MATE OF THE WEREWOLF (Changeling Encounters: An Erotic Paranormal Sex Story Of Sexual Blackmail And Domination) (4 page)

She snuggled back into his body, happier and more
complete than she had ever been. She had Noah...and neither of them
would ever be lonely again.

They both fell asleep with a smile on their lips and
wrapped up in each other’s arms. The werewolf and his mate, two
halves of one whole, were finally complete.

Simon Hudson stood silently in the shadows of the
opulent lobby, his hands in the pockets of his jeans and one
shoulder propped against the frame of a large window that faced the
street. His whole body was tense, his dark brown eyes scanning the
sidewalk with the intense and total focus of a madman.

Where in the hell is she? It’s ten forty-five.

He knew Kara was working tonight. She had called in
sick for the last two evenings, but was back to work at Helen’s
Place, waiting tables on the swing shift. He had checked. His
mother owned the bistro where Kara worked and was generally pretty
forthcoming with information when Simon wanted it, but he was
careful. If he wasn’t, his only parent would be hounding him to
find out why he wanted information on Kara. His wonderful but
inquisitive mom would be like a bloodhound after a scent if she
thought that Simon’s interest was anything but casual. He would be
nagged to death, his mother wanting to know exactly what his
intentions were with Kara.

Simon frowned. Like he had any intentions? He had
fantasies and all of them involved Kara spread out on his bed,
screaming his name as he made her come, over and over.

Simon took a deep breath and slowly blew it back out,
trying to get his body to relax and telling himself that he must be
insane to take exactly the same position, night after night, for
some woman who he had never officially met. But here he was…again,
his back to the curious doorman, leering out the window like an
unbalanced stalker, waiting to get a glimpse of Kara Foster.
Something about the woman brought out strange, territorial, and
protective instincts that kept him here, keeping watch, waiting for
her to walk by his condo building on her way home from work.

And then, when he spotted her, he’d do the same thing
he always did. He’d follow her at a distance, trying not to alarm
her, and wait until she had let herself into her apartment safely
before he turned around and walked back home.

He wouldn’t talk to her, or even get close to her. He
never did. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Kara was going to
nursing school and working full-time at his mother’s restaurant.
According to his mom, Kara adamantly refused to date because she
didn’t have the time or energy to put into a relationship. She was
probably right about that. The insane woman didn’t sleep enough,
eat enough. She had no one who even worried about her except for
his mother…and Simon. Hell, in the last year, Simon had probably
cared more about Kara’s well-being than a dozen family members
would have, and he couldn’t even call her a friend. Problem was…he
wasn’t a family member, and his feelings were far from
brotherly.

God, she was sweet!

Simon had to bite back a groan of frustration as he
thought about the first time he had seen Kara, her blue eyes
flashing with humor, black tendrils of silky hair escaping from her
ever-present ponytail and her lithe body moving gracefully from
table to table at his mom’s restaurant. At the age of twenty-eight,
she still retained a look of innocence and vulnerability that had
Simon caught in her unintentional web. He’d been a prisoner there
ever since.

His mother spoke about Kara as if she were her
daughter, and Simon knew that Kara and his mother had a special
bond: one not formed by blood, but by a special friendship. Shit…if
Kara were younger, Simon was pretty sure his mother would adopt
her. Lips twitching slightly, Simon hoped his mother never expected
him to be like a brother to Kara. It wasn’t happening. His cock
stood at attention, rock-hard and ready, every time he saw her.
What in the hell was it about this particular woman that made him
so edgy and restless?

Simon had fucked women who were more attractive or
more sophisticated, and not a single one of them had ever touched
any of his emotions. He was a loner, preferring to spend his time
with his computer rather than attending social functions, but there
were times when he needed a woman’s company for physical relief.
Occasionally taking himself in hand just wasn’t getting it done.
Simon had certain female acquaintances for those occasions, women
who gave him the control he needed and had to have in the bedroom,
without a lot of demands or questions. Damn it! That had been
enough for him…until he had seen Kara.

Grimacing, his eyes never leaving the street, Simon
shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and adjusted his position,
giving his shoulder a break by resting his hip against the wall.
God, he was getting pathetic. How long would he moon over a woman
who had never even acknowledged him? Until she finished nursing
school and moved away? Until she got married?

He nearly growled at the thought of another man
putting his hands on Kara’s delectable body. Simon fought a purely
feral instinct that rose up at the thought of another man touching
his woman.

She’s not your woman, asshole. Get a grip.

For once in his life, Simon wished he were more like
his older brother Sam, the other half of the Hudson Corporation.
Sam would have no problem putting the moves on Kara.
Charm,
conquer, and discard
had always been his brother’s style and
Sam wouldn’t have given a thought to the possibility of rejection.
Probably because Sam never failed! His only sibling went through
the female population like a person with a nasty cold went through
tissues. Sam would have broken down Kara’s defenses, charmed her
out of her panties and then discarded her for his next
conquest.

Oh, hell no
. Simon loved his brother, but
he’d be damned if he’d ever let Sam seduce Kara. He didn’t even
want the two of them in the same room together.

Because she’s mine.

Simon shook his head, surprised at his own behavior.
Yeah…he liked control, actually needed control, but he had never
wanted one woman in particular. Now, he could think of little else
but the pretty waitress who had snagged his attention a year
ago.

You’re afraid of her.

Simon scowled at the thought. Like hell he was! He
wasn’t afraid of anything, and he definitely didn’t fear Kara
Foster. She just…was not a likely lover. Why bother?

He fucked.

He didn’t date.

And he liked it that way.

His brother Sam was the face of the company, the
marketer. Simon was a computer geek, happy to stay in the
background. What did he know about seducing a woman? He’d never
needed to coerce a woman to his bed. The females he fucked were
only with him for personal gain. He was known as a generous lover.
He wasn’t fool enough to believe they had any personal feelings for
him. That, he understood. That, he could handle.

Maybe I need to find a way to fuck her and get
over this crazy obsession
.

Would it be enough? Could he actually get free from
his fixation with this woman if he could find a way to have
her?

Christ! He had to do something. His irrational
preoccupation with Kara had grown worse and worse over the last
year, causing him to want no other woman except her. He hadn’t
gotten off with anyone except himself in well over a year, and he
really needed to scratch that itch. Yet…he couldn’t. If he tried to
take action, to make a move to call another woman, he would see
Kara’s pretty girl-next-door face and hang up the phone.

I’m just that fucking obsessed with her.

Simon glanced at an approaching figure, his mind
almost immediately starting to dismiss the dark-haired woman who
was dressed in a short, black, leather mini-skirt and a bright red
sweater. He’d never seen Kara dressed in anything other than jeans
and a t-shirt that sported the restaurant’s logo, standard casual
dress for employees of his mom’s restaurant.

He did a surprised double-take as the woman got
closer, gaping when her face came into view. Holy Christ! It was
Kara. She was close enough that he could see her features, the same
face that haunted his wet dreams every damn night, but the
outfit….

What in hell is she wearing?

Simon could see almost every inch of her long,
slender, shapely legs in the ultra-short mini and the whole outfit
molded over her breasts, torso, and ass like a glove. His cock was
instantly standing at full attention and he pulled his hands out of
his pockets. They curled into tight fists as a bead of sweat rolled
down his face. Followed by another. And another.

Goddamnit! What was she thinking? Dressed that way,
she was practically begging for some man to come and snatch her up
off the street.

And, by God, he was going to be that man. He wasn’t
leaving that opportunity to another male, someone who might do her
harm.

Didn’t she realize that this was Tampa? A major city!
It wasn’t some tiny town where she could walk the streets at night
and not be noticed or accosted.

Simon unclenched one fist and gripped the window
frame for support, his eyes never leaving the approaching female.
Gritting his teeth, Simon knew that today was the day he was going
to have to get close to her, closer than he’d ever been before. He
couldn’t handle these animalistic and rampant emotions anymore. He
didn’t like them, wasn’t used to them. All he wanted was his sanity
back, to return to his computer and work on his passion for
developing computer games without erotic thoughts of Kara taking
over his brain.

Sense. Reason. Control. That was how he functioned
and what he needed in order to be himself again, and dammit, he’d
get back to his normal state of mind, no matter what drastic
measures he had to take to achieve it. Somehow, he would purge
himself of this incredibly stupid and raging desire for Kara
Foster.

His mind made up, Simon pushed off the window frame
and stood up straight, lowering his “mask” until his face was
devoid of emotion. He was good at that. He’d been raised in an area
of Los Angeles where most normal people would never even enter, a
place where being weak, slow-witted, or fragile in any way meant
being destroyed.

If nothing else, Simon Hudson was a survivor. His
guise firmly in place, he ripped his gaze from the window, turned
sharply and strode purposefully toward the door.

Kara Foster was having a seriously bad day!

She hefted her backpack to make it sit more solidly
on her shoulder and reached for the hem of her ridiculously short
skirt, yanking it down hard to cover her ass. The clothes looked
great on her classmate, Lisa, who was several inches shorter and
seven years younger than Kara. Unfortunately, they didn’t look
quite the same on Kara’s taller, fuller body. The sweater hugged
her generous breasts and the skirt was too damn short, barely
concealing the cheeks of her ass.

She was a street-smart woman, having grown up in one
of the worst areas of Tampa and coming through the experience
intact. Kara knew how to protect herself, how to avoid any unwanted
attention. So what in the hell was she doing in an outfit that was
bound to get her in trouble?
Stupid, Kara. Really, really
stupid!

Frowning, Kara forced herself to keep walking. No big
deal. She was in a decent area. So what if she looked like a sex
kitten in sneakers? Eight more blocks and she would be home, free
to finally strip off the ludicrous outfit and put on her own
comfortable jeans and t-shirt.

Kara heaved a sigh as she focused solely on arriving
at the tiny apartment that she shared with another student. Her
legs were cold and she shivered, walking faster to get her body
warm. It was January in Tampa, and while the daytime hours were
pleasant, it got chilly at night. She should have brought her
jacket, but she had been running late this morning.

She hadn’t planned to have her legs bare and her
behind flapping in the breeze.

The day is almost over.

Thank God!

She had spilled coffee on her own jeans and t-shirt
earlier in the day. With no time to go home and change before she
had to get to work, Kara had gratefully accepted the offer of clean
clothes from Lisa, a classmate who was never without a change of
clothing in her car. It wasn’t that Kara didn’t appreciate the
kindness of her classmate. She definitely did. Kara just wished she
could wear the clothing with the same attitude as Lisa. But…she
couldn’t. She was used to keeping a low profile, and she was
mortified that she probably resembled a call girl with bad shoes,
functioning the entire day and evening with a hint of red on her
cheeks and trying desperately not to bend over.

When she had arrived at the restaurant for her shift,
her kind boss, Helen Hudson, had taken pity on her and dug in the
drawers for an apron that reached Kara’s knees and covered her
exposed backside.