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More Bark Than Bite
By: Melissa Hosack
ISBN-978-0-9821431-4-8
All rights reserved
Copyright © Sept. 2008, Melissa Hosack
Cover Art copyright © Sept. 2008, Quiet Warrior Designs
Mystic Moon Press, LLC
Santa Fe, NM 87507
www.mysticmoonpress.com
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"Oy! Morgan!"
Morgan Phillips spun around to face the man running down the hallway of Channel 12's news station toward her. "Alston?" she asked, a question in her voice.
"I'm so glad I found you before Jamison did," her friend and cameraman said breathlessly.
Morgan's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "This sounds like bad news."
"You'd be correct," Alston said, nervously spinning his wedding ring around on his finger. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder before turning back around to face her. "Jamison's really pissed about your report from this morning." His face took on a pained look. "Come on, Morgan. A tap dancing St. Bernard?"
"I can't make the news, Alston! There has to be something interesting going on first for me to report it."
Alston shrugged as if this shouldn't be a factor. "I'm just giving you a warning. You may want to sneak out early before Jamison finds you, and for goodness sake, try to come up with something good for Monday."
Morgan bobbed her head in agreement, her heart fluttering nervously at the thought of running into her angered boss. Lowering her voice, she hissed, "It's just that there's nothing to cover around here."
"There's that string of extremely bloody, violent, and, not to mention, unsolved murders," Alston suggested, trying for nonchalance but failing.
Morgan gave him a look that spoke volumes. "You mean the case the police are being exceedingly tight lipped about? Those murders?" She rolled her eyes with a huff. "I wouldn't be able to get any information on that if the next victim was killed on my front lawn."
"You just need to trick someone into giving you a few minor details."
"You want me to trick a cop into giving me secret information? Isn't that illegal or something?"
Alston waved her off with an unconcerned look. "That's called good reporting." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "There's that one cop I always say is sweet on you. The one who helped you up after you took a tumble down those stairs at that political rally."
Morgan shot him a dirty look for bringing back the memory of her lack of grace when she'd taken a fall in front of hundreds of witnesses. "Officer Audrick," she said, trying to ignore the excited thump her heart gave at the mere mention of his name.
"That's the one!" Alston said with a snap of his fingers. "We have our victim. Now all we need is to get you alone with him so you can sneak in a few sly questions."
"I don't know if I'm comfortable with this plan," Morgan said slowly.
"This is your career we're talking about. Sometimes you have to do underhanded things to get a good scoop. You might have to do stuff that would make a girl scout frown to get noticed by the important people upstairs."
Morgan's eyes lifted to the ceiling, looking up to where Jamison's office sat above their heads.
"Noticed for something besides being attacked by a squirrel on live television, that is."
"That squirrel was evil!" Morgan shot back.
Alston shrugged. "If you say so." He set her with a challenging look. "So do you have an idea on how to get Audrick alone?"
"Well..." A few weeks ago, she'd found out that Graham Audrick stopped at a tiny diner near her home every Friday at the end of his shift. She'd found out by coincidence because she herself ate at the same diner on Fridays.
She secretly looked forward to seeing him. She enjoyed his friendly smiles and the couple minutes of sociable chitchat they sometimes had. How pathetic was she? The highlight of her weekend was polite conversation from a total stranger. Steeling her face into a determined look, she said, "I can get him alone."
"Then I wish you luck," Alston said. "May you charm the pants off of him."
Morgan's cheeks flushed at that statement, but her eyes stayed confident. "I will."
Morgan had her car parked along the road about half a mile from the diner. She had the hood popped and a damsel in distress expression on her face. Twice she'd had to chase off good Samaritans so she'd appear stranded when Graham drove up.
She'd dressed up for the occasion, wearing a jean miniskirt and a low cut black top. Her feet were adorned in six inch black heels with straps that wrapped around her calves. They were not the kind of shoes a girl would want to be in when stranded with a busted car. It just helped add to the damsel in distress persona she was aiming for. Her waist length black hair was straightened to perfection and silky to the touch. She had brown highlights that were bronzed to a perfect color. There were also minute streaks of red mixed in as well. Her hair shined wonderfully in the sun and her green eyes were complimented by the tasteful makeup she wore. She looked drop dead gorgeous if she did say so herself.
She spotted a blue and white cruiser in the distance and plastered a helpless look on her face.
Just as she knew he would, Graham slowed to a stop in front of her and rolled down his window. "You having some trouble there, little lady?"
Her eyebrows arched at that. At five foot eleven, she was far from little, but she took his comment as a compliment. Running a hand over her forehead as if she were unbelievably hot, Morgan said, "Yeah. My car ... it seems to have given up on me."
"Well, ain't that a shame," Graham sympathized, a tiny hint of southern twang audible in his voice.
It was just enough twang to make Morgan's toes curl in delight.
"Do you want me to call a tow truck?" Graham asked as he climbed out of his car to walk over to her side.
Morgan leaned over the car, arms extended to grab the hood as she shamelessly jutted out her derriere. "Nope." She slammed the hood closed and turned to face him, silently thrilled that it took him a moment to drag his eyes to her face. "My brother owns a truck we can hook the poor thing up to. Only..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
"Only?" Graham asked, taking the bait.
"Only he can't tow it till morning because he works the overnight shift this week. It would be so sweet of you to give me a lift to the diner. That way I can get some dinner while I call around for someone to come pick me up."
Graham motioned toward his car. "Of course." Walking to the passenger side, he held the door open for her like a true southern gentleman.
Morgan felt a stab of remorse. She was lying to him. There was nothing wrong with her car. Alston had her spare set of keys. He and his wife were going to pick up her abandoned car and drop it off at her house in the morning.
Her eyes looked Graham over as she slid into the car, taking in his honest and open features.
He had short, dark blond hair that was spiked up and eyes the sparkling blue of the ocean. He had what looked like a couple days worth of dark blond stubble along his jaw that was causing butterflies to go nuts in her stomach.
Graham was adorable in that boyish, innocent sort of way. She loved that young at heart look of his, yet it was the very thing she was about to take advantage of.
"I'll make you an even better offer," Graham said, breaking up her thoughts. "I'll have dinner with you. I was already headed to the diner anyway," he said with a friendly smile. "When we finish, I'll give you a ride home."
"Oh, I couldn't impose like that," Morgan replied, inwardly smiling at the fact that he'd taken the bait she'd dangled in front of him.
"I insist."
Feigning as though she was thinking on it, Morgan finally broke into a grin that said she was giving in. "Why not? It sounds nice to have company for once on a Friday night." Well, that had come out a tad more pathetic than she'd been going for.
"And here I thought you liked eating alone," Graham commented as he pulled into the diner parking lot.
"What?" Morgan asked with a little laugh.
He tossed her another adorable grin, stretching a tanned arm over her seat as he looked behind them to back into a parking space. "You always have a ton of paperwork around you and you always look so busy. I'd have invaded your table months ago, but you looked like you were enjoying the solitude."
Morgan felt her heart melt at that. "You should have come over! I wouldn't have minded."
"Well, now I know."
As she climbed out of the car, Morgan tossed him a flirtatious smile. "Now you have no excuse to ignore me."
Graham held the door of the diner open for her and Morgan stepped through, her heart aching. She liked Graham. She really, really didn't want to do this.
Twenty minutes had passed since Morgan and Graham were shown to a table. They both had been given their food and were talking about the weather, their dinner, and the usual pointless topics one would bring up when they didn't know the other person well.
Nervously, Morgan took a deep breath. She needed to bring up the murders, but she needed to do it casually. If she brought it up in a way Graham found suspicious, he would clam up and she would never get him to speak freely in front of her again.
She waited until there was a lull in the conversation, then tried to sound casual as she said, "So what's new in the world of police work?" She held her breath, waiting for his angry accusations, but they never came.
"Not too much. It's a big city, so we see the usual riffraff you would expect, but nothing too dangerous," he responded, taking a bite of his burger and leaning nonchalantly back in his seat.
"That's good," she said slowly, trying to plot out where to go with this. She had to be very delicate with the way she approached the subject of the murders. She couldn't be too obvious and just rush into things. She had to use a little tact, a little slyness. "I would hate for you to get injured in the line of duty."
His eyes swept almost thoughtfully over her face before he slid into a devilish grin. "I'm pretty indestructible. You don't need to worry about me."
Morgan nibbled on a fry, her heart pounding in anticipation of her next statement. This was as good of an opening as she expected to get. "Well, I worry about everyone ... especially with those recent murders."
Graham's smile faltered and he stared at her for a moment in silence.
He sat so still that the little hairs on Morgan's arms felt like they were standing on end. It was his eyes that startled her the most. They'd gone from a pretty blue to a gray that she could only describe as intimidating. She licked her lips nervously, the smoky color of his eyes making her very uneasy. She suddenly wished she hadn't said anything at all. The expression on his face let her know just how little he appreciated the topic being mentioned.
Just as she was about to apologize for even bringing up the conversation, Graham's eyes slid away from hers, back to his food. "Yeah," he said into his plate as he swirled a fry around in ketchup. He lifted his eyes back to hers as he stuffed the fry into his mouth. "Those have been pretty horrible."
His eyes were back to their pretty blue, and Morgan chocked the whole frightening experience up to her nerves. She blamed it on her guilty conscience making her see things. "Are you guys close to catching anyone?" she asked boldly, trying to force her eyes wide in innocent concern. She was trying to keep the conversation from sounding too much like an interview.
"We're getting close. There's a specialist from the FBI coming in. He's worked on cases similar to this in the past. When that guy gets here, our killer is going to be behind bars within a week."
So they were bringing in an FBI specialist. That was just the kind of inside scoop she was looking for. Popping her last fry into her mouth, Morgan shifted in the seat to face her purse. Pretending to be looking for her wallet, she let her gaze flit back and forth between him and the purse. That made it easier to keep him from seeing the greedy glimmer in her eyes due to the information he'd just spilled. "I'm sure you would have done just fine without the FBI. I know I feel much safer just knowing you're on the job."
The boyish grin returned to Graham's face. "I'm glad I have your vote of confidence." His eyes slid to the purse she was rummaging through. "I know you're not thinking about paying for your own dinner." He climbed to his feet and grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket. "You've got that car of yours to pay for. You shouldn't be worrying about dinner. It's my treat."
As he pulled out money and dropped it to the table, Morgan's stomach fell to her toes. How could she even be considering this? He was such a sweet guy and he trusted her enough to talk about the murders in front of her. Damn him! Why did he have to be so trusting? If he would have politely changed the subject, she would have let it go. After a brush off, she would have chocked it up as a failure and left it at that.
"Your expression says I've just done something horrible," Graham said with an amused grin. He ran his tongue along his teeth, a comical expression of worry on his face. "I don't have food stuck in my teeth do I? I've been accused of dining like a barbarian."
Snapping out of her daze, Morgan burst into giggles. "No. You don't have food in your teeth and you didn't eat like a barbarian. I was just ... thinking."
"Ah," Graham said, tugging teasingly at a lock of her hair, "so that explains the smoke trickling out of your ears."
"Hey now!" Morgan cried as they made their way out to the parking lot. Laughing, she gave him a playful shove. "It's Friday. A little bit of smoke can be expected."
He tossed her another lopsided grin and Morgan's stomach did somersaults.
With her belly in knots, Morgan climbed into the squad car, once again lost in her own thoughts. The short ride to her house was filled with polite small talk. To Graham it probably felt relaxed and pleasant. To Morgan, it was awful. The nicer he was to her, the crummier she felt. It was like he was purposely being as sweet as sugar to make her feel worse about herself.
When Graham finally pulled up to her house, Morgan almost felt like bolting from the car. One more minute with him and she just might die of guilt. He was just too amiable for his own good.
Morgan fought not to roll her eyes at that thought. There was just a point where nice was too nice. She was reaching the conclusion that she was actually looking forward to taking advantage of his generosity. "Oh, who am I kidding?" she grumbled to herself. She was jumping back and forth with her opinion so quickly to keep herself from thinking about just how horrible the things she planned to do were. She couldn't lie to herself though. She was hating this more by the second.
Graham looked at her with a puzzled expression on his handsome features. "What was that?"
Plastering a pleasant smile on her face, Morgan said, "Nothing. Just talking to myself." Unbuckling her seatbelt, she peered at him through the darkness. Giving him what she hoped looked like a sheepish, grateful smile, she said, "Thank you so much for the ride. I really appreciate it."
"It's in the job description," Graham said, throwing the car in park. "Protect and serve, right?"
Morgan turned in her seat and wrapped an arm around the headrest, leaning into the padded cushion. "Just part of the job? Something tells me if Jasper Cryteck was the one broken down, you wouldn't have treated him to dinner and driven him home."
Jasper was the owner of the diner they'd just eaten in. He was forty pounds overweight, had a ghastly comb over, and his temper was horrendous. He wasn't the most pleasant man to be around, but he was a damn fine chef.
"Would Jasper be wearing the same outfit you are?" Graham asked. When Morgan crinkled her nose at that mental image, he climbed out of the car with a laugh. "Perhaps you're right. I gave you special treatment."
Morgan felt a thrill race through her. She liked getting special treatment from Graham Audrick. She liked it a lot. She tried to squelch that thought before it took root. Following him out of the car, she asked in surprise, "You're walking me to the door?"
"I gotta follow through on that special treatment, now don't I?" His eyes crinkled in the corners with his smile. "Besides, I'd never be able to live with myself if some monster snatched you up while you were under my watch."
"I don't think I'm likely to get snatched up by any monsters, but I appreciate your concern." Fiddling with her keys, she finally managed to find the one she was looking for. She avoided eye contact while she pushed the door open. She didn't know what to say. Have a nice evening. I hope you don't watch the news Monday morning. That would go over well. Thanks for the scoop. Hope it doesn't get you fired. Even worse. Turning in the slightly open doorway to face Graham, Morgan stared up at him. All she had to do was shut the door and he'd be gone. Simple as that. Her mouth didn't seem to agree with the strategy her brain wanted to follow though. Before she could close the door, she blurted out, "I really am grateful for the help."
"Honestly, I was glad for the excuse to get to talk to you. It gets lonely eating all by myself."
Morgan flashed him a genuine smile. "Dinner was nice." Feeling a rush of gratitude to him for not leaving her stranded, Morgan moved forward. She stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his cheek, lingering a tad longer than she probably should have. Sure, she hadn't really been stranded, but he didn't know that. He'd played the part of hero and brought her safely home.
Realizing thoughts like these would only give her an unnecessary ulcer, she went to step back and go inside where things weren't quite so confusing. While her mind screamed of retreat, her lips took another direction altogether. Instead of withdrawing and moving into the less perplexing atmosphere of her home, they decided it would be a wise idea to graze themselves along Graham's.
Her mind instantly jumped to a panicked alert. Oh my God! Did I just kiss him?! she silently asked herself. She frantically tried to make sense of what she'd just done. Did I just-
Her thoughts were cut off abruptly when Graham hauled her up against his chest and crushed his lips to hers. His mouth was rough and demanding, taking what it needed from her with brute force.
The fervor with which he kissed her caught Morgan by surprise. She'd never had anyone kiss her this vigorously, this indefatigably before in her life. Deciding that she liked his bold move, she responded to him, returning the passion she was given in full force. It was hard not to. Though a little pushy, it was the best kiss she'd ever received.
Graham deepened the embrace and Morgan couldn't help but notice a feeling of almost desperation in the way he clung to her. It was as if there was something here that she'd missed, some important reason for him to want her so badly. She couldn't for the life of her figure it out.
Graham's right arm slid around her back, holding her tightly to his chest. "So you can feel it too?" he whispered against her mouth. "This thing between us. Until you kissed me, I thought it might have all just been in my head."
Morgan stared up at him, green eyes wide in wonder. She'd always felt drawn to Graham, felt that inner excitement any time he entered a room or even at the mere thought of him. Now that she'd kissed him, his pull on her had intensified. That was the important thing she'd missed. The need to touch him wasn't something she had any control over. It consumed her, pushing any rational thoughts to the back of her mind. Her body was going to throw itself in his arms no matter how much her brain objected. She thought that might be what Graham's desperate hold on her had been about. He was unable to control himself just as much as she was. "I feel it," she breathed in return, closing her eyes in delight when his palm slid over her back.
Graham loosened his grip on her and leaned against the doorframe, causing Morgan's eyes to fly open in surprise. A minute ago, he couldn't keep his hands off her. He'd had her crushed so firmly against his chest that she'd barely been able to breathe. Now he was slouched back with a speculative look on his face, his arms so loose around her that they were barely there.
His fingers stroked distractedly along her back as he talked to himself. "Well, I didn't see this coming at all. I mean, I knew I was attracted to you, but I didn't realize..." He peered at her in consideration. "So what happens now?" Though he asked that question of her, he didn't look as if he expected an answer.
Tilting his head to the side in thought, he returned to conversing with himself. "I never really asked questions because I was reluctant about this whole concept. Do I scent her? Or do I mark her?" He shifted his weight to his other foot while debating this. "I suppose it's all a matter of personal choice." His eyebrows drew together and a slight frown touched his lips. "I'd prefer not to do marking. At least for now. It seems so barbaric. It's like branding a cow."
Morgan blinked at him, confusion written in her expression. "Graham? What are you talking about? What's like branding a cow?"
Graham's eyes filled with insight and he pushed away from the wall, his arms tightening around her. "You're absolutely right. Why am I talking this to death? I just need to go with the flow." As an afterthought, he added, "And I'm sorry for calling you a cow."
An affronted look flashed across her face, but Morgan tried to concentrate on the more pressing issue. "Talking what to---"
Graham broke off her question by pressing his lips vehemently to hers. Realizing that he was being a tad forceful, his lips softened to a more gentle pressure. "I will let you decide how this is done," he assured her, his tongue flicking out to run along her bottom lip. "You can call the shots." His mouth moved to her jaw and he nibbled lightly at her skin as he walked her backwards so he could enter her home. "Just tell me what you like and I'll do it." He moved down her throat, nipping and kissing a path that had her feeling weak in the knees. "Do you like this?" he questioned against her neck, his fingers caressing a trail down her back.
Morgan wasn't quite sure what was happening. His ramblings had confused her something terrible and she wasn't sure what was going on between them, what this unbreakable pull he had on her was. He was causing her to act unlike herself. This definitely wasn't the normal course of action she took with a guy she liked. This situation was quickly spiraling out of her control. Despite all this, she did know that she liked what he was doing and didn't want him to stop anytime soon. Tilting her head back to give him better access, she breathed, "Yes. Don't stop."
Graham gave a growl deep in his throat. Grabbing her by the waist, he spun her in his arms and pinned her to the door. His mouth descended on hers once again, back to being greedy and demanding.
Morgan gave a squawk of shock. She didn't remember the door ever being shut. How did he ... He'd moved so fast. It didn't seem humanly possible.
"I need to possess you," he informed her as his lips crushed against hers with enough force to bruise.
Morgan found his choice of wording interesting. He didn't say want or hope or wish. He'd said need, as if it was something beyond his control. She knew exactly how he felt. This went beyond merely what she wanted and had become a burning need. Arching her back so she could press her body against his, Morgan simply said, "Okay."
"Right now. Tonight."
"Okay," she repeated, her heart pounding frantically in her chest. It frightened her how easily she gave in to his demands. It wasn't normal behavior for her. She never slept with a guy on the first date. She didn't on the second, third, or fourth either. This was so out of character.
"Good. I'm glad you agree." In one swift motion, he lifted her off the floor, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Where is your bedroom?" he asked, getting right to the point.
Morgan gaped at him in disbelief. This situation was so unreal. She couldn't fathom how she'd gotten here, arms and legs wrapped around a casual acquaintance. It felt like a dream. A very sexy, arousing dream, but a dream nonetheless. To test her dream theory, Morgan pinched Graham's neck. Sure, she should be pinching herself, but that might hurt.
"Ow," Graham grumbled halfheartedly. Mistaking her pinch as a complaint, he walked into the living room. "You're right. I can get the tour later. Right now, we have more important business."
Before Morgan could even comment, he dropped to his knees on the plush rug in the center of the room.
Graham lowered her until she was lying on the rug. Instead of joining her on the soft carpet, he stayed on his knees, staring into the dark room.
Morgan raised an arm and felt for him in the darkness, brushing a hand along his stomach. "What are you doing?"
Graham climbed to his feet, and the sound of him moving across the room filled her ears.
"Making a fire," he said carelessly.
Morgan blinked in incredulity. Surely she'd heard him wrong. "You can't make a fire! It's the middle of summer! Besides, you can't possibly be able to see. It's dark. You'll hurt yourself." Morgan was inwardly surprised he'd even been able to see that she owned a fireplace.
"I have excellent night vision," came his humored reply. A moment later, a fire sprang to life inside her hearth.
"Very excellent night vision," Morgan whispered in awe as she stared at him in the light from the flickering flames. He looked even better in the warm glow, his eyes shining as if made of jewels.
He gave a small nod at her observation of his eyesight. "I do."
"You can add exceptional hearing to that list," Morgan said in astonishment at the fact that he'd been able to hear her lowered voice from clear across the room.
Graham gave a smile that seemed to hold so many secrets behind it. "You can put exceptional lover on that list as well," he remarked as he removed his gun and set it on top of an end table.
"That's yet to be determined," Morgan gently pointed out, watching him as he removed his shoulder holster and placed it next to the gun. He moved so gracefully, his actions a second nature that he didn't even seem to be aware of. Just the sight of him doing a thing as mundane as setting his wallet down had her wanting to touch every inch of his body.
Piling the rest of his police paraphernalia on the table, he sent her a sly look. "Trust me. You can add that to the list." Strolling back to her side, he lowered himself to the rug next to her. For a few minutes, he didn't even touch her. He simply took pleasure in the fire, stretching out and letting the heat sink into his skin.
"You look like a cat," Morgan observed with a laugh as he stretched out his limbs. The expression on his face was one of complete rapture. She was glad he'd decided to make a fire. Seeing how much enjoyment it brought him was worth the heat.
Graham's content expression turned into a grimace at her remark. "I hate cats."
Morgan gave a horrified gasp in response to this declaration "How can you hate cats?"
"Let me revise that," Graham said, rolling onto his back. "I don't hate cats. They hate me."
"That's just silly," Morgan said, skepticism of his statement evident in her voice.
"Trust me. They hate me." His brow furrowed and he frowned up at her. "We are talking far too much about cats. Obviously I have let the fire distract me into not giving you enough attention." Grabbing her by the waist, Graham rolled Morgan on top of him. "I am sorry for neglecting you," he whispered against her mouth.
Morgan closed her eyes in delight as he nibbled at her bottom lip.
His mouth traveled down her throat as his fingers buried themselves in her hair, massaging her scalp as he ran his fingers through the silky locks.
She made a soft, content noise in the back of her throat at his gentle caress. Bracing her arms on the ground on either side of his head, she rubbed her body along his, enjoying the feel of his hard muscles against her soft curves.
With a pleased grin, Graham tilted her chin up so he could look her in the eyes. His other hand ran down her back in a tantalizingly slow line. "Do you like this?" he asked quietly as his hand slid over the curve of her butt, holding her against him as his hips bucked off the floor.
Morgan exhaled in a breathy rush. "Yes."
Releasing her jaw, Graham's right hand slid down to join his left. He pinned her tiny body against his, lifting a knee slightly to put his leg between both of hers. When she gave a soft sigh of contentment, he leaned up from the floor just enough to capture her mouth with his. While his hands held her in place, he lifted his knee a little more, rubbing the thigh she straddled against her feminine parts. He ran his tongue questioningly along her lower lip, silently asking for permission to explore her more fully.
Morgan moaned into his mouth, her eyes squeezing shut at the feeling of his leg against such a sensitive area of her body. She opened her mouth to him, wanting nothing more than to have the taste of him on her tongue.
As soon as he was permitted entrance, his tongue ventured into her mouth, battling with hers for control in a bout of passion.
Placing a hand flat to his chest, Morgan reluctantly drew her mouth away from his. As much as she wanted to keep kissing him, she also wanted to have access to parts of his body that she'd yet to explore. Moving to a sitting position, she gripped a button of his shirt in her hands, fumbling to get it undone.
Graham followed her into a sitting position so that he could press his mouth to hers once more. As much as he wanted her to undress him, he still wanted the taste of her on his lips. Placing his palms on either side of her face, he kissed her so passionately it felt as if he was trying to put everything he was feeling into that one kiss.
Morgan continued with his buttons, returning his fervor with her own.
When Morgan got his third button unfastened, Graham grabbed her fingers in his hands and forced her to stop what she was doing. With a wicked grin at her confused expression, he lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. Flashing her another grin, he said, "Please continue."
Morgan returned his smile with one of her own before returning to her task. She undid the rest of his buttons, taking her time so that she could caress every inch of skin as it was revealed. When she finally got to the last button, she pulled his shirt open to reveal a very masculine chest. He was deeply tanned and muscled to perfection. Mesmerized by his beauty, she ran her hands over his skin, her fingers brushing along the small dusting of blond hair that covered his chest. Overcome with desire, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a slow, passionate kiss. Her slow kiss melded into a series of quick, spirited ones.
As she showered his face with rapid kisses, Graham slid an arm under her butt and lifted her off of his leg with one arm. He held her in the air slightly above him. With the other hand, he unhurriedly slipped his fingertips up the inside of her thigh. He moved higher and higher underneath her skirt until his index finger curled around the side string of her panties. With deliberate slowness, he slid them down, removing them from her body. With her undergarment gone, he lowered her back down on top of him, guiding her legs to straddle him.
Morgan mused at the sheer strength he possessed to hold her like that, but all thoughts flew from her mind when she felt him hard beneath her. Keeping her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, she nuzzled his jaw, leaving small kisses along the stubble on his chin.
Graham slid his hands leisurely up her back, pausing when he came to the hooks of her bra. He managed to get them unfastened with only minimal trouble, then moved his hands to the front of her shoulders. He began sliding the bra slowly downward, his mouth leaving soft kisses as it followed after his fingers. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this," he whispered against her skin.
The low, husky tone of his voice made Morgan shiver in delight. It was nice knowing that Graham had been craving her just as much as she'd wanted him. Pulling back, she used the light from the glow of the fire to stare into his eyes. "You need to lose some more clothing," she informed him in a soft, sensual voice.
She'd barely finished the sentence before Graham rolled her off of him and onto the floor. He deposited her on her belly and climbed to his feet.
Morgan gave an amused laugh as he stripped out of his pants and boxers in record time. At his confused look, she laughed even harder.
Graham arched an eyebrow, hands moving to his hips. "What's so funny?"
The laughter suddenly died in Morgan's throat. The sight of him bare and exposed for her to see made her breath hitch.
He was absolutely gorgeous. He looked like a Greek god, his body chiseled from the most precious stones known to man. She blinked up at him, mesmerized by the carved plains of his body, the sheer mass of sculpted muscle. He looked fierce and intimidating, as if he could crush her without much effort.
Her eyes saved the most impressive bits of his body for last. She took in a sharp breath at the sight of his manhood.
He was long and hard, ready for the activities he'd been all but promised. The skin here wasn't as dark as the rest of him. It was more of a cream color that practically invited her to touch it, to feel if it was as smooth as it looked.
Climbing to her feet, Morgan made her way slowly over to his side, her eyes drinking him in with every step. When she got close enough, she let her fingertips brush along the area that had so gripped her attention. His skin was soft, feeling like raw silk beneath her fingers. Her eyes lifted to his to find them dilated and eager. "You, sir, are absolutely adorable," she informed him.
Tugging on his hand, Morgan pulled him back to the floor. Putting a hand to his chest, she forced him onto his back. Lowering her head over his belly, she began a trail of kisses up his body, letting her hair tickle along his skin as she went. She crawled up his body, her lips brushing over his chest, his neck, his chin, and finally his mouth. With a throaty laugh of enjoyment, Morgan pressed a few soft kisses to his lips. She lifted her eyes to his as she settled her legs around his hips. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
Graham looked down the length of his body to the erection that was eagerly awaiting her attention. "Does it look like I'm having second thoughts?"
"Good point." Morgan slid up his body, hovering over him with a devilish smile for a moment before slowly lowering herself down onto him. She bit her lower lip, closing her eyes in delight, not even trying to stop the soft moan that escaped her.
"If you keep biting your lip like that, I'm going to finish way before you're ready for me to."
Morgan slowly opened her eyes to stare down at him, her bottom lip still caught between her teeth. She took in the almost tortured expression on his face. "It affects you that much?"
Graham gave a helpless nod. "Very much so." He ran a finger along her hip, his eyes locked on her face. "I used to watch you in the diner while you did your paperwork. When you really are concentrating on something, you have a tendency to bite your lip. Something about that turns me on more than you could ever know. It used to drive me crazy."
Morgan gave a surprised chuckle that one of her odd habits could actually make the man underneath of her want to get her into bed. "Really?"
Graham gave her a look that spoke volumes.
Morgan made a mental note to stop biting her lip. She didn't think he would finish over something so trivial, but she didn't want to risk it. "I didn't think you paid that much attention to me," she admitted.
Graham slid his hands up her bare stomach, fingers splaying over her skin. "Oh, I paid plenty of attention. I know you like strawberry waffles," he revealed as he ran his hands up her arms and along her shoulders. "I know you dislike tomatoes, but love spaghetti sauce." He grazed his fingers along her throat, stroking with his thumbs. "I know you're a cat person ... which is something we're going to have to work on." He massaged gently, smiling as she tilted her head so that he could cup her cheek in his palm. "And I know that you love to read silly romance novels."
Morgan was practically purring at his tender fondling, but she had enough wits about her to ask, "How do you know all that?"
"I pay close attention to the things I want." He pulled her flat against his chest, his open shirt tickling along her skin. He kissed her hungrily as she moved her body on top of his. "I always wanted to get you into my bed. From the very moment I met you, I wanted you underneath of me, squirming helplessly."
He pressed his lips to hers for a few quick kisses while her body rode his. "After we had our first conversation, I decided to take my time because I really liked you and wanted it to be more than a one night stand." His eyes filled with hunger and his hands tightened possessively on her hips. "I didn't realize until I kissed you how truly important you were."
Morgan sat back to look at him. The intensity in his eyes made her shiver. His eyes had gone to that gray color once again and she knew it hadn't been an illusion in the diner. There was something almost unearthly about the way his eyes glowed.
"Had I realized you were my mate," Graham continued, not aware that his eyes had bled to an unnatural color with his arousal, "I would not have waited so long to seduce you. I would have claimed you the night we met." To emphasize this, he grabbed her hips and pulled her down onto him, thrusting himself as deeply into her as he could possibly go. He drove deep into her, holding himself there, letting her feel him inside her body.
Morgan didn't even debate what he was saying. She had no thought beyond what he was doing. Her head fell back in absolute delight and she whispered his name into the silence. She kept her eyes closed, captivated by the sensation of his hands on her skin.
Graham's hands moved slowly and erotically over her body. Taking his time, he stroked her hips, her thighs, each of her breasts, her clitoris, and her belly.
Morgan lost all track of time. The only thing that mattered was Graham and the feeling of their bodies rocking together. She gave a soft growl at the way he raised his hips off the floor to help bury his body deeper inside her.
Graham gripped her hips, pulling her down in time with the thrust of his hips.
With each thrust, Morgan felt herself getting closer and closer to orgasm. She bit her lip in concentration, her head still thrown back in the throes of passion. She could hear Graham's breath coming out in harsh exhales, interrupted every once in awhile by a sound that could only be described as a growl as it escaped his throat. That sound drove her on, making her cry out. She bit her lip harder, nails clawing at Graham's chest as she moved on top of him. She peeked an eye open to look at him and found his eyes trained on her bottom lip. His expression was one of complete loss of control as if he'd given himself over entirely to their activities.
Graham gave a cry of completion, his voice a raw howl that was ripped unexpectedly from his throat.
The feeling of Graham finishing inside of her drove Morgan over the edge. She gave a soft gasp of ecstasy as pleasure raced through every inch of her body. She stayed where she was, his body as deep inside of her as it could go, until every tremble left her. She then collapsed tiredly to his chest, her breathing ragged.
She'd barely reached him before Graham flipped her over to lie on her back. Her eyes widened in surprise as he slid partially out of her then very slowly flexed his hips to slide back inside of her. "What are you doing?" she gasped.
"That was just foreplay," he whispered, his brows drawn in concentration. "I said I wanted to claim you and I've yet to do that." He was propped above her, holding himself up so that the spot where he disappeared inside of her was the only part of his body that was touching hers. He moved with such precise slowness, drawing the maximum sensations out of her already sensitive body.
Morgan stared down the length of his finely toned body to the spot where he drew himself in and out of her at a slow tempo. It was the most erotic sight she'd ever seen. Her eyes lifted to Graham's and she found a smile on his face at catching her watching his movements.
"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" he asked proudly. With one rough thrust, he shoved his body fully into her. "It's exciting, being claimed like this, isn't it?" He lowered his body to her, cocooning her in his embrace. "I'm staking my claim on you." He kissed her forcefully. "You're mine now."
Morgan returned his kiss with just as much passion. Normally, it would bother her that a guy was talking as if he owned her, but something about Graham felt right, as if what he spoke was the truth. She could feel it in her soul with every thrust; he was claiming her as his own. Every moment that passed, felt as if it was irrevocably linking them. "I want to be yours," she admitted.
"You are."
There was a possessive growl to his voice that made Morgan lift her eyes to his face. There was something different about him. The changes were tiny, but when added together they made a startling difference.
His whole demeanor had changed. The naive innocence was nowhere to be found. It was replaced with a forceful, demanding personality. He was now a man who was going to take what he wanted. He was done with the shy smiles and beat around the bush hints. The playful, happy attitude was dropped, replaced with a domineering bossiness.
The thing that startled Morgan the most were his eyes. They didn't sparkle with good humor like usual. They were now filled with a look of domination. He looked like a predator and she, his prey.
Seeing the almost frightened look in her eyes, Graham gave a growl of delight and captured her mouth with his. Her small squeak of surprise seemed to egg him on. As if consumed by need, he began thrusting roughly into her. He grabbed her legs and pulled them around his hips, his mouth moving greedily against hers.
His demands awoke something primal deep inside of her. Responding to his kiss, Morgan slid her arms around his neck, fists gripping handfuls of his hair while he pounded into her. She gave a soft whimper at every harsh thrust, each one feeling better than the last.
Graham's head lowered to her shoulder and he pressed a small kiss to her collarbone. He then moved upward, his tongue flicking out to tease her skin. When he reached just below her jaw line, his mouth lingered there and a low, eager moan escaped him. At the sound of his own moan, he halted the movements of his mouth as if frozen against her skin.
Morgan caught an expression of confusion as it flitted across his face and she gave him a questioning look in response.
Graham quickly dipped his head as if to hide his face and the expression on it.
Morgan stared in bewilderment at the top of his head, wondering what he was suddenly being shy over. After everything they'd done, surely there was nothing left to be unsure about.
Graham lifted his eyes to Morgan's as if searching for something, some sign as to what he should do. Apparently finding what he wanted in her expression, he placed another kiss at her collarbone. He seemed to hesitate for just a moment, but then opened his mouth and lowered his head to bite into her flesh.
Morgan felt a sharp sting and the realization of what he was doing hit her. The sensation of his teeth threw her mind into confusion.
His teeth were long, much longer than a human's were meant to be, and they were sharp. The thought vampire flitted through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. If vampires existed, and that's not saying she thought they did, their teeth would be sharp, but not this long. Graham's teeth were animal teeth, like a big cat ... a lion or something.
The thought that she was bleeding lingered in the recesses of her mind, but she couldn't dredge up the energy to care. The pleasure Graham was bringing her greatly outweighed the pain. Being rougher than she normally would, Morgan raked her nails down his back.
Graham arched in response, giving a hiss of delight.
Morgan's nails continued downward until she reached his backside. She gripped it firmly in her hands, her fingers digging into the soft flesh. Tilting her head to the side, she offered her throat to him while she pulled him as deeply into her as he would go.
Graham took the offering, licking a path up her neck while he drove himself into her. He continued upward to her mouth, sucking and nipping at her skin as he went.
When his mouth finally met hers, Morgan gently bit his lower lip.
Graham's hips began to pump faster and harder until they both cried out in pleasure as orgasm overcame them.
Panting and sweating, Graham collapsed to the rug, his body half on top of hers.
Every muscle in Morgan's body trembled in fatigue as she lay underneath him. She felt so tired, so sluggish.
Graham ran a hand over her hair, caressing her as gently as he'd been rough earlier. He planted a kiss into her hair, his lips lingering against her. "I've claimed you." His fingertips trailed down her throat to touch the spot he'd bitten. "I marked you." He chuckled in amazement. "I marked you so no others of my kind will think about trying to court you."
Morgan was too exhausted to comprehend anything he was saying. "That's good," she mumbled tiredly.
Graham's fingers continued to trail over her skin as if in astonishment. "Yeah," he replied softly.
The feeling of his fingertips tickling along her skin was like a sleeping pill. Morgan felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. There were so many questions she knew she should be asking. Things had happened this evening that she couldn't even begin to explain, but as Graham pulled her in against his chest and wrapped her in his arms, Morgan didn't feel a pressing need to have those answers now. There was an unspoken connection between them that left her certain that no matter what his issues were, Graham would treat her like a queen. She felt so good and warm curled up in Graham's arms that she was content to wait for the answers to all of her questions. Besides, she didn't know if she'd even be able to keep her eyes open if she tried. Feeling completely at peace, she let herself drift off to sleep.
At some point in the night, she woke to find herself tucked into bed. Her jean skirt had been removed and she was naked, cradled in against Graham's chest.
He mumbled groggily in his sleep and his hand slid along her bare belly.
Morgan felt her stomach tighten in delight as he nuzzled his nose into her hair and gave a content sigh. This was worlds away from what she'd been planning. She never expected to wind up like this. Graham had thrown a wrench into her plans, but she didn't mind. She'd rather be here right now in his arms than breaking the story of a lifetime. There was no way she was going to break his confidence. The things he'd told her would stay a secret. With that happy thought in mind, she drifted back into sleep.
Morgan stood in the parking lot of the police station trying to calm her frantically beating heart. She was supposed to be meeting Graham here for his lunch break and there wasn't a thing in the world she was more nervous about.
The morning after they'd slept together, Graham told her he had a family issue to deal with over the weekend. He'd asked her to meet him for lunch during his break on Monday, then he left with a breathtaking kiss that had her pining for the next time she would see him. Graham's lunch plans had sounded wonderful until she'd gone and messed everything up.
At work this morning, she'd received a few sly threats pertaining to the security of her job. After a couple minutes of peer pressure from Alston, she'd cracked. She'd done the story, giving away Graham's secret about the FBI specialist. Once the report was done, it was too late to take it back no matter how horrible she felt.
Alston had assured her that Graham would forgive her. He'd said that if her literal pumping of information had been that amazing, Graham wouldn't stay mad for long. Basically, if Graham truly liked her, this little slip up shouldn't matter.
Morgan wished she had his confidence. She wasn't so sure Graham would easily forgive the horrible thing she'd done. She'd betrayed his trust. She'd given away information that could help the murderer slip through the police's grasp. Basically, she'd taken something that could turn into a beautiful relationship and flushed it down the toilet for fifteen minutes of fame. She felt like the crummiest person on the face of the earth.
Morgan was so caught up in her own concerns that she jumped with a gasp when the back door to the station flew open and banged against the side of the building.
Graham stood in the doorway, his shoulders bunched in aggression. "How was I to know she'd spill to the press?" he snarled to someone just out of view.
The angered voice of the police chief came from the darkened hallway inside the building. "She is the press! You've jeopardized this entire investigation! I hope the sex was worth it, because you have totally screwed any secrecy we had about our operations. You're lucky I only pulled you off this assignment. I should fire you!"
Morgan cringed at the heated words heaved in Graham's face. This was her fault. Graham had been kicked off of an assignment because of her big mouth.
"Stop thinking with your dick and start thinking with your head!" the chief yelled.
Without a response, Graham stormed from the building, slamming the door behind him.
Morgan flinched, shrinking back against her car. When Graham started toward her in an angry stalk, she rushed out an apology. "Graham, I'm so sorry. I never meant to---"
"Get in the car," he growled, his hand gripping her elbow roughly.
With a yelp, Morgan freed her arm and climbed into her car. She held her breath anxiously, waiting to see if he was going to join her or if he was simply going to send her away. She let her breath out slowly in relief when he climbed into the passenger seat. If he got in the car, that meant he was at least going to hear her out.
"Drive," he instructed, his eyes dark and angry.
Morgan turned over the engine and shot him a weary look. The air was thick with an uncomfortable silence that she was too afraid to break.
It wasn't until they pulled into traffic that Graham spoke again. "So ... where would you like to go for lunch?" he asked lightly.
Morgan blinked a few times in astonishment. Surely, he hadn't just asked about lunch as if nothing was wrong. As she stopped at a red light, Morgan turned in her seat to look at him, fearing for his sanity.
He was slouched casually in his seat, his right knee lifted to rest against the glove compartment. He was practically curled up in a ball, looking as comfortable as could be. "Or we could just skip lunch and have sex in the backseat," he offered with a wicked grin.
Morgan stared at him in disbelief. "Um ... why aren't you screaming? Shouldn't you be telling me you never want to see me again?"
Graham let out a delighted chuckle. "It would take more than a news report to make me say that. We're irrevocably linked. We mated. It would take something pretty traumatic to put a damper on that."
Morgan's face was full of puzzlement. "Oh ... um..." She tried to organize her thoughts, but her mind was going a mile a minute. The way Graham spoke made what they did seem so much more intimate than just sex. She'd hoped that their time together had meant something to him, but she'd never expected it to be enough to diffuse his anger. She felt as if she deserved his fury, at least a little bit. What she'd done was nearly unforgivable in her eyes. "But your boss yelled at you. He threatened to fire you. Surely you blame me for that," she said meekly.
Graham waved this off. "He wasn't really mad."
"Wasn't really mad?" Morgan asked in disbelief. "He was screaming at you. He pulled you off your assignment."
Oddly, Graham's face split into a grin. "You wanna know a secret?" Looking pleased with himself, he said, "The argument was a set up." He paused dramatically, letting that sink in. "A lot of times serial killers keep tabs on the officers in charge of their cases. We publicly had me booted off the investigation in hopes that the killer is somewhere nearby keeping tabs on us. This will throw him off my trail and give me some space to operate freely. We don't want him to know I'm leading the investigation, so we're doing everything we can to make me look negligent."
Morgan blinked in surprise at Graham's confession. She found this news relieving, but it left her with a few questions. "So ... the fight was a set up all along..." Her eyes narrowed slightly and she shot Graham a suspicious glance. "Why did he yell at you about us having sex? You didn't go and give him all the lurid details, did you?" Her face flushed in embarrassment. She would never be able to face down the chief of police next time she had to interview him if he'd been told about the out of character sex romp she had with Graham.
Graham gave a little laugh. "You can relax. I didn't tell him. He was just throwing out the usual insults that would explain why I would be duped into leaking information to the press. He has no clue that you're my new girlfriend," he said teasingly.
Morgan let her hair fall in a wave around her face to hide the smile that spread across her lips when Graham referred to her as his girlfriend. Trying to stick to the topic of the murder investigation, she said, "You just said you were in charge of the investigation. What about the FBI specialist?"
"There is no FBI specialist, sweet thing. I'm the specialist. That was just another red herring to keep him from watching me. Now he'll be looking for some new guy ... which is why we brought my cousin in from out of town to play the part."
"Aren't you worried he'll go after your cousin?"
Graham shook his head with a look that lacked concern. "Nah. My cousin is a cop as well and he's good at what he does. He can handle himself."
Morgan stared at him in confusion as the light switched to green. "So there's no one from the FBI coming?" she asked even though she'd already been given an answer. The car behind her started honking angrily so she pulled off to the side of the road. "But ... you told me Friday..."
Graham set her with a pointed look. "I knew you'd report whatever I told you. I was using that broadcast to throw the killer off my trail and onto someone else's."
"You lied to me?" Morgan squeaked in disbelief, all delight over being called his girlfriend vanishing. "You used me to help along your investigation." She couldn't believe her ears. The whole time in the diner when she thought Graham had been opening up and trusting her, he'd been playing her. "You fed me false information and let me lie to the whole world."
"You pretended there was something wrong with your car so you could lull me into a sense of false security. We used each other."
Morgan's heart dropped to her toes. "You knew there was nothing wrong with my car?"
"Yeah. I knew there was nothing wrong with your car. You were driving a vehicle that belonged to the news station. I ran the plates. If something goes wrong with a company car, your employer will handle everything. You wouldn't have needed to get it towed on your own." He sent her a pointed look. "And the outfit kind of gave it away as well. No one is pretending to be broken down while wearing that little amount of clothing unless they want something."
Morgan put a hand to her face in dismay. "But you still ... and you let me ... and then we..." Her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment.
Graham gave a rueful laugh and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah. That kind of put an unexpected spin on the situation. I'd planned on trying to make this up to you after I bagged the murderer by giving you an exclusive interview or something. I never planned on us sleeping together Friday night."
Trying to ignore the topic of their sexual encounter, Morgan asked, "If there's no FBI specialist, how are you planning on catching this guy?"
"I told you. I'm the specialist."
Morgan couldn't help the derisive snort that escaped her. "You?" She shook her head, eyeing him critically. "I highly doubt you have the skills to trick anyone, let alone a murderer. You're one of those goody-goodies who wears everything you're feeling in your expression. No murderer is going to be outsmarted by that."
"I got you to play into my hand, didn't I?" Graham asked a little defensively.
Morgan stammered over a reply to that before finally saying, "Maybe you're tricky, but you don't have the aggressiveness necessary to take down a serial killer. You're more bark than bite."
Graham gave an angry, humorless laugh. "More bark than bite," he grumbled. "If you only knew." His expression darkened and he gave her a glare that made Morgan freeze in her seat. "I've got plenty of bite. In fact, I enjoy biting very much."
Morgan's hand flew suddenly to her throat. She'd nearly forgotten about the bite on her neck. It was the most peculiar thing she'd ever seen. It had healed overnight, leaving a jagged little scar. It seemed so impossible that she'd been ignoring it, trying to pretend it wasn't there.
When he saw her reach for her scar, Graham's lips curved into a slight smile. "I suppose you learned that firsthand." Leaning toward her, he brushed his fingers along her collarbone.
Morgan was surprised by his gentle, affectionate touch. Unable to help herself, she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the sensation of his soft caress. A moment later, she jumped, startled when his lips pressed a soft kiss to her neck.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered against her skin. "I'm sorry I used you, but it will go a long way in catching this guy." He brought a hand up to tickle along the side of her neck while his mouth pressed a kiss to the opposite side. "I will make it up to you. I promise."
Morgan leaned into his hand when he ran his thumb along her jaw, unable to resist his power to make her forget how angry she was. "That's it? No big fight?"
Graham nuzzled his face into her neck, continuing to press kisses against her skin. "That's it. I see no need to get irrational and yell. If you can put it behind you, so can I."
"Oh," Morgan said in surprise. She couldn't believe this was going to end so smoothly. "I ... I can forget about it."
"Good," Graham replied, voice husky. "Then come over here." He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer to him.
Morgan grinned into his mouth as he gave her an imploring kiss. "I'm glad you can forgive me." She scooted even closer, leaning into his chest. "And I'm sorry I insulted your ability to do your job. You will catch this guy. I have faith that you can."
Graham tugged her over the space between the seats to sit on his lap. "I'm glad I have your confidence back."
Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck and kicked off her high heels, running her stocking covered foot along his ankle. With a content sigh, she relaxed against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
While she leaned into him, Graham slid a hand over her knee. The hand didn't rest there long before it started traveling up her thigh.
Eyes widening, Morgan lifted her head to stare into his mischievous eyes. "We can't do that in public. We'll get arrested or something."
With an amused smirk, Graham motioned toward his uniform. "I am the police. No one's going to arrest us." He quirked one eyebrow questioningly, waiting for permission to continue. "Besides, I just wanted to steal a couple kisses from you. Nothing more, I want to get caught having sex in the car just as little as you do. A little naughty touching wouldn't bother me though."
Morgan's eyes were glued to his broad chest and the way his uniform fit perfectly on his body. She'd always secretly had a thing for cops, and Graham was like a fantasy come true. "If you're sure we won't get into trouble..."
"Positive," Graham assured her as his fingers inched under the edge of her skirt.
Giving in, Morgan leaned forward to give him a kiss. "Okay. You've convinced me."
They spent the next twenty minutes in a tight embrace, the rest of the world shut out so that only the two of them existed. They spent Graham's entire lunch kissing and cuddling, the thought of food long forgotten.
"This is perfect," Morgan whispered against his lips.
"Just like I heard it would be," Graham replied happily.
Graham was in a stranger's home, his body bent over and his hands braced on his knees. He was taking small, measured breaths to keep the nausea at bay over what he'd just seen in the room behind him. Even breathing through his mouth, his senses couldn't block out the horror. He could taste lingering fear thick on his tongue.
The murderer had struck again, this time taking out an entire family, four people in all. The living room had been bad enough, but the bedroom behind Graham was unbearable. It was a child's room, a little girl. She barely looked old enough to say her ABC's.
At that thought, Graham's stomach lurched again and he fought desperately to keep his lunch down. She was just so damn tiny. Graham guessed that she'd hidden in there, listened while that monster killed her older brother and parents. Graham couldn't even imagine how terrified she must have been. She'd been too young to even understand what was happening, to young to have done anything to deserve this, and the killer had shown her no mercy.
Graham closed his smoky, gray eyes and the image of blond pigtails and a pink sundress filled his mind. Both were covered in blood just like the wall behind them. It was a memory that would haunt his dreams for years to come.
He wished that he'd never walked into that room, never seen what evil people were capable of. He'd seen it before, but it was shocking every time, especially when it involved children. It was his job though. It was his job to go in there and not weep at what had been done, to not let the loss of a child get to him. He had to be detached. He had to simply sift through the evidence and block out everything else. If he let it get to him too much, he might miss something, something that would lead him to the man responsible for this atrocity.
Straightening up, Graham took one last deep breath. He ignored the smell of blood, the stench of violent death, and forced his mind to prepare itself for what he was about to face.
He tried distracting himself. Instead of picturing pink walls with blood stained decals of ponies, he envisioned Morgan's smile. He held tightly to the mental image of her happy face. If he could just think of Morgan, he could forget about the family he'd been too late to save. He could forget about the fact that this would happen again and again until he was able to outsmart this psychopath.
Filling his mind with thoughts of his dinner date later in the evening, Graham focused his now bright blue eyes on the doorway in front of him. Steeling his nerves, he walked back into that room and he did what everyone expected of him. He did his job.
Morgan sat in the passenger seat of Graham's car. They were on their way back from dinner, a dinner that had been practically perfect. Graham had been funny and charming. She'd been quite pleased with his date conduct. If she thought he was good looking in uniform ... Yowza! Graham Audrick was to die for in his dress clothes. It made her anxious to see how he would look in a pair of tight fitting blue jeans.
They'd jokingly debated on the degree to which meat should be cooked. Graham liked it far too bloody for her taste and he'd complained that she destroyed her dinner by having it burnt it to a crisp. Even their disagreement over meat had been fun and lighthearted and ... perfect.
They were now on their way back to Graham's house. He'd said he wanted to show her his home, more importantly, his fireplace.
Morgan wasn't sure if that was a sly hint at sex or not. The boy seemed to love his fire, so it could have nothing to do with the fact that last time he'd gotten her in front of a fireplace, she'd thrown her morals out the window and slept with him. She supposed it didn't really matter how he meant it. Deep down she knew that by agreeing to go to his place, she was practically agreeing to have sex with him again. The thought made her smile because this was the part that usually made her nervous. She would get nauseous with worry at the stress involved in getting so intimate with another person. With Graham though, she was actually looking forward to it.
She was drawn out of her thoughts as they pulled up in front of a large log cabin home. The sun was setting, but there was still enough visibility for her to see her surroundings.
"Well, here it is," Graham said softly, not wanting to break the peaceful quiet that hung in the air.
She gave a soft sound of appreciation.
The house was absolutely breathtaking with its wraparound porch and big picture windows. It had a homey, country look to it that made Morgan feel safe and happy by just being there. The city with all its crime and horrors was completely forgotten with just one look at Graham's home. No wonder he'd been so eager to show it to her. It was like a slice of heaven hidden only minutes from the busy highway.
Behind the house were lush, green woods. From one of the trees, Morgan could see a swing hanging from a large, leafy branch. It swayed softly in the breeze, its movement like an invitation. She had an urge to run from the car and dance through those magical trees, to jump onto that swing and let the cool night breeze whip through her hair.
To the left side of the house was a large field. It was full of daisies, and Morgan could only imagine how beautiful it must look in the sunlight. She wanted to throw herself in the middle of that field and let the flowers tickle her skin while their scent filled the summer air. In the twilight, Morgan could see the flashing bulbs of fireflies as they hovered amongst the flowers, twinkling like miniature stars. The whole effect was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She half expected a fairy to go prancing through the yard, wings fluttering with glittered colors as it went about its business.
"It's beautiful," Morgan breathed in awe.
Graham gave a shy, proud smile. "I'm a big fan of the outdoors," he revealed bashfully. "I love to go running through those woods. I can forget about everything else and just concentrate on how soothing it is out there."
The look on his face was so adorable that Morgan felt her heart melt. He was showing her a private, personal side of himself that she had a feeling not many people got to see. Overcome with the need to let him know how much she cared about him, she leaned across the seat and pressed her lips to his cheek.
"What was that for?" Graham asked, turning to her with a pleased, boyish grin.
"For being so adorable," Morgan informed him, giving him a gentle kiss.
Graham made a soft noise of approval as he deepened the kiss, running his fingers through her hair. "This is so unbelievably perfect."
"That's because it's new." Even as she said it, Morgan knew that wasn't true. None of her previous relationships had felt this right when they were first starting out. Nothing in her life had ever felt this right.
"No," Graham argued. "That's not it. I think---"
Morgan didn't get to hear the rest of his sentence because the door to his side of the car was ripped open and he was yanked out. She gave a shriek of fear when she heard him hit the ground with a grunt of pain. "Graham?" she cried in dread, peering into the near darkness for him. It had gotten dark enough that she couldn't see well or even tell in which direction he'd been thrown.
To Morgan's relief, Graham had motion detector floodlights set up on the porch. When Graham went flying into the yard, it was enough to activate them, flooding the lawn with artificial light. In the sudden glare, a face loomed into view, but it wasn't Graham's.
"He's got a little girlfriend. How adorable," a man Morgan didn't recognize sneered.
The man reached for her and Morgan shrank back against her door with a yelp of terror. He grabbed at her again and she kicked out with her heeled foot.
Her heel connected with the man's hand and he threw back his head and laughed. "And she's human at that! I sure did pick the right city." With a threatening leer, he reached for her again.
This time it was the stranger that was grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown to the ground outside the car.
Graham stood above the man, his posture screaming aggressiveness. "She's mine. You are not to touch her."
The man's eyes widened at the possessive tone in Graham's voice, a puzzled look crossing his face. In surprise, he turned back to Morgan, eyeing her neck thoughtfully. "You're like me," he said softly to Graham, his eyes returning once again to the man he'd yanked from the car, "but she's not."
Morgan could practically see his brain whirring as he processed information that she didn't understand. Graham was like him? What, male?
The man continued to stare at Graham, his eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I didn't realize you were one of us until I pulled you from the car. I knew there was a reason why you intrigued me, Officer Audrick ... besides the fact that I find it so amusing to watch you show up to those crime scenes and snivel over the fact that you never make it in time to save the day. All those times I watched you from the shadows, I never knew why I was so fascinated by you. I didn't figure out what it was until just now." His eyes slid to Morgan and his lip curled in disgust. "But you're not like me at all, are you? You've taken a human mate. You've tied yourself down with the very thing that you should be ridding this city of." His eyes lifted to Graham's, his expression full of violence. "Do I need to do it for you, Officer?"
"You are not to touch her," Graham repeated warningly. Graham felt sick to his stomach that this man had been so close to every crime scene. He'd tried to sniff out the murderer's scent, but the smell of blood had been too much of an overload to his highly developed senses. He'd spent more time than he would have liked at each crime scene with his head between his knees, trying unsuccessfully to keep himself from vomiting. His mind nearly panicked at the thought of this man getting his hands on Morgan. "You are not to touch her," he repeated angrily.
The man gave a disgusted snort, ignoring Graham's threatening statement. "Filthy humans. They're always polluting our air and building cities over our forests. If more of us thought like me, we'd kill them all and take back what is rightfully ours."
"The only thing that's rightfully yours is a cell in a shifter prison."
"I'm not going to any prison," the man said darkly. "I'll die fighting before I let myself be locked up like some animal."
"Then you'll die," Graham growled, his voice low and dangerous. His hand moved to his hip and he blanched, realizing he didn't have his gun on him.
"A gun?" the man asked in disgust. "You fight with human weapons? They've housebroken you, haven't they? They might as well put a collar and bell on you." The man cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders. "You know the best way to have a brawl. If you want me, you'll have to fight me that way."
Graham's eyes flicked to Morgan, concern written clearly in them.
The man gave a loud, booming laugh. "She doesn't know?! You've marked her, trapping her into a lifelong commitment, yet you didn't have the decency to let her know what she was getting into?"
"I didn't mean to," Graham said tersely, his shoulders bunched in tension. "It was an accident."
"You accidentally almost ripped her throat out? Now I've heard everything." With a wicked grin, the man climbed to his feet. "You made a mistake by keeping her in the dark, because she's about to find out about our kind right now, and it isn't going to be the gentlest way to break her into our world."
There was a loud popping noise and Morgan cringed in fear. While she watched with wide, horrified eyes, the stranger's body began to change. Bones shifted, skin tore. It was like being trapped in a nightmare, only she knew that this was all too real.
The man screamed and writhed, inhuman growls escaping his lips. In less than a minute, the man's body was completely gone. In its place now sat the biggest wolf she'd ever seen.
Graham stood frozen in dread, his gaze darting to Morgan. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He looked as if he didn't know what to do, as if he were silently debating his options.
The animal snarled and snapped at Graham. It hunched low to the ground, its muscles poised for attack.
Before Morgan could realize what was happening, the wolf lunged, taking Graham to the ground. It's teeth gnashed in Graham's face, saliva dripping down to cover Graham's neck.
Unable to help herself, Morgan screamed. What was that thing? How had that man been able to do that? And he'd accused Graham ... Her thoughts trailed off in horror and her eyes slid to her date, uncertainty and fear plain in her expression.
Graham was pinned underneath the snarling animal trying to keep it from sinking its fangs into his throat. In one quick motion, he flipped the wolf off of him, sending it roughly into a tree. He then struggled to his feet. Giving Morgan an apologetic look, he turned his back on her. Without a warning, his body shifted, changing until it turned itself into a second wolf.
Graham's change was less violent and much smoother than the other man. It barely looked as if he was in any pain during the transformation. The damage had mostly been to his clothing, which now lay in shreds at his feet.
Morgan gave a gasp as the animal glanced over its shoulder at her as if to gauge her reaction.
The wolf Graham had become was beautiful. His fur was a soft cream color that she'd never seen on a wolf before. She thought about being afraid, but Graham's soft blue eyes stared back at her, a soothing expression in their depths.
In an instant, it was over, the connection broken as the other wolf staggered to its feet.
Graham, in his wolf form, spun to face the other animal, placing himself between Morgan and his assailant. His lip curled back and he snarled, showing off a vicious set of teeth.
The other wolf growled in response, the hair on its back raised in agitation. It moved to circle around Graham, taking small, testing steps.
Graham gave a warning growl, staying in his spot in front of Morgan. The muscles in his strong shoulders bunched as he crouched low to the ground. He looked ready to pounce at the slightest movement.
Morgan's heart was beating so frantically in her chest that she was afraid it might burst free. She was frozen in fear, filled with concern for Graham. She knew there was nothing she could do. If she interjected herself into the fight, she would be killed. The claws on both men were so wicked and razor sharp, they would tear her to shreds with one swipe of a paw. She watched helplessly as both animals simultaneously pushed off the ground and lunged at each other.
They collided in midair, collapsing to the ground in a mess of teeth, fur, and claws.
Morgan stayed where she was. Even if she wanted to help, it would have been impossible. They were moving too fast, their strikes too violent for her to even think about assisting Graham. To her relief, it didn't look like Graham needed the assistance.
Though the other man was getting in a few blows, they weren't very effective.
Graham was averting most of the stranger's blows and delivering ones of his own that would have killed a normal man. He was overpowering his opponent. He was winning.
Morgan sat in nervous silence as she watched the wolves fight back and forth. While she watched the tussle, she tried to keep her mind from piecing this situation together. It was too unbelievable, too unreal. If she started thinking too hard on what was right before her eyes, she would panic. It would be easier to deal with that later, once Graham was safe.
The wolf that had once been the stranger gave a high-pitched yip as Graham sunk razor sharp teeth into his neck. Kicking his feet out in desperation, he flung Graham away from him.
Graham hit a nearby tree with enough force to shake it, then slid to the ground below. He groggily shook his head, trying to reorient himself.
The man took this moment of freedom to turn and bolt into the woods. He ran as fast as his injured wolf form could take him, disappearing from sight.
Recovering from the jarring collision he'd had with the tree, Graham climbed to his feet and looked as if he was about to pursue the man. He took one step forward, but then stopped. With a shake of his furry head, he sat down.
A moment later, the Graham Morgan knew and recognized was sitting before her.
He leaned back against the base of the tree he'd been thrown into with a pained groan. He was completely naked, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his tanned chest. His breath coming in ragged huffs, he said, "He's too far for me to catch up." On Morgan's confused look, he added, "He got into a car that was parked next to the highway. I can't track him in that."
Morgan slid slowly into the driver seat to look out the opened door, her eyes roaming over his assortment of cuts and bruises. With a frown of bewilderment, she said, "I didn't hear a car."
"I did." He grimaced, touching a spot on his chest that was raw and tender looking. "We kind of have super hearing ... and we run pretty fast too ... obviously, by the fact that he's already at the highway," Graham said in between gulps for air. "Trust me. With the shape I'm in, I'm not catching him tonight."
"Okay," she agreed as if she had any idea of how hard it would be to track down and catch the man ... wolf ... thing. Tentatively, she inched out of the car. "You're bleeding," she said gently, motioning toward his right eyebrow.
Above his eye there was a nasty looking cut that was trailing blood down the side of his face.
Graham lifted a shaky hand to touch his eyebrow, swiping at the blood to keep it from running into his eye. "I'll be okay. I heal pretty fast."
Morgan bobbed her head, once again agreeing as if she had a clue. Her mind was whirling, the craziness of what had just happened making it hard to process anything.
Graham gave a grunt of pain as he attempted to climb to his feet.
Pushing all her worries aside, Morgan rushed over to him, putting her arms around his waist to help him stand.
He gave a grumble that she took as a thank you and began hobbling toward the house. Neither of them spoke until they were safely inside and Graham had locked the door.
Morgan was the first to break the silence, concern in her voice. "Where's your bedroom? You should lie down."
Graham nodded his head in the direction of the hallway.
Morgan continued to help him walk, but with each step his movements became better and better. When they reached the bedroom, he wasn't even limping anymore.
Morgan deposited him to sit on the edge of the bed and made her way into the connecting bathroom. "Let's see if we can get you cleaned up." Rummaging in a cabinet, she found a washcloth and put it under the faucet in the sink, turning on the hot water. "You're probably going to need stitches," she warned him.
"Nah," came Graham's amused voice. "I'll be fine."
Morgan shut off the water and made her way back into the bedroom. She was surprised by his lack of concern over his health. If it was her, she'd be crying like a baby and begging for painkillers. "I wouldn't be so sure. You're bleeding an awful amount." Standing in front of him, she tentatively dabbed at the blood covering his eyebrow. She kept a careful eye on his expression, waiting for him to grimace because she'd hurt him. When he didn't seem to be in any pain, she applied a little more pressure, trying to get the blood free that was clinging to his skin.
Leaning over, she looked for the cut she'd seen earlier, wanting to know how badly he'd been hurt. To her amazement, his skin was smooth and flawless. She blinked in astonishment. She'd seen the cut earlier. She'd seen it gushing blood down the side of his face. "But ... but there was so much blood..."
"I told you I heal fast."
"Yes ... but ... this is impossible ... I saw the cut when we were outside. It was there just a minute ago. Things like that just don't disappear." Morgan's gaze lowered to his, her eyes full of questions she was too afraid to ask. She jumped when Graham took her trembling hand in his, her nerves more on edge than they'd ever been in her entire life.
"Don't look at me with fear in your eyes," he pleaded. "You have to realize that I'd never hurt you." He gave a weary sigh. "I'm trying to catch the people like me who hurt humans."
"People like you?" Morgan squeaked.
Graham stared up at her, his blue eyes as serious as Morgan had ever seen them. "I'm a werewolf, Morgan." He paused, letting that sink in. "I think you kind of figured that out already though."
Morgan stared down at him, trying not to hyperventilate. "How is that possible? I just..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"I was going to tell you," he said, gently rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand. "It's just that it's a hard subject to bring up."
Morgan's free hand lifted to the scar at her throat as the memory of their encounter with the stranger ran through her mind. "That man said you trapped me in a lifelong commitment. What did he mean by that?"
Graham flinched, his eyes tightening around the edges. "I didn't intend for that to happen, but I knew who you were and in all of the excitement, I got carried away."
"You knew who I was?" Morgan asked in confusion.
"A person's inner wolf is supposed to be able to recognize their soul mate. It picks the one person they're meant to be with. When you kissed me, my wolf started going crazy. I've never felt anything like that before in my life."
"So you believe we're soul mates?" Morgan asked a little skeptically.
"I believe it down to the very depths of my soul," Graham confessed, his voice thick with emotion. "I would move heaven and earth to keep you safe."
"So you marked me," Morgan stated slowly, her mind forming around concepts that seemed implausible. "That way no others of your kind would mess with me."
On Graham's nod, she gently extracted her hand and went back to cleaning the blood that streaked his face. "Okay," she whispered, her voice almost inaudible to her own ears. With his heightened sense of hearing, she knew Graham would be able to hear her though.
Trying to focus on one thing at a time, Morgan moved the rag to his shoulder, wiping away what had earlier been a ragged scratch. Now all that remained were a few droplets of blood.
As Morgan cleaned what used to be wounds, Graham's hands slid hesitantly around her thighs, loosely holding her. He didn't want to pressure her, but he also wanted her to know that she had nothing to fear from him.
Morgan chose not to comment on his arms being wrapped around her legs. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to stay where he was or leave her alone. She wasn't even sure what she'd say if she opened her mouth to speak. Instead, she diligently moved to his chest, swiping at a thin, crimson line. As her fingers gently grazed along his chest, she suddenly became very aware that he was unclothed.
Graham was naked and filthy, with patches of dirt dusting his skin. He had a grass stain along one forearm, leaving his skin a dull green. He smelled earthy, like a forest in spring. She wasn't sure how much of it was due to his tussle outside and what was his natural scent. It was such a musky, male smell that her stomach tightened and her body quivered at the memory of what it felt like to be in his arms.
Morgan's gaze lowered to his and she found him staring at her with a frightening intensity. His eyes had darkened with a desire that looked so primal it sent a chill down her arms. He'd marked her as his own and his expression stated just how true he found that to be.
Morgan could read his thoughts in those eyes, could tell his every desire. "Graham," she cautioned in a whisper.
He ignored her warning and trailed his hands up and over her hips. "You know, by werewolf customs, you would be recognized as my wife." In his voice there was a sound of complete possession.
Morgan's breath hitched in her throat at the low tone of his voice. She'd never had anyone value her the way Graham's eyes said he did. It shook her to her very core. When he looked at her like that, it made her believe that perhaps he was the man she was meant to spend the rest of her life with.
"I wish to pleasure you like no one else ever has before," Graham practically growled. His hand wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her into his lap. "Though I don't believe now is the time for wild, rampant sex." With sure fingers, he began unbuttoning her shirt. "Tonight I need to show you gentleness and passion. I need to show you exactly how I feel about you. I don't want you to have any doubts about the fact that you are meant to be mine. I need to prove to you that I am in fact your soul mate." He slid her shirt down her arms, pressing a lingering kiss to her right shoulder.
"Graham," Morgan whispered, her voice wavering. Almost all of the warning had left her voice, replaced with an eagerness she couldn't hide. She closed her eyes in delight as he unhooked the back of her bra and began slowly removing the garment.
Graham cupped both of her breasts in his hands, caressing and kneading ever so gently. After a moment, he leaned his head down and gently ran his cheek along the curve of her right breast.
Morgan remembered him mentioning scenting the first time they were together. She knew animals would rub their faces along things they considered to be theirs. Graham was scenting her. It was the most erotic thing she'd ever experienced in her life.
Graham lifted his head slightly and took her nipple into his mouth, gently rolling his tongue around it.
Morgan hissed in response, arching her back. "Mmm, Graham." Her voice had gone from warning to praise. Underneath her, she could feel the evidence of his arousal. It was a promise of what he intended to do with that wonderful part of his body.
In one swift motion, Graham flipped her onto her back on the bed. With slow deliberation, he kissed his way down her stomach until he reached the edge of her skirt. Slowly he peeled it off, flicking his tongue along her now exposed skin.
Five minutes and a hundred teasing kisses later, he had her naked beneath him.
"I shouldn't be feeling the things I am for someone I've only been intimate with a few days," Morgan breathed against his neck as he slowly pushed his way inside of her.
He slid fully inside her, filling her to the point that she couldn't take any more. He filled her to completion. His body fit perfectly in hers, like he was made just for her.
"You've never felt this way because no one else was your soul mate. I am," Graham said matter-of-factly. The calmness of his voice made it sound as if he was talking about something as unimportant as his plans for dinner.
"Graham, don't do this to me," Morgan pleaded. Tears began forming in her eyes and she was unable to fight them back.
"Do what?" Graham asked. He shifted his position so he could rub his thumb along her cheek, wiping away one of her tears that had escaped to trail down her face.
When he moved, Morgan's body tightened on his, clenching around him to keep him buried inside her. She heard him groan in delight, and, despite the fear in her, it brought goose bumps to her skin. Shivering, she turned her head away so he couldn't see the vulnerability in her eyes. "Don't say such things," she said quietly. "Don't make me fall in love with you. I won't be able to take that kind of heartache when this doesn't work out."
"Why wouldn't it work?" Graham asked in concern. "There's nothing you could do that would make me turn my back on you."
"You say that now," Morgan practically whispered, "but what about ten years from now? No one stays together anymore. The divorce rate is..." She trailed off, not even wanting to think about it.
"Oh, Morgan," Graham said softly. He placed a finger under her chin and turned her head to face him. "This is going to work out. The werewolf divorce rate is extremely low. We mate for life. If it's me you're worried about, you can rest assured that I'm not going to leave you heartbroken. You'll never have to worry about me leaving you. I'm not going anywhere." He pressed his lips to hers in a soft, tender kiss. "Ever."
Limbs trembling, Morgan responded to his kiss, her body rejoicing at the taste of him on her lips. "This is all so fast," she whimpered.
"I know it's fast. It's been unbelievably fast, but you have to listen to your heart. This is right. You know it feels right."
Morgan nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know. I'm just scared."
"Don't be scared, sweetheart," Graham soothed, kissing her damp cheeks.
Morgan stared up at him through watery eyes and knew it was too late to be afraid. She felt things for Graham that she'd never felt for anyone else, although she hadn't known him all that long. It was too late to fight it, so she just gave in. Tilting her chin up, she brushed her lips along his, inviting him to kiss her.
No sooner was the invitation out when Graham's lips descended on hers. He kissed and nibbled and teased while his hips pulled back only to slowly return. He thrust in and out of her in a rhythm so measured, so leisurely that Morgan was whimpering in frustration.
He would thrust ever so slowly into her depths then hold himself frozen for a few heartbeats with his body inside hers as far as it could go.
Morgan whimpered into his mouth, her arms sliding around his neck while their lips moved slowly against each other. She'd heard the expression make love to someone, but it wasn't until now that she fully understood what it meant.
What Graham was doing wasn't about sex. He was being so gentle, so affectionate to show her how much he cared about her. With each slow thrust it was like a new declaration of love. He didn't need to say it. He told her with his body.
Though Graham's rhythm was slow, Morgan felt the pleasant sensation of orgasm looming before her. She was practically crying again as it approached. This was the most amazing moment of her life. No one in the world compared to Graham and how special he made her feel.
Her orgasm started on a slow wave, building in intensity with each thrust of Graham's hips. It felt like it went on forever because he withdrew just before each wave of pleasure receded, sending her into the next with his return. Graham left her muscles grasping desperately for him, clamping down on his manhood until she was drawing ragged grunts from deep in his throat.
After an eternity of ecstasy, Graham gripped her hips tightly and rode out his orgasm, his fingers digging into her flesh as every nerve in his body screamed in delight.
"I love you," Morgan whispered against his lips as he filled her with not just his seed, but also his heart. Her body trembled, quivering around his as they both found fulfillment in each other's arms. She lay shaking in his embrace as everything she had once found important suddenly took a backseat to her emotions for Graham. She began crying silent tears of joy over the way he made her feel. Happy little laughs of disbelief were mingled in with the tears, and she could only imagine how odd the combination must seem.
Graham pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I hope those are happy tears."
Morgan nodded, too overcome with emotion to speak.
Sliding off of Morgan, Graham leaned on his side next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist. "Good," he murmured tiredly.
The rugged, drowsy tone of his voice made Morgan smile in affection. "Very good," she agreed, snuggling into his chest. A moment later, they were both asleep.
Morgan pulled up to Graham's house full of righteous indignation. Giving a growl of aggravation, she smacked her palm against the steering wheel.
After her exclusive information about the FBI specialist, she expected some sort of reward. Had she even gotten a good job from Jamison? No! He'd just demanded that she try and get more from Graham.
Alston had disagreed once she told him how graciously Graham had forgiven her for the first incident. He'd said Graham sounded like a nice guy, that he might even be a keeper.
In telling Alston about how wonderful Graham was, she'd left out the part that her new lover was a freaking werewolf. She still barely believed it herself. Werewolf or not, she would not be betraying Graham again. It was as simple as that.
Getting out of her car, Morgan stomped up to Graham's front door and lifted her hand to knock. Before her hand even connected with the door, it swung open. She blinked in surprise for a moment at the sudden movement.
Graham stood in the doorway with a sheepish grin on his face. Running a hand through his short hair, he said, "I heard your car turn onto my road."
"Okay," Morgan said slowly with a little grimace. "I see you're not playing human for me anymore."
Graham leaned against the doorframe, a boyish grin on his lips. "I didn't think I had to."
The smile won her over. Who cares if your boyfriend howls at the moon when he's got a set of pearly whites like that? "No, you don't have to play human," she assured him with a smile of her own. "This way, if I ever need to rearrange my furniture, I can have you move all of it around without feeling guilty. With those supernatural skills of yours I know you won't even work up a sweat," she teased.
"Hey now," Graham protested, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her to his chest. "That's werewolf abuse."
"You're absolutely right," Morgan whispered, leaning close so she could brush her lips against his. "That was terribly rude of me. I forgot to mention that I would reward you with a treat once you were finished."
Graham's eyes narrowed in mock anger. "If I thought it was going to be a sexual treat, I would be ecstatic, but I have a suspicion that you're making a dog joke."
Morgan giggled, pressing her body suggestively against his. "I would never do such a thing," she teased. To keep him distracted, she leaned up and nibbled impishly at his earlobe before returning to his mouth to leave a playful kiss.
"You are lucky that you're such a good kisser," Graham stated, his hands running along the curve of her hips. "Otherwise, I might have had to punish you for such a comment."
"It's a good thing you're easily sidetracked then," Morgan said as she slid her lips along his jaw, continuing until she found his mouth. She kissed him with a passion that made her dizzy, reveling at the feel of his big, strong hands on her back. She'd never felt safer with anyone before in her life. She melted against him, giving a soft sight of contentment as he trailed his fingers through her thick, black hair. Graham's touch was so comforting that all of her problems just melted away ... which was why she needed to ask a few questions.
Placing a hand to his chest, Morgan reluctantly pulled her lips away from his. She took a step back, putting a little distance between them so he wouldn't be able to distract her with his kisses. "I need to know about what you are," she said cautiously, staring up into his eyes.
Graham's eyes shaded to that dangerous gray color and he watched her for a moment in silence. It seemed to take a lot of effort, but the tension eased out of his shoulders and his eyes slowly bled back to blue. "What do you want to know?" he asked gruffly. Turning his back on her, he took his time shutting the door. He stayed facing away from her for a moment, his shoulders tense.
Morgan could see that he had a death grip on the doorknob, his hands white from strain. It didn't take a genius to realize he wasn't happy with the topic. "If you don't want to talk about it..." Morgan said nervously.
Turning to face her, Graham's features softened and he took her hand gently between his. "It's not that I don't want to discuss this with you," he assured. "It's just that it's been instilled in my head since I was young that I'm not to tell a human about what I am."
He led her over to his couch and pulled her to sit next to him. "I'm sorry if I seem reluctant. It's hard to break old habits, especially when those habits are the ones that have kept me alive in the past. I do trust you, Morgan, and I understand that this can't be easy for you either. Whatever you want to know, I will tell you," he said honestly.
Morgan stared at his hands for a moment, torn between curiosity and the urge to leave him to his privacy. She hated to make him uncomfortable, but if he truly loved her like he claimed, he would be willing to open up to her. He couldn't expect her to live in the dark about what he was. She cared about him and wanted to know about something that affected his life so greatly.
For a moment, Morgan watched his thumbs stroking gently along her palm, touched by the intimacy with which he caressed her. That filled her with the confidence she needed to ask him such personal questions. She lifted her eyes from his hands to his captivating eyes. "You said when you were young you were taught to keep this a secret," she said softly, "so that means you've been like this awhile?"
Graham hesitated, but he seemed to see something in her eyes that set him at ease, because his face filled with an expression of conviction. He was ready to let her into his life. "I was born this way. I inherited it from my mother."
"You can inherit werewolf-ism?" Morgan asked in surprise, throwing out a name she thought sounded good to describe his ability to change form.
Graham gave a low, masculine laugh at the look on her face and her play on words. "Yes. It can be inherited just like anything else, just like eye or hair color."
"So you're saying that if you and I ever..." She trailed off in embarrassment. It was still a bit early to be worrying about such things.
Graham's face lit up at her question. He found it nice that she was trying to understand him better. She'd also asked things that pertained to their future together. She wasn't asking these questions to find out how big of a freak show he was. "Yes. Our children could inherit it from me." He sent her a teasing grin. "Thinking about bearing my child already?"
Morgan sent him a dirty look and chose not to answer his question. Instead, she asked, "Is everyone born with it? I thought the urban legend was that if you got bit by a werewolf, you became one." At that thought, her hand shot to her neck and her eyes widened in alarm as she remembered that Graham had bit her the night they first slept together.
"Relax, sweetheart. You're fine. You won't be turning furry anytime soon,"
Graham assured, leaning back on the couch.
Morgan let her breath out slowly, relaxing once she knew she wasn't going to be ripping out of her skin anytime soon. "It's not that I have a problem with what you are. I just ... it just didn't look like much fun to tear through your own skin."
"I understand," Graham said with a little smile. "You're just getting used to the fact that your boyfriend does it. You aren't ready to try it yourself. It's understandable." He slung an arm casually around her shoulders as they talked, his whole demeanor now tranquil.
The fact that he was loosening up proved to her that he trusted her with the information he was telling her, that his initial hesitation had been only habit.
"You can become like one of us through a bite," he continued, "but only if we're in wolf form. The love nibbles I give you are perfectly safe." As if to prove this point, he lifted her hand to his mouth and gently nipped at her fingertips.
Morgan smiled as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles then twined their fingers, lowering their hands to rest between them on the couch.
Graham gave her a soft, affectionate smile before continuing. "The man who attacked us wasn't born like me. He was only recently bitten. I'd guess about a year or two ago."
"How can you possibly know that?"
"Did you see how much pain he was in when he shifted into wolf form?" On Morgan's nod, Graham continued, "The beginning hurts. It is agony until you learn how to do it properly. Most of us have an instructor to teach us how to do it without hurting ourselves, usually a parent. This guy..." He shook his head. "He changed when there wasn't a full moon, which is hard to do, but he was sloppy."
A determined look crossed Graham's face. "I know I can catch him. I just hope it's before he kills someone else." His expression became suddenly hopeful. "I saw his face, so we finally have something to work with. He was expecting me to be human, so he took the chance on approaching me. Because of that, I now know what he looks like. I sat down with our sketch artist this morning and we got a pretty good picture. I have the chief running this guy's profile as we speak. Hopefully by the end of the day we'll have a name and an address to go with the face. Then all I'll have to do is go get him."
Scooting closer to him on the couch, Morgan leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to his neck. "You'll catch him. I know you will." Sitting back, she gave him a thoughtful look. "Does the chief know about you, about what you can do?"
Graham's face took on an expression that said he wasn't very happy about his boss knowing his secret. "Yeah. He does. Once I realized that I could trust him, I felt I owed it to him to be honest. He's kept my secret and I've kept his men safe." He shrugged. "He knows he can send me into a dangerous situation first because it takes a lot to kill one of us. It's a good deal for both sides. I get hazard pay and he can keep his men from dying."
It sounded like a dangerous job to Morgan, but it helped explain why they hadn't had a police officer die in the line of duty in over five years. If Graham thought it was worth the risk to his safety, who was she to argue?
Graham slid his free arm around her shoulder. Leaning forward, he nuzzled his nose against her ear and whispered, "Any other questions?"
Morgan feigned as if she was thinking while he nibbled on her earlobe. "Yeah," she said slowly. "I do have one more question. Now I know you have super strength, but what about stamina?" she asked wickedly.
Graham gave a low growl. "I believe I've shown you just how much stamina I have, but if I must show you again..."
"You must," Morgan agreed, wrapping an arm around his neck.
Graham's mouth had just descended upon hers for a heart-stopping kiss when the phone rang. With a snarl of aggravation, he pulled back and lifted the receiver from its cradle. "What?" he barked.
After a moment, the angry lines in his forehead smoothed out and his expression became almost eager. "What? Where?" He grabbed a pen and a notepad off of the table the phone was resting on and began scribbling down an address. "I'm on my way there now," he said as he hastily hung up.
Turning to Morgan, he said, "We found him!" He jumped to his feet and began quickly sliding into his shoulder holster. "We got lucky. I sent that sketch to a few local werewolf families I know, and someone recognized our guy. A young girl remembered him. She said he tried to catch her a couple years ago when she was in wolf form. She said he seemed like he wanted to hurt her, like he was the type who likes to torture animals. He grabbed her by her neck and she panicked. She bit him to get away and ran. She was too spooked to even tell her folks about it until his picture popped up. She remembered that he was wearing a work uniform. She said she's almost certain the name Samuel was stitched into his shirt. We've got a definite match. His name is Samuel Porter. He lives less than ten minutes from here." His expression turned to relief as he holstered his weapon. "We caught the son of a bitch."
Morgan climbed to her feet, her face full of concern. "Do you have silver bullets in that gun?"
Graham cringed. "You don't need silver. Silver isn't what kills us. It's what forces us to stay in animal form. Shape shifters react to heat and silver is a hot metal. When it hits the bloodstream, it keeps us locked into wolf form. We can't get back to our human selves until our systems flush out the silver. You could kill one of us with regular bullets just the same. The only reason to use silver is when you plan on killing whoever you're shooting at and you don't want to get caught with a body on your hands. I'm hoping not to have to kill someone today."
At his statement, Morgan stared at him in horror. "People use silver so they can commit murder and get away with it?"
Graham gave a shrug that he tried to make look casual, but she could see the fear in his eyes over the topic. "No one's going to get into much trouble for killing a wolf, are they?" His voice took on a tone of disgust. "It's a wonder we don't tell humans about us."
"Graham, that's awful!" Morgan rushed forward and put her hands on his forearm. She suddenly had an urge to keep him from leaving. Fear gripped her heart at the thought of the horrible things that could be done to him without anyone ever finding out, at the thought that she could spend the rest of her life never knowing what happened if someone were to capture him in his wolf form. "Graham..."
She went to beg him not to go, but quickly stopped herself. This man needed stopped. He'd murdered innocent people, people whose only crime had been in being human. It wasn't fair to ask Graham not to go after him. "Let me go with you," she blurted out.
Graham gave a derisive snort and removed her hands from his arm. "I don't think so."
Morgan blinked at him for a moment in surprise. She hadn't expected such a harsh dismissal. "You can't go rushing in all by yourself," she argued.
Graham gave her a look that clearly said he was losing patience. "I'm a cop. It's my job to go in there."
"Not without backup, it isn't," Morgan disputed desperately.
Graham spun on her with a look of aggravation. "Who would you like me to call, Morgan?! You want me to call my fellow police officers? The human police? Do you know what that man would do to the human police?" He shook his head angrily. "You know what he does to humans! He will kill them! Do you want to be the one to tell their wives and children that their father was torn to shreds?"
Tears of bitterness sprang to Morgan's eyes. "I don't want them telling me that about you!"
Graham's eyes softened and he took her into his arms, wiping a stray tear away with his thumb. "I'll be fine, Morgan. This guy is young and he's sloppy. He's not going to get the drop on me. You have nothing to worry about."
"How can you be so sure?" she whispered fearfully. "This man is a killer."
"I know because I've done this before. I promise you I'll be fine. If you were to go with me, I would be too concerned with your welfare to do my job properly. I need to know that you're safe."
Morgan leaned into his chest, letting his body heat sink into her. "Just come home to me, okay?"
Graham leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "I promise."
Morgan knew that she shouldn't have followed Graham, but she felt as though she'd had no choice. Letting him run into a dangerous situation by himself was not an option. At least if she saw what happened, she'd be able to call the chief of police and have him send help if Graham needed it.
She'd parked a block from Samuel Porter's home and just sat watching the house as Graham climbed out of his cruiser and made his way up the walk. Her heart leapt into her throat at the mere sight of him. He was gorgeous ... and he was all hers too. Her happy thoughts trailed off as Samuel opened the door at Graham's persistent knocking.
Samuel didn't even give Graham a chance to speak. As soon as the door was open, he lunged, taking Graham with him down the walk in a ball of tangled limbs.
Morgan gave a cry of terror at seeing the love of her life go down under the other man. "Graham!" she cried out in horror. Her hand was on her door handle, but before she could get out of the car, Graham had managed to untangle himself and spring to his feet.
Graham was breathing heavily, but he looked unharmed.
Morgan eased back into her seat, content for the moment to just watch.
Samuel charged at Graham once again, but this time Graham was ready.
Graham dropped to his back and lifted his feet up. His hands had a tight grip on Samuel's shirt and he pulled the other man down with him. His feet hit Samuel's stomach, flipping the murderer over his head. He rolled through with the flip, putting himself in a crouch above Samuel. Before the other man could even react, Graham drove his fist down into Samuel's face.
Morgan watched Graham's assault of fists with a mingled sense of pride and horror. The knowledge that he'd been right all along came crashing down on her. He didn't need any backup, and by coming here, she'd only put herself in danger.
Graham was perfectly capable of defending himself. He was a natural predator held in check only by his morals.
In his punches, Morgan could see a barely restrained strength that no man should possess. The thought of what someone with his power was capable of if they didn't have the same respect Graham had for humanity brought a cold, sick feeling to her stomach.
Even in Graham's eyes, she'd seen a thirst for power, the raw need to dominate. Even though she loved him, she knew he was dangerous, knew what kind of violence he was capable of. And he was one of the good guys. If someone like Samuel was to roam free ... She suddenly understood why Graham was so desperate to get Samuel locked up.
Even now, in human form, Samuel was much stronger than an average human and immensely treacherous.
Graham knew what kind of damage Samuel could do once he got his abilities under control. Without Graham standing in the way, Samuel would tear through the human inhabitants of the city without mercy.
Samuel was evil now. Given time, he would be a monster.
At the thought of Samuel, Morgan realized she'd lost track of the fight. She'd been so wrapped up in her own fears that she'd lost sight of what was happening in front of her.
Her eyes regained focus to see Graham about ten feet in front of her car, his eyes glued to her and filled with horror. His expression of fear had her fumbling with the lock on the door. Unfortunately, locked doors weren't enough to stop a pissed off werewolf.
Morgan gave a yelp of terror when her entire door was ripped off the car in a horrific sound of grinding and screaming metal. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, she was yanked from the car. She found herself staring into the angry, beady eyes of Samuel Porter.
Samuel was a mess. Blood ran down his face in a thick line and his left eye was swollen completely shut.
Morgan felt a rush of satisfaction swell through her. Graham had done quite the number on Samuel's face and she couldn't say that she was sorry. Before she could stupidly make any smug comments, she was spun to face Graham.
"I will kill her!" Samuel raged. "Take one step closer and I will kill your bitch." He gave a low, sinister laugh. "I will kill her and the pup that resides in her belly."
Graham's face lost all of its color as he froze in his spot and held out a pleading hand. "Please," he begged. "Your fight isn't with her. It's with me."
Samuel yanked roughly on the back of Morgan's neck, receiving a terrified yelp for his effort. "Killing her will get to you, Officer Audrick. Killing her would definitely get your attention."
"You have my attention!" Graham cried desperately.
"Not yet I don't," Samuel said with a grunt of pain, "but I'm about to." At the conclusion of his sentence, the hands around Morgan began turning into claws.
"I will kill you!" Graham screamed. "If you lay a hand on her, you won't ever make it to prison alive."
Samuel ignored Graham, giving another cry of pain that ended in an animalistic howl.
Fear overtaking her, Morgan realized that Samuel was now in his wolf form and that he had every intention of killing her. She struggled against him, but he was stronger than she was. Though she fought against him, Samuel overpowered her, ripping a scream from her throat as she was dragged to the ground. With a cry of terror, she watched as a set of razor sharp teeth descended toward her throat. Pain seared her senses, hot and brutal.
It happened so quickly that before the blood started pouring from the wound, Samuel had turned and ran.
Graham had rushed Samuel in an attempt to stop him, but he hadn't been close enough to get to them in time. He'd been too late to keep Samuel from tearing into Morgan's throat. He skidded to a halt in front of Morgan, uncertainty in his eyes. He looked down at her, then the direction that Samuel had run.
Morgan thought for one horrified moment that Graham was going to chase after Samuel and leave her bleeding in the streets, but he quickly returned his gaze to her.
Stooping down next to Morgan, Graham put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "How bad is it?" He tried to sound calm, but his voice was laced with fear.
Morgan had her hand clutched over the side of her throat and shoulder. She could feel blood seeping between her fingers and trailing down her arm. "I..." Her voice cut out and she found that she could barely breathe, let alone speak. Forcing her vocal cords to work, she managed to get out, "Bad." With a little sob, she whispered, "I'm so sorry ... so sorry..."
"It's okay," Graham soothed. "It doesn't matter right now." He tried to peel her fingers back from her wound and Morgan fought him. "I need to see it," he demanded roughly.
Knowing that he wasn't going to hurt her, Morgan slowly removed her hand, her breathing coming in fast, struggling gulps.
"Shit," Graham hissed under his breath. "Morgan," he said, trying to sound calm as he pressed his hand against the bleeding wound. "You have to get up, sweetheart. We have to get you to a hospital."
With a frightened whimper, Morgan began climbing to her feet when a pain like nothing she'd ever felt tore through her body. Graham tried to lift her into his arms, but she put a hand to his chest and pushed him back. With a holler of agony, she fell to her knees. It felt as if every organ in her body was on fire. Hands clawing at the dirt, her body gave a spasm that left her shuddering in anguish.
"Shit," Graham cursed. "He infected you." Dropping to his knees next to her, he took her hand and gripped it tightly. "You're about to shift. Hospital's out."
Morgan looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes when he said he wouldn't be taking her to the hospital. "What?!" Her free hand traveled to her throat, feeling the blood cascading from the open wound. "I'm bleeding. I need a hospital," she sobbed.
A look of guilt filled Graham's eyes and he gripped her hand tighter. "I can't take you."
"Please! Please!" Morgan begged, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I can't," Graham cried, his eyes full of fear. "I'm so sorry." Clutching her hand, he seemed to forget in his terror that he had superhuman strength. He had her hand in a grip that made her bones grind painfully together. "I won't let you die," he vowed emotionally. "I promise. I can't live without you."
That was the last thing Morgan heard before everything faded to black.
Morgan awoke to find herself in a room she didn't readily recognize. Blinking back sleep, she eyed the vaguely familiar dark gray walls in the dim light of early morning. She stared at her surroundings in confusion, trying to remember where she was and how she'd gotten there.
The room was done in dark colors without seeming too gloomy. The heavy drapes were drawn tightly closed, blocking out almost all of the light. Instead of feeling cramped, it felt soothing. The room actually filled her with a sense of security and calm.
The sound of movement behind her drew Morgan's attention and she rolled to find Graham lying next to her in the bed. "Graham?" she asked, concern rushing to the front of her brain. She couldn't figure out why she was feeling so panicked, but she was full of a fear that she couldn't seem to shake.
Graham's eyes peeked open. It took him a moment to orient himself, but as soon as he did, his eyes filled with concern. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay ... I guess." Morgan's eyes searched his while her mind urgently tried to remember how she'd gotten here. "I'm a little confused," she admitted. "The last thing I remember was this horrible pain tearing through my body and then..." She shook her head. "Nothing." After a moment of silence, her stomach filled with a sense of dread. "Then I wake up here and I'm naked and I don't remember anything." She peeked under the blanket and confirmed her suspicion. "And you're naked."
Graham reached a hand out and gently placed it over hers. "Last night, Samuel bit you while he was in wolf form. He infected you and he nearly tore your throat out." He paused, emotion thick in his voice. "I thought you were dying, Morgan."
His hand tightened around hers as if he was afraid to let her go. "You don't know how much it killed me not to take you to a hospital. I couldn't though. Your body was trying to heal itself, and the best way to do that is in wolf form." His face was pinched in stress, his eyes begging her for forgiveness. "I would have switched places with you in a heartbeat. I couldn't bear to see you in that much pain. I thought..." He ran his free hand over his face. "God, I thought you were going to die. Even though you were healing quickly, you were bleeding so much. I was so worried that you weren't going to make it through the night. Even in animal form, there were a couple hours where it was really bad."
"Animal form?" Morgan asked in confusion. Her mind was so distracted with the thought of her throat being nearly torn out that she couldn't even process what her own body had done to keep her alive. She brought her free hand to her neck to find it smooth, except for the small scar she'd received from Graham's teeth. It seemed impossible for her throat to be injury free after what she knew it had gone through only a few hours before.
"You shifted," Graham said softly. "That's why your clothes are gone. You tore through them when you changed form."
Saying the only thing she could get her brain to grasp, Morgan complained, "I liked that top. It was expensive."
Graham let out a laugh of amusement. "I'll buy you a new one." He lifted his hand and trailed it along her hair, his expression becoming serious. "Your other form is so beautiful. You had sleek, silky black fur and your eyes..." He shook his head. "God, they sparkled. You were absolutely magnificent."
Morgan couldn't digest this information. It seemed so unreal ... and she couldn't remember anything from the previous night. Something like that seemed like an event she would recollect. "I ... I don't remember..."
"You won't recall much in the beginning. As time goes on it gets easier. The shifting won't hurt as much and your memory of the time spent in wolf form will improve. It's also easier to process everything when you have an instructor. It's less complicated on shifters who have someone that's been doing this for awhile to teach them tricks to make things smoother."
Morgan had a brief flash of memory from the previous night that included Graham in his pale, cream-colored wolf form. Reaching out, she brushed her fingers along his bare chest. "You shifted. You were with me last night. I remember..." Her brow furrowed and she gave him a funny look as the memory hit her. "You were licking me?" she asked uncertainly. Fear took over her features as she whispered, "No funny business went on, did it? Your wolf didn't..."
Graham let out a little chuckle of amusement. "No funny business," he assured with a light, mocking tone in his voice. "I am fully conscious of the way I behave in wolf form and I wouldn't dream of sexually harassing you while you were busy almost bleeding to death."
He gave her hand a little encouraging squeeze. "Our bodies heal quickly and yours was working to keep you alive. I was trying to help as well." On her confused look, he said, "Our saliva has the ability to heal open wounds. I was licking you so that you would heal faster. It was the only thing I could think of and I was desperate to keep you alive."
"You were taking care of me," Morgan whispered, touched by the fact that even in wolf form, his first concern was her safety.
Graham slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in against him. "It's my job to take care of you." He pressed a gentle, loving kiss to her nose.
"Because by werewolf laws we're married?" Morgan asked.
Graham gave her a soft smile. "There's that. There's also the fact that I'm madly in love with you."
Feeling her heart melt, Morgan pressed her lips to his. "I ... I love you too." It felt so foreign to her, so strange to be saying that to someone she'd been intimate with less than a week, but she knew in her heart that Graham was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Deep down, she'd known it the moment Graham kissed her. That's why she hadn't freaked out over the biting or the werewolf situation. No matter what happened, her heart knew she was meant to be with Graham, no matter what he was or did.
"I think perhaps we should make this relationship recognized by human laws as well," Graham whispered against her lips.
Morgan froze, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. "Graham, are you proposing to me?" She held her breath as she waited for his answer, her heart thumping frantically in her chest.
"I believe I am," Graham confessed. "I let my kind know that you're taken. I want the human males to know to leave you alone as well. I want everyone to know that you're mine."
"I want everyone to know that you're mine too," Morgan said as she nipped at his lower lip.
Graham gave a little growl of desire and slung a leg over hers, pulling her closer. "I'm assuming that means yes."
Morgan bobbed her head in affirmation. "It's a definite yes." She ran her hands over his chest, then his flat stomach, continuing down until she wrapped her hands around his manhood. "How convenient that you're naked," she practically purred.
Graham slid a hand along her bare abdomen, circling her bellybutton with his index finger. "Very convenient," he agreed with a gasp as her hands tightened around him. His hand slid lower, tracing the soft skin underneath her bellybutton.
The feeling of his hand on her stomach reminded Morgan of something Samuel had said. "Graham," she asked cautiously, her hands releasing him. "What did Samuel mean when he said he'd kill me and the pup that resides in my belly?" She had a suspicion of what the other man had meant, but she was afraid to even voice it.
Graham eyed her cautiously, as if afraid of her reaction, before saying, "He was implying that you were pregnant."
Morgan tried to stay calm at that news, but it was such a life changing implication. "How could he possibly know something like that?" she asked slowly.
"Many times, we can smell things like pregnancies," Graham said with a grimace. "Remember me saying we have super sensitive smelling?"
Trying to take that information as if it was normal, Morgan asked, "Do I smell pregnant to you?"
Graham's nostrils flared as he searched for the answer, but after a moment, he shrugged. "I can't tell. Your body has gone through some traumatic alterations. It's hard to tell if it's just that or..."
"You didn't notice it before I was attacked," she said almost desperately. "You would have noticed before Samuel did."
Graham gave a guilty shrug. "I didn't pay much attention. I was too distracted over the fact that I'd found you to notice if you smelled like you were carrying a child or not." His face took on a stubborn look. "Besides, it's not like I keep my nose on constant alert. Samuel was purposefully sniffing us out for weaknesses."
"So I might be pregnant," Morgan whispered, the weight of that sinking in.
"It's so hard for our kind to even reproduce that I never even considered this might happen. If I'd thought for even a second that you would get pregnant so quickly, I would have offered to use protection." Graham's hand slid over her belly, blue eyes locked onto hers. He searched her face for a reaction, wanting to know how she was going to take the news of possibly being pregnant after only knowing him a week. "How do you feel about this?" he asked gently.
Morgan was so confused. She wanted to be happy, but it just seemed so soon. "How do you feel about it?"
"I've possibly gained a wife and a child in the same week. I'm ecstatic." His hands stopped, just resting on her bare stomach. "I'm tired of being alone."
Morgan's heart melted at the honesty of his statement and the vulnerable sound of his voice. "I'm tired of being alone too." Sliding her arms up his body, she wrapped them around his neck and gave him a kiss that she hoped would make his toes curl. She pressed her body flat against his, loving the feel of his hard muscles against her soft curves.
Graham gave a low moan and one of his hands slid upward to cup her breast. "You feel so good," he groaned into her mouth. "Every inch of you fits perfectly against me. It's like you were made for me."
Morgan couldn't have agreed more. Everything about Graham felt so perfect, so right that it made her want to cry tears of pure joy. She wanted nothing more than to stay wrapped in his arms for the rest of her life. "Make love to me," she practically begged against his mouth.
In one swift motion, Graham rolled over, placing himself above her. Leaning down, he pressed his lips firmly to hers. "You have no idea how good that sounds to me."
Morgan felt the tip of him rub against her opening and she arched up to rub herself against him.
He was hard and ready, his penis quivering with the eagerness to bury itself inside of her.
Forcing back a moan, she breathed, "I can feel how good it sounds to you."
With a low chuckle, Graham slid himself inside of her. A groan of delight escaped him as he slowly withdrew then plunged deeper into her. He clutched a handful of sheets between his fists as his body moved fluidly against hers.
Morgan had never felt anything so right in her life. She lifted her hips off the bed to meet each of his thrusts, greedy for the next.
Graham showered her with kisses, his mouth moving down to her neck. He nuzzled her skin, nipping gently with each thrust at the scar his teeth had left during their first night together.
Morgan felt herself getting close to orgasm and didn't hold back. She could tell by the swift, vigorous thrusts Graham was putting so much force behind that he was just as close as she was. She hissed in delight at the sensation of his teeth grazing along her skin.
Those teeth held such a promise of danger, but he was using them now to bring her pleasure. The sense of fear and rapture that was always mingled to sum up who Graham was drove her harder toward completion.
She loved the feeling of excitement that raced through her every time his teeth tightened on her flesh. He bit hard enough to send a thrill racing through her, but never hard enough to hurt. Biting her that first night had created an animalistic bond between them that she couldn't even explain. Their connection was so primal. It wasn't just about being in love with him. She could feel deep inside of her a presence she'd never felt before this morning, and she suddenly realized that it was her inner wolf.
The wolf inside of her was roaring in victory at the feel of Graham's body inside of hers. It reveled over the fact that she'd found her mate. It was filled with such intense pleasure at the moment that it frightened her. She knew if anyone tried to come between them, her wolf would rip that person to shreds without a second thought.
She suddenly knew exactly how Graham had felt the night they first slept together. This feeling was overwhelming and unstoppable. She couldn't hold back even if she tried. Her body wanted him, wanted to claim him, and her mind wouldn't be able to talk her body out of it even if she wanted to.
The intensity of what they were and what they would do to keep each other safe was a bigger turn on than she would ever admit out loud. She arched up underneath him with a whimper of bliss. Unable to help herself, Morgan lowered her mouth over the flesh of his throat. Pain ripped through her for a moment as her teeth elongated into those of her wolf. Realizing that she was marking him as he'd done to her that first night, Morgan let her sharpened canines sink into his skin.
Graham gave a rugged moan. "Oh God, Morgan," he growled. Overcome with need, his hips began thrusting quicker, rougher as she staked her claim on his body.
Somehow knowing that she'd done enough to mark him, Morgan pulled back and licked the small incision she'd left behind. Her teeth returned to their normal size as she gently pressed a kiss to his tender skin, hoping she hadn't hurt him too terribly.
"Morgan, don't worry about my neck," he grunted. "Just finish ... shit, finish soon," he growled, his voice strained.
"Okay," she moaned a moment before his mouth forcefully claimed hers. Morgan trusted that Graham knew his limits, and if he said he was fine, she would believe him. He hit a spot so deep inside of her that he had her clawing at the sheets. "I am close," she whimpered. "So close."
They climaxed together in a burst of ecstasy, sensations rushing simultaneously through their bodies.
As Graham rolled off of her to lie on the bed, Morgan reached her hand out to gently run her fingers over the small scar at his collarbone. "I think my wolf likes you too," she informed him.
Graham gave a grunt of agreement, his eyes closing as he let adrenaline ease out of his body and relaxation take its place.
Rolling onto her stomach, Morgan half draped her body over his, letting her head rest on his shoulder. She was content to simply listen to his ragged, sharp intakes of air.
"I think I better get in better shape if I'm going to continue to hang out with you," he said breathlessly.
Morgan laughed. Graham was in excellent condition and she liked him just how he was. "You're perfect," she assured him. "Don't you dare change a thing."
Morgan meant every word she said. She wanted Graham just the way he was. He was the one good, sure thing she had going on right now. There was so much other stuff in their lives that was still uncertain, like whether she was pregnant or not. There was also the uncertainty of whether Graham would have to start all over with his search for Samuel. Morgan would bet that the killer wouldn't be returning to his home. He would move on and find somewhere else, making Graham's job harder. None of this seemed too overwhelming because she knew that no matter what they had to face in the near future, they'd be doing it together.
Morgan awoke the next night with her heart in her throat. Something had woken her from a deep sleep and instinctively she felt whatever it was, it was a threat to her and Graham. She was lying on her side facing the wall. She had her back to the room, but she caught the slightest movement of a shadow in the moonlight. Unsure if it was just her paranoia playing tricks on her, she listened intently for the slightest noise.
A normal person would never have been able to hear it, but with her newly advanced audible range, Morgan heard the soft scuffle of a boot along the carpet. The person was quiet, inhumanly so. Samuel, Morgan thought, knowing instantly she was right. Who else would break into Graham's home? Assuming Graham's list of enemies was pretty short, Morgan tried not to panic as she realized there was probably a homicidal werewolf in the room with them.
The last time she'd been near Samuel, he'd ripped her throat out and left her bleeding to death in the middle of the road. If he was back, it wasn't to check on her recovery.
She was afraid to wake Graham. If he woke up asking why she was kicking him, Samuel would attack before Graham had an opportunity to collect himself.
Suddenly very glad she was in love with a man that found it smart to sleep with a loaded gun in the drawer of each of his nightstands, Morgan slid her hand down to curl her fingers around the handle of the stand next to the bed. Sliding the drawer open, her fingers closed around the handle of a pistol and relief flooded through her. She took comfort in Graham's earlier revelation that normal bullets could stop a werewolf. They were hard to kill, but fill them with enough bullets and even they couldn't heal that.
A shadow slid across the wall in front of Morgan, signaling that Samuel was getting closer. She bit her lip to keep from screaming at the unmistakable sight of a shotgun held in the intruder's hands.
Sliding her hand out of the drawer, Morgan slipped the gun into bed with her. Once she had the gun safely gripped in her hands, she froze, praying that Samuel hadn't noticed her moving around. Holding her breath, she waited for a moment that felt agonizingly long to see if he would react, but he appeared to be too fixated on Graham to pay attention to her.
Morgan's fingers slid over the gun until she blindly located the safety. With trembling fingers, she managed to get it off. The safety made a soft clicking noise, but in the silence it sounded almost deafening.
Samuel gasped, realization dawning on him. "What the---"
Morgan rolled over as quickly as she possibly could, which was a lot faster than any human was capable of moving. Her hand was a blur even to her own eyes as she lifted it and squeezed the trigger with three rapid jerks of her finger.
Two of the three bullets hit Samuel in the gut. The third lodged into his chest. It all happened so fast that it made her dizzy. She barely remembered pulling the trigger once, let alone three times.
Samuel's gun slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor. It fired, blowing a chunk out of the nightstand next to Graham. Samuel stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with surprise as he clutched his bleeding chest.
At the sound of gunshots, Graham shot up in bed, his eyes searching the room for the source of danger.
Before Graham could even figure out what was going on, Morgan sprang up next to him. She resumed firing the gun, her breath coming in ragged, frightened pants as three more rounds were discharged. Terror had consumed her and she couldn't even think around it. All she could do was frantically pull at the trigger of the gun. She was shooting blindly, her fear keeping her from even thinking about aiming. She just continued to squeeze the trigger, her mind not even registering the clicking sound that signified she was out of ammunition.
A moment later, Graham grabbed the gun from her trembling hand.
Frantic to know if she'd done enough damage to distract Samuel from picking his gun back up, Morgan peeked over the edge of the bed. She found herself staring into Samuel's wide, unseeing eyes. "Oh shit," she cried in dismay. "Oh shit. Oh shit. I killed him. I killed him." As she stared at the bullet hole that disappeared into Samuel's left temple, horror overwhelmed her. "I killed a man." She scrambled to the far end of the bed, away from the sight of Samuel's bullet ridden body. "I killed him and I don't even feel all that bad about it. Shit. What kind of person am I if I can do that?"
"He was a serial killer. He deserved it. Besides, he tried to kill you first," Graham said matter-of-factly, his voice gruff. Climbing out of the bed, he pressed his fingers to the side of Samuel's neck to feel for a pulse. "He nearly tore your throat out," he growled. "He showed up at our home with a gun."
"Our home?" Morgan asked in surprise.
Stepping back from Samuel, Graham managed to give her an affectionate smile. "Of course it's our home. We can't raise a pup in the tiny yard you've got. They need space ... and trees."
Morgan sat back, stunned that he'd thought that much about their situation and still a little shell-shocked over shooting someone.
Graham must have seen the look of uncertainty because he walked over and cupped her chin in his hands. "Sweetheart, you did nothing wrong. He threatened our family. What you did was self-defense." He pressed his lips to hers. "You have nothing to feel guilty about." Taking a step back, he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I need to call this in. Why don't you get some clothes on and take a seat in the living room? I'll be out after I contact the chief."
Bobbing her head in concurrence, Morgan moved to his closet and pulled out a baggy t-shirt and a pair of sweats. Though she was normally one to need total control over her life, Morgan was perfectly content to let Graham take care of her right now. He knew more about handling a situation like this than she ever could.
As she shuffled off to the living room, clothes clutched tightly against her chest, Graham gave her one last encouraging smile. "I love you, baby."
Morgan nodded in acknowledgement. "I love you too."
As she wrapped up her interview about a fire that had nearly killed a family and the officer that ran into the flaming building to save them, Morgan gave the familiar face across the microphone from her a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much, Officer Audrick. You truly are a hero. If you would have waited for the fire department to arrive, that family probably wouldn't be alive today."
Graham leaned forward and shook her hand, a sheepish look on his face. "I was just doing my job."
"Well, the city appreciates having you watching over us." With another smile to the camera, Morgan said, "Office Audrick's station is collecting donations to go to the family until they can get their life rebuilt. Anyone willing to contribute a donation only needs to call the number on the bottom of the screen."
Both of them gave the camera big smiles until the light flashed off.
As soon as they were off the air, Jamison came rushing over. "That was brilliant!" He shook his head in disbelief. "And an exclusive!" he cried in delight.
Morgan nodded in agreement. "It was great, really great." She let the euphoria course through her for a moment, enjoying the glow that success brought. She let it slowly ebb away, letting herself come back down to earth. Turning to her boss, she shoved her microphone into his chest. "I quit." A feeling of elation rushed through her at that simple statement. She suddenly felt so free and her spirit felt worlds lighter. It felt almost better than the interview had.
Jamison blinked at her in astonishment. "Excuse me?" he asked in surprise.
"I quit," Morgan repeated, her voice firm and full of conviction. "I don't want to have a job where it's celebrated that my husband was nearly murdered." Her hand ran gently over her rounded belly. "I have more important things in my life to worry about."
Jamison stood in stunned silence, his mouth gaping open.
Without a backwards glance, Morgan turned and walked away. She'd barely gotten a few feet before Alston scooped her up into a big hug. "Congratulations!"
Morgan laughed as he spun her around then sat her back on her feet. "What are you congratulating me for? I just quit my job. I would expect condolences before a congratulations."
Alston put a brotherly hand on her shoulder. "I'm congratulating you because you've finally figured out what's important in life." He leaned in and gave her a big, cheesy kiss on the cheek. "You're going to make a great mom." He put a hand on her stomach and rubbed it energetically. "And seeing as Janine is pregnant again, we'll be having children around the same time. Your kid will have a diaper pal." Puffing his chest out proudly, he said, "My son will be rescuing that daughter of yours from bullies every time we turn around."
With a laugh, Morgan slapped his hand away. "We'll see about that." Seeing as her daughter was more than likely going to be a werewolf, it would probably be the other way around. Her daughter would be keeping Alston's son out of scraps.
"Just you wait," Alston stated confidently. His eyes moved just beyond her shoulder and he gave someone behind her a little nod of acknowledgement. "Looks like prince charming wants your attention. I'll let you celebrate with him." Leaning in to give her another kiss on the cheek in parting, he said, "I'll call you about getting together for dinner next week."
"I'll be waiting." With a warm smile in parting to her friend, Morgan spun to face Graham. Before she could even speak, he swept her up into his arms and gave her a firm kiss. "So, how did it feel to quit?"
"Amazing," Morgan admitted against his lips, breathing a sigh of contentment.
Pulling back, Graham set her with a worried look. "And you don't mind being a secret reporter to the supernatural world?" His brows furrowed in concern. "They don't get the same recognition that human reporters do..."
"Honey," Morgan said patiently. "I can't wait." Graham had gotten her a job with a supernaturally run company that surreptitiously informed others from the supernatural world about paranormal happenings. It felt so much more important to be keeping people informed of information they couldn't get anywhere else, information vital to their safety and security. There wasn't anything else she would rather be doing with her time.
"And you're sure you don't mind moving in with me and having my child?"
With a laugh, Morgan wrapped her arms around Graham's waist, hugging him tightly as she gave him a soft kiss. "Graham, I am absolutely thrilled. There's nothing in the world I want more than to have this baby."
"Good ... good. We're going to have a great life. I swear it." Graham's face hardened with a determined look. "And if anyone dares to mess with our happiness, I will make them pay!"
"Please," Morgan cried with a playful mocking tone. "You're more bark than bite." The last time she'd accused him of such a thing, she'd never in a million years have thought that he was a werewolf. The statement seemed that much funnier now. She could only imagine how that comment had irked him.
Graham's arms circled her waist and he pulled her in for another kiss. "More bark than bite," he grumbled. "Just wait until I get you home. I'll show you some bite."
At the implications of what that could mean, Morgan smiled against his lips. "I can hardly wait."
Melissa currently writes a monthly short story column titled Frequent Flyer for a government newspaper, The Patriot. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Jeremy and their four pets: Duke, Edge, Eddie, and Leia.
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