TOL2 Kiss of the Werewolf Read online

  She didn’t know how much time had passed, but soon he groaned and stopped moving. The warm pulsing of his seed vibrated inside her, and he let out a long breath, collapsing in her embrace.

  She pressed her lips to his neck. His skin was warm and smooth with a sheen of perspiration from the exertion of lovemaking. She squeezed him tighter in her arms, feeling so sweetly close to him.

  They lay together like that for several moments until Jie’s breathing calmed to normal. He then rolled onto his side and pulled her against him. The dampness of their bare bodies fused them together. The musky scent of sex from their lovemaking hung in the air.

  Meg heaved a deep sigh, feeling contentment for the first time in so long. Jie’s arm was around her, his fingers laced through hers. She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it softly.

  Jie pressed his lips softly into her shoulder and then pulled her even closer within the warm circle of his embrace. “Sleep well, Megan,” he said softly by her ear.

  “You, too.” She smiled to herself and listened to his soft breathing grow steadier.

  * * * * *

  The captain announced their descent into New York.

  Schenko’s hands tightened on the arms of his seat, and he stared blankly at the screen on which a movie had been playing during the flight. He’d barely noticed a thing since their plane had taken off in Moscow. His stomach tightened and again he fought a threatening erection as he thought only of the woman he’d flown nearly halfway across the world to find. One thing was for certain after all this, he wasn’t returning to Russia without her.

  Yelin snored obliviously in the seat next to him. Schenko gave his fellow bodark a glance and chuckled ruefully. His traveling companion was sleeping quite peacefully for someone who would be killed should he be wrong about his astrological predictions.

  Schenko heaved a restive sigh, longing to unfold his huge body from the tiny seat. These airplanes were made for midgets. He hated the lateness of the hour as well. They wouldn’t be landing in New York until after nine at night. Then they had to make the connection to Boston. And then they had to find Chinatown. A fellow passenger with whom he’d chatted briefly informed him about how the city of Boston rolled in its sidewalks at night. In the middle of the night, when they’d be arriving there, everything would be closed, and his search couldn’t begin until the morning anyway.

  He almost cursed Yelin for coming to him with this prediction in the first place. Before then, he had hungered for a mate, but since he hadn’t found her yet, he’d distracted himself with business and with other women. Somehow, however, knowing that she was a possible reality had roused his slumbering hunger. For Yelin’s sake, he’d better be right.

  Chapter Nine

  Jie opened his eyes. In the early morning light, the first thing he saw was Megan. Their bodies had moved apart in their sleep, but she was facing him, on her side, her body curled in a fetal position. She was sleeping peacefully, her breath rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Errant strands of her silky hair fell across her cheek and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed.

  He lay quietly and watched her, resisting the urge to move closer and gather her against him again. She’d told him how her dreams woke her every night, and he didn’t want to disturb her. She was so pretty and soft that, as he watched her, memories of the night before sent a frisson of heat through his awakening body.

  His erection stirred and rose. He wanted her again. Badly. Perhaps it was because he’d gone so long without a woman. But he knew it wasn’t only that. He’d been moved by how responsive she was to him, how appreciative and grateful. She was in love with him, and he even remembered the moment it had happened. He sensed it seize her and capture her with an almost palpable force. After his experience with Su Lin, who’d grown to hate him because of the things he felt in his heart, Megan’s gentle acceptance and unbounded passion were a healing balm to him, body and soul.

  He sighed and continued to watch her sleep. In spite of the gentle act of watching her, a frightening sense of darkness gripped him with sudden ferocity, forcing him to think of the other lang ren. Megan was clearly in danger as long as his rival for her was out there. He wanted nothing more than to get her on a plane and bring her back with him to China. Perhaps out there on the windy prairie, the lang ren who also sought her would never find her.

  But he knew that wasn’t possible. Judging from his own determination and hunger for her, no doubt, the other one felt the same. Jie knew with frightening certainty that he couldn’t run and that there was nowhere to hide Megan where she would be safe enough. He would have to allow the lang ren to find them. He would have to fight for her, even if it meant taking a life, something that had always been repugnant to him, especially since his parents’ murders.

  He also knew that for Megan’s own safety, he had to tell her the whole truth today.

  As carefully as he could, Jie slipped from the bed and used the bathroom. He splashed water on his face and brushed his teeth in anticipation of kissing Megan as soon as she woke up. When he emerged from the bathroom, she was sitting up in the bed, looking around, her pretty face darkened with fear.

  As soon as she saw him, however, relief washed visibly over her delicate features and a smile curved her lips. She seemed oblivious to the way the bedclothes bunched around her waist, exposing her full breasts. “Jie,” she said softly.

  He sensed how badly she wanted him to come back to bed and hold her. She didn’t have to worry. Even if he hadn’t had an erection painfully tightening his entire lower body, he’d have gone back to the bed and gathered her into his arms. Never before had a woman brought out his protective instincts the way she did. Even though she was strong and self-reliant, he also saw the sweet little girl inside her who craved protection and who loved with unquestioning loyalty. He couldn’t help responding to that with every fiber of his male being.

  “Good morning.” He padded back over to the bed and climbed in next to her.

  Suddenly, small cries emanated from somewhere else inside the apartment. At first, Jie thought it was a small child somewhere in the building, but then recognized the feline sounds.

  “That’s Mei,” Megan said. “She’s hungry.” She shook her head. “She usually comes in and jumps on the bed to wake me for her breakfast. I don’t understand what’s gotten into her.”

  Jie understood. “It’s all right. Go ahead and feed her. I’ll wait for you right here.” He leaned in to her and pressed a tender kiss onto her cheek.

  She gazed at him, her eyes brimming with affection. There was also, however, a tentative look in them, as if he might have changed his mind during the night about falling in love with her. He could only think that the experience she’d had with her boyfriend of long ago had made her so fearful of rejection now.

  “I’ll only be a minute,” she said softly.

  He watched her slip from the bed, enjoying the pale beauty of her naked body as she pulled a robe from a hook on the bedroom door and slipped into it. He listened to the sounds of her moving around in the kitchen, softly scolding her cat for her strange and inhospitable behavior.

  He lay back and stared up at the ceiling. Unfortunately, she would soon understand precisely why Mei was afraid of him.

  Meg reappeared and came into the bedroom. She slipped off her robe and climbed back under the covers.

  He turned to her, moving closer, and opened his arms to her.

  She practically fell into them, a relieved smile on her face as he enfolded her in his embrace. “Did you sleep all right?” she murmured. Her cheek rested against his chest and one hand held his arm, her fingertips resting lightly on his tricep.

  The length of her naked body was pressed to his. Her pubic mound rested directly against his erection, and he resisted the overpowering need to turn her onto her back and mount her.

  He caressed her cheek and then slid his fingers into her hair. “I did. And you?”

  She lifted her face from his chest. The move
ment brought her naturally onto her back, exposing her fully to his view, lush breasts and all. Her thigh grazed his shaft, causing him to suppress a groan.

  “I slept through the night for the first time in six months.” Her fingertips slid upward, over the cap of his shoulder and then downward, across his chest.

  He wanted her to touch him lower down on his anatomy, but instead she raised her hand to his cheek, brushing her fingertips over the light stubble on his chin and jaw. A dreamy look came into her large eyes as her touch grazed his unshaven skin. She seemed enchanted with him, something he never thought a woman would feel for him. Her seeming delight at simply touching him made him fall even more in love with her. God, what would he do if she rejected him after learning the truth? If her life weren’t in danger, he had the feeling he would try to hide the truth from her. “I’m glad.”

  She smiled, but her eyes churned with sadness and innocence, the very combination that tore at his heart. “I know it’s because you were here,” she said softly. “Every morning the same dream comes, just as it does shortly after I fall asleep. But not this morning. I opened my eyes at one point and when I saw you here with me, I was able to go back to sleep.”

  He stared into her eyes, bracing himself inwardly to tell her the truth. “That is a wonderful thing, ai ren. I don’t believe I’ve ever been such a comfort to another person.”

  “Well, now you are.”

  Her fingertips slid down his cheek and throat to his chest. Her hand closed lightly over his pectoral muscle, her palm grazing his nipple just enough to ignite him. No touch had ever felt quite like hers, soft and gentle and erotically appreciative all at once. He suppressed a groan, fighting back the fierce tightening in his groin and the wild need to bury his face between her breasts. If he waited another moment, he wouldn’t be able to tell her the truth ...

  He closed his hand over hers, lifting it away from his chest.

  Immediately her forehead creased and her eyes clouded. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did I hurt you?”

  He squeezed her hand gently. “Of course not, Megan.” He sighed. “It’s just that before we ...” He hesitated on the words, as if saying them would snap his restraint. “Make love ... again, there are important things you must know.”

  Her hand stiffened in his and her breathing grew audibly louder. Damn, she was already frightened. He swallowed hard, gathering his courage, casting about in his mind for the place to begin. When he found it, he spoke. “I don’t know how much your grandfather told you about Li, but something he may have mentioned was that Li is an expert astrologist.”

  Megan nodded. “Yes, he did say that. In fact, he used to say that it was Li who’d told him his destiny was to come to America, to this specific part of the country, and that he would meet the woman he would love.”

  Jie smiled in spite of the gravity of his situation. “Yes, that is my sifu.” He looked at her again. “He told me the same thing.” He paused and gazed into her eyes a moment before speaking. “The truth is, I didn’t come here looking for my godfather’s friend.”

  Megan’s eyes widened. “You didn’t?”

  He shook his head. “No. I came here because Li told me that a woman was here for me, the woman who would be my mate.”

  A flush of color bloomed in her cheeks. “That’s what you meant last night about our destiny?”

  “Yes.”

  She smiled. “This is wonderful, then.” Her eyes searched his face, obviously wanting him to affirm her statement.

  He watched her smile fade when he didn’t answer.

  “I don’t understand, Jie. You don’t seem happy about this.”

  He brought her hand to his lips for a brief but soft kiss into which he poured all his heart and soul. “I couldn’t be happier that you’re my destiny, Megan,” he said softly. “But there are other things ... other ... forces ...” He trailed off, his terror of her rejection mounting.

  “Please just say it.” Her voice had a pleading tone.

  “I’m sorry, Megan. I don’t mean to draw it out like this. I’m just ... very afraid that you won’t be as happy about me when you hear what I have to say.”

  Megan reached out and cupped his cheek. Her large eyes, which he now knew to be green, gazed at him with the most potent mixture of passion and affection he’d ever seen. “Whatever it is, Jie, we’ll work through it. Together.” A sweet smile curved her lips. “It’s not every day you find your soul mate. When Danny found Dave, it gave me hope for myself. I’m so happy that I wasn’t wrong.” She looked at him another moment. “I hope that helps.”

  He nodded, although he prayed she could stand by her words in the moment of truth. “Two years after my divorce,” he started, picking his words carefully, “I was very depressed. I missed Su Lin in spite of what had happened between us, and I blamed myself for the failure of our marriage. I went to stay with Li, wanting to leave the city and live out on the prairie with him. I still tended to my patients and hoped to establish a practice there.

  “Li came to me one night, when I was going to spend the night on the prairie by myself. He warned me that it would be dangerous, that something would happen to me to change my life forever.”

  He paused and sighed, remembering that moment of grave disobedience. He’d given Li many moments of distress throughout his adolescence. For several years, Jie had run wild in Beijing, getting involved with bad kids. He still carried a scar on his back from when someone had sliced at him with a broken bottle. A day hadn’t passed since then that he didn’t wish he’d heeded his master’s many warnings, especially that last one. “I didn’t care about danger. I wanted only to be out there under that vast sky, listening to the wind. I thought, whatever happens, I’ll accept the consequences.”

  He glanced at Megan. Her eyes had widened even further and fear clouded the innocence he usually saw in them. He was glad he hadn’t added the fact he’d felt somewhat suicidal.

  “What happened?” she urged gently.

  Clearing his throat, he gathered his last bit of courage and prepared to finish. “I got up in the middle of the night to relieve myself. The moon was high and full overhead, enabling me to see quite a distance. A creature came loping in my direction, toward where I was camped. As it drew closer, I could see that it looked like a wolf of some kind. I doubted what I was seeing because we don’t have wolves in that part of the world. There are snow leopards, but not wolves. I thought at the time that perhaps a wolf had made its way to Tibet from Siberia, but this was a wolf unlike any I’d ever seen. It was incredibly large and its eyes glowed yellow when it turned its head and caught the moonlight. It was truly like a creature from another universe. Yet here it was, standing a few feet from me, snarling.

  “There was nowhere to hide from it. I carried no weapons. The animal was much larger and stronger than I, so I had no way to defend myself. It attacked me.”

  Megan gasped. “My God! How did you survive?”

  He shook his head. “That’s the strange thing. The wolf pounced on me, sank its fangs into my arm, then released me. As soon as it had done so, it threw back its head, let out the most eerie sound I’ve ever heard, and then ran off into the night.” He held out his arm where the skin had never healed correctly from the punctures. “I still have the scar.”

  Megan looked at his arm. She reached out and gingerly smoothed her fingertips over the damaged skin. “What a horrible experience! You must have been terrified.”

  He nodded, remembering how that howl had chilled his blood even as he’d grasped his wounded arm in pain. “I was. But the bite was only a small part of my problem. Shortly after that, I lost my ability to see color.”

  Understanding lit her eyes. “Which was why you asked me about my hair and eyes.”

  He bowed his head. “Yes. Those were how I identified you as my mate.” He looked back up at her and smoothed back her hair. “Golden silk.” He touched her cheek. “Smooth ivory.” He brushed his thumb along her temple. “Deep jade. Li named
these things in the astrological prediction.”

  “But there’s something else, isn’t there?” she asked softly. “I see it in your eyes.”

  He nodded. “Yes, Megan.” He sighed, staring into her eyes again. She’d looked at him with more love in the few hours they’d known each other than Su Lin had in years of marriage. Now, he expected that love to turn to scorn as it had with Su Lin. “Aside from the loss of color from my vision, the creature’s bite did something inside me. It made me ...” He searched wildly for the right words. “Not completely human anymore.” He avoided her gaze. “My beautiful Megan, the bite I received turned me into a lang ren. A werewolf.”

  The gasp she released made his heart fall in misery.

  Chapter Ten

  Werewolf.

  Megan’s vision blurred, her eyes registering only the morning light through the window.

  Do not fear the werewolf’s kiss.

  My dream.

  She didn’t realize she’d said the words out loud until Jie spoke to her.

  “Megan? What are you saying?”

  His voice pulled her into the present. She blinked several times, concentrating on focusing. When she saw Jie clearly again, her gaze registered the lines of distress around his almond eyes.

  “My dream,” she repeated. Her strength of mind seeped back in, making her understand the urgent need to speak. “Grandfather. When he comes to me in my dreams, he always says the same thing. ‘Do not fear the werewolf’s kiss.’” She blinked again, no longer confused by the words.

  Yet, the implication was larger than anything she could ever have imagined. Even more astounding, heart-wrenching ... otherworldly ... than even an astrological prediction. This could only be ... magical.

  She looked at him. “How can this ...” She trailed off, her words captured by her deepening shock. The connection between her dream and Jie’s revelation seemed to dig deeper into her soul than his revelation itself. “Jie? Is that really possible? Can you really turn into a ...”