Howl at the Moon (8 page)

She stood on shaky legs and reached for her robe. Tossing it on, she walked to her door, feeling the throb of her clit with each step. She bit her lip, tempted to finish the job, but Aaron had given her very specific instructions to turn herself on and leave it there. Every time she touched her own flesh, her desire spiked higher like hot lava rolling through her veins. She stepped out of her room, going to find Aaron quickly.

“I see you took my advice,” he said in greeting, clapping his hands. “Now, let the games begin. First, we need to get you dressed. I brought some things from my store just for you. We want something that Clyde will have never seen before.”

Aaron pulled out a sharp white corset and slacks. A golden chain dangled from the hanger and she figured it would go around her waist. It was a breathtaking ensemble. Simple and yet sexy.

“It was inspired by a friend,” Aaron said.

“Okay, let me get dressed.”

“No underwear.”

“No…underwear? Are you serious?”

“No underwear. You won’t need a bra with that corset. Call me when you are ready to put it on and I’ll tie it up for you. Right now, your body is sensitive, but the one you want is Clyde. You need to react, even with another man touching you, tonight. Clyde won’t think it is real if you don’t.”

“Another man touching me? You didn’t tell this man I’d go to bed with him!”

“Even if I did, he wouldn’t take you up on it. Stephen is my type of man but he acts and can come across as the manly man. All gays are not fems, okay?”

“Understood. I’ll just dress here,” Tatiana said, pulling up the slacks under her robe. They slid on her flesh like silk. She bit her lip against a moan. She shouldered off the robe, turning her back to Aaron and pulling the corset to her chest. She gasped then, her nipples still sensitive.

“You did a very good job. I bet you’ve never touched yourself.”

“I have toys, Aaron.”

“Toys are not hands. You know how many women don’t actually know what the inside of their vagina feels like? They have toys too. This is about you coming into your own. Clyde with recognize the look. He’s seen you this way. As far as he’s concerned, your date just had you before walking into the restaurant. That’s what we want. Jealousy and the chase are is the things that are going to get him. Women have evolved through the centuries. Men…not so much.”

“You’re right.” Tatiana laughed as Aaron pulled and tugged on the strings until the corset was secure and her breasts were riding the top, nearly ready to spill.

“Now, put on your belt while I go get your makeup. After that, we’ll get your hair squared away, with Stephen’s help.”

“Stephen’s?”

“Why yes, darling. I’ll curl it a little, but he’s going to mess up all of my good work with his fingers.”

“Just-got-out-of-bed look. Aaron, you are so bad.”

“Why of course, and hopefully I’ll make you the same way.”

About a half an hour later, after arguing the whole time with Aaron, her makeup was done. He had been determined to pack her face and Tatiana just couldn’t handle it. She was a simple and enchanting kind of girl. Curling iron in hand, Aaron was huffing his way through her hair when the doorbell rang. He put the curling iron down and opened the door. Tatiana couldn’t see Stephen behind him until he turned. When he did, her jaw dropped.

Hey, a girl could look.

Saying Stephen was handsome was a severe understatement. He was sexy, in a rugged way. He wasn’t soft and prissy, nor was he so gruff you couldn’t stand to look at him. At least six foot three, the man was slightly taller than Aaron. His reddish hair was accented with strands of gold and brown throughout. It was too perfect to have been done in a salon. You just couldn’t get that kind of wine color with money. His eyes, a green as an emerald, shown with mirth as he took Aaron in his arms and gave him a big hug. His chiseled features softened into a generous smile when he turned to Tatiana.

“You must be Tatiana. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Stephen. I understand I’m helping you with guy problems tonight?”

“Yes,” Tatiana answered, picking her jaw up of the grown and laughing. No one could feel uncomfortable looking at someone who looked that good.

“I, for one, will be happy too. It’s been too long. Have you finished with her hair, Aaron?”

“Just about,” Aaron responded, picking up the curling iron again. Tatiana was happy that she had the micros. The small braids were let out to hair after about an inch of braiding. From far away it looked like she didn’t have braids at all. Still, she didn’t have to do the work on her hair if she didn’t feel like it. She’d had her hair styled more with Aaron’s arrival then she had in a long time.

“Have at it, Stephen,” Aaron said after a few more minutes. Stephen walked up to her. When he stepped up to her, his chest grazed her nipples in her elevated chair. He claimed the space between her parted legs, his scent, woodsy and clean, enveloped her. It was tantalizing. He pushed his fingers through her hair over and over, caressing her scalp. With every push, his chest rubbed hers and she felt her desire spike higher.

She didn’t see Stephen. She didn’t even feel him. She focused on her body, on what she had seen in the mirror. Of what Clyde would feel like against her. As sexy as Stephen was, he didn’t hold a candle to Clyde. Still, his body was big, invasive, and reminiscent of Clyde. In her mind’s eye, he became Clyde. That was the only way she was going to find herself reacting to him.

“Done. This could get hard for you, Tatiana. But I want you to trust me. I won’t push you too far, not even for my own pride. This is about you, not a pissing contest between me and Clyde. I know that, and so do you. He just doesn’t know it. And, as I have no interest in you, even though you make a delectable picture, you can be comfortable with me. Okay?”

Stephen’s speech soothed her soul. She wasn’t one to play around but this could be fun. She could be free to be the woman she wanted to be. She could have fun like she wanted. She didn’t have to worry if she was doing things right or if she was desirable. She knew that she was. She’d nearly blown her own mind touching herself.

Maybe Tweet had been onto something!

“Okay,” she finally replied.

“Now, children, I need you to play nice. Tatiana, as hard as it’s going to be, I don’t want you to look over at Clyde. I want you to act as if he were a tree. Put his face on Stephen, call him Clyde, but quietly, if you need to. Let this be your dream date and let Stephen follow where you lead. But, if you look over at Clyde repeatedly during dinner, he is going to feel that something isn’t right. He is going to realize the game you are playing at and we will lose more ground than you want to. I would have gone with you as a double date to make you more comfortable, but Clyde already knows me.”

“You let him see you already, Aaron?”

“No choice. The situation called for it and I don’t think Tatiana is complaining at all, are you, doll?” Tatiana felt like she was blushing from head to foot. The cheeky ass.

“Didn’t think so,” Aaron finished.

“Fine. Just lean on me, Tatiana. Wait, is there another name I can call you? Something that Clyde does?”

“You could call me ‘T’ but all my close friends call me that, including Clyde. That won’t really set you apart.”

“And we don’t want to use something you could only see Clyde calling you. I won’t go basic and use baby. That’s so blasé,” Stephen groaned, leaning over on Aaron. Aaron laughed, patting him on the cheek.”

“You’re right. Hmm,” Aaron said, finger to his chin in thought. “What about
liebe
?”

“
Liebe
?” Tatiana asked.

“It’s German for dear,” Stephen answered, shocking Tatiana.

“Clyde has German ancestry and I am sure he speaks German, yes?” Aaron asked Tatiana.

“Well, yeah, he does.”

“Well, if he’s calling you ‘dear’ in German, he’ll know it. It’s intimate, without being something
he
would necessarily call you.”

“That will work. I can converse at least moderately in German so I can make that work. We’ll go with that. Are you ready to go,
liebe
?” Stephen asked, smiling.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter Nine

Clyde thought he was going to crawl through his skin. His wolf was clawing at him. He never should have touched Tatiana again. He should have run as far away as possible like his father told him, before stealing off into the night like a bandit. His father’s threat to dispose of them all still rang in his eardrums. But the minute he’d walked into the office and Sharice was “helpful” enough to tell him a man had come in to see Tatiana, he’d nearly blown a gasket. Since his shift, his sense of smell was greater. He could literally smell the want and need wafting off Sharice in droves. He knew immediately that, if given the chance, she would be in his office and on her knees to please him.

Her need had recoiled within him. His wolf didn’t want her. His wolf already knew exactly who it wanted. That woman had dared to bring another man into his domain and into her personal space. She had dared to
kiss
another man, another fact that Sharice had been
happy
to divulge. He’d stalked into that office, directed by his nose, right to another man. That man had also dared to come into his office and lecture him.

After that, his need had overridden his brain.

Tatiana had tasted so good on his lips. She was like spun sugar he could lap up for hours. He could smell her all over him, as if her pussy was still riding his face. His cock was still throbbing to get inside of her. When she’d told him she wanted him inside of her, it took everything in him to stop himself from taking her. His wolf, and his father’s warning, had stopped him. The wolf in him was tearing at his insides to get to its mate. A mate, and a commitment, that Clyde didn’t want, no matter how pretty the package was. His chest ached, but it was true. Tatiana would be hurt by him. He couldn’t settle. He didn’t
want
to settle and that was what she deserved. Even if she seemed to want nothing more than what she got when they came together, she would. He could sense it. She was a forever girl, and he didn’t want anyone like that.

No matter what the wolf in him wanted.

The wolf was hard enough to come to terms with. He, Clyde Mansil, was no longer human. Had never been human. A fact that his father had hidden from him all of his life. What little Clyde knew about werewolves, if that was what he was, was only what he saw in movies. He’d never felt the urge to howl at a full moon or shift. He’d never had a craving for raw meat, even if he liked his steak medium-rare. That was for taste purposes only. Nothing more. He didn’t know how to control the new part of him.

If he were honest, that was what truly stopped him from taking Tatiana.

He couldn’t control the needs of his wolf. The wolf wanted to claim her, shift and mark her forever as his. The wolf wanted to do something to his cock. He could feel the heavy pressure in the center, as if the skin was too tight and would swell at any moment. He didn’t know what was happening to his body.

What he did know was the cause, and the cure, was the one woman he could not have, no matter what. Later tonight, since she would not be coming to him, he’d go run his wolf. His father had at least passed along that necessary knowledge. If he didn’t merge with his mate, then his wolf would need an outlet very often. Clyde would have to learn to deal. He didn’t have a choice.

He could take Tatiana under no circumstances.

Shaking his head, he pulled his Evora S in front of La Colombe D’Or. A hotel, restaurant, bistro, and so much more in one, Clyde had fallen in love with the spot first time Tatiana had organized a business dinner there. He’d never taken his business anywhere else. You could find any setting you wanted there, from terrace dinning to the main dining room. Tatiana had outdone herself when she found that gem. Growling again, when he realized he was still thinking of the damn woman. He stepped inside the restaurant and was escorted to his customary seat, where he waited for Brad Marshall. Brad was one of the few businessmen he also called friend. Outside of his VP, there weren’t many of those.

Brad, though a trust-fund baby, made a name for himself through stock trading and in import and export. When he’d come to Clyde for some investments, he hadn’t hesitated. Brad had a whipcord mind and even sharper business acumen. Only his VP, Nique Matherson, was better, if Clyde was asked. It was why Nique was his right hand. He could leave the company for a monthlong vacation and never pick up his phone and would never have to worry about a thing. That was what he liked about Nique. Tonight, though he was taking care of his own business. A vacation would be great right now. But, he just couldn’t seem to get away from a problem he couldn’t hope to fix.

Call him an idiot, he knew he was.

Seeing Brad come up, Clyde went ahead and ordered for them. This was a common meeting they had once a month. Two lobster bisques, Alaskan Halibut for Brad, and a five-spice center-cut pork tenderloin for him took care of the food. He then ordered a good bottle of red and waited. Brad came into the restaurant as he always did, with quiet strength. This wasn’t a man who demanded all eyes on him, he didn’t have to.

Clyde saw several women turn for the half Latin half European man. His darker good looks were a throw back to his mother. His black hair curled around his shoulders like a pirate’s, his long eyelashes curling up in a thick crescent. They had been a matter of great ribbing among the three of them. Something that Brad was very literally ready to go to the ground over.

His broad shoulders filled out his Z Zegna suit well. The brand was a trademark of his friends, a designer they used nearly exclusively. As tall as Clyde, Brad had enjoyed a great career in high school and college as a star quarterback until he’d torn his rotator cuff. It didn’t stop him now, but he’d left football behind. Clyde didn’t think the business world regretted it.

“You ordered already?” Brad asked as he sprawled in his seat.

“Of course. Makes things go faster.”