

  As he covered himself with my scent, or rather the smell of the perfume on me, it was all too easy for me to picture myself naked on him.

  When I realized he was more than covered enough to mask the scent of his wolf but was still going, I cleared my throat. “Jay?”

  He kept his head where it was. “Yeah?”

  “You’re going to rub my skin raw with your facial hair,” I said, liking the fact he wasn’t in a hurry to leave the spot.

  He released me and sighed as I eased off his lap. His gaze was hungry. “Willing to let me rub you raw with my facial hair in other areas?”

  I lost it, laughing as I righted my dress. “We’ll save that bucket list item for another day.”

  He stood painfully slowly and then he reached for my hand. “Okay, I forgot why the hell we’re here. All I can think about is how hard my dick is. I know I was pissed about something. I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m here to gather intel. You’re here because someone tattled to you about me being here,” I said.

  “Still just thinking about how hard my dick is.”

  I chuckled.

  “For real, this isn’t a safe place. Fuck what Zachariah wants.”

  “What if more innocents are hurt because of something happening here?” I questioned, knowing he wanted innocents safe as much as me. Maybe more.

  “The pack has their eye on this place.”

  “How many pack members have gained entrance?” I gave him a pointed stare.

  Jay glanced away. “So far, me, here and now.”

  I took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure if I walk back out there and we pretend to get into a tiff, the master vampire here, Reynaud, will take me behind the scenes. I can see the inner workings and get a better idea of what’s happening around here.”

  Jay’s eyes began to fill with flecks of amber, indicating his wolf was surfacing. “No.”<
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  “He gives me the creeps, and something deep down says I don’t want to have to go head to head with him but, Jay, I couldn’t live with myself if he has something to do with the rise in violence around here and I did nothing about it.”

  He backed me up against the door and put his hands to both sides of my head, his eyes still holding amber flecks. “You are not to go near him again. If you do, I’ll shift fucking forms in the middle of the club. Fuck who sees me.”

  My gaze hardened. “Jayson, you’re being unreasonable.”

  He snorted. “Me? Uh, try another one, sweetheart. I’m the only one thinking clearly here. I smelled something more on him the second I entered this place. There is no way in hell I’m allowing him near you again. You can get pissy all you want. In the end, I’ll carry you out of here over my shoulder kicking and screaming if need be.”

  I knew Jay well enough to know he wasn’t bluffing. He’d do it without thinking twice.

  Grunting, I went to push him away, but the second I made contact with his bare chest, I found myself caressing it lightly. So not what I’d intended to do. Damn him for being so sexy.

  “Gina?” he asked, his hand moving over mine.

  “Shut up, Jay,” I snapped. “If you don’t like it, button your shirt. How can I be expected to argue with you when your hard, really well-defined chest is right there, close enough to touch?”

  The slightest of smiles formed on his face. He undid the rest of his buttons and put his arms out wide. “Touch your fill. Really, take your time. I find myself in less of a hurry to get you out of here right this second. Fuck the vampires.”

  With a groan, I rolled my eyes. “Button up there, Casanova.”

  He did, but he buttoned his shirt all wrong while he stared at my chest.

  I knew my little lap dance had teased his inner wolf and that was why he was acting so horny. It was to be expected with alphas. It had nothing to do with him actually wanting to be with me.

  Not that I could judge him for that. Right now, I wanted to push him down and continue the dance only this time without clothes.

  Damn your natural pheromones, Jay. How is a girl supposed to think straight?

  Taking pity on him, I took over, buttoning his shirt correctly for him, leaving the top few buttons undone as he’d had them before.

  He sniffed the air, his eyes moving from dark brown to amber as he tapped into his wolf more. He jerked me against him and nodded to the door as he lifted three fingers before touching his ear.

  I was a great Jay interpreter.

  There were three vampires on the other side of the door, listening in on us.

  “Uh, there, right there,” I said in a low voice. “Oh, gods! Come with me. Right there. Yes!”

  Jay licked his lips, trying to avoid laughing at my antics.

  “Ah, baby,” he said, his voice deep. “Don’t fucking move. Fuck! You have got to stop doing that thing with your hips if you want me to last longer.”

  It was my turn to crack up. I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from making noise.

  “Guess we should get back out there before people figure out what we’re doing in here,” he said. “Ready?”

  Nodding, I pulled my dress slightly, partially exposing more of my breasts. I tousled my hair, doing my best to look like I’d just banged Jay. My hand found Jay’s as I gave a sultry laugh.

  He drew me away from the door and opened it, putting his body in front of mine as we headed out of the room.

  “That was worth waiting for you tonight,” I said, easing around him while ignoring him squeezing my hand to get me to stop.

  Jay was right. Three men were there, looking as if they were having a conversation, but I knew better. All their gazes went to my chest.

  Maybe my plan on the dress wasn’t as horrible as I’d thought.

  “Baby, wait a second,” said Jay, easing up behind me, his hand sliding around me and finding my partially exposed breasts. He fixed my dress.

  My gaze met the vampires’, and I bit my lower lip. “Oops.”

  Darkness circled my feet first, working its way up my legs. I recognized the source.

  Reynaud.

  I had to hand it to him. He was persistent.

  At that moment, every inner alarm I had went off like there was a five-alarm fire. I knew better than to ignore the warning. My gut feelings had saved my life more than once over the years. And they were something that other slayers I’d met to date didn’t possess to the level I did.

  “Jay?” I asked, wondering if he felt the darkness creeping up to him as well.

  He pulled me against him on the dance floor. He spun me around, putting my back to his front. When he began to move, I stiffened. Every time I’d seen Jay dancing with someone, he’d looked bored and barely moved. That was not the case now.

  It was hard to keep my mind on the task at hand with Jay grinding against me. I fell into sync naturally with him, as if we did this all the time.

  We didn’t.

  I had to force myself to keep looking around the club, trying to get a full read on the situation before we hightailed it out of there. Even I wasn’t crazy enough to want to take them all on by myself.

  I noticed a fair number of vampires coming and going from a door I’d not seen from the bar. There were too many going in and out for it to be another feeding room.

  A tall, burly vampire stood guard at the door, dressed in standard-issue bouncer attire. All black.

  Glancing up and behind me, I met Jay’s gaze, and he nodded as if reading my mind. Something was beyond that door that was important. His arms wrapped around me and he tugged me tighter against his frame.

  Jay kissed the side of my head, his mouth finding my ear. “We can go now.”

  I nodded, but neither one of us stopped dancing. I turned my head, and Jay jerked me hard to him, the lowest of growls coming from him.

  The massive press of darkness hit me hard, and when I looked straight ahead, I found myself staring directly at Reynaud. I’d never heard him approach.

  Jay held me to him in a death grip, his entire body coiling. He’d attack soon.

  Reynaud’s gaze moved up me slowly. He looked up and stared at Jay. “Your girlfriend is exquisite. I find myself drawn to her. Hold her close. You never know when another will snatch her away from you.”

  I planted my body firmly, afraid Jay would try to charge Reynaud. It would be a very Jay thing to do. As a wolf shifter, his temper was always there, just below the surface.

  Jay surprised me by staying where he was. He slid his arms around me more, splaying his hands over my stomach. “Oh, I’m well aware of just how special she is. I plan to hold on to her and never let her go. I wouldn’t want to be the person who tried to take her from me.”

  Twisting, I hugged Jay. “Can we get some fresh air?”

  “Of course, baby.” He stared past me at Reynaud, and while no threats were outwardly made, they were implied, not to mention Jay’s look said it all. He wanted to rip Reynaud’s head off.

  I pushed more on his chest. “Hon.”

  Nodding, he laced his fingers through mine, holding my hand as he led me through the club to the entrance. Jay kept going around the exterior of the club to the parking area.

  He all but dragged me behind him.

  My gaze moved in the direction of the far corner of the club’s parking area. Three men were there, watching the club, their attention whipping to Jay and myself. The man in the center had ink-black hair that hung freely down and over his shoulders. He stared right at me, his green gaze familiar. He rubbed his medium-length beard but didn’t look away.

  Neither did I.

  At least not until Jay jerked me around in front of his large black SUV. It was one of a number of vehicles and modes of transportation I’d seen him with.

  He ran his hands up and into my hair. “Baby, my place or yours?”

  I realized then that he sensed someone listening in. “Mine.”

  He t
ouched my cheek. “I’m sorry I was late. Work held me up. It won’t happen again. And to be clear, if that swanky bastard with the girl hair tries to take you from me, I’ll fucking kill him.”

  My eyes widened. “Jayson!”

  Jay shrugged, his hands going to my ass. He gave my backside a good squeeze as he yanked me against him hard. “You’re fucking killing me. I’m about to put on a show if we don’t get out of here.”

  I trusted him enough to follow his lead. He helped me into his SUV. My Jeep was parked a ways from the club. He shut the door and walked around, getting in himself. He started the vehicle and pulled out, taking his time to avoid suspicion.

  Music from the band Loup Garou blasted through the high-end sound system. Jay turned it down, and I grinned.

  “Busted. I knew you liked them.”

  He cast me a sideways look. “They grow on you.”

  We knew the band well, especially its frontman, Exavier Kedmen—or Xavier if you asked his wife, my best friend Lindsay…also known as Jay’s ex.

  When Jay was on the road and a bit away from the club, he looked at me. “Why in the fuck would Zachariah send you into an entire den of vampires alone?”

  I blinked. “What? No. It’s just a club. Not an actual den.”

  3

  Jay white-knuckled the wheel as he continued to drive away from the vampire nightclub. “Gina, I could hear and smell a mass of vampires under the club the minute that guarded door opened and closed. There’s a den hidden under there. My guess is there were fifty or more of them in the den, not counting the ones in the club.”

  It was hard to hide my surprise. “Jay, I can’t handle anywhere near that many alone. I don’t know any slayer who could.”

  He hit the wheel and growled. “I fucking know! The second I heard you were heading to a spot my pack has been watching for weeks, I couldn’t get to you fast enough. All I could think was I’d show up to find they had torn you to shreds when they figured out you’re a slayer.”

  I’d never been a fan of people worrying about me. It made me feel uncomfortable. No doubt it stemmed from my childhood, but I didn’t want to delve deeper. All I knew was the idea of Jay being worked up over my safety made my chest tight. I didn’t like seeing him this emotional.