KEEPING YOU: Howlers Motorcycle Club 1: A Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Motorcycle Club Romance (3 page)

Four

He stared at me like he wanted to devour me in one gulp. That was the only way I could describe it and it didn’t exactly give me confidence that I’d get out of there in one piece.

“I’m sorry,” he said at length, still staring. “I didn’t remember bringing you home until I heard you clear your throat.”

Great. This isn’t embarrassing at all. Note to self: get checked for diseases
.

“You carried me here from a cave in the woods. There was a wolf. My car. I mean, I was in an accident and the car exploded.” I tripped over my words while I stared at him. In the soft morning glow, he was even more attractive. His face was beautiful, I thought, and then remembered where his face had been the night before and blushed.

“Where?”

“Maybe two hundred yards from the lake. The rangers probably found the car by now.” He reached for a mobile phone sitting on his dresser, sent a message, and then sat down on the bed next to me.

“How did we meet?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—.” I felt terrible that I’d let this man possess me so completely when he couldn’t even remember meeting me. Of all the ways I’d pictured the morning going when he laid me down to sleep last night, this wasn’t one of them.

He hadn’t smelled even a little like alcohol.

“It’s just fuzzy. In the woods? Were you going for help?”

“Actually,” I said, “a wolf ripped apart my seatbelt and dragged me from my car. It saved me. Then it took me through the woods to a cave and left. When I tried to leave, I ran into you and…” I trailed off, waiting for him to call me crazy. I sounded crazy to myself.

Of course, I thought, the room was littered with empty liquor bottles. A leather jacket was hung on the wall by the door, but nothing else looked like it was where it should be. It wasn’t disgusting, but it was a whirlwind. Maybe crazy was par for the course around here.

“There are a lot of wolves in the woods,” he said. “You’re lucky it didn’t hurt you.”

“I guess it had already had dinner,” I said, lamely attempting to make a joke. He didn’t laugh.

“Maybe. Look, I need to go to a club meeting and then I’ll take you to wherever you want to go. We could stop and eat or something. Are you from town or were you camping? What’s your name?”

“Yes, town. My name is Eleanor—Ellie. Club?” The words came out bullet quick. Stop and eat? I never intended to see him again once I was safely on my doorstep. My tolerance for embarrassment is fairly high, but this was off the charts.

“I’m vice president of Howlers Motorcycle Club.” His eyes drifted to his jacket and he walked across the room, then shrugged it on over his white t-shirt. Turning, he drew my attention to the patch on the back. “See?”

I’d heard of them before. Rumors of rough men on loud, rumbling bikes that came into town to drink or brawl or find willing women. I didn’t drink or go to clubs, so I’d never come across one of their members before. At least, I hadn’t until I let him take me on the floor of a cave while I screamed and moaned.

Shaking my head to clear the memories, I smiled at him when he turned around. “Thank you for finding me in the woods.”

“I did more than find you,” he said, a perverse grin spreading across his face.

“Thank you for that too,” I murmured, glad that he at least remembered something. His eyes lit, making his ridiculously good-looking face even more stunning. Some guys are just too sexy. Something about his golden eyes started a fire in my center, warming me. I looked away. We didn’t have a future.

“Could you possibly take me back before the meeting?” I needed to find out whether I still had a job, and didn’t fancy calling when showing up would be more responsible. Jeremy was probably freaking out. Not about me missing, of course, but about me not bringing him the insect.

Bye-bye, bonus money
.

“I have to make the meeting,” he said. “No other choice. Come on. I’ll get you some breakfast in the clubhouse. You can watch TV and eat while you wait, as long as you stay in the common rooms.” I looked pointedly at my body wrapped in the sheet.

“You left my clothes in the cave when you threw me over your shoulder and brought me here.”

“Threw you over my shoulder, did I? I must have been determined to make sure you ended up back in my bed.” I glared at him and his smile just got wider. Crossing the room to his closet, he opened it and reached for a box on the top shelf. “See if anything in there fits. It’s all clean.”

Sweatpants and t-shirts abounded. They were all too big, but I found a pair I could put on without embarrassing myself, and then pulled a black t-shirt over my head. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I winced. The difference between him and me was as clear as night and day. He was a god with golden eyes. I was—a girl with a pillow crease on my cheek and mascara smeared over my eyes.
I bet you’re having some serious morning after regrets, buddy.

He took my hand to lead me across the grass toward the large brick building in the center of the homes. “Why do you live all the way out here?” I asked, noting the woods surrounding the fence. It seemed strange that he was holding my hand, but he didn’t seem inclined to let it go.

“We like privacy. It’s hard to get any when you’re surrounded by other people, locked in apartment buildings. This property borders the national park, but it’s far from any trails.” I thought of my noisy neighbors who played dancing games in the apartment above me during college, making the floor shake. Point made.

“Can I sit in on the meeting with you?” If I was going to have to wait, I might as well find out more about Howlers. The idea of being surrounded by burly badasses wasn’t entirely unappealing either.

“No.” His tone didn’t invite me to argue. “No women. Especially not a citizen.” He laughed.

“Citizen?”

“People who aren’t in the club.” I hugged my arms around myself for warmth when we entered the clubhouse. The AC was on full blast. The large room had a bar in front of a kitchen and lots of roomy, comfortable furniture clustered in groups. Men in jackets similar to the one…and I realized I didn’t know his name. I grabbed his sleeve.

“What’s your name?”

He laughed. “Surprised you didn’t ask sooner. I’m Sam.”

“Nice to meet you.” He led me forward to the bar and said hello to some of the men sitting around it. “This is Ellie,” he said. “She was nice enough to hang out with me last night.”

“Last night?” A man with chestnut hair and bright blue eyes whipped his head around, zeroing in on Sam. His gaze sharpened, assessing his friend, and I was glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of that look.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Ellie was in a car accident. I texted Matt about her vehicle. I found her wandering around the woods and brought her back here to sleep off her injuries.”

“Where are you hurt?” A delicate blonde woman peeked around the man with the intense expression. He stiffened, then let her pass. “I’m Madison,” she said. “I’m Michael’s wife.” She held out her tiny hand. I took it and we shook. She had kind eyes and soft skin.

“Ellie,” I said. “I work in the city doing pharmacological research. Sam is going to take me home after the meeting.”

“I’m trying to get her to agree to a date, but she doesn’t seem too interested,” he said.

“A date?” Mike’s brow furrowed. “You’re trying to get her to go on a date?”

“Yeah,” Sam said shortly. His eyes warred with Mikes, and the other man quieted. His intense expression stayed parked on his face, though.

“Nice day for a ride,” said Madison. “I might get Mike to drive along with you guys so I can get some road time today too. It’s better than gardening all day.” She steered me away from the knot of men. “I’m going to take Ellie to get some OJ and a muffin. We’ll be in the lounge when you’re done with your meeting.”

“See you, Sam.” I followed Madison to a room that was ringed with windows. She switched on the television and opened the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice.

“Here you go,” she said, handing it to me. It was so sweet and cold that it made my teeth hurt, but I gulped it down and enjoyed every drop. She refilled it, and I made myself drink the second glass more slowly. She watched me and then asked again. “Where were you hurt?”

I pushed back my hair, showing her the cut on my scalp. “I feel fine though.”

“Are you sure? I’m a doctor.”

“Wow, where do you practice?”

“Just here,” she said. “We’re far from any hospitals and it’s good to have someone around to mop up the men if there’s an accident.”

We chatted about clothes and movies until I heard a scream and a crash. Shooting to my feet, I hurried to the door that connected the lounge to the main room. Madison was hot on my heels, but not fast enough to stop me from opening it. “Ellie, no!” Her words were too late to keep me from turning the knob and yanking.

In the middle of the room was a man who was shifting from one form to another. My eyes couldn’t take it in. One moment he was a man, covered in sweat and blood, then he was a wolf whose body was wracked with tremors. The in-between times were the most frightening. Then he was nothing that I could recognize as a man or an animal.

I screamed and leapt back, but Madison was pushing past me, running to the man. I couldn’t breathe. Could only watch.

“Hold him,” she shouted. Her husband emerged from the back of the room, looked to see what was happening and rushed out to the manwolf. I pressed back against the wall, wanting desperately to blink and have the whole thing disappear. Or, barring that, to get past them and get outside.

As soon as the human emerged from the wolf, Mike clasped his wrists. Madison took out an emergency aid box, popped the top and pulled out a syringe.

“Inject him,” Sam yelled, pushing past the gathering crowd to help Mike hold the man down. “Get the gawkers the hell out of here.” Another man started sending people out the door. They went reluctantly, looking over their shoulders and back at us the whole time until it was three men, Madison, the manwolf and me, alone.

She plunged the syringe into his chest and his shuddering got worse. “It’s going to be okay,” I heard her say. “You’re okay. As soon as we get you stable, I’ll take care of you.” His body changed again, more swiftly this time and then a panting wolf replaced the on the ground before them. His torso heaved with every deep breath, but he seemed more still. He wasn’t wavering like a line of heat down a desert road, on the verge of turning back into a man.

“Take him to the infirmary,” Madison said, frowning and rising to her feet. “Get Sal to start him on a fluid drip. He’ll be well enough to transition by tonight. Fuck. Someone might need to go get some supplies. That leg looked twisted and I have nothing to hold it once it’s set.” The man I didn’t recognize gathered the large wolf tenderly in his arms—I dully registered that he didn’t even stagger under its bulk—and carried him out the front door. Madison followed without a second glance back.

I sank to the ground, putting my head to my knees. My eyes couldn’t comprehend what I’d seen, but understanding still clicked. The wolf with the golden eyes. The man with the golden eyes. Oh god.

Sam.

Five

Sam

“No, Mike,” I said as the president of the Howlers pushed ahead, crossing the room to stand over the girl who was so beautiful it made my chest hurt. “Cut it out right the fuck now.”

“What do you want me to do?” He turned and I saw the struggle in his eyes. “She can’t leave.”

He was right. The number one code we lived by was protecting the Howlers. Family first. Family always. She’d seen our secret and that meant she had to die.

But the taste of her still lingered in the wolf’s mind.
Safe
, it said. A bleary memory of promising her she’d be safe.

“Let’s just keep her.”

“What?”

“Put her in a room. Maybe she’ll forget.” I was grasping at straws. The wolf perked up its head and encouraged me to continue. “Look at her man. She’s fucked up. Don’t say anything and we’ll see what happens.” I didn’t want to kill her—not her. My wolf knew what she was to me, even if I couldn’t admit it. Matehood didn’t automatically mean happily-ever-after, and the pack would sacrifice my mate to protect themselves if she threatened to expose them.

Too many people would be at risk if they didn’t.

He looked at me with pity and a deeper understanding, even jealousy. Then turned as the girl rose to her feet and ran for the door. Two strides forward and he’d caught her, his arm locked around her neck. He should pull. I knew that. One clean twist and everyone would be safe.

Despite knowing that, I tensed, ready to attack if his arm twitched.

But it didn’t.

Instead he stopped her breath and then picked her up once she’d been rendered unconscious. He handed her to me and I took the soft burden into my arms.

“If she tries to escape, you know what you have to do.”

“Yes,” I said.
No
, the wolf whispered.

“I’ll send someone over to reinforce your guest room.” He walked out and I followed him, carrying the girl to my house and up the stairs into the guest room that I kept for when my family came to stay. I set her down on the bed.

Her wrists were so delicate. I traced my finger down the blue veins that ran under her pale skin, marveling at how soft they were. Her scent, like green spring apples, permeated the air. It was so delicious that I felt my mouth water.

“I’m going to keep you safe,” I whispered. Taking a pair of handcuffs from my dresser, I circled one ankle with the cold metal, then attached it to my footboard. “But I can’t ever let you leave.”

The man Mike sent to reinforce the house nailed the windows shut from the outside and put a lock on the door that could only be opened from the hallway. Ellie’s pulse and breathing were fine, so I left to get some food, hoping she’d be reasonable when she woke up.