The Geek Job by Eve Langlais

Chapter Eight

“You asshole,” Lexie swore as she knelt down beside her prone geek.

“What? You had a better way of announcing you’d come to visit from the dead?” Frederick drawled, leaning back against the stainless steel counter. “Why not kiss him and see if he awakes like a true sleeping beauty.”

“Just get out and let me take care of this.”

“By all means. Feel free to do so naked. I would dearly love a video to go with my soundtrack.” Frederick chuckled as he walked away, then cursed as she tripped him and he smashed to the floor. “Evil bitch.”

“Dead dick walking,” she retorted. She ignored the leaving vampire as Anthony stirred, his eyes blinking behind his large lenses. She knew when he saw her because they widened and he sucked in a breath.

“Lexie?” He reached a hand up to touch her face and she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into his touch. He sat up and before she knew it, he’d pulled her to him and latched his mouth to hers. Startled, she didn’t immediately pull away, and that gave him a chance to ignite the heat she remembered all too well. Moisture pooled in her cleft, her nipples tightened and when he groaned against her mouth, she almost threw him on the floor to ravage and mark him.

With a soft cry, she broke the embrace and stood to move away. She heard the sound of him getting to his feet, then approaching. When he would have touched her, she sidled sideways, but turned to face him.

“Hello, Anthony.”

“You’re alive? But how? And shouldn’t you still be in bed? What stupid hospital released you already?”

He fired questions at her and she took a steadying breath to feed him the lie she’d concocted. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked.” Feeble, but the best liars knew to keep it simple and to the point.

His brow creased. “Not as bad as it looked? You had a hole in your freaking chest.”

Lexie shrugged. “Not the first one, either. I heal fast. What can I say?”

She could see a storm of questions in his eyes, but given her pat answers, he bit them back in favor of, “Why are you here? How did you find me?”

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived, in one respect anyway. “Frederick called me.”

“My employer? But how did he know where to find you?”

“I do odd jobs for Frederick.” She could see the confusion on his face as his mind and heart refused to put the obvious together. She gritted her teeth as she spelled it out. “I work for your boss. I just recently completed a job for him as a matter of fact.” She couldn’t mistake the moment all the pieces fell into place—his face tightened and his blue eyes turned arctic cold.

“You were paid to be with me,” he spat.

“Paid to protect you, which I did,” she amended, her voice husky as she fought the choking tears at his obvious anger. She didn’t understand her reaction. Why did she care the truth upset him?

“Paid to be a whore,” he yelled.

“If needed,” she cried back. “My primary objective though was to keep you safe, which I did in case you’ve forgotten. The rest ended up being a bonus.”

He gaped at her. “A bonus? You used me. You made me believe you cared for me.”

“No, I never led you to believe the weekend was anything other than two people having mutual fun.” The fact she’d grown to care for him had been an unexpected snarl, but she kept that to herself.

“I don’t believe this. Did you have a good laugh when you got home about the easy geek?”

“I was a little too busy trying to recuperate from getting shot,” she snarled. “And for your information, I would never have laughed at what we did. I didn’t fake those orgasms, or were you too caught up in your own pleasure to notice?”

Anthony moved to stand behind a counter, his hands fiddling with the equipment there. “Fine. You enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. You survived and got paid. What are you doing here now?”

“Frederick is concerned for your safety. He’s hired me to act as one of your bodyguards seeing as how some of the others had to be let go.”

“No.” Anthony said the word flatly and refused to look at her.

“You don’t have a choice.”

He swung his head up and his gaze froze her. “Why are you doing this? Are you enjoying torturing me? Just this morning, I thought the wonderful woman I’d grown to care about had died. And then she shows up, very much alive and I find out everything I thought and felt was a lie.”

“I do care for you, Anthony.”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear your pity for the nerd who fell for your act.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. And of all the things I felt and still feel for you, pity was never one of them.”

Anthony snorted and dropped his head again.

Lexie stood, indecision swamping her. He’d made it clear, he didn’t want her around, but Frederick seemed very concerned about his safety. Sure, she could step aside like Anthony wanted and let someone else take her place guarding him. However, no one would guard him as well as her, and given how much he hated her now, she wouldn’t have to worry about hurting him with her brand of affection. Much has her wolf howled in her mind, and despite the ache in her heart, his rejection of her was for the best, the safest thing for him.

God, I hate it when I don’t even believe the lies I tell myself.

* * * *

Anthony’s hands trembled as he tried to come to grips with the torrent of emotions swamping him. Anger at her subterfuge and a rare loss of control made him want to hurt her. She’d made him think she liked him, but she’d lied and played him for a fool. He’d fallen for an act. His eyes burned at the shame of knowing she’d never found him attractive, that she’d seduced him as part of her plan to protect him.How could I ever have believed she did?But even knowing she’d fucked him because she’d been paid, he couldn’t forget she’d almost died saving him. A part of him even dared believe that while she’d beguiled him as part of her agenda, she’d enjoyed their lovemaking, make that their fucking.Love was never involved.

As if those emotions weren’t enough to deal with, relief that she’d survived also invaded him. He’d suffered thinking she’d died because of him. Despite her treachery, it made him glad to know she lived.

Anger at her actions, relief at her survival, he could handle, but it was the last emotion that flabbergasted him the most and embarrassed him. Even now knowing he’d meant nothing to her, his cock still wanted a piece of her. His whole body did, and he found that unacceptable.

“You need to leave.” He pushed his glasses back up on his nose before raising his head to face her, trying to keep his expression placid.

She chewed her lip and didn’t immediately answer. In that moment, Anthony finally really looked at her, the shock of seeing her return from the dead and the truths imparted now settling. What he saw made his erection thicker. Gone was the woman in sexy business suits and hot cocktail dresses. Vanished was the seductress in garters with a naughty smile. Facing him now was a babe dressed in skin tight leather pants that molded her round hips. She wore an unzipped, waist length leather jacket, open just enough to reveal the low cut, skintight tank top that outlined her breasts and clearly displayed her erect nipples. Anthony swallowed hard, even more attracted to her now in her bad girl getup than before.

“I’m sorry my presence is pissing you off, but you’re in danger. If you want to live, you’ll suck it up and let me do my job.”

Anthony closed his eyes and counted to ten trying to rein in his temper. Her words, though, had the effect of dousing his libido. “Whatever. You know what? I don’t care. Just stay out of my way.” He pretended not to see the hurt in her eyes.What does she have to feel hurt about? I’m the one she played for a fool.

“I’ll be just outside the door if you need me.” She turned, displaying a perfect ass encased in leather, and Anthony’s resolve almost crumbled. Thankfully she left, the door sliding shut behind her.

“Fuck!” Anthony grabbed a glass beaker and whirled, throwing it at a wall covered in writing. It smashed, the glass shards flying while the liquid rolled in heavy lines down the wall. Chest heaving, he stared at the mess and wondered when his well-ordered, fulfilling life had gotten so messed up. Even odder, how had he allowed it?There’s a reason I love science. It never disappoints me.

He dropped his gaze and focused on the screen displaying the genome results which made no sense. The twirling 3-D image mocked him and intrigued him because he’d never seen anything quite like it, never even imagined it was possible. He’d run the DNA sequence on Lexie’s blood several times now, and each time it ended up the same. Two strands of different codes wrapped around each other in a complex double helix that fascinated him and actually stirred his brain with an idea that might work with his dilemma concerning Mr. Thibodeaux’s genetic makeup. Tapping a few keys, he ran a sub routine to separate the strands and then run them through his database for comparison.

He wondered if Lexie would give him another sample of blood so he could see if the anomaly persisted or prove a simple contamination was to blame. Somehow he doubted she’d just roll up her sleeve for him to plunge a needle in the name of science. Although, there were other ways of getting DNA…

If she intended to stick around—an idea that excited him more than he liked or wanted to admit— then she was sure to leave traces of her passage in the form of hair, or even saliva. He preferred working with blood, but his curiosity didn’t care at this point. Alive in body and mind, an invigorating feeling after the previous days in his catatonic state, he attacked his work with an eagerness he didn’t examine.It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with this discovery.Or so he tried to convince himself.

While the computer ran the analysis on Lexie’s DNA strand, he pulled up his genetic files on Mr. Thibodeaux, whom Lexie familiarly called Frederick. Just how close was she to his employer? Anger flared in him and he didn’t understand its source. Why should he care if Lexie and his boss knew each other intimately? His hand clenched tightly around his pen and it snapped under the pressure.

Sweet gods of science, don’t tell me I’m jealous?But he knew no other explanation for his extreme dislike at the thought of Lexie with his employer, or any other male for that matter. It seemed even though his mind wanted nothing to do with the deceitful woman, his subconscious and his body weren’t quite ready to let go.

A yawn crept up on him and he peered at his watch realizing the late hour. He’d gotten used to starting his work later so his boss could come speak to him, his sun allergy keeping him out of sight until sun down. But Anthony, while willing to compromise, still couldn’t work wholly at night. He needed sunlight even if he didn’t always get a chance to enjoy its warm embrace.

Leaving his machines running simulations that would take hours to compile, he made his way to the door only remembering as he opened it that Lexie waited on the other side.

She lifted her head as he appeared. Without a word, her face an indecipherable mask, she straightened herself from the wall she leaned against. A twinge of guilt suffused him as he realized he’d left her waiting out in the corridor without even a chair to sit in, but she said not one word of recrimination.

“I’m going to bed now,” he announced, then his cheeks heated as he realized how it sounded. “Um, so I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lexie smirked. “Lead the way. As your new bodyguard, you’re not allowed out of my sight.”

“I assure you this building is quite safe.”

“No, it’s not. It’s decent, I’ll grant you, but to someone like me, still too easy to infiltrate.”

Anthony held his tongue at her statement.What does she mean when she says “someone like me?” Just what is she capable of?Deciding an argument would get him nowhere, Anthony led the way with his lab coat flapping, much too conscious of the fact she followed. He pressed his palm on the scanner for the elevator and the doors slid open.

“I’ll have to look into getting added to this system,” she mused.

“I can do it for you,” he offered.

She turned amused green eyes toward him. “Yes, you can do it for me,” she purred. She laughed when his face heated even hotter.

He didn’t understand her game. Why flirt with him anymore? He was glad when the elevator arrived at the penthouse, the close proximity of the cab making him too aware of her, the subtle scent of her perfume wrapping around him and firing up his senses. He walked into his apartment and whirled to say good night, but she stalked around him, scanning the room.

“What are you doing?”

She didn’t turn to face him when she answered. “Checking for danger, of course.” She flowed through his space, her body moving with a fluid grace that dried his mouth. She looked like a dark predator in her leather, moving from room to room, her eyes scanning every nook and cranny, and, even stranger, he could have sworn she inhaled the air, as if tasting it. The whole thing disturbed him even as it raised his body temperature and cock.

She finished in his bedroom and whirled to face him, because like a stupid puppy, he couldn’t help following her. “All clear.”

“Thanks, I guess. See you in the morning.”

“Night.” She flopped into the armchair by his bed and closed her eyes.

He watched her, puzzled. “Eh, what are you doing?”

She opened one eye and peered at him. “Guarding you, of course.” She closed her lid again and Anthony ogled her.

“Can’t you guard me from another room? I need to get undressed and go to bed.”

Lexie sighed and forgot feigning sleep to regard him. “How am I supposed to guard you if I’m not with you? It only takes seconds for an assailant to kill you. Now stop protesting and do what you have to so we can both get some sleep.”

Anthony gritted his teeth as he grabbed a pair of track pants and headed into the bathroom. No way was he undressing in front of her and making a spectacle of himself. He stripped in the bathroom and stared at his hard dick. Regardless of his thoughts on the matter, his cock appeared more than happy to have her stay.

Unwilling to embarrass himself further by walking out with a stiff prick, Anthony turned the shower on and jumped in. He stood under the hot spray and let it pound against his skin, relaxing his muscles, well, all except the rock hard one. He knew of only one solution to that dilemma.

He wrapped a soapy hand around it and fisted it back and forth. He tried to picture anything but Lexie as he pleasured himself; however, nothing in his past could compare to the ecstasy he’d enjoyed with her. His breathing hitched as he recalled a previous shower where she’d bent over for him, her round ass perfectly tilted to display her pink cleft. She’d watched him over her shoulder, her eyes heavy with passion as he slid into her, the tight walls of her channel clamping down on him. She’d come before him, the ripples of her climax triggering his, and now, like in the memory, as he stroked himself, he came again.

His body shuddered with minor aftershocks as the water washed away the traces of his climax, nothing like the quakes that rocked him when Lexie made him come in the flesh. He finished washing himself, trying once again to block her from his mind and thought he was doing a great job until he stepped out into his bedroom wearing a t-shirt and sleep pants and saw her splayed in the chair.

She’d kicked off her boots and let down her hair which framed her in a dark silken fall. She’d also removed her jacket, leaving her clad in her leather pants, which had to be uncomfortable, and a tight top that delineated her bust to perfection. His cock twitched and he almost ran to his bed to hide under the covers.

He tossed and turned in the large bed, unable to sleep knowing how wretched her current location was. He opened his eyes and looked over at her. As if sensing his stare, she opened her eyes and stared back.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes.” He sighed. “No.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t let you sleep in the chair.”

Her gaze narrowed. “I already told you, I’m not leaving.”

“I got that part. This bed is huge. It would be selfish of me not to share it.”

Her lips twitched. “Why, Anthony, I never thought you’d have the nerve to ask.”

He blushed at her innuendo. “That’s not what I was implying. I wasn’t asking for sex. I just can’t in good conscience let you sleep in the chair when this bed has more than enough space for both of us. And, if you need something less confining to wear, I’ve got some shorts and track pants in the top drawer of my dresser.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on the offer. Frederick’s goons apparently didn’t bring my shit up.” She moved to rummage through his drawer pulling out a pair of his jogging shorts, then, instead of going into the bathroom to change, her hands went to the button of her pants. Anthony shut his eyes and turned his head as she yanked her leather bottoms down, her amused chuckles making him heat and not just in the face.

He rolled himself over to his edge as she climbed into the bed. He held his body stiffly and he heard her sigh. “Good night, Anthony. Don’t worry, I promise not to bite.”

She said the words as if disappointed, and truthfully, Anthony was, too. He’d quite enjoyed the way she’d nibbled him in the past. But as his mind reminded him,she needed to get paid to fuck the geek.

Holding onto his anger—and hurt—he fell asleep.

* * * *

Lexie woke to find herself plastered to Anthony with an arm and a leg thrown over him. She immediately scooted away, appalled at her lack of control. She didn’t allow the excuse of slumber to placate her. She couldn’t allow herself to get involved with him, especially not this close to the full moon. Her wolf roiled restlessly in her mind and her pussy throbbed, the pair of them arguing against her plan of action, or in this case, inaction.

Too bad. Anthony is a human and deserves better than me.She used the bathroom while he slept, leaving the bathroom door open so she could hear if anything untoward happened. She quickly peed, showered and brushed her teeth with a spare toothbrush she found in the vanity. When she emerged, the bed lay empty with her geek nowhere in sight. Dressed only in her tank top and panties having forgotten her pants by the bed, she dashed out into the main apartment, sniffing the air and locating him along with coffee. She stalked into the kitchen, bristling.

“Don’t you ever sneak off on me again,” she growled, chastising herself for taking too long in the bathroom.

Anthony, already dressed for the day in chino’s, a white shirt and a fresh lab coat, arched a brow as he held out a mug of coffee. “Good morning to you, too. Are you always this grumpy in the morning?” As soon as he said it, she could see him recall their previous mornings together where they’d woken in a more intimate fashion wearing smiles of pleasure.

She couldn’t resist teasing. Why not, she already knew she was going to hell when she died. “I prefer your previous method of wake up involving hot sausage.”

He flushed and he turned around to busy himself, but not before she caught his pants tenting.I’m playing with fire. Good thing I heal quickly.She sat down and watched him, unable to stop herself. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he turned around again holding two plates and his composure. He slid a plate in front of her before sitting down.

She grimaced at the scrambled eggs and microwaved bacon. “Are you trying to kill me?”

Anthony, seated across from her, regarded his own plate with a frown. “My cooking skills don’t extend to the kitchen, but ask me to whip something up in the lab and I’m your man.”

“Oh, I’d say the lab isn’t the only place you can cook.” Lexie wanted to slap herself as once again she flirted with him, but it wasn’t entirely her fault. She got a kick out of seeing him flustered, and it didn’t hurt her pride either to know that despite what she’d done, he still couldn’t help desiring her.

Bad wolf. Stop baiting the human.Lexie couldn’t wait until the full moon came and went so she could put her wolf to sleep. This close to the forced change, her wolf sat too close to the surface, just waiting for a chance to take over.Not happening, my inner bitch, so settle your furry ass down. Anthony is off limits.

Lexie choked down the breakfast using her coffee to wash it down. Thank god, she’d requested red meat for lunch and dinner. She’d starve if she had to rely on Anthony for sustenance, well, other than the wiener type.

Appalled that she couldn’t keep her mind out of the gutter, she stood and didn’t remember her lack of pants until she noticed Anthony’s gaze riveted on her crotch, and of course, said crotch immediately got wet.

“I’d better finish getting dressed,” she mumbled turning to leave. As she walked back to the bedroom her keen hearing caught the sound of him groaning and a thump as if he’d banged his head on the table. She couldn’t help the smile that tilted her lips.

She slipped her pants back on, making a mental note to herself to find out where the hell her bag with her change of clothing had gone. Her shower had refreshed her, but without clean underwear, she felt scummy.

She jammed her feet into her boots and grabbed her jacket. Then she retrieved her revolver from under the pillow and slid it in the special holster inside her jacket. She also patted her pants and coat sleeves to check that her silver blades were present. It never paid to go to work unprepared.

She returned to the main living area to find Anthony standing by the large floor to ceiling window. She cursed under her breath.

“Do you have a death wish?” she barked.

He turned with a puzzled frown.

“The window? Like, hello, would you like to paint a larger target on yourself for any snipers that might be outdoors?”

He gaped at her for a moment, then her geek found the nerve to laugh.

“This isn’t funny, Anthony,” she growled.

He snorted. “Yes, it is. I mean, seriously, snipers? First off, Mr. Thibodeaux has excellent security, and second, these windows are bullet proof. Apparently, you aren’t the only paranoid one around here.

“Laugh all you want, my giant geek, but bullet proof glass doesn’t stop everything.” That shut him up and she slapped her hand on the console to call the elevator.

“You need to be put into the system for it to work…” He trailed off as the light turned green and the door opened.

Lexie bared her teeth in a smile that made him flinch. “You might be good at what you do, but I’m wicked at what I specialize in. Now get your ass in this elevator.” She hated scaring him, but he needed to understand she was in charge; that, and she couldn’t keep allowing him to tempt her. Shyness was one thing—she found it cute. But fear? Fear brought out the monster in her.

They travelled down in silence, and when Anthony entered his lab, she followed him. When he darted a look at her, she again bared the smile that freaked him out. “Don’t mind me. I’ve decided, given your inability to follow common sense where you safety is concerned, I’d better stick close by.”

He grunted in reply and then proceeded to ignore her as he flicked on monitors and read the screen results.

“Impossible,” he mumbled.

Curious, Lexie wandered over to see what had his briefs in a knot. “What’s up?”

“The results of your DNA test.”

Lexie froze. She’d heard mention of her DNA the day before, but ignored it because she’d figured she misunderstood. “Where did you get my DNA?”

Anthony flashed her a brief look she didn’t understand before concentrating on the screen again. “I came home covered in it when you got shot.”

“And, what? You just decided to use it?” Panic fluttered in her breast. The decision to tell him or not about her alter ego was no longer a choice. Her secret was about to see the light of day because of bloody science.

He shrugged. “I thought you were dead. It was my way of preserving a part of you. Anyway, the how and why I got it aren’t the interesting parts. What I’d like to figure out is why your DNA is twined with that of a wolf’s?”

“A wolf’s?” Lexie’s laughter sounded brittle even to her. “That’s crazy.”

“Exactly, and yet…there’s no denying it. Somehow my samples got contaminated with wolf genes and, even stranger, they merged with yours in a most fascinating double helix.”

“Wow, that is weird.” Lexie walked away lest her relief at his obliviousness become too obvious.

“It’s weird alright, but at the same time, it gave me a fantastic idea on how to deal with Mr. Thibodeaux’s condition.”

And with those words, her geek went to work, bustling from work station to machine, to computer then back. Lexie perched on a stool and kept one eye on him as she used her BlackBerry to check on emails and other items that required her attention. She also tapped back into the lab’s security network, checking for anomalies and weaknesses in the system. During her middle of the night check, she’d easily hacked into the main system using some blackmarket hacker apps and added herself, along with a few surprises.

A few hours after their arrival in the lab, a buzzer sounded and Lexie jumped up, glad to have a reason to move.

Anthony peered over at her and smirked. “That’s just the lunch bell.”

“Oh.” She scowled at him. “Well, come on then. I’m hungry.”

“And if I say I’d rather stay and work?”

Lexie’s stomach rumbled and shredded her patience. “Unless you want me to embarrass you by carrying you over my shoulder to eat, then you’d better pause whatever you’re doing.”

“Oh, please. Like you could carry me.”

“You’d be surprised at what I can do,” she muttered under her breath. Thankfully, she didn’t have to show him because he typed a few keystrokes then came toward her. She ignored how cute he looked with his hair standing up wildly in Einstein fashion, and how his blue eyes shone with excitement. She clamped her desire down tight and followed him as he led the way to a secure room setup as a dining area replete with a dining table and another large window overlooking the grounds.

Lexie sat him at one end of the table and then positioned herself square in the middle facing the view outdoors. She wanted a direct line of sight just in case.

Dishes covered in silver domes waited amidst cutlery and napkins. Lexie slapped Anthony’s hand away and lifted the covers, sniffing the food for traces of poison.

Anthony assumed she smelled for a different reason. “Smells like chef outdid himself, and look, no mini assassins are waiting on my plate.”

Lexie shot him a dark look even as her lip curled at his sarcastic humor. She’d enjoyed shy Anthony at the conference, then the confident one, but this new sarcastic side intrigued her. It proved he had a backbone hidden somewhere inside his geeky body.

Seated in front of olfactory heaven, Lexie dove in. The chef thankfully knew how to prepare his beef and Lexie groaned as she chewed, her tongue and taste buds dancing as they met red meat heaven. Anthony stared at her as she devoured her meal and after a few bites she stopped. “What?”

Shaking his head as if startled, he dropped his gaze. “Sorry, just wondering about a few things.”

“Such as?” She asked feigning disinterest as she resumed her meal.

“Do you live around here when you’re not working?”

“Kind of. I’ve got a place in the city, but it’s more a crash pad than anything else.”

“What about family?”

She stopped eating again and gave him a pointed look. “What’s with all the questions?”

He shrugged. “Just making polite conversation and wondering how your parents feel about renting yourself out.”

The jibe stung and, as if ashamed of his comment, Anthony ducked his head, but he couldn’t hide the red creeping up his neck. She bit back a smile.My geek has more backbone than I keep giving him credit for.“My mom keeps waiting for me to settle down, but I’m not the type.” Her mom also lamented the fact her daughter had a brain and wouldn’t do her duty to the pack. As for her dad, he just muttered that she’d settle down once the right wolf came along who could beat the stubbornness out of her. And they wondered why she avoided coming over to visit.

The conversation stalled, and Lexie concentrated on filling her belly. She scraped the last bite off her plate and leaned back with a happy sigh. “That chef is a bloody genius.”

Her happy belly held her as Anthony spent the next few hours in the lab. Boredom set in quickly as she watched Anthony bury himself in his work. To keep herself entertained, she did yoga, stretching her limbs and arcing her body in complicated poses which relaxed her.

“Must you do that,” he sputtered after a while.

Lexie, pretzeled into a yoganidrasana position, grunted. “I’m bored and I need exercise.”

“Fine, then we’ll hit the gym. I need a break anyhow.”

Unfolding herself carefully, Lexie’s keen sight didn’t miss the tent in Anthony’s pants.I guess it wasn’t what I was doing that bugged him, but the fact he wanted to do me.Her nipples tightened at the thought.

He brought her to a new part of the building which housed a state of the art gym. Her geek stripped his coat and dress shirt off, leaving him clad only in his slacks and a t-shirt. He set the treadmill and began to run, his eyes closed in concentration. Just as eager to ignore him, Lexie hit the weights, exerting her muscles as a way of ignoring her other bodily needs.

After a while, a prickling sense let her know he watched her.

“What?” she asked through gritted teeth, hefting the weight.

“Um, you’re awfully strong.”

Determined to give herself a good workout, Lexie hadn’t paid attention to the fact she bench pressed more than the average body builder could. Honestly, she hadn’t really expected Anthony to notice or know the difference.

“It’s all about technique,” she lied getting up off the bench and heading towards the punching bag.

“Why is it I get the impression there’s more to you than meets the surface,” he murmured aloud.

Lexie didn’t answer. Anything she said other than the truth would have probably sounded false.

*

They fell into a routine over the next few days, one wrought with tension—the sexual kind. She knew he masturbated nightly in the shower, and wished she dared do the same, but she didn’t want to risk rousing her passion any more than it already was. The imminent full moon pressed on her and she knew she wasn’t completely successful at hiding her hungry gaze around Anthony. And stupid human that he was, he didn’t run away.

She successfully fought off her urge to tear his clothes off and fuck him, but the tension in her body took its toll. Even worse, she could tell he fought the same battle.

She had no idea what he did hour after hour in the lab, but she knew he’d made some kind of progress because he worked at a frenzied pace, muttering to himself and working late into the night. Of Frederick, their employer, she saw neither hide nor hair, although she did catch glimpses of his guards and minions. They wisely made a wide berth around her, knowing her reputation—smart because, in her current frame of mind, any wrong move, look or word would have been deadly.

The day of the full moon, Lexie paced restlessly and Anthony looked up from his work long enough to notice. “Are you alright? You’re acting like a lion in a cage.”

Lexie almost snorted. Change the lion to wolf and he’d hit the problem dead on. “Listen. There’s going to be a bit of a change tonight. I’ve got to go out for a while.”

“Going on a date?” Anthony tossed the words at her casually, but she could see the tension in the tight way he gripped his pen.

Jealousy—how yummy. Lexie mentally shook herself. “No, I’ve got some business to take care of. I want you to lock this place down tight when I leave.”

“But how will you get back in?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“You know it’s been three days since you arrived and more than that since the attempted kidnapping and shooting at the conference. Don’t you think you and the boss are being a tad paranoid?”

She stalked toward him, her wolf side growling when he backed up from her. She crowded him and leaned in close, close enough to smell his fear—and excitement.

“Listen here, my giant geek.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

Lexie lost her patience. She grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him close. “You. Are. In. Danger. Just because you’re not seeing the violence directed at you doesn’t mean it’s not happening. In the days since I’ve been here, we’ve intercepted one bomb, two assassins and one really ugly shirt. So do not tell me you’re not in danger.”

“Uh, if you say so.”

This close to him, her emotions swirling, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning in the last inch that separated them and pressing her mouth to his. He hesitated at first as she slid her lips along his, her tongue coaxing him to open wide. Lexie, no longer quite in control, pressed herself closer, and gave a grunt of satisfaction at the feel of his hard cock pressing against her belly. It only took a few seconds more before he relaxed, giving her access to his tongue as his arms came to wrap around her.

A fever caught hold of her and she felt her claws and canines extending as her wolf pushed, make that demanded she claim this man. She wanted to shred his clothes from him and ride him hard as she sank her teeth into his skin and…

With a snarl, Lexie pushed away from him. She turned and gave him her back, knowing she couldn’t hide the changes in her body from him. She didn’t dare look at him less she completely lose her mind and do what her pulsating body demanded.Fuck him. Mark him. Keep him.Her wolf’s needs and desires came through crystal clear. Lexie fought her inner bitch, but she could feel the tide of the battle shifting away from her, putting Anthony in danger.

“Get up to your apartment, now.” She held herself stiffly as she faced away from him.

“I wasn’t done with my work here.”

She whirled with a growl. “Don’t make me knock you out like I did our last night at the conference.”

He sucked in a breath and regarded her incredulously. “I didn’t pass out like I thought, did I?”

“Pressure points, baby. Now get your sweet cheeks moving before I show you some less pleasant ones.” Lexie didn’t curb her tone. She needed him to move now. Even though night had only started to fall, her wolf side pushed at her. Called her to shed her humanity and revel in her animalistic heritage.

She watched him flee and couldn’t help pursuing him, his prey-like action clashing with her desire to possess him. She stalked him down the hall as he scurried to enter the elevator. He paused at the threshold. He turned around and tossed her a strange look—was that defiance I saw on his face?The doors slid shut before she could chase him down and reiterate the need for him to stay away from her and remain safe behind as many locked doors as possible. Assassins and enemies of their boss weren’t the only danger to him tonight.

She loped down the hall towards the emergency stairs. She slapped her hand on the console and for a second feared her elongated nails would fuck up the reading, but the electronic portal whisked open and she barreled down the stairs, her need to run wild pulsing just below her skin.

Two more hand scans and she made it outside. Quickly, she whirled and keyed in the lockdown code—the new one that her geek didn’t have access to. She didn’t trust him to not try and disable it to return to his lab.

Silvery fingers of moonlight tickled across her exposed skin and Lexie turned to drink them in. She let her jacket slide from her shoulders to drop to the ground. She kicked off her boots and shimmied out of her pants. Her top and panties quickly followed suit. Naked, she strode forward, ignoring the niggling warning that she should move to the back of the building where there were fewer eyes.

But her wolf drove now, and it had no shame. It rejoiced in the call of the moon. Paced with a frenzy as the time to run—to be free—fast approached.

Bathed in moonlight, Lexie let out a long sigh as she gave up the fight to hold her inner self back. Her skin rippled, a painful thing that made her cry out, and then scream as her limbs cracked and shifted, reshaping her. Her screaming cry of pain transitioned in pitch until she stood there on four feet and howled.

Time to hunt.