A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

All my senses blew through the roof, and my wolf readied herself to shift. I did a quick analysis of the room. There were three other people, besides Gerald. I would go for Dominic first, then the bodyguard to his left, if I made it that far. My pulse pounded in my ears, and my breathing quickened; I couldn’t stop my chest from heaving in and out. My knees bent, almost springing me over the desk, and my hand reached for the blade hidden in my bra. My eyes shifted to the left at the last second. I needed to know how badly this was going to go down.

And then I saw Luke.

My nostrils flared, making me smell someone else. Vampire.

I froze. Shit.

Shit, shit.

Samira sat across from Dominic. Of course. She said she had business with them. Her eyebrows rose when she saw me, then quickly turned to a scowl, making her glasses slide down her nose. Silas sat to the left of her, his deep blue eyes staring into mine.

I shifted my gaze to Luke. He shook his head as if disappointed to see me. Right back at you, pal.

Turning toward Dominic, I ignored the stares of the rest of the people in the room. A slow smile spread across his face when he saw me. "You captured her, Gerald. Good job. Take her to containment. I’m in an important meeting."

I walked forward, putting my hands on his desk and leaning over, just enough so that I was in his space. “Gerald didn’t capture me. I walked here all by my lonesome.”

He leaned back, his grip on his pen tight, but he raised an eyebrow.

“And then I challenged him to a fight, just for the opportunity to speak to you.”

Dominic jerked his eyes to Gerald, who was staring at his shoes. "Are you telling me she beat you in a fight?" When Gerald only mumbled a response, Dominic’s eyes returned to mine. "Maybe I hired the wrong security person."

I straightened. "I would have to agree with you. He wasn't much competition. Disappointing, really. Look, I can see you're busy, but I wanted a face-to-face before I got caught up in any unnecessary questioning. It would waste everyone’s time. I came here to join. I’m clearly strong enough for your pack. My only mistake was sneaking up on you guys last night, but I wanted to make sure you would be good enough for me. I admit, I liked what I saw."

"You've got some balls, I'll give you that.”

"Ovaries, Sir," I clarified.

Samira rolled her eyes at me.

He swirled his middle finger on the desk in front of him, considering me carefully. "That may be, but do you have the heart to do what we do? Or really, I should say stomach." His eyes flashed to Luke's, and he leaned forward. "Let's see if you do. I want you to follow Luke, starting tonight. You are to be his bitch.”

An expression I couldn’t decipher crossed over Luke’s face, darkening it.

Dominic continued. “If you do everything he says like a good little wolf, then maybe, just maybe, I'll put you on Silas’ personal security. Anyone who can beat Gerald in a fight deserves it." His gaze lowered to Silas. “Would that be acceptable to you?”

Silas, with his beady black eyes and thin lips, looked me up and down. I resisted the urge to swat at the bugs I swore were crawling on me. His hands curled slowly around the cane resting in his lap. “I can make something out of her.”

A flame lit inside of me. If I could become his personal guard, I would have ample opportunities to kill him. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"I’m all in.”

"Dominic said you have to do anything," Luke said, smiling wickedly. It made my stomach somersault. I ignored the growing heat in my lower abdomen, my hormones betraying me.

I raised my eyebrow at him. “You wish.” I looked back at Dominic, frowning. "You don’t mean I have to literally do everything he asks, right?"

Dominic chuckled. "If you can resist Luke, I'll be a bloodied pirate."

“Then I’ll be sure to buy you an eye patch and a wooden peg leg.” I bowed slightly, then turned to leave.

Dominic called after me. “Are you forgetting someone?"

I glanced back at Luke. “You coming?”

He walked past me, mumbling under his breath. Dominic’s gaze slid to Samira. "That should solve our little problem then, correct?"

Samira shifted her weight in the chair eyeing me sideways. "We'll see what you bring in."

What was Samira to him? How deep into his business was she?

I flashed her a curious look before I followed Luke out the door. He didn’t say anything to me until we were outside of the mansion. He whirled on me, embers in his eyes that burned hot. "Every time I think you couldn’t get any dumber, you go and surprise me."

"Thank you?"

“Why are you trying to get close to Dominic? Don’t you know that man is dangerous?”

“I thought you wanted me to join.”

The fire in his eyes cooled, and his voice lowered. “I was ordered to get you to join. Big difference.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he turned on his heel and walked around the side of the house. I followed him, frustrated and confused. He seemed loyal to the pack, doing whatever his Alpha asked him to do, but then why warn me about Dominic?

He stopped in front of a black motorcycle and tossed me a red helmet. “Put this on.”

When I glared at him, he added, “Please.”

He swung his leg over the seat of the bike and motioned for me to get on behind him, his lips a tight line.

I stared at the bike for a moment as a low thrill rose in my stomach. There were only two things better than the vibration of a bike between my legs: sex and being a wolf. With the latter being the better option.

Luke eyed me curiously, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth almost as if he knew what I was thinking. I quickly slid behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. His stomach tightened at my touch.

"Why did you really come back here?” he asked over his shoulder.

"I already told you. I want to join the pack.”

"That is such bullshit."

“What would you know? You know nothing about me or my past."

"And therein lies the problem." He slammed his foot down on the clutch, bringing the engine to life. The loud sound made it impossible for me to respond. He accelerated, nearly knocking me off backwards, and I had a strong feeling it was deliberate.

This shifter might actually kill me.

Chapter 13

I gripped him tighter as he drove fast through town, darting in between cars like a ball being shot through a pinball machine. I couldn’t help but think some of this show was for my sake. I hung on for dear life, but inside, my body was on fire. Pressing further into him, a smoldering sensation warmed my chest, and I struggled to control the growing desire toward Luke.

He turned a corner sharply, and when I teetered sideways, his hand dropped from the bike handle and pressed against my arms that were gripping his waist. His fingers brushed over the top of my wrist where the rope had injured me earlier. I wondered if the motion had been deliberate. Maybe he was feeling as equally attracted to me as I was to him.

Usually my love life consisted of one-to-three month whirlwind romances, mostly spent either in bed or eating pizza and watching TV. I never opened up or stayed long enough with a guy to get to know him.

And I never thought I would be attracted to the right-hand man of my enemy. But my wolf was getting possessive of him, and that pissed me the hell off.

As soon as we parked, I jumped from the bike and tore off my helmet. I began to pace, trying to relieve some of the burning in my blood. He glanced back at me with such a heated look, it made me want to jump him right here in the middle of the street. We stared at each other for a moment too long. Then I threw my helmet at him, hard. I didn’t want him getting any ideas. He grunted as it hit his stomach.

Except, instead of turning him off, his grin only widened.

Bastard.