The Billionaire Werewolf's Princess. Michele Hauf
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He should not have stopped kissing her. Because then the question had been asked.
Ry had a thing about the first kiss. A man could tell a lot about a woman from that kiss. Awkward and graceless? There was always room for improvement. Sloppy and aggressive? Nerves could be the culprit, or just an overzealousness with which he didn’t want to deal. Firm and accepting, yet also the woman jumped into his arms and wraps herself about him like she was made to fit his body?
Mercy.
His heart was still thumping from that incredible contact. And he wished his erection would chill. Because there were more important matters. Like his confession about being part faery, part werewolf to a perfectly human woman. He never did that. And on the one occasion he had told all? He’d known her for months, and her name was Kristine, and he trusted her implicitly with his secret because she knew all too well that secrets could be painful.
He’d known Indigo for less than forty-eight hours. Didn’t know her last name. Wasn’t even sure she believed in faeries or if she was playing along with him until she could laugh at his stories later. Who was this incredibly compelling woman who had loosened his lips so much that he’d laid it all out there like that?
That was it, wasn’t it? That kiss of hers had loosened him up.
And now?
He wanted more from this woman. And for some reason, his better judgment had abandoned ship and decided he needed to tell all.
“Werewolf?” she said. Her voice was soft and awe-filled. Or was that fear? She stared up at him, hands clasped together below her chin. It looked like wonder in her gaze, but he could be wrong. Could be disgust. “And faery?”
With a heavy sigh, Ry knew he wouldn’t be able to push her out the door and send her on her merry way now. The deep dive had occurred. Now to surface without sustaining too much damage.
“Sit down,” he said.
She sat immediately. Eagerness lifted her chin, and yes, that was weird awe in her beaming gaze. “That’s what I saw,” she said. “I thought you changed to something like a wolf. Your head and shoulders and chest...they were—”
“I didn’t realize it happened. In the moment, my anger and the fury at trying to destroy the collector overwhelmed and I briefly shifted. You shouldn’t have had to see that.”
“Why? It didn’t scare me. I mean, from what I recall. Still kinda fuzzy from that whole adventure. And sore.” She pressed a hand to her back and arched it forward. “I wonder if I could talk to that faery healer. Ask her what she did to me, and how long it’s going to take to feel better?”
“Give it a few more days. You went through a lot the other night. And I’m sure I shoved you less than gently to get you out of the way.”
“You were trying to protect me.”
“A lot of good that did. You almost died, Indigo.”
“There is that. I have no memory of a near-death experience, though. But let’s talk about you. Come sit by me. Tell me about being a werewolf. And a faery! Please?”
In for the dive, Ry sat next to Indi and pressed his palms together before him as he summoned the strength and downright calm to put himself out there. He didn’t have to tell her all. He would never do that. Because he didn’t know her. But she knew too much. Enough that leaving her hanging would only push her away from him, and could likely result in her telling others his secret.
For once, Ry wished he had a vampire’s skill of persuasion. They could change a human’s mind, convince them they’d never been bitten. Or that they had never seen a werewolf shift halfway while battling vicious critters from Faery.
“Okay, here goes,” he said.
She wiggled expectantly and leaned forward.
“I was born werewolf. My mother was a werewolf, and my father...” This part he didn’t need to go into detail. “It’s a twisty thing. My father was a faery, but my mother was married to the pack leader. She had an affair. Leave it at that. So I’m half-and-half, but I have more werewolf tendencies than faery. I don’t have wings,” he said quickly as she opened her mouth to speak.
“Oh.” Her shoulders dropped. “I was going to ask about that. Do you have a tail?”
Her fascination disturbed him on a level he couldn’t quite measure. Such a question made him angry, and a little humiliated. But why he felt that way went back to being ousted from the pack because he was part faery. Too many bad memories.
“I don’t have a tail. In my were shape. Were means man. Werewolf means half man, half wolf. Like you saw the other night. Though I didn’t shift completely. If so, my clothes would have split and fallen off and...you would have known for certain you’d seen a werewolf.”
“Your clothes fall off? Is it like an Incredible Hulk thing?”
“Incredible...?” Ry couldn’t help a chuckle. “What’s with you and the superheroes?”
She shrugged. “I like comic-book heroes. Anything wrong with that?”
“Nothing at all. Not like the Hulk. When I shift to werewolf my body grows a little taller, more muscular and hairy, and my head takes on wolf shape, as do my legs and feet and hands. I’m mostly man but a lot of wolf.”
“And you’re naked?”
“Uh, yes?”
“Sorry, I like to have all the details. Helps me to picture it better. And then you run around naked in the city?”
“I never shift to werewolf in the city. Not completely, anyway. It would be foolish and asking for trouble. We of the paranormal ilk know the only way we can survive in the mortal realm is to keep our truths hidden.”
“Wow, I suppose so. That’s got to be tough. Trying to survive in a world that doesn’t believe in you. And if they did, they’d think you’re a monster. You’re not a monster, are you?”
“Do I look like a monster?”
“Not now you don’t.” But she wasn’t completely on board with believing otherwise, he suspected.
“I’m not a monster, Indi.” He clasped her hand and rubbed the back of it along his cheek. She smelled so good. And he didn’t scent fear in her. Interesting. “I am a man first and foremost, who happens to have a proclivity for nature and running about as a wolf, especially on the night of the full moon. I also shift to wolf shape, which is exactly the creature you know as a wolf.”
“Four legs and a howl?”
He nodded.
“That’s so interesting. Do you have wolf friends?”
Despite the odd and uncomfortable questions, at the very least, Ry could be thankful she was open and not screaming right now. “Wolf friends? You mean who I run about with in the forest?”
She nodded.
“Yes. And no. Most werewolves live in packs. I haven’t been in one for a while.” Not by choice, either. “When I shift I do it alone. I own some property a couple hours out of Paris that is wooded and has a lot of acreage. If I encounter another of my species while shifted, we might have a tussle or just avoid each other. We’re protective of our property.”
“Alpha?”
“Yes, but I’m considered a lone wolf after leaving my pack.”
“Why did you leave?”
“That’s not something I want to get in to right now.” He pulled up her hand again and this time kissed the knuckles. “Any more questions?”
“Well,