CASSIE

It took everything I had to rip my eyes off of the werewolf in front of me to see who had come to interrupt us.

Oh great, just what I needed right now.

A stunningly beautiful woman was standing next to her car, her eyes riveted on the man who had been so focused on tormenting me. She smiled at him.

“Von Lee, right?” she asked.

I was hit hard with a strange pang of jealousy. Not only was the woman breathtakingly gorgeous, but she also knew the werewolf’s name. It was Von. Von Lee. I played it over in my mind over and over until it was all I could think about.

Von Lee. I like it.

Taking my eyes off the woman, I glanced at Von, who seemed to be struggling to remember the woman who was smiling at him. He had the look of a man who should have known who she was, but clearly didn’t.

Despite not wanting to think further, the thoughts echoed in my head whether I liked it or not… I wonder if he slept with her…

Like so many of the men that I had come across in my life, Von seemed like the kind of guy who enjoyed the ride but could never remember the rider afterwards. And given how hot he was, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had forgotten scores of women over the years. Most bad boys like him had no qualms about loving and leaving women behind.

The woman didn’t seem troubled by his spotty memory. I admired her lack of insecurity. Had I been her, I would have retreated with my tail tucked between my legs…after flipping Von the bird.

“You fixed my friend Jade’s Harley last year,” the woman explained.

“Oh, I see. Yeah. I see a lot of people at the shop,” Von said. “Sorry if I can’t quite place her…or you.”

The woman smiled as she shrugged it off. “No worries. Maybe I’ll buy a Harley so you can put your hands on it sometime.”

After putting her not so subtle offer out there, she gave me a quick nod, then hopped back in her car and drove off. I had to stop myself from turning red and not let my feelings be known. After all, I just met this guy, so I shouldn’t care about what woman he may or may not have been with. I stared at the car until it was out of sight. Jealousy aside, I didn’t blame the woman for remembering Von. He was the kind of man that wasn’t easy to forget.

But I wasn’t sure that I wanted him hanging around me like some kind of werewolf creeper. Hot or not, I deserved my privacy and peace of mind. I turned to him, determined to put him in his place.

“So, Von who fixes Harleys,” I said. “What the hell are you really doing here?”

VON

I forgot about the woman the second she had disappeared from view. I still couldn’t remember her or her friend or even the Harley that I had worked on. I didn’t even bother to try to search through my memories. None of them were worth remembering. The woman hadn’t been the first to try to hit on me and she wouldn’t be the last.

Not that I gave a damn. The only woman who had managed to catch my eye and keep it was standing right in front of me.

“Are you going to blame me for what just happened, Cassie?” I asked.

She huffed. “Don’t call me Cassie.”

Stepping closer, I let a growl rumble in my chest. Her eyes widened slightly, but she still didn’t flinch. Everything in me tried to push away how much I liked that, but I couldn’t. And I could tell my wolf loved it too.

“I’ll only keep using it if it makes you mad,” I said. “All right, Cassie?”

She swallowed thickly and I fought back a smile. It was a subtle sign that she wasn’t as tough or invincible as she was trying to let on. Her cheeks flamed red, yet another sign that she was uncomfortable in the best way.

How much more uncomfortable can I make her? I wondered.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed angrily. It seemed I had pushed the right buttons.

“Von? Von Lee?” she asked.

I smiled and thought how nice it would be to hear her sigh my name while I buried my face into her neck, teasing her skin, kissing her... Would she hold onto me or would she fight me?

Sinking into her was all I had been able to think about from the moment her glamour of an old crone had worn off. And I was tired of fighting it.

I took another step closer until she was backed up against my bike. She was cornered and she knew it. She flushed all the way to her chest. Wanting to close the distance between us, I reached out to run a finger along the outside of her robe. Gently, teasingly, I let the tip of it brush against her exposed skin.

Cassandra shivered and I could smell the explosion of pheromones that her body released. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. She could act as tough as she wanted to, but her body would always give her away. I would see it in the way her face flushed, or in the way that she licked her lips. Her eyes begged me for more. Soon, I knew that she would beg me with words. My body heated as I pressed it against her. Her breath caught in surprise and my wolf lost his mind, wanting her just as much as much as she clearly wanted us. Wanted me.

I leaned closer to whisper in her ear, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

CASSIE

My breath hitched as Von pressed himself against my leg. If I hadn’t been leaning against his bike, I would have surely fallen back on my ass.

My mind spazzed out as he invaded what little personal space I had left. Von was all I could see, feel, smell and think about. Somehow, I managed to answer his question even as my brain continued to go on the fritz.

“Wh-why would you say that?” I asked, my voice a shaky whisper.

Von growled again, then leaned in further to draw in my scent. He could probably tell how turned on I was, and I could sure as hell feel how turned on he was. I hadn’t made up my mind to tell him or not, but if I was honest with myself, I knew I would melt at his feet sooner than later.

“Why?” he asked.

I nodded. At least I could still do that.

“You’re standing here with me, in a vacant parking lot,” he said. “And the only thing between you and me is this…”

He reached down to tug my robe open. Suddenly storming out of my home with nothing but it on seemed like a poorly thought out plan. I stiffened as the warm night air caressed my bare skin, then shivered when Von stepped closer.

His eyes were on mine as he rubbed the back of his hand against my neck. The friction was sinfully delicious and I knew I would lose my mind if he kept teasing me like that. I adjusted my stance to give him more room. There was no point in trying to stop him and I knew that I didn’t want to.

How far am I going to let this go? I wondered.

Von licked his lips. “All you have to do is say no.”

I knew that. Of course I did. But I couldn’t say the word even if I wanted to. Every fiber of my being was focused on his skin against my own. Von had lit a fire within me. It would either burn me alive or drive me to the edge of my sanity.

Or maybe it already had? Because all I wanted was for him to keep going, to keep pushing and to finally take what we both wanted him to have.

Von took another breath, then stepped back. He stared at me as I stared at him, our breathing the only sound that I could hear. I could see it in his eyes: desire. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. I shook my head.

Von furrowed his brow. “You…you want me to stop?”

He couldn’t be more wrong.

“N—No,” I gasped, then spoke haltingly. “I…don’t…want you…to stop.”

A light flashed in his eyes. My consent was all he needed to give us both what we wanted. I gasped again when he stepped forward and pushed me back against his bike. Von looked at me one last time and began to close the space between his lips and my own, and I shivered in anticipation of what he would do next…